Faces: People, Places, and Cultures articles from May 2007

Faces: People, Places, and Cultures archives from May 2007

High 5.
May 1, 2007... Imagine sharing a country the size of the United States with more than four times as many people. How about walking along the centuries-old Great Wall, or visiting the tallest mountain on Earth, the majestic Mt. Everest? Here are five...

China.(At a Glance)(Country overview)
May 1, 2007... Official name: People's Republic of China Location: Eastern Asia. To the east, China borders the East China Sea, Bo Gulf, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea. China borders North Korea in the northeast and Russia in the north and far northeast....

Only in Three Gorges Dam.
May 1, 2007... With costs estimated at $20 billion to $100 billion, the building of the Three Gorges Dam in China is one of the largest construction projects on Earth. In an effort to control the mighty Yangtze River, or Chang Jiang, and its deadly floods,...

The new China: life for some Chinese is not all that different from your life--especially when it comes to shopping for food.
May 1, 2007... Though some think the United States is the world's only superpower, It is evident that a vast new power is emerging in Asia. This is the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is immense in area, population, and complexity. While the challenges...

Go fly a fengzheng!(kite flying)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Have you ever flown a kite on a windy day? The Chinese word for kite is fengzheng. Feng means "wind" (it rhymes with hung). Zheng means "compete" (it sounds like jung). A fengzheng tosses in the sky in a contest with the wind. Kite flying...

Reading Chinese characters.
May 1, 2007... Hello. You and I are friends. Words in Chinese look very, different from words in English. That's because the Chinese language uses characters instead of letters. Chinese characters represent words or ideas. Sometimes a character can...

What do you do for fun?(recreational activities of Chinese students )(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Smile for the camera! These children are in a classroom in Lijiang, Yunnan. in western China. I like dancing and drawing. My favorite kind of dance is called xian dai wu, a modern kind of dancing. I mostly like to draw pictures of...

Feng shui: feel the magic.
May 1, 2007... Feng shui (fung shway) is the ancient Chinese art of living in harmony and balance with your physical surroundings. For thousands of years, it has encouraged people to create comfortable and healthy living spaces. As your bedroom is your most...

Paddle power.
May 1, 2007... A tiny, white ball as light as popcorn flies faster than the eye can see, over a table measuring just five by nine feet. Players slice, swing, and smash at a ball weighing less than an ounce. The audience gasps, "ooohs," and bursts into...

The beauty within life.(Growing Up in China)
May 1, 2007... Note: The writing style of this story is poetic. It is one style of writing that is typically taught in Chinese schools. It was dawn. The small garden awoke from its sweet dream. Little pigs laid on the edge of their tiny door, heads half...

A city boy.(Growing Up in China)(Brief article)(Essay)
May 1, 2007... I am Ethan, which is my English name. y Chinese name is Wei Xin. I am 15 and I live in Beijing. My home isn't very big, but it's very. comfortable, and we are very happy. Dad and Mom are always very busy in their work. My lather works in a...

Protecting China's Great Wall.
May 1, 2007... Imagine a 30-foot-high wall stretching from New York City to Denver, Colorado. Imagine this wall of hundreds of thousands of stones being constructed without the use of bulldozers or backhoes. If such a wall were begun today, it wouldn't be...

A symbol of peace: the giant panda.
May 1, 2007... What's black and white and loved all over? The giant panda, of course. White with black patches covering its eyes, ears, legs, and feet, the giant panda is one of the most recognized and most loved animals in the world. Sadly, the giant...

Festival's of China.
May 1, 2007... The Dragon Boat Festival, usually held in June, honors one of China's most famous poet-patriots, Chu Yuan, with boat races and picnics, which are sure to include rice shaped into a pyramid and wrapped in reed or bamboo. Spring Festival, or...

You are how you eat; Chinese table manners.
May 1, 2007... When entering a country, inquire of its customs. --from the ancient Chinese Book of Rites Table manners are among the habits the Chinese take most for granted--no grownup needs to be taught these rules. In a Chinese group, the way you...

A taste of China.(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Many people believe that Chinese cooking is one of the world's greatest cuisines, or styles, of cooking. In fact, there is not just one Chinese cuisine. In such an enormous country, there are many, many different styles of cooking. All...

Do you know Tom Cruise?
May 1, 2007... A six-year-old girl stood, swaying with the motion of the bumpy train. "She will sing for you," our Chinese guide announced. The little girl blushed and almost dropped back into her seat. But, urged by her parents, she sang "Twinkle,...

Adoptions from China.
May 1, 2007... Adoption is one way to form a family in the United States. Of the 1.5 million children adopted by U.S. families, about 8,000 come from China. More children are adopted from China than from any other country. Most of these children are adopted...

Ask FACES!(Interview)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Here is your chance to send us your questions about people, places, and cultures from all over the world. Each month, our experts will answer several questions from readers like you. Want to know where the world's highest mountain is located?...

Face facts.(Brief article)(Cartoon)
May 1, 2007... MAYBE WE SHOULD GIVE EVERYBODY SOMETHING TO DO UNTIL THE PARTY STARTS! Being late in China is considered very rude, so the Chinese often arrive early. So if a birthday party is set for 3:30, guests will arrive at 3.

The magic bowl.(Short story)
May 1, 2007... Once a poor boy named Little Wong lived with his mother. The two made a scant living by working for a rich farmer. The woman sewed and did the laundry; she also fed the ducks and pigs. Little Wong spent his days in the hills, cutting fresh...

Art connection.(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... China's Young Artists Flowers, trees, birds, fish, butterflies, and bugs--children in China celebrate the natural world. Below are posters children made for an environmental rally in Lijiang, China. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Shanghai Messenger.(Guest Review)(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2007... How would you feel if you got a letter inviting you to visit your uncle who lives in a country far away? How about if you had to make the whole trip alone? Would you go? Maybe you would just want to say no. The main character in Shanghai...

What kind of animal are you?(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Did you know that 2007 is the Year of the Pig? The Chinese calendar consists of 12 animals that keep repeating. Here the calendar is arranged in a circle. The animals are in order clockwise. To calculate when each animal year occurred, count...