“Sport of kings” looks to China’s elite
By Maxim Duncan
TIANJIN, China (Reuters Life!) – Asia’s first ever snow polo tournament went into its second day on Wednesday at China’s newest and largest polo club, with six top global teams promoting the luxury sport to the nation’s new and growing ranks of wealthy.
Though an early form of polo was once popular with China’s upper classes during the Tang dynasty more than a thousand years ago, the sport of kings died out almost entirely until a recent surge of interest in foreign sports seen as being high class.
Finding love no bed of roses for Chinese men
By Maxim Duncan
BEIJING (Reuters Life!) – Finding one’s better half can be a tricky business in modern-day China, with hectic work schedules, nagging parents and a gender imbalance conspiring to make selecting a partner a nightmare for single men.
According to the recent “2010 China Marriage and Relationship Survey Report,” 260 million Chinese are looking for love — 180 million singles and 80 million concerned parents.
Chinese ice climbers typify outdoor sports boom
By Maxim Duncan
BEIJING (Reuters Life!) – Dozens of Chinese climbing enthusiasts scaled huge, frozen waterfalls in rural Beijing, taking part in a competition showcasing the rapid rise in popularity of outdoor sports.
With white collar workers in the world’s most populous nation looking for more adventurous ways to spend their time and money, climbing is fast taking root alongside activities such as running and hiking.
China breaks up anti-Japan protests, seeks better ties
LANZHOU, China (Reuters) – Chinese police on Sunday broke up protests against Japan in the northwestern city of Lanzhou over a territorial dispute that has stoked tensions between Asia’s two biggest economies.
The protest, by about 200 people who were calling for a tougher line by their government against Japan, followed similar demonstrations by thousands of Chinese and Japanese last week that centered around the status of islands claimed by both nations.
China breaks up anti-Japan protests
LANZHOU, China (Reuters) – Chinese police on Sunday broke up protests against Japan in the northwestern city of Lanzhou over a territorial dispute that has stoked tensions between Asia’s two biggest economies.
The protest, by about 200 people who were calling for a tougher line by their government against Japan, followed similar demonstrations by thousands of Chinese and Japanese last week that centered around the status of islands claimed by both nations.
Security, rain dampen China protests against Japan
BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – About a hundred Chinese protesters on Saturday demanded Japan free a Chinese boat captain, but tight security and rain deterred a bigger show of anger over an issue that has ratcheted up territorial tensions between the Asian powers.
Under a steady downpour, the protesters, mostly in their 20s gathered in front of the Japanese embassy in Beijing and held placards and yelled slogans denouncing the detention of the captain, seized by the Japanese coast guard after their boats collided in the disputed East China Sea over a week ago.
Chinese man burns self to death in new school attack
TAIXING, China (Reuters) – A farmer burned himself to death after injuring five children with a hammer at a kindergarten, Chinese media reported on Friday, in a reminder of societal strains just as China is trying to show its best face to the world.
Two children were pulled away from the man after he poured gasoline and set himself on fire at a kindergarten in Weifang, in coastal Shandong province, Xinhua News Agency said. All five injured students were in stable condition, it added.
Out of Africa — and into China
At a meeting in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh this month, China promised to double the aid it gives to Africa and even forgive the debt of some of the continent’s poorest countries.We’ve known for some time that Chinese are migrating to Africa to exploit business opportunities. But it’s perhaps less known that growing numbers of Africans are also moving to China to live and work.One of the most visible is Vimbayi Kajese, a 28-year-old Zimbabwean who reads the news on China Central Television – or CCTV – and is the country’s first African news presenter. CCTV 9, also known as CCTV International, is China’s state-run English language channel. As well as China, it’s available in more than 80 countries, of which six are in Africa — an increasingly important audience.”I’ve been in China for over 3 years now,” Kajese told Reuters Africa Journal. “I came after I graduated from the U.S., and the reason why I came to China was because China is the next upcoming emerging market and definitely is the place to be.”Kajese is one of an increasing number of young Africans heading to China, where a booming economy and ever-closer ties with Africa are creating opportunities as tempting as any in the West.Tebogo Lefifi left her job as the CEO of a South African mining and property development firm and came to China. Now on a Chinese-funded scholarship to study Chinese economics, the 34-year-old wants to make sure Africans make the most of China’s growth. But some of that may have to wait until she’s mastered the language. Lefifi is setting up an organisation for China-Africa discussion and networking in Beijing. Young African Professionals and Students, or YAPS, will eventually help African professionals and companies trying to get ahead in China.There are also less formal opportunities. Frank Baelongandi, AKA DJ Kefra, has been playing in Beijing clubs for six years. He’s even been pronounced the capital’s best DJ. The 27-year-old from Kinshasa in the DRC originally came to study business, before taking up a residency at Vic’s, one of the capital’s biggest clubs. ”I felt the energy, the opportunity, and I felt the magnitude,” he said. “So I just decided ‘OK I think that’s the place I should stay.’”China’s African community has grown dramatically in the last decade. Experts estimate as many as 250,000 Africans are in the country at any one time, most of them traders in the thriving south. So it looks like ambitious young Africans are likely to keep heading out of Africa, and into China, in the years to come.
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