Poor air quality can affect your joints, trigger severe rheumatoid arthritis: Experts

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New Delhi, (IANS): Poor air quality may not just be choking your lungs, it can also attack joints, leading to severe rheumatoid arthritis, experts said here on Thursday.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, especially the joints, causing persistent pain, swelling, stiffness, and disability.

Traditionally linked to genetics and immune system dysfunction, RA is now increasingly being associated with environmental triggers like air pollution.

Recent studies in Europe, China, and now India suggest that exposure to PM2.5 -- the dangerous fine particulate matter that penetrates deep into the lungs -- may be linked not only to heart and lung diseases but also to autoimmune disorders like RA.

“We are observing a rise in cases of RA in patients living in polluted areas that have no family history or genetic predisposition to autoimmune disease. Pollutants induce inflammatory reactions, exacerbating joint damage and promoting disease progression,” said Dr. Uma Kumar, Head of Rheumatology at AIIMS, New Delhi.

“These toxins trigger systemic inflammation and oxidative stress, causing an overactive immune response. This is a public health emergency we can no longer ignore,” added Kumar, while speaking at the 40th Annual Conference of the Indian Rheumatology Association (IRACON 2025), at Yashobhoomi, Dwarka here.

Current estimates suggest that RA already affects around 1 per cent of India’s adult population, but with pollution as a trigger, these numbers may spike dramatically.

Dr. Pulin Gupta, Professor and Rheumatologist at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital highlighted that the pollution-related cases of RA are more severe than the general ones.

“What we are witnessing is not just more RA cases but also more severe ones. Patients exposed to higher concentrations of PM2.5 are presenting with aggressive disease that progresses faster. Reduced green spaces in urban areas are worsening the problem, depriving residents of protective environmental buffers,” Gupta said.

Studies have shown strong associations between exposure to PM2.5, nitrogen oxides, and ozone, with increased risk of RA and worsening symptoms, especially in genetically susceptible individuals. Living near busy roads, which means constant traffic-related pollution, has also been linked to higher RA risk.

The experts also pointed out that autoimmune diseases like RA are lifelong conditions with no permanent cure, only management.The health experts stressed the urgent need for multidisciplinary action: stricter pollution control, increased public awareness, and early screening of at-risk populations, and lifestyle changes to reduce exposure. They also called for expansion of urban green cover, cleaner transport solutions, and stronger national policies linking air quality to health. Poor air quality can affect your joints, trigger severe rheumatoid arthritis: Experts | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com.

Read More........→October 10, 2025

World's Most 15 Greatest Living Rocks

1. Great Sphinx of Giza (Egypt): A reclining lion with a human head that stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile, near modern-day Cairo, is the largest monolith statue in the world. Standing 73.5 m (241 ft) long, 6 m (20 ft) wide, and 20 m (65 ft) high, the Great Sphinx of Giza is also the oldest known monumental sculpture, and is commonly believed to have been built by ancient Egyptians in the third millennium BCE. The Great Sphinx faces due east and houses a small temple between its paws.

 2. Petra (Jordan): Famously described as "a rose-red city half as old as time" by John William Burgon, UNESCO has described Petra as one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage. In 1985, Petrawas designated a World Heritage Site, and recently designated as one of the “new wonders” of the world. Located in Arabah, Ma'an Governorate, Jordan, lying on the slope of Mount Hor in a basin among the mountains, the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba is renowned for its rock-cut architecture. The Nabateans constructed it as their capital city around 100 BCE, after their decline, the site remained unknown to the Western world until 1812, when it was introduced to the West by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. The picturesque site was featured in various films such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger.

 3. Mount Rushmore (USA): A famous monumental granite sculpture created by Gutzon Borglum, Mount Rushmore is located within the United States Presidential Memorial that represents the first 150 years of the history of the United States of America with 60-foot (18 m) sculptures of the heads of former United States presidents (left to right): George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The entire memorial covers 1,278.45 acres (5.17 km2) and is 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level. The memorial attracts approximately two million people annually.

 4. Leshan Giant Buddha (China):  Built during the Tang Dynasty, the Leshan Giant Buddha is carved out of a cliff face that lies at the confluence of the Minjiang, Dadu and Qingyi rivers in the southern part of Sichuan province in China, near the city of Leshan. The sculpture, which is seventy one meters (about 230 hundred feet) tall dwarfs the tourists that flock to see it. It is positioned so that it faces Mount Emei and stands at the meeting place of three rivers. Although the Government of China has promised a restoration program, the statue has suffered from the effects of pollution, particularly over the last twenty years. Fortunately, the statue was not damaged in the Sichuan earthquake of 2008. 5. Mahabalipuram Shore Temple (India): Built on the shores of the Bay of Bengal in Mahabalipuram (India) in the early 8th century by the Pallava King Rajasimha. The shore temple

actually consists of 2 back to back shrines, one facing the east (the Bay), and the smaller one facing west. It stands on the edge of the Bay of Bengal. At high tide, the waves sweep into its compounds. The walls and their sculptures have been battered and eroded by the winds and waves for thirteen hundred years. Yet they stand intact. Mahabalipuram was a flourishing sea port in the times of Periplus and Ptolemy (140 AD). There is an old legend here that originally there were seven temples; of these, six have been swallowed by the sea and only one temple -the Shore Temple- remained. There are evidences of submerged structures under the waves and sporadic excavations are going on, but it is too early to say whether there really was a glorious city and six more temples which now lie submerged under the waves off the coast off Mahabalipuram.

