Helping with Adoption Costs

Affording Adoption contains a number of resources for those who need help affording the costs of adoption, including grants, loans, and fundraiser ideas.

(Thanks Patti from APC!)

Images of Asia

The book Asia Grace contains stunning pictures of Asia. These images are also available on-line.

Co-founder of the digital culture magazine Wired, Kevin Kelly leads a double life: cyber-culture editor and independent photographer. For the past thirty years, and completely independently of his work on Wired, he has been traveling the far reaches of Asia photographing the ins and outs of daily life. Kelly has the unique perspective of someone who lives in the digital fast lane and yet craves to experience and understand cultures far different from his own. In approximately 600 stunning, richly-colored images, with no text whatsoever, Kelly shares his vision of Asia from East to West, from Afghanistan to Japan. The scope of this book is so vast, flipping through the pages is like a journey, more akin to an epic film than a book. In Kelly's words: "My book is a wordless experience in remote Asia. The idea is that you open the book and fall into it. You become immersed in Asia."

Beijing in 2008!

Olympic Closing Ceremony

Chinese colors at closing ceremony of Athens Olympic Games

News

Cartoon cat sparks row in China: A copyright infringement row over cartoon cat Garfield has set fur flying in China. US firm Paws Incorporated has accused three Chinese companies of publishing Garfield books without permission.

China acts to tackle Aids spread: China has for the first time introduced laws specifically targeting the spread of Aids and outlawing discrimination against victims of infectious diseases. China's regions must also strengthen Aids prevention programmes, including tightening up blood donation measures. Some 840,000 people in China have HIV, which causes Aids, officials say.

China's pearl industry boom: The Deching region of China is home to one of the country's most traditional industries, pearl farming. Its abundant fresh water lakes are filled with China's most prized pearls.

Cashing in on Tibet's religious traditions: On an early afternoon at Sera monastery, just outside Lhasa, Tibetan monks debate theology in time-honoured tradition across a leafy sunlit courtyard. It could be a scene from centuries past, were it not for the presence of a grinning tourist standing alongside a monk, mimicking his movements for a holiday snap.

China Olympic Gold

A complete list of the Chinese gold medal winners at the Athens 2004 Olympics can be found at this page. China had 32 gold medals, second only the the USA's 35 medals.

China Related TV Guide

China Sprout posts a much-appreciated weekly guide for China Related TV listings.

China Olympic Gold

Hu Jia crowned in men's 10m platform in Athens: Hu Jia, Sydney silver medallist from China, was crowned in the men's 10m platform final here on Saturday, finishing the competition with 748.08 points.

China Olympic Gold

Chen wraps up China's gold rush with 32nd gold: China's Chen Zhong delivered Chinese delegation a perfect happy ending Sunday, winning its 32ndand final gold at the Athens Games in defending her Olympic title in taekwondo women's over 67kg class.

Hero

If you liked the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, you'll love the movie Hero!

Nameless (Jet Li) is called to the Kingdom of Qin to tell his story on how he was able to defeat three of the most infamous assassins from the Zhao Empire: Broken Sword (Tony Leung), Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung), and Sky (Donnie Yen). What becomes of this session with the Emperor will not only change Nameless, but the fate of a nation.

Read a review here, and visit the official movie site at www.herothemovie.com. (Note that the movie is in Chinese with subtitles.)

Beautiful China

Shades

China Olympic Gold

China's Xing Huina wins Olympic women's 10,000m gold: China's Xing Huina came from nowhere to win the Olympic gold medal in women's 10,000m race in Athens on August 27. The 20-year-old Xing, making her first Olympic appearance, clocked a winning time of 30 minutes 24.36 seconds.

China Olympic Gold

Liu Xiang makes history by winning men's 110m hurdles: China's Liu Xiang became the first Asian in history to win the men's 110m hurdles at the Olympic Games in Athens on August 27. He also broke the Olympic record of 12.95 seconds set by Allen Johnson of the United States in the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996.

