The Richest Person in China is a Woman. She's the world's wealthiest self-made woman. Her name is Zhang Yin and she recycles paper. No, really.

Think about this every time you refill your printer or toss out a page with a single line typed on it.

Ms Zhang, 49, whose Nine Dragons Paper Holdings (HKG:2689) buys scrap paper from the US for use in China, vaulted from 36th to replace retail tycoon Huang Guangyu, according to Shanghai-based Hurun Report, which compiles the annual China Rich... more

Cho Oyu, the sixth tallest mountain in the world.

Remember the reports of refugees being shot in the shadow of Cho Oyu? Including children?

Now, the world press is reporting on China's response... more

It's too confusing.

Ho ho ho!

But no, really -- signs are confusing over there, which is why Beijing's trying to clean 'em up.

From the BBC:

China has launched a fresh drive to clamp down on bad English in the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Previous attempts to wipe out Chinglish - the mistranslated phrases often seen on Chinese street signs and product labels - have met with little success.

Emergency exits at Beijing airport read "No entry... more

"Wǎng jì" means "internet" in Mandarin.

In today's publishing news: China unlocks Wikipedia. Strange, but pleasing.

Wikipedia, if you don't know, is an authoritative information source written by everyone on the internet, essentially. It's an encyclopedia that anyone can edit. I do... more

Cho Oyu, the sixth tallest mountain in the world.

Grim news today from the intrepid climbers at MountEverest.net -- a reminder that, yes, free markets and all, China is still an authoritarian country.

Illegal immigrants were shot crossing the ... more

Just noticed this thing that traveling families might find of interest.

Check out this graph (scroll down a little) comparing the dollar's value against the yuan.

Americans traveling to China will not be quite so filthy rich in comparison any more -- and the curve appears to be steepening, so that by the end of the year, they'll be much closer to the dreaded 1:1 correspondence (that is, one dollar equals one yuan).

(Not that I think that's going to happen any time soon, but there are going to be some economic acrobatics going on, and diplomatic acrobatics, and, well,... more

Two things I came across today in science news:

On the one hand....

Will US and China be friends in space?

The US may be at odds with China over issues such as weapons proliferation, trade practices and human rights, but this week could mark a turning point in relations between the two countries in space.

As New Scientist went to press, NASA chief Mike Griffin was in the midst of the first official visit to China by a serving head of the agency. Though Griffin has been at pains to keep expectations realistic for his... more

When man bites panda and panda bites man, there can be no victor.

BEIJING (Reuters) - An intoxicated Chinese man who tried to give a panda a hug at Beijing Zoo found himself biting it in self defense after his clumsy attempt at affection was savagely rejected, local media reported Thursday.

Zhang Xinyan, a building worker on holiday from China's central Henan province, climbed into an enclosure that held Gu Gu, a seven-year-old panda, at Beijing Zoo after the man had drunk four pints of beer during lunch at... more

The Chinese Navy is hanging out in the exotic port of San Diego:

For the Chinese navy, a similar tone was presented by the banners displayed on the side of Qingdao with the words “Deepen Mutual Benefit Cooperation. Advance Development Together,” written in both Chinese and English.

“We are proud to welcome our fellow sailors from China,” said Capt. Dickson Smith, Naval Base San Diego commanding officer. “We... more

China, as a general rule, likes having stable borders. The "new" China likes trading and extending economic influence. It likes buying and selling things. That's why China was willing to help things along with the U.S./North Korea talks not too long ago -- because peace is good for business.

So there are probably some rather sour-faced Party ministers in Beijing today, after hearing the news that... more