Beijing’s young graffiti artists use derelict buildings as the canvas to share their take on the world.

Armed with spray paint, the graffiti team known as “Beijing Penzi” enthusiastically sets to work, giving a derelict building a new lease on life.

Graffiti is not encouraged in the Chinese capital, but the street art is beginning to creep onto the capital’s streets. Debate rages over whether it’s eye-catching or just an eyesore.

Beijing has its own graffiti custodian, known as LLYS. His blog gives regularly updated photographs of new graffiti appearing on the city’s streets. Or try Beijing Penzi member 0528’s blog.

To watch the full Reuters Report click here.

Michael Chiu, senior investment manager at ING Investment Management, has China Mobile as its biggest holding, and is overweight the banks as it plays down the potential impact of NPLs.

Pampered grapes and expensive price tags in China’s growing wine market.

The specially imported grapes at Bodega-Langes winery in Heibei province enjoy a constant concert of classical music from the vineyard right through to the cellars.

Just in case they suffer culture shock.    

China’s increasingly affluent society is testing its palette on grape wines, both premium and budget, and the potential market of 1.3 billion customers has enticed both foreign and local investors.

Click here to see the Reuters Report.

For more on China's wine scene, try the Grape Wall of China blog.

China's elderly find life and joy in exercise

By Grace Liang and Lucy Hornby

BEIJING - Gao Mingyuan has found joy at age 66.

Joy, in his case, consists of bending himself double and hooking his legs around a pole that runs behind his shoulders, in a Chinese meditative martial arts tradition.

Gao is one of many Chinese seniors, freed from the rigors of work and raising children, who are turning to martial arts such as tai chi, bopping to trendy beats or singing patriotic songs as they seek health and friends in parks across the country.

"We forget all our troubles when we practice," he said as he contorted himself at the Temple of Heaven, where seniors exercise beneath the gnarled trees at dawn.

China has over 140 million people over the age of 60. Many lost out on an education, thanks to the Cultural Revolution, and have retired early as state-owned factories went bust or to help care for grandchildren.

About 54 million engage in some sort of physical activity to enliven their golden years.

"Sportswear companies would well take heed of that figure, given how obsessed they are with the youth market," said Kunal Sinha, who studies the aging demographic for Ogilvy & Mather in Shanghai.

The elderly Chinese who swarm to the Temple of Heaven are a treasure-trove of traditional folk arts, martial arts and Chinese opera, sung in cracked voices that are still in tune.

Crowds of other seniors bop to a trendy beat, try their hand at Indian dance, waltz or join a chorus of patriotic Communist songs rarely heard any more.

"In India, seniors pass on traditions and social norms. In China, they're an untapped resource, because so many young people want to turn toward what's modern," said Sinha.

"On the other hand, because China is so in flux, we see a lot of old people picking up customs from young people. For instance, the phenomenon of the hip-hop granny -- you don't see that in India."

For 63-year old Wang Yongzhen, a grandmother who swing-dances in large gold-rimmed sunglasses and a traditional purple velvet cheong-sam, retirement is a time to indulge talents she never had time for when she was young.

"I liked singing and dancing when I was young but never had a chance, because work was busy and the kids were little. Now when I dance at the park, my heart opens up."

(Editing by Sugita Katyal)

Bird’s singing, horses galloping, trains trundling along and even planes taking off are no challenge for Chinese professional mimic Cheng Jiaqiang.

He can imitate more than 100 noises, a skill he learned from his father, who in turn, learned it from his father.

Cheng and his menagerie can be found performing around Beijing.

If you’d like to see more of Cheng, watch the full Reuters Reports story here

When Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou was elected ruling Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman in July, pundits jumped on the idea that he would use his new title to help secure a meeting with China’s President Hu Jintao. The first-of-a-kind summit would follow six decades of strained relations including China’s threats of military force against the island.

Ma’s new job, which he will take in mid-October, allows him to meet Communist Party Chairman Hu in a party-to-party role, laying aside each side’s presidential title. China does not recognise Taiwan’s presidency or other government institutions as it claims sovereignty over the self-ruled island.

Beijing’s state-run China Daily newspaper said such a meeting would signal “great reconciliation.”

A meeting would best take place in 2012, according to a KMT spokesman, Lee Chien-jung.

Before then, Ma will be wary of Taiwan’s divided public, Lee said. Taiwanese generally favour closer economic ties with China but oppose rushing into a relationship with the long-distrusted Communist government on fears that Beijing would compromise Taiwan’s self-rule, including its democracy. Ma will monitor opinion polls for any change in sentiment, the spokesman said, ruling out any meeting in the short term.

Ma could also be embarrased at home if Hu declined to acknowledge his title as president.

Odds of a meeting will surge in 2012 if Ma wins re-election by a big margin in March of that year, which would be an endorsement of China-friendly economic policies that have characterised his administration since he took office in May 2008.

“That interpretation wouldn’t be too far off the mark,” Lee said.

No doubt the KMT would also like to see political dividends from any momentum it can build ahead of the election for an expected summit that could occur if Ma were to win.

In an exclusive interview with Reuters on Monday, Ma said he would not exclude the possibility of meeting with China’s leaders one day, adding that there was no timetable for any such meeting. “At the moment, we have our hands full with economic issues,” he said.

Hu, expected to step down as president in 2013, might see 2012 as his last chance to meet Ma while in office — a historic moment that might qualify both sides for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Taiwan and China have tacitly agreed to lay aside issues of military tension, international space and sovereignty while they build up basic trust after 60 years of little or no official contact.

