Picture of the Day

Dragon boat race celebrates Dai New Year: Dragon Boat Competition is held on Lancang River in Jinghong, Xishuangbanna, southwest China's Yunnan Province on April 13,2006. Activities celebrating the New Year 1368 in Dai Ethnic Group Calendar and the 2006 Splashing Water Festival kicked off here On Thursday.

Local Story

Already parents, Salem couple have enough love to adopt five more: Not long ago, Maudie Samiee took her five girls to Central Oregon for a "shop till you drop" day. They were having a blast browsing through the specialty stores in Sisters when a woman approached Maudie and asked whether she was a tour guide.

China Related TV

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

China Scrolls

My husband and I adopted our daughter Maya from China on June 28, 2004. Like many of you, we were moved by the faces of the children who were left behind, and have sought out various ways to support those children ever since.

We are excited to introduce our new web site to you, www.ScrollsFromChina.com , which showcases stunning, handmade scroll paintings done by older Chinese orphans. Not only do we buy the scrolls from the children at a fair price, helping these children earn some money of their own, but the scrolls themselves are worth buying because they are so beautiful. We have several in our home!

Please visit our site and take a look for yourself. Also, be sure to visit our photo gallery to see photos of the young artists and where they live.

Sandstorm

Beijing hit by eighth sandstorm: The Chinese capital, Beijing, has been hit by its eight - and worst - sandstorm of the year.

[Picture from this link]

Local Story

Trans-racial adoption debate rages: While the rhetoric has softened in recent years, those who prefer race-matching argue that white families cannot provide minority children all the racial and cultural supports that same-race families can.

News

China's Three Gorges Dam nears completion: Thirteen years after construction began on the controversial Three Gorges Dam on China's biggest river, work on the project often compared to the Great Wall in its scale is nearly complete.

Rural-urban income gap continues to widen: Nearly 40 per cent of farmers-turned-labourers earn an average monthly wage of about 500-800 yuan (US$62-US$100), according to a recent survey conducted by the Research Office of the State Council.

Bush to talk tough on trade with Chinese leader: Despite recent concessions by his government, Chinese President Hu Jintao can still expect a grilling on a host of US trade complaints at long-awaited summit talks this week.

China Related TV

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

Happy Easter

Featured Flickr Photo

DSC00318.jpg


(Courtesy of speedyop)

Picture of the Day

A photo shows prosperous peach blossoms in Tian'anmen Square of Beijing, capital of China. Many potted peach flowers were recently put on Tian'anmen Square, making the renowned place increasingly attractive.

Google in China

Google launches Chinese service: Google has launched its Chinese service with bullish growth forecasts and a robust defence of its decision to limit user access to certain internet sites

Google's 'old dog' taught Chinese tricks: Google will now be known in Chinese as Gu Ge, which means "harvest song" and is a more melodious moniker than the unofficial alternatives currently used in China for the company. Some Chinese media and internet users have in the past merely used Google's English name, while others have variously dubbed the company "Gougou" and "Gugou" - which mean "doggy" and "old hound".

Chief Says Google Won't Fight Chinese Censorship: Google's chief executive, Eric E. Schmidt, whose technology company has been sharply criticized for complying with Chinese censors, said today that Google was not lobbying to change the country's censorship laws and, for now, had no plans to do so.

News

Music mega-stores hit China: Most music and movies in China are sold in stores so small that sometimes only the casual glimpse through a doorway alerts passers-by to a shop packed with discs for as little as US$1 apiece.

Villagers, Police Clash in South China: Thousands of villagers clashed with police in southern China over government plans to tear down sluice gates built for irrigation.

Picture of the Day

Photo shows the Pamirs Plateau in the sun in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Surrounded by Tianshan Mountains, Kunlun Mountains, and Karakorum Mountains, the Pamirs Plateau has an average altitude of over 4000 meters. The Tajik people living on the plateau are well-known for their hardworking, braveness, honesty and generosity, as well as various ethnic customs.

Appleton FCC in the News

Chinese adoptees learn a cultural connection: "Very cool," says 10-year-old Michaela Kaun of Neenah, describing Saturday dance classes at Valley Academy of the Arts. Cool and cultural.

News

Renovation of Confucius's hometown finished: A watchtower on the renovated city wall of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in Qufu, the birthplace of China's preeminent philosopher Confucius, in east China's Shandong Province. The city has been finished its four-year renovation project for the 4800-meter wall recently, which was first erected between 1512 and 1522 to protect the Confucius Temple in Qufu.

2,300-year-old Ding Returned to China: A 2,300-year-old bronze ding, or tripod, returned to China from Europe on Monday to a new home in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

US urges China to clean up environment: The United States urged China on Tuesday to clean up its environment ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, as China's top environmental agency warned Beijing citizens to stay home to avoid serious air pollution.

News

China Digs Into Mystery of Missing Peking Man Fossils: It's a mystery that has baffled the world for more than half a century. Whatever happened to the fossils of the prehistoric human ancestor known as Peking Man?

Stones rock full house in China: The Rolling Stones have played their first concert on mainland China to a packed audience at Shanghai's Grand Stage venue.

