But this year looked a little differe

• A roaring year
  THE name "Shanghai" has frequented the nation's media again this year as the city continues its active role in China's economy.
• Early spring avain emergency sparks scare
  THE outbreak of bird flu in suburban Shanghai's Nanhui District in January led to over 300,000 chickens and ducks being slaughtered, drastically affecting the market supply of poultry products.
• Hair-raising airlines
  THE year 2004 was an eventful one for the domestic airline industry.
• Moves made to improve administrative transparency
  THE past year can be called a harvest time for the city's democracy and legal system construction work, thanks to two solid steps taken in this respect.
• Identity issues
  AS a countermeasure to the new "US-visitor programme" that requires the fingerprinting of visa applicants, as announced on January 5 and first put into effect in China on March 22, the Chinese government started its own visa policy for US visitors on April 1(see the story "Visa retaliation" in April 8 issue).
• Liu records golden moment in sports
  LIU Xiang, 21, became the first Chinese athlete to win a short-distance track and field gold medal, with his 110-metre high hurdles triumph and a world record-tying time of 12.91 seconds at the Athens Olympics (see the story "Golden leap year" in the September 2 issue).
• F1 race stimulates city's car craze
  FROM the early moment when Michael Schumacher spun his car in a qualifying race, it was obvious the Chinese Grand Prix was going to present a fantastic spectacle. The 2004 Chinese Grand Prix, held in newly built Shanghai International Circuit, ended with Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello winning the title and BAR's Jenson Button and McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen seizing second and third place (see the story "Revved-up optimism" in the September 30 issue).
• Forbes list shocks to Shanghai pride
  SHANGHAI people seem universally convinced that their city is China's premier business centre. But a list of "China's top 10 business cities" released in September challenges this assumption (see the story "Toppling the dragon's head" in the September 30 issue).
• Measures taken to relieve traffic
  THE hottest topic relating to the city's infrastructure problems this year was traffic.
• History, luxury meet on Bund
  IN the long history of China, the Bund is an infant. Yet in Shanghai, where skyscrapers sprout daily and bulldozers never rest, the waterfront along the Huangpu River retains an air of the past. European building facades offer an untouched glimpse of the city's roaring past, when Shanghai opened up as gateway to the world in 1842 under the provisions of the Treaty of Nanking.
• Uncertain future for city's over-heated property
  IS there really a bubble in Shanghai's property market? Who are the buyers of houses in Shanghai? In 2004, these questions have been repeatedly asked by economists, property developers, housing officials and local residents.

• Ethics of consumption and of charity
  A recent China Central Television (CCTV) report quoted statistics from the China Charity Federation indicating that 70 per cent of charitable contributions to the Federation came from foreign countries or from the Chinese regions of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, while charitable donations from wealthy benefactors in Mainland China accounted for less than 15 per cent of the total value of the donations.
• Earthshaking power of mothers' love
  Not long ago, a soul-stirring scene presented itself in a public park in Fushun city in Northeast China's Liaoning Province. A boy narrowly escaped death when his mother snatched him from the jaws of a bear. How did the mother, an ordinary woman from a rural area, manage to save her son from being torn to pieces by this giant animal?
• Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle bells...
  Yes, folks, the Christmas season is upon us, but in between Christmas parties, unfortunately, we still have to attend to purchasing our regular daily necessities.
• Old memories, new wish list for 2005
  Since returning to Shanghai in November I have not had the opportunity to revisit my old neighbourhood. It is impossible to compare the glitzy, upscale Huaihai Lu area where the Shanghai Star office now sits with the less posh surrounding of Wanhangdu Lu, where I worked three years ago. Therefore, I don't know if the differences I see are caused purely by wealth. More money, more expensive clothes do not make the man (or woman).
• Community Centre beckons
  Shanghai has been a destination of choice for many expatriates and their companies during the past year, and Community Centre Shanghai is scrambling to keep up.
• New Year wishes
  Philippe Bracq, 41, from Canada, works with the IVOCLAR Group, supplier of comprehensive systems for dental practices and dental laboratories.
• Greeting from Shanghai Sunrise
  During the Christmas and New Year season, people evaluate their values and how they've treated others during the year. They also make resolutions to do better for the new year. The holiday season is about "giving, not receiving" and "treating others as you would like to be treated".
• Voice
  "It's the last gift God has given me, making me feel as if I'm back in my prime time."

• Low profile, high proficiency
  Andrew C Dawrant's voice is soft and appealing if you heard his voice without seeing him, you might think he was a Chinese speaking Mandarin with a touch of Beijing dialect. A senior member of the AIIC (Association Internationale des Interpretes de Conference), Dawrant is the dean of the Interpretation Department at GIIT (the Graduate Institute of Interpretation and Translation) at Shanghai International Studies University.
• Laid-off worker devotes himself to polularizing English
  PEOPLE gave Fu Wenbao the lovely nickname "Fat Teacher" after he opened an English corner near the City Planning Exhibition Centre on Saturday mornings. Fu, 43, a laid-off worker, established this English Corner in 2001 after devoting himself to the study of the English language for more than eight years.

• Parodic tradition
  WHAT if the little girl in Hans Christian Anderson's "The Little Match Girl" had become a comedienne? What if she spoke modern slang? Recently a controversial compilation of re-written classics has appeared in most bookstores in Shanghai and attracted the intense interest of many high school students. More than 100,000 copies of the book have already been printed. Compared with typical book sales, this figure represents a great success for both the writer and the book during a period when the publication of literary works is stagnating.

• Almonds all round
  LOW fat, low sugar, low cholesterol that is the formula for modern people's dining style. There are detailed descriptions on packaging explaining how many calories and how much fat the food items contain. Some people only eat after carefully adding up the quantities of different nutritional components.
• Easier access to vegetables
  THE leading frozen food company Simplot has debuted its frozen vegetable series "Create a meal" in China this month.