Faith or force?
In May, the Bureau of Civil Affairs and the State Administration of Religious Affairs jointly published a notice regulating the activities of religious groups who have orphanages. An article of the regulation states that these groups should not force the abandoned children or the orphans to hold religious beliefs.
The inner eye
Starting and ending every day with training at the Beijing-based China Swordsman Society, blind Tai Chi trainer Zheng Yuankang says he relishes the moments where he can “close his eyes and open his mind in the dark,” proving how his blindness does not limit him in his quest for perfection.
Corban in courtyard
On October 15, Beijing's iconic Islamic neighborhood Niujie, in Xicheng district, embraced a busy day when thousands of Muslims wearing festive outfits gathered at a main mosque and celebrated an important Islamic festival.
Typhoon Fitow wreaks havoc in E China
More than 800,000 residents in Yuyao, Zhejiang Province hit by torrential rains were still suffering from shortages of food, water and electricity supplies caused by Typhoon Fitow.
Activists bare teeth over dog meat festival
Despite widespread outrage, an annual dog meat festival kicked off on June 21 in southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to mark the summer solstice.
Bringing up the babies
At the Shanghai Wild Animal Park in Pudong New Area, there are specialist keepers who take care of any newly-born animals that are having problems. Thirty-three-year-old Li Shiqiang is one of the park's "Nanny Daddies."
A village of two people
There are now only two people in Tianhu village in Fuzhou, Fujian Province: Yan Weicheng, 55, and his 20-year-old son Yan Xian, along with about 40 sheep and 10 chickens.
Ya'an rescue: 72 golden hours
After an earthquake like that which happened in Ya'an in Sichuan, pulling the injured from the rubble within the first 72 hours is known as the golden time, but various problems are piling up to slow rescue efforts and are helping this golden time ebb away.
Pandering to pandas
His day starts with watching the pandas, judging their health, cleaning up the enclosure, and then feeding them bamboo leaves. Li Denghe, 23, is a panda keeper, the youngest in Bifengxia Panda Base. Li came to work here half a year ago after he graduated from a vocational school.
H7N9 bird flu
Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences has traced the H7N9 avian influenza to a genetic reassortment of wild birds from east Asia and chickens from east China, Xinhua reported on April 11. Officials and experts have asked the public to remain calm, as there is still no evidence of human-to-human transmission.
Trained in patriotism
To mark the fifth anniversary of the 2008 Lhasa riots, the Global Times sent three reporters to ethnic-Tibetan regions in China in early March to report on how peace and order has since been restored. Their reports were on patriotic education at monasteries in the Tibet Autonomous Region and efforts to curb self-immolations in Tibetan communities in Sichuan and Gansu provinces.
'Shenqu' goddess
Tante (Disturbed), a viral hit song all over China, made Gong Linna one of the most popular and controversial singers in China in recent years. And once again she is catching people's attention with three new songs in the last three months: "Fahai Ni Budong Ai (Fahai, you don't understand love)"; "Jingubang (The golden cudgel)"; and "Aishang Dabendan (In love with a big idiot)".
Migrants among us
Migrants make up more than a third of Beijing's population, according to a report released by Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics on February 7. This migrant group includes the expected construction and labor force as well as white collar business people from other provinces and expats. It may well include you.
Sex made in China
The sex doll market is not exactly new to Beijing, even though the industry has always been under tight supervision. However, in China's smaller cities where dolls and other sex toys are made, supervision on their production is practically non-existent.