Happy Halloween!

News

China's dying ethnic villages: Far from the glitz and glamour of China's booming cities, Guizhou province is home to many of the country's ethnic minorities.

Kite Culture Takes to the Air: A major exhibition of kite art and the art of kite flying from China's "kite capital," Weifang in Shandong Province, is now off the ground at Shanghai's Changfeng Park. More than 4,000 exquisite kites of various designs and shapes — including birds, ocean creatures, insects and cartoon characters — are on display.

Pizza Hut converts Chinese youth to western tastes, prices: Zhang Xianrong felt a little uneasy when she picked the fork and knife for her first-ever taste of pizza -- in celebration of her 25th birthday with her boyfriend Li Wenhua.

Anti-terror maneuver at the Three Gorges Dam: Armed policemen forcibly board a cargo ship when it, regardless of policemen's many times of warning moves into the Three Gorges Dam warning waters with dangerous articles on board.

Amazon.com

Thanks for all of those who clicked through the google ads. The blog gets a few cents for everyone who does that. I really appreciate it. I love doing the blog, since it keeps me focused on issues regarding China and China adoption.

I've also added another way to generate some small revenue for the blog. If I post an item that can be purchased from Amazon.com, I'll add a "Buy from Amazon" button that will add it to your shopping cart. (If you follow the hypertext link I add for the product, it will just take you to the product description.)

Anything you purchase from the "click-through" session link will give the China Adoption News blog a small percentage of the purchase.

Of course, the blog will go on regardless! I maintain the blog because I love it!! I'm just hoping to off-set some of the costs I've incurred maintaining the blog over the last year and a half.

Thanks!!

P.S. — I'd like your feedback. If you think the google ads or links to Amazon disctact from the blog, I'll take them off.

Mulan Special Edition!

The Mulan Special Edition DVD is a two disk set with extra content including commentary, deleted scenes, music videos, and a "six part look at the making of the film including story elements, early presentation reels, and a look at the production, design, and art of the film." In my opinion, the most exciting addition is an audio track in Mandarin!

Mulan a Disney Princess

Mulan is now an official Disney Princess. This website has games, activities, stories, etc. You can even schedule a call from one of the Disney Princesses!

(Thanks Kirby for the heads-up.)

Local Stories

Bliss family makes it an even dozen: With seven toothbrushes upstairs and five downstairs, the Blisses are officially a family of 12. . . . The Haitian children have joined the Bliss family, which consists of three birth children, ages 15, 11 and 4, and three adopted children ages 5, 4 and 2, who came from the United States, China and India.

Adopting a child of a different race, ethnicity is best faced head on: An increasing number of parents are adopting children of a different race or nationality and learning first to establish an atmosphere in their home that embraces differences of all kinds. Then the families must work to make sure their children are exposed to other people who look like they do.

News

Pandas benefit from wireless net: The world's dwindling panda population is getting a helping hand from a wireless internet network.

Eight dead from bubonic plague in China: At least eight people have died from an outbreak of bubonic plague in northwestern China but authorities said the disease has been brought under control. Nineteen cases were reported in four counties in Qinghai province this month and 11 people had recovered.

4,000-year-old Tombs Found in Fujian: Eastern China's Fujian Province has been suffering from an extended and severe drought. But the lack of water has brought one benefit: it has revealed 31 tombs dating back about 4,000 years that were long hidden under the waters of Dongzhang Reservoir in Fuqing.

Chinese living in 'fast lane': Many Chinese people simply do not think that there are enough hours in the day. That is the finding of an online survey which shows that people in China are working and studying longer than ever before.

News

Plans Advanced for Silk Road Revival: "We decided to help 're-weave' the Silk Road," said Wim Westerhuis, senior representative of the International Road Federation (IRF), during the Third International Silk Road Conference being held from Tuesday to Thursday in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province.

Powell's China Comments Anger Taiwanese: Secretary of State Colin Powell has angered Taiwanese officials and lawmakers by making unusually strong comments denying that the island is an independent nation and suggesting Taiwan should unify with China.

Dissecting China's 'Middle Class': According to the academy's standard, families with assets valued from US$18,137 to US$36,275 can be classified as middle class.

Man jailed over China porn haul: A Chinese court has sentenced a man to 19 years in prison for trafficking millions of pornographic DVDs.

Google Ads

To help pay the modest maintenance fees I've incurred for this blog, I've decided to include some Google ads. Free free to visit a sponsor!

(Sorry if the ads are distracting from the presentation of the page. As time permits, I'll see if I can't put them in a little less pronounced area.)

News

President Hu meets with Powell: Chinese President Hu Jintao said here Monday that the regular contact and dialogue between China and the United States on bilateral relations and issues of common concern are of great significance to the development of Sino-US constructive cooperative relations.

1.46 billion people by 2030s may hinder development: China has a huge population base, which means the country's population will grow by about 10 million every year over the next two decades to reach a peak of 1.46 billion by the mid 2030s. That peak will bring with it great employment and social welfare challenges.

Population Control Helps Improve People's Life Quality: China has made significant progress in controlling population growth while raising the overall quality of its people's health, education and culture.