Where are Chinese tourists going to next? Pop culture may hold some clues, from blockbuster rom-com 'Finding Mr. Right' to U.S. sitcom 'The Big Bang Theory.' blockbuster:轰动,巨型炸弹 China is the source of most of the world's tourists as well as its bigge…

Americans have long taken pride on their willingness to bet it all on a dream. But that risk-taking spirit appears to be fading. Three long-running trends suggest the U.S. economy has turned soft on risk: Companies add jobs more slowly, even in good…

'What's celebrity sex, Dad?' It was my 7-year-old son, who had been looking over my shoulder at my computer screen. He mispronounced 'celebrity' but spoke the word 'sex' as if he had been using it all his life. 'Celebrity six,' I said, abruptly closi…

Entrepreneur and author ShaoLan Hsueh thinks that English-speakers can start learning to read Chinese in less than 10 minutes. The language, she says, has more than 20,000 written characters, which most students in China learn by rote memorization. M…

Li Shan's oldest son was the perfect candidate to join the throngs of Chinese students studying abroad. But he chose Tsinghua University in Beijing. throng:人群,拥挤,众多 That is an unusual choice for a graduate of the elite Hong Kong International School,…

Early one morning last week I queued outside Sri Gopi Iyengar Coffee and Tiffin Center, a coffee bar just outside the monumental Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. My long wait under a scorching sun was rewarded with a small glass…

When it comes to parenting, Chinese fathers say the most important role they play is that of the family chauffeur. chauffeur:司机,开车运送 In a survey of 500 Chinese fathers released earlier this week by communications company JWT, respondents ranked drivi…

A 1-1 tie at home was sufficient for Guangzhou Evergrande to clinch the Asian Champions League title, the first Chinese club to win the tournament in more than two decades. clinch:拥吻,钉牢 tournament:锦标赛,联赛 on aggregate:总共,总计 It was difficult to spot a…

Chinese investors have been snapping up real estate in the world's most important cities this year. While it's easy to dismiss rich foreign buyers as the dumb money in any market, these investors are taking a sensible approach. Real-Estate:不动产,房地产 sn…

Chinese companies build iPads, high-speed trains and world-class telecom gear, but they can't seem to make their own fancy handbag. gear:齿轮,装置,工具 It's true that global giants from Prada to Apple source goods from China, but it is difficult to name a…

The American political class has long held that higher education is vital to individual and national success. The Obama administration has dubbed college 'the ticket to the middle class,' and political leaders from Education Secretary Arne Duncan to…

The appointment of India-born Satya Nadella as Microsoft Corp.'s CEO has caused a bit of a stir in China, where people are questioning why Indians but not Chinese are getting top jobs in the U.S. Language and familiarity with Western culture are the…

Chinese author Lao Ma has a simple approach to his short stories: In the face of life, everything is funny. Mr. Lao, the pen name of Renmin University of China professor Ma Junjie, says there are plenty of laughable things in daily life that fuel his…

For much of the last year, intellectuals and officials in China -- land of world-beating students and, in a bygone age, the scholar official -- have been wringing their hands over the country's declining interest in reading. bygone:过去的        wringin…

U.S. fans of the hit talent show 'The Voice' may take for granted that its judges sit with their backs to performers, choosing winners purely on the basis of their voices. But in China, where television and much of society is frequently biased toward…

A woman's place is in the home. consensus:一致,舆论,合意 That was the resounding message from Jiang Xipei, chairman of wire and cable conglomerate Jiangsu Far East Holding Group Co., speaking on a women's leadership panel at the summer World Economic Forum…

China has tried your form of government and found it wanting. That was the message delivered by Chinese President Xi Jinping during an expansive address at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, this week that capped off his first visit to Western…

Mistrust between U.S. and Malaysian air-accident investigators has hampered a multinational probe into the jetliner that went missing three weeks ago, people familiar with the investigation said, with no clear leads emerging about who or what was res…

[Confident girls are often called the other B-word, and it can keep them from reaching their full potential, write Sheryl Sandberg and Anna Maria Chavez.] Sheryl: When my brother and sister describe our childhood, they will say that I never actually…

U.S. first lady Michelle Obama took ping-pong diplomacy to a new level on Friday on her weeklong tour of China as the two countries try a new tactic to build trust in a often tense relationship. diplomacy:外交           tactic:策略,战略 More than 40 years…

Much has been said about what the 'China Dream' really means to many Chinese -- whether it is national strength, cultural renewal or more modest personal goals. For many of those living in the vast countryside, the dream is a life in one a city and s…

Overseas tourists continued to shun Beijing through 2013. shun:避开,避免,回避 Amid rising pollution and a strengthening yuan, the capital city saw its tourist numbers drop to 4.20 million visits from January to November from 5.01 million visits in 2012, ac…

The conference call is one of the most familiar rituals of office life -- and one of the most hated. ritual:典礼,宗教仪式 Abuses are rife. People on the line interrupt others, zone out or multitask, forgetting to hit 'mute' while talking to kids or slurpin…

In the war for the Chinese Internet, messaging giant Tencent is taking the battle to rival Alibaba's territory as never before. Tencent, a leader in online messaging and gaming, said Monday it will pay $215 million for a 15% stake in online retailer…

AS AUTO MAKERS ADD far-out features to the latest cars at warp speed--everything from futuristic heads-up displays to simple perks like hands-free calling--the appeal of the newest showroom tech can be hard to resist. But a car, unlike a smartphone,…

The mass uprisings this summer in Egypt, Turkey and Brazil are powerful reminders that the middle classes drive history. What remains unclear, however, is where they are driving it. uprising:起义,升起 The world today is witnessing its third great surge o…

Daifailluh al-Bugami was just a year old when his parents noticed that his lips turned blue as he slept at night. It was his weight, doctors said, putting pressure on his delicate airways. delicate:精致的,微妙的,易碎的 Now Daifailluh is 3, and at 61 pounds he…

Blue skies were finally visible in the capital on Thursday after the region suffered fromseven straight days of intense pollution, sending consumers out in droves to buy pollution masks. in droves:陆陆续续,成群结队 Although Thursday’s weather brought a colle…

Sam Su for years ran one of the highest-flying foreign business operations in China. These days, he's trying to pull it out of a tailspin. tailspin:混乱 As China head for Yum Brands Inc. for the past 16 years, Mr. Su built its KFC arm into the biggest…

China's high-tech companies have made their mark on the nation's economy. Now, with growing cash and investment at their disposal, they are beginning to have an impact on its skylines. Many of China's technology giants got their starts in cheap, half…