6. Abu Simbel (Egypt): A set of two temples near the border of Egypt with Sudan, Abu Simbel was constructed for the pharaoh Ramesses II who reigned for 67 years during the 13th century BC (19th Dynasty). The temples were cut from the rock and shifted to higher ground in the 1960s as the waters of Lake Nasser began to rise following completion of the Aswan High Dam.The Great Temple is dedicated to Ramesses II and a statue of him is seated with three other gods within the innermost part of the rock-cut temple (the sanctuary). The temple's facade is dominated by four enormous seated statues of the Pharaoh (each over 20 metres or 67 feet high), although one has been damaged since ancient times. The Small Temple was probably completed ahead of the Great Temple and is dedicated to Ramesses' favorite wife, Nefertari. At the entrance stand six 10-metre-high (33 feet) rock-cut statues - two of Ramesses and one of Nefertari on either side of the doorway. 

7. Dazu Rock Carvings (China): The Dazu rock carvings in Chongqing, China are hewn from the cliffside, featuring more than 5,000 statues and over 100,000 Chinese characters of inscriptions or epigraphs. It is reputed as 'the county of rock carving' and it’s located at the southeast of Sichuan province. The Dazu Rock Carvings was built from 650 in the Tang Dynasty and continued to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911). Among the rock carvings, there are more than 5,000 statues and over 100,000 Chinese characters of inscriptions and epigraphs. 8. Church of St. George (Ethiopia): The Church of St. George is a monolithic church in Lalibela, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. It is the most well known and last built (early thirteenth century) of the eleven churches in the Lalibela area, and has been referred to as the "Eighth

Wonder of the World". The dimensions of the complex are 25 meters by 25 meters by 30 meters, and there is a small baptismal pool outside the church, which stands in an artificial trench. According to Ethiopian cultural history, Bete Giyorgis was built after King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela of the Zagwe dynasty had a vision in which he was instructed to construct the church; Saint George and God have both been referred to as the one who gave him the instructions.As of 2006, Lalibela is still a pilgrimage site for members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church; the church itself is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela".

9. Borobudor (Indonesia): Officially, Borobudur is a ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist monument in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. Actually,  it is much older than that. The monument complex comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 statues of Rama citizens. Each wall has a story that relates to the stories of the birth of Buddha and other Buddha figures. A main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Rama citizens seated inside perforated stupa.

10. Cappadocia (Turkey): Cappadocia lies in the mid-western part of Turkey. Anextraordinary landscape formed millions of years ago by the combined work of lava spitting volcanoes, wind and water, there is culture too: the inhabitants of the area hew rooms, chapels, even whole villages out of the rocks. Religious Byzantine paintings can be found on the walls of the churches and monasteries.

11. Bingling Temple (China): The Bingling Temple is a series of grottoes filled with Buddhist sculpture carved into natural caves and caverns in a canyon along the Yellow River. It lies just north of where the Yellow River empties into the Liujiaxia Reservoir created by the Liujiaxia Dam at Yongjing, about 80km from Lanzhou. The caves were a work in progress for more than a millennium. The first grotto was begun around 420 CE at the end of the Western Jin Dynasty. Work continued and more grottoes were added during several dynasties. The style of each grottoe can easily be connected to the typical artwork from its corresponding dynasty. The Bingling Temple is both stylistically and geographically a midpoint between the monumental Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan and the Buddhist Grottoes of central China, Yungang Grottoes near Datong and Longmen Grottoes near Luoyang. Over the centuries, earthquakes, erosion, and looters have damaged or destroyed many of the caves and the artistic treasures within. Altogether there are

12. Hypogeum of Hal-Saflieni (Malta) 183 caves, 694 stone statues, and 82 clay sculptures that remain. Each cave is like a miniature temple filled with Buddhist imagery. The sculptures, carvings, and frescoes that remain are outstanding examples of Buddhist artwork and draw visitors from around the world. The Hypogeum in Hal-Saflieni, Paola, Malta, is a subterranean structure dating to the Saflieni phase in Maltese prehistory. Thought to be originally a sanctuary, it became a necropolis in prehistoric times. It is the only prehistoric underground temple in the world. The Hypogeum was depicted on a 2 cents 5 mils stamp issued in the Maltese Islands in 1980 to commemorate the acceptance by UNESCO of this unique structure in the World Heritage Site list. It was closed to visitors between 1992 and 1996 for restoration works; since it reopened only 80 people per day are allowed entry and there can be a 2-3 weeks wait to get a ticket. It was discovered by accident in 1902 when workers cutting cisterns for a new housing development broke through its roof. The workers tried to hide the temple at first, but eventually it was found. The study of the structure was first entrusted to Father Manuel Magri of the Society of Jesus, who directed the excavations on behalf of the Museums Committee.

13. Buddhas of Bamiyan (Afghanistan) The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km (143 miles) northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters (8,202 ft). Built during the sixth century, the statues represented the classic blended style of Indo-Greek art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modeled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. They were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban, on orders from leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, after the Taliban government declared that they were "idols" (which are forbidden under Sharia law). International opinion strongly condemned the destruction of the Buddhas, which was viewed as an example of the intolerance of the Taliban and of fundamentalist Islam. Japan and Switzerland, among others, have pledged support for the rebuilding of the statues.

14. Mada'in Saleh (Saudi Arabia): Located in northern Hejaz (modern day Saudi Arabia), Mada'in Saleh --also called Al-Hijr ("rocky place")-- is an ancient city that was inhabited by Thamudis and Nabateans and was then known as Hegra. Some of the inscriptions found in the area date back to the 2nd millennium BC. However, all the remaining architectural elements are dated to the period of the Thamudi, Lihyan and Nabatean civilizations, between the 1st millennium BC and the second century AD. Mada'in Saleh is not only Saudi Arabia's most spectacular touristic site; it is also one of the greatest historic sites in the world. The rock tombs in this early morning light are of such an extraordinary beauty, consisting of different shapes and sizes, that gives Mada'in Salih a truly charming feeling. This historic sister city, Petra the former capital of Nabataean Kingdom, is located only 150 miles away to the north across the border with Jordan.

