From discord to harmony

Rocker Askar Mamat is caught between worlds on several levels.

Seal-cutter's art

Fei Mingyao, a well-known Chinese seal-cutting artist from Shanghai, has published a collection of signature works.

Kyoko Nakamura has two sets of clothes neatly arranged in her closet. One is a Japanese kimono, the only present from her mother; the other is an Eighth Route Army uniform that she wore more than 60 years ago.

Climbing out of the ant hill

The small village Tangjialing, located 20 km from the downtown area in Haidian district, is home to about 20,000 low-income college graduates - a demographic one sociologist likens to ants.

Dadawa's going places

When Dadawa first went to Tibet autonomous region in 1994 she was unimpressed by the potholed roads and lack of electricity, but the magical land nevertheless fascinated the Guanghzou girl.

Floating like a butterfly

Like many other young girls who love singing and dancing, Zhou Peng was excited to appear on television when she won a national singing competition in 1999 at 16. Then she released an album that sold well and became known as "China's first dance music singer".

Back to basics

She aims to make it a low-carbon village by constructing environmentally friendly houses and developing a sustainable local economy to enable the villagers to live in harmony with each other and the environment.

Inspired granddaughter gives charity a hand

This year holds special significance for a special person - Yang Yang, granddaughter of late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping.

The stuff of dreams

If someone had told him two months ago that science could be as fun as animation, Pu Kaiji - an art and design student of Nanjing's Southeast University - would have laughed.

Power to the people

Beijing residents have been baking under a hot sun for weeks now, but there are no signs that any respite is on the horizon.

Molding dreams

In 1995, Jingdezhen's kilns started shifting from coal to gas. In two years, the city dismantled and reconstructed more than 190 coal kilns and demolished most of the chimneys.

Salt of the Earth

During our recent trip to Shaanxi province, we were amazed by the improved living conditions in the countryside.

Good vs evil

In the eyes of Professor Hans Kueng, Chinese culture is the "longest surviving high culture in the world".

Soldiers of truth

China hands are in demand today in the United States, with relations between the two countries becoming entwined ever tighter.

Putting nations in perspective

John Keay says when he was asked to write a major history of China he thought the idea was absurd and told his publisher this. "I said I didn't speak a word of Chinese and Chinese history is impenetrable to Western audiences.