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Apr. - Jun., 2013

Chinese Food in the Jewish World, Kosher or Not ?Local Design in Film Content Key to Success

Protecting Ancient Villages

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Editor'sMessage n May 1990, CRI's English Service started the bimonthly four-color newsletter "The Messenger" with an eye on strengthening ties with listeners. The publication was delivered to overseas listeners and to foreigners in China who work at embassies or consulates, foreign-owned and joint-venture companies, as well as students, teachers, journalists and tourists, or those who request it. It brought them information about Radio Beijing's (the former name of CRI) activities and future plans.

"The Messenger" has since evolved with a fresher appearance to reflect the tremendous changes in CRI's content and highlight China's breathtaking transformation over the past three decades. It became a quarterly publication in 2011, and the current issue continues to feature firsthand travel stories from Anhui Province in east China.

All of the staff working on "The Messenger" will continue to strive for excellence because we believe that is what you deserve.

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CONTENTSCULTURAL PERSPECTIVES

Wuzhen, China’s Answer to Avignon France


Wuzhen Theater Festival-Lonely StageStreet Art Finds New Home in Wuzhen

The Former Residence of Hu ShiWhen Hui Opera Meets William Shakespeare The Revival of Hui Merchants

Chinese Food in the Jewish World, Kosher or Not ?Local Design in Film Content Key to SuccessThe Beijing Improv Comedy Festival: Saying “Yes”Caring for Families that Lost Their Only ChildAn Opera Never Fades

BEHIND THE SCENES

FROM REPORTER'S EYES

VIEWPOINTSA Rich Man's Game for Young BoysIs There More Transparency to Come?Is Zou Shiming's Rise Inevitable?

The Chinese ZodiacMailbag

FROM OUR LISTENERS

A boat transporting goods to the ancient town of Wuzhen, in east China's Zhejiang Province on May 15, 2013.

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theMessengerVol.24 No.2

Apr. - Jun., 2013

Chinese Food in Jewish World, Kosher or Not ?Local Design in Film Content Key to Success


Anhui province is known for its beautiful and preserved architecture with the old[Photo: CRIENGLISH.com / SIMONE COTE]

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You may have a thousand reasons to leave this place: it’s small; it’s slow; the mosquitoes-I’m draining my brain to think of those. But one reason, only one, is enough to

make you stay: it’s like a dream, especially with the theater festival going on.

World-class straight plays, high-end dialogues, street performances and carnivals that everyone can join freely—standing on the riverside stone street surrounded by wooden houses with green crawling ivy and potted flowers, you may find your absolute attention has been given to the festival. One advantage for such an international gathering to be held in such a small town is it naturally provides all the prominence and priorities.

A dreamy town with 1,300 years of history, Wuzhen has been called "Venice of the East." Now a team of theater artists is trying to transform it into the epicenter for theater and culture in China.

If you think of the outside world where

the great industrialization has introduced too much noise, pollution and desire, this ancient water town where the entire traffic is still depending on walk and oar will feel more like

an isolated island that only appears in one’s dream.

"This is a dream, my Chinese dream," says Huang Lei, a prominent actor and performance educator.

He initiated the festival and has been busy preparing it during the past five years,

Huang says "I hope one day when people talk about Wuzhen, it's not only a small place in their eyes, but it'll be known for the theater festival, just like when people talk about Avignon now. It'll be a best cultural spot, and it'll be an honor for every one of us."

Thanks to the festival, the cozy home-stays and boutique hotels in this tiny town of only three square kilometers are filled with world-class playwrights, directors and

performers in the early summer."The beauty of this festival is that

it really attracts East and West in a way that very few festivals have in the past,"

says Robert Brustein, the dean of American theater art, and also the honorary chairman of the festival.

He has brought along some critics from the United States to write about the event, which will surely attract international attention,

"Coming here has been like a revelation for me. I didn't know what to expect, but what I've seen here is exalting. The quality of the people, quality of the spirit, the quality of the art and the artists are wonderful."

David Henry Hwang, one of the most famous Chinese American playwrights in the U.S., has made Wuzhen the first stop of his works in China, considering its importance.

"I think one thing impressive about the Wuzhen Theater Festival is that this is, of course, only the first year, but it brings together really major theater artists from China and from the West. And I think a lot of that credit has to be given to Stan Lai that he has very good taste. And he understands theater deeply both in China and the West. So I think he

knows who to bring over so that this becomes a very important meeting of Chinese and western theater makers."

Stan Lai, the most celebrated Chinese language theater maker of the world, cofounded the festival and serves as its artistic director. Apparently, his profound taste and many connections in the international theater circle have contributed greatly to its quality.

"Personally, I give much attention to the dialogues and workshops,” Stan Lai talks about the dialogue and workshop section where theatrical masters discuss various topics with performance lovers face-to-face. In Stan Lai's mind, this section should be able to grow into an important part of the world's top cultural conversations, “Now that we've got the opportunity to gather these gurus

The first Wuzhen Theater Festival has closed its curtains. Besides the world-class masterpieces that have made this festival prominent, some very creative young theater talents have also stood out from the competition section, notably 29-year-old Weng Jiahui. Although her short play "Lonely Stage" didn't win the 200 million yuan grant, it's still a very unique piece of theater that has touched many audiences.

In contrast to other young talent groups who stayed in Wuzhen for almost ten days for the festival, Weng Jiahui and her friends have to leave right after their performance is finished. She has a full-time job back in Shanghai, as a Kunqu Opera actress.

Wuzhen, China’s Answer to Avignon France

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Text / Photo by Liu Xiangwei

in Wuzhen, our forum naturally becomes a summit. Just like the Bo'ao Forum which discusses economy and politics, our summit in Wuzhen discusses art, culture and life."

Combining life and theater is something the festival organizers are trying to introduce more people to China. Dozens of performing arts groups from all over the world have been invited here. Tourists can easily run into them parading around wearing exotic makeup and costumes. Some wear brightly colored feathers on their head and play drums and horns. Some wear gowns and walk on stilts, with confusing facial expressions as if they are from other planets. Visitors' cheers and laughter as they follow them add an even more festive feeling to the entire picture.

Sun Rongbo organizes the carnival.He says "Many art festivals in China

are too formal. They haven't seen a carnival

like this, so they are afraid of doing it. But Wuzhen has a lot of courage. So I have made it more down-to-earth and close to people. You can join the parade or have interactions with the performers any time you want. I think this will be the trend of street performance in the future."

A local foundation in Wuzhen has invested 500 million yuan, or about 80 million U.S. dollars, in the event to build grand modern venues and renovate small, old ones to showcase six theatrical masterpieces, including Stan Lai's eight-hour-long "A Dream Like a Dream." Two-hundred thousand yuan will be awarded to the best performing arts group that takes part in a competition at the festival. This grant is believed to be enough for the young talents to stage their show commercially anywhere outside of Wuzhen.

Chen Danqing, an influential artist and

critic in China, says he admires Wuzhen for making this effort, despite all the problems in China's theater industry.

He says "I always keep an eye on newly-emerging straight-play talents in China. But I have to say there are not so many of them. They are limited by various problems: no sizable audience, no critical atmosphere and not enough venues. But Wuzhen has managed to make a step forward, which I appreciate very much. Actually, nobody knows about the future. But Wuzhen has the courage to throw in the money, and we have the festival. Let's see where it takes us."

If it goes well financially and artistically, the Wuzhen Theater Festival will provide continuous fuel to China's drama performances and hopefully even to others such performances around the world.

But it is this sense of alienation that makes them stand out in a unique way. It is clear they have not come here for the masters' recognition, grant, or even the connections. One or two moments of exposures to enable them to express their feelings on stage make all the effort worthwhile

"We often show up on stage with a glamorous appearance in our productions, and that forms the audience's chief impressions of us. But this time we want to display a traditional Chinese opera performer's happiness and pain, in the form of spoken art," she says.

They do so in a 20-minute-long monodrama named "Lonely Stage". When the

A member of the Brazil performing art troupe beats his drum while parading through the ancient alleys during the Wuzhen Theater Festival on May 15, 2013 in Wuzhen, eastern China's Zhejiang Province.

African performers play traditional drums while parading on the ancient street of Wuzhen during the Wuzhen Theater Festival on May 15, 2013 in Wuzhen, eastern China's Zhejiang Province.

Wuzhen Theater Festival-Lonely Stage

Text / Photo by Liu Xiangwei

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light turns on, a fully made-up Chinese opera performer played by Weng Jiahui attracts everyone's eyes. This performer loves the art so much that she practices her steps again and again. Yet she feels so lonely that she imitates the percussions to company herself. She even talks to the costumes and the stage properties because she believes they understand her. She struggles and collapses behind hostile opinions. But ultimately she still loves the art that she has dedicated her life to.

"You can say that I play myself in this show, but I think I can actually represent many of the traditional opera performers through this role. We, as the holder of the time-honored art form, are too good at being silent. We don't know how to express

Q: Why this international theater festival is held here in Wuzhen, why not in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou or other cities where the theater goers are more concentrated?

Raymond Zhou: There are two ways of organizing these kind of events,

Wuzhen, a historical water town in eastern China's Zhejiang Province, has become more popular than previous summers as it hosts the first "Wuzhen Theater Festival". Walking down ancient stone bridges and pathways, you just might bump into Stan Lai, Meng Jinghui, Huang Lei, and Robert Brustein, some of the most renowed and expressive theater directors and performers in China and around the world.

But have you ever wondered why this first-class international theater festival is being held in this little town with only 12,000 residents? Will it be able to sustain in the future? And how promising is the Chinese theater market in the eyes of professionals?

One prominent star at this year's Wuzhen Theater Festival is not a famous actor or actress, but Robert Brustein, the festival's Honorary Chairman and the "Dean" of the modern American Theater. He is the founder of both the Yale Repertory Theater and the American Repertory Theatre, whose affiliated training programs have produced generations of prominent playwrights, directors, designers and performers, including Hollywood veteran Meryl Streep.

ourselves or who to talk to. The Wuzhen Theater Festival is a good opportunity for us to speak out," she says.

"Lonely Stage" weaves traditional Kunqu Opera's famous arias into the natural spoken art elaborately, which is a challenge for Weng Jiahui, the only performer. She has 14 years of professional opera training, which has vested her with certain kinds of gestures and tones on stage.

"At the beginning, I couldn't believe I could try spoken art. You know, I can't speak on the stage like I speak in daily life and I thought that drama performers do that a lot. But our director and our playwright helped me adjust my tones many times. We practiced again and again in our spare time and finally,

I decided to speak like a poet. That worked. What's also shocked me is how close the straight play stage is from the audience. That's a big challenge to the performers. You must be very attentive," she says.

This is the first time "Lonely Stage" has been seen by the public and it has turned out to be very successful. Many audience members shed tears not only because of Kunqu Opera or art, but because it also reminds them of something they personally love that requires an equal amount of determination and dedication.

Weng Jiahui says "Lonely Stage" will be extended to a long version and be on show in Shanghai next month.

Interview with Chinese Film And Theater Critic Raymond Zhou

Interview with Robert Brustein On Chinese Plays

Reporter: Liu Xiangwei


logically it should be held in big metropolis, like Shanghai and Beijing, and you will easily find huge audience, but a lot of the prestigious art festivals in Western countries, are actually held in small cities or even small towns. For example, Cannes is the most prestigious film festival, it’s not held in

Paris,but in Cannes, a small town. I feel there is one advantage of smaller place over a big city in organizing this kind of activity, that’s when you do it in a small place, they will give you all the promises, they will give you all the highlighted exposures. In a big city like Beijing, dozens of events are happening

at the same time, which will be naturally distracting. So in terms of brand building, it actually makes a lot of sense to have it in a small place, but of course Wuzhen is not just a small place, but one of southern watery towns very famous for tourism.

Q: What does the Wuzhen Theater Festival organizer should consider if they want to continue this effort into a long run, instead of making it a sudden impulse?

Zhou: For me, the longevity of a festival like Wuzhen’s is really in the quality of this effort, one is to present some of the best shows by established masters, this time we have 6, three from China, three from outside China. Most importantly, I believe that by discovering all young talents, this time we have 12 short plays, competing for pretty big rewards, and if you win that reward, it’s 200, 000 yuan, you can basically stage this short play, first of all, you expand it, to feature length, then you will be able to stage it in the place like Beijing or Shanghai, and that means something; but even if you don’t win the reward, you still go away with something important, because the feedback you will get, also the crowd you will be mingling with during the 10 or 11 days you spend in Wuzhen, will help you to build the network, will probably help you to find the audience, and the prices will give you feedback. So all these things put together,

even though, it’s only the beginning, it’s a small town, but this festival is quite complete, it has all the important components of a good and sustainable art event.

Q: Does this indicate China’s theater performance is moving to smaller cities and increasing its influence?

Zhou: I don’t think we should come to this inclusion. Wuzhen in administrative sense is like the smallest possible level of government, I don’t think many of the audiences for this festival are local people, most people come from Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou, I feel the culture of theater is most concentrated in Beijing and Shanghai, it is spreading out to Guangzhou and Chengdu, yet it appeals mostly to young white collar workers, it’s not like movie theaters, it requires certain level of artistic education, and you have to be interested. And I have to add, when talking about theaters, I’m talking about straight plays, which grow with the size of middle class. And as China’s economy grows, this demographic is expanding very rapidly. And if you can create something that appeals to them, that reflects their joys, sorrows, agonies and tribulations. And give them a way to express themselves. You will find a target market, but this market is not the whole of China, but urban and young middle class.