15. Naqsh-e Rustam (Iran): Naqsh-e Rostam is a site believed by archaeologists to have been a cemetery for Persepolis, where Achaemenid, Parthian and Sassanid royalty were laid to rest. Located about 3-4 kilometers northwest of Persepolis in Iran's Fars province, the site contains funerary related works belonging to the Elamite (second millennium BCE), Achaemenid (550-330 BCE) and Sassanid (226-651 CE) eras. The only surviving monument from the pre-Achaemenid period is a relief which was almost completely obliterated when the court scene of Bahram II (276-293 CE) was carved over it. The Naqsh-e Rostam structures have been built from white and grey Limestone without the use of mortar. It is believed that Persians were the first to use colors to decorate stone carvings. A particularly striking feature of Naqsh-e Rostam stone carvings is the use of color; many of the site's inscriptions and carvings are covered with Lapis lazuli. Evidence shows that the carving of Darius had a lazuline beard and mustache, black hair and eyeliner, red eyes, lips and shoes as well as colorful robes, although the passage of time has left the colors at Naqsh-e Rostam unstable. World Amazing Information | Funny Pictures | Interesting Facts: World's Most 15 Greatest Living Rocks

Read More........→April 24, 2025

The New 7 Wonders of the World

The Pyramid at Chichén Itzá (before 800 A.D.) Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

MEXICO: Chichén Itzá, the most famous Mayan temple city, served as the political and economic center of the Mayan civilization. Its various structures - the pyramid of Kukulkan, the Temple of Chac Mool, the Hall of the Thousand Pillars, and the Playing Field of the Prisoners – can still be seen today and are demonstrative of an extraordinary commitment to architectural space and composition. The pyramid itself was the last, and arguably the greatest, of all Mayan temples.

Christ Redeemer (1931) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

BRAZIL: This statue of Jesus stands some 38 meters tall, atop the Corcovado mountain overlooking Rio de Janeiro. Designed by Brazilian Heitor da Silva Costa and created by French sculptor Paul Landowski, it is one of the world’s best-known monuments. The statue took five years to construct and was inaugurated on October 12, 1931. It has become a symbol of the city and of the warmth of the Brazilian people, who receive visitors with open arms.

The Roman Colosseum (70 - 82 A.D.) Rome, Italy

ITALY: This great amphitheater in the centre of Rome was built to give favors to successful legionnaires and to celebrate the glory of the Roman Empire. Its design concept still stands to this very day, and virtually every modern sports stadium some 2,000 years later still bears the irresistible imprint of the Colosseum's original design. Today, through films and history books, we are even more aware of the cruel fights and games that took place in this arena, all for the joy of the spectators.

The Taj Mahal (1630 A.D.) Agra, India

INDIA: This immense mausoleum was built on the orders of Shah Jahan, the fifth Muslim Mogul emperor, to honor the memory of his beloved late wife. Built out of white marble and standing in formally laid-out walled gardens, the Taj Mahal is regarded as the most perfect jewel of Muslim art in India. The emperor was consequently jailed and, it is said, could then only see the Taj Mahal out of his small cell window.

The Great Wall of China (220 B.C and 1368 - 1644 A.D.) China

CHINA: The Great Wall of China was built to link existing fortifications into a united defense system and better keep invading Mongol tribes out of China. It is the largest man-made monument ever to have been built and it is disputed that it is the only one visible from space. Many thousands of people must have given their lives to build this colossal construction.

Petra (9 B.C. - 40 A.D.), Jordan

JORDAN: On the edge of the Arabian Desert, Petra was the glittering capital of the Nabataean empire of King Aretas IV (9 B.C. to 40 A.D.). Masters of water technology, the Nabataeans provided their city with great tunnel constructions and water chambers. A theater, modelled on Greek-Roman prototypes, had space for an audience of 4,000. Today, the Palace Tombs of Petra, with the 42-meter-high Hellenistic temple facade on the El-Deir Monastery, are impressive examples of Middle Eastern culture.

Machu Picchu (1460-1470), Peru

PERU: In the 15th century, the Incan Emperor Pachacútec built a city in the clouds on the mountain known as Machu Picchu ("old mountain"). This extraordinary settlement lies halfway up the Andes Plateau, deep in the Amazon jungle and above the Urubamba River. It was probably abandoned by the Incas because of a smallpox outbreak and, after the Spanish defeated the Incan Empire, the city remained 'lost' for over three centuries. It was rediscovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911. Source: Article

Read More........→January 23, 2025

Six Lifestyle Choices to Slow Memory Decline Identified in 10-Year Study of Aging

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A 10-year study of Chinese adults over the age of 60, showed that a healthy lifestyle, in particular a nutritious diet, is associated with the slowing of memory decline in older people.

The major new research published in The BMJ, showed that the benefits of healthy living were even seen in those with a gene making them genetically susceptible to Alzheimer’s disease.

Carriers of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene—the strongest known risk factor for Alzheimer’s and related dementia—saw a slowing in memory loss associated with healthy habits, such as refraining from alcohol.

The Chinese research team said that memory continuously declines as people age, but evidence from existing studies was insufficient to assess the effect of a healthy lifestyle on memory in later life.

Given the many possible causes of memory decline, they explained that a combination of healthy behaviors might be needed for the best effect.

A combination of these 6 healthy habits is best

The researchers analyzed data from 29,000 adults over 60 with normal cognitive function. The group had an average age of 72 and almost half were women.

At the start of the study in 2009, memory function was measured using an Auditory Verbal Learning test (AVLT) and participants were tested for the APOE gene; 20 percent were found to be carriers. Follow-up assessments were then conducted in 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2019.

A healthy lifestyle score combining six factors—diet, regular exercise, active social contact, cognitive activity (such as reading and writing), non-smoking, and never drinking alcohol—was then calculated.

