A view of the countryside

For those visiting Hefei, the capital of Anhui province, you can go to the city's Chaohu district to enjoy the countryside and the hot spring. Chaohu is more than five hours' drive from Xiuning county, and is known as the capital of ancient hot springs due to the Bantang Hot Spring discovered as early as the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC). In the daytime, you can ride a bicycle on a 15-kilometer cycling route in the Tulip Highland Scenic Area to see the colorful flowers on the road. At night, you can relax in the ancient spring after one day's sightseeing. At the end of the route is an area of flowers such as tulips, lavender and peonies. It's better to visit when the flowers are in full blossom. More outdoor leisure facilities in the scenic area are under construction.

Shilinxia offers a scenic escape from busy Beijing

For those who want a quick getaway from the hustle-and-bustle of Beijing, Shilinxia Scenic Area in Pinggu district is certainly a good choice. It is picturesque, with rocks, gorges, mountains and forests.

Hungry for Korean food?

Korean cuisine is spicing up the menus in Beijing. The increasing number of Koreans who have moved to China has given rise to a large number of Korean food stores and restaurants.

Yummy Box pizzas reflect cross-country survey in US

Tucked away in a street in Huilongguan, one of Beijing's biggest suburban residential neighborhoods, Yummy Box appears to be a one-off in more than one ways.

Guangzhou Award to help build better future

The Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation, known as the Guangzhou Award, which aims to encourage urban management innovations, is set to make a practical and significant contribution in the "century of the city".

15 exemplary programs on shortlist

The organizing committee of the second Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation held a daylong seminar yesterday for the jury to hear presentations from the 15 cities shortlisted for the award.

'Some cities are thinking 100 years ahead'

The Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation has the vitality of host city Guangzhou, an energy that facilitates innovative solutions to meet universal urban challenges, said senior officials bestowing the honor.

What they say

Editor's note: Before the opening of the China International Friendship Cities Conference, representatives from some of Guangzhou's sister cities talked about their impressions of the friendships forged and hopes for the future.

The bidding paves the way for the play

Henry David Thoreau, a writer who, inter alia, railed against taxes, said, "A simple and independent mind does not toil at the bidding of any prince."

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Museum donation by US philanthropist

More than 350 stuffed African wild animal specimens are on permanent free display at Shandong Provincial Museum.