Olympic Clock is Ticking

Capturing the moment on March 27, a visitor snaps the 500-day countdown to the Beijing Olympics on the customized clock outside the National Museum in China's capital city. A string of activities were held to celebrate the day nationwide.

Meanwhile, organizers unveiled the design of gold, silver and bronze victory medals for the Games characterized by an inlaid jade ring on the reverse side (inside). It is the first time that Olympic medals will not be purely metallic.

Spreading Chinese

More than 200 scholars specializing in studies of Chinese language and culture around the world have converged in Beijing for the first ever World Conference on Sinology in Beijng on March 26. The theme for the three-day event is the "Dialogue of Civilizations and A Harmonious World."

The conference's opening ceremony also marked the founding of China's first state center for sinology under the Beijing-based Renmin University of China.

The conference, co-sponsored by the Office of the Chinese Language Council International (also known as "Hanban" ) and Renmin University of China, aims to promote cooperation and exchange in international sinological studies as well as highlighting the value of Chinese culture in building a harmonious world.

New Panda Souvenirs

While giant pandas are one of the cutest zoo animals, they also poop a lot, leading researchers here to develop "panda paper" souvenirs from their excrement.

Pandas mainly feed on bamboo and the fibre in their stool can be turned into a pulp to make a rough paper to produce greeting cards, bookmarks, notebooks and even fridge magnets, say researchers with the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Base.

An adult panda can produce 20 kg of excrement a day. The dozens of pandas at the base produce 200 tons of stools a year. "If the stool can be used to make souvenirs, we will not only make a profit but also help the environment," said Liao Jun, a researcher at the base.