Based on their score, ranging from zero to six, participants were put into favorable (four to six healthy factors), average (two or three), or unfavorable (one or zero) lifestyle groups—and separated into APOE carrier and non-carrier groups.

After taking into account other health, economic and social factors, the researchers found that each individual healthy behavior was associated with a slower than average decline in memory over 10 years.

“A healthy diet had the strongest effect on slowing memory decline, followed by cognitive activity and then physical exercise,” said study lead author Professor Jianping Jia.

“Compared with the group that had unfavorable lifestyles, memory decline in the favorable lifestyle group was 0.28 points slower over 10 years based on a standardized score of the AVLT, and memory decline in the average lifestyle group was 0.16 points slower.

“Participants with the APOE gene with favorable and average lifestyles also experienced a slower rate of memory decline than those with an unfavorable lifestyle.

“What’s more, those with favorable and average lifestyles were almost 90 percent and almost 30 percent less likely to develop dementia or mild cognitive impairment relative to those with an unfavorable lifestyle—and the APOE group had similar results.”

He said the research was observational so can’t establish cause, but it was a large study with a long follow-up period, allowing for evaluation of individual lifestyle factors on memory function over time.

The researchers say their results provide “strong evidence” that sticking to a healthy lifestyle with a combination of positive behaviors is associated with a slower rate of memory decline, even for people who are genetically susceptible to memory decline.Six Lifestyle Choices to Slow Memory Decline Identified in 10-Year Study of Aging

Read More........→May 21, 2024

Breast milk may protect babies from Covid-19: Study

A new study has suggested that breast milk may help protect babies from being infected by the novel coronavirus or Covid-19.

According to a report of Daily Mail, researchers at a lab in China found that mother’s milk prevented the pathogen from infecting and replicating in cells, even if the child does not have antibodies.

What’s more – it was shown to be even more effective than the milk of other animals such as goats and cows.

The team, from Beijing University of Chemical Technology, says the findings support the recommendation from the World Health Organization (WHO) that “mothers with suspected or confirmed Covid-19 be encouraged to continue breastfeeding.”

For the study, published on pre-peer review site biorxiv.org, the team exposed human lung and gut cells to SARS-CoV-2.

Healthy cells were mixed into human breast milk. Then the milk was washed off and the cells were exposed to the virus. The virus did not bind to or enter most of the cells. Additionally, if it did enter cells, the virus was not able to make copies of itself. 

This suggests breast milk can inhibit the coronavirus as it does other viruses such as norovirus and bacteria.

“SARS-CoV-2 could infect cells and the infection could be inhibited by breastmilk (2 mg/ml), which was reported to have anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity,” the authors wrote.

In a previous study, the same research team found breast milk prevented coronavirus infection in animal kidney cells.

They determined the whey protein, which has anti-inflammatory properties, was responsible for inactivating the virus rather than other proteins such as lactoferrin.

“Whey protein from human breastmilk effectively inhibited...SARS-CoV-2...by blocking viral attachment, entry and even post-entry viral replication,” they wrote.

This was also true when milk was tested from those of other animals including cows and goats. However, the whey from animals suppressed the viral strains by approximately 70 percent compared to the nearly 100 percent of human whey.

A national study is currently being launched by Washington State University to determine whether or not babies can contract Covid-19 from breastfeeding.

Limited research has been conducted on this topic up to this point, but the results have been mixed. Some studies have found no virus in human milk while others have detected viral RNA in just certain milk samples.

For example, at least two studies, one from China and another from the US, found no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 in human breastmilk.

But a report from the WHO found that, of 46 breast milk samples from mothers with the virus, 43 came back negative while three tested positive for particles.

However, the team says that even if viral genetic material is found in breastmilk, it doesn’t mean it’s infectious or can be spread to babies. – Daily Mail Source: https://www.daily-bangladesh.com/

Read More........→September 30, 2020

Chaozhou international embroidery art biennial opens

[Photo by Jiang Dong/China Daily]

"2018 Chaozhou International Embroidery Art Biennale" was launched in Chaozhou, South China's Guangdong province, on December 20. It was the first national embroidery art biennale in China and the first international embroidery art biennale in the world as well. Source: China.org.cn

Read More........→December 28, 2018

China Design Museum launches first exhibitions in Hangzhou

Visitors view a furniture exhibition at the China Design Museum in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, April 8, 2018. Designed by Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza, the China Design Museum launched its first exhibitions when it was opened in Hangzhou on Sunday. With a floor area of 16,800 square meters, the museum is dedicated to the presentation and research of modern and contemporary designs while stimulating home-grown innovations. (Xinhua/Weng Xinyang) Source: China.org.cn

Read More........→April 09, 2018

Tiffany Tang's new drama to meet audience

The TV still shows actress Tiffany Tang in the Drama series, Princess Weiyang, which will debut on Nov 11, 2016.[Photo provided to CRI]

A new ancient Chinese costume drama, starring popular actress Tiffany Tang, is ready to hit small screens on Beijing Satellite TV starting on Friday.

Entitled 'The Princess Weiyang,' the TV drama aims to take audiences back 1500 years, by portraying the struggles and conflicts within the imperial family during the Northern Wei Dynasty.

The 33-year-old actress elaborates on her experience of playing the titular role in the series.

"She has an insightful mind. She cares about the long-term interest and knows how to set her ambitious goals step by step. Later several incidents happened but all under her control. I wear a total of 90 ancient costumes, which is unprecedented in all of my acting experiences in the TV drama series."

The story develops as the kind-hearted princess accidentally enters her enemy's territory, and centers on how she eventually utilizes her wisdom to become a powerful woman after suffering many hardships.

Actor Luo Jin, Vaness Wu, and Golden Bell award-winning Hong Kong actress Leanne Liu also star in this TV drama.

