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[Metro & Sports]

• The United States Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman says he expects this year to be a good one for bilateral relations.
• Shanghai has become the first Chinese city to ban smoking, a ban which applies to most public venues. Random checks so far have shown that most establishments are abiding by this new law, and volunteers are working to enforce it.
• Great headway is expected to be made on the disposal of household garbage in Beijing because of new regulations to be drafted this year.
• It was with a smile that home nation Canada wrapped up its winter olympic games, having won the most gold medals any nation has won in any Winter Olympics and having won back the hockey gold medal it feels should permanently reside there.

[China's Champion] Sabriye Tenberken brings light into blind Tibetan children's lives
Despite being blind, Sabriye Tenberken has crossed Tibet's formidable passes and plateaus on horseback. When talking, she looks directly at you and describes things by their colors.

[Cultural Voyage] Francophonie Film Festival
Watching films is always a major way of entertainment. In China's cinemas, audience can see large numbers of latest films and box office hits, but mainly in Chinese or English. Movies from other areas except for the Hollywood and China can rarely be found in the theater. The Francophonie Film Festival, which is coming this Thursday in Beijing, will provide the audience a chance to learn more about the movies from French speaking countries.

[Tour Tips] Jianshui is located 220 kilometers south of Kunming. The climate here is pleasant, neither hot in the summer nor cold in the winter. Moreover, it is one of the earliest developed cities in southern Yunnan that enjoys the fame of being an ancient cultural city and an important gateway. Since the Yuan Dynasty, it was the political, cultural and communication center in southern Yunnan. And now Jianshui is actually developed into a county. It got the name because the basin used to be flooded every summer and autumn.

• A set of black-and-white photos singer CoCo Lee took for a fashion magazine recently shows the popular Asia pop diva in very elegant yet powerful poses.
• Filming on location at the Shaolin Temple is probably the dream of most directors who focus on Shaolin kung fu. But Benny Chan is an exception.
• Celebrated French actress Sophie Marceau will pay a visit to China this month to promote her new film, Don't Look Back, costarring Italian actress Monica Bellucci, according to nfdaily.cn.

[Strange News]

• A city in Central China is advocating a more humane way of killing pigs, ordering they get up to a day of rest and relaxation before they go to the slaughter-house.
• British broadcaster ITV pleaded guilty to animal cruelty and was fined by an Australian court on February 7 after a rat was killed and eaten on the reality TV show I'm a Celebrity.
• A Croatian undertaker has lifted the lid on the bizarre last requests of his clients after 50 years in the funeral business.

[Real China] Chinese Restaurants Approaching International Customers
China is famous worldwide for its cuisine culture, especially now when Chinese restaurants are easy to find in every corner of the globe. As the country is becoming increasingly open to the world, Chinese restaurants are also appealing to international customers both home and abroad.