Q: How do you feel the current theater

environment on the Chinese mainland, do you see the similarities with the United States, Hong Kong and Taiwan, any time in the past?

Zhou: I think in terms of per capita, China’s theater industry or circle is very small. I’ll give you one example, Agatha Christian’s “Mouse Trap” has been playing for 20,000 days or something, since the distribution in 1950s, it is still playing in London. “Cats” has been playing for 20 years, it’s 8 shows a week. And “Tea House,” by Lao She, is arguably one of the greatest Chinese-language plays in China. The last time I checked it, it has accumulatively played 600 performances, and that’s considered a huge success. In my mind, “Tea House” should be played every night in Beijing, and every tourist who visits Beijing for the first time, they would want to see it, just like they want to go to the great wall, and see the Forbidden City, because it is an intangible cultural asset, it’s heritage, it’s something we all should be proud of. There is one thing that I always remind myself, if an all musical play can run for 2 or 3 years in a row, then we can talk about competing with United States or UK, right now we are just taking baby steps, and whatever subsidy the government provides, should all go to this worthy project.

A Chinese stand-up comedian practices his show for the street performance section in the Wuzhen Theater Festival on May 15, 2013 in Wuzhen, eastern China's Zhejiang Province.

Q: How do you view the significance of Wuzhen Theater Festival? What effect do you think will bring to the theater industry of China and maybe, even the world?

A: I think it’s gonna have enormous effect, I don’t know if it will happen right away, but it’s going to be written about—I’ve brought some writers here. I’m going to write about it myself. I’m going to write about Stan’s play in an influential magazine in New York. And I hope that this will encourage people to see the world here. The beauty of this festival is that it really attracts the east and the west in a way that very few festivals have in the past. And I think this is going to

do something that maybe our politicians have not succeeded so well in doing. And that is to make these two cultures understand each other better. And coming here has been like a revolution for me—I had no idea what to expect. But what I’ve seen has just been exalting to me—the quality of the people, quality of the spirit, certainly the quality of the art, and quality of the artists is wonderful.

Q: Actually I’ve talked to some of the Chinese playwrights before I came here. It seems that they are eagerly trying to learn something from their counterparts in New York. A playwright told me that he admired the fancy stage effects he saw in Broadway.


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overseas audiences would view the original Chinese stories. Maybe your story is a mixture of the western elements and Chinese elements, so it is more easily accessible for them to understand.

A: Yeah. I’m hoping that the original stories from China will become more popular

in the west and that my works can be kind of transitional in helping Americans begin to understand China but that ultimately, they will become more interested in Chinese works. And it’s one of the reasons why just a couple of months ago, I brought forward Chinese language playwrights to New York, including Meng Jinghui, to try to translate their works into English, do public presentations, begin to introduce them

more to American audience because these are great, major playwrights who deserve to have an audience in the west. Now the next step is for one of those plays, and hopefully, all of these plays, to get full productions. That takes a little while because of the ways the theater seasons work in the U.S.

young, you regarded your Chinese ancestry as a minor detail like having red hair. But later, after you started writing plays, you’ve been largely focusing on Chinese American related stories. What brought up this change in notion?

A: Well, I’ve now spent many decades trying to understand my Chinese heritage. So I’ve come to feel that it’s quite an important part of me. And I think what made the change was writing itself. When I first started wanting to write plays, I didn’t know that I was going to write about some of these West-East subjects. But they just started appearing on the page for me. So the writing became a way for me to look deeper into myself and understand what I’m really interested in.

Q: In your plays, you use a lot of traditional Chinese cultural elements, including Chinese mythological figures and traditional theater techniques. How do you feel the value of your plays in the current wave of getting the world to know about the Chinese culture?

The recent Wuzhen Theatre Festival has gathered a myriad of talented street artists in China, generating interest among both performers and visitors from across the country.

There are street artists in China, but the art is usually regarded as a hobby rather than job, making street performances less commonplace here. The Wuzhen Theatre Festival, however, provides a substantial stage for talented amateur street artists.

Gao Shan, an editor at Beijing-based

A: I think I’ve been kind of lucky in that I started writing about Chinese Americans and about China 30 years ago when American audiences were not so interested in China—maybe interested because they thought it was, you know, exotic. But now, of course, America is very interested in China and China

is central to American mentality as being the next great superpower. So, I think I’m very fortunate to have been writing about a subject that the western audience has become more interested in over the course of my lifetime.

Q: Currently, Chinese movies and TV series are going abroad. I’m curious how the

various aerial expeditions. But I can’t stand them, frankly, I think they’re heartless, and I think they’re soulless. And they’ve done our theater in. We’re not dealing with plays or playwrights anymore; we’re dealing with special effects. It’s like we’re in a movie, watching Start Treks.

Q: I don’t know if you’ve watched some of the Chinese plays. If you have, can you tell us how you like them and how many scores you’d give them on a scale of one to ten?

A: I’ve only seen the first part of Stan Lai’s play. I’m seeing the second part. I think

it’s a masterpiece. And I don’t think I would use the word avant-garde, I think I’d say it’s really unconventional. Because it advances into the dream life and the spiritual life of its characters in a way that I’ve seen very few plays do. And I think that’s because Stan is a Buddhist and he brings his religion to bear in the penetration of the characters so that this dream becomes a reality that we realize where we all live in. I’ll be writing about it, actually, for New York magazine.

He said: “It was really stunning when two actors actually flied above the audiences.” If they had the opportunity to talk to you, what would you suggest them do? What are some of the aspects that they should put their efforts in?

A: Well, rather perversely, I would tell them to stay away from Broadway and stop looking at these plays that are about acrobatics and magic flying. Because they creating a travesty in our theater —the theater is no longer about people or about hearts and spirits, it’s about spectacle. And this is what Roman Theater was about. In the first century AD the Circus Maximus did that well, I don’t think we have to follow in its tracks. But it’s what is commercial, there’s no question about it. It sells very well—Spiderman and

Q: First of all, congratulations! Because this is the first time one of your plays is officially produced here in China.

A: Yes, I’m very excited about that, after many years wanting to have a play produced here in China.

Q: This play is called the Dance and

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Two members of Ballet Brazil, a performing art troupe from Brazil, showcase their happiness in joining the carnival section of the Wuzhen Theater Festival on May 15, 2013 in Wuzhen, eastern China's Zhejiang Province.

Interview with Playwright David Henry Huang Street Art Finds New

Home in WuzhenContinuing our coverage of the Wuzhen Theatre Festival, we focus the spotlight on David Henry Huang, a prominent Chinese-American playwright from the U.S. His profound understanding towards the western and eastern cultures has helped him win multiple awards as a playwright.

Xiangwei caught up with this talented award-winning playwright David Henry Huang at the Wuzhen Theatre Festival.

the Railroad. How would you describe it to someone who has no prior familiarity with the story?

A: The Dance and the Railroad is about two Chinese railroad workers who built the American transcontinental railroad in the late 19th century. And the play is a fusion of

styles. It is a western spoken play but at the same time, tries to use some Chinese opera techniques as well.

Q: Among many of your award-winning plays, why did you pick this one and make it your official debut here in China?

A: Well, this is a play that attempts to bring together the past and the present and also Chinese theater styles and the western styles. And that seems very appropriate for this festival in Wuzhen which is an ancient city but it’s a modern theater festival, which is about bringing together theater makers from China and the west. So the Dance and the Railroad seem like an appropriate choice.

Q: You’ve said that when you were


Text by Xu Fei

publishing house Law Press China, has been away from the stage ever since his college graduation many years ago.

Gao, who used to be an active student performer in the Peking University Drama Society, shares his views on the attraction of giving performances in public places.

"A performing arts venue could be a large or small theatre, or outdoors. There are more uncertainties when a show is given outdoors, including the audience's reaction. This actually makes a street performance

is more charming for me. With the natural environment as its backdrop, street performances leave more room for one's imagination to run wildly and in fact, 'ad-lib' shows are more common among street performances rather than theatre plays," said Gao Shan.

In scenic Wuzhen town, in east China's Zhejiang Province, drama, opera and many other types of performances can be found on streets and lanes throughout the town, granting tourists quite a rich feast for their

A performing art troupe from Brazil joins the carnival section in the Wuzhen Theater Festival on May 15, 2013 in Wuzhen, eastern China's Zhejiang Province.


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eyes. A street pantomime performance,

given by 29-year old Yang Yi from southwest China's Sichuan Province, captures the attention of many passersby every afternoon during the festival.

Without using any verbal expressions, Yang Yi depicts a story on the misery of living in memories through body gestures accompanied by music. His show is designed to encourage those feeling down about the past to escape the trappings of their bad memories.

Finding that many visitors pause on the street in order to watch his pantomime performance, Yang Yi says that he's ecstatic about the Wuzhen Theatre Festival.

"The charm of the Wuzhen Theatre Festival is the opportunities it provides

China is gearing up to protect its tangible and intangible cultural heritages. As an important part of traditional cultural resources, ancient villages are attracting wide attention. However, in the country's process of rapid urbanization, ancient villages are being impacted by urban culture and their integrity and cultural elements are facing unprecedented challenges. During a recent trip to east China's Anhui Province, "Life in

Performers in “Utopia Town” at the Wuzhen Theatre Festival.[Photo: Courtesy of Gao Shan]

29-year old Yang Yi from southwest China's Sichuan Province gives an eye-catching pantomime performance on May 10, 2013 on a street of Wuzhen scenic area in Zhejiang province during the Wuzhen Theatre Festival.[Photo: Xu Fei]


Text by Yao Yongmei, Photo by Liu Hongyu

According to a local tour guide, Chengkan village has a history of about 1,800 years.

The sun and rain over the years have reduced the black and white tile houses to a grayish white color, which gives a strong sense of remote times and history in the midst of a green forest.

Eighty three year old Luo Chunfu and his wife, 78, have been living in Chengkan village since they were born.

for spectators to come upon interesting performances by chance, on the way, rather than through following a set show schedule. Tourists can discover a performance and pause to leisurely watch it anywhere in the area, on streets and lanes, and even on street corners; tourists may occasionally discover there is a performance and pause for a while leisurely to watch it. It is also interesting for performers to see the spectators flowing through the festival," said Yang Yi.

Unlike Yang Yi whose day job is in preschool education, Zou Linfeng, a performer from Wuhan city in central China, is a film student in his first year of a postgraduate program at Wuhan University.

Zou Linfeng, who acts in a drama called Color on a bridge in Wuzhen along with several partners, recalls that one

spectator, an elderly lady, left him with a deep impression when she attended his rehearsal for the Wuzhen Theatre Festival.

"Whilst performing, we were very well aware of which parts were supposed to be funny. However, during the play, a loud burst of laughter came quite unexpectedly from an old woman in the audience at a time when we weren't trying to produce any humor. We couldn't understand her behavior. She laughed because she had slipped down from the railing on which she had been lying during the performance, and as this distracted us, it made us laugh too. It is completely unconventional and unexpected when performers are amused by a spectator, and the entire rehearsal process brought me great excitement," said Zou Linfeng.

China" visited several ancient villages nestled in the foot of Huangshan Mountain and tried to find out how the locals are protecting the soul and lifestyles of their ancient villages.

Well-preserved ancient villages shaded on the slopes of the green hills of southern Anhui Province are acclaimed by tourists and scholars as, perhaps, the most beautiful villages in the world and a museum of Chinese ancient residences.

As representatives of those villages, Xidi and Hongcun villages, both located in Yixian County, were added to the World Cultural Heritage list in 2000. It was the first time that such ancient houses were put on the list.

Well preserved with a history of nearly 1,000 years, Xidi village enjoys its fame for its characteristic ancient architectural styles with more than 300 buildings with features

of the Ming and Qing dynasties; over 100 of which still remain; totally intact.

Compared to Xidi, neighboring Chengkan village is underdeveloped and not as well-known, but it is a pristine village with fewer tourists and a more rural and idyllic atmosphere.

According to a local tour guide, Chengkan village has a history of about 1,800 years. This ancient village integrated typical Hui style houses with white walls and gray tiles. Today, the green hills and a clear stream are still making a peaceful dwelling place for more than 700 households.

The sun and rain over the years have reduced the black and white tile houses to a grayish white color, which gives a strong sense of remote times and history in the midst of a green forest.

Eighty three year old Luo Chunfu and his wife, 78, have been living in Chengkan village since they were born. Their children all work in cities and have asked them many times to move and live with them so they can take care of the old couple. But Luo says he doesn't want to leave.

The old man says he won't leave the village because he is so used to the life here. It's slow and comfortable. Luo can also communicate with tourists.

Luo says he raises eight chickens and one pig. He also makes some pocket money by selling boiled tea eggs to tourists and does haircuts for the villagers.

Someone once offered him two million yuan to buy his old house, but Luo declined. For the old man, life in Chengkan is as

comfortable and peaceful as it has been for many years.

But the younger ones have spotted some changes. Luo Xuan, 25, just gave birth to a daughter. Holding her 8-month old baby in her arms, the young mother says the village is different from the days when they were kids.

Luo says her village was quieter with fewer tourists during her childhood. Nowadays, many villages around this area have been crowded with tourists from home and abroad, and the influx has changed the long-time tranquility.

She says she won't say tourism is a bad thing as it does bring villagers more income, but in the same time, there are some interruptions.

We met a young man named Tang Cheng in Chengkan village at a souvenir shop. The post-graduate of Shanghai University, who is majoring in ancient Chinese classics, is the son of the shop owner, who was born here. He says he often comes to offer a helping hand during holidays.