The 54-episode drama is inspired by the hit online novel with the same name. Source: China.org.cn

Read More........→November 14, 2016

Historical dance drama wows Beijing

Dance actor Tang Shiyi plays Wang Zhaojun in the drama. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/ China Daily]

Historical dance drama Zhaojun Goes Beyond the Great Wall as a Bride was performed on stage by the China Opera and Dance-Drama Theatre in Beijing on June 9. It tells the story of Wang Zhaojun (BC52-15) from the Han Dynasty (BC202-AD220), one of "four beauties" in ancient China, who married Huns for Han's national benefits. Source: china.org.cn

Read More........→June 14, 2016

Tai chi might help relieve knee joint pain

Tai chi is a Chinese meditation practice that combines deep breathing and slow, fluid movements. (Photo: @ https://pixabay.com/ under Creative Commons CC0)

Tai chi may offer some relief to patients without the potential cost of attending physical therapy or side effects of medications. Tai chi may work as well as traditional physical therapy for easing pain in people with knee osteoarthritis, a small study suggests.Knee osteoarthritis, a leading cause of pain and disability in older adults, occurs when flexible tissue at the ends of bones wears down. While it can’t be cured, physical therapy or anti-inflammatory medications are often prescribed to relieve pain and improve mobility. To see if tai chi – a Chinese meditation practice that combines deep breathing and slow, fluid movements – might be a good alternative to physical therapy, researchers randomly assigned about 200 people with knee osteoarthritis to try one of these options for three months. Both groups experienced similar reductions in pain at the end of the three months, and after a year, the study found. People in the tai chi group, however, reported greater improvements in wellbeing and mental health than the participants assigned to physical therapy. The findings suggest that the growing number of U.S. patients practicing tai chi to address musculoskeletal and mental health issues are on to something, said lead study author Dr. Chenchen Wang, director of the Center for Complimentary and Integrative Medicine at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. “Tai chi is a multicomponent traditional Chinese mind-body practice that may systematically promote health . . . by integrating physical, psychosocial, emotional, spiritual and behavioral elements,” Wang said by email. In the study, Wang and colleagues assigned about half of the participants to attend hour-long tai chi classes twice a week for 12 weeks. The others got six weeks of 30-minute physical therapy sessions twice a week and were then told to continue with exercises at home at least four times a week for another six weeks. Participants were 60 years old on average. They were typically overweight or obese and had been suffering from knee osteoarthritis for around eight years. While neither group had perfect attendance, 79 percent of the people in tai chi and 78 percent of patients in physical therapy went to at least half of the scheduled sessions, researchers report in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Because patients knew what treatment they received, it’s possible that preconceived notions about the potential benefits of tai chi or physical therapy may have influenced the changes in symptoms that participants reported, the authors note. The study was also done at a single academic medical center, making it hard to say whether the results would be similar in other settings. Even so, the findings suggest that tai chi may offer some relief to patients without the potential cost of attending physical therapy or side effects of medications, said Romy Lauche of the Australian Research Center in Complimentary and Integrative Medicine at the University of Technology Sydney. “Finding effective and safe interventions is a top priority,” Lauche, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email. “Any kind of exercise including tai chi may benefit patients by improving functional disability, and they also impact coping skills,” Lauche added. The controlled movements that are a hallmark of tai chi can be good for joints because they allow fluid in the joints to move in and out of cartilage, improving flexibility, noted Jean-Michel Brismee, a researcher in physical therapy and rehabilitation at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock. “Both tai chi and physical therapy should have the goal to educate patients in doing the healing movements at home daily,” Brismee, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.Source: The Asian Age

Read More........→May 20, 2016

Shakespeare's historical play to stage in China

A stage scene captured from the Henry V play. [Photo: wzaobao.com] 

It has been announced that the Royal Shakespeare Company is planning to bring Henry V to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong in February next year. It'll be the first time the RSC has brought the history play to China and has already played to rave reviews in London. As one of the most famous and influential Shakespearean history plays, Henry V tells the story of the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Years' War. The introduction to Chinese theatres is part of the troupe's "King & Country" tour to China, which will also see such acclaimed productions of Shakespeare's as Henry IV Part I and Part II. Furthermore, a Chinese version of Henry V is to be staged in Shanghai in October next year. It's being directed by the associate director of the English version Owen Horsley. The Royal Shakespeare Company is also working with its Chinese partners on two other projects, namely "The Shakespeare Folio Project" and "The Chinese Classics Project," the latter aiming to translate Chinese classics into English. Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation. Source: China.org.cn

Read More........→December 13, 2015

An accidental style

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Han Fang's Naughty Children series is popular among collectors. His works are characterized by an exaggerated style which makes his clay characters comic, almost grotesque. [China Daily]

China: The Shandong artist's works are characterized by an exaggerated style which makes his clay characters comic, almost grotesque. For this reason, his works are often described as "caricature-style" clay sculptures. They celebrate individual character and physical features, and his male figures boast large feet, hands and lips while his female figures are buxom images with plump breasts and barrel hips. It was not always that way. Han, 40, says the crucial change came in 2003. "I was working on the finishing touches to the head of a clay figure. I had almost completed it when it slipped and fell from my hands. It struck the ground and I thought it would be out of shape." Han picked it up, and to his surprise, he saw that the facial features were still intact, but they had become exaggerated - and in a way that he liked very much. It was exactly what he had been looking for. That little bit of serendipity changed his life. In 2000, Han was still a businessman in Jinan, the Shandong capital. He was running an advertising agency with an annual turnover of about 300,000 yuan ($47,640). But he shifted his career path after a trip to Henan province in 2002 and saw the porcelain products on sale in Yuzhou. A week later, he returned home with a collection of porcelain pieces and a 50,000-yuan gas kiln. He was determined to turn potter, a decision that appalled his family. "My family strongly opposed my idea of starting a clay sculpture workshop. They thought I knew nothing about the art," Han says. In spite of the opposition, Han went ahead and began making copies of antique porcelain. For several months, his workshop did not do well and Han had to offset losses by diverting the profits of his advertising agency. It got even worse in the next year as the SARS epidemic affected China and his pottery workshop lost workers. His advertising business took a hit as well. Han had to choose which he wanted to keep and he chose his workshop. He spent almost three weeks at home mulling over why his sculptures were not working. That was when that happy accident happened. "I could not describe how delighted I was. At that moment, I finally understood the nature of the clay," he says. Source: China.org.cn

