Characteristics of Chinese Acrobatics

Chinese acrobatics ranks among the best in the world thanks to its long history, rich repertory and distinctive artistic characteristics. The artistic characteristics can be summarized as follows:
First, Chinese acrobatics has long stressed the basic training of the waist and legs, and has attached great importance to the skill of standing on the head and hands as evidenced by many Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) brick paintings, murals and pottery figurines which feature headstands, handstands and somersaults. Performers of traditional magic were required to have good acrobatic skills. Otherwise, the fact that they were usually clad in a loose gown concealing scores of objects weighing as much as 100 pounds would have prevented them from doing somersaults while producing objects like bowls filled with water or blazing metal bowls.
Second, Chinese acrobatics is characterized by feats of strength and daring performed cleverly, precisely and accurately, and the ability of retaining balance in motion. The ability of Chinese acrobats to perform rope-dancing stunts on a stack of benches placed on a plank and building pyramids on a free-standing ladder shows their superb skills at stabilizing themselves and retaining their balance in motion -- skills that require years of hard training and skills that reflect man's spirit of braving hardships and danger.

Muslims Celebrate End of Ramadan

Muslims across China ended their fast yesterday and gathered in mosques to celebrate the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

The Niujie Mosque in Beijing, the largest and oldest of the 68 mosques in the capital, welcomed some 4,500 Muslims from every corner of the city.

Under renovations since March, it was the first time that the 1,000-year-old mosque was opened to the public.

"From 8 o'clock in the morning, devotees started streaming to the mosque," said Sun Ying from the subdistrict office of Niujie Street, the largest Muslim area in Beijing.

"Forty-six Muslims from eight countries such as Iran also joined in the celebrations," Sun added.

Children walked through the streets with sweets in hand, folk artists performed, and people tucked into a variety of traditional snacks. At present, Beijing has 250,000 Muslim residents, more than 10,000 of whom live in the Niujie area.

There were celebrations, too, in northwest China where most of the country's Muslims live.

"I went to a nearby mosque in the morning and stayed there for an hour praying to almighty God for happiness and safety for my family," said Xie Xiaodong, a professor at Lanzhou University in Gansu, adding that all his family members are Muslim.

"It's a sacred and happy day for us," he said. "We've cleaned our home thoroughly and put on new clothes for the festival."

According to State regulations, Muslims in China get one day off work for the fast-breaking festival, and in some areas such as the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, they enjoy a three-day holiday.

"Eid al-Fitr" in Arabic, the "festival of breaking fast" is a time for family gatherings and meals.

Muslims who observe the fast refrain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset for one month on the Muslim lunar calendar when it is believed that the first verses of the Koran Islam's holy book were revealed to the prophet Muhammad in the 7th century.

The Long March spirit---in the eyes of foreigners

Intrigued by the momentous historic impact of the Long March, crops and crops of foreign Long March fans have mushroomed in the past 70 years. They examine closely the whole course of the Long March with their unique angle of view and ponder the influence of the Long March spirit over China and the rest of the world.
　　Ed Jocelyn, doctor of history from Britain and co-author of Two-man Long March, trekked more than 300 days along the trail of the Long March done by the First Front Army in those years and claimed that he must have a deep understanding of the moving stories took place during the Long March…The Long March was so tough, then how the rank and file of the Red Army felt about joining the Red Army, and why they did rise in revolution and carry it through to the end. These were all what he wanted to find out.
　　A fairly good number of foreign scholars would like to relate the Long March spirit closely to the rising of a host of Chinese leaders represented by Mao Zedong and to the robust growth and vigorous development of the Communist Party of China. They believe that the Long March spirit has not only honed the Red Army, but also nurtured a new generation, ensured the viability and growth of the Communist Movement in China, and made a profound and far-reaching impact on the history of China and the future of the world.
　　Many foreigners joined this year's event of retreading the route of the Long March to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Red Army's Long March. The answer to why the Long March that took place 70 years ago can still kindle the ardor of these people probably lies in the following remarks by the American writer Agnes Smedley, to wit, that the Long March is a great epic in the history of revolutionary wars, and far more than that.
　　The Republic of Korea (ROK) and other Asian nations also take the Long March spirit seriously. Zhao Zaijiu, president of the ROK-based Chinese TV, observes that the Long March stands out as a miracle in the history of mankind and a historic record as well, testifying how the Communist Party of China led the Chinese revolution to victory. The Long March spirit, which was born of the Long March, epitomizes the pride and indomitable will of the Chinese people. People can detect from this spirit the potential that China will play a central role in the modern world history.
　　As it is rightly expressed in the full-length TV film The Long March by a well-established Italian journalist with the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army's 25,000 li Long March as the lead-in, that the Long March was a historical event that astonished the whole world. Today, the Second Long March of economic development is well underway in China. What will the new Long March bring to China? The Italian journalist's answer to this is: a more developed economy and a happier life for the people.
　　The Long March spirit is of spiritual wealth for the Chinese people, and for the peoples all over the world as well.

