IN BRIEF (Page 19)

Life Culture

Ms Wang reveals Japan to itself

Yang Yi, a female Chinese writer, has won the Japanese Literature Award for New Writers with her novel Ms Wang. She is the first non-Japanese writer to win this award.

Shanghai finds its SoHo

There are many ways to have a stimulating Saturday in Shanghai and a stroll around the trendy art area of 50 Moganshan Road is one of them. M50, as it is known in international art circles, is located on the southern bank of Suzhou Creek, in the Putuo District.

Life Expat

Cheer up, Christmas is a blast

For some, Christmas brings memories of cinnamon, mulled wine and extended family get-togethers. For others, it is roasted pig and paella. But one experience China expats have in common is spending Christmas away from home. Many miss the traditions.

Global village

Come all ye faithful

Bookworm looks to help lots of libraries turn the page

When Thomas Stader, director of The Library Project, pulls up to a rural school with a truckload of brand new books, tables and chairs, he and his volunteers don't bother unloading them. The children swarm the caravan and do it for them.

Europe's highest rooms with a view

MERAN, Switzerland: At 3,000 m above sea level, the air in the Alps is low on oxygen and in winter much colder than below in the valleys.

Life Travel

Special Supplement: Shanghai to Hangzhou in a blink

SHANGHAI: Qiao, 25, who works for a consulting firm in Shanghai, is pleased that he can now leave his car at home and hop into a high-speed train and be in Hangzhou in time for a morning meeting.

Paying respects to a boy emperor

Few people link history with Shenzhen, in South China's Guangdong Province, a city founded in 1979, where almost all of the buildings are new. There is one place in Shenzhen, however, that seems far removed from the modernity and bustle of the city - the tomb of Shaodi, or Zhao Bing, the last emperor of the Song Dynasty (960-1279).