"This village is very old, built in the Han Dynasty and with a long cultural heritage. For example, the Fengshui, Ying and Yang. Every year ancient buildings were destroyed by the local people because they wanted to build new houses. They had no other choice. They had to destroy the old buildings and build the new ones on the field they own. But the local government is forbidding them to do so," he says.

In order to satisfy the demand of villagers to improve their living standards

while not damaging the old houses, the local authorities decided to encourage villagers to build new houses outside the protection area.

In 2003, the local city government instituted a special regulation to guarantee the protection budget and define the responsibilities of officials.

The government has also published a regulation to strengthen cracking down on the stealing of structural components of ancient houses.

Tao Ping, deputy chief of Yixian County, says how to handle the tension between relic preservation and tourism development has become the challenge faced by the villagers and local governments.

"In my eyes, these ancient buildings all have lives. When I stand under the archways, I feel that they are like our grandfather, looking at us kindly and asking 'Can you protect us from being damaged?' It's natural that the villagers are looking for modern lifestyles as the times progress. But all of them have realized and agreed that any plan should be based on the preservation of ancient houses. Those who want to enjoy modern conveniences can move into the new residential area close by."

The local official says villagers have realized the importance of relic preservation and contributed to the protection work themselves. Tourists can see that most villagers who still live in the villages carefully look after their own old houses like specialists, as they know they are treasures from their ancestors and a stable source of income.

Behind the Scenes

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Huiju, or Hui Opera is one of the oldest forms of theatre in China, with a history of more than 300 years. Originating from the Huizhou area of east China's Anhui Province, Hui Opera is believed to be the predecessor of Peking Opera, China's national opera.

"Macbeth" is a play written by William Shakespeare in early 16- hundreds. It is considered one of the darkest and most powerful tragedies by the world pre-eminent playwright.

Recently, Anhui Provincial Hui Opera Theatre adapted "Macbeth" with the local opera. The performances have been widely acclaimed by audiences and critics alike.

The long history of Chinese opera has given rise to numerous regional branches, each of which is imprinted with the distinctive local culture of the region. As the name indicates, Hui Opera originated from Huizhou and the surrounding areas of Anhui Province. It has

experienced highs and lows in its history, but its abundant heritage and distinct features has allowed for its enduring artistic vitality.

Set in Scotland, "Macbeth" tells the story of a Scottish lord, Macbeth who receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the throne for himself.

His reign is racked with guilt and paranoia, and he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler as he is forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity

and suspicion. The bloodbath swiftly takes Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into realms of arrogance, madness and death.

Over the course of many centuries, the play has attracted some of the most renowned actors to the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. It has been adapted to film, television, opera, novels, comic books, and other media.

Xu Qin'na is a senior director of the Anhui Provincial Hui Opera Theatre and a big fan of Shakespeare's plays. He talks about why the theatre is interested in adapting Shakespeare to Chinese opera.

"We want to explore a new way to boost the development of Hui Opera. China's society is progressing at a rapid pace, the ancient form of local opera needs some new elements in order to appeal to younger generation of audiences and catch up with the rhythm of the times. Secondly, we find that there are many

Hu Shi was a representative of the New Culture Movement in modern China. He is widely recognized as a key contributor to Chinese liberalism and language reform in his advocacy of written vernacular Chinese.

Hu Shi was born in Shanghai. He

was raised in Shangzhuang Village, in Jixi County, east China's Anhui Province by his mother, Feng Shundi. His father, Hu Chuan, died when he was just 3-years-old.

Jixi is a low, hilly area, located between Huangshan and Tianmushan Mountain. To some extent, Jixi is the center of Huizhou Culture. It has various antique villages, ancestral halls and tranquil country roads. Jixi is also the hometown to a number of celebrities, such as Hu Xueyan , Hu Zongxian, Hu Shi, and Hu Kaiwen, to name just a few.

In one of his articles, entitled "Immortal", Hu Shi recalls how his 9 year stay in Shangzhuang Village helped lay the foundation for his knowledge of traditional Chinese literature and influenced his thinking.

From the village school he first attended, Hu Shi went to Shanghai at the age of thirteen to finish high school. In 1910, after receiving a scholarship, he studied agriculture at Cornell University and completed his Ph.D. in Philosophy under Professor John Dewey

at Columbia University. Under the influence of pragmatism and Dewey's ideas, he was gradually led to the conviction that China's modernization had to take place by changing ideas and by writing Chinese in the spoken vernacular. The latter earned him the name of "Father of the Chinese Literary Revolution."

When Hu Shi returned to China in 1917 and took up an appointment at Peking University, he quickly became one of the foremost intellectuals of his time. Advocating reforms on social, political, and intellectual issues, he had a highly influential voice for the next twenty years in discussions about reevaluating Chinese culture.

Hu Shi lived in Shangzhuang Village for only 9 years. But it is from here that he started his life long journey of redefining

Chinese culture. Cao Lanfeng, is the former director of

Shangzhuang Culture Station. She introduces the place where Hu Shi used to live:

"The former residence of Hu Shi opened to the public in 1986. The following

years have witnessed many scholars coming from all around the country to visit the area. The residence was built in 1897 by Hu Shi's elder brother Hu Shaozhi. It occupies 208 square meters, and the building area is 350 square meters. Today, on display at the former residence is some old furniture, the family trees, manuscripts by Hu Shi and pictures of him at different periods."

In 1904, Hu Shi's family established an arranged marriage for Hu with Jiang Dongxiu, an illiterate girl with bound feet who was one year older than him. The marriage took place in 1917 when Hu returned home from the United States for the wedding. That year, Hu Shi was already 27 years old, an age considered very late for a marriage at the time. But, to many people's

12 13

Behind the Scenes Behind the Scenes

The Former Residence of Hu Shi

When Hui Opera Meets William Shakespeare



Hu Shi's former residence, where Hu, his mother and wife lived, is a typical building of Hui style.

Hu Shi is widely recognized as a key contributor to Chinese liberalism and language reform in his advocacy of written vernacular Chinese.

surprise, the seemingly unsuitable marriage lasted until his death at the age of 70.

Hu Shi's former residence, where Hu, his mother and wife lived, is a typical building of Hui style. The two-storey house has three opening rooms, a green tiled roof and has horse head-like walls. The front of the house has a patio with guest houses on each side. Downstairs, there is a central room leading to an inner courtyard.

As in many other residences in southern Anhui, a Ba-Xian-Zhuo, or a wooden big square table that seats eight, is placed in the middle of the central room. On a long narrow table between the Ba-Xian-Zhuo and the wall, there is a jar of Weiqi, or Go, and a sea

shell, believed to be brought back by Hu Shi's father from a trip to a seaside resort.

Liu Yuanping, , a local tour guide, says Hu's family attached great importance to education:

"Shangzhuang Village is far away from sea, so I guess Hu Shi's father wanted his children to learn about the outside world. The ancient Chinese game of Go requires analytical skills and intuition. Apparently, Hu Shi benefited from the family tradition of valuing education."

Shangzhuang Primary School is a must see when going from the entrance of Shangzhuang Village to the former residence of Hu Shi. Hu Shi has been the

honorary principal of the school ever since its establishment until 1949 when he left the mainland. A stone tablet is erected at the main gate of the school with a 1921 poem from Hu Shi called "Wish", later adapted into the campus song in 1990s called Lan-Hua-Cao or "Orchid Grass". It goes something like this:

"Returning from a hill, I take the orchid with me. Planting it in the courtyard, I hope it will bloom soon. I go to watch it three times a day only to find that there is not a single bud."

It's hard to imagine that such an important man could sometimes be so childish and lighthearted.

Originating from the Huizhou area of east China's Anhui Province, Hui Opera is believed to be the predecessor of Peking Opera, China's national opera.

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Huishang, or Hui merchants were one of China's most famous merchant groups with a very strong cultural foundation in China's history.

Hailing from around the Huizhou city area of Anhui Province, the Hui Merchants rose to commercial prominence from the middle of the Ming Dynasty, which lasted from 1368 to 1644 AD.

Although the bulk of the merchants' trading activities took place along the Yangtze River, especially the Lower Yangtze region, their reach extended nationwide and even overseas to Japan in Asia and Portugal in Europe.

Today, businessmen in Anhui are moving to revive the millennium-long traditions of the Hui merchants, aiming to create new legends of economic growth.

In ancient China, where farming played the most important role in making a living,

Huizhou was an exception. In Huizhou, trade and business superseded farming as the local people's first way of making money and supporting a family. This is because

Huizhou's treacherous and mountainous geography supplied the local residents with meager arable land and an overabundance of manpower.

It's said that over 70 percent of Hui males were engaged in business and Hui merchants topped all merchant groups across China in terms of their population, economic power and the spectrum of their trading activities.

The businesses of salt, tea, wood, and pawnshop attracted the majority of Hui merchants. Grain, cotton, silk, paper, ink, and porcelain were also common products available in Hui-owned shops.

Besides making money by selling those goods, some Hui merchants ventured

outside of their hometown to set up factories. Zhao Xiaojin, an official from the

Anhui Tourism Committee, sums up the major characteristics of Hui merchants.

"People often call Hui merchants 'Hui Camel'; they were diligent, hardworking and famous for their extraordinary endurance. It's said that some left their hometown to seek business chances right after their weddings and found time to return only some three years later. Secondly, Hui merchants believed sincerely in honesty and morality. Usually, Hui merchants had a long-term view of their business. They knew that benefits came ultimately from customers, so they emphasized serving the customers. Actually, this belief became one of their most important means by which to make

profit.Thirdly, Hui merchants were distinctly

attached to bureaucracy. Following their success in business, Hui merchants tended to establish close relations with officials to make the business run more smoothly and prosper. Some sent their sons to sit imperial examinations, which provided access to political positions in the government," he said.

Zhao added that the business-oriented Huizhou people never took education lightly. Actually, almost all Huizhou children studied Confucianism as a compulsory course. Historical records state that even a small village of ten households in Huizhou persisted in Confucian studies.

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Behind the Scenes Behind the Scenes

14

common grounds in terms of artistic format when we compare Hui Opera repertory with Shakespeare's works," he said.

Director Xu added Hui Opera's vocal style, the set tunes and the percussive scores to portray the psychological state of different characters vividly. Meanwhile, "Macbeth," which is full of tension, conspiracy, murder and remorse, provides a perfect grounding for Hui Opera performers to act upon.

Director Xu enjoys a lot of fame in China's opera circle. In 1990, to mark the 200 anniversary of "the Four Hui Opera Troupes

coming to Beijing," Anhui Provincial Hui Opera Theatre staged several; well-preserved works in the traditional repertory under Xu's direction. That included "Flooding the Army," "The Drunken Royal Concubine," and "The Legend of the White Snake." The performances gained much attention and concern over the future of Hui Opera.

Each year, Xu says he stays for several months in a foreign country such as Italy, France and Spain to observe local operas and try to find ways to make Hui Opera more viable and international.

While western drama uses the narrative structure, focusing on story, plot, and character, Xu says Chinese opera is more of a lyrical poem focusing on ideal expression.

Entitled "Psycho", Xu says the Hui Opera adaptation of "Macbeth" is definitely an interesting opera that one shouldn't miss:

"This time, we use a lot of Pi-huang, short for Xipi and erhuang; two chief types of music in traditional Chinese operas. It is set in China's Spring and Autumn Period, which took place from approximately 771 until 476 BC. All the major characters in 'Macbeth' appear on the stage, wearing ancient Chinese costumes and singing Chinese local opera. It's a perfect combination of eastern and western drama," he said.

Zhou Zhengping is in charge of the lighting design of "Psycho."

"We have been working very hard to use high technology to create a strong visual aesthetic impact on stage. The stage art of Hui Opera is rich and varied, with spectacular stage sets. Particular emphasis is placed on the flow of light this time," he said.

Wang Yushu , the leading actor of "Psycho.".

"I cherish this opportunity to take the leading role in this great drama. It's not easy for an actor to come across a good play; this is particularly true for us Hui Opera performers nowadays when Hui Opera faces bottlenecks in its development. I hope our audience will like 'Psycho' and like Hui Opera," he said.

Sun Chongliang, director of Shanghai Peking Opera Theatre gives 'Psycho' a thumbs up:

"I watch 'Psycho' in awe. It's a very good show, the singing, speaking, acting and acrobatic fighting are all good. It makes me feel confident again about the future of Chinese operas," he said.

Ji Guoping, vice chairman of China's Dramatists Association, says "Psycho" interprets the famous Shakespeare work very well using Hui Opera's unique style. He says the adaptation of Shakespeare into Chinese opera presents China in the context of globalization and cross-cultural exchanges.

"The Hui Opera's adaptation of 'Macbeth' is a perfect combination of tradition and innovation. It's a nice try and points to an effective way of reviving and promoting Chinese opera to a wider audience. We hope more efforts will be made to revive and develop China's local operas, an essential portion of Chinese intangible heritage," he added.

The Revival of Hui MerchantsText by Yao Yongmei, Photo by Liu Hongyu

In Huizhou, trade and business superseded farming as the local people's first way of making money and supporting a family. This elaborately carved stone gate is one of many relics telling the achievements by Hui merchants.

Huiju, or Hui Opera is one of the oldest forms of theatre in China, with a history of more than 300 years.

The long history of Chinese opera has given rise to numerous regional branches, each of which is imprinted with the distinctive local culture of the region.

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Chinese restaurants in foreign countries are often judged based on whether or not their dishes are able to maintain the original Chinese style, but in the Jewish state of Israel, restaurant owners have another thing to consider -- ensuring the dishes are

kosher.Kosher foods are those that conform to

the regulations of Jewish dietary laws, with the most commonly known rule being that typically Jews do not eat pork; most seafood is also forbidden unless it has both fins and scales.