the 70th Anniversary of the Long March

girl in Red Army costume displays newly published stamps of the 70th Anniversary of the Long March Led by the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army in Xiji, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on October 21. The State Post Bureau published the stamps Sunday to mark the 70th anniversary of the great Long March. [Xinhua]

My Travel Photos about Tibet

One month ago , i enjoyed my first trip to Tibet by taking a new rail route of Qsinghai-Tibet.Post some photos about beautiful,mysterious Tibet scene ,cultrue and friendly Tibetan as follows:

Middle class have the biggest smiles

Having more money in your pocket doesn't necessarily make you happier.
A happiness index of Beijing residents believed to be China's first such poll has revealed that despite income contributing to happiness, people in the middle-income band are among the city's most content.
According to the index, released by the city's statistics bureau, 83 per cent of those who earn around 6,000 yuan (US$750) per month are happy with their lives.
Meanwhile only 70 per cent of those earning between 10,000 (US$1,250) and 15,000 (US$1,875) yuan per month are happy the same as those who earn between 1,000 and 1,500 yuan per month.
According to bureau spokeswoman Yu Xiuqin, compared with the middle-income group, people who earn larger sums feel under pressure to keep up with their well-off friends, and tend to get anxious about their ambitions.
Aside from the middle-income bubble the overall trend of the index is that happiness grows with income, said Yu.
The average per capita income for residents in Beijing has frozen at 1,669 yuan (US$209) per month, yet the city's cost of living ranks as one of the highest in the country, according to the latest data.
The happiness index is the first of its kind after the National Bureau of Statistics was called on to introduce a rating of people's satisfaction levels, as part of the ongoing effort to evaluate social and economic development.
Starting from July, the bureau carried out phone interviews with people aged between 18 and 70 in Beijing's 18 districts and counties. They collected results from a total of 7,118 citizens.
Considered in the index are factors including income, medical care, social order and equality, the sense of family and other interpersonal relationships, professional satisfaction, and the feeling of belonging.
The survey found that income level was the most important individual factor in determining people's sense of happiness, followed by social standing.
The survey shows that 31.6 per cent of people are 90 per cent happy with their lives. Only 7.2 per cent are less than 50 per cent satisfied. In between are those who are 60 to 90 per cent satisfied.
The index also shows that among all age groups, the middle-aged rank as the least happy shouldering the heaviest sense of social responsibility.
And that those living in the suburbs are happier than people who dwell in downtown Beijing.
Though citizens may have different opinions about what happiness is, many citizens welcome the index.
"This is different from previous official indexes which were cold and impersonal this index touches the hearts of individual citizens," Chen Liangwen, an economic researcher with Peking University, told China Daily.
Chen also said that while other indexes, such as gross domestic product (GDP), measured technically calculable factors, the psychological state of satisfaction was so subjective it could hardly be represented in figures.
According to the bureau spokeswoman, the index will be released annually, every September, helping to draw the government's attention to its shortcomings, and the effects of its policies.
Yu hinted that the municipal government would consider incorporating the index in its evaluation of officials' work.

Empress Wu Zetian

Actors perform during an Empress Wu Buddha-worship ceremony held at Longmen Grottoes, in Luoyang, central China's Henan Province, Monday, Oct. 16, 2006. The ceremony is an imitation of the Buddha-worship ritual of Empress Wu Zetian, the only empress in Chinese history, according to records of the murals and statues of Longmen Grottoes. Empress Wu, the only reigning female in the History of China, created several unique Chinese characters to demonstrate her power. The characters were not created by the Empress herself, they were suggested by an official named Zōng Qínkè (宗秦客) in December 689 A.D. The number of these characters is controversial, but various sources say 12 to 19 characters. They were forcibly used by people during her reign but fell into disuse immediately after her death, so they help to determine dates of printed materials.
A few of the surviving characters are preserved in the written histories of Wu Zetian, and a few have found themselves incorporated into modern-day computer standards, classified as either variant or dialect-specific characters.
The form of the characters varies depending on where they are printed. For instance Empress Wu's own name zhào 照 was replaced with 瞾, but is erroneously thought to be 曌, and looking in the Kangxi Dictionary, one finds the description of the former having two 目 ("eye") characters being the proper character rather than the word míng 明 meaning "bright". Another form replaces the 明 above 空 with two 日 characters.
In Japanese, they are known as Sokuten Moji (則天文字).

