Podcasts about Southwest China

To comprehensively enhance residents' consumption capacity and market vitality, the city of Mianyang in Southwest China's Sichuan Province has proposed piloting a 4.5-day flexible workweek system, encouraging eligible regions to implement a "Friday afternoon plus weekend" 2.5-day leave model.为全面提升居民消费能力和市场活力，位于中国西南部的四川省绵阳市提出试行4.5天弹性工作制，鼓励符合条件的地区实行“周五下午+周末”2.5天的休假模式。The Mianyang Municipal Commerce Bureau recently issued the 2025 work plan for the city's consumption revitalization initiative, proposing seven core actions comprising 29 specific measures to enhance local residents' consumption capacity and market vitality, the Xinhua News Agency reported.据新华社报道，绵阳市商务局近日印发了《绵阳市提振消费专项行动2025年工作清单》，提出了七大核心行动，共29项具体措施，旨在提升居民消费能力和市场活力。The sixth action focuses on the optimization of consumption environments with the implementation of leave initiatives, said the report.报道称，第六项行动重点是优化消费环境，落实休假举措。Relevant departments are asked to ensure full implementation of annual leave and paid leave systems, encourage flexible scheduling for companies and promote simultaneous leaves for couples, Xinhua reported.据新华社报道，要求有关部门确保全面落实年休假和带薪休假制度，鼓励企业灵活安排工作时间，并推行夫妻双方同步休假。Notably, the plan also advocates for a 4.5-day flexible workweek and encourages eligible regions to adopt a "Friday afternoon plus weekend" 2.5-day leave model, per Xinhua.值得注意的是，据新华社报道，该方案还倡导每周4.5天弹性工作制，并鼓励符合条件的地区实行“周五下午加周末”2.5天的带薪休假模式。An official from the Mianyang Municipal Commerce Bureau, who requested to remain anonymous, told the Global Times on Monday that, as the lead authority for consumption promotion, the bureau proposed the model as an exploratory initiative under the framework of implementing central and provincial government policies to boost consumption.绵阳市商务局一位不愿透露姓名的官员周一向《环球时报》表示，作为消费促进工作的牵头部门，该局提出该模式是在落实中央和省级促进消费政策框架下的一项探索性举措。The proposal quickly became a trending topic on social media platform Sina Weibo, generating 210 million views and 55,000 discussions by 1 pm Monday. Many netizens expressed hopes for province-wide implementation.该方案迅速成为社交媒体平台新浪微博的热门话题，截至周一下午1点，阅读量已达2.1亿次，讨论量达5.5万次。许多网友表示希望该方案能在全省范围内推广。A Mianyang resident surnamed Yang told the Global Times that extended weekends would allow more leisurely travel. "It takes about five hours to drive from Mianyang to the Siguniang Mountain scenic area, which is equivalent to half a day," noting that an extra half day would mean the sightseeing time wouldn't be so rushed, and they could better enjoy the local scenery.一位姓杨的绵阳居民告诉《环球时报》，延长周末将使人们有更多时间享受休闲旅行。“从绵阳开车到四姑娘山景区大概需要5个小时，相当于半天时间。”他表示，多出半天时间，观光时间就不会那么紧张，可以更好地欣赏当地的风景。A Chengdu-based employee surnamed Xu, whose child currently lives in Mianyang, said that he currently drives to Mianyang every Saturday morning and returns to Chengdu Sunday afternoon, adding that, excluding travel time, he and his wife only have about a day to spend with their child.一位目前在成都工作、孩子住在绵阳的徐性员工表示，自己现在每周六早上开车去绵阳，周日下午返回成都。除去路上的时间，他和妻子能陪伴孩子的时间只有一天左右。"The time is really short, just when we start to get close to our child, we have to head back," Xu said, expressing a strong hope that this initiative can be further implemented, so that he can spend more time with his child.“时间真的太短了，刚刚和孩子亲近一点，就得离开了。”徐先生说，他非常希望这项举措能够进一步落实，这样他就能有更多时间陪伴孩子了。However, some netizens question the practical implementation of this initiative, wondering whether it will be put into effect and whether implementing this initiative in some public service institutions would cause an inconvenience.然而，一些网友对这项举措的具体实施情况提出了质疑，他们担心这项举措是否会真正落地，以及在一些公共服务机构实施这项举措是否会造成不便。The official from the bureau clarified that the specific implementation rules for the 2.5-day weekend leave have not yet been introduced. 该局负责人澄清，周末2.5天休假的具体实施细则尚未出台。"We need to combine specific circumstances and conduct discussions and research with other departments," the official noted.“我们需要结合具体情况，与其他部门进行讨论研究。”该工作人员指出。The 2.5-day weekend initiative is not novel in China. Over the past years, more than 10 provinces including North China's Hebei Province, East China's Jiangxi Province and Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality have proposed similar initiatives, China Central Television (CCTV) News reported.周末2.5天休假在中国并非新鲜事。据中国中央电视台（CCTV）新闻报道，过去几年，包括河北省、江西省和重庆市在内的10多个省份都提出了类似的举措。According to the report, Longnan in Gansu Province also encouraged that all administrative and public institutions should facilitate Friday afternoon leave for officials and employees after essential services, provided they complete required working hours through schedule adjustments, CCTV News reported.据报道，甘肃省陇南市也鼓励所有行政事业单位，在通过调整作息时间完成规定工作时间的前提下，为干部职工提供周五下午的休假。Professor Yang Haiyang, dean of the Research Institute of Social Development at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, said that reducing working hours is an inevitable trend of social and economic development and civilizational progress, but its promotion needs to be combined with practical conditions to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach, according to the People's Daily.西南财经大学社会发展研究院院长杨海洋教授在接受《人民日报》采访时表示，缩短工作时间是社会经济发展和文明进步的必然趋势，但推广时应结合实际情况，避免“一刀切”。flexible workweek弹性工作周municipal/mjuːˈnɪsɪpl/adj.市政的；地方政府的leave model休假模式one-size-fits-alladj.一刀切的

AP correspondent Karen Chammas reports on four boats that capsized in China leaving 10 people dead.

