A new exhibition of Louis Vuitton luggage and handbags at the National Museum of China in Tiananmen Square is getting off to a flying start, proving offensive on both artistic and patriotic grounds. more ›

The rehabilitation of Confucius, the ancient sage whose ideas were once denounced by Chairman Mao as feudal ideology, continues. On Tuesday, a larger-than-life bronze statue of Kong Zi (孔子) was unveiled at the northern entrance of the newly-reopened National Museum, not far from where the Chairman's portrait is situated on Tiananmen Square. Hailed by China Daily as "the latest sign of the philosopher's comeback amid the country's efforts to promote him as a symbol of traditional Chinese culture", the statue was created by Wu Weishan, a sculptor from Nanjing, who has created over 20 statues of Confucius in different sizes and styles. With over 320 Confucius Institutes are located in 96 countries worldwide, one wonders why the sage isn't already on the square itself. Maybe that day will come yet. more ›

Or maybe it won't. Either way, it will likely make its owner even richer. In 2001 at a Shanghai store, Liu Gang, founding partner of one of Beijing's largest commercial law firms, bought an ink map on bamboo paper that could be from the 18th century and could be a copy of a world map from 1418 that could offer proof that Chinese admiral Zheng He did in fact beat Christopher Columbus to the "New World" by more than 70 years, as at least one disputed author -- Gavin Menzies, who wrote 1421: The Year China Discovered the World -- has been claiming for a while now. Liu bought the map for US$500 and will unveil it -- well, a copy of it -- tonight in Beijing. We found this bit interesting: more ›