Selfie

Being a teacher in China's under-developed areas is widely seen as noble and respectful. It is more so if one chose to work in the rural areas of the country's far west Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in her youthful years. Written and produced by Lu Chang. Zhang Wan voices the story.

Yongku Unity Village is in south Xinjiang's Kuqa County, since the 1960s, its multi-ethnic population has included the Han people, Uyghurs, Hui, and Kazaks, who all live together in this village. Over the decades, they've worked together, held long-lasting friendships, and even built families with each other. The story tells how cow breeding has helped engender multi-ethnic friendships in Xinjiang. Written and produced by Lu Chang. Yang Yong voices the story.

Many people believe that human beings are shaped by the environment around them. The blue sky, white clouds, high mountains and wide horizons, such boundless vistas of nature could just as well have an influence over people's lives in Xinjiang. Maybe it's this landscape that has nurtured people from different ethnic groups in Yongku village to be unpretentious, passionate, bold and unconstrained. Perhaps that's also the reason why romantic love stories happen here, despite cultural differences. This episode is written and produced by Lu Chang. Yang Yong voices the story

In many parts of China's underdeveloped rural areas, education has been facing challenges due to poverty and a lack of awareness of its importance. And this used to be the situation in Yongku, a small village located in China's far west Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, where school was nonexistent before the 1960s. But later, the local educational environment was changed by a group of migrant workers, in addition to generations of local people who have been making efforts to create a better life through education over the past few decades.

A young beauty meets the love of her life while asleep. Hear how that worked out on this edition of Selfie.

Well-educated young Chinese have launched various startups or farms to make agricultural innovations or apply the newest technologies. As they transform the agriculture sector, their presence and activities have brought new dynamics to life in the countryside, attracting urban residents back for sightseeing or recreation.

A widespread greeting in China during the Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, is "Wishing you have fish every year"; which means wishing you the best of luck and prosperity every year，as the Chinese character of “fish” is homophonic to the character of “abundance”. Good wishes have become reality in Jilin Province's Chagan Lake, in China's northeast. Millions of tourists have seen the catch from the local winter fishing season, and have been impressed by the "walls of fish" on the frozen lake. In 2008, a single net yielded 168 thousand kilograms of fish, breaking the Guinness World Record. But how can one natural lake yield so much fish? Let's see if Lake Chagan will give up some of its secrets.

Yang Baosen was one of the most famous Peking Opera masters of the last century who developed a singing technique that still bears his name－Yang Pai, or Yang style. This year marks the 110th birthday of Yang Baosen. But why was Yang considered to be the Van Gogh of Peking Opera?

To feed 20 percent of the world's population with only seven percent of the world's arable land is certainly a challenge. But that's what China has been working on for the last 70 years. With a population of 1.4 billion, China faces a tremendous task: how to feed so many mouths? We explored a remote place called Qixing Farm in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province to find the answer.

Tea or coffee, which one do you prefer? Here in a traditionally tea-drinking country, a growing number of people are pouring coffee into their cups. The rather exotic and middle-class beverage has witnessed double digit growth in demand over recent years along with China's opening-up to the outside world and improvement in people's living standards. In some big cities, going out to drink coffee have even become a daily routine and lifestyle for mostly young people. But all these development was unimaginable some four decades ago when poverty and a rejection of a seemingly Western lifestyle allowed no place for the beverage in ordinary Chinese daily life. So how did Chinese people develop a taste for coffee?

Non-profit organizations and young college graduates in China are joining hands to bring quality education to students living in underdeveloped regions.

Continue to join Manling to hear stories from our guest Joy Chen, who is well known in China for becoming the deputy mayor of Los Angeles at the age of 31 and for her 2012 book “Do Not Marry Before Age 30”.

Let's follow Manling to hear stories from Joy Chen, who is well known in China for becoming the deputy mayor of Los Angeles at the age of 31 and for her 2012 book “Do Not Marry Before Age 30”.

The number 127 was a signpost in the career of the former investment banker turned NGO founder Chung To. He's now the head of the Chi Heng Foundation, the NGO he established in Hong Kong in 1998 with a mere 100 Hong Kong dollars. His decision was driven more by instinct than logic: He had an impulse to help people whose lives were turned upside down by the raging AIDS epidemic. This instinct grew stronger and stronger until, in 2001, he left the world of finance and invested everything he had – money, time, and care – into running Chi Heng. The following year, Chi Heng would rescue its first group of AIDS orphans, 127 in all.

The number 127 was a signpost in the career of the former investment banker turned NGO founder Chung To. He's now the head of the Chi Heng Foundation, the NGO he established in Hong Kong in 1998 with a mere 100 Hong Kong dollars. His decision was driven more by instinct than logic: He had an impulse to help people whose lives were turned upside down by the raging AIDS epidemic. This instinct grew stronger and stronger until, in 2001, he left the world of finance and invested everything he had – money, time, and care – into running Chi Heng. The following year, Chi Heng would rescue its first group of AIDS orphans, 127 in all.

Tens of thousands of small wholesalers and vendors have contributed to a prosperous produce market in southern Beijing called Xinfadi—one of the largest of its kind in China.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Li Huanzhi, a towering figure among Chinese classical composers of the twentieth century as the composer of the orchestral score for China's National Anthem. In this episode, we'll continue to review Li's musical career, while enjoying a concert put on to commemorate him by the China National Traditional Orchestra (CNTO).

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Li Huanzhi, a towering figure among Chinese classical composers of the twentieth century as the composer of the orchestral score for China's National Anthem. In the following two episodes, we'll review Li's musical career, while enjoying a concert put on to commemorate him by the China National Traditional Orchestra (CNTO).

Since August 2017, the Sanya city government has stepped up its efforts to protect mangrove trees—nicknamed “forests at sea” after a central government environmental inspection tour.

In the first part of today's Selfie, we hear from China Plus's reporter who recently spoke with Tibetan college student Dekyi Dolma about the medical service in her hometown in Tuoding Town in the Diqing Tibet Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. In the second part of the program, we follow local doctor Longchen Tsodo from Tuoding Town to see how elderly villager Tashi Lhamo recovered from breast cancer.

“Remember who you are, respect the balance of the circle of life and respect all creatures.” Disney's movie The Lion King tells a story about the true meaning of responsibility and bravery. Like the lion Simba, a real-life “Lion King” in northern China's Inner Mongolia has assumed the responsibility for greening his hometown, and practices bravery with his fellow townsmen. These indigenous people have been fighting desertification for more than 30 years, from generation to generation, like relay runners. All of them say they want to make their hometown more livable and more beautiful, but are they able to fulfill their dream? Let's discover what the Kubuqi desert is like today.

“Animals are not moving objects!” This is the strongest message Manling received from Grace Ge Gabriel, a through and through animal conservationist who has been leading the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) office in China since she founded it in 1997, fighting battles at the forefront of wildlife protection.

“Animals are not moving objects!” This is the strongest message Manling received from Grace Ge Gabriel, a through and through animal conservationist who has been leading the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) office in China since she founded it in 1997, fighting battles at the forefront of wildlife protection.