WITH MY MARK Local women mark the crusty pancake they made in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on August 6. These pancakes from a special pancake workshop have been sold to many provinces and autonomous regions

Cherished Minority

China has made new advances in minority language protection, as more than 100,000 professionals and amateurs are now translating between Mandarin Chinese and minority languages.

"Compared with the past, China's minority language work has entered a new stage," said Wu Shuizi, head of the China Minority Translation Bureau, at a recent international translation congress in Shanghai.

Figures from the bureau show that the country has 37 publishing houses for minority languages. The bureau alone has published more than 2,000 such books in the past 30 years.

Wu said the country had taken various measures to ensure minority people's rights to use their own languages, including setting up associations at the central, provincial and county levels to improve their language system, especially for groups with no written languages.

Stipends to Quake Orphans

China Life Insurance (Group) Co. said on August 6 that it would allocate 600 yuan ($87.6) monthly to children who were orphaned in the May 12 earthquake, starting in December, until they reached the age of 18.

No official count of such orphans has been released, but the company said it believed the number was less than 1,000.

China Life, the nation's largest life insurer, said it would pay the stipend two days after the quake, subject to discussions with civil affairs agencies.

It said the stipend would be adjusted over time to reflect living costs and standards.

A charity fund under China Life will allocate the funds to local civil affairs authorities, which are to pay the orphans. The fund will track and supervise the aid distribution.

Great Wall Still Rules

Visitors from across the Asia-Pacific region who are likely to visit China during or after the Beijing Olympics would most like to visit the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and the Silk Road, according to a recent Visa survey.

The survey, conducted between March and April with 4,556 people from nine Asia-Pacific countries and territories, in an effort to measure their travel intentions in the future, found that 69 percent polled put the Great Wall at the top of their list of places to see, followed by the Forbidden City (43 percent). More than one third (35 percent) wanted to visit the Silk Road.

The Great Wall holds the greatest attraction for Malaysians (91 percent), followed by Australians (88 percent) and New Zealanders (87 percent), said the survey.

Confucius on Screen

Portrayed in a feature film for the first time, ancient philosopher Confucius' cinematic debut is expected to showcase the influence of Chinese culture on domestic filmmakers and boost their confidence.

Confucius, presented by the China Film Group Corp. (CFGC) and Dadi Century Ltd., is due to be shot in late November and be released around October 1, 2009.

Director Hu Mei, acclaimed for several historical TV series, vowed to depict the life and soul of Confucius using modern insight and methods.

"Confucius exists as a saint in too many people's hearts. Almost every Chinese remembers his famous sayings, but not everyone can see him as an ordinary person and imagine his daily life," said Hu.