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Special Reports
Toward the end of 2006, an on-line debate — probably the hottest China had ever seen since the Internet found its way into the country in the early 1990s — broke out: whether a legendary animal translated into “dragon” should continue to serve as the symbol of China.
Dragon or “Loong”? /Article by Zheng Qian
The “Chinese Dragon” -a Cultural Myth /Article by Zheng Qian
Chinese Dragon: All-Powerful while Tolerant
-Tales about the Legendary Animal /Article by Zheng Qian
The Chinese Dragon: a “Visual Philosophy” /Article by Jiang Ling
China’s Ethnic Minority Groups and the Dragon
Long Qianshi, dragon painter /Article By Li Yueshan Photo by Li Xiaoqin

Lifestyles
Heiyizhuang, meaning “black-dress Zhuang,” is a subgroup of Zhuang ethnic group.
The People in Black-Impressions of the Heiyizhuang
/Article by Li Weikun Photo by Yan Zhixiong Li Weikun

Cultural Heritage
Seen from distance, these structures look like huge mushrooms sprouting from beneath the earth, or “spacecraft” manned by human being-like creatures inhabiting a celestial body in the universe, which is far, far away from our globe.
Castle-like Structures Epitomize the Cultural Identity of “Guest People”
/Article and photo by Ma Jianhe
Mass Migration of Han Chinese and Tu Lou Structures
/Article by Fang Yong Photo by Ma Jianhe

Human and Nature
During the past hundreds and thousands of years, the boats in the Three Gorges region that traveled against the current relied on a special kind of laborer and a special kind of tool; the so-called “boat trackers” and their towlines.They have created a largely unknown wonder in the Three Gorges region, that is, the so-called “boat tracking stones,” which are the stones or boulders bearing the marks of boat towlines or the trackers themselves.
The “Boat Tracking Stones” of the Three Gorges
/Photo By Bian Chong
The “Last of the Boat Trackers” of the Three Gorge
/Article by Wang Jingjing and Zhang Guofan Photo By Cheng Qingqing
Another Kind of Boat Tracking Stones /Photo By Qin Wen
The Story of An old Boat Tracker /Photo By Yang Runyu

People & Place
Southwest of Kunming, in the Chinese province of Yunnan, there is the Va Cangyuan Autonomous County, where 150 thousand Va (or Wa) people live in compact communities. This ethnic group celebrates an unusual festival known as the “Monihei”.
The Mysterious Carnival-Notes on the Va festival “Monihei”
/Article by Bu Peide Photo by Bu Peide Cheng Minggui

Art Appreciation
Ma Xiguang’s brushwork is like music to the eyes
Versatile artist Chen Baodi

Collection Pieces of China’s History
My Experience as a Collector /Article and Photo By Yu Lianpeng