Stones tracks censored in China: Chinese authorities have asked the Rolling Stones to cut five songs when they play in Shanghai - one more than when they were due to perform in 2003.

China wrestles with online gamers: Internet cafes do not often look up to much but, for the country's 30 million online gamers, they offer a means of escape to worlds far, far beyond.

Featured Flickr Photo

(Courtesy of Phil~)

Local Story

Special link to a faraway homeland: Debbie Hoffman adopted two baby daughters from China several years ago. Over time, Lucy, 7, and Catherine, 6, have become increasingly Americanized, but the single mother wants her girls to maintain a connection with their place of birth.

China Related TV

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

Chinese Speed Skaters

Last weekend our family went to a heat of the 2006 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Minneapolis. I was able to get some pictures of the Chinese skaters.

Meng Wang

Tianyu Fu

Xiaolei Cheng

Haonan Li

Here is a write-up about the event.

Preserving Old Photos and Slides

I've previously posted about Photomax.com and how they provide digital prints for $0.12 each. That is a fantastic deal.

If you have boxes of old photos or 35 mm slides, you may want to look at the Photomax PhotoSaver service. With PhotoSaver, you send in your photos or slides to Photomax's world-class photo preservation facility (located in Provo UT) where your photos are carefully cleaned, digitized, and placed online in your personal account on photomax.com. Your pictures are returned to you along with a CD of the digital photos.

I personally have been using it for the last two months as I go through a stack of slide carousels that my parents have kept in the basement for almost 40 years! I'm going to surprise them this year for Christmas with a CD of all the pictures. (Shhh . . . don't tell! ) My next project will be to digitize all of the adoption photos I took with traditional film. I want to make sure these are preserved forever.

If you're interested in digitizing your traditional photos or slides, I recommend Photomax. I am a Platinum member of Photomax (and a very satisfied customer), so anyone I refer gets 20 free 4x6 prints, a free 8x10, and 5 Gb of free on-line storage . . . just for creating a free user account.

Create a free user account here.

Village by Danxia caves

Village by Danxia caves, living fossil: Taining County in southeast China's Fujian Province is known for the Danxia landform, boasting the most complete terra types and biggest area in provinces in southeast China. Corrosion and running water have formed rock caves of various shapes there. There are nearly 100 big rock caves in Taining, with 72 having records of human activities, called "72 caves" by the locals. The Danxia caves were endowed with different functions in history. The small ones were nests of birds, and big ones used as temples and houses, forming a unique view combining human and nature.

China's "Leaning Tower of Pisa"

China's "Leaning Tower of Pisa" in danger: Built in Liao Dynasty, the leaning tower in Huludao, northeast China's Liaonin province is now 10 meters high and inclines 12 degrees to the northeast. The tower has undergone numerous earthquake- and flood-induced damages, but remained intact. Experts called on relevant departments to step up effort in protecting the tower.

Qingming Festival

Ceremony Honors Chinese Ancestor: April 5, the date of the tomb-sweeping, or Qingming Festival, is a traditional day for Chinese to pay homage to their ancestors and late relatives and to sweep their graves. Every year a grand ceremony at the mausoleum in Huangling, Shaanxi Province, honors the Yellow Emperor, the legendary ancestor of the nation.

News

Umbrellas on banned list at China Three Gorges Dam: China's Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydro-electro project, opened again to tourists this week -- on the condition they don't bring canned drinks, video camera or, bizarrely, umbrellas.

The high price paid by China's miners: Profit-hungry mine owners are desperate to take advantage of soaring coal prices and often ignore safety precautions in an effort to increase production. And Chinese miners are paying the price.

News

Rolling Stone Silenced in China: The rock 'n' roll publication entered the Chinese market early this month with a huge splash, including billboard advertisements, a 125,000-copy roll-out and free Rolling Stone hats with each magazine. On Wednesday, regulators said they would not allow it to publish a second issue.

China moves to close unsafe mines: China says it will shut down all small coal mines by 2007 in an attempt to improve the industry's safety record.

More Chinese Honor Deceased on Internet: As this year's traditional Qingming Festival sets in, more Chinese are choosing to honor their deceased relatives on the Internet, rather than at grave sites.

Featured Flickr Photo

Tai Chi in white
Besides the Tai Chi classes at work in the early morning in this Guiyang square you can see some experienced individuals doing their thing.

(Courtesy of Rob Millenaar)

NPR Story

Chinese Tax Chopsticks to Save Environment: China's Ministry of Finance announces a new plan to save millions of trees. It's imposing a tax on chopsticks. The Chinese -- and overseas lovers of Chinese food -- use 15 billion disposable wooden chopsticks each year. The chopstick tax is part of an effort by the Chinese government to protect its rapidly deteriorating environment.

News

China open to visit from Dalai Lama: China suggested Monday that it was open to a visit from the Dalai Lama and to establishing ties with the Vatican. The Dalai Lama, exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, announced last month that he hoped to travel to China on a pilgrimage.

China Related TV

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

Featured Flickr Photo

Rain
I was able to find shelter in a small shrine.

(Courtesy of Rob Millenaar)