In the 1960s, a deep anxiety set in as one thing became seemingly clear: We were headed toward population catastrophe. Paul Ehrlich's “The Population Bomb” and “The Limits to Growth,” written by the Club of Rome, were just two publications warning of impending starvation due to simply too many humans on the earth.As the population ballooned year by year, it would simply be impossible to feed everyone. Demographers and environmentalists alike held their breath and braced for impact.Except that we didn't starve. On the contrary, we were better fed than ever.In his article in The New Atlantis, Charles C. Mann explains that agricultural innovation — from improved fertilization and irrigation to genetic modification — has brought global hunger to a record low.Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I chat with Mann about the agricultural history they didn't teach you in school.Mann is a science journalist who has worked as a correspondent for The Atlantic, Science, and Wired magazines, and whose work has been featured in many other major publications. He is also the author of 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus and1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created, as well as The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow's World.In This Episode* Intro to the Agricultural Revolution (2:04)* Water infrastructure (13:11)* Feeding the masses (18:20)* Indigenous America (25:20)Below is a lightly edited transcript of our conversation. Intro to the Agricultural Revolution (2:04)I don't think that people realize that the fact that most people on earth, almost the average person on earth, can feed themselves is a novel phenomenon. It's something that basically wasn't true since as far back as we know.Pethokoukis: What got my attention was a couple of pieces that you've worked on for The New Atlantis magazine looking at the issue of how modern Americans take for granted the remarkable systems and infrastructure that provide us comfort, safety, and a sense of luxury that would've been utterly unimaginable even to the wealthiest people of a hundred years ago or 200 years ago.Let me start off by asking you: Does it matter that we do take that for granted and that we also kind of don't understand how our world works?Mann: I would say yes, very much. It matters because these systems undergird the prosperity that we have, the good fortune that we have to be alive now, but they're always one generation away from collapse. If they aren't maintained, upgraded and modernized, they'll fall apart. They just won't stand there. So we have to be aware of this. We have to keep our eye on the ball, otherwise we won't have these things.The second thing is that, if we don't know how our society works, as citizens, we're simply not going to make very good choices about what to do with that society. I feel like both sides in our current political divide are kind of taking their eye off the ball. It's important to have good roads, it's important to have clean water, it's important to have a functioning public health system, it's important to have an agricultural system that works. It doesn't really matter who you are. And if we don't keep these things going, life will be unnecessarily bad for a lot of people, and that's just crazy to do.Is this a more recent phenomenon? If I would've asked people 50 years ago, “Explain to me how our infrastructure functions, how we get water, how we get electricity,” would they have a better idea? Is it just because things are more complicated today that we have no idea how our food gets here or why when we turn the faucet, clean water comes out?The answer is “yes” in a sort of trivial sense, in that many more people were involved in producing food, a much greater percentage of the population was involved in producing food 50 years ago. The same thing was true for the people who were building infrastructure 50 years ago.But I also think it's generally true that people's parents saw the change and knew it. So that is very much the case and, in a sense, I think we're victims of our own success. These kinds of things have brought us so much prosperity that we can afford to do crazy things like become YouTube influencers, or podcasters, or freelance writers. You don't really have any connection with how the society goes because we're sort of surfing on this wave of luxury that our ancestors bequeathed to us.I don't know how much time you spend on social media, Charles — I'm sure I spend too much — but I certainly sense that many people today, younger people especially, don't have a sense of how someone lived 50 years ago, 100 years ago, and there was just a lot more physical suffering. And certainly, if you go back far enough, you could not take for granted that you would have tomatoes in your supermarket year round, that you would have water in the house and that water would be clean. What I found really interesting — you did a piece on food and a piece on water — in the food piece you note that, in the 1980s, that was a real turning point that the average person on earth had enough to eat all the time, and rather than becoming an issue of food production, it became an issue of distribution, of governance. I think most people would be surprised of that statistic even though it's 40 years old.I don't think that people realize that the fact that most people on earth, almost the average person on earth, can feed themselves is a novel phenomenon. It's something that basically wasn't true since as far back as we know. That's this enormous turning point, and there are many of these turning points. Obviously, the introduction of antibiotics for . . . public health, which is another one of these articles they're going to be working on . . .Just about 100 years ago today, when President Coolidge was [president], his son went to play tennis at the White House tennis courts, and because he was lazy, or it was fashionable, or something, he didn't put on socks. He got a blister on his toe, the toe got infected, and he died. 100 years ago, the president of the United States, who presumably had the best healthcare available to anybody in the world, was unable to save his beloved son when the son got a trivial blister that got infected. The change from that to now is mind boggling.You've written about the Agricultural Revolution and why the great fears 40 or 50 years ago of mass starvation didn't happen. I find that an endlessly interesting topic, both for its importance and for the fact it just seems to be so underappreciated to this day, even when it was sort of obvious to people who pay attention that something was happening, it still seemed not to penetrate the public consciousness. I wonder if you could just briefly talk to me about that revolution and how it happened.The question is, how did it go from “The Population Bomb” written in 1968, a huge bestseller, hugely influential, predicting that there is going to be hundreds of millions of people dying of mass starvation, followed by other equally impassioned, equally important warnings. There's one called “Famine, 1975!,” written a few years before, that predicted mass famines in 1975. There's “The Limits to Growth.” I went to college in the '70s and these were books that were on the curriculum, and they were regarded as contemporary classics, and they all proved to be wrong.The reason is that, although they were quite correct about the fact that the human race was reproducing at that time faster than ever before, they didn't realize two things: The first is that as societies get more affluent, and particularly as societies get more affluent and give women more opportunities, birth rates decline. So that this was obviously, if you looked at history, going to be a temporary phenomenon of whatever length it was be, but it was not going to be infinite.The second was there was this enormous effort spurred by this guy named Norman Borlaug, but with tons of other people involved, to take modern science and apply it to agriculture, and that included these sort of three waves of innovation. Now, most innovation is actually just doing older technologies better, which is a huge source of progress, and the first one was irrigation. Irrigation has been around since forever. It's almost always been done badly. It's almost always not been done systematically. People started doing it better. They still have a lot of problems with it, but it's way better, and now 40 percent, roughly, of the crops in the world that are produced are produced by irrigation.The second is the introduction of fertilizer. There's two German scientists, Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch, who essentially developed the ways of taking fertilizer and making lots and lots of it in factories. I could go into more detail if you want, but that's the essential thing. This had never been done before, and suddenly cheap industrial fertilizer became available all over the world, and Vaclav Smil . . . he's sort of an environmental scientist of every sort, in Manitoba has calculated that roughly 40 percent of the people on earth today would not be alive if it wasn't for that.And then the third was the development of much better, much higher-yielding seeds, and that was the part that Norman Borlaug had done. These packaged together of irrigation fertilizer and seeds yielded what's been called the Green Revolution, doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled grain yields across the world, particularly with wheat and rice. The result is the world we live in today. When I was growing up, when you were growing up, your parents may have said to you, as they did me, Oh, eat your vegetables, there are kids that are starving in Asia.” Right? That was what was told and that was the story that was told in books like “The Population Bomb,” and now Asia's our commercial rival. When you go to Bangkok, that was a place that was hungry and now it's gleaming skyscrapers and so forth. It's all based on this fact that people are able to feed themselves through the combination of these three factors,That story, the story of mass-starvation that the Green Revolution irrigation prevented from coming true. I think a surprising number of people still think that story is relevant today, just as some people still think the population will be exploding when it seems clear it probably will not be exploding. It will rise, but then it's going to start coming down at some point this century. I think those messages just don't get through. Just like most people don't know Norm Borlaug, the Haber-Bosch process, which school kids should know. They don't know any of this. . . Borlaug won the Nobel Prize, right?Right. He won the Nobel Peace Prize. I'll tell you a funny story —I think he won it in the same year that “The Population Bomb” came out.It was just a couple years off. But you're right, the central point is right, and the funny thing is . . . I wrote another book a while back that talked about this and about the way environmentalists think about the world, and it's called the “Wizard and the Prophet” and Borlaug was the wizard of it. I thought, when I proposed it, that it would be easy. He was such an important guy, there'd be tons of biographies about him. And to this day, there isn't a real serious scholarly biography of the guy. This is a person who has done arguably more to change human life than any other person in the 20th century, certainly up in the top dozen or so. There's not a single serious biography of him.How can that be?It's because we're tremendously disconnected. It's a symptom of what I'm talking about. We're tremendously disconnected from these systems, and it's too bad because they're interesting! They're actually quite interesting to figure out: How do you get water to eight billion people? How do you get . . . It is a huge challenge, and some of the smartest people you've ever met are working on it every day, but they're working on it over here, and the public attention is over here.Water infrastructure (13:11). . . the lack of decent, clean, fresh water is the world's worst immediate environmental problem. I think people probably have some vague idea about agriculture, the Agricultural Revolution, how farming has changed, but I think, as you just referred to, the second half, water — utter mystery to people. Comes out of a pipe. The challenges of doing that in a rich country are hard. The challenges doing a country not so rich, also hard. Tell me what you find interesting about that topic.Well, whereas the story about agriculture is basically a good story: We've gotten better at it. We have a whole bunch of technical innovations that came in the 20th century and humankind is better off than ever before. With water, too, we are better off than ever before, but the maddening thing is we could be really well off because the technology is basically extremely old.There's a city, a very ancient city called Mohenjo-daro that I write about a bit in this article that was in essentially on the Pakistan-India border, 2600 BC. And they had a fully functioning water system that, in its basics, was no different than the water system that we have, or that London has, or that Paris has. So this is an ancient, ancient technology, yet we still have two billion people on the planet that don't have access to adequate water. In fact, even though we know how to do it, the lack of decent, clean, fresh water is the world's worst immediate environmental problem. And a small thing that makes me nuts is that climate change — which is real and important — gets a lot of attention, but there are people dying of not getting good water now.On top of it, even in rich countries like us, our water system is antiquated. The great bulk of it was built in the '40s, '50s, and '60s, and, like any kind of physical system, it ages, and every couple years, various engineering bodies, water bodies, the EPA, and so forth puts out a report saying, “Hey, we really have to fix the US water system and the numbers keep mounting up.” And Democrats, Republicans, they all ignore this.Who is working on the water issue in poorer countries?There you have a very ad hoc group of people. The answer is part of it's the Food and Agricultural Organization because most water in most countries is used for irrigation to grow food. You also have the World Health Organization, these kinds of bodies. You have NGOs working on it. What you don't have in those countries like our country is the government taking responsibility for coordinating something that's obviously in the national interest.So you have these things where, very periodically — a government like China has done this, Jordan has done this, Bolivia has done this, countries all over the world have done this — and they say, “Okay, we haven't been able to provide freshwater. Let's bring in a private company.” And the private company then invests all this money in infrastructure, which is expensive. Then, because it's a private company, it has to make that money back, and so it charges people for a lot of money for this, and the people are very unhappy because suddenly they're paying a quarter of their income for water, which is what I saw in Southwest China: water riots because people are paying so much for water.In other words, one of the things that government can do is sort of spread these costs over everybody, but instead they concentrate it on the users, Almost universally, these privatization efforts have led to tremendous political unhappiness because the government has essentially shifted responsibility for coordinating and doing these things and imposed a cost on a narrow minority of the users.Are we finally getting on top of the old water infrastructure in this country? It seems like during the Biden administration they had a big infrastructure bill. Do you happen to know if we are finally getting that system upgraded?Listen, I will be the only person who probably ever interviews you who's actually had to fix a water main as a summer job. I spent [it at] my local Public Works Department where we'd have to fix water mains, and this was a number of years ago, and even a number of years ago, those pipes were really, really old. It didn't take much for them to get a main break.I'm one of those weird people who is bothered by this. All I can tell you is we have a lot of aging infrastructure. The last estimate that I've seen came before this sort of sudden jerky rise of construction costs, which, if you're at all involved in building, is basically all the people in the construction industry talk about. At that point, the estimate was that it was $1.2 trillion to fix the infrastructure that we have in the United States. I am sure it is higher now. I am delighted that the Biden people passed this infrastructure — would've been great if they passed permitting reform and a couple of other things to make it easier to spend the money, but okay. I would like to believe that the Trump people would take up the baton and go on this.Feeding the masses (18:20)I do worry that the kind of regulations, and rules, and ideas that we put into place to try and make agriculture more like this picture that we have in our head will end up inadvertently causing suffering for the people who are struggling.We're still going to have another two billion people, maybe, on this earth. Are we going to be able to feed them all?Yeah, I think that there's no question. The question is what we're going to be able to feed them? Are we going to be able to feed them all, filet mignon and truffled . . . whatever they put truffle oil on, and all that? Not so sure about that.All organic vegetables.At the moment, that seems really implausible, and there's a sort of fundamental argument going on here. There's a lot of people, again, both right and left, who are sort of freaked out by the scale that modern agriculture operates on. You fly over the middle-west and you see all those circles of center-pivot irrigation, they plowed under, in the beginning of the 20th century, 100 million acres of prairie to produce all that. And it's done with enormous amounts of capital, and it was done also partly by moving people out so that you could have this enormous stuff. The result is it creates a system that . . . doesn't match many people's vision of the friendly family farmer that they grew up with. It's a giant industrial process and people are freaked out by the scale. They don't trust these entities, the Cargills and the ADMs, and all these huge companies that they see as not having their interests at heart.It's very understandable. I live in a small town, we have a farm down there, and Jeremy runs it, and I'm very happy to see Jeremy. There's no Jeremy at Archer Daniels Midland. So the result is that there's a big revulsion against that, and people want to downsize the scale, and they point to very real environmental problems that big agriculture has, and they say that that is reason for this. The great problem is that in every single study that I am aware of, the sort of small, local farms don't produce as much food per acre or per hectare as the big, soulless industrial processes. So if you're concerned about feeding everybody, that's something you have to really weigh in your head, or heavy in your heart.That sort of notion of what a farm should look like and what good food is, that kind of almost romantic notion really, to me, plays into the sort of anti-growth or the degrowth people who seemed to be saying that farms could only be this one thing — probably they don't even remember those farms anymore — that I saw in a storybook. It's like a family farm, everything's grown local, not a very industrial process, but you're talking about a very different world. Maybe that's a world they want, but I don't know if that's a world you want if you're a poor person in this world.No, and like I said, I love going to the small farm next to us and talking to Jeremy and he says, “Oh look, we've just got these tomatoes,” it's great, but I have to pay for that privilege. And it is a privilege because Jeremy is barely making it and charging twice as much as the supermarket. There's no economies of scale for him. He still has to buy all the equipment, but he's putting it over 20 acres instead of 2000 acres. In addition, it's because it's this hyper-diverse farm — which is wonderful; they get to see the strawberries, and the tomatoes, and all the different things — it means he has to hire much more labor than it would be if he was just specializing in one thing. So his costs are inevitably much, much higher, and, therefore, I have to pay a lot more to keep him going. That's fine for me; I'm a middle-class person, I like food, this can be my hobby going there.I'd hate to have somebody tell me it's bad, but it's not a system that is geared for people who are struggling. There are just a ton of people all over the world who are struggling. They're better off than they were 100 years ago, but they're still struggling. I do worry that the kind of regulations, and rules, and ideas that we put into place to try and make agriculture more like this picture that we have in our head will end up inadvertently causing suffering for the people who are struggling.To make sure everybody can get fed in the future, do we need a lot more innovation?Innovation is always good. I would say that we do, and the kinds of innovation we need are not often what people imagine. For example, it's pretty clear that parts of the world are getting drier, and therefore irrigation is getting more difficult. The American Southwest is a primary candidate, and you go to the Safford Valley, which I did a few years ago — the Safford Valley is in southeast Arizona and it's hotter than hell there. I went there and it's 106 degrees and there's water from the Colorado River, 800 miles away, being channeled there, and they're growing Pima cotton. Pima cotton is this very good fine cotton that they use to make fancy clothes, and it's a great cash crop for farmers, but growing it involves channeling water from the Colorado 800 miles, and then they grow it by what's called flood irrigation, which is where you just fill the field with an inch of water. I was there actually to see an archeologist who's a water engineer, and I said to him, “Gee, it's hot! How much that water is evaporated?” And he said, “Oh, all of it.”So we need to think about that kind of thing if the Colorado is going to run out of water, which it is now. There's ways you can do it, you can possibly genetically modify cotton to use less water. You could drip irrigation, which is a much more efficient form of irrigation, it's readily available, but it's expensive. So you could try to help farmers do that. I think if you cut the soft costs, which is called the regulatory costs of farming, you might be able to pay for it in that way. That would be one type of innovation. Another type of thing you could do is to do a different kind of farming which is called civil pastoral systems, where you grow tree crops and then you grow cattle underneath, and that uses dramatically less water. It's being done in Sonora, just across the border and the tree crops — trees are basically wild. People don't breed them because it takes so long, but we now have the tools to breed them, and so you could make highly productive trees with cattle underneath and have a system that produces a lot of calories or a lot of good stuff. That's all the different kinds of innovation that we could do. Just some of the different kinds of innovation we could do and all would help.Indigenous America (25:20)Part of the reason I wrote these things is that I realized it's really interesting and I didn't learn anything about it in school.Great articles in The New Atlantis, big fan of “Wizard and the Prophet,” but I'm going to take one minute and ask you about your great books talking about the story of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. If I just want to travel in the United States and I'm interested in finding out more about Native Americans in the United States, where would you tell me to go?One of my favorite places just it's so amazing, is Chaco Canyon, and that's in the Four Corners area — that whole Four Corners area is quite incredible — and Chaco Canyon is a sign that native people could build amazing stuff, and native people could be crazy, in my opinion. It's in the middle of nowhere, it has no water, and for reasons that are probably spiritual and religious, they built an enormous number of essentially castles in this canyon, and they're incredible.The biggest one, Pueblo Bonito as it's called now, it's like 800 rooms. They're just enormous. And you can go there, and you can see these places, and you can just walk around, and it is incredible. You drive up a little bit to Mesa Verde and there's hundreds of these incredible cliff dwellings. What seems to have happened — I'm going to put this really informally and kind of jokingly to you, not the way that an archeologist would talk about it or I would write about it, but what looks like it happened is that the Chaco Canyon is this big canyon, and on the good side that gets the southern exposure is all these big houses. And then the minions and the hoi polloi lived on the other side, and it looks like, around 800, 900, they just got really tired of serving the kings and they had something like a democratic revolution, and they just left, most of them, and founded the Pueblos, which is these intensely democratic self-governing bodies that are kind of like what Thomas Jefferson thought the United States should be.Then it's like all the doctors, and the lawyers, and the MBAs, and the rich guys went up to Mesa Verde and they started off their own little kingdoms and they all fought with each other. So you have these crazy cliff dwellings where it's impossible to get in and there's hundreds of people living in these niches in these cliffs, and then that blew up too. So you could see history, democracy, and really great architecture all in one place.If someone asked me for my advice about changing the curriculum in school, one, people would leave school knowing who the heroes of progress and heroes of the Agricultural Revolution were. And I think they'd also know a lot more about pre-Columbian history of the Americas. I think they should know about it but I also think it's just super interesting, though of course you've brought it to life in a beautiful way.Thank you very much, and I couldn't agree with you more. Part of the reason I wrote these things is that I realized it's really interesting and I didn't learn anything about it in school.On sale everywhere The Conservative Futurist: How To Create the Sci-Fi World We Were PromisedFaster, Please! is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fasterplease.substack.com/subscribe