Tibetan Dances

Nearly every Tibetan can sing and dance. They sing anytime for any event and dance at festivals, weddings, gatherings and during their spare time. The Tibetan nationality, or Bo as it calls itself, has a population of about 3.87 million, scattered in Tibet, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan, which are known for their highlands, grasslands, thick forests and abundant natural resources. The areas inhabited by Tibetans boats a great diversity of folk songs and dances.
From historical writings we can see that more than a thousand years ago folk religious and sorcerers' dances were very popular in Tibet. They influenced the Wild Bull Dance, Yak Dance, Deer Dance, Crane Dance, Peacock Dance, Sorcerers' Dance, Drum Dance and other kinds of folk dances that have been handed down to this day.
Here we will introduce you some of the early dances popular among Tibetans:
Guoxie Dance
Guoxie (meaning "village" in Tibetan) is a group dance popular in rural areas of Tibet. The participants dance hand in hand and sing in rotation. The dance is often seen in villages, on open squares and threshing grounds. At festivals people dance and sing from sunset to sunrise. They mark the rhythm by stamping their feet.
Guoxie is performed to a 2/4 beat with the stress on the first beat. The steps are steady and vigorous, characterized by a marked tempo and a strong sense of people's labour and life. The underlying characteristic of the dance is the expression of collective enthusiasm and joy. This dance is found everywhere in Tibet, but the most renowned version is found in the Shannan area. The form is largely as follows:
At festivals men and women stand hand in hand in two lines around a big vat of highland-barley wine placed on open ground. The two groups first sing and walk from left to right in a circle. When they finish singing, the xieben, or organizer of the dance, leads in shouting, "Xiu, xiu, xiu, xiu," and starts the dance with rhythmic steps. This rhythmic shouting is called xiege in Tibetan, or "beginning of the song," which is followed closely by quick-tempo singing and dancing. The two lines of men and women compete in their dancing. After repeated dancing the xieben leads in shouting, "Xiu, xiu, xiu, xiu," or sings alone while the others dance to his tempo. This part of the dance is called xiexiu, or finale.

Opinions towards Abe's visit to China !!

Personally , I take it as a good opportunity for the improvement of Sino-Japan ties.Sino-Japanese tie has always been a complicated and sensative topic in recent years. It met with great obstacles for the main issue of the Yasukuni Shrine.For a long time ,China and Japan kept in a strange relationship with the combination of their intimate economic communication and deadlorked political interaction.No summit meetings were held between the two countries' leaders for about 5 years , which had definitely affected their cooperation to some extent.As two powerful entity in this world ,and with the inevitable globlization, China and Russia should both take their responsibility. Disagreement and opposition won't bring any pratical benefit .Only through interunderstanding and negotions can theyreach consensus and work together for a better run. A sustainable and peaceful environment with close and effective enconomic as well as political cooperation is exactly what the countries need.However , as we can see, the future prospects for Sino-Japanese ties still hinge onthe most senstive issue --the Yasukuni Shrine .The former Japanese leaders' attitude towards the World War Two and Koizumi's repeated visits to the shrine had aroused the anger from all the victimed countries around this world , let alone China and South Korea.If Japan can express sincere remorse towards this matter and take certain measures to show its firm determination of changing its positions like Germany , things will be easily settled . To our disappointment , we have to make the conclusion that it's quite difficult ,or much like to be impossible. Due to some stubborn and dark elements involved in the national spirit of Japan, their people ,esp. the politicians and authorities, won't be willing to admit their terrible mistake. There are still many other complicated factors involved , all of which will surely give an impact on Japan's major policy and diplomacy. That's no wonder why Abe kept vague on the Yasukuni Shrine.History is fact , history is mirror , and history can also be history.We are always looking forward.what matters and what we care about now is just the correct attitude towards history. Countries should face their history directly ,while not try to shift off responsibility.That's the main principle.The foundamental interest always lies in the modern period ; the continuous development always relies on other countries' support ; and a favorble environment is foreve important.I hope Japanese will take it seriously .