China Olympic Gold

China wins first women's volleyball in 20 years in Olympics: China embraced its first volleyball Olympic title in 20 years after beating Russia 3-2 in the women's final on Saturday. The Chinese players dived to the floor to celebrate the well-deserved victory after Zhang Yuehong smashed home the match winner.

Twelve Girls Band

Everyone is raving about the Twelve Girls Band! You can order their album Eastern Energy from Amazon.com.

Just In Case

Just in case anyone reading this blog lives near Baraboo, WI, here are a couple of class that might be of interest:

Chinese Calligraphy: Learn the basics of Chinese calligraphy and the philosophy behind it from a native Chinese calligrapher. No experience necessary.

Chinese Culture Series Four individual classes: Authentic Chinese Food, Tour China with Pu, Spiritually Chinese, and Artistically Chinese.

For everyone else, check your community colleges for these types of classes! If they have them in Baraboo, they've gotta have 'em at a location near you!

Racist Love

The NPR commentary Elizabeth Chin: Life as an Interracial Family is highly insightful.

Commentator Elizabeth Chin has an interracial family, and its not something that she can forget too readily -- at least not when the family steps out of the house.

(Thanks asa from APC!)

New Feature

You can now e-mail a China Adoption News blog entry to someone by clicking on the mail icon!

Ladybug T-Shirt

The Kids Gap has a ladybug cotton knit t-shirt for sale.

(Thanks Lisa from APC!)

China Olympic Gold

Guo takes second gold in women's 3m springboard: Reigning synchronized 3m springboard Olympic champion Guo Jingjing breezed to the individual title for her second Olympic gold here Thursday in the diving pool. The 24-year-old clinched the fifth diving gold for China in seven events when she scored 633.15 points in five dives.

China Olympic Gold

Taekwondo players grab 2 golds for Chinese Taipei: Chen Shih Hsin (in red) of Chinese Taibei wins the final match of the women's 49kg category against Yanelis Labrada Diaz of Cuba to get the gold at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games August 26, 2004.

News

Bad Weather Ravages China: As of Thursday morning, no casualties had been reported in eastern Fujian Province after the year's second strongest typhoon, Aere, made landfall at Fuqing City at around 4:30 PM Wednesday.

China Will Use Ping-Pong to Influence Hong Kong Elections: More than three decades after China used Ping-Pong diplomacy to start resuming ties with the United States, Beijing is trying it again—this time in an attempt to influence elections in Hong Kong. [free reg. req.]

China Fears Once and Future Kingdom: Highlighting history's weight in modern Asia, China and South Korea, two of the region's closest economic partners, tried to patch over the sharpest crisis in 12 years of diplomatic relations by agreeing Tuesday to discuss calmly the boundaries of a kingdom that disappeared from maps 1,300 years ago. [free reg. req.]

Ladybug Toy

QVC.com has a set of cute ladybug toys.

Charm your child with an interactive toy that's cute as a bug! From Kidz Delight, three brightly colored ladybugs graduate in size for the ultimate in learning fun. The ladybugs roll along the floor, stack, or nest inside the daddy ladybug. The baby ladybug giggles, plays a song, and blinks its spots when pushed along the floor. Encourages the development of hand-eye coordination.

(Thanks Brenda from APC!)

Social Commentary

An editorial cartoon from China:

A young man is pushing a cart full of elders up a hill, and one of them says, "Son, we're all counting on you."

Editorial Cartoon

This Chinese editorial cartoon pokes fun at the US:

It shows a man in an "American Plastic Surgery" office, and the doctor is asking, "So, which do you like?"

China Olympic Gold

Peng Bo wins 3m diving gold: Peng Bo from China celebrates his gold medal in the 3 metre springboard diving competition at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games August 24, 2004.