If the two sides break ice on these sensisitve political topics, in addition to the trade issues discussed to date, and can deliver any kind of tangible agreement beforehand, it would make sense for a summit 2012, said Raymond Wu, a political risk consultant in Taipei.

“If Ma’s political standing at home is solid and Hu is the undisputed centre of power, then yes, I think both would like to meet,” Wu said.

Photo: Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou speaks in an interview with Reuters at the Presidential Office in Taipei on Oct. 19, 2009. REUTERS/Nicky Loh

How cheap is cheap?

That was the most frequently asked question among bankers and private equity experts attending a recent forum in Hong Kong, as they swapped strategies about how to pick up stressed assets during the financial crisis. 

When Lehman Brothers collapsed a year ago, everyone shared the same view: The global financial crisis was just beginning.

But one year on, many global markets have bounced off the bottom and some have recovered quite nicely. The Shanghai benchmark index, for instance, has gained more than 50 percent since the beginning of this year. As a result, views among bankers and top investment strategists about ongoing risks to the business outlook have started to diverge.

“Valuation is still a big threat,” said Michael Kim, a former senior Carlyle executive who founded MBK Partners after leaving the U.S. buyout giant.

“If a W-shaped recovery is going to happen, I think it will be a tremendous buying opportunity,” said Kim, referring to the possibility of a “second dip” market correction.

Andy Xie, former chief Asia economist at Morgan Stanley who earned his reputation in the financial industry as one of the most bearish analysts in Asia, forecast that a “second dip” in China’s market could occur next year.

“Markets will come down seriously, and China needs to increase money spending again, then you will see another rally,” said Xie, adding that speculative hedge funds could earn big profits in the subsequent rally.

But not everyone expects or is eager to see “a second dip”, especially those dealmakers who have already jumped onto the deal flow and believe they have successfully bet on the quick recovery early this year.

“How cheap is cheap? I think the price level is now reasonable, and in fact we already missed the bottom level, which was the time when Lehman Brothers went bankrupt,” said one forum delegate.

Another financial industry executive, who explained his outlook on valuations to reporters at the forum, said: ”To those who missed the chance to take advantage of the recovery in this round to buy some cheap assets early this year, they will definitely tell the public that the valuation is not yet cheap because they haven’t bought anything yet.

“To those who bought something early this year, now is the time for them to defend their investments so they keep saying prices will rise soon.”

He smiled, and posed a question for other dealmakers: ”How greedy is greedy?”

Photo caption: A man sitting at the Exchange Square in Hong Kong. REUTERS/George Chen

China’s propaganda machine and Internet are once again agog over Premier Wen Jiabao, whose public comforting of Chinese earthquake victims last year cemented his reputation for having a common touch.

China’s Communist Party rarely admits mistakes, but Wen got kudos for facing up to his.

Wen, a trained geologist, mixed up his rock types while giving feedback to a Beijing middle school teacher, who had failed to encourage a student while Wen was sitting in on some classes this weekend.

Xinhua included the mistake when quoting his remarks.

Wen corrected the error and issued a public apology via Xinhua — giving new meaning to the term “official correction.”

But even the apology was not without some spin. The Beijing News said an alert reader had noticed  the error and alerted Xinhua, but the subsequent article by the state news agency said Wen himself had spotted the flub.

File photo: REUTERS/Jason Lee

One of the primary aims of North Korea’s propaganda machine is to show its founder Kim Il-sung and current leader Kim Jong-il as all-knowing, parent-like (and at times god-like) figures who devote themselves entirely to bettering the lives of every citizen of the state.

Kim Il-sung, known as the "Great Leader" is also the eternal president of the state formed at the start of the Cold War. His son Kim Jong-il, who took over when his father died in 1994, is known as the "Dear Leader."

The reality of course is quite different. While the Kim family basks in riches, North Koreans are some of the poorest people in North Asia, who are threatened with famine due to a lack of food in a state that several have criticised for having one of the world’s worst human rights records.

North Korea's state media from time to time runs stories about events that had taken place several years ago, even decades sometimes, to reinforce the message that its leaders have shown great concern for all the people.

Here is a story that came out this week about a visit state founder Kim Il-sung made to a cabbage patch nearly three decades ago.

    Pyongyang, October 12 (KCNA) -- President Kim Il-sung gave field
guidance to the Oryu Co-op Farm, Sadong District, Pyongyang one day in June
Juche 63 (1974).
    He went to a cabbage field where the cabbage grew well.
    He stepped into the field regardless of muddy ground with a bright smile on his face. Suddenly he stooped himself to see a head of cabbage carefully. Those accompanying him turned their doubtful eyes to the cabbage.
    Its leaves had only fine luster.
     After a while the President asked a farm official whether the cabbage had been hit by hailstones.
     At that moment the official was very surprised.
     Actually the cabbages had suffered a slight damage from hail when young.
    However, the cabbages were unusually in good condition so that it was difficult to find the marks of damage.
     The President found out instantly the marks that even the peasants and experts could hardly do.
     The officials were deeply moved by his extraordinary observation.

(Photo: North Koreans offer flowers to a statue of state founder Kim Il-sung to commemorate the 61st anniversary of the founding of the state, in Pyongyang September 9, 2009, in this picture released by North Korea's official news agency KCNA.)