Build a Great Wall

OakridgeHobbies.com sells brick and mortar kits that let kids construct all sorts of famous buildings, including the Great Wall of China.

Experience the pride of building ready-to-display stone replicas of world famous architectural masterpieces, brick by brick! Mix the special mortar in the mini-sized wheelbarrow, then follow the step-by-step instructions for building each structure with real kiln-fired bricks! The special mortar dissolves in water, allowing you to build structures over and over again, plus create structures of your own design. Plus, for schools, since the special mortar dissolves in water,this allows students to create and build more structures of their own design, and teachers to use the kits year after year!

Writing Chinese on your computer

Asa from APC suggests this site to learn more about multilingual computing, including installing Chinese fonts on Windows and Macs.

China Related TV

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

Beautiful China

Picture of the Day

Gas Thief Escapes on Tricycle: Speeding from the scene of the crime, a Chinese boy tows a floating plastic bag of stolen natural gas last week. Flouting a government ban, farmers around the central Chinese town of Pucheng frequently filch gas from the local oil field.

New Stamps

HK issues "4 great inventions" stamps: Hong Kong Postmaster General Allan Chiang said at the special stamps issuing ceremony that in this new set of stamps entitled " Four Great Inventions of Ancient China", Hongkong Post showcases four revolutionary Chinese technologies -- the compass, printing, gunpowder and papermaking of which every Chinese is proud.

You can find out more about buying these stamps here.

Women Entrepreneurs in China

Four women who shape Beijing: Women like Hung make up almost 20 percent of the country's entrepreneurs, according to the China Association of Women Entrepreneurs. They're attracted, experts say, by an atmosphere that measures them largely by results rather than gender, by the allure of calling the shots, and by the chance to put their stamp on everything from Beijing's skyline to discovering new artists.

News

China's Sex Ratio at Birth Expanding: It was reported from the 4th National Women and Children Working Conference that in recent years China's sex ratio at birth kept expanding and the problem of children's deficiency at birth is evident and the number of AIDS orphans is increasing.

World famous mathematician slams academic corruption in China: If academic corruption in China can not be curbed, scientific and technological development in the country will be delayed by 20 years, world-known mathematician Shing-Tung Yau warned recently.

China Seeks Cheaper Labor Within Its Borders: China's economic boom has benefited its coastal areas the most. The government is now trying to hasten economic development in the country's midwest, which has traditionally been an agricultural area. Hefei, a nondescript city of four million, is illustrative of the drive for development. [Audio feed from NPR]

Chinese Culture

Qixi—the Chinese Valentine's Day: If it rains heavily on Thursday night, some elderly Chinese will say it is because Zhinu, or the Weaving Maid, is crying on the day she met her husband Niulang, or the Cowherd, on the Milky Way.

Featured Blog

Be sure to check out Do They Have Salsa in China?, another great China-adoption weblog.

We're Rod (laid-back tuba-player from Texas) and Mary-Mia (excitable, artsy girl from California). We're working toward adopting a baby from China, and this is our adoption blog. You'll see plenty of comments from the grandparents-to-be, who will be making the trip to China with us! So pick up that mouse and add a few of your own--it's easy, and your comments always make us smile.