[2008-10-22] Artist couple wows festival
The Icelandic artist couple Runar Sigurbjornssan (L) and Elin Jonina (C)unveiled a multi-media art exhibition at Bailuzhou Square on October 18 at the invitation of Common Talk Weekly as a part of the annual Xiamen Daily Readers’ Festival. The exhibition included an exhibit of three-dimensional photos and a concert performed by the couple.

[2008-10-15] Gulangyu with poetry
The third session of the Gulangyu Poem Festival kicked off on Gulangyu last Saturday, where over 80 renowned poets across the country met and shared their poetry and literary beliefs. A special exhibition entitled "Faces of Chinese Poetry" was held on the street of Gulangyu. The event attracted significant pedestrian interest.

[2008-10-8] Leap into space
Chinese taikonaut Zhai Zhigang ventured out of the earth-orbiting Shenzhou-7 spacecraft at 4:43 p.m. on September 27, becoming the first Chinese person to leave a "footprint in the universe." China is now the third country after the United States and Russia to conduct a spacewalk. The success is a step towards China's long-term goal of operating a space lab and space station.

[2008-9-17] XM celebrates by moonlight
The jubilant dice ringing of the traditional moon-cake games ushered in the Mid-Autumn Festival in Xiamen on September 14. People stayed indoors for family gathering, went shopping or swarmed to the seaside to celebrate the occasion.

[2008-9-10] New highs for CIFIT
The 12th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) unveiled its curtain on September 8 at the Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center. CIFIT has grown into a substantial global platform for bilateral and multilateral trade cooperation. The trade fair boasted a record high 2,500 exhibition booths this year, with nearly 10,000 overseas guests from 124 countries and regions.

[2008-9-2] Homage to Confucius
A coming-of-age ceremony and a teacher tribute took place in line with ancient customs and etiquette at Fuwen Temple in Quanzhou on August 31. Nearly a thousand students, parents and teachers participated in the event. During the ceremonies, students paid homage to Confucius, an educator and founder of the Ru school of Chinese philosophy. In the picture, students read aloud an article by Confucius.

[2008-8-26] First Taiwan tour group arrives
The Beijing Olympic atop the futuristic Bird's Nest last Sunday night, marking the conclusion of what International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge described as a "truly exceptional Games." Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong handed over the Olympic flag to mayor of London Boris Johnson, host of the 2012 Games.

[2008-8-5] Games unite Qixi singles
Thursday is Qixi, the Chinese Valentine’s Day, and the Beijing Olympics are just two days away. Thousands of local singles who hoped to find a sweetheart with whom to watch the Games rushed to Guanyinshan on August 2 for a social mixer organized by Xiamen Daily and Siming's district government. In the picture, a gentleman presents a small gift to a woman he fancies during a game organized by the event sponsors.

[2008-7-22] First Taiwan tour group arrives
The fourth Gulangyu Piano Festival runs from July 18 through July 24. Two important components of this festival are the National Youth Piano Competition and the Contest of Excellent Candidates for National Standard Grade Testing of Piano, which are held at the same time. The latter competition is new this year and is aimed at amateur youth piano players. More than 300 participants from nearly thirty provinces,

[2008-7-15] Closer to Taiwan
Taiwan and mainland China launched direct weekend charter flights last Friday, potentially letting millions of tourists visit the island in a historic move heralding a further warming of relations.
A group of 760 mainland Chinese tourists began a historic journey to Taiwan on Friday. Holidaymakers from Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Xiamen and Guangzhou will stay in Taiwan for 10 days.

[2008-7-8] Olympic village opens
The Olympic Village for the Beijing Games was officially opened on July 27 as hundreds of athletes began to check in to the 66-hectare compound. The sprawling complex will house about 16,000 athletes, coaches and their entourages from over 200 countries and regions. Seen in the picture are two athletes from Lybia walking past a huge post highlighting a Bejing courtyard house.

[2008-6-24] First Taiwan tour group arrives
The first visitors from Taiwan inaugurated the Xiamen-Kinmen passenger sea route on June 19. The initial group included 80 entrepreneurs from Taoyuan county of Taipei. Another group of 50 passengers will participate in the craft exposition in Nan’an. They are the first Taiwan groups to visit mainland China via this passage.

[2008-6-17] Flooding hits South China
Rainstorms and floods have ravaged the provinces of Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guizhou and Yunnan and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region since June 6. At least 200 people have been killed or reported missing. The disaster damaged crops on 860,500 hectares of farmland and toppled 120,000 houses. Direct economic losses stood at 26 billion yuan ($3.75 billion). Pictured is a flooded road in Guilin city, Guangxi on June 12.

[2008-6-10] Paying homage costume
The Duanwu Folk Cultural Festival kicked off on June 8 at Guanyinshan. Thousands of onlookers attended a series of events including a display of Duanwu etiquette, a traditional customs show, a Duanwu gourmet exhibit and an opera performance. Pictured above are people dressed in traditional Han costume during a sacrifice ceremony.

[2008-6-3] Quake victims arrive
A special train carrying 202 injured quake victims from Sichuan province on the evening of June 1 pulled into Xiamen Railway Station, where 122 ambulances already waited to pick them up. Over 162 victims will receive further treatment at six hospitals in Xiamen and another 40 victims will be treated in Quanzhou.

[2008-5-28] Unity is strength
The Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra and other organizations conducted a charity concert entitled "Unity is strength" on May 23 at the Hongtai Musical Hall.
World-renowned conductor Lu Jia and violinist Huang Bin performed with the orchestra on classic foreign and domestic works. The two-hour concert raised over two million yuan for victims in quake-stricken Sichuan province.

