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Health

18 food for losing weight (part 2)

In the previous article, I discussed the first nine food that can help you lose weight. These are vegetables and salads, grapefruit, apples, pears, bananas, eggs, beans, vinegar and tofu. Here are the remaining nine healthy food on our list: 10. Green tea. Green tea contains an antioxidant called catechins, which may help you lose […]

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From engineering to trade with Europe: BBC film reveals secrets of Forbidden City

The BBC documentary “Secrets of China’s Forbidden City” released last July, examines the technical expertise that made possible one of the greatest wonders of the medieval world. The Forbidden City, with its warrens of buildings and pathways, home to the biggest wooden structure on Earth and a place of staggering wealth and power, was built […]

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China Red Sandalwood Museum

Sandalwood, with its fine grain and lasting fragrance, is very much a part of Chinese culture. It has been made into furniture, its oil extracted for various uses. Its popularity has led to over-harvesting, decimating the number of sandalwood trees. In response, the private China Red Sandalwood Museum in east Beijing opened in 1999 to […]

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Anhui’s ‘shared bookstore’

To encourage reading, a popular bookstore lets customers take out books for a small deposit, instead of buying them outright. The Sanxiaokou Xinhua Bookstore (合肥三孝口新華書店) in Hefei, eastern China’s Anhui province, has styled itself a “shared bookstore.” Open 24 hours every day, it lets customers bring home up to two books worth under RMB150 (P1,140) […]

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Interest grows in dying women-only script

There is a revival of interest in Nüshu (女書), a syllabic writing system developed from Chinese characters and once used only among women in Jiangyong county, Hunan province in central China. As recently as this past August, the crew of a popular reality television show went to Jiangyong to find out more about Nüshu. The […]

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Miao’s Manggao festival brings luck

Manggao (芒篙) is a legendary god in the Miao (苗) ethnic minority culture. He drives out evil spirits and brings good fortune. During each Spring Festival, many Miao villages hold Manggao festivals, where performers dress up as the god to bring good luck. The Manggao Festival is an intangible cultural heritage. The performer wears a […]

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Facial recognition ensures smooth travel during National Day break

Many Chinese travelers faced a smoother travel experience during the National Day holiday, thanks to pilot programs using facial recognition in place of IDs checks at railway stations, hotels, banks and restaurants. Passengers at the entrances to Jinan railway station, capital of Shandong province, put their ID cards and tickets on the gate machines and […]

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Zheng He (鄭和) remembered in China, overseas

There is much in Nanjing City – China’s capital in ancient times – to celebrate the life and achievements of Zheng He, the great explorer, mariner, admiral of the royal fleet and diplomat. Parks and halls abound to remind the present generation of his legacy. Yet it is only fitting that the new 1,600 square […]

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Gems of History

‘Lola Grande’ – Doña Cornelia Lao Chanco

Discussing the rice traders of 1862 in his great work Feeding Manila, in Peace and War: 1850-1945 (Ateneo Press, 2016), professor emeritus Daniel F. Doeppers narrates: Doña Cornelia Lao Chanco (1819-1900) was one of the Manila consignees in 1862. Born to Chinese mestizos in Binondo, Manila in 1836, she was married to Tomas Ly-Chauco, an […]

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Tsinoy Beats and Bytes

The ‘PAB’ in all of us

A friend forwarded to me a post from the Pinoy Ako Blog. In “Ako si PAB, eh ano ngayon (I am PAB, so what)?” Maria Josephina Vergina Laurio admitted that she is behind the blog, that she is PAB. I was awed by this brave act. It takes courage to reveal her true identity, knowing […]