Shaolin Kung Fu

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Shaolin Kung Fu
Posted Friday, April 2, 2004


Shaolin Quan or Shaolin Chuan originated in the Shaolin Temple on Mount Songshan at Dengfeng in Henan Province. It was named after the temple. The founder of the Shaolin Quan was said to be an Indian monk, Bodhi-dharma. The proposition, though very influential, was proved to be false, for there was a monk named BodhHiharma but he knew nothing at all about Chinese Chuan. In fact, Shaolin Quan was the manifestation of the wisdom of the monks of the temple, secular Wushu masters and army generals and soldiers.
According to historical records, the Shaolin Temple was built during the Northern Wei Dynasty in the 19th calendar year of the reign of Emperor Taihe (495) and is one of China's most famous an-cient temples. The Shaolin Temple once had many monks on its premises. Those monks of the lower level mostly came from the secular society and some of them knew some martial arts before entering the temple. Those who knew martial arts taught and helped each other to improve their skills. They also absorbed the experience of their predecessors and gradually developed their mar-tial arts into the unique Shaolin school.
During the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577), Shaolin monks could lift hundreds of kilograms in weight and were good at Chuan and horse riding. By the end of the Sui Dynasty (581-618), Li Shimin, king of the Qin state, fought with the self-appointed emperor of the Zheng state, Wang Shichong. Shaolin monks Zhi Cao, Hui Yang, and Tan Zong took the side of Li and helped him catch the latter's nephew Wang Renze to force the self-appointed emperor to surrender. After Li Shimin was enthroned as the first emperor of the Tang Dynasty, he awarded his followers ac-cording to their military merits and contributions. Monk Tan Zong had the title of chief general con-ferred on him, while the Shaolin Temple was given large grants of land and money to expand the temple complex. The Shaolin Temple was allowed to organize an army of monk soldiers, who acted as military people in warring times and as monks in peace time. The Shaolin school of Chuan im-proved and developed through the trials of battles and wars.
The Shaolin monks in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) were all taught to practise Wushu. In the 32nd calendar year of the Jiajing reign (1553), the Shaolin military monks took part in the battles against Japanese invaders in southern China and accomplished many military exploits. Wang Shixing of the Ming Dynasty wrote in his Tour of Mount Song. "All of the 400 Shaolin Temple monks have good Wushu skills." "Fists and cudgels were wielded as if they were flying during practice." Cheng Chongdou also of the Ming Dynasty wrote in his book The Dossier of Shaolin Cudgel Fight: "Shaolin monks are best known for their cudgel fights." Ming general Yu Dayou, who was reputed for his anti-Japanese military service, went to teach cudgel fighting skills in the Shaolin Temple. It was in the latter half of the Ming Dynasty that Shaolin monks switched from cudgel fighting to fist fighting, so that fist fights could be promoted to match cudgel fights.
In the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the people living around the Shaolin Temple were very active in practising Wushu, which boosted the development of the Shaolin school of martial arts. In the Shao-lin Temple, the rear hall was used for Wushu exercises, where various kinds of weapons were dis-played on the weapon stands ready for use at any time. Some monks practised fist fighting to safe-guard the temple. After years of exercises and practising, foot prints were stamped on the brick floor of the rear hall and these prints can be seen clearly even today. On the north and south walls of the White-Clothes Hall, there are Qing Dynasty murals vividly depicting the exercises practised by monks in the temple.
In the fifth calendar year of the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty (1727), people were not allowed to practise Wushu. However, they could not be stopped either in the secular society or in the Shaolin Temple, where Wushu was practised underground.
Apart from the Shaolin Temple on Mount Songshan, the Shaolin Temple was said to have set up more than a dozen Shaolin affiliates in other temples in the country. The Shaolin Temple on Mount Nine Lotus in Fujian Province during the Ming Dynasty was famous for developing the Shaolin Quan.
Around the 1911 Revolution against the Qing Dynasty, the Shaolin martial arts underwent further developments. Wushu clubs were established all over the country and most of them took the Shaolin Quan. Lots of patriots organized sabre and flying sword groups in order to overthrow the dynasty. They constantly practised their skills and contributed greatly to the cause.
The Shaolin school is very popular in secular society with a myriad of followers. Over the years it was enriched theoretically and its techniques perfected to form a colossal system of fist fight.Compactness is a feature of the Shaolin school. The moves and tricks of this school are short, simple and succinct as well as versatile. While fighting, Shaolin boxers would advance and retreat straight forwardly. They need only a small space to execute their style of fist fight which is des-cribed as "fighting along a single straight line." Shaolin Quart is powerful and speedy with rhythmic rising and falling of body movements. It stresses hardness of actions and blows but it also advocates softness in support of the hardness. The motto of the Shaolin fist fight says "hardness first and softness second." When jabbing or palming, the arm is required to be neither bent nor straight, in an attempt to blend external and internal forces.

