Tourism in China has one huge advantage and believe me, it's not the food. What makes traveling in China different is that tourists here are ripped off a lot less than in other countries. I believe that's a significant observation into national character: If I were Chinese, I would take real pride in the behavior of ordinary people toward foreigners.
The country's national English-language newspaper, China Daily, is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Thirty years is a short time for a newspaper. By way of contrast, The New York Times has been around since 1851 and Britain's newspaper of record, The Times, was founded in 1785.
Journalism educator Li Xiguang, who is in his early 50s, still regrets the fact that he was denied a chance to become a reporter nearly 30 years ago. The 1982 Nanjing University graduate's application to a national newspaper was turned down by the school authorities after they decided the student had been way too "liberal" and "slack in discipline".
What was China Daily like 30 years ago? Luckily, you can still find some copies from the old days in the library.
June 1981: China Daily was founded.
China won a record 51 gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, pushing long-time leader the United States into second place for the first time.
I couldn't swing a ticket for the curtain-raiser of the 2008 Beijing Games, so I ended up watching it on two giant outdoor screens inside the Olympic Village, along with hundreds of others who also did not make it to the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium that night.
If you ask any Chinese person what their nation's proudest sporting achievement has been over the past 30 years, Olympic success will be the most likely answer. China's passion for glory and improvement reflects the official Olympic motto: Swifter, Higher and Stronger.
May 12, 2008 is a day painful to remember but impossible to forget.
We all hope China will never experience another Wenchuan, but Japan's recent earthquake and tsunami are a sobering reminder that around the world, catastrophic events continue to threaten the lives of millions, while, less immediate disasters - such as prolonged drought - erode the livelihoods of many more.
At 2:28 pm on May 12, 2008, an 8.0-magnitude quake struck Sichuan province. Towns were leveled and villages were buried, as mountains crumbled into rivers and dammed them to further threaten residents.
2:28 pm, May 12, 2008: An 8.0-magnitude earthquake strikes Wenchuan, Sichuan province.