"You can't ask for everything," said Ma Peizhen, a co-owner of a Chinese restaurant in Tel Aviv. "You have to choose what kind of customers you want to keep."

Originally from Hong Kong, Ma has lived in Israel and run restaurants here for over 30 years. Her current restaurant "Hayam Hasini" was opened 13 years ago near the Tel Aviv beach, and prominently features seafood.

Ma tries to maintain the Chinese flavor as far as possible; all the chefs in the restaurant are from the Chinese mainland since, according to her, "Chefs from here or

even Hong Kong just can't create the right flavor." She also brings ingredients such as broad bean paste from China to Tel Aviv in order to ensure the flavor of the food is authentic. However, she admitted that Jewish people tend to prefer when Chinese food is

adapted to the local taste."Jews like food with strong flavors, and

they prefer it sweeter." Only three restaurants in Tel Aviv are actually owned by Chinese people, whilst there are several Chinese restaurants with Jewish owners. As far as Ma is concerned, their food is not Chinese food at all; however, they are more easily accepted by locals.

Ma feels that most Jewish people do not really know what Chinese food is; they widely believe that Chinese food is greasy and unhealthy. However, as more Jewish people travel or carry out business in China, some visit Ma's restaurant specifically to order more authentic-tasting Chinese food.

Many Jewish businessmen bring their Chinese partners to the restaurant and recommend the venue to friends who also carry out business with Chinese people. However, they never visit with their families;

Ma presumes the reason is because the food is not kosher.

In order to maintain her business, Ma has started contacting travel agencies just as she did when running her restaurant in Haifa several years ago. Currently tourist

groups account for around 40 percent of her business, whilst another 30 percent are made of Jews, and the remaining diplomats, companies and South Koreans working in Tel Aviv. Her restaurant also offers business lunches for local workers. Although Ma is keen to maintain the authentic Chinese flavor of her food, she acknowledges that she will have to adapt her style according to different customers.

The chefs are able to tell where customers come from based on the dishes they order, said Ma. Jewish people only order certain dishes, as do South Koreans and so on. With Chinese customers, she always asks them which provinces they come from so that she can instruct the chefs to cook according to their preferred local flavors.

Sangpagk Lee, a South Korean who has worked in Tel Aviv for three years, dines at Ma's restaurant every two or three months.

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Behind the Scenes From Reporter's Eyes

Hui merchants thought that the wealth they obtained through business should not deter their children from gaining an education, and that wealth accumulation without the support of Confucianism counted for very little.

So after they had made their fortunes and returned home, these merchants were bent on establishing academies and schools and involving themselves with projects intended for the public good. But no matter how rich the Hui merchants became, the traditions of diligent accounting practices and thrift prevailed throughout their lives.

In the late Qing Dynasty change came about due to a series of unfavorable policies adopted by the Qing government; the keen market competition fueled by foreign counterparts; and the impediment of traditional but backward operational methods. As a result, the businesses run by Hui merchants were gradually eclipsed. Today only Tunxi Old Street, with its many old and well-preserved shops, vividly evokes images of the prosperity that the area once knew.

Strolling along Tunxi old street, we are attracted by an ink stone shop which bears a

simple name: the "three-hundred ink shop". Zhou Xiaolin is the owner of the

"three-hundred ink shop" and a former official with the local Culture Bureau. Zhou quit his job at the age of 47 and opened his own ink stone shop in the old street. After starting with nothing, Zhou's business is now thriving. Attracted by its fame, state leaders from a number of Asian countries have come to purchase Zhou's ink stones.

Zhou believes that honesty is the soul that should be carried out by today's businessmen in Anhui.

"In history, Hui merchants were known for their teamwork, integrity, honesty, and loyalty. Today, we still value honesty and morality in our business dealings. There are many dishonest businessmen around these days, but I want my two hundred square meter shop to be a clean place. We are looking for the best stones with which to make the best ink stones and I've asked my workers not to skimp on workmanship and materials."

Sixty-eight year old Zhou says he never planned to set up branches in other cities or go public despite the fact that his small shop enjoys a great deal of fame across the country.

But for the younger generation of today's Hui merchants, expanding their business scope is the ultimate goal.

Thirty year old Ni Zhengxin owns a wood-carving factory in Huizhou. Some of his works were exhibited during the 2010 Shanghai Expo.

"We want more people in the world to know more about hui-style wood-carvings. Huizhou Woodcarving boasts the most exquisite craftsmanship. In times past, the local residential houses featured large and delicately produced woodcarvings, which could be seen almost everywhere; ranging from the eaves above the gate to the beams, from the handrails of stairs to the window screens or archways. It's a real art form. They need to be known by the world and the local people should be able to benefit from this business utilizing a strong cultural appeal."

Well, It seems that the unique culture that grew out of the Anhui merchants, -- namely, teamwork, moral integrity, honesty, sympathy for the poor, and loyalty to the country -- is still remembered today by the province's inhabitants. We wish all young Hui Businessmen good luck in their future business endeavors.

Chinese Food in the Jewish World, Kosher or Not ?

Anhui province is known for its beautiful and preserved architecture with the old [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/ SIMONE COTE]

Rapessed flowers, grown in many areas in China are especially prevalent in Anhui province during the spring time. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/ SIMONE COTE]

A local couple from Anhui have been making hairy tofu for the past 10 years in Anhui province. They believe they have the best Mao Doufu ( Hairy Tofu) in Anhui province.

A boy and a girl that we encountered walking through the historic village. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com /SIMONE COTE]

Text / Photo by CRI Jerusalem Correspondent Zhang Jin

Food served in Sheyan, a Chinese restaurant run by an Israeli owner in Jerusalem, on May 5, 2013. At another table, Jewish customers are enjoying their meals.

A waiter serves devout Jewish customers in Sheyan, a Chinese restaurant owned by an Israeli boss in Jerusalem, on May 5, 2013.

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theMessengerof American commercial films, they also exhibit local Chinese characteristics well. Take the film 'Lost in Thailand' for example: the story-line of this comedy film sets out each of its laughing points or romantic plot turning points at designated intervals. This film-making style completely complies with the rhythm of a typical Hollywood movie. More importantly, it incorporates elements of Chinese humor which Chinese people can understand and appreciate."

A hit in the cinema is qualified by the movie's box office performance, which is usually considered an effective indicator for the public to judge the quality of a movie. And this is more than true for investors in the film projects.

Take the film "The Chef, The Actor, The Scoundrel" for example. According to an estimation from China Galaxy Securities, ENLIGHT MEDIA, the producer and investor of this film project, would earn a net profit of 40 to 50 million yuan if the film were to reach 300 million yuan at the box office.

Taking profit as the main concern, Shan Dongbing, a famous investor and distributor of film projects in China, explains their investment preferences.

"We tend to invest in kung fu, martial art and comedy films, as they are regarded more as entertainment than elegant art forms. Just like a type of fast food culture, films have become a commodity just for quick consumption, like something you can buy from McDonald's," he said.

Shan also believed that films should be designed with the film market in mind, emphasizing the need for strong content to satisfy the spiritual needs of young viewers.

"Nowadays young people are faced with a lot of pressure from life which includes the financial burden of housing and car costs, as well as factors such as polluted environments. These results in many changes in their inner world and film products become a source of personal comfort. Professionals in the film industry should find out the topics that the general population may feel particularly interested in and produce films around these topics so as to satisfy the spiritual needs of the audience, particularly for those young viewers," added Shan.

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From Reporter's Eyes

Lee said that as there's no Korean restaurant in Tel Aviv, many South Koreans opt for Chinese restaurants where the food helps keep them satisfied. "We do not care if they change the style or not. The food already tastes delicious to us, and that's why we come here."

In another Chinese restaurant in west Jerusalem, the story is totally different. Owned by a Jewish boss who can speak fluent mandarin Chinese, the kosher restaurant "Sheyan" is described on its website as "a captivating merge between Jerusalem's eclectic atmosphere and China's traditional cuisine".

In addition to having four Chinese and one Israeli chef, "Sheyan" employs two religious Jewish men to supervise the cooking to ensure it is kosher. Zhao Guanglong, a Chinese chef who has worked here for over four years, said that in addition to all the materials being kosher, the cooking and preparation processes must follow certain rules. For example, raw materials cannot to be put on fire by common chefs, only by religious people, unless the food is already half-cooked.

The restaurant has operated in Rehavia, an upscale Jerusalem neighborhood, for eight years. Most of the customers are devout Jewish immigrants from the United States who visit regularly. According to Nadav

China has replaced Japan to become the world's second-biggest movie market, with domestic films contributing significantly to China's box office both this and last year.

Film industry insiders all express optimism towards this trend. They also believe that making films which focus more on the state of young people's lives is the right approach to win Chinese audiences over.

A number of new Chinese films released this year and last year have become local hits at the box offices, where they have made more than several hundred million yuan.

The film "The Chef, The Actor, The Scoundrel" is a relatively recent success, having already gained almost 300 million yuan, or nearly 50 million dollars at the box

Kramer, the manager of the restaurant, most of the dishes here have been altered to adapt to the customers' tastes, making them sweeter and less spicy.

"Although the ingredients are pretty much the same, you can say the flavors are still very different," said Kramer. The Israeli manager himself prefers the more authentic Chinese food which he had tasted when his chefs cooked for themselves, but he feels that the majority of western diners do not enjoy the original flavors.

Kramer's words were confirmed by a religious couple surnamed Klein who reside in a different city in Israel, but dine at Sheyan every time they visit Jerusalem. Mr. Klein, who wore a traditional Jewish high black hat on his head, said the food here is exactly to his taste. Mrs. Klein is also a fan of the food, praising it for being not so heavy, nor greasy. She was also attracted by the cleanliness of the restaurant. "Every glass, after being washed, is held up to the light to check if it is clean," said Mrs. Klein. "People in this area, Rehavia, are very meticulous; the restaurant caters to the area and the food is also delicious."

But for those who are not as religious and have tasted more authentic Chinese food, things are a bit different. Elaine Pradley, from England, came to Jerusalem with her husband to visit their daughter and celebrated

her birthday at Sheyan. Their daughter had been to the restaurant before and greatly enjoyed the food, leading her to choose the venue for her birthday dinner. Her parents, who reside in Liverpool where there is a very large, longstanding Chinese community, with many Chinese restaurants offering traditional Chinese food, said that, while they liked the flavor here, they prefer the traditional taste. The couple is planning to visit China in September to travel, and are looking forward to tasting more original Chinese food.

Joel Parker, an American historian residing in Israel, said he joined a summer camp visiting China when he was 13 years old, which he traveled with to Beijing and Chengdu. He greatly misses Sichuan food, saying, "You can't find it anywhere outside China. It says Sichuan on the menu but it isn't really; it's different, never the same."

But there's good news for him. During the Spring Festival this year, the city of Chengdu held a "Sichuan food festival" for five days in Haifa. Chefs from Chengdu kept the original Sichuan food flavors while obeying kosher rules. The festival turned out to be a success and some Israeli chefs are to visit Chengdu later this year to learn more about cooking Sichuan food. So maybe one day, Parker can re-experience "the best" Sichuan flavor inside Israel. He is already excited, "It's cool!" he said.

Local Design in Film Content Key to Success

Text by Xu Fei

office. The three main actors in the film, who are also golden horse winners, Huang Bo, Liu Ye and Zhang Han-yu have predicted, even before the film has stopped screening at the cinema, that it could ultimately gain around 800 million yuan at the box office.

Dong Runnian, the film's playwright, attributes the success of "The Chef, The Actor, The Scoundrel" to the innovative nature of this commercial film, which he describes as "explorative" in terms of content and style.

The film 'The Chef, The Actor, The Scoundrel' is special because of its courageous approach. The film, a combination of many commercial varieties including comedy and martial art, also features elements of a suspense film and science fiction. It is a sort

of exploration in commercial film-making," said Dong.

Besides this film, other recent domestic hits include "Beijing Meets Seattle", also known as "Finding Mr. Right" in English, which reached almost 500 million yuan at the box office. The 2012 Chinese comedy "Lost in Thailand" was another success, being the first-ever Chinese film to surpass one-billion yuan at the box office.

The succession of well-received films at China's box office has been seen as a positive sign of encouragement by China's film industry insiders. Chinese comedy film actress Dai Lele is one of them.

Dai said: "We are proud of the box

office performance of several Chinese movies released this year. I believe it to be a good trend as well as a great encouragement to us Chinese filmmakers. The films 'Lost in Thailand' and 'Finding Mr. Right' do reflect the state of life of many of China's young people, so are easily relatable. Watching these films instills in us a sense of familiarity and comfort, as well as interest."

In light of recent developments, playwright Dong Runnian explains why he believes that new Chinese films have become increasingly popular among domestic audience members.

Dong said: “Recent local hits have not only reached the production standard

Investor and film projects distributor Shan Dongbing [Photo: Courtesy of Shan Dongbing]

Chinese comedy film actress Dai Lele, who stars in the film "Dinner Party," visits the "Reel China" studio at CRI to discuss her latest movie on March 29, 2013. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]

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From Reporter's Eyes From Reporter's Eyes

China's film industry may be spitting out movies like never before, diverting much of Chinese audience members' attention away from foreign films.

Three domestic films, namely "Lost in Thailand," "Chinese Zodiac 12" and "Journey to the West," which debuted last year and this year, have each exceeded one billion yuan in box office earnings.

What kinds of films become the favorites of Chinese moviegoers, and has there been any change in audience taste over the last few years? Film industry insiders give their respective opinions.