Internet 'egao' targets Shanghai teenager

A baby-faced chubby Shanghai student called Xiao Pang, or "cherub" in English, is gaining online fame as his image proliferates in satiric images across the web.
Netizens at home and abroad have digitally morphed a photograph of the 100 kilogram boy's face into images of Harry Potter, Mona Lisa and famous Chinese film characters.
The images have earned the youth a new nickname, Bai Bian Xiao Pang, or "Changeable Xiao Pang". Any search on Xiao Pang currently returns more than a million hits and netizens have written a short story called The Legend of Xiao Pang to go with the photos.
"I didn't feel good in the beginning when I first discovered my photos were being tampered with, but then I realized people do it because they like me," Xiao Pang said.

GEISHA

Geisha (芸者 "person of the arts") are traditional Japanese artist-entertainers. The word Geiko is also used to describe such persons. Geisha were very common in the 18th and 19th centuries, and are still in existence today, although their numbers are dwindling. "Geisha," pronounced /ˈgeɪ ʃa/ ("gay-sha") is the most familiar term to English speakers, and the most commonly used within Japan as well, but in the Kansai region the terms geigi and, for apprentice geisha, "Maiko" have also been used since the Meiji Restoration. The term maiko is only used in Kyoto districts. The English pronunciation ˈgi ʃa ("gee-sha") or the phrase "geisha girl," common during the American occupation of Japan, carry connotations of prostitution, as some young women, desperate for money and calling themselves "geisha," sold themselves to American troops.
Trainee Geisha (Maiko) Kyoto Japan by Michael Reeve
The geisha tradition evolved from the taikomochi or hōkan, similar to court jesters. The first geisha were all male; as women began to take the role they were known as onna geisha (女芸者), or "woman artist (female form)." Geisha today are exclusively female, aside from the Taikomochi. Taikomochi are exceedingly rare. Only three are currently registered in Japan. They tend to be far more bawdy than geisha. Other public figures who contributed to the creation of the modern geisha were Oiran, or courtesans, and Odoriko, dancing girls. The Odoriko in particular influenced geisha to include dance as part of their artistic repertoire.
A geisha at work in Gion Kyoto. Picture by ToddLara
Geisha were traditionally trained from young childhood. Geisha houses often bought young girls from poor families, and took responsibility for raising and training them. During their childhood, apprentice geisha worked first as maids, then as assistants to the house's senior geisha as part of their training and to contribute to the costs of their upkeep and education. This long-held tradition of training still exists in Japan, where a student lives at the home of a master of some art, starting out doing general housework and observing and assisting the master, and eventually moving up to become a master in her own right (see also irezumi). This training often lasts for many years.The course of study traditionally starts from a young age and encompasses a wide variety of arts, including Japanese musical instruments (particularly the shamisen) and traditional forms of singing, traditional dance, tea ceremony, flower arranging (ikebana), poetry and literature. By watching and assisting senior geisha, they became skilled in the complex traditions surrounding selecting, matching, and wearing precious kimono, and in various games and the art of conversation, and also in dealing with clients.Once a woman became an apprentice geisha (a maiko) she would begin to accompany senior geisha to the tea houses, parties and banquets that constitute a geisha's work environment. To some extent, this traditional method of training persists, though it is of necessity foreshortened. Modern geisha are no longer bought by or brought into geisha houses as children. Becoming a geisha is now entirely voluntary. Most geisha now begin their training in their late teens.
Are Geisha Prostitutes?
Strictly speaking, geisha are not prostitutes. Because they entertain men behind closed doors in an exclusive manner, there has been much speculation about the underpinnings of their profession. The confusion that surrounds this issue has been complicated by Japanese prostitutes who wish to co-opt the prestige of the geisha image, and by inaccurate depictions of geisha in Western popular culture. Although a geisha may choose to engage in sexual relations with one of her patrons, geisha engagements will never involve sex.The first geisha was indeed a courtesan named Kako. Over time, she discovered that she had no need to engage in the red-light district. Kako was directly or indirectly to heir to many schools of Japanese art. She called herself a geisha ("arts-person") and confined herself to giving artistic performances.Occasionally, a geisha may choose to take a danna (an old fashioned word for husband), which is typically a wealthy man who has the means to support a geisha mistress. Although a geisha may fall in love with her danna, the affair is customarily contingent upon the danna's ability to financially support the geisha's lifestyle. The traditional conventions and values within such a relationship are very intricate and not well understood, even by many Japanese. Because of this, the true intimate role of the geisha remains the object of much speculation, and often misinterpretation, in Japan as well as abroad.

