Museum offers a glimpse of archeological paradise

In the middle of the third-floor foyer of the Henan Museum, there is a giant crystal ball. If you dip your finger in from above, you'll see it thrusting into the ball.

Justice, Bao style, dispensed with a smile

In Chinese culture Judge Bao is a symbol of justice. His verdicts are uncompromising yet always fair. In countless television and operatic retellings, Bao's face is so stern that it is supposed to scare offenders into quick confessions.

The legend and legacy of Shaolin

Jeremy Landre has set his sights on a kungfu career. The lanky 24-year-old Parisian, who looks and acts more like a teenager, is on a journey that's taken him into the mountains of Songshan.

The accidental hero

In a small pocket of Shanxian County, a Catholic church casts a watchful eye over the warren of coalmines below from its hilltop perch.

Bright ideas keep village ahead

This is the typical story of a farmer-turned-entrepreneur in China, and the ambition of its hero is typical of grassroots officials worldwide - to build a small utopia where everyone can enjoy life.

The ties that bind

It's not easy to keep a promise, more so if it has to be kept every day, for 33 years.

District at the center of national attraction

Seven years ago a tycoon of international finance descended on China and asked, while pointing at a map, where the north-south Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway met the east-west Longhai Railway.

Henan Special Report

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A true-blue fat cat

In the world of cartoons, the cat has been a central figure. In the West, the cat is the evil nemesis of the dog. But here in China, the cat prevails over the mouse.

Books without borders

Two years ago, Zhu Jiangang was having dinner with a bunch of publishers who had flown in from all over the world to attend a forum. A classical pianist was playing in the dining hall. "I bet the score was published in Hunan," Zhu blurted out.

Peak attractions

The tectonic and erosive forces that lifted and pared the earth's crust to sculpt Zhangjiajie's sandstone hoodoo created landscapes that eerily resemble traditional Chinese paintings.