With box office revenues in China rising 30 percent last year to 2.7 billion U.S. dollars, the country has now edged out Japan to become the second-largest film market in the world after the United States.

Figuring out the smartest ways to reach Chinese moviegoers has become one of the film industry's top priorities. IMAX CEO Richard

Audience Hungry for Comedy Films, Touching Stories

Gelfond, among many others who realize the huge potential of Chinese market, says filmmakers must be sensitive to Chinese tastes.

But what is Chinese taste? Yin Hong, Director of the Research Centre for Film and Television Communication at Tsinghua University, says the recent high box office

revenue is powerful evidence of what appeals to Chinese moviegoers.

"In recent years, big-budget martial art films have witnessed a noticeable decline in their box office earnings. Meanwhile, films with realistic themes, cute romantic movies and comedies are frequent box office successes in China," he said.

Famous Chinese comedic film actress Dai Lele believes comedies have become more popular nowadays because young audiences want to enjoy a time of ease when they are under intense pressure.

"Life is difficult. Today, young people have to shoulder all types of pressure, including from both their work and rocketing housing prices. As you become physically exhausted, you might go to a spa or massage service, and when you are in a low mood, comedic films serve as a spa for your mind. Watching a comedic film might not change any disappointing reality, but you feel quite at ease and

Text / Photo by Xu Fei

China's Film Industry Short of Professionals Text by Xu Fei

China's film industry is booming with Chinese filmmakers producing nearly 900 films last year.

But film industry insiders and experts believe China faces a severe shortage of professional moviemakers. Experts also urge that more international exchanges be arranged to improve the professional quality of film-related staffs.

China has become the world's second-biggest movie market, with its box office sales surging more than 30-percent year on year. Statistics from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television indicate that Chinese filmmakers produced 893 films last year, including 745 feature films and 33 animated ones.

But Yin Hong, director of the Research Centre for Film and Television Communication at Tsinghua University, says although Chinese filmmakers produced nearly 900 films last year, the number of good competitive movies was disappointingly small. He describes filmmaking professionals in China in the same vein.

"We have a large number of people involved in the filmmaking industry, but China still lacks high-level professionals, including elite filmmakers capable of conducting international exchanges, outstanding playwrights, directors and editors as well as cinema photographers and those who deal with lighting and sound effects," he said.

Earlier, Wang Zhongjun, president and CEO of Huayi Brothers Media Company, expressed the same opinion, complaining about the shortage of talented directors and playwrights in film production companies such as his.

"The successful movies made by Huayi Brothers Media Company in recent years have been the brainchild of just a few film

directors. I think nowadays China mostly lacks professionals with creative ideas. The good movies a company produces every year solely depend on the creative thinking of a very small number of directors and playwrights," he said.

Filmmaking usually comprises three parts: pre-production, the shooting of the film, and post-production. Directors, playwrights and shooting crews are involved in the first two phases. Yin Hong points out that there is an embarrassing shortage of editing professionals in the post-production phase.

"It is a trend nowadays that the filmmaking largely relies on the post-production phase which takes longer than the actual shooting of the film. But China is suffering from a severe shortage of the professionals who are good at post-production. So we've found that although a large number of people are involved, only a small number are suitable for the development of China's film industry. In other words, we have a large quantity but lack good quality. A shortage of professionals in one specific area even makes the training of those professionals good at various fields in the film industry lose their basis," he said.

In the film and video industry, makeup artists play an important role in the overall appearance of the actors. Not only does a makeup artist strive to make each person on the big or small screen look as good as possible, but he or she may also be required to make them look older, younger, injured or even actually alter some aspect of their physical appearance with makeup and masks or partial masks.

Bai Lijun, a senior makeup artist for Bayi Film Studio of the People's Liberation Army, believes

China lacks high-level experienced cinema makeup talent and calls for relevant training.

"There are a huge number of people who work in film makeup in China. However, China should emphasize the training of mid-level and high-level film makeup professionals, particularly in the area of relevant techniques of character modeling and design. In this regard, we have a lot to do. During the ongoing Beijing International Film Festival, a number of nationally and internationally famous film makeup experts have been invited to give lectures in a bid to

improve the professional quality of Chinese who do film makeup, which I believe is greatly significant," she said.

Even though the film festival is an annual event and cannot replace regular training, Bai believes it can serve as a valuable platform for the exchange of ideas with world masters in this field.

Bai added, "During the film festival, the 2013 Oscar Best Makeup and Hair-styling Winner Julie Dartnell told us in great detail how she had made up the characters for the film 'Les Miserable,' which is our favorite

film. I remember she started from making a scar on a character's head to how she would technically make a character really look like a middle-aged gentleman and senior citizens.

Meanwhile, the Chinese makeup professionals also told their peers from other nations how they had made an actor's or actress's hairstyle in the fashion of an ancient man or woman with the use of wigs," said Bai Lijun.

The 3rd Beijing International Film Festival, which was held in April, contained many forums related to film and technology.

Yin Hong, director of the Research Centre for Film and Television Communication at Tsinghua University [Photo: Courtesy of Yin Hong]

Makeup artist Bai Lijun [Photo: Courtesy of Bai Lijun]

Independent filmmaker Huang Li talks to "Reel China" about her short film "The Coin" and her upcoming projects in the CRI studio on March 8, 2012.[Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]

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laugh out your worries the entire night," she said.

Yin Hong believes that since Chinese youngsters constitute the majority of moviegoers, their taste will determine the direction that filmmaking takes.

"Chinese audience members fond of movies are much younger people, and they demand more than ever that movies be good entertainment. Hence, despite whether a movie is a comedic or martial arts movie, it shows a big characteristic: The film becomes more entertaining. This trend complies with the demand from the majority of domestic audiences, " he said.

Meanwhile, storytelling through microfilms is a huge phenomenon in China.

Nowadays, for most people, watching a long feature film usually requires a couple of hours, while microfilms offer an alternative.

Like fast food that provides customers with convenience, microfilms in China, which usually run 20 minutes, have gained popularity among those pressed for time.

The new trend has not only attracted celebrities such as director Zhang Yimou to join in, but has provided a platform for a number of newly emerging directors to display their talent.

Director Huang Li is one of them. She believes the production of a good microfilm should take netizens' viewing habits as a priority consideration.

"Since microfilms are mainly watched on the internet, internet users tend to be young people and ordinary citizens. If a microfilm can successfully arouse young netizens' interest, it will enjoy as much popularity as expected," she said.

The microfilm "The Coin," directed by

Huang Li, won the top award in the microfilm section at last year's Harbin Film Festival as well as the best actress award in the online film section at last year's Beijing College Student Film Festival.

The short film has also been shown as a recommended movie at six international film festivals, including this year's Asia short film festival held in Tokyo.

Huang Li says online audience reach is universal, and a good Chinese short film will not only touch Chinese viewers' hearts but can easily go beyond borders.

She added, "Take 'Coin' as an example. The microfilm is about a motherly love story, which all people can understand without any obstacles due to cultural clashes or language barriers. Hence, it can be well received by international audiences too."

Cinemas Mainly in Metropolis in China Sweat, Sales Pitches

and Scandal at the Beijing Running Festival

Text by Xu Fei

Text / Photo by William Wang

With box office revenues rising 30 percent last year to 2.7 billion U.S. dollars, China has now edged out Japan to become the second-largest film market in the world following the United States.

Film industry insiders believe new movie screens, which are sprouting up across the country, are a strong force stimulating box office earnings in China.

But one expert also believes that box office revenues will continue to grow if China evenly distributes its cinemas in cities, including small county-level ones.

China is undergoing a cinematic growth spurt, with 10 new cinema screens opening each day throughout the country, a higher number than anywhere else.

This trend is also attracting international investment to Chinese cinemas.

As the first jointly funded cinema in Beijing, Megabox, with some investment from South Korea, built its first movie theater in 2007 at Zhongguancun

On Sunday morning (April 14th), 20,000 people squeezed their way into Tiananmen Square for the Beijing International Long Distance Running Festival, and were anxiously fidgeting, stretching, and hopping up and down in the moments before the run began.

Race officials were frantically attempting to organize the masses into gender-segregated areas for the 10 and 5 kilometers and mini family running events. Faster runners wiggled their way towards the starting line, which was completely occupied by a small army of young men proudly waving the key sponsor's flags in the air. The tai chi performers were quickly gliding out of the square before the oncoming torrent of bodies bowled them over.

The start signal sent the crowd energy into a spike and the mass of runners squeezed through a rollicking Tiananmen Square maze

shopping mall in Beijing's Haidian district. Today, the Zhongguancun cinema is one of

the most popular movie theaters in the city. Li Yi, operations manager of the

Zhongguancun cinema, proudly tells reporters about the theater's high moviegoer numbers.

"From Monday to Thursday, our cinema will receive around 2,000 moviegoers per day. Friday to Sunday is the prime time for moviegoers, particularly during a good movie debut, and this may lead to the number of moviegoers rising to 4,000 per day. We often see moviegoers queuing up in a long line for a ticket," she said.

Film industry insider, actress Dai Lele, believes a growing number of newly built cinemas have boosted the country's box office revenue considerably.

"An obvious development is that we have more and more cinemas in China. In the past, we had to go far away to look for a cinema in order to watch a movie. Today, cinemas are often nearby either in the neighborhood of a community where we live or at a

shopping area, which has also given rise to booming box office returns in China," she said.

Today, audiences in big Chinese cities are happy not only about the growing number of new cinemas, but also about the advanced equipment in them, which offer moviegoers many pleasant surprises.

When James Cameron's sci-fi epic "Avatar" opened in December 2009, there were only 13 IMAX screens in all of China. Today, there are 110, with some 140 more scheduled to open in the near future.

Another film industry insider, playwright Dong Runnian, predicts cinema operators will increase their investment by introducing advanced equipment to satisfy people's desire to have better movie-going experiences.

"Nowadays, we have seen more and more IMAX screens or big screens in China that comfort audience' eyes with proper

brightness. Big progress has been made in cinema facilities. I also think along with the boom in the Chinese film market, cinema managers in Chinese cities will become willing to increase their investment in technical upgrades, " he said.

Meanwhile, the noticeable growth in the number of movie theaters in big Chinese cities has unavoidably brought in market competition.

Manager Li Yi said Megabox now offers certain services to make itself more competitive.

"Six of our eight video halls have 3D equipment. Competition among cinemas in Beijing does exist. Hence, we follow a very rigid standard in the quality of service and management. We also provide our moviegoers with novel food varieties which are usually imported from overseas, and customers enjoy the flexibility to have different meal options at a discounted price," she added.

By contrast, movie cinemas are still in short supply in some second- and third-tier cities, particularly in western China, where most local theaters are timeworn and outdated.

Li Qiankuan, film director and chairman of the China Film Association, a 6,000-member filmmakers' organization, believes bustling small cities, even county-level ones, must install more screens in the future.

"But the construction of Chinese cinemas is situated in central areas or business districts in coastal cities and big cities. A large number of second- and third-tier cities and more than 3,000 county-level cities are not well covered by the country's cinema-construction projects. As the country yields a plan to further expand the construction of Chinese cinemas, Chinese box offices will embrace another big jump in overall scale," said he.

Playwright Dong Runnian [Photo: Courtesy of Dong Runnian]

Linus Holmsater may have been denied his third place award, but these girls manage to squeeze a smile out of him.

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“Doing improv is like walking backwards,” Jeffrey Schwab said, quoting improv guru Keith Johnstone. “You can see where you’ve been but you can’t see where you’re going.” Schwab is organizing the Beijing Improv Comedy Festival, a festival who’s contents can’t be known until the moment of the performance. Improv (improvisational theater) is basically comedy without the script. Players act out scenes based on spontaneous suggestions, often taken from audience members. The Beijing Improv Comedy Festival celebrates the act of going where no man (or woman) has gone before, by hosting a series of performances by teams from around the globe. “We might witness Shakespeare!” enthused host Jonathan Palley at the festival’s opening show. “We might not,”

he mumbled, as an afterthought.

The Beijing Improv Comedy Festival brought together improv teams from a variety of Chinese cities including Hong Kong, Shanghai and Xiamen, in addition to teams from the Philippines, Australia and even the faraway shores of Turkey. Each improv team strutted its stuff, blasting through the most bizarre and unlikely scenarios that moderators and audiences could throw at them.

Nobody could know what exactly to expect, since it’s impossible to know what direction players will end up being shoved in. “You have to trust that you’re going in the right direction,” instructed

But not all runners were so pleased with the end result of their run. Linus Holmsater has been cooperating with the festival for the past few years organizing and performing the pre-race Heyrobics warm-ups.

But for the second time, he was denied the prize he felt was his due. Last year, he was denied his second place position on the podium because he wasn't wearing the official race T-shirt. This year he acquiesced to wear the official race shirt, and proceeded to finish the race in third place. However, he was again shortly disqualified, this time for having the wrong number on his bib. "But they gave me this number!" he said in exasperation.

"I don't think it's Lining (shoe sponsor) or Amway (festival sponsor) who's causing the problems," he stated. "It's the guys who are organizing these races. I think they want the local students to win. A lot of these other races are doing a good job, but this race and

However, people were either oblivious or didn't seem to mind running in such a commercial setting. They padded along the roads, waving at the cheering bystanders, alternating between posing for and snapping

photos. The difference between a running

"race" and a running "festival" was evident in the event's noncompetitive nature; no individual times were recorded, except for top finishers. Dai Zhen was the runner of the day, completing ten kilometers in 32:23 minutes.

