Domestic Retail Sales Leaped a Brisk 23.3 Percent

According to the latest figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) today, domestic retail sales leaped 23.3 percent to 862.9 billion yuan (125.8 billion U.S. dollars) in July this year. The growth rate was 6.9 percentage points higher than the same period last year.

Peking Opera Aiming for an International Audience

After watching the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympic Games Foreign visitors' interest in Chinese history and culture has peaked. To satisfy this thirst for knowledge the 200 years old Beijing Huguand Guild Hall held a lecture about Peking opera yesterday (August 12th) attracting hundreds of visitors. Chang Zhifeng takes a closer look.

The Olympic spirit and Peking opera share many values as the president of the Peking opera theater of Beijing, Wang Yuzhen explains.

"Olympic consists of elements about various nations. It is handed over by our ancestors, so does Peking opera. Peking opera plays an important part in Chinese culture, so when it comes to the opening ceremony, we were very excited."

An American tourist said that he had known Peking opera since the 1970s in Los Angles, and he was fascinated about it.

"I hope to enjoy more traditional Chinese music, I like Peking opera very much, and I like the voice, the movement as well as interesting properties and instruments."

A number of classical and new plays will be on show during the Olympics Games. The manager of Beijing Huguand Guild Hall, Huo Jiangqing told us,

"We hope to make the Peking opera known to the world through the platform of the Olympic Games. The more national it is, the more international becomes. It is a good way that the journalists from all over the world to tell their countrymen how to appreciate Peking opera."

(A still from the play "Farewell My Concubine." On August 10th evening, a Peking opera special performance was held in the Chang'an Theater in Beijing.)

Free Weekend Courses at Baiyun Mountain

Starting this Saturday there will be free recreational and sporting classes held at Baiyun Mountain every weekend. The courses will be conducted by 11 experienced and respected teachers. The courses cover a variety of subjects including Ballroom dancing, Tai Ji Quan, Yueju Opera, martial arts, Chinese traditional folk dance and so on. Teachers are chosen from more than 70 applicants.

Chinese Share Rebound to 2400 Points, Down 0.4%

The Shanghai composite index closed at 2446 points, down 10 points or 0.4%, despite it falling below 2,400 points in the morning section. The Shenzhen component index closed at 8249 points, up 56 points or 0.7%.