Read More........→December 11, 2015

'Dead' baby wakes up before cremation

A Chinese baby boy who had been declared dead was saved from being cremated alive when he started crying at a funeral parlour, media reported Thursday. The parents of the critically-ill boy, who was less than one month old, had agreed to end his medical treatment at Anhui Provincial Children's Hospital in eastern China, hospital sources told Xinhua state news agency. A death certificate was issued before the baby was sent to a funeral parlour in Hefei, the provincial capital -- only for staff there to be alerted by crying on Wednesday. It was unclear how long he had been at the funeral parlour, or when his cremation had been due. The baby was immediately sent back to the hospital, several news outlets including the Beijing News reported on Thursday. "Because the baby still had life signs, we continued to give him transfusion to maintain his life for humanitarian reasons," a hospital staff member told Xinhua. The baby was born with a "congenital respiratory system malformation", the report added. The baby was receiving treatment at the hospital late Wednesday, reports said. A doctor was suspended, a nursing worker laid off and an investigation launched into the incident, the hospital said, according to Xinhua. Source: Hindustan Times

Read More........→November 26, 2014

China's hunger for art in spotlight

People stand in front of the art of Chinese artist Chen Haiyan during the 2014 Armory Show in New York, the United States, March 5, 2014. The 2014 Armory Show, one of the world's top art events featuring the most influential artworks of the 20th and 21st centuries, kicked off on Wednesday. [Photo/Xinhua] 

When Jerome Cohen walked into a lecture hall at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing in 1979, he had not anticipated the sight before him. There were several hundred people gathered staring at slides of Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock and other artists. The 83-year-old professor of law at New York University was amazed. "It was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had," he says today. "This was the first talk anybody had given about American art and the first talk given by an American." The episode revealed the hunger of the Chinese for art and their eagerness to learn about Western contemporary art. Cohen's sentiments on the keen interest in, and shifting landscape of, contemporary art in China was shared by more than 40 artists, journalists, scholars and curators around the world at a two-day symposium in New York City titled Armory Focus: China, a program of conversations aimed at elaborating on and clarifying the state of contemporary art in China. "The (Chinese) government stated that this is the golden age for our creative community," says Adrian Cheng, founder and chairman of K11 Art Foundation. "Two billion yuan of funding has been set up and is being overseen by the Party's central committee to subsidize the production of creative artwork. There is also funding to support museum-building." The government's initiative to increase museums in China has prompted a boom in exhibition space in recent years. "There are nearly 4,000 museums in China compared with 25 museums in 1945," says Fiammetta Rocco, culture editor of The Economist. Jeffrey Johnson, founder of China Megacities Lab at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at Columbia University, says: "That might be only a quarter of the number of museums in the United States, but you have to place it in context to understand the magnitude of what is happening in China." Last year, 451 new museums opened in China, according to the China Museum Association. There were roughly 30 museums built each year during the boom of new museums in the United States in the early 1990s. The Western artistic world has developed as an ecology over hundreds of years, in terms of how the scholarship, institutions, museums, magazines, critics, curators and nonprofits relate to the market and how they fit into one another, says Colin Chinnery, artistic director of Wuhan Art Terminus. "But in China, art has become another investment vehicle after real estate investment. The investment side of art grew much faster than the scholarship and the critics-the artistic side. Whereas one side grows dramatically, growth of the other side takes time, which leads to the imbalance of the Chinese art system," he says. "One thing that often strikes me is the incredible curiosity of Chinese people to learn, from the artists to the ordinary people. That's how contemporary art evolved," says Karen Smith, director of OCT Contemporary Art Terminal in Xi'an. "What makes me most hopeful is the audiences of the future are today's young people," she says. Source: China.org.cn

Read More........→May 28, 2014

Dreaming of the Tiger Spring

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Dreaming of the Tiger Spring is a spring and scenic, as well as historic, location in southwestern Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China. The water from the spring itself seeps out from quartzite and is regarded as among the finest in China. The water is popular for brewing teas, such as the local specialty, Longjing tea. Tiger spring is also the burial place of monk Jigong. The spring itself and its statues of tigers and a dreaming monk. Source: en.wikipedia.org/, Image: https://upload.wikimedia.org,

Read More........→May 24, 2014

China's 'smog art' movement

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On Feb 25, Beijing, several artists pray for a blue sky before the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest in Temple of Heaven Park. This type of action art calls attention to air pollution.[Photo/China.com] 

Air quality has become a big topic in recent years. Tens of millions of people across China have been forced to cope with high levels of PM2.5- particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter that can penetrate the lungs and harm the respiratory, cardiovascular, cerebral vascular and nervous systems. Air pollution is not just about sore throats, but really more of a matter of life or death. The harmful effects that smog can have on the human body are one of the top concerns among those who reside in the country’s bigger cities. As one result of the smog, Chinese artists have been creating various ways to voice their concern over air pollution through creative means such as action art, photography, painting, installations, film and dance. Source: China.org.cn

