It used to be a ritual in which humans knelt before the gods; now 赛 (sài) is all about challenging ourselves to be the best we can be. This character appears whenever there's a contest: a football match (足球赛 zúqiú sài), a cycling contest (自行车赛 zìxíngchē sài), or a debate competition (辩论赛 biànlùn sài).
Earlier this summer, Wang Guoben, a 22-year-old junior at Peking University, made a decision that surprised his parents and peers: To postpone the last year of his studies and join the People's Liberation Army.
Love is in the air. Well, it often seems to be when you're traveling in China. For, aside from the main historical attractions, the sights we like to see and photograph are by and large the same ones as Chinese newlyweds choose, and mostly for the same reason - romance.
Soft and slippery on the outside, pared noodles (刀削面 dāoxiāomiàn) are actually pretty chewy. But, it's not just what's in the bowl that attracts its fans; the method itself is a real visual treat (眼福 yǎnfú).
An old story still raises a chuckle among tulou residents in Longyan, Fujian province.
In addition to the 46 tulou included on the World Heritage List, some 23,000 are strewn across a wide area in the vast mountainous regions of Yongding.
Even though he's an expert in tulou building, Xu Songsheng, 61, hasn't constructed a new building since 2002.
With visitor numbers rising every year, Yongding county has seen a surge in revenue from tourism. However, Mao Gaoliang, Party secretary of Yongding, is still not satisfied and he's troubled by missed opportunities.
His history-breaking win at the London Olympic Games established Sun Yang as one of China's most promising sports figures after Yao Ming, Liu Xiang and Li Na.
Even though the air is thick with sweat and grunts, it doesn't look like what you might imagine. The floor is a checkerboard of padded puzzle pieces, the type you might see at a kindergarten, and bottled water sits atop neatly stacked shoes. The flag of Brazil, harkening back to the perceived beginnings of this sport, partners the Chinese flag on the wall.
Next month, Chen Deming, 13, will enter a junior high school in the United States.
Cao Nuo (曹诺) stretches on the hardwood floor, arching, cracking and straining her dragon-tattooed back inside her tight, red tank top, a perfect triangle becoming clear on her inflated deltoid muscles. Her left shoulder sports a heart-shaped "Mom" tattoo and her abdomen, built of three perfectly shaped rows of chiseled abs, swoops down into her light blue, form-fitting spandex shorts, quickly giving way to rock solid thighs. Her grace, musculature and flawless technique aren't meant for getting grown men sweaty in some smoky club. She lives for the love of the game.
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