 | | Menghour Abderezak, an Algerian patient at Luohu People’s Hospital, savors a taste of tradition yesterday as he enjoyed tangyuan for the Lantern Festival. The hospital served the sweet glutinous rice balls — a festive favorite — to every hospitalized patient along with warm greetings, ensuring that all felt the holiday spirit even while away from home. Across China, people celebrated the festival with time-honored traditions: families gathered to watch the full moon, admire beautiful lanterns, and solve lantern riddles. These age-old customs are now enriched with lively additions such as lion dances, stilt walking, folk performances, and the rhythmic beat of traditional drums, transforming the streets into a vibrant carnival of sights and sounds. |
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| Western musical voices find growing stage in China | | “YOU alone can make my song take flight. It’s over now the music of the night.” British musical actor John Owen-Jones closed his concert with this signature song from “The Phantom of the Opera,” bidding the audience farewell while wearing a traditional Chinese-style suit in a theater packed with more than 1,000 people in Hangzhou, capital of East China’s Zhejiang Province. The audience responded with thunderous, sustained applause. ... | |
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| All Hong Kong taxis go cashless from April 1 | | Starting April 1, all taxi drivers in Hong Kong will be required to offer at least two electronic payment options, the Transport Department has announced. Drivers must provide one QR code-based method (such as Alipay, WeChat Pay, or BoC Pay) and one non-QR code method (such as Octopus, credit card, or Faster Payment System). Violators could face a maximum fine of HK$5,000 (US$640) and up to six months in priso. At present, most taxis in Hong Kong still operate on a cash-only basis, causing significant inconvenience for passengers, particularly tourists, according to the department. ... | |
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