Read More........→April 03, 2014

Five-year-old Chinese boy becomes youngest pilot

A five-year-old boy from China has become the Guinness world record holder for the youngest person to pilot a plane. He Yide, nicknamed Duoduo, made a 35-minute flight in an ultralight aircraft across the Beijing Wildlife Park on August 31, Chinese media reported Tuesday. Zhang Yonghui, the person in charge of the aviation club where Duoduo learned flying, said the distance of the flight was 30 km. He Liesheng, the boy's father, said he wanted his son to become braver by flying a plane and also develop his curiosity and desire to explore, according to the Global Times. The boy earlier sparked a fury in 2012 when a video of his running half naked in the snow went viral on the internet. The video was shot by his
family in New York at minus 13 degrees Celsius. The boy has also sailed a yacht in an international competition and climbed Mount Fuji in Japan during a rainstorm, the media reports said. Duoduo's father was nicknamed "Eagle Dad" because of his strict parenting methods and has prompted debates over his style of parenting. "He's education style is worth learning, but not every child is suitable for it," the Global Times quoted Gu Li, the director of a learning research centre in Nanjing, as saying. Sun Yunxiao, deputy director of the China Youth and Children Research Centre, said if the boy had encountered problems, it could have impacted his entire life. "We should not force children to do what they are not able to do. Children can benefit more from playing with toys or mud than flying a plane," he said. Source: Article

Read More........→March 21, 2014

Beautiful Places To Visit In China

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(1) Huangshan Mountains: is a mountain range in southern Anhui province in eastern China. The range is composed of material that was uplifted from an ancient sea during the Mesozoic era, 100 million years ago. The mountains themselves were carved by glaciers during the Quaternary. Vegetation on the range is thickest below 1,100 meters (3,600 ft), with trees growing up to the treeline at 1,800 meters (5,900 ft). The area is well known for its scenery, sunsets, peculiarly shaped granite peaks, Huangshan Pine trees, and views of the clouds from above. Huangshan is a frequent subject of traditional Chinese paintings and literature, as well as modern photography. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of China's major tourist destinations.

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(2) Great Wall of China: it is a series of fortifications made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials, generally built along an east-to-west line across the historical northern borders of China in part to protect the Chinese Empire or its prototypical states against intrusions by various nomadic groups or military incursions by various warlike peoples or forces. Several walls were being built as early as the 7th century BC; these, later joined together and made bigger and stronger, are now collectively referred to as the Great Wall. Especially famous is the wall built between 220–206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. Little of that wall remains. Since then, the Great Wall has on and off been rebuilt, maintained, and enhanced; the majority of the existing wall are from the Ming Dynasty. Other purposes of the Great Wall have included border controls, allowing the imposition of duties on goods transported along the Silk Road, regulation or encouragement of trade and the control of immigration and emigration. Furthermore, the defensive characteristics of the Great Wall were enhanced by the construction of watch towers, troop barracks, garrison stations, signaling capabilities through the means of smoke or fire, and the fact that the path of the Great Wall also served as a transportation corridor. The main Great Wall line stretches from Shanhaiguan in the east, to Lop Lake in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. A comprehensive archaeological survey, using advanced technologies, has concluded that the Ming walls measure 8,850 km (5,500 mi). This is made up of 6,259 km (3,889 mi) sections of actual wall, 359 km (223 mi) of trenches and 2,232 km (1,387 mi) of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers. Another archaeological survey found that the entire wall with all of its branches measure out to be 21,196 km (13,171 mi).

(3) Hạ Long Bay: It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a popular travel destination, located in Quảng Ninh Province, Vietnam. Administratively, the bay belongs to Hạ Long City, Cẩm Phả town, and part of Vân Đồn District. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes. Hạ Long Bay is a center of a larger zone which includes Bái Tử Long bay to the northeast, and Cát Bà islands to the southwest. These larger zones share similar geological, geographical, geomorphological, climate, and cultural characters. Hạ Long Bay has an area of around 1,553 km2, including 1,960–2,000 islets, most of which are limestone. The core of the bay has an area of 334 km2with a high density of 775 islets. The limestone in this bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. The evolution of the karst in this bay has taken 20 million years under the impact of the tropical wet climate. The geo-diversity of the environment in the area has created biodiversity, including a tropical evergreen biosystem, oceanic and sea shore biosystem. Hạ Long Bay is home to 14 endemic
floral species and 60 endemic faunal species. Historical research surveys have shown the presence of prehistorical human beings in this area tens of thousands years ago. The successive ancient cultures are the Soi Nhụ culture around 18,000–7000 BC, the Cái Bèo culture 7000–5000 BC and the Hạ Long culture 5,000–3,500 years ago. Hạ Long Bay also marked important events in the history of Vietnam with many artifacts found in Bài Thơ Mout, Đầu Gỗ Cave, Bãi Cháy. 500 years ago, Nguyễn Trãi praised the beauty of Hạ Long Bay in his verse Lộ nhập Vân Đồn, in which he called it "rock wonder in the sky". In 1962, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of North Vietnam listed Hạ Long Bay in the National Relics and Landscapes publication. In 1994, the core zone of Hạ Long Bay was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site according to criterion vii, and listed for a second time according to criterion viii.

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(4) The Karakul or Karakuli ("black lake"): It is a lake located 196 km from Kashgar, Xinjiang province, China, in Akto County, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture on the Karakoram Highway, before reaching Tashkurgan, the Khunjerab Pass on the China - Pakistan border and Sost inPakistan. At an altitude of 3,600 m, it is the highest lake of the Pamir plateau, near the junction of the Pamir, Tian Shan and Kunlun mountain ranges. Surrounded by mountains which remain snow-covered throughout the year, the three highest peaks visible from the lake are the Muztagh Ata(7,546 m), Kongur Tagh (7,649 m) and Kongur Tiube (7,530 m). The lake is popular among travellers for its beautiful scenery and the clarity of its reflection in the water, whose color ranges from a dark green to azure and light blue. There are two Kirgiz settlements along the shore of Karakul lake, a small number of yurts about 1 km east of the bus drop-off point and a village with stone houses located on the western shores.

