Money talks, so paying up is reasonable
Li Yinhe is a person of controversy. The strange thing is that her proposal to legalize homosexual marriage has been eclipsed by her demand to charge a fee for press interviews.

In a world of perverts, there is still rationale
"Cats" is now being played out in China.

Ang Lee: a pinch of Tao, a dash of Zen
Hui Zi famously asked the ancient philosopher Zhuang Zi: "You are not a fish. How can you feel the joy of a fish?"

Adult humour has its place among mature
Let's face it: The popularity of short messaging in China has a dirty little secret. It's called "adult humour," more plainly known as sex jokes.

Don't judge December-May romances
Come Valentine's Day, shop windows and magazine covers will display perfectly matched pairs happy in love. And one of the "perfections" is compatibility in age.

Festival gala as tasteless as chicken ribs
Tomorrow night is the eve of Spring Festival the Lunar New Year when hundreds of millions of Chinese families sit around a table and take in the year-end feast and the heart-warming atmosphere of family reunion.

Names in stone mark workers' much-deserved appreciation
In an act of powerful inspiration, a public library has carved on its wall the names of the construction workers who built it.

'Urban villages' reminders of uneven growth
The term "urban village" connotes very different things in English as it does in Chinese.

Weather the spoilsport in picture-perfect setting
One of the most eye-catching and photogenic sights that China offers international visitors is a picture of serene beauty and harmony between nature and man: Rows and rows of senior citizens do morning exercises in unison, moving at the majestic and leisurely pace of Tai Chi in a sun-drenched, beautifully landscaped public park. Looking at photos of them, one can almost touch the morning dew and hear birds chirping.

Cost of marriage: should husbands really bear the brunt of bliss?
If you're a single male living in Beijing, you need to make a mental note of this figure: 1,068,000.

Why 'Desperate Housewives' flopped in China
'Desperate Housewives' has bombed in China.

Christmas in the Chinese style
In the United States, the conservatives and the liberals are constantly fighting over something: the war in Iraq, abortion rights, gun control, tax policy, etc. This time of the year, they have picked a topic that would surely baffle us Chinese - the Christmas holiday itself.

Penchant for steamy topics
I've heard many media mogul wannabes proclaim their lofty goals. They've usually set their eyes on the Chinese equivalents of The New York Times, The Financial Times or Time magazine. But given the choice, I'd say they'll end up going for something like The National Enquirer or The Star.

Let sages enrich us, not polarize us
"Guoxue" is sometimes translated as "Sinology," but it actually covers a much narrower area, mainly the study of classics by such masters as Confucius, Mencius, Lao Tzu, and Chuang Tzu.

Ever changing relations between lender and borrower
The story of Yang Bailao is at least 60 years old, but how he comes to epitomize the evolving fate of a debtor would have been beyond his comprehension had he lived to this day.

Elevator ladies, checkout clerks and the human touch
"Why do you need elevator attendants?" a puzzled expat friend of mine asked, shortly after he arrived in Beijing.

Taking pride in our accents
There is a tug of war for the stature of dialects in China.

Vistas of thoughts
There is a piece of news that may even puzzle Dan Brown.

Moving lessons on life, politics and 'porcelain'
Those of you who drive your cars or take public transport in Beijing don't know what you're missing. You're missing one of the city's top 10 attractions and an intangible cultural heritage that costs little.

The role of entertainers
The dumbing down of China is on an inexorable course.

Telling truth
With the passing of Ba Jin, it's time to look into the legacy of this towering figure in Literary China.

Setting record straight
A month and a half ago, I wrote a piece of news analysis on the Super Girls phenomenon. It was carried on the weekend edition of China Daily the day after the grand finale of the wildly popular vocal contest.

Arts events for holidays
I once flew over a sprawling metropolis in the American South on the night of July 4. Small pockets of fireworks sparkled below, many of which I knew were illegal.

Zhao Yan beating case
A Chinese tourist was looking around the Niagara Falls near the US-Canadian border, and she was severely beaten by a US security officer.