Eating spicy ice cream, getting a haircut, dancing with local grandmas, trying intelligent NEV cars, and taking the Yangtze River Cableway and a night cruise, Darren Watkins Jr, the 20-year-old US internet celebrity better known to his 37 million YouTube followers and those on other platforms as iShowSpeed, had shown the world another interesting city through his lens.吃辣味冰淇淋、体验重庆剪发、与当地老奶奶共舞、试驾智能新能源汽车、打卡长江索道和夜游两江……近日，这位被3700万YouTube粉丝称之为iShowSpeed的20岁美国网红博主小达伦·沃特金斯通过他的镜头向世界展示了另一座有趣的城市。"This is (a) cyber city that looks crazy on camera," the YouTube sensation said in great excitement as he enjoyed the breathtaking view during a night river cruise in Chongqing."这简直是一座赛博之城，在镜头中看起来太疯狂了！"这位YouTube网红在重庆乘坐夜航游轮欣赏令人惊叹的美景时激动地说"Beautiful, beautiful. This is Chongqing. This city doesn't look real.""太美了，太美了！这就是重庆。这座城市看起来太不真实了！"From 3 pm to 9:30 pm on Wednesday, he did a marathon livestream in Chongqing city center after visiting Beijing, Shanghai, Shaolin Temple in Henan province and Chengdu in Sichuan province.从周三下午3点到晚上9点半，这位博主在重庆市中心完成了一场马拉松式直播。此前他已到访北京、上海、河南少林寺和四川成都等地。The livestream in Chongqing has attracted over 7.3 million viewers on YouTube so far, as well as over 8,000 comments.截至目前，这场重庆直播在YouTube平台已吸引超730万人次观看，评论超8000条。This metropolis of more than 30 million people in Southwest China, which boasts a multidimensional landscape, futuristic architecture, spicy hotpot and glittering night scenes, has attracted many foreign internet influencers amid the recent "China Travel" trend.这座位于中国西南的超级都市坐拥3000万人口，以魔幻立体地貌、未来感建筑群、麻辣火锅和璀璨夜景闻名，在近期"中国旅游热"中吸引了许多外国网红博主的注意。A gateway to a vast inland and a major manufacturing hub, it became China's fourth municipality in 1997 after Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin.作为西部内陆开放门户和先进制造业重镇，重庆于1997年成为继北京、上海、天津之后中国第四个直辖市。As large as Austria and five times bigger than Beijing, this city of mountains and rivers has witnessed rapid development into a modern metropolis with advanced transportation systems, outstanding architecture and eye-catching features.重庆幅员辽阔，面积与奥地利相当，是北京的五倍之多。这座山水之城已迅速发展成为一座交通发达、建筑卓越、特色鲜明的现代化大都市。The city looks futuristic with its skyscrapers, while at the same time, with some 3,000 years of history, it still preserves a distinct culture and lifestyle.这座城市摩天大楼鳞次栉比，看起来充满未来感，但与此同时，这座拥有约3000年历史的城市仍然保留着独特的文化和生活方式。The live show started in the Jiefangbei area, which is the equivalent of Times Square in New York, surrounded by giant billboards and brand-name retailers.直播首站选在重庆解放碑商圈，该地区相当于纽约时代广场，被巨型广告牌和奢侈品旗舰店所包围。The US celebrity had attracted millions of fans in China soon after he started his China livestreaming tour on March 24, with his short videos going viral online.自3月24日开启中国直播之旅以来，这位美国顶流网红迅速收获百万中国粉丝，其短视频持续引爆社交平台。His appearance in Chongqing immediately drew large crowds, and he had to urge them to calm down.在重庆期间，他的亮相立即吸引了大批观众，他不得不数次呼吁粉丝保持冷静。Accompanied by local English-speaking internet celebrity Chen Rui, the American tasted ice cream with spicy chili oil, visited Kuixinglou Square, which has become a global sensation due to its unique architectural features, and took metro Line 2 to the famous Liziba Station where the train passes through a 19-story residential building.在重庆英语达人@毒角show陈睿陪同下，美国博主挑战了辣椒油冰淇淋，探访因"魁星楼空中天桥"爆红全球的魔幻建筑，并乘坐地铁二号线前往著名的李子坝站，列车从一栋19层高的居民楼中穿过。He then took a ride on the 112-meter-long Huangguan Escalator, the highest single-grading escalator in China and Asia when it was built. He also experienced Chongqing's dazzling transportation infrastructure, including the highest overpass in the country at 72 meters and Huangjuewan Overpass which connects more than 20 ramps and eight different roads.随后，他乘坐了全长112米的皇冠大扶梯，这是当时中国乃至亚洲最高的单级自动扶梯。他还体验了重庆令人眼花缭乱的交通基础设施，包括全国最高的72米立交桥和连接20多条匝道和8条不同道路的黄桷湾立交桥。"It (the tour) is very hectic and it has a lot of energy. Everyone is full of passion," Chen said. "It is a very meaningful trip and a good opportunity to introduce Chongqing to the world.""这次行程非常紧凑，能感受到整座城市的活力，重庆人骨子里都透着热情。"陈睿表示，"这是一次特别有意义的旅行，也是一个向世界介绍重庆的好机会。"As one fan on YouTube put it after watching the Chongqing livestream, "Growing up in America I was told entirely wrong things about China. But after watching these Speed streams I'm definitely visiting soon!"正如YouTube上的一位粉丝在观看完重庆的直播后所说："在美国长大的我对中国的了解完全是错误的。但看了这些直播后，我肯定会很快来中国！""These videos have completely flipped my perception of China on its head. Our French media had painted a wildly inaccurate picture of it. I'd absolutely love to travel to China with my friends sometime soon!" said another YouTube user."这些视频完全颠覆了我对中国的认识。我们的法国媒体对中国的描述严重失真。我非常想尽快和朋友们一起去中国旅游！"另一位YouTube用户说。cyber city赛博城市；赛博朋克城市skyscrapersn.摩天大楼modern metropolis现代化大都市Kuixinglou Square魁星楼Huangguan Escalator皇冠大扶梯transportation infrastructure交通基础设施overpassn.立交桥

President Xi Jinping has urged Yunnan province to explore new prospects for high-quality development on the path toward Chinese modernization.Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during an inspection tour in the southwestern province on Wednesday and Thursday.He also underlined the need for the province to leverage its unique geographical advantages to actively promote high-standard opening-up, in order to build itself into a hub linking the countries of South Asia and Southeast Asia.The two-day inspection tour took Xi to the cities of Lijiang and Kunming, with his attention focused on the local floral economy, cultural heritage protection and the development of ethnic minority areas.The visit follows his inspection tour in neighboring Guizhou province on Monday and Tuesday.Xi visited the Lijiang Modern Flower Industry Park and the Old Town of Lijiang on Wednesday, learning about local efforts to develop specialty agriculture based on regional conditions as well as efforts to promote the cultural tourism industry.In the flower industry park, Xi talked with villagers and technicians working there, learning about the flower varieties, market sales and their incomes.The villagers told Xi that they earn over 4,000 yuan ($550) each month, with their incomes exceeding 7,000 yuan during peak seasons. Flowers represent a truly joyful job, they added.Xi said with delight: "Your endeavor is thriving and aligns with the development path of modern agriculture. May your lives be as beautiful as flowers."Noting that the flower industry in Yunnan has broad prospects, he underlined the need to focus on the entire industry chain to make this "beautiful industry" become a "happy industry" that benefits local people.While touring the Old Town of Lijiang, which boasts a history of more than 800 years, Xi emphasized that the cultural tourism industry should follow a path of sustainable and healthy development.Walking along a stone-paved road, Xi occasionally paused to chat with the tourists. "The town's culture, scenery and folk traditions are truly captivating," Xi said, adding that the integration of culture and tourism has boosted the economy.He asked local authorities to strike a balance between protection and development of heritage to make the Old Town of Lijiang shine with fresh brilliance.Visiting the Mufu Mansion, once the residential and working site of the Naxi rulers of Lijiang in ancient times that witnessed exchanges and integration among various ethnic groups in southwestern China, Xi called for passing on the fine traditional Chinese culture and guiding people of all ethnic groups to consciously foster a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation.On Thursday, Xi heard a work report by Yunnan provincial authorities. He urged the province to advance industrial transformation and upgrading based on actual conditions.Yunnan should leverage technological innovation to expand resource-based industries, actively develop strategic emerging industries and future industries, and accelerate the development of specialty agriculture and cultural tourism, Xi said.Efforts should be made to promote industries to grow in value, enterprises to improve efficiency, and people's wallets to get fuller, he said.While emphasizing the need to promote opening-up, Xi underlined the need for the province to advance the construction of pilot free-trade zones with high quality and enhance the development of transportation, logistics, energy, digital information and other sectors.Efforts should be made to expand economic, technological, talent, medical and cultural exchanges, as well as collaboration with neighboring countries to make high-quality cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative tangible and accessible, he said.Xi highlighted Yunnan's crucial role in ecological conservation, saying that the province must resolutely follow the path of green development and build a solid ecological security barrier in Southwest China.He urged Yunnan to improve the system of natural protected areas with national parks as the mainstay, strengthen ecosystem conservation and restoration, and continue efforts in combating desertification, soil erosion, and the comprehensive management of small watersheds.More efforts should be made to effectively advance pollution prevention and control in key areas as well as environmental governance of key lakes, he said.Saying that Yunnan is home to a diverse range of ethnic groups, Xi emphasized the need to take vigorous actions to help the border areas develop and local residents become prosperous, and effectively uphold ethnic unity and ensure the stability of border areas.On Thursday morning, Xi also met with military officers stationed in Kunming, grassroots role models, and other representatives.

Canadian podcaster and geopolitical analyst Daniel Dumbrill joins the show. He's been living in Chongqing, Southwest China for years. We take our time unravelling the lies about China. From East to West, the truth is breaking through the noise. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chongqing, a municipality in Southwest China, nestled in the mountains, driven by industry, and spiced up with passion! It's now the number 4 titan in China's trillion-Yuan GDP club! Let's sit down and explore how it got there! On the show: Heyang, Steve Hatherly & Ding Heng

A landslide in southwest China has killed one person and injured two others. Twenty-eight people remain missing.

WORLD: More than 30 missing after landslide hits southwest China | Feb. 9, 2025Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.netFollow us:Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebookInstagram - https://tmt.ph/instagramTwitter - https://tmt.ph/twitterDailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotionSubscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digitalSign up to our newsletters: https://tmt.ph/newslettersCheck out our Podcasts:Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotifyApple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcastsAmazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusicDeezer: https://tmt.ph/deezerStitcher: https://tmt.ph/stitcherTune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein#TheManilaTimes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered search and rescue efforts to minimize casualties after a landslide buried ten houses and left over 30 people missing in Sichuan Province.