China Olympic Gold

Zou Secures 1st Ever Olympic Boxing Medal for China: Light flyweight Zou Shiming achieved a historic breakthrough for Chinese boxing as he beat his Armenian opponent on points 20-12 Tuesday to secure the first ever Olympic boxing medal for his country at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

News

Giant panda Pei Pei dies: 33-year-old giant panda Pei Pei eats bamboo shoots in Hangzhou Zoo, east China's Zhejiang Province in this May 31, 2004 file photo. The zoo authorities announced Tuesday that Pei Pei, after living in the zoo for 30 years.

Chinese Mummy to Star on Nat Geo: People all over the world think of Egypt when talking about body preservation and mummies, but how many people know that some of the best-preserved bodies in the world are actually in China?

China on alert as typhoon nears: The Chinese mainland is bracing itself for tropical typhoon Aere, which has already battered Taiwan.

China's students flock to Europe: Li Keji and Luo Weiqi work long hours to pay for their education. But unlike most Chinese students, they are studying on the other side of the world, in the English city of York.

China extends drugs fight: China has launched a nationwide anti-drugs campaign in entertainment venues.

China says pigs clear of bird flu: The Chinese government says tests have found that its pigs are clear of a highly virulent strain of bird flu.

China Related TV Guide

China Sprout posts a much-appreciated weekly guide for China Related TV listings.

Airport Tax in China

No more "extra" lines! A news update from FlyChina.com

Beginning September 1, 2004, China's airports will stop collect airport construction fee at airports. Instead, the fee will added to air tickets as airport taxes. The airport taxes are 90 Yuan RMB (US$10.87) for each international departure, and 50 Yuan RMB (US$6.04) for each China domestic departure, respectively. Connecting flights are subject to the airport taxes as well. The change makes it easier for the travellers. In USA and many other countries, those taxes are being collected with air tickets. Since there are many taxes for each ticket, it is not unusual that a US-China ticket has a total tax amount of over $120. Tax amounts vary with destinations, routes and carriers.

(Thanks Sara from APC!)

China Olympic Gold

China wins 100th Summer Olympic gold: Top-ranked paddler Zhang Yining awarded China its 100th gold at the Summer Olympics as she beat DPR Korean Kim Hyang Mi in four straight sets Sunday to win the women's singles table tennis title at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

The historic 100-gold mark was reached after the United States gave a timely helping hand when its shooter Matthew Emmons misfired the last shot to give the men's 50m rifle 3 positions gold to Chinese Jia Zhanbo.

With these two titles, China is now head to head with the United States at the top of the gold tally, each with 20 golds.

News

China celebrates Deng centenary: China has been celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Deng Xiaoping, its late supreme leader.

In pictures—Deng centenary

Bug-Themed Birthday

Last year, Emily had an Egyptian-themed birthday party. This year, it was BUGS!

First, we started with some extra bug eyes.
Next, party "blow horns" with velcro attached on the end was used to catch bugs. (Velcro was put on the backs of the bugs.)
For craft time, the girls made "Don't Bug Me" signs for their doors.
The big activity was a "dung beetle" race. The "dung" was styrofoam spheres painted brown. The kids had to push it with their nose!
Of course, the kids had to eat gummy worms in "dirt" (pudding and crushed Oreos)!

Beautiful China

China Olympic Gold

China snatches 2nd table tennis gold: Chinese Ma Lin and Chen Qi beat the Chinese Hong Kong duo of Li Ching/Ko Lai Chak 4-2 at the men's doubles final at the Olympic Games here on Saturday.

China Olympic Gold

Chinese Wang/Zhang win table tennis women's doubles gold: Despite the unfavorable draw rule changes which ruled out any all-Chinese final in the doubles events, China clinched its first gold in the table tennis tournament of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games in women's doubles Friday, August 20.

News

No Tips for Tour Guides: The Shanghai Tourism Administrative Commission said Friday it forbids travel guides from asking for tips or charging any kind of commission in advance, following the national tourism administration regulation that tourist guides are not allowed to request tips.

Avian flu 'discovered in pigs': Scientists in China say they have discovered a highly virulent strain of bird flu virus in pigs.

