Diamond plan
DIAMONDS, which have graced the necklaces of the late Princess Diana, US First Lady Hillary Clinton and Kate Winslet in blockbuster film "Titanic," are proving increasingly popular with China's consumers as earnings rise, especially in Shanghai.
Shipping soup in Shanghai
LAST week was a tough week to get through any year. You must, like Caesar, beware the Ides of March (15) and either proclaim your ethnic origins or become honourary Irish for a day on St Patrick's Day (17). In Shanghai, you also have to cope with the fickle March weather.
Chess master makes first move on-line
JOINTLY sponsored by Shanghai Chess Association and Shanghai Lotof Network Information Technology Co Ltd, a long-running chess match at www.lotof.com on the web was kicked off on Saturday.
Tourism development at top of agenda
SHANGHAI plans to transform itself into an international tourist metropolis by 2015, according to Zhou Muyao, vice-mayor of Shanghai. Zhou was speaking at the city's first tourism working conference which closed on Sunday.
Campaign to prevent polio comeback
AN incidence of polio (also known as infantile paralysis) in October in Northwest China's Qinghai Province has prompted a warning from experts that children from abroad must be vaccinated against the disease either before or soon after they come to Shanghai.
Women seek access to legal consultation
A 50-YEAR-OLD woman says tearfully she has sued for divorce four times over the past nine years, but she has been denied each time over property disputes.
Controversy over keeping city wall
SHANGHAI city wall was built in a matter of months in 1553 to repel Japanese pirates, but it took more than 10 years to demolish it.
Students broaden horizons overseas
PHOTOGRAPHS of Chinese high-fliers who studied in Britain adorned the entrance to the British Education Exhibition 2000, held two weeks ago in Shanghai.
Rush to wed breeds crime
THE proverb "marry in haste repent at leisure" took on a whole new meaning for two Shanghai residents recently.
Robbers ring up call-girls
A BOOK described as a "goldmine" by a debtor, because it listed the telephone numbers of call-girls, brought two men suspected of robbing four prostitutes before the Yangpu District Procuratorate recently.
Court fines nose biter $348
HONGKOU District Court has ordered a 38-year-old man named Liu who bit a bus driver's nose with such force that it required seven stitches to close the wound to pay 2,884 yuan ($348) in medical expenses and damages.
Kids compete in cross-Straits drawing
By Jane Tian
SIX-year-old Wu Ye, who has a pencil behind her right ear, is attentively drawing the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Pudong's riverside park along the east bank of Huangpu River. She is one of 500 local children who are participating in the Shanghai-Kaohsiung Children's Painting Competition. The competition was sponsored by the China Welfare Institute, Shanghai Soong Chingling Foundation, Taiwan Changgu Cultural and Educational Foundation and China Daily. "We aim to tap more art genius and increase contact between children across the Straits," said Ai Boying, deputy secretary-general of China Welfare Institute. Shanghai, as one of the two competition areas, will select 100 pictures through the preliminary for the final on April 2. Kaohsiung will conduct its competition in early April. All the prize-winning works will be published in a volume of successful entries and first prize winners will be given a visit to Taiwan. Similarly, Kaohsiung will send its winners to visit Shanghai. All local candidates are from primary or junior middle schools and have expressed a particular view about the city's development. When asked why she chose the tower for her picture theme, Wu Ye said with a bright smile: "It is tall and beautiful." Gao Ao, a 13-year-old entrant, won the first prize in the competition last year. He has won dozens of national and international prizes since taking up painting at the age of three. "Painting makes me happy and enables me to grow up into a man," he said. Ai said the competition is part of preparations for the 2000 Shanghai International Children's Cultural & Arts Festival to be held on July 8.
Copyright 2000 by Shanghai Star. All rights reserved.