You won't believe what people in different countries do before, during, and right after their wedding day following age-old traditions. Here are some crazy rituals for celebrating love from around the world. While most brides-to-be spend arduous hours at the gym, young girls in Mauritania are fattened up in a practice known as “leblouh". For a child to become an adult and ready for marriage in Bali, they have to go through a special tooth filing ceremony. In a tradition that goes back hundreds of years, a Tujia bride starts crying a month before her big day and is later joined by her mother, grandmother, sisters and aunts. To break the spell that would make their prospective husband die early, some women India get married to trees first. In Scotland, friends and family gladly throw molasses, ash, feathers, flour and way more disgusting things all over the bride to scare off evil spirits and bring good luck. The newlyweds in Congo never smile during the wedding ceremony to show how serious their commitment to their future family is. Masai fathers have their own very special way of blessing their newlywed daughters by spitting on their heads and breasts. Music: Seahorse - Rondo Brothers Almost August - Dan Lebowitz Arc of the Sun — The 126ers Blue Skies — Silent Partner Yucatan Peninsula — Biz Baz Studio TIMESTAMPS Force-feeding future brides 0:24 Tooth-filing ceremony 1:22 Advice from a chicken liver 2:07 Whale tooth offering 2:40 Bridal tears 3:19 Married to a tree 4:04 Tar-and-feathering the bride 4:37 Smash it (and clean it up) 5:16 Fighting for shoes 5:48 Poker face 6:22 Human rug 6:47 A good luck spit 7:09 SUMMARY -In Mauritania, young girls and women are fattened up before marriage as their idea of female beauty is curves, layers of fat, and stretch marks. -Imagine this: the people of Bali go through a special tooth filing ceremony to “cut down” the six sins that live in every person. -The Daur people of China's Inner Mongolia cut open a baby chicken to pick the date for the big day. -In Fiji, young men not only have to ask for her father's permission, but also bring him a whale tooth to marry the girl of their dreams. -The Tujia brides in Southwest China start crying a month before the big day. Later, the female part of the family joins them. -Believe it or not, some women in India marry trees all because of their astrological sign. -Scottish brides go through a “blackening” ritual to scare off evil spirits and attract good luck. -The wedding guests in Germany get to smash porcelain and ceramic dishware, and the newlyweds have to clean it all up afterwards as their first shared chore together. -In India, the groom's side has to protect the shoes from being stolen by the bride's family. -If you're ever invited to a wedding in the Congo, don't expect the bride and groom to smile, they avoid it to show how serious the commitment to future family is. -Once the wedding ceremony is over in French Polynesia, all the guests on the bride's side lie face down in the dirt to make one long human rug. -Masai fathers try to trick fate by spitting on their daughters heads and breasts. Subscribe to Bright Side : https://goo.gl/rQTJZz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook:   / brightside   Instagram:   / brightgram   5-Minute Crafts Youtube: https://www.goo.gl/8JVmuC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the approach of Spring Festival, the most important Chinese celebration, Du Honggang, a 58-year-old farmer in Tianjin, has begun to stock up on goods for the Chinese New Year and make plans to celebrate festival with his family of seven, wishing for good health and more income in the Year of the Snake.随着中国最重要的节日——春节的临近，天津58岁的农民杜洪刚已经开始为中国新年囤货，并计划与家中七口人一起庆祝节日，祈愿在蛇年身体健康、收入更多。Standing in front of his house, Du couldn't help but recall this time last year, when President Xi Jinping walked into the yard and chatted with the family while holding the hands of Du's 85-year-old mother.站在自家门前，杜洪刚不禁回想起去年这个时候，习近平主席走进院子，拉着他85岁老母亲的手，与他的家人亲切交谈的情景。Months before Xi's visit, the family had faced challenges when their cornfields and vegetable patches, totaling more than half a hectare, were inundated by a huge flood in the Haihe River Basin that severely affected the village's primary industry, agriculture, in late July 2023.2023年7月底，在习近平到访前几个月，海河流域发生特大洪水，导致该村主要产业——农业受灾严重，杜洪刚一家总面积超过半公顷的玉米地和蔬菜田遭受水淹，家庭面临困境。Despite the hardships, Du was able to quickly restore production with the help of reconstruction funds. When Xi visited the family, the celery that Du had planted in September with government-provided seedling funds was about a month away from harvest.尽管困难重重，但在重建资金的帮助下，杜洪刚得以迅速恢复生产。2023年9月，他在政府提供的种苗资金支持下种植了芹菜。当习近平到访时，这些芹菜还有一个月左右就能收获了。"When I saw President Xi walking toward our house, my heart was beating so fast because it was the first time that we saw him in person," Du said.“当我看到习近平主席朝我们家走来时，我的心跳得很快，因为这是我们第一次亲眼见到他，”杜洪刚说道。"The president told us that a country is prosperous only when its people live in peace," Du recalled, adding that Xi also said in the village square that the affairs of ordinary people are very important.“主席告诉我们，只有人民安居乐业，国家才能繁荣昌盛，”杜洪刚回忆道，并补充说，习近平还在村广场上表示，普通百姓的事都非常重要。The practice of Chinese leaders spending time with ordinary households before Spring Festival has been a tradition for years. Since being elected general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee in 2012, Xi has visited the homes of ordinary people across the country before Spring Festival.中国领导人春节前走访普通家庭的做法已成多年传统。自2012年当选中国共产党中央委员会总书记以来，习近平每年春节前都会走访全国各地的普通家庭。Such visits allow the Chinese leader to interact directly with people and listen to their concerns, in order to gather firsthand information on social issues and public sentiment, experts said.专家表示，这种走访让中国领导人能够直接与人民群众交流，倾听他们的关切，从而收集关于社会问题和公众观点的一手信息。They noted that this tradition reflects the CPC's people-centered development philosophy and the leadership's commitment to improving people's well-being.他们指出，这一传统体现了中国共产党以人民为中心的发展理念，以及领导层对提高人民福祉的承诺。Xi's first such tour took place in February 2013, when he embarked on a journey across hills and bumpy roads in northwestern China's Gansu province to visit villages that were situated in a challenging natural environment.习近平第一次春节走访发生在2013年2月，当时他翻过丘陵，沿着崎岖山路来到中国西北部的甘肃省，走访了当地自然环境恶劣的村庄。During the tour, Xi asked villagers whether they had enough food, sufficient subsistence allowances, and access to medical and educational resources.走访期间，习近平询问村民是否有足够的粮食和生活补助，以及能否获得医疗和教育资源。In 2020, as China approached the deadline for eradicating absolute poverty, Xi visited Li Fashun's house in Simola Wa, a village in Southwest China's Yunnan province, ahead of Spring Festival.2020年，中国临近全面消除绝对贫困的期限。春节前，习近平走访了中国西南部云南省司莫拉佤族村村民李发顺的家。Li, the main provider for a family of six, had been nearly paralyzed in a car accident in 2010. Through the "targeted poverty alleviation" initiative put forward by Xi in 2013, Li's family was among the 16 households that successfully lifted themselves out of poverty in the country's anti-poverty campaign in 2017, elevating the entire village above the poverty line.在这个六口之家里，李发顺是家里的主要经济支柱，但2010年他因车祸几乎瘫痪。由于2013年习近平提出了“精准扶贫”政策，包括李发顺一家在内的村里16户家庭在2017年全国扶贫行动中一起成功脱贫，全村也因此整体脱贫。Talking to Li and his fellow villagers, Xi said, "I wish your village of happiness even more happiness." In the local Wa language, Simola means "place of happiness".在与李发顺及村民们交谈时，习近平说：“祝你们幸福村更加幸福”。在当地佤语中，“司莫拉”意为“幸福的地方”。As more tourists began visiting the village following Xi's visit, Li transformed his house into a farm stay in 2021, offering visitors a taste of local specialty dishes and snacks. "Rice cakes like those made by General Secretary Xi during his visit are particularly popular," Li said.习近平到访后，越来越多的游客开始来到这个村庄。2021年，李发顺将自家房屋改造成民宿，为游客提供当地特色菜肴和小吃。“总书记到访时做的大米粑粑特别受欢迎，”李发顺说。Last year, the family earned annual income of more than 150,000 yuan ($20,480). "Now we are leading a content life without having to leave our home," he said.去年，李发顺一家年收入超过15万元（20480美元）。他说：“现在我们不用离开家乡就能过上满意的生活。”Xi has emphasized on many occasions that the CPC never forgets that the ultimate goal of pursuing reform and development is to ensure that people live better lives.习近平多次强调，中国共产党始终牢记，改革发展的最终目的就是让人民过上更好的生活。In his 2025 New Year message delivered on Dec 31, Xi told people across the country that "of all the jobs in front of us, the most important is to ensure a happy life for our people".12月31日，习近平发表2025年新年贺词，他向全国人民表示，“家事国事天下事，让人民过上幸福生活是头等大事”。"We should work together to steadily improve social undertakings and governance, build a harmonious and inclusive atmosphere, and settle real issues, big or small, for our people. We must bring more smiles to our people and greater warmth to their hearts," Xi said.“我们要一起努力，不断提升社会建设和治理水平，持续营造和谐包容的氛围，把老百姓身边的大事小情解决好，让大家笑容更多、心里更暖，”习近平说。Icelandic Sinologist Ragnar Baldursson said that the CPC's people-centered philosophy has remained unchanged since "serving the people wholeheartedly", which originated with a speech by the late Chairman Mao Zedong, became the motto of the CPC.冰岛汉学家拉格纳尔·鲍德松表示，中国已故主席毛泽东在讲话中提到“要全心全意为人民服务”，此后，这句话就成为了中国共产党的根本宗旨，中国共产党以人民为中心的理念也始终未变。"I think this philosophy can be traced back to Mencius, who advocated a famous saying about the importance of people. That is, the people rank the highest, the land comes next and the ruler counts the least," Baldursson said.鲍德松说：“我认为这一理念可以追溯到孟子，他有一句关于人民重要性的名言，即‘民为贵，社稷次之，君为轻'。”According to the ancient Chinese philosopher Mencius (372-289 BC), a governor exists for the sake of giving the people peace and wealth. A ruler who neglects responsibility to the people, or even misuses power and oppresses the people, could be overthrown by the people.中国古代哲学家孟子（公元前372年—公元前289年）认为，统治者的存在是为了给人民带来和平与富裕。如果一个统治者忽视其对人民的责任，甚至滥用权力欺压人民，那么人民就会推翻他。"Only when the government values its people and puts its people first, will the people trust the government. This is what is happening in China," Baldursson added.“只有当政府重视人民并把人民放在首位时，人民才会信任政府。这就是中国正在发生的事情，”鲍德松补充道。Guo Daojiu, a professor at Tianjin-based Nankai University's Zhou Enlai School of Government, said that the nature and purpose of the CPC eventually led it to place the people at the center, so all the Party's work is aimed at serving the interests of the people.南开大学周恩来政府管理学院教授郭道久表示，中国共产党的性质宗旨最终决定了其必须将人民放在中心位置，人民利益是中国共产党一切工作的出发点和落脚点。"The CPC has been guiding its behavior with a people-centered philosophy in its longtime practice. Placing the people at the center is the worldview, values and methodology of the Party in governing the country," Guo wrote in an opinion piece published in Tianjin Daily.“在长期实践中，中国共产党始终坚持以人民为中心的行为方式。以人民为中心是党治国理政的世界观、价值观和方法论，”郭道久在《天津日报》发表的一篇评论文章中写道。bumpyadj.颠簸的

Indigenous knowledge of local ecosystems often challenges settler-colonial cosmologies that naturalize resource extraction and the relocation of nomadic, hunting, foraging, or fishing peoples. Questioning Borders: Ecoliteratures of China and Taiwan (Columbia UP, 2023) explores recent ecoliterature by Han and non-Han Indigenous writers of China and Taiwan, analyzing relations among humans, animals, ecosystems, and the cosmos in search of alternative possibilities for creativity and consciousness. Informed by extensive field research, Robin Visser compares literary works by Bai, Bunun, Kazakh, Mongol, Tao, Tibetan, Uyghur, Wa, Yi, and Han Chinese writers set in Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Southwest China, and Taiwan, sites of extensive development, migration, and climate change impacts. Visser contrasts the dominant Han Chinese cosmology of center and periphery that informs what she calls “Beijing Westerns” with Indigenous and hybridized ways of relating to the world that challenge borders, binaries, and hierarchies. By centering Indigenous cosmologies, this book aims to decolonize approaches to ecocriticism, comparative literature, and Chinese and Sinophone studies as well as to inspire new modes of sustainable flourishing in the Anthropocene. Robin Visser is professor and associate chair of the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of Cities Surround the Countryside: Urban Aesthetics in Postsocialist China (2010). Li-Ping Chen is a teaching fellow in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California. Her research interests include literary translingualism, diaspora, and nativism in Sinophone, inter-Asian, and transpacific contexts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Indigenous knowledge of local ecosystems often challenges settler-colonial cosmologies that naturalize resource extraction and the relocation of nomadic, hunting, foraging, or fishing peoples. Questioning Borders: Ecoliteratures of China and Taiwan (Columbia UP, 2023) explores recent ecoliterature by Han and non-Han Indigenous writers of China and Taiwan, analyzing relations among humans, animals, ecosystems, and the cosmos in search of alternative possibilities for creativity and consciousness. Informed by extensive field research, Robin Visser compares literary works by Bai, Bunun, Kazakh, Mongol, Tao, Tibetan, Uyghur, Wa, Yi, and Han Chinese writers set in Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Southwest China, and Taiwan, sites of extensive development, migration, and climate change impacts. Visser contrasts the dominant Han Chinese cosmology of center and periphery that informs what she calls “Beijing Westerns” with Indigenous and hybridized ways of relating to the world that challenge borders, binaries, and hierarchies. By centering Indigenous cosmologies, this book aims to decolonize approaches to ecocriticism, comparative literature, and Chinese and Sinophone studies as well as to inspire new modes of sustainable flourishing in the Anthropocene. Robin Visser is professor and associate chair of the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of Cities Surround the Countryside: Urban Aesthetics in Postsocialist China (2010). Li-Ping Chen is a teaching fellow in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California. Her research interests include literary translingualism, diaspora, and nativism in Sinophone, inter-Asian, and transpacific contexts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

Indigenous knowledge of local ecosystems often challenges settler-colonial cosmologies that naturalize resource extraction and the relocation of nomadic, hunting, foraging, or fishing peoples. Questioning Borders: Ecoliteratures of China and Taiwan (Columbia UP, 2023) explores recent ecoliterature by Han and non-Han Indigenous writers of China and Taiwan, analyzing relations among humans, animals, ecosystems, and the cosmos in search of alternative possibilities for creativity and consciousness. Informed by extensive field research, Robin Visser compares literary works by Bai, Bunun, Kazakh, Mongol, Tao, Tibetan, Uyghur, Wa, Yi, and Han Chinese writers set in Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Southwest China, and Taiwan, sites of extensive development, migration, and climate change impacts. Visser contrasts the dominant Han Chinese cosmology of center and periphery that informs what she calls “Beijing Westerns” with Indigenous and hybridized ways of relating to the world that challenge borders, binaries, and hierarchies. By centering Indigenous cosmologies, this book aims to decolonize approaches to ecocriticism, comparative literature, and Chinese and Sinophone studies as well as to inspire new modes of sustainable flourishing in the Anthropocene. Robin Visser is professor and associate chair of the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of Cities Surround the Countryside: Urban Aesthetics in Postsocialist China (2010). Li-Ping Chen is a teaching fellow in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California. Her research interests include literary translingualism, diaspora, and nativism in Sinophone, inter-Asian, and transpacific contexts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

