Romantic comedy "If You Are the One 2" premiered in Hong Kong

12-29-2010 09:00 BJT

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The Renowned Chinese director Feng Xiaogang brought his romantic comedy sequel, "If You Are the One 2," to Hong Kong on Monday. He said it was possible that the film would receive a totally different reaction from the audience there.

The love story stars Chinese veteran actor Ge You and Taiwanese actress Shu Qi, who also starred in the first "If you are the One" in 2008. Ge You plays a middle-aged man who dreams of marrying Shu Qi, a beautiful lady who is out of his league. As the couple tests the waters of true love, they enter a trial marriage, witness a friend's divorce and say good-bye to a friend dying from cancer.

The Renowned Chinese director Feng Xiaogang brought his romantic comedy sequel, "If You Are the One 2," to Hong Kong on Monday.

Director Feng Xiaogang said this film is a sad comedy, some audiences may like the movie very much while some may not accept it at all. "If You Are the One 2" is Feng's first sequel, and will go into release in Hong Kong on January 13th.

Photos capture Expo & Shanghai city

12-29-2010 09:00 BJT Special Report:Shanghai World Expo 2010 |

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A recent photography competition awarded the most touching pictures incorporating the Shanghai Expo theme. Many of the winning pictures were captured by the cameras of non-professionals, some even used their cell phones. But, as the judging panel noted, whether skills were good or bad, each of these pictures show an actual experience and genuine emotion.

With the old city wall serving as the backdrop, this picture shows a non-Chinese studying Peking Opera from a senior artist. It has won the first prize within the "City Impression" category at the competition.

In keeping with the Expo slogan "Better City, Better Life", this competition is split into two categories: "City Impression" and "Expo Impression".

A recent photography competition awarded the most touching pictures incorporating the Shanghai Expo theme.

Li Ge, Photographerm People's Daily, said, "The Expo means much more than what we see within Expo Park. Many of the works submitted focused their lens on the lifestyles that are presented by the architecture and exhibitions."

Works by both professional and amateur photographers were solicited. And over 40,000 pictures were received from around China and the world over a six-month period.

Strange brew

12-29-2010 14:09 BJT

From sea horses to earthworms and ants, medicine in China sometimes seems like a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, then ground up and taken twice a day.

从蚂蚁、蚯蚓到海马，中药太费解了，简直就是一个谜团⋯⋯一个碾碎后一天服用两次的谜团。

BY ANDY DEEMER (狄国庆) AND CHLOE CHEN (陈洁) Photographs by LJ (刘姜)

In any traditional Chinese pharmacy, one of the first things to strike a foreigner is always the ingredients… Frankly, they’re a little strange: dried sea horses, geckos, snakes, worms, a stuffed deer and one lone owl gazing down from above.

Meanwhile, they’re hovered over by serious pharmacists in lab coats, consulting giant medical tomes. It all seems rather incongruous. But this is not “Macbeth.” This is as much a part of China’s history as anything else.

Take, for example, snakes. They’re used for “wind expulsion” and “channel clearance”—which means they’ll do wonders for sagging energy levels and weak immunity.

Back in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), an unnamed villager suffered from a terrible skin disease. Boils and lesions covered his entire body. After drinking from a vat of wine over a period of time, his skin unexpectedly started to clear up. Everyone was shocked—no one could quite work out what had cured his ailments. That is, until a large, rotten snake was discovered lying at the bottom of the barrel. The snake, it was hypothesized, could cure skin diseases!

Li Shizhen lived from 1518 to 1593, and was one of China’s most famous doctors. He researched snakes for his massive 52-volume medical textbook, “Compendium of Materia Medica (《本草纲目》),” and found that snakes could be used to “treat stubborn dry scale-like skin diseases, skin eruptions and rashes.”

Today you’ll still find snakes, prized for their medicinal qualities, preserved in liquor barrels. Snake-infused liquor is sold by the glass or the bottle.

At Lao Zhuan Cun, a restaurant in Qingdao, for example, Manager Sui bottles his own liquor, adding a long-nosed pit viper, gutted, to a liter of rice wine. He throws in some ginseng and wolfberries and lets it all sit for a month before selling it at 18 RMB a liang (两, 50g).