China faces elderly dilemma: China, the world's most populous country, is now crowned with another title: one of the world's most rapidly aging nations. According to statistics from the National Population and Family Planning Commission (NPFPC), the country's top population policy-maker, residents who are 65 or older already accounted for 7.1 per cent of the overall population at the end of 2001.

News

China implements "Green Card" system: China has officially started to implement its own "Green Card" system, which allows foreigners to apply for permanent residence in China.

India population 'to be biggest': India is set to overtake China as the world's most populous nation by 2050, while some countries will shrink by nearly 40%, according to new research.

Sun-shy female commuters fuel an Asian fad: Part hat, part mask, part visor, it's a new piece of bicycle headgear that only Darth Vader—and scads of Asian women—could love.

In Crackdown, China Shuts Buddhist Site and Seizes Catholic Priests: An American Buddhist group that spent $3 million renovating an 800-year-old temple in rural northern China said Wednesday that police officers and soldiers took back the temple last week by arresting its spiritual leader and forcibly removing 70 Chinese and a small group of Americans.

China Olympic Gold

China Wins 3 Golds in Badminton, Weightlifting: China get its 14th gold medals at the ongoing summer Olympics in Athens when Zhang Jun/Gao Ling beat a British pair in the women's badminton mixed doubles Thursday.

The Price of Gold

Time Asia magazine has an article about the long and painful road through China'a "althlete factories" — The Price of Gold.

One by one, the little girls walk to the wooden blocks and extend their legs into the splits, one callused foot balancing on each block, their straining bodies hovering just above the ground. Coach Yang Yaojun, his sweatpants hiked high over his belly, ambles over to the girls, smiles and hands the nearest one a stopwatch. The girls, who are six and seven years old, do not smile back. Teetering on the blocks, they wait as Yang straddles each leg in turn, resting his 70-kg frame on their outstretched limbs. No matter how tough the girls are, no matter how much resolve they have mustered, the tears come within seconds.

News

China grabs 5 more golds, tops the medal tally: China geared up to sweep five more golds in shooting, weightlifting, diving and swimming, with the most precious gold from Luo Xuejuan, who swam on lane 1 to triumph in the women's 100m breaststroke final. China perches atop the medal tally with 10 golds and Australia is second with six, followed by Japan on five and the United States three.

Beijing Subways Improve Access for Handicapped: Work will start in Beijing this month to make the city's subway stations more convenient for the handicapped. The focus of the work on the city's No. 1 and No. 2 subway lines will be restrooms, tactile paths for the blind, telephones, signs and elevators.

China Olympic Gold

Chinese lifters revive expectations with 2 golds in Athens: Chinese lifters Monday revived the great expectations for the weightlifting powerhouse after two daysof silver-taking performances at the Athens Olympics, sweeping golds in both women's 58kg class and men's 62kg.

China Olympic Gold

Luo Xuejuan wins in women's 100m breaststroke: Triple world champion Luo Xuejuan led the field to win the women's 100m breaststroke title Monday in the Olympic swimming pool.

China Olympic Gold

China claims women's 10m platform victory in Athens: Lao Lishi and Li Ting cruised to the third diving gold for China Monday at the Olympic Games here as the pair of teenagers triumphed in the women's 10m synchronized platform event.

China Related TV Guide

China Sprout posts a much-appreciated weekly guide for China Related TV listings.

China in the Olympics

Tian/Yang win men's synchronized 10m platform gold: Tian Liang and Yang Jinghui won China's second gold medal in diving from the men's synchronized 10m platform at the 28th Olympic Games on Saturday

China in the Olympics

Xian takes Olympic gold for China: Chinese female judoka Xian Dongmei claimed the 52kg title on Sunday, beating Japanese Yuki Yokosawa in less than one minute in the final.

China in the Olympics

China's Guo/Wu win women's 3m synchronized springboard diving: Chinese diver Guo Jingjing was finally crowned at the Olympic Games after two failed attempts, winning the women's three-meter synchronized springboard event with partner Wu Minxia at the Athens Olympics.