Indigenous knowledge of local ecosystems often challenges settler-colonial cosmologies that naturalize resource extraction and the relocation of nomadic, hunting, foraging, or fishing peoples. Questioning Borders: Ecoliteratures of China and Taiwan (Columbia UP, 2023) explores recent ecoliterature by Han and non-Han Indigenous writers of China and Taiwan, analyzing relations among humans, animals, ecosystems, and the cosmos in search of alternative possibilities for creativity and consciousness. Informed by extensive field research, Robin Visser compares literary works by Bai, Bunun, Kazakh, Mongol, Tao, Tibetan, Uyghur, Wa, Yi, and Han Chinese writers set in Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Southwest China, and Taiwan, sites of extensive development, migration, and climate change impacts. Visser contrasts the dominant Han Chinese cosmology of center and periphery that informs what she calls “Beijing Westerns” with Indigenous and hybridized ways of relating to the world that challenge borders, binaries, and hierarchies. By centering Indigenous cosmologies, this book aims to decolonize approaches to ecocriticism, comparative literature, and Chinese and Sinophone studies as well as to inspire new modes of sustainable flourishing in the Anthropocene. Robin Visser is professor and associate chair of the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of Cities Surround the Countryside: Urban Aesthetics in Postsocialist China (2010). Li-Ping Chen is a teaching fellow in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California. Her research interests include literary translingualism, diaspora, and nativism in Sinophone, inter-Asian, and transpacific contexts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/environmental-studies

Indigenous knowledge of local ecosystems often challenges settler-colonial cosmologies that naturalize resource extraction and the relocation of nomadic, hunting, foraging, or fishing peoples. Questioning Borders: Ecoliteratures of China and Taiwan (Columbia UP, 2023) explores recent ecoliterature by Han and non-Han Indigenous writers of China and Taiwan, analyzing relations among humans, animals, ecosystems, and the cosmos in search of alternative possibilities for creativity and consciousness. Informed by extensive field research, Robin Visser compares literary works by Bai, Bunun, Kazakh, Mongol, Tao, Tibetan, Uyghur, Wa, Yi, and Han Chinese writers set in Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Southwest China, and Taiwan, sites of extensive development, migration, and climate change impacts. Visser contrasts the dominant Han Chinese cosmology of center and periphery that informs what she calls “Beijing Westerns” with Indigenous and hybridized ways of relating to the world that challenge borders, binaries, and hierarchies. By centering Indigenous cosmologies, this book aims to decolonize approaches to ecocriticism, comparative literature, and Chinese and Sinophone studies as well as to inspire new modes of sustainable flourishing in the Anthropocene. Robin Visser is professor and associate chair of the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of Cities Surround the Countryside: Urban Aesthetics in Postsocialist China (2010). Li-Ping Chen is a teaching fellow in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California. Her research interests include literary translingualism, diaspora, and nativism in Sinophone, inter-Asian, and transpacific contexts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies

Indigenous knowledge of local ecosystems often challenges settler-colonial cosmologies that naturalize resource extraction and the relocation of nomadic, hunting, foraging, or fishing peoples. Questioning Borders: Ecoliteratures of China and Taiwan (Columbia UP, 2023) explores recent ecoliterature by Han and non-Han Indigenous writers of China and Taiwan, analyzing relations among humans, animals, ecosystems, and the cosmos in search of alternative possibilities for creativity and consciousness. Informed by extensive field research, Robin Visser compares literary works by Bai, Bunun, Kazakh, Mongol, Tao, Tibetan, Uyghur, Wa, Yi, and Han Chinese writers set in Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Southwest China, and Taiwan, sites of extensive development, migration, and climate change impacts. Visser contrasts the dominant Han Chinese cosmology of center and periphery that informs what she calls “Beijing Westerns” with Indigenous and hybridized ways of relating to the world that challenge borders, binaries, and hierarchies. By centering Indigenous cosmologies, this book aims to decolonize approaches to ecocriticism, comparative literature, and Chinese and Sinophone studies as well as to inspire new modes of sustainable flourishing in the Anthropocene. Robin Visser is professor and associate chair of the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of Cities Surround the Countryside: Urban Aesthetics in Postsocialist China (2010). Li-Ping Chen is a teaching fellow in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California. Her research interests include literary translingualism, diaspora, and nativism in Sinophone, inter-Asian, and transpacific contexts.

We invite American Professor Frank Stonier on to discuss his life in China and how he celebrates Christmas from the other side of the world. Frank lives in Chongqing, a cyberpunk-style city in Southwest China. We talk about the holiday spirit and the forth coming Chinese Spring Festival! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

①Mount Fanjing in southwest China inscribed in IUCN Green List②Hong Kong-born giant panda cubs leave incubators, develop distinctive markings③Beijing plans to expand low-altitude flights for rescue, delivery④5,000-year-old royal tomb discovered in central China⑤A Thousand Whys: Why guardian lions, not tigers?

Mount Fanjing in southwest China has joined the Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

On the podcast today, I am joined by anthropologist Andrea Pia (London School of Economics and Political Science) to talk about his new book, Cutting the Mass Line: Water, Politics and Climate in Southwest China (Johns Hopkins UP, 2024). In recent years, the People's Republic of China has seen an alarmed public endorsing techno-political sustainability proposals for water grabs from inland water-rich provinces such as Tibet or Yunnan. In light of some of the most ambitious inter-basin water transfer schemes in history and the biggest hydropower dam in the world, both Chinese and global environmental conversations seem beholden to the idea that legal and engineering schemes will provide us with answers to water-cycle hazards. Cutting the Mass Line goes against this view to portray the systemic processes of water management. Drawing on rich ethnography, archival materials and statistic data, Andrea Pia explores the vast opportunities that water bureaucrats and rural residents access in efforts to manage water resources as they struggle for sustainability and justice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

On the podcast today, I am joined by anthropologist Andrea Pia (London School of Economics and Political Science) to talk about his new book, Cutting the Mass Line: Water, Politics and Climate in Southwest China (Johns Hopkins UP, 2024). In recent years, the People's Republic of China has seen an alarmed public endorsing techno-political sustainability proposals for water grabs from inland water-rich provinces such as Tibet or Yunnan. In light of some of the most ambitious inter-basin water transfer schemes in history and the biggest hydropower dam in the world, both Chinese and global environmental conversations seem beholden to the idea that legal and engineering schemes will provide us with answers to water-cycle hazards. Cutting the Mass Line goes against this view to portray the systemic processes of water management. Drawing on rich ethnography, archival materials and statistic data, Andrea Pia explores the vast opportunities that water bureaucrats and rural residents access in efforts to manage water resources as they struggle for sustainability and justice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

On the podcast today, I am joined by anthropologist Andrea Pia (London School of Economics and Political Science) to talk about his new book, Cutting the Mass Line: Water, Politics and Climate in Southwest China (Johns Hopkins UP, 2024). In recent years, the People's Republic of China has seen an alarmed public endorsing techno-political sustainability proposals for water grabs from inland water-rich provinces such as Tibet or Yunnan. In light of some of the most ambitious inter-basin water transfer schemes in history and the biggest hydropower dam in the world, both Chinese and global environmental conversations seem beholden to the idea that legal and engineering schemes will provide us with answers to water-cycle hazards. Cutting the Mass Line goes against this view to portray the systemic processes of water management. Drawing on rich ethnography, archival materials and statistic data, Andrea Pia explores the vast opportunities that water bureaucrats and rural residents access in efforts to manage water resources as they struggle for sustainability and justice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/environmental-studies

On the podcast today, I am joined by anthropologist Andrea Pia (London School of Economics and Political Science) to talk about his new book, Cutting the Mass Line: Water, Politics and Climate in Southwest China (Johns Hopkins UP, 2024). In recent years, the People's Republic of China has seen an alarmed public endorsing techno-political sustainability proposals for water grabs from inland water-rich provinces such as Tibet or Yunnan. In light of some of the most ambitious inter-basin water transfer schemes in history and the biggest hydropower dam in the world, both Chinese and global environmental conversations seem beholden to the idea that legal and engineering schemes will provide us with answers to water-cycle hazards. Cutting the Mass Line goes against this view to portray the systemic processes of water management. Drawing on rich ethnography, archival materials and statistic data, Andrea Pia explores the vast opportunities that water bureaucrats and rural residents access in efforts to manage water resources as they struggle for sustainability and justice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology

On the podcast today, I am joined by anthropologist Andrea Pia (London School of Economics and Political Science) to talk about his new book, Cutting the Mass Line: Water, Politics and Climate in Southwest China (Johns Hopkins UP, 2024). In recent years, the People's Republic of China has seen an alarmed public endorsing techno-political sustainability proposals for water grabs from inland water-rich provinces such as Tibet or Yunnan. In light of some of the most ambitious inter-basin water transfer schemes in history and the biggest hydropower dam in the world, both Chinese and global environmental conversations seem beholden to the idea that legal and engineering schemes will provide us with answers to water-cycle hazards. Cutting the Mass Line goes against this view to portray the systemic processes of water management. Drawing on rich ethnography, archival materials and statistic data, Andrea Pia explores the vast opportunities that water bureaucrats and rural residents access in efforts to manage water resources as they struggle for sustainability and justice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies

On the podcast today, I am joined by anthropologist Andrea Pia (London School of Economics and Political Science) to talk about his new book, Cutting the Mass Line: Water, Politics and Climate in Southwest China (Johns Hopkins UP, 2024). In recent years, the People's Republic of China has seen an alarmed public endorsing techno-political sustainability proposals for water grabs from inland water-rich provinces such as Tibet or Yunnan. In light of some of the most ambitious inter-basin water transfer schemes in history and the biggest hydropower dam in the world, both Chinese and global environmental conversations seem beholden to the idea that legal and engineering schemes will provide us with answers to water-cycle hazards. Cutting the Mass Line goes against this view to portray the systemic processes of water management. Drawing on rich ethnography, archival materials and statistic data, Andrea Pia explores the vast opportunities that water bureaucrats and rural residents access in efforts to manage water resources as they struggle for sustainability and justice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology

On the podcast today, I am joined by anthropologist Andrea Pia (London School of Economics and Political Science) to talk about his new book, Cutting the Mass Line: Water, Politics and Climate in Southwest China (Johns Hopkins UP, 2024). In recent years, the People's Republic of China has seen an alarmed public endorsing techno-political sustainability proposals for water grabs from inland water-rich provinces such as Tibet or Yunnan. In light of some of the most ambitious inter-basin water transfer schemes in history and the biggest hydropower dam in the world, both Chinese and global environmental conversations seem beholden to the idea that legal and engineering schemes will provide us with answers to water-cycle hazards. Cutting the Mass Line goes against this view to portray the systemic processes of water management. Drawing on rich ethnography, archival materials and statistic data, Andrea Pia explores the vast opportunities that water bureaucrats and rural residents access in efforts to manage water resources as they struggle for sustainability and justice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/geography

Avec Grégory Delaplace, anthropologue. Cet épisode a été tourné en public à la Gaîté Lyrique.Je ne crois pas aux fantômes, mais ils me font peur. Un bon mort doit être bien mort et enterré. On peut s’en souvenir avec tendresse mais on n’a pas forcément envie qu'il apparaisse.Grégory Delaplace est anthropologue à l'École pratique des hautes études. Il a notamment écrit “Les Intelligences particulières” (Vues de l’Esprit, 2021), un livre sur des maisons hantées en Angleterre ainsi que “La voix des Fantômes” (Seuil, 2024), où il examine divers rituels funéraires à travers le monde. Il travaille sur les différentes manières dont les sociétés organisent leurs relations avec les morts et sur comment les morts rechignent parfois à se laisser oublier et reviennent pour exiger des choses des vivants. À quoi servent nos rituels funéraires, à se souvenir ou à oublier ? Quand est-ce que les morts échappent à la place qu'on a voulu leur donner ? Que nous veulent les fantômes ? Un épisode des Idées Larges avec Grégory Delaplace, anthropologue.  Références : - Jean Bazin, “Des clous dans La Joconde. L’anthropologie autrement”, Anacharsis, 1991- Thomas Laqueur, “Le travail des morts, Une histoire culturelle des dépouilles mortelles”, Gallimard, 2018,- Michel Lauwers, “Naissance du cimetière : lieux sacrés et terre des morts dans l’occident médiéval”, Paris, Aubier, 2005- Anne-Christine Taylor  “L’oubli des morts et la mémoire des meurtres : Expériences de l’histoire chez les Jivaro”, Terrain, no 29, 1997- Erik Mueggler, “Songs for dead parents. Corpse, text, and world in Southwest China”, The University of Chicago Press, 2017.- Beth Conklin Consuming grief: compassionate cannibalism in an Amazonian society, University of Texas Press, 2001- Christophe Pons, “Réseaux de vivants, solidarités de morts: Un système symbolique en Islande”, Terrain, no 38, 2002- Piers Vitebsky, “Dialogues with the dead: the discussion of mortality among the Sora of eastern India”, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1993- Claude Levis-Strauss, “Le Père Noël supplicié”, Les Temps Modernes, vol. 77, 1952- Heonik Kwon, “Ghosts of War in Vietnam”, Cambridge University Press, 2008 Archives sonores : - Hawk Films, Peregrine - The Shining - Stanley Kubrick - 1980- Alan Ball, Lori Jo Nemhauser, Alan Poul - Six feet under - 2001 - 2005- PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Working Title Films - The Big Lebowski - Joel et Ethan Cohen - 1998- Black Rhino Productions, Columbia Pictures, Delphi Films - Ghostbuster - Ivan Reitman - 1984 Musique Générique :« TRAHISON » Musique de Pascal Arbez-Nicolas © Delabel Editions, Artiste : VITALIC,(P) 2005 Citizen Records under Different Recording licence ISRC : BEP010400190,Avec l’aimable autorisation de [PIAS] et Delabel Editions.  Episode vidéo publié le 13 septembre 2024 sur arte.tv Autrice Laura Raim Réalisateur David Tabourier Son Nicolas Régent Montage Antoine Dubois Mixage et sound design Jean-Marc Thurier Une co-production UPIAN Margaux Missika, Alexandre Brachet, Auriane Meilhon, Emma Le Jeune, Karolina Mikos avec l'aide de Nancy-Wangue Moussissa ARTE France Unité société et culture

A flash flood and mudslide that struck a city in southwest China has killed nine people.

