How will you run that long suit?

Jill McCorkle, a short story writer and novelist, said, "You want to feel that your reader does identify with the characters, so that there's a real entry into the story - that some quality speaks to the individual."

Master of arts and guardian of crafts

It may just look like a button to you and to me, but the wonderful little knot that is the apple of Huang Yuangsung's eye represents no less than centuries of history.

Rubbing the right way

Guilin in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region is a well-known scenic spot, famous for its picturesque karst landscape and crystal-like Lijiang River.

When in Tokyo, try making a Japanese woodblock print

You probably know what an ukiyo-e print looks like, even if you don't recognize the term.

Town built on gold in spotlight again

When the film director Hou Hsiao-Hsien was making his award-winning film A City of Sadness in Jiufen in 1989 he could scarcely have realized what a service he was doing to the town, which is about a 90-minute drive from downtown Taipei.

Nine families and a journey from riches to rags and back

Until gold was found in Jiufen in Taiwan in 1893 it was a rather sleepy town, and indeed in its early days, during the Qing Dynasty (1368-1644), just nine families are said to have lived there.

Festive but deserted

During the Spring Festival, millions leave Beijing to go to their hometowns to celebrate the Lunar New Year. This brings life in the normally crowded Beijing to a grinding halt.

A different type of printing

The Saguache Crescent newspaper is the last newspaper in the United States that is produced using a Linotype hot metal typesetting machine. Dean Coombs, the paper's owner and editor, has been publishing the small town newspaper once a week using a Lino-type machine that was purchased new in 1921, a few years after his family took over the paper in 1917. Coombs has been running the business by himself for the past 38 years and has no plans of shut-ting its doors anytime soon. Most news-papers discontinued the use of Linotypes over 40 years ago and were replaced with offset lithography printing and computer typesetting.

Jinshan's finest produce

Yan Junjie has not been a farmer for more than ten years, but given his current profession and its intricate ties to farming, he reckons he can be considered a peasant.

Gadgets around us will keep getting smarter

Our cars, our homes, our appliances and even our toys: Things around us are going to keep getting smarter. In 2016, we'll entrust even more of our lives and their intimate details to machines - not to mention the companies that run them.

A look back, and a technology wish list for 2016

This past year brought lots of new products, services and features - including a few that even managed to improve everyday life.

Belles at the ball