A man surnamed Wang was a typical participant, uninterested in times, but perfectly pleased that he'd run his five kilometers and arrived in Xiannongtan Stadium with no great deal of suffering. "It's important to participate to be healthy. And it makes a contribution to the country," he added.

before pushing south toward the Temple of Heaven.

The reasonably fresh air and sunny temperatures were better than many had hoped for, and it was obvious that people

were happy to be out, even if organizers had (unnecessarily) asked people to arrive an hour early at the ungodly hour of seven.

Marketing was non-stop throughout the run. It was by far the biggest barrage of marketing that most runners had ever witnessed. After flag-toting runners had trickled out of sight, teams of cheerers appeared on the curbs, waving branded foam hands to be high-fived.

At strategic locations, mascots in Super Mario and rabbit costumes waved their flags and posed for photos. A graffiti artist made his homage to the sponsor's logo while two MCs hollered out rhymes about health and beauty products.

24 25

the organization behind it are 30 years behind. I hate to complain after a race. Afterwards you just want to celebrate and have a good time. But it's bitter when you should be on the podium."

An official response by the running festival states that Holmsater’s disqualification was the result of a clerical error that may have been caused by staff turnover.

A man surnamed Li had enjoyed his

own 5 kilometer run, but was disappointed about Holmsater's situation. "The officials should acknowledge his accomplishment and award him the prize," he concurred. "If they don't, people will lose interest in joining this festival."

Other people found the race's organization substandard in its inaccurate distance markers, insufficient toilet facilities and one inadequately supplied water station.

Post race, thousands of exhausted

runners were dismayed to face a five kilometer walk to the nearest subway stop. Yes, people complained, but nobody complained too angrily. Because after all was said and done, the festival was a perfect excuse to get out and active on a beautiful day, to hook up with old friends and meet new ones. People just rolled their eyes before daydreaming about how they would run at next year's event.

Runners charge through Tiannanmen Square for the 2013 International Running Festival.

This running fest is obviously not just for runners.

Ma Wenlou says, “the Amway race is so unprofessional,” but he can still have fun at the event.

A determined runner at the Beijing’s International Running Festival.

Improv players accepting the most improbable of situations on the opening night of the Beijing Improv Comedy Festival. [Photo: Dominic Swire]

The Beijing Improv Comedy Festival: Saying “Yes” Text by William Wang

Jeffrey Schwab, Improv Fest organizer: "Watching people have improvised sex is just not anything that anyone wants to watch. People think it’s a good idea, but it just looks dumb. It makes people squirm."[Photo: William Wang]


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and Family Planning states that local governments should provide necessary help to them, if they've already passed the age of giving birth to a second child.

But national advisor Yang Jia, vice-chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, thought the government should revise this article, since it didn't say clearly what kind of help is necessary to these families.

Yang said: "We should mention the necessary help must come from all the three areas -- namely economic, psychological, as well as health care and old age like nursing homes, so that the local government knows where to pay attention and where to support them."

As a female advisor, Yang also suggested building a mutual support network among mothers who lost their only child instead of just waiting for government support.

"Such mothers can have peer help. We are in the internet age. I think the government or NGOs should set up more networks or platforms for those mothers to communicate more, and to organize more activities." Yang added.

According to Yang's research, right now there are more than 1 million families who lost

their only child in China. By the year 2035, the number will be more than 10 million.

China's central government set the goal of increasing the country's educational expenditure to 4 percent of the GDP 20 years ago.

This goal was finally reached in 2012, according to Finance Minister Xie Xuren at last year's national fiscal work meeting.

Zhong Binglin, Chairman of Chinese Society of Education and a member of the country's top advisor body, believed the overall level of education in the country had improved in the past few years.

"China has universalized its fundamental education and popularized its higher education. There have been different degrees of improvement in conditions and internal systematic construction in schools in both rural and urban areas, from primary schools to high schools. And these schools started to treat personnel training as their central task." Zhong told CRI reporter.

However, there is still a

Due to China's One Child Policy adopted in 1979, millions of families gave birth to only one child.

If such families lose the child, or the child becomes disabled after the parents lose their childbearing ability, they will become a "Shi Du Jia Ting", literarily translated as families who lost their only child.

The number of these families has been surging in China in recent years.

With low incomes and being out of physical condition, their lives are much more lonely and helpless.

Professor Wang Ming from Tsinghua University started to pay attention to such a special group of people when he wrote his proposal to suggest that the country revise its family planning policy.

"What does a family mean? A family is made up of parents and their child. The child represents the future and hope. A family who lost their only child is like a family who lost their future and hope." Wang explained during an interview with CRI.

According to Wang Ming, the problem is caused by the special national family planning policy, so the government should take the responsibility to help them.

He also suggested the government revise the adoption law in order to encourage and support such families to

serious lack of educational resources in some under-developed parts of China.

Tu Xue is secretary-general of a volunteer organization called Our Free Sky, which is working to improve the education and well-being of children in rural areas.

"There are 164 schools, most of which have only one or two teachers. And those teachers are mainly substitute teachers. There's no electricity or roads to the schools, and you can only get drinking water from several kilometers away." Tu gave an example of Sichuan Province.

According to Zhong Binglin from Chinese Society of Education, the lack of facilities was much easier to improve as long as the government could guarantee educational investment in these areas.

But he said the investment increase could not solve all the problems.

"In order to improve the educational level in western China, the key point lies in the team building of teachers, how to improve

26 27

Schwab, “because there is no right one. We say always say yes to the situation.”

According to him, improv has two basic formats. “There’s short form improv and there’s long form. So in short form you play a game on stage. You get a suggestion for that scene and it might last for five minutes. It’s contained, and it’s done. And then you do the next game which has nothing to do with the first one. So in a show you might do eight or nine short form games.

“Then there’s long form improv,” he continued, “where you get one suggestion and then you do 40 to 60 minutes worth of scenes without any other suggestions from the audience. It’s like doing an improvised play. It’s all continuous.” Long form improv by necessity is character and plot driven, with less focus on slapstick humor. Schwab himself claims an affinity to long form, even though it strikes fear in the throbbing hearts of many improv players.

“The thing about long form is that you have good memory. Things that happen in the beginning might come up at the end. You have

to remember their names and relationships. There are going to be connections. The hardest thing is to find an ending. How do you find ending? You just find it. That’s always the biggest challenge.”

He added, “The short form game is contained: if it’s not that good, it’s over in five minutes. The challenge in short form is that you only have four or five minutes to make an entertaining scene. You have to be high energy all the time for the entire show. It can be exhausting.”

Impro Mafia (a two woman team from Australia) wowed the audience with a Jane Austen-style long format piece. Istanbulimpro (a two man team from Turkey) did their long form piece. Shwab dubbed them “the wild card” of the festival, the strangers in a strange town.

Of course, teams based in China were well-represented, presenting in Mandarin, English and French. But no one was surprised to hear snippets of Cantonese or Shanghainese either. Beijing’s Bilingual Improv Group (BIG) exemplifies cross-

cultural humor. “There’s some people [in the group] who can’t speak much Chinese, and there’s some people who can’t speak much English,” Schwab pointed out, “so we have to be aware of each other’s language ability when we step on the stage with that scene partner. Singing is one of the hardest things to do bilingually, but,” he smiled, “we’re working on that.”

All proceeds of the festival go to Hua Dan, an organization that supports the children of migrant workers through theater education, and a free Sunday performance will let these kids show off their ability to perform under pressure. “It’s one thing to tell people what Hua Dan does,” said Schwab, “ but it’s another thing for people to see them actually perform.” It’s clear that this is one show he does not want to miss.

The festival wrapped up with a Mix and Match performance: different teams will faced off in a theater sports competition, where death by laughter proved how serious improv can be.

Advisors Urge Equal Educational Resources

Caring for Families that Lost Their Only Child

Text / Photo by Wang Wei

Text / Photo by Wang Wei

the ability and quality of existing teachers through in-service training. And we should improve the economic and social status of teachers to attract more excellent university and master graduates to teach in these less-developed areas." Zhong added.

The expert said that government

support alone was not enough to solve the problem. More efforts were needed from various circles of society.

Former NBA star Yao Ming, a newly elected CPPCC member, was calling for the government to loosen its policy so that more NGOs could come to help.

Yao said: "Many people are willing to help, but different kinds of regulations hinder their way. If the government can adopt more flexible policies, letting more NGOs play their roles in the problem, I believe the result would be better."

Zhong Binglin, Chairman of the Chinese Society of Education and a member of the country's top advisory body, believes China has made great achievements in improving its overall level of education in the past few years.

adopt an orphan if they were willing to.For families who don't intend to

adopt, article 27 of the Law on Population

Professor Wang Ming from Tsinghua University says that he started to pay attention to families who lost their only child when he wrote his proposal to suggest that the country revise its family planning policy.

Yang Jia, vice-chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, participates in a group discussion.


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abroad, and give those foreign audiences who are used to classical ballet a chance to see something brand-new and different."

As a national political advisor as well as the Chairwoman of China Dancers Association, Zhao had done a lot of research concerning the current state of the dance art, and had found some problems, which hindered the development of the art.

"I think leaders cannot just sit in their offices and think about cultural transmission. They should do some research. There are a lot of excellent dancers raised in local folk dance areas, who don't have a good platform. There's still a lack of studies." Zhao added.

In spite of those problems, Zhao still held a positive attitude towards the future of Chinese dance art. She thought dancers could combine both the Chinese and foreign elements together with enough studies. And in this way, China's dance art would be very strong.

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An Opera Never FadesText / Photo by Guo Jing

Floating out melodiously with deep, subtle strength, Lanzhou Guzi opera attracts you from heart to soul. It tells love and historical stories, and tells of happiness, sorrow, joy and anger.

Dating back to as far as the early Qing Dynasty, Guzi, the local opera in Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu province, has been passed on from mouth to mouth for about 400 years.

As a traditional local art, Guzi is performed with Chinese instruments with the sanxian (a three-stringed plucked instrument) as the main accompaniment. Other instruments are the erhu (a two-stringed bowed instrument), dulcimer (the only western instrument used in Guzi), pipa (a plucked four-stringed instrument with a fretted fingerboard), and a xiao (a vertical bamboo flute).

Lanzhou Guzi has 10 tunes, with each one consisting of about 2-3000 characters.

This local opera tells classic historic stories and novel-rearranged stories covering every dynasty of Chinese civilization. It is usually performed at home for family entertainment and in a teahouse for its lovers. Teahouses always provide with cigarettes and drinks for listeners to relax and enjoy this traditional music.

Guzi has a large number of audiences in the rural areas where entertainment programs are not rich or varied.

"During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), the whole family sat together in the yard and sang Guzi almost every night to forget hunger and fear," said Wei Shifa, inheritor of Lanzhou Guzi at a national level.

Influenced by their father and

grandfather, Wei and his five brothers all like Guzi. He deeply loves the art and takes it as part of his life. In order to sing accurately and emotionally, he practices the tune of each character hundreds of times.

After starting performing in his

twenties, Wei achieved great success and named as an inheritor of Lanzhou Guzi at national level in 2009.

Though it once enjoyed massive popularity in Lanzhou, Guzi never goes outside Lanzhou and has very few professional performers. "Now only about 300 people can sing Guzi and the average age is 65," Wei said, expressing his worry.

As pop music sweeps the world, "fewer

people like traditional opera and many young people even never heard of Guzi. Besides, the Lanzhou Guzi Protection Base receives only a 5,000 yuan fund annually, very far from the basic need to develop Guzi," said Wei.

He continued that members of the protection base even have to collect money by themselves to buy a new radio or repair the instruments. They have no chance to perform outside Lanzhou due to lack of money.

Wei himself has cultivated three apprentices and all of them can perform on the stage now.

However, to boost the cultural heritage and absorb more young people to know, love and learn Guzi, Wei hoped that the government can give more financial support. Thus, they could hold classes for Guzi lovers and especially cultivate young talent.

"One hundred students are enough. Because they can influence many other people who can also introduce Guzi to more people and even foreigners", said Wei.

Chen Zengsan, inheritor of Lanzhou Guzi at the provincial level and a professional sanxian player, expressed his opinion on protecting Guzi.

"Few people listen to and learn Guzi because it's too long and too difficult",

explained Chen, "so I rearrange the too long prelude and add some gestures and tools for the performance. Costumes and make-up should also be improved."

On the dark stage at the protection base, Chen Zengsan and his fellow partners performed a piece of Guzi called "Interlocking Stratagems". All the performers were in their 60s. Their voices float from the stage and never fade.

Raise the Red Lantern on Chinese Ballet Text by Wang Wei,

Photo by blog.sina.com.cn

Recently, an amazing performance of "Raise the Red Lantern," put on by the National Ballet of China became a hit in Montreal, Canada in late February.

A combination of gorgeous colors, breathtaking melodies and close-knit choreography took the show far beyond most foreigners' imaginations. The audience was blown away by this bold Chinese attempt at ballet.

In fact, Chinese style ballet started "going global" when the National Ballet of China first staged "Red Detachment of Women" in Albania, Romania and Yugoslavia in 1971.

However, it was not an easy journey. Zhao Ruheng, a member of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the nation's top advisory body, as well as the former director of the National Ballet of China, recalled the obstacles they had experienced.

"At first, people don't know you. When we were invited to perform in the United States for the first time, they said they wanted to see the "Red Detachment of Women" swinging the red flag. They just wanted to seek novelty, without carefully studying your culture and enjoying your whole production." Zhao said.

However, as more and more shows were performed abroad, foreign audience started to accept and enjoy the special ballet performances highlighting Chinese culture.