A flash flood and mudslide that struck a southwest Chinese city has killed four people and left 23 others missing.

Rescuers have retrieved eight bodies and found and brought four people to safety, after rain-triggered flash floods in southwest China left over 30 missing.

China has expanded the implementation of its 144-hour visa-free transit policy to three more entry ports, bringing the total number of such ports to 37, the National Immigration Administration announced on Monday.7月15日，国家移民管理局宣布，新增3个入境口岸实施144小时免签证过境政，目前我国已有37个口岸实施该政策。The entry process for foreign nationals has also been streamlined to facilitate their short-term activities related to tourism, business and family reunions within the country.外国公民的过境进程也得到了简化，以便利他们在国内从事旅游、商务、探亲等短期活动。The three new ports are Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport in Central China's Henan province, and the Lijiang Sanyi International Airport and Mohan railway port in Southwest China's Yunnan province, the administration said in a statement.新增的三个口岸为郑州新郑国际机场、丽江三义国际机场和磨憨铁路口岸。Starting on Monday, eligible foreign nationals can enter China visa-free through the Zhengzhou airport, with their visit and stay limited to Henan.自2024年7月15日起，在河南郑州航空口岸实施144小时过境免签政策，停留范围为河南省行政区域。Those entering China visa-free through Yunnan are allowed to visit nine cities or prefecture-level areas in the province including Kunming, Lijiang, Dali, Yuxi, Pu'er and Xishuangbanna, according to the administration. Previously, foreign nationals could only stay in Kunming.将云南省144小时过境免签政策停留范围由昆明市扩大至昆明、丽江、玉溪、普洱、楚雄、大理、西双版纳、红河、文山等9个市（州）行政区域。而过去，外国公民仅能停留昆明。Foreign nationals from 54 countries, including Austria, Belgium and the Czech Republic, who hold valid international travel documents and onward tickets with confirmed dates and seats are eligible for the 144-hour visa-free transit.来自奥地利、比利时和捷克共和国等54 个国家的外国公民，持有有效的证件和机票，有资格享受 144 小时免签证过境政策。Since its implementation in January 2013, the policy, which was first valid for 72-hour transit and then extended to 144 hours, has played an important role in strengthening China's high-level opening-up efforts, facilitating people-to-people exchanges and promoting international cooperation, the administration said.自2013年1月实施以来，该政策最初有效期为72小时，现已延长至144小时。144小时免签过境政策在加强中国对外开放，促进人文交流和国际合作方面发挥了重要作用。Adding more entry ports to the visa-free transit list will offer foreigners alternative travel options in China, the administration said, adding that it will continue to improve and optimize the policy to welcome foreigners with a more open attitude.移民管理局表示，将增加更多入境口岸以便外国公民在中国旅行，继续改进和优化政策，以更开放的态度欢迎外国公民。China's visa-free transit policy has been hailed across social media platforms, acknowledging its key role in facilitating international travel, dispelling misconceptions and promoting global connectivity.中国的免签证过境政策在不少社交媒体上好评连连，在促进国际旅行、消除对中国的误解和促进全球互联互通方面发挥的关键作用。Robert Willis, from the United Kingdom, said the policy will be very useful to him because he runs a business in China. Previously, Willis had to apply for a two-year multiple-entry visa to visit China. He said the new policy will make his future trips more convenient.来自英国的罗伯特·威利斯（Robert Willis，音译）表示，这项政策对他很有利。由于在中国开了一家公司，最新政策实施前他需要申请为期两年内多次入境签证才能访问中国，免签过境政策将使未来访问中国更加方便。Elena, from Russia, who has visited China twice, said she learned about the policy from her boyfriend, who works in Tianjin.来自俄罗斯的埃琳娜（Elena，音译）曾两次访问中国，她是从在天津工作的男朋友那里了解到这项政策的。The policy will have a positive impact on travelers from 54 countries, enabling them to visit China more often and more easily and to explore new cities and cultures, Elena said, adding that she hopes the duration of visa-free transit would be extended in the future.埃琳娜说，这项政策将使来自54个国家的外国游客更频繁、更轻松地访问中国，探索新的城市和文化，希望未来可以延长免签证过境的时间。In the first half of the year, immigration authorities nationwide recorded around 14.64 million foreign nationals entering China, up 152.7 percent year-on-year. Among these visitors, 8.54 million utilized the visa-free policy, marking a 190.1 percent year-on-year surge.2024年上半年，据出入境管理局记录的外国公民入境中国人数约1464万，同比增长152.7%。其中854万人次使用免签政策，同比增长190.1%。The National Immigration Administration said a surge in foreign visitors is expected in the second half of the year, given the growing enthusiasm for the visa-free transit policy and the swift implementation of various other initiatives.国家移民管理局表示，鉴于对免签证过境政策的热情日益高涨以及其他各种举措的迅速实施，预计今年下半年外国游客将大幅增长。Xu Xiaolei, chief brand officer of Beijing-based CYTS Tours Holding Co, praised the significant impact of the policy in driving inbound tourism, which he said has been particularly evident in recent months.中青旅的首席品牌官徐晓磊称赞该政策在推动入境旅游方面的积极影响，最近几个月尤为明显。The policy has streamlined the entry process, reduced visa costs, and provided greater certainty for foreign travelers wanting to explore China, he said.这项政策简化了入境流程，降低了签证成本，为想要探索中国的外国游客提供了稳定保障。Furthermore, the policy has catalyzed the growth of associated domestic industries, particularly the inbound tourism sector, which has faced tough challenges, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said. To expedite the recovery of the sector, government bodies and tourism enterprises have collaborated on innovative solutions, he added.该政策还促进了相关国内产业的发展，特别是入境旅游业，此前该行业面临着严峻的挑战，尤其是在疫情期间。为了加快入境旅游业的复苏，政府机构和旅游企业正合作开发新的解决方案。Xu also emphasized the role of the policy in dispelling misconceptions about China, saying that many visitors who experienced the country firsthand realized how different such experiences are from preconceived notions propagated by the Western media. He underlined the potential of travelers sharing their experiences on social media to counter misinformation more effectively.徐晓磊还强调该政策在消除（外国）对中国的误解方面的作用。许多亲临中国的游客都意识到中国与西方媒体传播的先入为主的观念截然不同。许多外国游客在社交媒体上分享中国旅游的相关经历也帮助更多游客了解真实的中国。"The policy is expanding gradually. ... Yunnan and Henan have their distinct attractions, with Yunnan renowned for its natural beauty and Henan celebrated as a cradle of Chinese culture, blending tradition with modernity. This is enhancing the impact of the policy," he said.徐晓磊称：“免签过境政策持续扩大。云南和河南各有特色，云南以其自然美景而闻名，而河南则被誉为中国文化的摇篮，将传统与现代融为一体。”。Xu stressed the importance of developing tailored inbound tourism products that resonate with foreign visitors, while showcasing Chinese culture and progress. Tailored marketing strategies are deemed essential to bolster China's international tourism standing, he said.开发量身定制的入境旅游套餐既要引起外国游客的共鸣，又要展示中国文化，这点至关重要。针对外国游客量身定制的旅游攻略也能提升中国的国际地位。visa-free transit policyn.免签过境政策

Qianwei County in Southwest China's Sichuan Province is known as the "Jasmine Capital of China". But in recent weeks, it is in the news for supplying gardenia flowers instead, with prices at least tripling from their normal levels. The sharp increase in the price of this fragrant flower is driven by the country's beverage industry. / Motivational Monday (19:43)! On the show: Laiming, Niu Honglin & Brandon Yates

Fu Bao, the first giant panda born in the Republic of Korea, met the public on Wednesday morning after returning to Southwest China's Sichuan province, the hometown of pandas.在韩国出生的第一只大熊猫“福宝”回到故乡中国西南部的四川省后，于6月12日上午与公众见面。Fu Bao turned up at the second hall of the panda nursery in the Shenshuping giant panda base of Wolong National Nature Reserve, following two months of inspection, quarantine and adaptation.经过2个多月的隔离检疫和过渡适应后，“福宝”出现在卧龙国家级自然保护区神树坪大熊猫基地熊猫保育园的第二大厅。She returned to China in early April. According to Wei Rongping, deputy director of the center, the biggest challenge for her was how to fit into the "panda family" there.她于四月初返回中国。据中国大熊猫保护研究中心副主任副主任魏荣平介绍，她面临的最大挑战是如何融入那里的“熊猫大家庭”。inspection检查quarantine隔离adaptation 适应