[2008-5-20] Quake victims mourned
China on Monday began a three-day national mourning for the tens of thousands of people killed in a magnitude 8.0 earthquake which struck the Sichuan province on May 12.
The death toll from the massive quake rose to 34,073 nationwide as of 11 a.m. Tuesday, while the injured numbered 245,108, according to the emergency response office under the State Council.
In the picture students from Anhui province honored the victims with a candlelight vigil.

[2008-5-13] The torch visits XM
Fujian was the third stop for the Olympic torch in its journey through mainland China. The Olympic flame entered Fujian on May 10 via Guangdong’s Shantou city and traveled through Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Xiamen and Longyan from May 11 to May 13.

[2008-5-7] XM to welcome torch
Festive crowds recorded and witnessed the Beijing Olympic torch relay in Hong Kong on May 2 during the first leg of the torch relay in China. The Olympic flame is scheduled to reach Fujian on May 11. The Xiamen leg of the torch relay will kick off on May 12.

[2008-5-1] Fight for fun!
Pillow fighters battle in the Santa Maria plaza in Trastevere in Rome April 27, 2008. Hundreds of people turned up to join the annual event.

[2008-4-22] Temple fair grandeur
The third Haicang Baosheng Ciji Cultural Festival kicked off on April 17 at Haicang Qingjiaociji Temple. Based on a theme of "Health, Charity and Harmony,” the festival lasted for three days and attracted 7,000 believers from 290 domestic and overseas temples to attend the memorial ceremony, including 2,000 guests from Taiwan. Paying respect and sacrifice to Emperor Baosheng, who was a renowned doctor during the Song Dynasty, is popular in the Taiwan Straits and overseas Chinese communities.

[2008-4-15] Flying high with kites
Gloomy weather and drizzles didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of tens of thousands of people who swarmed to the Golden Beach of Guanyinshan to witness the fourth Dazhou Cup Xiamen International Kite Festival, which was held on April 12 and 13. Teams from 30 regions and countries took part in the event, including Chinese participants from Beijing, Weifang, Taipei, Hong Kong, Macao, and international guests from the U.S., Japan, Australia and Malaysia.

[2008-3-19] March against war
Roughly 1,500 people marched through the streets of downtown Hollywood last Saturday in an effort to raise awareness of the five-year anniversary of the Iraq War. The Hollywood march was one of many that took place across the U.S. and in Europe.

[2008-3-12] Artistic touch to stone fair
The 8th Xiamen International Fair of Stone Material was held at Xiamen Conference and Exhibition Center between March 6 and 9. Xiamen is the largest stone material import and export terminal in China. The import and export volume reached 10.3 million tons in 2007, accounting for 60 percent of the national total and the highest of any port in the world. In the picture a body painting master from Fuzhou demonstrates his art at the fair. The technique can also be utilized on porcelain and stone.

[2008-3-5] Dresden's Chinese celebration
Tourists pass by a huge sign highlighting the photo exhibit “Humanism in China" on February 29 in Dresden, Germany. The exhibit, which opened the same day in the Kunsthalle (National Art Hall), marks the beginning of Dresden's Year of China, a series of events that will include a modern Chinese ink painting exhibit and a Chinese garden architecture exhibition.

[2008-2-28] Europe dominates Oscars
Buckets of rain couldn't put a serious damper on Hollywood's glitziest show of the year. As rain fell throughout much of the day, thousands of fans packed the bleachers and streets around the Kodak Theatre, hoping to catch a glimpse of Hollywood's biggest stars as they arrived for Sunday's 80th annual Academy Awards. It was a triumphant night for European talent at the Oscars, scooping all four of the major acting awards. France's Marion Cotillard (L) won best actress, Britian's Daniel Day-Lewis walked away with his second Best Actor Oscar, Britain's Tilda Swinton took supporting actress and Spain's Javier Bardem grabbed supporting actor.

[2008-2-5] Xiamen lit up by lanterns
The annual Xiamen Lantern Festival Exhibition is coming up. Mark your calendar. The lantern illuminations will be lit on February 9 and on display through February 24 at Bailuzhou Park. The lantern exhibit is on a much larger scale than ever, with 114 separate installations. The illuminated park will provide a place for citizens to enjoy a festive ambience during the Spring Festival holiday. Pictured is a lantern installation at Bailuzhou Park, February 3.

[2008-1-31] Heavy snow piles on the agony
The Western opera classic Figaro’s Wedding by Mozart brought down the house at the Xiamen Art Theatre on January 18. Directed by Li Wei, a graduate from Xiamen University, the opera keeps its arias and music, while the lines are in different Chinese dialects. This has injected an element of artistic affinity and modernity, making the new version very appealing. The adapted arias were easier to understand while still retaining the charming elegance of traditional Western opera.

[2008-1-23] Standing ovation for Figaro
The Western opera classic Figaro’s Wedding by Mozart brought down the house at the Xiamen Art Theatre on January 18. Directed by Li Wei, a graduate from Xiamen University, the opera keeps its arias and music, while the lines are in different Chinese dialects. This has injected an element of artistic affinity and modernity, making the new version very appealing. The adapted arias were easier to understand while still retaining the charming elegance of traditional Western opera.

[2008-1-16] Saying no to whaling
A Chilean protested against Japan's annual whaling in Chile on January 11 after a Greenpeace ship found Japan’s whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary last week. Japan's whaling fleet plans to hunt 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales for research over the Antarctic summer, but recently abandoned plans to hunt 50 humpback whales after international condemnation and a formal diplomatic protest by 31 nations ....

[2008-1-9] XM International Marathon
China dominated the women's titles while Kenya took a 1-2 finish in the men's section of the Sixth Xiamen International Marathon last Saturday....