Beautiful China

News

Du Li of China wins Athens' first gold medal: China's Du Li clinched the first gold medal of the Athens Olympics after she won the women's 10m air rifle event on Saturday.

Wang Yifu wins 2nd gold for China at Athens Olympics: Wang Yifu of China won the men's 10m air pistol gold medal at the Athens Olympic Games here on Saturday.

New danger for Chinese quake zone: Nearly 50,000 people in south-west China face the threat of reservoir dams collapsing as a result of Tuesday's earthquake. Four people were killed, hundreds injured and more than 125,000 left homeless in Ludian county, Yunnan province, by the 5.6 magnitude tremor.

Scores killed by Chinese typhoon: A powerful typhoon has struck eastern China, killing at least 115 people. More than 1,800 others are reported to have been injured after the typhoon hit the coastal city of Wenling, in Zhejiang province.

Three Articles on One-Child Policy

Chinese given perks to have girls: A pilot programme in rural China is offering cash and other incentives to families who have daughters. Families with girls get free schooling and better housing.

Nation to curb population growth through reward: Unlike most other Chinese women farmers her age, 64-year-old Lian Zhengfang only has child. And because of that, Lian is rewarded by the government. From this year on, Lian will be granted 600 yuan (72.55 US dollars) in subsidies by the government each year until her death.

China Offers Perks to Stop Aborting Baby Girls: Rural families in China, where there is a traditional bias for boys, are being offered cash incentives to stop aborting baby girls and help correct a sex imbalance. Under the "Care for Girls" pilot program, girls would be exempted from paying school fees, insurance would be given to households until their daughters grow up and families with just one daughter would enjoy housing, employment, education and welfare privileges.

Seeing Double

With a little help from Photoshop, Emily gets the car washed in half the time!

Chinese Embroidery

A Young Woman Devoted to An Ancient Art: Mudu, a water town on the western outskirts of Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, is famous for its numerous gardens. More than 30 private gardens were built here during the Ming and Qing dynasties, forming a tranquil and graceful environment that embraces many historic legends. In recent years, many sites have been restored including the Yan Clan Garden, Hongyin Mountain Villa, Former Residence of Feng Guifen and the Ancient Pine Garden.

The Ancient Pine Garden, aside from the beauty of its landscaping, possesses a very special charm that stems from the art studio tucked into the rear of the garden.

Yao Jianping's Embroidery Art Studio, named after the curator and chief artist herself, covers just under half a hectare of land and its design combines both Chinese and Western styles. With an investment of 3 million yuan (US$360,000) by the Mudu town government, it was completed last October and opened to visitors on March 28 this year.

You can visit the website of the Embroidery Research Institute of Yaojianping here.

Taiwan

The BBC News has two informative articles about Taiwan:

Timeline—Taiwan: A chronology of key events

Country profile—Taiwan: Taiwan is the island which has for all practical purposes been independent for half a century but which China regards as a renegade province that must be re-united with the mainland.

Local Story

Seminar focuses on adopting Chinese children: Patricia Cercopely went halfway around the world to adopt her daughter, and she's thinking about doing it all again. Cercopely, who adopted a baby girl from China more than two years ago, will help present a free seminar about adopting children from China Saturday, Aug. 14 at 11 a.m. at the Watauga County Public Library.

News

Chinese riot after Japan victory: Chinese football fans have rioted in Beijing after Japan won Asia's prized football championship in a tense final. Fans burned Japanese flags, shouted obscenities and sang patriotic songs outside the stadium (See also the Real Audio video clip here.)

Secret Recipes of Shaolin: The newly-rebuilt Shaolin Medical Industry, affiliated to the famous Shaolin Temple in Songshan Mountain of central China's Henan Province, has revealed some of its secret medical recipes to the world through its official website (www.shaolin.org.cn).