China is building a more positive tourism image globally, with more foreign visitors sharing their good travel experiences online and not unfairly stereotyping the country.中国正在全球范围内建立更加积极的旅游形象，越来越多的外国游客在网上分享他们美好的旅行经历，而非不公正的刻板印象。Two Mad Explorers from Ireland, a video blog channel on YouTube with more than 160,000 subscribers, has recorded the experiences of two travelers from the European country who started their trip to China two weeks ago from Chengdu, the capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province. They describe Chengdu as "clean, beautiful, very modern and an affordable place to visit".来自爱尔兰的两位疯狂探险者是油管上一个拥有超过16万订阅者的视频博客频道，他们记录了两位来自欧洲国家的旅行者在中国之行的经历。这两位旅行者于两周前从中国西南部四川省的首府成都开始他们的旅程。他们描述成都为“干净、美丽、非常现代化，而且是一个价格实惠的地方”。Two visitors from Italy, Sydia and Mica, told Douyin blogger Broke Laowai, who has over 600 followers, that they have traveled to Beijing, Pingyao in Shanxi province and Xi'an in Shaanxi province.来自意大利的西迪亚和米卡在抖音上拥有600多粉丝的博主“破产老外”的直播中表示，他们已经前往北京、山西平遥和陕西西安等地旅游。Sydia said she found the people in China to be very kind and thoughtful. They try to help foreigners even if the latter don't speak Chinese and they themselves don't speak fluent English, she said.西迪亚表示，她发现中国人非常善良体贴。即使外国人不会说中文，中国人也会尽力帮助他们，即使他们自己的英语说得并不流利。The two visitors from Italy also praised mobile phone applications such as Alipay and WeChat, calling these "very cool" apps for ordering coffee, hailing rides and making payments.来自意大利的两位游客还称赞了支付宝和微信等移动应用，称这些应用是“非常酷”的应用，可以用来点咖啡、叫车和付款。China's inbound tourism recorded a good performance after the nation announced its visa-waiver policies for residents of some European and Asian countries and regions in late 2023.2023年底，中国宣布对部分欧洲和亚洲国家和地区的居民实行免签政策后，中国入境旅游表现良好。Starting in December, China offered visa-free entry to ordinary passport holders of six countries — France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia — allowing them to stay on the Chinese mainland for up to 15 days for tourism, business and family visit purposes, and also allowing them to transit without a visa.从12月开始，中国向法国、德国、意大利、荷兰、西班牙和马来西亚等六个国家的普通护照持有者提供免签入境，允许他们在中国大陆停留最多15天，用于旅游、商务和探亲，也可以无需签证过境。The policy was extended to another six countries, including Switzerland and Ireland, in March, with its expiration date extended to Dec 31. 该政策在3月份又扩展至包括瑞士和爱尔兰在内的六个国家，有效期延长至12月31日。The National Immigration Administration issued 466,000 visas to international travelers in the first quarter of 2024, up nearly 120 percent year-on-year, data from the administration showed. Nearly 2 million visits were made to the mainland by visa-exempt foreign nationals in the first quarter, up 266 percent year-on-year.国家移民管理局数据显示，2024年第一季度共向国际旅客发放了46.6万份签证，同比增长近120%。第一季度免签外国国民来大陆的次数接近200万次，同比增长266%。The boom in inbound tourism continued during the May Day holiday. Around 1.76 million inbound trips were made to the mainland over the five-day break, which started on May 1, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said.文化和旅游部表示，五一假期期间，入境旅游继续保持繁荣态势。从5月1日开始的五天假期内，约有176万外国游客来大陆旅游。Travel portal Trip.com Group said that inbound travel bookings grew 130 percent year-on-year on the platform, while airport pickup services surged 342 percent year-on-year during the holiday.在线旅游平台同程旅行集团表示，该平台上的入境旅游预订量同比增长130%。同时，五一假期期间机场接送服务同比增长342%。Zhang Jinshan, a researcher on tourism planning and development at Beijing Union University, said that China's visa "openness and accessibility" was key to its inbound tourism growth. 北京联合大学旅游规划与发展研究所研究员张金珊表示，中国签证的“开放性和便利性”是入境旅游增长的关键。"China has made efforts to optimize its visa issuing procedures and made some groundbreaking changes in its visa policies starting in 2023. The inbound tourism market has embraced rapid recovery since earlier this year, with the growth of international travelers from some countries exceeding our expectations," he said.“中国一直在努力优化签证发放程序，从2023年开始在签证政策方面做出了一些突破性的改变。自今年年初以来，入境旅游市场已经实现了快速复苏，一些国家的国际游客数量增长速度超出了我们的预期。”Zhao Jing, director of customized tours at travel portal Tuniu, said that international travelers like planning their trips in advance, and China's optimized entry policies will give them more time to prepare for their trips as well as boost their confidence in getting to know the country better.途牛定制游总监赵京表示，国际游客通常喜欢提前规划行程，中国优化的入境政策将给他们更多时间准备行程，并增强他们更好地了解中国的信心。The relaxed entry policies have also cheered up domestic tourism companies, prompting them to channel more resources into launching new products and improving services, Zhao said.赵京表示，宽松的入境政策也提振了国内旅游企业，促使他们将更多资源投入到推出新产品和提升服务中。"The inbound tourism (market) has great potential yet to be tapped. I think the optimized policies will also attract more people to work in the sector," she added.“入境旅游市场还有巨大的潜力有待挖掘。我认为优化的政策也将吸引更多人投身这一行业。”Zhang, the tourism researcher, suggested that China expand its visa-free policy to some neighboring countries, and also to countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, in order to gain a larger share in inbound tourism.旅游研究员张先生建议，中国可以扩大免签政策，向一些邻国以及“一带一路”参与国家和地区开放，以在入境旅游市场中占据更大的份额。In addition to improving payment, network and accommodations services for international travelers, China can channel more resources to deepen reform, enhance openness and improve the nation's image to secure the stable and sustainable development of inbound tourism, he added.他补充说，除了改善国际游客的支付、网络和住宿服务外，中国还可以将更多资源用于深化改革、扩大开放和提升国家形象，以确保入境旅游的稳定和可持续发展。inbound tourism入境旅游sustainable development可持续发展

①Sanxingdui Museum in SW China opens ancient bronze ware exhibition②China's rural museums promote local cultures③Retail success of space flower shows strong public support④Low-altitude aircraft finds big market in China's agricultural sector⑤Digital nomads inject new vitality into southwest China tourist city⑥Brain-computer interface tool improves motor function of stroke patients: study

Indigenous knowledge of local ecosystems often challenges settler-colonial cosmologies that naturalize resource extraction and the relocation of nomadic, hunting, foraging, or fishing peoples. Questioning Borders: Ecoliteratures of China and Taiwan (Columbia UP, 2023) explores recent ecoliterature by Han and non-Han Indigenous writers of China and Taiwan, analyzing relations among humans, animals, ecosystems, and the cosmos in search of alternative possibilities for creativity and consciousness. Informed by extensive field research, Robin Visser compares literary works by Bai, Bunun, Kazakh, Mongol, Tao, Tibetan, Uyghur, Wa, Yi, and Han Chinese writers set in Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Southwest China, and Taiwan, sites of extensive development, migration, and climate change impacts. Visser contrasts the dominant Han Chinese cosmology of center and periphery that informs what she calls “Beijing Westerns” with Indigenous and hybridized ways of relating to the world that challenge borders, binaries, and hierarchies. By centering Indigenous cosmologies, this book aims to decolonize approaches to ecocriticism, comparative literature, and Chinese and Sinophone studies as well as to inspire new modes of sustainable flourishing in the Anthropocene. Robin Visser is professor and associate chair of the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of Cities Surround the Countryside: Urban Aesthetics in Postsocialist China (2010). Li-Ping Chen is a teaching fellow in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California. Her research interests include literary translingualism, diaspora, and nativism in Sinophone, inter-Asian, and transpacific contexts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Indigenous knowledge of local ecosystems often challenges settler-colonial cosmologies that naturalize resource extraction and the relocation of nomadic, hunting, foraging, or fishing peoples. Questioning Borders: Ecoliteratures of China and Taiwan (Columbia UP, 2023) explores recent ecoliterature by Han and non-Han Indigenous writers of China and Taiwan, analyzing relations among humans, animals, ecosystems, and the cosmos in search of alternative possibilities for creativity and consciousness. Informed by extensive field research, Robin Visser compares literary works by Bai, Bunun, Kazakh, Mongol, Tao, Tibetan, Uyghur, Wa, Yi, and Han Chinese writers set in Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Southwest China, and Taiwan, sites of extensive development, migration, and climate change impacts. Visser contrasts the dominant Han Chinese cosmology of center and periphery that informs what she calls “Beijing Westerns” with Indigenous and hybridized ways of relating to the world that challenge borders, binaries, and hierarchies. By centering Indigenous cosmologies, this book aims to decolonize approaches to ecocriticism, comparative literature, and Chinese and Sinophone studies as well as to inspire new modes of sustainable flourishing in the Anthropocene. Robin Visser is professor and associate chair of the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of Cities Surround the Countryside: Urban Aesthetics in Postsocialist China (2010). Li-Ping Chen is a teaching fellow in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California. Her research interests include literary translingualism, diaspora, and nativism in Sinophone, inter-Asian, and transpacific contexts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

Indigenous knowledge of local ecosystems often challenges settler-colonial cosmologies that naturalize resource extraction and the relocation of nomadic, hunting, foraging, or fishing peoples. Questioning Borders: Ecoliteratures of China and Taiwan (Columbia UP, 2023) explores recent ecoliterature by Han and non-Han Indigenous writers of China and Taiwan, analyzing relations among humans, animals, ecosystems, and the cosmos in search of alternative possibilities for creativity and consciousness. Informed by extensive field research, Robin Visser compares literary works by Bai, Bunun, Kazakh, Mongol, Tao, Tibetan, Uyghur, Wa, Yi, and Han Chinese writers set in Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Southwest China, and Taiwan, sites of extensive development, migration, and climate change impacts. Visser contrasts the dominant Han Chinese cosmology of center and periphery that informs what she calls “Beijing Westerns” with Indigenous and hybridized ways of relating to the world that challenge borders, binaries, and hierarchies. By centering Indigenous cosmologies, this book aims to decolonize approaches to ecocriticism, comparative literature, and Chinese and Sinophone studies as well as to inspire new modes of sustainable flourishing in the Anthropocene. Robin Visser is professor and associate chair of the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of Cities Surround the Countryside: Urban Aesthetics in Postsocialist China (2010). Li-Ping Chen is a teaching fellow in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California. Her research interests include literary translingualism, diaspora, and nativism in Sinophone, inter-Asian, and transpacific contexts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

Indigenous knowledge of local ecosystems often challenges settler-colonial cosmologies that naturalize resource extraction and the relocation of nomadic, hunting, foraging, or fishing peoples. Questioning Borders: Ecoliteratures of China and Taiwan (Columbia UP, 2023) explores recent ecoliterature by Han and non-Han Indigenous writers of China and Taiwan, analyzing relations among humans, animals, ecosystems, and the cosmos in search of alternative possibilities for creativity and consciousness. Informed by extensive field research, Robin Visser compares literary works by Bai, Bunun, Kazakh, Mongol, Tao, Tibetan, Uyghur, Wa, Yi, and Han Chinese writers set in Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Southwest China, and Taiwan, sites of extensive development, migration, and climate change impacts. Visser contrasts the dominant Han Chinese cosmology of center and periphery that informs what she calls “Beijing Westerns” with Indigenous and hybridized ways of relating to the world that challenge borders, binaries, and hierarchies. By centering Indigenous cosmologies, this book aims to decolonize approaches to ecocriticism, comparative literature, and Chinese and Sinophone studies as well as to inspire new modes of sustainable flourishing in the Anthropocene. Robin Visser is professor and associate chair of the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of Cities Surround the Countryside: Urban Aesthetics in Postsocialist China (2010). Li-Ping Chen is a teaching fellow in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California. Her research interests include literary translingualism, diaspora, and nativism in Sinophone, inter-Asian, and transpacific contexts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/environmental-studies

Indigenous knowledge of local ecosystems often challenges settler-colonial cosmologies that naturalize resource extraction and the relocation of nomadic, hunting, foraging, or fishing peoples. Questioning Borders: Ecoliteratures of China and Taiwan (Columbia UP, 2023) explores recent ecoliterature by Han and non-Han Indigenous writers of China and Taiwan, analyzing relations among humans, animals, ecosystems, and the cosmos in search of alternative possibilities for creativity and consciousness. Informed by extensive field research, Robin Visser compares literary works by Bai, Bunun, Kazakh, Mongol, Tao, Tibetan, Uyghur, Wa, Yi, and Han Chinese writers set in Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Southwest China, and Taiwan, sites of extensive development, migration, and climate change impacts. Visser contrasts the dominant Han Chinese cosmology of center and periphery that informs what she calls “Beijing Westerns” with Indigenous and hybridized ways of relating to the world that challenge borders, binaries, and hierarchies. By centering Indigenous cosmologies, this book aims to decolonize approaches to ecocriticism, comparative literature, and Chinese and Sinophone studies as well as to inspire new modes of sustainable flourishing in the Anthropocene. Robin Visser is professor and associate chair of the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of Cities Surround the Countryside: Urban Aesthetics in Postsocialist China (2010). Li-Ping Chen is a teaching fellow in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California. Her research interests include literary translingualism, diaspora, and nativism in Sinophone, inter-Asian, and transpacific contexts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies

Indigenous knowledge of local ecosystems often challenges settler-colonial cosmologies that naturalize resource extraction and the relocation of nomadic, hunting, foraging, or fishing peoples. Questioning Borders: Ecoliteratures of China and Taiwan (Columbia UP, 2023) explores recent ecoliterature by Han and non-Han Indigenous writers of China and Taiwan, analyzing relations among humans, animals, ecosystems, and the cosmos in search of alternative possibilities for creativity and consciousness. Informed by extensive field research, Robin Visser compares literary works by Bai, Bunun, Kazakh, Mongol, Tao, Tibetan, Uyghur, Wa, Yi, and Han Chinese writers set in Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Southwest China, and Taiwan, sites of extensive development, migration, and climate change impacts. Visser contrasts the dominant Han Chinese cosmology of center and periphery that informs what she calls “Beijing Westerns” with Indigenous and hybridized ways of relating to the world that challenge borders, binaries, and hierarchies. By centering Indigenous cosmologies, this book aims to decolonize approaches to ecocriticism, comparative literature, and Chinese and Sinophone studies as well as to inspire new modes of sustainable flourishing in the Anthropocene. Robin Visser is professor and associate chair of the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of Cities Surround the Countryside: Urban Aesthetics in Postsocialist China (2010). Li-Ping Chen is a teaching fellow in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California. Her research interests include literary translingualism, diaspora, and nativism in Sinophone, inter-Asian, and transpacific contexts.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz explored Chongqing on Sunday to experience the charm of the mountainous industrial city in Southwest China.The tour included a visit to a factory, interaction with local young people, a city walk and a visit to an exhibition of a Sino-German scientific project.Scholz is the first leader of a major Western country to visit China this year. His high-profile delegation includes three government ministers and top business leaders. It is his second visit to China following a one-day trip in November 2022 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.On the first stop of his three-day official visit to China, Scholz visited Bosch Hydrogen Powertrain Systems (Chongqing) Co Ltd, a joint venture between German engineering and technology company Bosch and Chongqing-based premium commercial vehicle manufacturer Qingling Motors. The company was set up in 2021 to develop, assemble and sell fuel cell systems in China.Guided by a factory technician, Scholz assembled a hydrogen power module during his tour of the facility.The joint venture has introduced 76 kilowatt, 134 kW and 190 kW fuel cell power modules to the market. The portfolio caters to various classic commercial vehicle applications such as cold-chain logistics, sanitation and medium to heavy-duty long-haul transportation.After a lunch meeting with local officials, Scholz met with student representatives from Chongqing University, which boasts long-standing cooperation with German universities and research institutes. He then walked through the downtown area of the city to experience the unique landscape, rich history and vibrant business atmosphere.On the banks of the Yangtze River, Scholz learned about a water quality monitoring and pollutants detection system, developed by Chinese and German research institutes, which is a highlight of Sino-German technological cooperation.Chongqing, a mega city on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River with a population of nearly 32 million, is a traditional industrial powerhouse, which has a long history of cooperation and exchanges with Germany.As the gateway to Southwest China, it boasts one of the world's largest IT industrial clusters and one of China's biggest auto manufacturing bases.Germany has several major investment projects in Chongqing. BASF SE Asia-Pacific, a German chemical giant, invested 8 billion yuan ($114 million) in a project in Changshou district and started its methylene diphenyl diisocyanate production in 2015, with an annual capacity of 400,000 metric tons.MDI is an important component of polyurethane, a plastic material used to improve insulation, which helps save energy in buildings and make cars lighter.For years, the bilateral relationship between China and Germany has witnessed high-level development thanks to close exchanges between the leaders of the two countries.China has been Germany's biggest trading partner for eight consecutive years, and Germany has been China's biggest trading partner in Europe for the past 49 years, according to the Foreign Ministry.After Chongqing, the German delegation is scheduled to head to Shanghai on Monday before meeting with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing to discuss Sino-German ties and issues of common concern, according to a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry.German media reports said that Roland Busch, chief executive officer of Siemens and also chair and president of the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business, Oliver Zipse, chairman of the BMW board of management, Bayer CEO Bill Anderson and ThyssenKrupp CEO Miguel Lopez are members of the business delegation accompanying Scholz.