A female audience member said: "I think it is fabulous. I love the costumes. The costumes become a part of ballet itself. That

is extraordinary.""I like it very much. The thing that

impressed me most was the costumes.

The costumes are fabulous, how many changes there are, and the whole look of the production is spectacular." A male audience member added.

According to Zhao, the Chinese characteristics of these performances were one of the major reasons that made them stand out in foreign countries.

Zhao explained: "The most important reason is that you have your own creation. If you have something which others don't have, it will attract people's attention. Then they will think it's worthy to invite you to perform

An amazing performance of "Raise the Red Lantern," put on by the National Ballet of China became a hit in Montreal, Canada in late February.

Chen Zengsan and his fellow partners perform a piece of Guzi called "Interlocking Stratagems" in Lanzhou, Gansu province, on December 8, 2012.

Fang Yirong sings a piece of Guzi called "Interlocking Stratagems" in Lanzhou, Gansu province, on December 8, 2012.

Zhao Guizhi plays Sanxian, a three-stringed plucked instrument, in a piece of Guzi called "Interlocking Stratagems" in Lanzhou, Gansu province, on December 8, 2012.


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Ye Wocheng may have suffered from the weight of expectations that were placed upon him after being singled out by both domestic and international media. As is the case with many Chinese stars who partake in individual as opposed to team sports, such expectations can prove to be more of a hindrance than a help. Dou Zecheng seems to have benefited from the fact that the media was preoccupied with a 12-year-old rather than a run-of-the-mill 16-year-old.

Yet, China's young golfers seem to be adept at coping with the pressure, though the level of scrutiny and expectation is only going to become greater as they mature as golfers. These youngsters will no doubt be desperate not to get lost amongst the pack

of teenage golfers as some are set to shine while others will no doubt fade away into obscurity. Those involved at the higher levels of the sport and those with vested interests, such as advertisers and event organizers, would be wise to take advantage of such a unique situation, where so much publicity is being created for golf in China thanks to the inclusion of these young stars, in order to increase participation while the nation's interest has been piqued. Should youngsters like Ye, Guan, Dou and Andy Zhang fail to meet lofty expectations in the future, the chance to capitalize upon popular appeal may be lost. However, it's more than likely that further new cohorts of young golfers will rise up, though wouldn't it be nice if China's next top golfer came from simple grassroots schemes within schools.

A Rich Man's Game for Young Boys

Much has been written about 12-year-old Ye Wocheng, China's golfing prodigy who became the youngest player ever to participate in a European Tour History when he teed off at the Volvo China Open in Tianjin on May 2. In doing so, Ye beat the previous record set by fellow Chinese golfer Guan Tianlang, who recently became the youngest player to compete and make the cut at the US Masters. It is hoped that China's extremely young stars will only get better, providing the nation with a handful of Tiger Woods-like stars over the course of the next decade. Conversely, the potential displayed by these talented youngsters might not produce the goods that everyone is expecting. Capitalizing upon popular interest in these youngsters now could cement golf's place among Chinese sports for years to come.

Unfortunately, Ye Wocheng scored a second successive round of 79 in Tianjin, missing the cut at 14 over, whilst his fellow countryman Dou Zecheng became the youngest player at 16 to make the tournament cut after finishing the second round 2 under par. Playing alongside Ye and Dou were 15-year-old Bai Zheng-kai, and 14-year-old American born Jim Liu; largely overlooked in the press despite their tender age thanks to Ye's presence.

With an influx of Chinese youngsters set to dominate headlines for the foreseeable future, it is only fair to assume that golf will increase in popularity in China. Already, according to data from the gemba group published in April of this year, some 9 percent of the Chinese population regard themselves as golfing fanatics. On top of this, 25 percent of the population regard themselves as

general fans of golf. And yet, according to the same data published by the gemba group, participation in the sport pales in comparison to that of other countries.

About 0.4 percent of China's population is said to participate in golf in some form or another; in contrast to 10.6 percent in the US and 9.6 percent in Australia. One of the main issues is obviously access to facilities and the cost of participation. Golf courses have been sprouting up over China for the last several years at an increasingly rapid pace, but the majority of the population is priced out of enjoying the facilities on offer. It's hard to say whether participation would shoot up massively as the nation's budding stars gain more attention, simply because the game in China is and will likely remain a game for those with money. However, according to the gemba group's research, compared with respondents in Australia, Spain and the US, China is the only country where golf fanatics perceive the game to be "innovative," "cool," and "for young people."

This obviously means a lot for the sport going forward in terms of how it is marketed and how China's young stars can capitalize upon their brand image. It also means a lot when it comes to attracting youngsters to the sport in the first place. China's golfing fanatics are still dominated by the older age groups, aged 30 and above, but 41 percent of those who are avid followers of the sport are said to be aged between 16-29 years of age. Access to the sport needs to be improved in order for it to truly capitalize upon the perceptions that fans hold at present.

Since 2006/7, the China Gold Association and HSBC have been developing the country's junior golf program with more than 20,000 children having gone through the program already. However, this figure is obviously a drop in the ocean when taking into account the size of China's population. Grassroots development will no doubt benefit from the perceptions that golf fans hold but the question is whether the capacity of such programs can meet the demand.

In his recent China Open appearance,

30 31

Viewpoints Viewpoints

More Transparency is Expected to ComeText by Stuart Wiggin

Text by Stuart Wiggin

China's youngsters have turned the spotlight on the sport of golf, providing a unique opportunity for the mass popularization of the game. But regardless of the popularity and publicity that the young stars will create, golf in China is not open to everyone when it comes to participation.

The release of China's 8th Defense White Paper on April 16 has been referred to by domestic and international media as evidence of the Chinese military's efforts to promote transparency in terms of the data that it releases. For the first time, a Chinese defense white paper detailed the personnel size of the People’s Liberation Army's (PLA) three main forces and their military area commands. According to the most recent white paper, the Chinese military comprises 850,000 servicemen in 18 land corps, 235,000 in the navy and 398,000 in the air force. The white paper also outlines the priorities of the PLA and reaffirms China's much talked about

principle of non-interference. So, does this herald a move towards further transparency, or is this the most that international observers can hope for?

Whilst details concerning the PLA's three main forces were provided, the White Paper did not reveal the numbers of the PLA's Second Artillery Force or the People's Armed Police Force. Yet, the unveiling of data is still significant and should not be downplayed because of this fact. Furthermore, the document also outlined that due to increasing "hegemonism, power politics and neo-interventionism," China's most pressing challenges now lie in the Asia-Pacific region. The document noted that an adjustment in the United States' Asia-Pacific strategy, an increased military presence within the region, and the generally tense nature of the

situation, alongside China's longstanding issues with Japan, form the core of China's strategic concerns.

Earlier in the year, on March 5, the government unveiled its planned defense budget, totaling roughly 114 billion USD, representing a 10.7 percent nominal increase from the year before; in line with a trend of double digit defense spending increases over the past several years. Such a significant increase in military spending, at a time when governments around the world are largely scaling back such costs, has caused alarm outside of China due to the lack of information that the Chinese military provides

to outside observers. According to official statistics, defense spending represents approximately 1.3 -- 1.5 percent of China's GDP.

Previous increases in spending without concurrent increases in transparency certainly led to debate abroad about the proposed direction of China's military. At the start of April, during a forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, Dr. Andrew S. Erickson, Associate in Research at the John King Fairbank

Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard University, noted that there is little mystery surrounding the reasons behind China's increased spending. PLA modernization and personal development, and the desires to assert control over contested territorial and maritime claims, develop world class capabilities, address significant domestic and regional stability challenges on Beijing's terms and enhance China's international status were among the reasons cited by Dr. Erickson.

And yet, while the motives are more or less clear, unwillingness to cede information on China's part has led to increasing levels of mistrust. As Fan Jishe, senior fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has previously noted, "Officials from both the US and China do not talk publicly about the

increasingly competitive flavor of bilateral relations, but there is no denial that strategic mistrust and suspicion has deepened rather than been reduced over the past few years."

So, it would be fair to assume that details of China's military structure revealed in the recent defense White Paper would be welcomed by outside observers hoping to gain a more concrete picture of Chinese capabilities. However, strategically speaking, scholars and officials may still want more information from China. On the topic of whether the latest data will help towards ameliorating concern among China's neighbors or the US, Li Bin, a senior associate with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and professor of international relations at Tsinghua University told CRI that such a result is probable but added, "I don't know to what extent it will serve that purpose, but definitely it is useful. I personally believe that such kind of transparency is useful to clarify some suspicions or concerns."

On the issue of military transparency, Professor Li was keen to point out the domestic dimension and the international dimension. "The Chinese government wants to offer military transparency to international readers to convince them that China is a peaceful country; China's military development [and] deployment is not a threat to other countries. That is the purpose of the national defense white paper. However, how much transparency China can offer is decided by domestic politics. If Chinese people want to know more about China's military, then the Chinese government would provide more

The release of a Defense White Paper on April 16 marked the first time that the Chinese military had publicly revealed details related to military structure. Does this mark the start of greater transparency within China's military?

A shipborne fighter jet is about to land on China's Liaoning Aircraft Carrier during a training session on Thursday April 18, 2013. [Photo: CFP]

Ye Wocheng in action during the first round of the Volvo China Open at Tianjin Binhai Lake Golf Club in Tianjin on May 2. [Photo: CFP]

theMessenger


theMessenger

never expected to win. With only a minimal amateur career, Valenzuela was unable to keep up with Zou's speed and at times his power. Many had predicted a decision victory for Zou and that was exactly what he delivered. A knockout wasn't realistically on the cards and at times the Chinese fighter reverted back to his amateur style. Yet, the world's most successful amateur boxer was given the best possible conditions in which to achieve a victory, with the length of the bout being similar to that of an amateur fight.

Boxing Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, brought on board to prepare Zou for his debut, said he was unconcerned by the fact that his latest pupil reverted to his amateur style during the bout. This was echoed by Dino Duva of the legendary Duva family, who spent time training Zou prior to the London Olympics. Duva told CRI, "I think Zou still needs to get out of some of his amateur style and habits, but it's only his first fight. He's a great student of the game and a very hard worker. I'm sure he'll be fine within a few fights."

And Zou probably won't have to wait long, as Arum already has plans to put China's most recognizable boxer in a world title fight within the year; with rumblings that he will appear in a six round headlining bout again at the Venetian Macau this August. Aside from the possible glory that awaits Zou as he is fast-tracked towards a world title shot, Dino Duva also spoke of how this will affect China's boxing scene in general. "I thought it was a great way to kick off the Chinese professional boxing industry and great for boxing in general," Duva told CRI, adding,

The four round main event bout, which took place especially in Macao was broadcast to almost every Chinese home for free via state television; something which Chinese sports fans are accustomed to with major sporting events. The fact that a four round fight featuring a Chinese debutant was billed as a main event feature for an HBO fight card shows the importance that Top

Rank CEO Bob Arum has attached to Zou Shiming. The American market probably doesn't care at all about Zou at this point; Zou is being pushed purely to develop the Chinese market. Furthermore, it's clear to any fan of the sweet science that the matchmaking on this occasion was geared towards a Zou victory.

Prior to the fight, Arum spoke of the precious opportunity that Zou's opponent, 18-year-old Eleazar Valenzuela had been given as the Mexican prepared to square off against the 2012 Olympic champion, stating, "When the bell rings, (Valenzuela) can make his mark." In reality, Arum was more than aware that Valenzuela was

unlikely to make any such mark and that an upset was wholly unlikely. After all, Top Rank weren't shelling out a 300,000 dollar purse with the expectation that Zou would fail to have his hand raised at the end of the bout.

Valenzuela, who prior to the fight had a pretty unremarkable record of 2-1-2 (1 KO) after a mere 11 months as a professional, was

32 33

From Our Listeners

P: Ni Hao. Welcome to "Ask Pingping and Jules", your bridge to Chinese culture. I'm Pingping.

J: Ni Hao. I'm Jules. Wo shi Zhu Li An. Pingping, your necklace is so lovely!

P: Ah, it's my Chinese zodiac sign.J: Very pretty. You know we haven't

talked about the Chinese Zodiac yet and I think it's very interesting. Let's talk about it today, okay?

P: OK. Yes, it is very interesting and it involves many aspects of Chinese culture.

J: Oh! Well, I know that in the western zodiac there are twelve symbols, most of them animals, and each represents a particular month throughout the year. Is it the same with the Chinese zodiac.

P: Well, not exactly but there are twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac. Do you know which animals they are?

J: Oh, I just know some of them: rat, dragon, ox, snake …

P: Pretty good. In correct order the twelve animals are: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, pig. In total there are twelve.

J: Is the number twelve significant?P: In traditional Chinese culture,

twelve is an important number when it comes to calculating time.

J: Time and animals? I don't understand the connection.

P: Ancient people noted that there were twelve full moons in a year and the length of time between the full moons was relatively constant. They also observed that the day could be divided into twelve equal parts.

J: So these led to the development of the twelve-month lunar year.

P: Exactly! Then the Chinese people began grouping years into a twelve year cycle, assigning each year an animal symbol. So each zodiac sign represents a year, not a month as is the case with the Western zodiac.

J: Who decided which animals to choose?

P: Well, do you remember the legend which says Buddha called a meeting of all the animals to determine how to restore order to the world, but only twelve heeded his call. They came to represent the 12-year-cycle and each presided over a year in the order in which they arrived. As they travelled to the meeting, the strong ox was in the lead and only had a river to cross to come in first. However, the cunning rat had hitched a ride

on the ox's back and was the first to arrive. J: Yeah, That's unfair! Poor ox!P: Haha, just a legend.J: Is there any relationship between

people born in a particular year and that year's animal?

