This report by France24 throws light on what migrant workers who are resident in big cities like Shanghai and Beijing but lack the proper hukou documents go through to put their children in school. The schools which will accept their children run outside of the state education system and charge a monthly fee of RMB100 — no small sum for parents on migrant worker salaries. Schools like the one featured in this report may soon become a thing of the past though as the government mulls changes to grant children of migrant workers full access to state education. more ›

From France24:

With the paralympics getting under way in Beijing in a few days time, China's athletes continue to train hard...The Games not only a chance for the country's sportsmen to shine, but also for China to gain a better understanding of its disabled population.

From France24:

Twenty-five years after China opened up to the west the Chinese are paying a price. Today the country has the fastest-growing obesity rate in the world and one quarter of its urban youth is overweight.

This report from France 24, an international 24-hour news channel, profiles the Hui community in Ningxia province in Northern China. Of the 20 million Muslims currently living in China, half belong to the Hui community, and one fifth of this community lives in Ningxia. The episode shows the special schools where Hui children learn Arabic and the Koran along with the regular Chinese curriculum. It also describes the Hui healthcare system, which blends treatments based on the series of ablutions performed before entering a mosque with traditional Chinese medicinal techniques. An interesting look at the way Hui culture has absorbed Chinese influences into an Islamic base. more ›

From France24:

Jia Zhang Ke (贾樟柯) mixes documentary and fiction in his film about three generations of Chinese workers. Watch clips from '24 City', filmed in the town of Chengdu, and an interview with the director.

Al-Jazeera: The scenes of destruction and devastation, and the smell of death. Melissa Chan wins our thumbs-up once again with this report: more ›

Interesting piece by France24 on Shanghai student, Qiu Gonghao, who appears to be having the time of his life studying at the Ecole Polytechnic in Paris, one of the top engineering schools in France. Will this chap ever choose to come back to Shanghai, we wonder? more ›

From Al-Jazeera: "The Olympic flame has landed in Hong Kong, arriving back on Chinese soil, but it hasn't yet outrun the controversy that disrupted much of its journey around the world." more ›

From Associated Press: "A group of protesters planning to protest the Olympic torch relay in Hong Kong have been barred from entering the city, local media and activists say. They were questioned at the airport and put on a flight to London." (April 27) more ›

Al Jazeera: "Transformed from being the land of bicycles into a land of cars, China's booming economy is driving up demand at a time when car sales are slow elsewhere in the world. Al Jazeera's Tony Cheng visited the Beijing motor show which showed much promise in making China the future of the automotive industry."
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France24 uncovers a heavily-polluted town called Xiditou 300km southeast of Beijing, where lead levels in the water are 300 times the recommended safe amounts. This is one of dozens of "cancer villages" around China, and a whopping 10% of the population have died so far. Even that stray dog towards the end of clip looks so sick. Yikes. more ›