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/ 23 January 2008
Dirty, polluted and congested — China’s large cities have an unenviably poor reputation. But Xiamen, located on the south-east coast two-and-a-half hours by plane from Beijing, is so different from that image that you could be forgiven for thinking you are no longer in China.
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/ 20 November 2007
Armed with backpacks, sleeping bags, budget travel guides and hunger for a wider world long beyond their reach, backpackers from China are likely to be heading to a youth hostel near you. Loosened travel restrictions and a booming economy mean that growing numbers of young Chinese have visas and cash to travel abroad as never before.
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/ 23 October 2007
It is remote, virtually surrounded by desert, and its only claim to fame is as a fleeting player in the founding of Communist China — but Ulanhot wants its slice of the multibillion-dollar ”red tourism” pie. Trouble is, for all the lovingly restored old buildings and spic new exhibitions, the masses just aren’t yet coming to this far-flung Inner Mongolian settlement, whose name literally means ”red city” in Mongolian due to its Communist connections.
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/ 16 October 2007
Two men widely tipped as future leaders of China gave glimpses of their agenda on Tuesday, promising gentler, more environmentally sound growth. But Shanghai Communist Party boss Xi Jinping and his counterpart in Liaoning province, Li Keqiang, fended off or avoided questions about their own political futures.
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/ 30 September 2007
Talks aimed at reining in North Korea’s nuclear programmes ended on Sunday to allow delegates to return to their home countries to discuss a ”nuts and bolts” joint statement with their governments. Under an accord reached in February, North Korea must disable its atomic facilities and make a complete declaration of all its nuclear programmes.
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/ 21 September 2007
The world’s largest toy maker, Mattel, apologised on Friday for damaging China’s reputation after recent massive recalls of its Chinese-made toys, admitting it targeted some goods that were actually up to scratch. Mattel has come under scrutiny following the recall of about 21-million of the toys in a span of five weeks.
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/ 13 September 2007
Children turned on parents, students denounced their teachers and Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed: ”To rebel is justified” — the Cultural Revolution was a defining, if terrifying, experience for many Chinese. This turbulent period provides the social backdrop that shaped the formative years of rising political stars like Li Keqiang, Li Yuanchao and Xi Jinping, who lived through the chaos.
China blamed global warming on Wednesday for this year’s weather extremes, which have led to more than 700 deaths from flooding and left millions of others without water. Such extremes are likely to get worse and more common in the future, said Song Lianchun, head of the China Meteorological Administration’s department of forecasting services.
China risks damaging its global credibility if it does not tackle its food and drug quality problems, an official newspaper said amid a series of health scares. China’s safety failings have drawn world attention since mislabelled chemical exports were found in cough syrup in Panama and pet food in the United States.
China sought to defend its role in Africa on Monday ahead of this week’s G8 summit, saying its long friendship with the continent was a force for good. some G8 ministers are worried Beijing is too willing to lend money without strings to African countries.