Tele interview: Reasons behind poor performance of Chinese football

12-29-2010 08:46 BJT

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The gathering was attended by delegates from the State General Administration of Sports, Ministry of Education, and Chinese Football Association. The event saw the concept of simultaneously cultivating both sports and education around the country proposed for the first time. Full Story>>

For more on Chinese football, we are joined on the line by Sports commentator Dong Jun. Good evening, Mr.Dong

Q1: To build up the country's football talent, many young Chinese have been sent to countries like Brazil, and there have been some great results. But despite some initial successes, Chinese football still lags far behind on the world stage, and even in the region. What is the reason for this?

Q2: The skills of the country's young footballers are actually quite good, but as they grow up and play in China's domestic leagues, poor management, frequent corruption and betting scandals, often cause problems for further developing their skills. What do you think can be done to solve the problems?

Related stories

• Young Chinese footballers to train in Brazil 2010-12-29
• National Conference on Campus Football concludes 2010-12-29

Editor:Zhang Jingya |Source: CNTV.CN

National Conference on Campus Football concludes

12-29-2010 08:44 BJT

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The gathering was attended by delegates from the State General Administration of Sports, Ministry of Education, and Chinese Football Association. The event saw the concept of simultaneously cultivating both sports and education around the country proposed for the first time.

The National Conference On Campus Football kicked off in Dalian on Monday. During the two-day affair, the State General Administration of Sports and Ministry of Education announced new policies aimed at promoting the cultivation of soccer talents both on the field, and in the classroom.

For a long time, football development in China mainly focused on physical training. Athletes have been picked to attend specialized schools at early ages, before joining clubs to compete at the professional level. Compared to their prowess on the soccer pitch, experts say these youngsters have been lagging behind, in terms of campus preparation.

Wei Di, President of the Chinese Football Association, says he hopes this will boost the advancement of youth sports to a new level, as well as promote educational reforms around the nation.

By diversifying current training conventions, authorities also hope to bring forth a new image for the nation's soccer program, as it looks to rise above recent bribery and gambling scandals.

China intensified a wide-ranging crackdown on football corruption several months ago, augmenting a comprehensive investigation that was first launched in March 2009. Eight high-ranking soccer officials have been detained since the probe began.

Editor:Zhang Jingya |Source: CNTV.CN

Live cross: 3 Chinese workers killed in Russian blast

12-29-2010 08:38 BJT

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Russian media reports say the bodies of three missing Chinese workers have been found, following an oil refinery blast. The explosion happened around 4:30 am local time on Monday, in the village of Dauria, in the federal subject of Zabaikalsky Kray. Full Story>>

For an update on the refinery blast in Russia, we're joined on the line by our correspondent Wang Ying, from Moscow. Hello Wang Ying.

Q1: Please can you give us the latest on the missing Chinese workers?

Q2: Could you brief us on the on-going investigation?

Editor:Zhang Jingya |Source: CNTV.CN

Buying books: A personal preference

12-29-2010 08:49 BJT

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As the end of 2010 approaches, crowds of customers can be seen everywhere. Bargain pricing is a big attraction, especially in the book market.

Analysts say this year will be noteworthy, because online sellers are having a tremendous impact on the industry. But not everyone is finding this trend to their liking.

It takes less than a minute to jump onto an online book selling website. There you have almost everything you want and what's more, the discounts are really great. But for certain people, going to a traditional brick-and-mortar bookstore is still their favorite way to buy books.

A customer in bookstore said, "In bookstores, the books are before your eyes, and you can get a quick grasp of the surface and the content. It's convenient."

Another customer said, "The delivery service of online buying is good. But it lacks the feeling of a direct purchase."

One said, "Deliveries can cause troubles. And sometimes we have to wait at our workplace. It's not good."

Studio interview: Traditional bookstores face challenges

With the increasing popularity of online bookstores, some are worrying that libraries and bookstores will suffer pretty much the same way record stores were hurt by online music. Full story >>

Online bookstores boom in China

Although some people still enjoy the old fashion way of reading and picking books from shelves at a library or book store, more and more are ditching paperbacks for e-books. They are also enjoying the convenience of shopping online for books and have them delivered to their home. Full story >>