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(5) Chengde as Jehol or Rehe, is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, situated northeast of Beijing. It is best known as the site of the Mountain Resort, a vast imperial garden and palace formerly used by the Qing emperors as summer residence. The urban center had a population of approximately 450,000 as of 2009.

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(6) Hongcun is a village in Yi County county, Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, near the southwest slope of Mount Huangshan. The village is arranged in the shape of an ox with the nearby hill (Leigang Hill) interpreted as the head, and two trees standing on it as the horns. Four bridges across the Jiyin stream can be seen as the legs whilst the houses of the village form the body. Inside the “body”, the Jiyin stream represents the intestines and various lakes such as the “South Lake” (Nanhu) form the other internal organs. The architecture and carvings of the approximately 150 residences dating back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties are said to be among the best of their kind in China. One of the biggest of the residences open to visitors, Chenzhi Hall, also contains a small museum. Together with Xidi, the village became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. Scenes from the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragonwere filmed on location in Hongcun. 

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(7) Huangguoshu Waterfall, is one of the largest waterfalls in China and East Asia located on the Baishui River in Anshun,Guizhou province. It is 77.8 m (255 ft) high and 101 m (331 ft) wide. The main waterfall is 67 m (220 ft) high and 83.3 m (273 ft) wide.

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(8) The Guanyin of the South Sea of Sanya: is a 108-metre (354 ft) statue of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara (better known as Guanyin in East Asia), sited on the south coast of China's island province Hainan near the Nanshan Temple of Sanya.[1][2] The statue has three aspects; one side faces inland and the other two face the South China Sea, to represent blessing and protection by Guanyin of China and the whole world. One aspect depicts Guanyin cradling a sutra in the left hand and gesturing the Vitarka Mudra with the right, the second with her palms crossed, holding a string of prayer beads, and the third holding a lotus. This is currently the fourth tallest statue in the world (many of which are Buddhist statues) and the tallest statue of Guanyin in the world.The statue took six years to build and was enshrined on April 24, 2005, with the participation of 108 eminent monks from various Buddhist groups in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and Mainland China, and tens of thousands of pilgrims. The delegation also included monks from the Theravada and Vajrayana traditions. 

(9) Yalong Bay is a 7.5 kilometres (4.7 mi) beach located southeast of Sanya City, Hainan Province, China. It is also known as the Yalong Bay National Resort.

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(10) Inner Mongolia: Singing Sand Bay: Inner Mongolia: officially Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region or Nei Mongol Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the north of the country, bordering Mongolia and Russia. Its capital is Hohhot, and other major cities include Baotou, Chifeng, and Ordos. The Autonomous Region was established in 1947, incorporating the areas of the former Republic of China provinces of Suiyuan, Chahar, Rehe,Liaobei and Xing'an, along with the northern parts of Gansu and Ningxia. It is the third largest subdivision of China, spanning about 1,200,000 km2 (463,000 sq mi) or 12% of China's total land area. It has a population of 24,706,321 as of the 2010 census, accounting for 1.84% of Mainland China's total population. Inner Mongolia is the country's 23rd most populous province-level division. The majority of the population in the region are Han Chinese, with a substantial Mongol minority. The official languages are Chinese and Mongolian, the latter written in the Mongolian script, as opposed to the Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet used in the state of Mongolia. Courtesy: http://en.wikipedia.org/, 

Read More........→March 10, 2014

Seven 7 Star Hotels - The World’s Most Luxurious Hotels

1. Town House Galleri: First up is the seven star luxurious Town House Galleria in Milan, Italy. Located in the heart of the city, this fairly new hotel offers prestige living and a service menu that will gain you immediate entry into waiting lists that are as long as the green mile. Offering a personal butler, Bentley and only the best in food and drink, Town House Galleria will make all wishes come true while you stay in Milan. Whether you need tickets to Da Vinci’s Last Supper, get entry to the hottest restaurant in town or need a rare import, it can all be arranged for you and seemingly fast if some reports are to go by.

2. Burj Al Arab Hotel: Dubai’s seven star Burj Al Arab Hotel has long become a synonym for grandeur, class and style. Offering limousine service, private transfer for all guests via private golf cart, private butler service and just about anything else that is being associated with luxury, the Burj Al Arab Hotel is located in the premier Jumeirah Beach area of Dubai.

3. Emirates Palace Abu Dhabi:  The Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi was named the worlds finest hotel in the middle east in 2007. Featuring some out of this world indulgence, staying in this hotel would be like stepping into thousand and one night. Huge plush pillows, plasma TV, private butler service, laptops in each room, wireless Internet, private check in and much more will delight visitors to this splendid seven star hotel. There are several more planned high prestige hotels in various stages of development. Whilst some are scheduled to be completed next month other are not likely to see the light of the day till 2010.

4. Morgan Plaza Beijing: The Morgan Plaza is a super-luxury 7 star hotel under construction in Beijing, China. Although it was set to be finished last month’s, there has been no official confirmation of it completion yet but it definitely going to be completed in time for the Beijing Olympics. When completed it is rumoured to be possibly more luxurious than the Burj Al Arab and has been considered to be the official landmark of China, still in competition with the Shanghai World Financial Center. The plaza will contain two pavilions, a temple, the world’s best Japanese restaurant and a 600 meter long corridor.

5. The Centaurus Hotel Islamabad: The $350 million, 7-Star Centaurus Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan will help to put this country on the map for international travellers once the project is completed around 2010.

6. Tameer Towers Abu Dhabi: Tameer Towers in Abu Dhabi is set to complete in 2011 and will incorporate a luxurious seven star hotel.

7. The Flower of the East, Iran: Resembling a Flower as its name suggest, the luxury Persian seven-star hotel, ‘The flower of the East’ is located on Kish Island in Iran and is due to be completed by 2010. Source: Article

Read More........→December 12, 2013