P: Well, a person born in the year of a particular animal is said to have the traits of that animal.

J: Fabulous. Could you give some examples?

P: Okay. Let's take this year, the year of the snake, as an example. It is the enigmatic, intuitive, introspective, refined and collected of the Animal Signs. People born in the Year of the Snake are reputed to be thoughtful and wise and to approach problems rationally and logically, seldom instinctively. Such people are complex beings, they are clever and men of few words from their birth.

J: So which Chinese zodiac animal are you and do you think you possess that animal's traits?

P: I'm born in the year of the cock.J: Another quick question, why do

people wear necklaces with their zodiac sign?P: Chinese people think that their

zodiac sign can bring good luck and help protect them.

J: Today we talked about the Chinese Zodiac. If you've got any comments or would like to suggest a topic, you can contact us at CRIEnglish.com or send us an email to.

P: "askpingpingandjules"@cri.com.cn. You can also leave a message in the comment box below.

J: Until next time, Zai jian!P: Zai Jian!

Notes:"Ask Pingping and Jules" is produced by CRI. It aims to introduce certain

aspects of Chinese culture to foreigners. If you'd like to listen to the audio version of this program, please log on to www.crienglish.com and click on "Learn Chinese." There you can find other interesting episodes.

Jules Page, one half of 'Ask Pingping and Jules', can be heard contributing to the on-air presentation of 'China Now' and through reports and interviews on CRI English.'China Now' is a daily three hour magazine style program focusing on what's really going on in China today. It can be heard in various countries and regions, including places in Africa, Australasia, South East Asia and North America. It can be accessed through cribeyondbeijing.com.

The Chinese Zodiac

Now that the dust has settled on Zou Shiming's first professional victory as a flyweight in a boxing ring, which he notched up on April 6, it's pertinent to ask whether this result marks the start of a meteoric rise, or whether this is the beginning of a mediocre journey which will see the two-time Olympic gold medalist embark on a mission to pad his professional record.

Is Zou Shiming's Rise Inevitable? Text by Stuart Wiggin

CRI's Stuart Wiggin reflects on what might come of the successful debut of Chinese boxer Zou Shiming, who recently defeated an 18-year-old who possessed 11 months of experience in the professional rankings.

As the most decorated amateur boxer in Chinese history, Zou Shiming wins his first match of his first professional competition in Macao on April 6, 2013. [Photo: CFP]

transparency," Li noted.Working on the assumption that the

level of Chinese military transparency depends upon how much the Chinese people want to know, Professor Li stated that the White Paper marks the start of what will probably be a continued process of providing more military information to domestic and international observers. "I believe Chinese people will want to know more and more

about Chinese military capability and plans in the future. So, the Chinese government will provide more and more military transparency, simply because the Chinese people want to know that. At the same time, the Chinese government will be able to offer more and more military transparency to the outside world."

With China's Ministry of National Defense expected to open its doors to

journalists some time within the next couple of months, it appears that China is looking to boost military transparency without losing capability. And though such measures are probably the byproduct of domestic politics rather than the results of external pressure to become more transparent, it is hopeful that such moves will improve the level of strategic communication between China and countries within the Asia-Pacific region.

"I am really excited about all of this because with the great buzz going now, my fighters will cause a great splash when they turn pro. And they will have much more fan pleasing professional style than Zou."

Zou Shiming's rise is almost certainly inevitable, so long as he continues to dispose of those who are put in front of him. It doesn't

really matter too much whether he beats fighters who have flimsy looking records so long as he beats them and keeps the Chinese fans cheering. After all, the majority of viewers for Zou's debut were not diehard boxing fans; they just wanted to see their countryman win. Furthermore, Top Rank can virtually handpick opponents up to and

beyond a possible title match, which could mean that Zou's defensive frailties and lack of finishing power are never truly exposed or tested. Regardless of how his career will play out over the coming 12 months, let's just hope that Zou's probable success ends up shining the light on the rest of China's boxing scene.

Viewpoints

theMessenger


theMessengersuffered at the hands of this terrible tragedy.

I only hope that the loss of life is kept at a minimum. I know that the government of China is doing all they can to save lives and hopefully they will find all the people buried in the rubble. I live in Washington and have no idea what going through something such as an earthquake of that magnitude would be like.

John FoxUSA

I am saddened by this news of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake which hits southwest China's Sichuan province. I am writing to extend my deepest sympathies to you and the Chinese people about the losses. I was so very sad to hear about this. Please pass my deepest sympathies to the Chinese people. I

hope the speedy recovery for the survivors and the good luck for the respected Chinese rescuers staff to find more survivors.

Let's pray for them to dwell in the highest paradises and grant them the peace.

Belkebir ZekiAlgeria

Before I wrote that I'm ready to provide a help in any possible way to people who suffered in recent earthquake. Anyway, now I feel that for avoiding catastrophes in such high scale in the future I can help only by my modest knowledge and I send my considerations in attachments. I'm sure that the Chinese specialists know this better than me. Anyway, some aspects can be considered for design of constructions e.g. home buildings, railways etc.

I would be happy if I could work with your specialists. Please forward my attachments to those who may use these. Also I would appreciate personal contacts with them.

I would appreciate their as well as your kind response.

Karoly Erdesz Ph.D.Hungary

Thanks to the English Service of CRI for communicating to the rest of the world the horrible and sad realities of the 7.0 earthquake that struck the Sichuan area of China. Know that our thoughts and heartfelt intentions are with you as you struggle to overcome this sad act of nature. China is a nation rich in culture, tradition and of a people that are wonderful. In less than 50 years China has grown to a major exporter and kept her agricultural contributions to the world as well. She is inventive and powerful, her people are resourceful, good and proud. She will make it through this and be fine. Those of us in the United States wish her well.

Don StrevelUSA

Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims, families, and friends of this terrible earthquake as well as the rescue workers. I hope there will be a speedy recovery and rebuilding of lives. Dealing with the psychological trauma takes time and support but I know the Chinese people are resilient and will overcome this tragedy. Still I want those affected and those involved in the recovery to know we are thinking of them.

Stewart KellyUSA

Please accept my deepest condolence to you and your people in the loss of life and injuries by earthquake.

My heart is saddened to hear such a loss of people. I could barely imagine how difficult it is for you to carry such burden.

My deepest condolences in this time of bereft, I want to share my deepest sympathy to you and Sichuan people.

May God continue to comfort and give you strength to carry on such a loss. Please let me know if there’s anything that I can be of help in this difficulties. I pray the love of God enfolds you during your difficult times and he helps you heal with the passage of time. I was deeply saddened to hear of your loss. My thoughts are with you.

Thein SoeMalaysia

My thoughts are with the unfortunate people of China and their families who

I just wanted to drop you a line to say thank you very much for the QSL card and the beautiful paper lantern that you recently sent. Also thank you very much for reading my letter on your Listeners' Garden program. One of the hosts asked how I incorporate China Radio International in my social studies class. Since I teach third grade (8 and 9 year olds), I am not able to do as much as I could with older students, but I let them listen to parts of your news programs, such as "News and Reports" and "The Beijing Hour". (Reports on current affairs and culture are very interesting, as well as science news, such as China's launching of a new high definition Earth-monitoring satellite.) We locate some of the cities and provinces mentioned in the news on a large map of China. I also let them listen to some of Listeners' Garden

(they were impressed to hear my letter read on the air!), and a little of your Chinese language lessons, to hear what the Chinese language sounds like. We supplement our listening by reading books and internet articles about China. (We found your reports on the earthquake in Sichuan and the

rescue/relief efforts very informative and comprehensive.)

Benjamin BilyeuUSA

The host of China Drive was very good and informative and the news reports gave a very good perspective on the stories from inside China. I often notice that the majority of stories featured on China Drive, and CRI in general, are not covered on my local media in the United Kingdom so CRI is my only source of most Chinese news. I also enjoyed News Extra as it provided more detail on a smaller number of varying news stories. Media scan was also very informative and explored important stories that I would not otherwise have known about, there were stories topics of discussion on issues in my country that are not being covered anywhere on my domestic media outlets.

Sam Alexander NewtonUK

I used to receive Messenger via ordinary mail when I was living in the UK, and I have kept a few copies of it which I still have here in Italy. Whenever I have time now

34 35

From Our Listeners From Our Listeners

Mailbag

I read Messenger through your website, it is a magazine I really like and I think the online version is better, for the simple reason that it is available immediately and CRI does not have to use paper and printers to print it and send it through the mail to listeners.

In the current issue of Messenger I have enjoyed reading the article about Harbin's snow and ice festival, the photos are very beautiful.

In the meantime I'll listen to your short waves broadcasts and/or visit CRI's website as much as I can (time and commitments allowing).

Enzo PistoneItaly

I write you today to thank you for the lovely set of stamps commemorating the 18th Congress of the CPC that I recently received in the mail. I appreciate the very thoughtful gift.

I continue listening to your excellent news programming over shortwave radio, especially 'The Beijing Hour'. Your signal on 5790 kHz is very reliable and clear.

Please keep broadcasting!Bill Alvarez

USA

I became a listener to CRI in 2007 and enjoy the programming content and speakers/broadcasters, along with the level of broadcast journalism which raises the bar for all international radio, television and internet programming.

I look forward to any and all notifications of upcoming socio/political/cultural events and happenings, as this broadens my interest and knowledge of our neighbours to the East and North and South.

Sal GarzaMexico

Thank you for yours. Most nights when I lie down for the night, I listen to CRI and the discussions going on at that time are of great interest to me. Though I am a Sri Lankan, I like Chinese songs. I first came across Chinese music when I visited Singapore years ago and I brought cassettes with a selection of songs. Sadly they have worn away and moreover cassettes are no longer in use. Of course CDs are available. Your channel goes on for several hours of the day with breaks for other services in between. There are many Chinese working in Sri Lanka attending to construction work, road building, etc. So this is of great benefit

to them. Richard Hay

Sri Lankan

CRI, Thanks for providing an alternative medium for global information order than the West. I, like many others in Liberia closely follow your broadcast daily and think such a balance is healthy for our world. I urge China to increase its global influence rapidly through diverse media. Finally, I believe a somewhat Unipolar World Order attended by the West as we have today, has been the single most dominant source of global conflict following the end of the Cold War. We in the developing world welcome the Rise of China and count on China to provide that strategic balance that will re-shape the course of the International System. Thanks once again, CRI!

Mac WilsonLiberia

Listeners' Garden very efficiently conducted by Mark Griffiths and Ya Jie is a storehouse of interesting information on China. The present topic discussed was the Kaiping Diaolou and Villages - a fortied multistory tower in Kaiping City, Guangdong Province of China. This is one of the World Heritage Sites.

The programme also answered queries from CRI's worldwide listeners from the US, Mexico, Guangdong and Pakistan.

The programme was very enjoyable.Jayanta Chakrabarty

India

I heard The World According to Words. The program was about photo bombing, followed by the language program.

I am someone who has photo bombed a lot, usually with good friends, however sometimes I got random people too.

They were talking about photo bombing professional photos; I can say that crosses the line. If someone is paying for the shot it is uncalled for.

If it is a quick pic on someone's cell or digital camera. As you said around 3:51 'Bombs away!' I agree completely. It always makes for hilarious pics. I just recently got into shortwave listening and this is the first time I have received CRI so clear. There was slight static, however with my ATT on max and sync lock on I could hear every word clearly.

Jesse TalbotUSA

Happy to see you! Happy to keep receiving the magazine Messenger and your emails. From time to time, I still listen to my shortwave radio. Reception has been poor lately, mostly because it is just a tiny radio with big hopes that are not always achievable.

First of all, please accept my belated wish for your happiness for the Chinese Year of the Snake! For the entire year of the Dragon I decided to wear a handmade red braided bracelet for good luck because it is said to be a good idea since I am a "dragon" born in 1952. Yes, I am 60 years old! A landmark year for Chinese. What will I do for the Year of the Snake? Wear a smaller bracelet for the "little dragon" (snake)? Actually, I have no idea. My Chinese friends on QQ say I am "Chinese"! Because I love China so very much. How I wish I really was Chinese! I am also a big supporter of the Communist Party of China. I agree with the Communist Party of China's goals as spoken of in each of the meetings at the National Congress Sessions. My congratulations to the new elected leaders! I have faith in the Party that in Year of the Snake they will continue to help China prosper and grow. I am confident China will solve any problem that comes her way! Long live the Motherland! Zhongguo jia you! 中国加油! Already a great nation (China) in my eyes....I hope America will one day see China as a great example to follow, the Way of peace and friendship on a global scale!

With all my love for China and my dear Chinese friends who are so lucky to be Chinese....

Rudolph GarzaUSA

I really appreciate your efforts in contacting me the newest frequencies, I already find it difficult to get your frequencies as before, but with this new development it is now easy to listen to your beautiful voice again!!!

Your radio services so far are good, and I will contact you as soon as I have suggestion or comment.

Abo EphraimNigeria

English Service CRI, 16A Shijingshan Road,Beijing, China 100040Tel: 86-10-68891617 / 1580

Fax: 86-10-68891121

Email: [email protected]: www.crienglish.comEditors: Tang Minguo, Xie QiaoExecutive Editor: Shen SilingDesigner: Zhang Nan

The Messenger is free of charge. For extra copies, further information and sending in your contributions, please contact:Email to: [email protected]

The Messenger magazine is the internal journal of the English Service of China Radio International, published quarterly for CRI listeners and web visitors.

theMessengerChina Radio International

Director: Wang Lu

Director-General: Wang Gengnian

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