Nourishment for the Mind—A Women's Bookstore

AS the winter of 1994 drew near, Zhao Wenge opened her own Women's Bookstore in the Eastern District of Beijing, full of confidence. "I want to do something myself, to fill in a blank in the culture market," Zhao     

A Photographer's Trip to Taiwan (2)

WHEN we came to Lukang,Changhua County in westernTaiwan after leaving Chilung City in the north of Taiwan,we felt a totally different atmosphere. At Chilung,in the heavy rain of an early morning,mycompanions and I hurried to take pictures of a fish market bustlingwith 100 years of history.It was still in that darkness before dawn,wind mixed with rain,but the market was brightly lit and crowdedwith People.Among a confusion of voices were the loud calls of     

State-Run Enterprises Find New Posts for Women Workers

WHEN the market economy took the place of the planned economy, Chinese society entered a stage of transformation. This transformation brought about the reform of the labor management system. And with it, the contradiction hidden within the old mode of "full employment for women" was exposed. Market competition is doomed to be a competition of talent. A considerable number of women factory workers who can't adapt to a competitive workforce have been sifted out. These women who had immersed themselves in their jobs for many years and had gotten used to connecting their individual lives with the destiny of the enterprise couldn't accept this reality. Chinese women have made tremendous efforts to leave their homes in favor of working in factories;     

At the Age of 70

AS the old saying goes, "Never too old to learn." But to learn an MBA course at the age of 70 is rare. Wang Wenhua is such a woman. When she became a student of Master of Business Administration at the University of International Business and Economics, she caused a sensation in the media in Beijing. Wang, former director of Beijing Fork Lift Plant had been retired 15 years by then. "I want to be sure about what a market economy is, not live ignorantly," Wang said. Working on an industrial front, she     

郑人买履(英文)

To be like the man from Zheng who bought shoes. (To believe only in dogmas and ignore the objective reality). A man from the State of Zheng was going to the market to buy himself a pair of shoes.Before he left home, he measured his feet with a piece of string. He cut the sting to match the size of his foot. Then he got dressed and set off for the market. It was quite a long walk, and by the time he arrived, it was almost noon. He wasted no time in shopping for     

Sexual Equality, Contradictions Between Beliefs and Reality

"The Beijing Area Study" (BAS) is a large-scale social investigation and research project planned and implemented by the Beijing University Research Centre for Contemporary China together with the Beijing Municipal Government Policy Research Office. The purpose of the survey is to understand the attitudes of Beijing residents towards the changing social atmosphere under a market economy. It also includes some questions related to women's issues.This BAS survey questions people between the ages of 18 and 70, and is carried out once a year, in order to keep a current database.     

两纲之窗

University Students Volunteer to Teach Migrant Children大学生志愿为流动儿童做老师Many migrant workers have been doing their part for the Sihuan Market of Farm Produce, which is located in Xicheng District of Beijing. Several years ago, it was described as "a market with children running about," as the migrant workers were too busy to look after and discipline their children. After hearing about the situation, several university students, who majored in preschool education at Beijing Normal University, visited the market, in April 2004, to see the situation firsthand. They     

A Thousand-li Journey Is Started by Taking the First Step

FOUR years ago, Hu Ping, then the Minister of Commerce, was doing an investigation in Hubei Province in central China. This busy minister took the opportunity to stroll through the market and buy himself a pair of brown mesh oxhide shoes which he put on immediately. Coming back to Beijing the next day, he took off his shoes only to find the heel of the right shoe was missing. With joy and expedition, a newly-married couple went to buy a pair of stylish women's shoes in Xidan, a shopping area in Beijing. The bride put them on at once and only walked a hundred meters before the heels dropped     

The Changing Fate of Cloth Shoes

ONE day I found by chance one of my old photos taken 30 years ago. In it I was still a serious 17-year-old girl with my hair in two short braids and dressed in a blue cloth coat, brown corduroys and a pair of black cloth shoes each fastened by a strap at the side My eyes fixed on the shoes and lingered for quite a long time. A smile quietly crawled over my lips. Isn't it the fashionable "little girl's shoe" which is expected to prevail in the market this year?     

The Magnificent Majie Storytelling Fair

EVERY Lantern Festival, a storytelling fair is held in Majie, a market town with a population of 5,000, located 15 kilometers south of Baofeng County in Henan Province. The third day of the festival, or the 13th day of the first lunar month, is the most formal part of this fair, hence the name of the "Baofeng 13 Storytelling Fair at Majie." On this day, more than 1,000 Chinese folk artists gather here from all parts of the country. They put up simple stages or booths on the river banks, on mounds or in wheat fields in an area of about two square kilometers. Alone or in pairs, in threes or fives, facing each other or back to back, they tell story after story to the accompaniment of their traditional instruments: suona (a woodwind