On the surface, today was not a great day for China. Besides being stripped of a bronze medal won at the Sydney Olympics due to an underage gymnast, the Vancouver 2010 Games are over... and we're in eight place, trailing the United States, Germany and, of course, Canada. Yet, this was one of the best Winter Olympics ever for this country. more ›

Just five years after entering their first world championships, the Chinese women's curling team defeated Switzerland, 12-6, to take the bronze medal at 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. The Chinese team, led by skip (aka captain) Wang Bingyu (王冰玉), earned China's first Olympic medal in the sport of curling. The team was unable to reach the gold medal match after a devastating loss in the semifinals to Sweden, 9-4. more ›

• In an Obvious News of the Week alert: the one child policy here in China is breeding a generation of really, really bratty people. [China Daily]
• Have you realized how much we love Peter Hessler yet? No? Then how about we feature yet another interview with the man about his new book "Country Driving." [Worldhum]
• Even with Google China hiring again, looks like things aren't quite peachy yet between the internet giant and this country - a Nexus One smartphone event that would've gone through Beijing has been scrapped. It'll still continue in Hong Kong and Taiwan. [Reuters]

Maggie Rauch is editor of China Sports Today, a blog about China's emerging sports scene, and an occasional contributor to Shanghaiist. Today she talks about the top ten sports stories to hit China in 2009—wins, losses and scandals aplenty. more ›

Although China—like the rest of the world—care a lot less about the Winter Olympics than they do about the summer games, there is indeed an Olympics coming up. Olympic gold medals are a huge source of national pride in China, so the Vancouver 2010 Olympics will be watched more closely here than in most countries. more ›