Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol.64/No.34 i Beijing Review

In 1956, the J-5, a Chinese-built single-seat fighter jet based on the Soviet MiG-17, was put into mass production. Such a product of imitation, of course, struggled to meet China’s actual needs. Fast forward to July 4, 2021. Chinese astronauts Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo exited the space station core module Tianhe wearing the new-generation domestically crafted Feitian extravehicular spacesuit. At roughly 2 meters in height and 130 kg in weight, the suit can be put on or taken off in five minutes, and guarantees the astronauts’ safety during their spacewalk. From J-5 to the Feitian spacesuit, China’s aeronautics and astronautics-related design witnessed a qualitative leap in transitioning from imitation to independent design, Xu Ping, a professor at Beijing Normal University (BNU), said when addressing a design-themed forum in Beijing…

Barbara Seidelmann, Managing Director of 5 Star Plus Retail Design: 5 Star Plus Retail Design is an international commercial interior design company developing concepts for stores, restaurants, and exhibition stands. I am from Austria and lead an international team of Chinese, European and American professionals at the company. We opened as a retail design firm in China nine years ago. This is a country with a lot of dynamic energy. Cities and the building landscape are less established than in Europe or the U.S., allowing us to embark on architectural design projects from scratch. In addition, the sheer size of the market and its consumers are very attractive features for many brands willing to invest in trendsetting large-scale store designs and new creative concepts here. The market has developed incredibly…

America’s greatest existential threat today is not China; it is making China into America’s existential threat. The war of words launched by the U.S. over the coronavirus is a sad commentary on the lack of necessary cooperation, not to mention a lack of compassion initially for the severity of the epidemic in China in the early months. The escalating hostility toward China now so evident in Washington will all but ensure a competitive rather than any collaborative search for vital solutions. The result will be wasted resources, duplicative research, insufficient financing, and the undermining of international dissemination of advanced green technologies. And this is only to note the consequences for coping with just one of humanity’s looming crises. Yet amid all this, Washington has been gearing up for a full…

Wang Yong had run a streetside stall to repair watches and make keys in Yangpu District of Shanghai for decades. Recently, the 54-year-old handyman moved his business to an indoor community business center nearby, putting an end to his days of working outdoors, braving the wind and rain. “The environment here is much better with a stable customer flow. I only need to pay water and electricity and other miscellaneous fees, but no rent,” Wang told Shanghai-based Jiefang Daily. Many street vendors and handymen like Wang in Shanghai have been invited to run businesses in community workshops or stores supported by local governments and enterprises, in line with a national effort to build “15-minute convenient life circles.” A document released by 12 government departments including the Ministry of Commerce in…

Through preservation and innovation, China is bridging the gaps between past, present and future. Ancient culture and modernity intertwine in the nation’s rapid economic growth and daily life. And so it happened that 21 young international professionals met in the heart of southwest China in early June. Their objective: to explore a land of contrasts seen as representative of China in its totality, aka Sichuan Province. Though landlocked, Sichuan has always maintained solid political and economic ties with its Southeast Asian neighbors as well as with Europe and the rest of the world. The provincial capital of Chengdu is a modern, thriving cultural hub, a symbol of openness and a haven for international institutions. It is here that the Business and Innovation Center for China-Europe Cooperation found its home inside…

A gathering celebrating the 70th anniversary of Tibet’s peaceful liberation takes place in Lhasa, capital of the autonomous region, on August 19. The historic milestone was reached with the signing of an agreement between the Central Government and the local government of Tibet in May 1951. The region has since undergone substantive changes with its GDP surpassing 190 billion yuan ($29.3 billion) in 2020. Some 140 flights connect Tibet with the rest of the country and the world.…

HAITI Local residents camp outside their earthquake-destroyed houses in Camp-Perrin, Les Cayes, on August 18. A 7.2-magnitude quake hit west Haiti on August 14, causing more than 2,100 deaths UGANDA Students receive lessons on the radio in Kampala on August 16. Uganda resumed airing radio lessons that day as schools remained closed amid COVID-19 ISRAEL A man receives a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Modiin on August 17. Altogether 1 million Israelis had received booster doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, officials said on August 16 ZAMBIA Opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema waves to supporters after casting a vote at a polling station in Lusaka on August 12. Hichilema emerged as the winner in the presidential election, beating the incumbent president NEW ZEALAND A man walks by a hospital in Auckland…