Human Activity Threatens Mount Qomolangma: A senior scientist warned Sunday that human carelessness is putting the delicate ecological balance of Mount Qomolangma in peril. China Association for Scientific Expedition President Gao Dengyi revealed an alarming 615 tons of waste were dumped by visitors to the peak between 1921 and 1999.

China Related TV Guide

China Sprout posts a much-appreciated weekly guide for China Related TV listings.

Local Story

A Welcome to Lily: Little Lily's arrival in Cumbria is a dream come true for her parents Alison and Andrew Bernard, who adopted the 17-month-old Chinese orphan after 15 years of longing for a child. No wonder Alison keeps getting up in the night to look in Lily's cot and check she's really there, a much loved part of the family.

Chinese Images

Dover's Chinese Designs: CD-ROM and Book contains "351 high-quality permission-free illustrations, scanned at 600 DPI and saved in six different formats (TIFF, PICT, EPS, JPEG, GIF, and BMP)."

The perfect enhancement to any project with an Oriental theme, these versatile and easy-to-reproduce illustrations offer artists, designers, and craftpeople a tremendous variety of design options.

Panda Softsoap

Softsoap now has a dispenser with a panda "attached to each pump to encourage kids to wash their hands." It is from their Rainforest Series.

Beautiful China

Adoption Story

Asiance Magazine featured the article A Gift Of Love.

What mother does not want to wake up to a sweet innocent voice gently whispering in her ear, "Mama, I love you. You are my best friend"? And that's how my neighbor, Andrea, wakes up every morning to the face of a toddler with large luminous eyes and wispy hair looking down at her sleepy form. Mother and daughter is an unlikely pair: Andrea is a Messianic Jew and Estee Li Li is of Chinese descent.

Sisters?

Dear Abby tackles the question, "Are they real sisters?" in a matter-of-fact way. (The question is near the bottom of the page.)

(Thanks Penny from APC!)

News

The Jade of China, Alive With Meaning Yet Glossily Elusive: Abook called "A Treatise on Superfluous Things" was a manual of style for climbers in the courts of the Ming dynasty. It skipped over the basics that everyone knew—you should be nice to your parents; only emperors wear yellow—to give tips on fine points of discrimination in luxury items. Jade is among the materials discussed. And at first glance, "superfluous" seems just the word for the preposterously exquisite jade objects, from scepters to table screens to paperweights, on display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's reinstalled galleries for Chinese decorative arts. [NYT, reg. req.]

China jails fake milk sellers: Two Chinese men have been jailed for selling fake milk powder in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui. The government says 12 babies died from starvation after drinking the formula. Local press reports say as many as 50 babies died.

Wife Beating Grows in China as Economy Roars Ahead: Xiao Li, a 32-year-old nurse, still weeps when she recalls the first time her tour guide fiance beat her up. The couple was bickering over how to renovate a newly purchased apartment in Beijing when the argument dissolved into shoves and punches in full view of neighbors and security guards.

China knife killer 'had job fears': The doorman who stabbed 15 children and three teachers in a Beijing nursery on Wednesday may have been worried about losing his job. The nursery is to shut in September, prompting speculation that Xu Heping—who has a history of mental illness—feared being made redundant.

Local Story

Minister shares adoption story: Among the billions of people in the world, there are those destined to be together, no matter the distance or painful length of time it takes to reach that kindred spirit.

Books

Looking for great books at bargain prices? You might want to stop by Little Treasures Books.

We strive hard to find the best titles and work with several distributors in order to keep our inventory stocked with great books. Some of the categories are a little harder to find, but we are continuously looking for books that fit our "Multicultural Family Community."

Featured Homepage

Mark and Melissa have a great homepage!

Savannah said Mama for the first time today, naturally we were both elated. She continues to adjust to her new surroundings and language. She definately has "no" down.

One-Child Policy

China's reverse baby bonus

Shifting from its policy of punishment, China rewards rural couples for having kept their families small. China is to dole out the carrot in the form of cash rewards to encourage rural families to stop at one child or at most two. The pilot project marks a radical shift in a draconian family planning policy that has so far emphasised punitive measures.

