Thank-you cards from China pose mystery for WWII vets

"The postcard arrived in Ed Denzler's mailbox in Pearland last month, a mystery from his past nestled among the routine bills and coupons.

Addressed in neat block letters to Denzler, the handwritten note reads, in English: "It takes a strong man to save himself, a great man to save another. Thank you for 1944. From China."

On the front is a black-and-white photograph of U.S. and Chinese service members listening to an American with a fiddle accompany two Chinese soldiers on traditional stringed instruments called erhus

The card was mailed from China, postmarked Aug. 27, and had Chinese writing on the back that Denzler couldn't decipher."

Click here to read the rest of this fascinating story.

China to build racket-shaped hotel

'The design idea is from ping-pong. An erected ping-pong racket has a perfect architectural shape for a hotel,' said Jin Chang, director with Huainan Municipal Bureau of Sports. -- PHOTO: CHINA DAILY

CHINA - A 150M TALL hotel designed in the shape of a ping-pong racket will be built in Huainan city, East China's Anhui province, as part of a complex to tap the wealth of the sports industry.

The hotel, located in a planned Olympic park covering an area of over 67 hectares, has an estimated investment of 300 million yuan (S$58 million). It will feature three parts, the top designed for sight-seeing, the middle will house guest rooms, and bottom used for conference facilities.

'The design idea is from ping-pong. An erected ping-pong racket has a perfect architectural shape for a hotel,' said Jin Chang, director with Huainan Municipal Bureau of Sports.

The buildings were all designed by Mei Jikui, a renowned architect for sports structures. Supporting facilities such as a swimming pool are also included in the plans.

Pocket Blonde -- Guest review by Jack Labusch -- Jinhao Evening Stripes Fountain Pen

A wonderful review of the Jinhao Evening Stripes fountain on Diane Fennel's great blog, 'Pocket Blonde'.



Click on the title to go to the review, and here to go to the pen's webpage

7-Year-Old Ping Pong Prodigy From China Xin-Xue Feng

I can't tell you how many players like this I faced during my tournament days. I used to have nightmares. :-)

Dragon 'to rival Great Wall of China'

"Chinese people have condemned a project to build a 13-mile long dragon along a mountain ridge outside a city.

Developers say the project will rival the Great Wall of China and revive tourism to historic Xinzheng city, Henan province.



But, in a survey of 50,000 people, 92% strongly opposed the project for "abusing the environment and wasting money".

More than 800 metres of the dragon, made of steel and cement, have already been completed, reports Henan Business News.

It snakes along the ridge of Shizu Mountain, which is believed to have been the residence of China's first emperor.

Li Xiong, president of the Zulong company behind the dragon, says it will cost more than £260 million and he hopes Chinese people all over the world will contribute.

"The finished dragon is to wear 5.6 million scales of jade or gold-coated bronze. People can pay to carve words on the scales, and inside the body there will be trains and clubs. It will be a place for cultural activities and relaxation," he said.

"I am not afraid of attacks. Our ancestors built the Great Wall, and now I am building the Great Dragon. I will succeed.'"