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)