Beautiful China

Dogs from China

Here boy! Heel! Please?: The 30 Chinese dogs that arrived at Kennedy Airport Wednesday night en route to the North Shore Animal League shelter in Port Washington may present an added challenge to potential new owners -- they don't understand English.

[I offer this story as information to the China adoption community, realizing how some feel about using the term "adoption" for animals. Please don't shoot the messenger!]

Local Story

Family's loving hearts make room for one more: The Hamilton household is filled with love. And that love has grown more special as the family has welcomed another child into the fold.

The Art of Tea

Some pictures of children performing ChaYi, or the Art of Tea.

China's Malls

China, New Land of Shoppers, Builds Malls on Gigantic Scale: Already, four shopping malls in China are larger than the Mall of America. Two, including the South China Mall, are bigger than the West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, which just surrendered its status as the world's largest to an enormous retail center in Beijing. And by 2010, China is expected to be home to at least 7 of the world's 10 largest malls. [NYT]

[The article includes a narrated slide show.]

Dear Birth Mother

NPR's All Things Considered recently produced a program, "Dear Birth Mother: A Story of 'Transracial Adoption'."

About a year ago, we aired a story about Suzanne, a single Chicago woman in her forties, as she attempted to get pregnant by in vitro fertilization. The procedure did not work. Shortly thereafter, Suzanne, who is white, decided she'd like to adopt an African-American baby -- it's called a "transracial adoption."

(Thanks asa from APC!)

Postcards from China

Helen from ChinaBooks recommends Postcards from China:

I have just finished reading the book 'Postcards from China' and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone wanting to get a picture of everyday life (of one town) in China today. The book is written by Sandra Slavin who left the US to live in Xiamen for 2 years (2000 - 2002) with her husband and adopted Chinese daughter. The book is the combined emails that Sandra Slavin sent to friends and family from China. It has definitely created in me the wish to move to China some day with my adopted child(ren).

News

Hollywood Hard for Asians, Says Zhang Ziyi: Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, star of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, is happy with a supporting role in Hollywood, where Asian performers like her will always struggle to compete.

Death by a Thousand Blogs: Mr. Li travels around China with an I.B.M. laptop and a digital camera, investigating cases of official wrongdoing. Then he writes about them on his Web site and skips town before the local authorities can arrest him.

News

Ground calligraphy popular among Chinese: Participators write on the ground during a ground calligraphy contest in Xiangfan, central China's Hubei Province. Ground calligraphy, using long brush pens soaked in water writing huge Chinese characters on the ground, is a creative branch of Chinese calligraphy, along with calligraphy with fingers.

Can China build its own Silicon Valley?: "Zhongguancun" doesn't roll off the Western tongue easily, but it will soon be an address that technology investors must learn. For 25 years, locales from Singapore to the south of France have tried to create their own Silicon Valleys, but the original's remarkable spirit has never been duplicated. China, however, is putting the finishing touches on its own Silicon Valley -- and this time, they may have found the recipe.

China rushes in bird flu vaccine: China has sent three million doses of bird flu vaccine to western Qinghai province after migrating wild geese were found there killed by the virus.

Standing Panda

Lesser panda standing on two legs charms Japanese zoo: A lesser panda is proving a hit at a zoo near Tokyo as it can stand on two legs like a human being for about 10 seconds, an unusual feat for the species. The two-year-old male panda named Futa stands up several times a day when "it sees something interesting." [via BoingBoing]