All 18 classrooms of a former village school have been converted into 22 hotel-style guest bedrooms. The secondary wing of the complex is now home to a cafe, several dining rooms and a rooftop canteen, while its previous playground gave way to a swimming pool. Located in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, the newly finished hotel has become a tourist attraction and its host village of Qinyong is now a prime example of how architecture could provide a concrete answer to rural vitalization. “The school replaced the traditional ancestral hall and became the center of public life in Qinyong, as well as an important carrier of the village’s collective memory,” Liu Kenan, co-founder of Atelier XUK, an architecture studio based in Shanghai, and design instructor at Shanghai’s Tongji University, told Beijing Review.…

The teachings of Confucius illuminate the path for achieving our dreams in life, and one key teaching in particular has been illuminating China’s path toward becoming a moderately prosperous—or xiaokang—society. It is that taking a moderate approach to building well-consolidated social and economic foundations is essential for achieving prosperity. The concept is far from new, but it is standing the test of time as China enters a new era of development. The Communist Party of China (CPC) has a strong understanding of this notion, and all Party leaders have been demonstrating it in their work. The main result has been the eradication of absolute poverty last year, which completed China’s process of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. This idea also has its roots in Confucianism, and the…

The “lab leak lie” is racist. To be clear, the unscientific surmise that COVID-19 was spread intentionally or unintentionally by a Chinese government laboratory in Wuhan is racist. From the beginning, this lie was an expression of dog-whistle politics, one that has exploited longstanding racial stereotypes, and that has in turn deepened anti-Asian racism in many countries around the world. Stoking the fires The fact that the Donald Trump administration promoted the lab leak lie in 2020 is not surprising. Before the outbreak, Trump had already demonized Democrats and centrists in his own party. He’d demonized black Americans resisting police brutality. He’d demonized American allies. He’d demonized people from developing countries. He’d demonized immigrants and Latinx, even those who were American citizens. And above all he’d demonized China—its economy, its…

Paddy Art An aerial photo taken on August 16 showcases some stunning rice paddy art in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning Province. Paralympics China would send a delegation of 251 athletes to compete at the Tokyo Paralympic Games, the China Disabled Persons’ Federation announced on August 17. The Chinese Paralympians, of whom 132 are female and 119 are male, will compete in 20 of the 22 sports on the Tokyo 2020 program, including the first-time Paralympic sports taekwondo and badminton, the federation said. China’s Tokyo-bound Paralympians come from various professions, including farmers, students, civil servants and business owners. Their average age is 27.5, with 16-year-old swimmer Jiang Yuyan being the youngest and 56-year-old table tennis player Zhao Ping the oldest. The Chinese delegation has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Around 4,400…

The situation in Afghanistan is beyond anyone’s imagination. The Taliban made a lightening advance to dethrone the country’s Western-backed government on August 15, bringing an end to a two-decade campaign in which the U.S. and its allies had tried to transform Afghanistan. The government security forces collapsed or fled, ahead of the planned withdrawal of the last American troops at the end of August. A state of fear and panic swept Kabul after the Taliban takeover became imminent, triggering a massive effort to airlift Western diplomats and nationals seeking to leave the country. UN Secretary General António Guterres called on the Security Council to use all tools at its disposal to suppress the global terrorist threat in Afghanistan and guarantee that basic human rights will be respected. How it began…

When they fell in love with breakdancing, or “breaking,” these young boys in beanie hats and baggy clothes never could have imagined this fringe cultural offering would one day become a mainstream Olympic sport. Shang Xiaoyu felt star-crossed when breakdancing foot rocked its way into his life. Considered a “bad student” who frequently skipped class and got into fights with other students in junior middle school, this millennial had no idea how his life could, and would, be changed dramatically by a niche dance genre. Shang was 13. It was a regular day at school when he happened to pass through a classroom where a handful of students were practicing their breaking moves. A mere glance of the scene made him stop in his tracks. “This looks super cool,” Shang…

Made up of 2,291 pieces of jade linked with silk thread, the jade burial suit discovered while excavating the tomb of a local ruler is the earliest of its kind ever found in China. Created for his burial over 2,100 years ago, the 1.73-meter garment is evidence of the luxurious burial traditions in the Nanyue Kingdom, which covers present-day Guangdong Province as well as other regions including the Hainan Island and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. This precious relic is currently on display at an exhibition at the National Museum of China in Beijing. The exhibition, which opened on August 10, includes over 330 artifacts unearthed from Qin and Han dynasties (221 BC-AD 220) archaeological sites in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong. In addition to the extravagance of ancient upper classes, the…