At a ceremony on Sunday, 67-year-old Zhao Shuqi and his wife were among several couples in the city of Qiqihar in Heilongjiang province who received a certificate of honour and a passbook for having observed the national family planning policy. In all, 5,084 rural residents of this city will receive 600 yuan ($126) annually for the rest of their lives.

[ ... ]

NPR Special

China, considered the next world superpower in the making, has surpassed Japan as Asia's economic dynamo. In a seven-part series on Morning Edition, NPR's Rob Gifford sets out on a 3,000-mile, 14-day trek across China, and discovers just how far the world's most populous nation has to go to catch up with its potential.

(Thanks Shannon from APC!)

News

Man stabs 15 kindergarten children in Beijing: A doorman at a kindergarten in Beijing, went on a rampage on Wednesday morning, stabbing 15 children and three teachers. One child died later due to serious injury and blood loss.

Germany targets human traffickers: Police in Germany have arrested at least 12 men in dramatic raids on rings suspected of smuggling in illegal immigrants from China and North Africa.

China to hold fake beauty pageant: Plastic surgeons around the world are being given the chance to show off their talents, in a new artificial beauty pageant in China. A contest will be held in October among women who have undergone cosmetic surgery.

China Related TV Guide

China Sprout posts a much-appreciated weekly guide for China Related TV listings.

News

New Baiyun Airport Officially Declared Open: Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport has been declared officially open by Yang Yuanyuan, director of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China. Flight operations will begin on Thursday.

China to provide free condoms to HIV/AIDS patients: Struggling to contain a looming public health catastrophe, the Chinese government said it would provide free condoms to all sufferers of HIV/AIDS.

Beijing to spend millions on new toilets: In the back streets of the Chinese capital, a new cultural revolution is gathering momentum. A multi-million dollar renovation of the city's public toilets is under way

Local Stories

International adoption: James and Siubhan Bongiovanni picked out the name Marilla for the baby girl they would adopt years later from China. After about a year and a half of paperwork and correspondence, they finally brought home baby Marilla on Sunday.

A day at the beach

Look at the Sea of People (Actually, It's a Chinese Beach): Zong Zhizhong peered from behind his blue wraparound sunglasses on Saturday afternoon at the spectacle that was No. 1 beach. The ocean was filled with thousands of people. The brown strip of sand was clotted with a sun-screened tangle of humanity. Mr. Zong, 41, a lifeguard, put the crowd at 50,000 people, maybe 60,000. He was not impressed. "Today is not crowded," he said. After all, he noted, the sky was cloudy and gray. [NYT, reg. req.]

Issues in Rural China

Amid China's Boom, No Helping Hand for Young Qingming: His dying debt was $80. Had he been among China's urban elite, Zheng Qingming would have spent more on a trendy cellphone. But he was one of the hundreds of millions of peasants far removed from the country's new wealth. His public high school tuition alone consumed most of his family's income for a year. [NYT, reg. req.]

News

China troops parade in Hong Kong: More than 3,000 Chinese troops have for the first time staged an Army Day parade in Hong Kong.

On Army Day, China Says Can Crush Taiwan Independence: China's defense minister marked Army Day Sunday by pledging the 2.5 million-strong military could crush any attempt at independence by Taiwan, echoing a tough message from his president to President Bush. [NYT, reg. req.]

Middle Class, Urban Poor Numbers Increasing: A growing number of Chinese will enter the ranks of the middle class in the coming decade, earning decent income and living in comfortable homes, reports the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), a central government think-tank.

China moves against internet porn: The Chinese authorities say they have shut down nearly 700 websites and arrested 224 people in a new campaign against internet pornography.

Bogus Clinton Book on Sale in China: Alfred A. Knopf, publishers of Bill Clinton's best-selling "My Life," say they haven't yet sold the Chinese-language rights to China. So China's copyright thieves have struck again, concocting their own versions. [NYT, reg. req.]

Beautiful China