China's great cloud of construction dust: Chinese leaders have a tradition of ambitious schemes—Great Leaps, Great Walls, Long Marches and the like—but never before has the world seen a bricks-and-mortar transformation of the nation like the one now under way.
A mother and child, weighing a total of [126 lbs.] and with arms outstretched, sit on a huge lotus leaf which draws lots of visitors to the Xi'an Botanic Park in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province. The leaf of the mature King Lotus, from Paraguay, can hold considerable weight while floating on the water. (link)
Adoption builds a family: Dave and Kim Schomer, of Connellsville, always wanted to be parents but had difficulty making their dream come true. After struggling with years of infertility, the Schomers decided to consider adoption.
New Tallest Man Found in Inner Mongolia: A herdsman from North China's Inner Mongolia has been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the tallest naturally-growing human being.
Ten Unique Customs in Guanzhong Plain: The Guanzhong Plain (also known as Central Shannxi Plain) has played a vital role in the development of Chinese history. Some special local cultures and customs were gradually formed in the long development process. Some of the ten oddities of local customs are as follows.
Family planning policy saves China 300 mln births: China's total fertility rate has dropped to around 1.8 since the nation started to exercise its family planning policy in the 1970s, which is 1.2 or 1.3 points lower than other countries or regions of the same economic development level and has saved China the birth of 300 million people.
Population program "much more than" fertility control: Chinese population program is not merely a fertility control program as many people believe, but "much more than that" with a number of "positive developments", a United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said.
(Note -- This article is likely to offend.)
CHINESE TAKEAWAYS—Day 1 . . . the American child adoption factory: Breakfast ends at the White Swan Hotel and it is time for a group photograph. There are 21 adults, all beaming. And 11 baby girls, all Chinese. Instant families courtesy of the White Swan Express.