The Moon Festival

On the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, the moon is round and the Chinese people mark their Moon (or Mid-autumn) Festival. The round shape to a Chinese means family reunion. Therefore the Moon Festival is a holiday for members of a family to get together wherever it is possible.
On that day sons and daughters will bring their family members back to their parents' house for a reunion. Sometimes people who have already settled overseas will come back to visit their parents on that day.
As every Chinese holiday is accompanied by some sort of special food. On the Moon Festival, people eat moon cakes, a kind of cookie with fillings of sugar, fat, sesame, walnut, the yoke of preserved eggs, ham or other material. In Chinese fairy tales, there live on the moon the fairy Chang E, a wood cutter named Wu Gang and a jade rabbit which is Chang E's pet. In the old days, people paid respect to the fairy Chang E and her pet the jade rabbit.
The custom of paying homage to the fairy and rabbit is gone, but the moon cakes are showing improvement every year. There are hundreds of varieties of moon cakes on sale a month before the arrival of the Moon Festival this year. Some moon cakes are of very high quality and very delicious. An overseas tourist is advised not to miss it if he or she happens to be in China during the Moon Festival.

Japanese PM arrives in Beijing for official visit

Japanese PM arrives in Beijing for official visit
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived in the Chinese capital Sunday afternoon, for his first foreign trip as leader and his first summit talks with Chinese leaders.
Shortly afterwards, Abe is scheduled to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao, top legislator Wu Bangguo and Premier Wen Jiabao, respectively, before flying to Seoul early Monday for talks with President Roh Moo-hyun of the Republic of Korea (ROK).
Wen invited Abe to visit China on the premise that "China and Japan reached a consensus on overcoming the political obstacle affecting bilateral relationship and promoting friendly and cooperative relationship," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao.
Abe, who took office September 26, is the first Japanese postwar prime minister who chose China as the destination of his first official overseas trip. He is also the first Japanese leader visiting China in five years as top-level visits had been halted because of Abe's predecessor Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, where 14 class-A war criminals in WWII are honored along with Japan's war dead.
While speaking of his visit to China and the ROK, Abe told a session of the House of Representatives Budget Committee on Thursday that frank exchanges of views, goals and ideals are the first step in building the "relations of trust" among the Asian neighbors.

CPC Central Committee key plenum opens

The Sixth Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) opened in Beijing on Sunday morning.
A major item of the agenda is to study the issue of building a harmonious socialist society and deliberate a draft of the "resolutions of the CPC Central Committee on major issues regarding the building of a harmonious socialist society".
The resolutions are expected to become guidelines for building the harmonious socialist society, defined as a democratic society under the rule of law, a society based on equality and justice, an honest and caring society, and a stable, vigorous and orderly society in which humans live in harmony with nature.
The Party holds that the society is harmonious in general at present, but there still exist quite a few contradictions and problems that impair social harmony.
Aware of the theory that contradictions may surface in large amounts when per capita GDP enters the 1,000-3,000 U.S. dollars stage, the Party's policy makers have realized improper handling of the complicated situation will lead to economic stagnation and social instability.
China's per capita GDP surpassed 1,000 U.S. dollars in 2003 and reached 1,714 U.S. dollars in 2005.
"Facing up to these contradictions and working to dissolve them with a more positive attitude to increase harmonious factors and reduce disharmonious ones is an important guarantee of realizing China's long-term development goals," said a senior party official at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held in July.