It took six hours for Liu Yi, 26, to get to Tianshui, Northwest China's Gansu province, by train. It took another two hours of waiting in a queue before he could finally get his hands on a bowl of local malatang — a mix of foods boiled in hot, spicy broth.26岁的刘毅乘坐了六个小时火车到达中国西北部甘肃省天水市，在排了两个小时的队后，终于吃到了一碗天水麻辣烫。这是一种以麻辣汤汁为底、炖煮各种食材的特色美食。While choosing the ingredients he wanted, Liu picked wide, thin rice noodles and a lot of chillies, along with the usual vegetables and meat. Spicy food is a must for Liu, a native of Southwest China's Sichuan province.在挑选食材时，刘毅选了宽粉和大量的辣椒，还有常见的蔬菜和肉类。对于刘毅这种土生土长的四川人来说，辣椒必不可少。The malatang did not disappoint. "It has a kind of rich fragrance," Liu said, after wiping hismouseclean.大快朵颐后，刘毅评价道：“天水麻辣烫有一种浓郁的香味”。The popularity of the dish is suddenly soaring. Thousands of diners like Liu have been making their way to the little-known northwestern city to try malatang, overwhelming local restaurant owners and contributing to local wealth.近期，麻辣烫的受欢迎程度突然飙升。成千上万像刘毅一样的食客来到这个鲜为人知的西北城市品尝当地麻辣烫，对此当地餐馆老板甚至有些招架不住。这一盛况也为当地经济发展作出巨大贡献。These days around 7 am, Ga Haiying's restaurant in Qinzhou district becomes crowded with diners, some still rubbing their sleepy eyes. Earlier, the restaurant would open at 11 am. To serve the surging number of customers, Ga and her family now work from 6:30 am to 10 pm every day. They are too busy to pause for lunch.天水市秦州区嘎海英的餐馆在天水麻辣烫爆火前通常都是上午11点开门。而这些天，早上7点左右餐馆就挤满了食客，不少食客甚至还睡眼惺忪。为了服务激增的顾客，嘎海英和她的家人需要每天从早上6:点半工作到晚上10点，生意繁忙甚至都无暇吃午饭。"I have sold malatang for 30 years," Ga said. "I never dreamed that one day it would be so popular." Recently, more than 1,000 customers have been trooping into her restaurant daily, despite an average waiting time of about two hours. The restaurant's revenue has tripled.嘎海英说：“我卖麻辣烫卖了30年了，做梦也没想到有一天它会这么火爆。” 最近，前来的游客平均要等近两个小时才能吃上饭，尽管如此，每天仍有超过千名顾客涌入她的餐厅。餐厅的收入是原来的三倍。Ma Yulin, a malatang restaurant owner in the city's Maiji district, said that over the last 10 days, the establishment was packed with diners, more than half of whom were from other cities. Many young customers not only come to eat but also take photos. Ma has hired more workers and added seats to cut the waiting time.天水市麦积区一家麻辣烫餐馆老板马玉林说，过去10天，店里挤满了食客，其中一半以上来自外地。很多年轻顾客不仅来吃饭还拍照。为此，他专门多雇佣了服务员并增加了座位以减少顾客等待时间。"I'm exhausted," he said. "I'm overwhelmed that our malatang is suddenly recognized by so many."马玉林表示：“这几天真是累坏了，想不到我们的麻辣烫突然得到这么多人的喜欢”。In a typical malatang restaurant, customers select fresh food items, strung on skewers and hand them over to the chef. The chosen ingredients are boiled in the broth and then scooped into a bowl, with or without the original soup, depending on the customers' preferences. With two spoonfuls of oil and pepper drizzled on top, the bowls fairly burst with flavor.在吃麻辣烫时，通常由顾客自己选择想吃的串串，厨师会用高汤烫煮熟所选食材，舀入碗中，可自行选择加或不加原汤，最后淋上两勺辣油和胡椒粉，香气扑鼻而来，让人垂涎三尺。Since early March, videos and photos of Tianshui malatang have been going viral on social media platforms. It all started when a netizen released a seven-second video on Feb 13 that garnered millions of views. More vloggers followed suit, and then the tourists began to arrive in droves.自3月初以来，天水麻辣烫相关的视频和照片在社交媒体平台上十分火爆。最开始是一位网友于2月13日发布了一段7秒的视频，获得了数百万次观看。其他视频博主纷纷效仿，游客也开始成群结队地涌来。Within a month, bookings for hotel rooms in Tianshui had quadrupled year-on-year, according to Ctrip, an online travel platform. Qinzhou district, where most malatang restaurants and attractions are located, received more than 770,000 tourists, local authorities said.据线上旅游平台携程网数据，最近一个月，天水的酒店客房预订量同比增长了四倍。当地政府表示，聚集着大量数麻辣烫餐厅和景点的秦州区接待游客超过77万人次。Lei Hongliang, director of the Tianshui Catering Industry Association, said the special pepper used in the dish is key to the unique flavor. Gangu pepper — from the city's Gangu county — is nationally recognized. It tastes good, but is not as spicy as some other types.天水市餐饮行业协会会长雷鸿亮表示，这道菜所用的特制辣椒给这道大众小吃注入了独有的“天水味道”。产自天水市甘谷县的甘谷辣椒是全国著名的辣椒品种，红而不辣，味道鲜香。To increase the popularity of malatang, he suggested maintaining a stable price and standardized flavor to "make Tianshui flavor a distinctive brand". Each bowl on average costs about 21 yuan ($2.95).为了提高天水麻辣烫的知名度，雷鸿亮建议统一口味标准、同时要稳住价格，将天水风味打造成特色品牌。目前当地麻辣烫每碗平均售价约为21元。Tianshui has adopted measures to better serve tourists. Tourists arriving by train are greeted by welcome banners and offered free bus rides. Free parking lots are provided to motorists. Some workers from local scenic attractions distribute tickets and give out mascot or gifts at the malatang restaurants.此外，天水市还多措并举，努力提升服务质量。乘火车抵达的游客会看到准备的欢迎横幅，并可免费乘坐巴士。为驾车者提供免费停车场。当地景区的一些工作人员在麻辣烫餐厅分发门票、赠送吉祥物或礼物。The city's attractions include the Maijishan Grottoes, a UNESCO world cultural heritage site, the temple of Fuxi — the legendary ancestor of the Chinese nation — and Nanshan Mountain.该市的景点包括被联合国教科文组织列为世界文化遗产的麦积山石窟、中华民始祖伏羲庙和南山。Feng Wen'ge, Party secretary of Tianshui, said at a conference on Saturday that the explosive popularity of Tianshui malatang presents a rare opportunity to enhance the city's reputation and also test its service capabilities. He added that every effort should be made to meet visitors' demands and improve their experience by increasing offerings and improving service quality.天水市委书记冯文戈在一次会议上表示，天水麻辣烫的爆火，为提升天水城市声誉提供了难得的机遇，同时也是对天水服务能力的一次考验。要尽力满足游客的需求，通过增加服务内容和提高服务质量来改善游客的体验。He also emphasized the need to ensure traffic, food and fire safety, as well as environmental hygiene at key locations such as airports, railway stations and commercial streets."All forces should be mobilized to provide comprehensive services in every aspect, ensuring that visitors to Tianshui can eat, play and travel with pleasure," he said.他还强调，要保证机场、火车站、商业街等重点场所的交通、食品、消防安全和环境卫生。要动员各方力量，全方位提供综合服务，确保游客来天水吃得开心、玩得开心、游得开心。fire safety消防安全broth英 /brɒθ/ 美 /brɑːθ/n.汤，肉汤

Miao ethnic people in the mountainous area of Southwest China's Guizhou are bringing theirvibrant embroideries to the Milan Fashion Week. #PotsideChats

The landslide that struck a mountainous village in southwest China on Monday has killed at least 34 people. Another 10 remain missing.

Is environmental degradation an inevitable result of economic development? Can ecosystems be restored once government officials and the public are committed to doing so? These questions are at the heart of Stevan Harrell's An Ecological History of Modern China (University of Washington Press, 2023), a comprehensive account of China's transformation since the founding of the People's Republic from the perspective not of the economy but of the biophysical world. Examples throughout illustrate how agricultural, industrial, and urban development have affected the resilience of China's ecosystems—their ability to withstand disturbances and additional growth—and what this means for the country's future. Drawing on decades of research, Harrell demonstrates the local and global impacts of China's miraculous rise. In clear and accessible prose, An Ecological History of Modern China untangles the paradoxes of development and questions the possibility of a future that is both prosperous and sustainable. It is a critical resource for students, scholars, and general readers interested in environmental change, Chinese history, and sustainable development. Stevan Harrell is professor emeritus of anthropology and environmental and forest sciences at the University of Washington. His many books include Ways of Being Ethnic in Southwest China. Twitter. Website. Brian Hamilton is chair of the Department of History and Social Science at Deerfield Academy. Twitter. Website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Is environmental degradation an inevitable result of economic development? Can ecosystems be restored once government officials and the public are committed to doing so? These questions are at the heart of Stevan Harrell's An Ecological History of Modern China (University of Washington Press, 2023), a comprehensive account of China's transformation since the founding of the People's Republic from the perspective not of the economy but of the biophysical world. Examples throughout illustrate how agricultural, industrial, and urban development have affected the resilience of China's ecosystems—their ability to withstand disturbances and additional growth—and what this means for the country's future. Drawing on decades of research, Harrell demonstrates the local and global impacts of China's miraculous rise. In clear and accessible prose, An Ecological History of Modern China untangles the paradoxes of development and questions the possibility of a future that is both prosperous and sustainable. It is a critical resource for students, scholars, and general readers interested in environmental change, Chinese history, and sustainable development. Stevan Harrell is professor emeritus of anthropology and environmental and forest sciences at the University of Washington. His many books include Ways of Being Ethnic in Southwest China. Twitter. Website. Brian Hamilton is chair of the Department of History and Social Science at Deerfield Academy. Twitter. Website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Is environmental degradation an inevitable result of economic development? Can ecosystems be restored once government officials and the public are committed to doing so? These questions are at the heart of Stevan Harrell's An Ecological History of Modern China (University of Washington Press, 2023), a comprehensive account of China's transformation since the founding of the People's Republic from the perspective not of the economy but of the biophysical world. Examples throughout illustrate how agricultural, industrial, and urban development have affected the resilience of China's ecosystems—their ability to withstand disturbances and additional growth—and what this means for the country's future. Drawing on decades of research, Harrell demonstrates the local and global impacts of China's miraculous rise. In clear and accessible prose, An Ecological History of Modern China untangles the paradoxes of development and questions the possibility of a future that is both prosperous and sustainable. It is a critical resource for students, scholars, and general readers interested in environmental change, Chinese history, and sustainable development. Stevan Harrell is professor emeritus of anthropology and environmental and forest sciences at the University of Washington. His many books include Ways of Being Ethnic in Southwest China. Twitter. Website. Brian Hamilton is chair of the Department of History and Social Science at Deerfield Academy. Twitter. Website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies