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As China steps into the new millennium, she hopes to enthrall the whole world with her unique culture, which is widely known for its dragon-shaped lanterns, Peking Opera, wushu or martial arts and even chopsticks.

With at least 5,000 years of history, China is eager to take her culture on tour overseas. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has helped the awareness of Chinese culture by granting another four World Heritage certificates to Chinese cultural sites, bringing the total of World Heritage sites in the country to 27.

China has developed her own painting styles for 10, 000 years, her own musical instruments for 8, 000 years, ceramics for 5, 000 years and poetry for 3,000 years. During the overall history of civilization, China has been repeatedly confronted with challenges from various cultures from the East and the West. In their interactions with foreign cultures, Chinese people have always absorbed the best of foreign cultures and subtly altered these outside elements to fit in with the Chinese way.

Confucianism dominated the nation for more than 2,000 years. While all through the ages, many Chinese literary giants, from ancient poets like Qu Yuan and Du Fu to modern laureates like Lu Xun and Ba Jin, have shown their utmost care and passion for society and ordinary people. With their trademark trait of tolerance, the Chinese people have embraced Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and Catholicism. They have also developed their own religion such as Taoism.

Looking inward, we see that the many ethnic groups in the country also continue to learn from each other, bringing about many flourishing advances in the cultural field. China's cultural achievements are like important spiritual links that tie the Chinese people together and are also the basis for peaceful reunification.

No single culture can dominate the whole world, but the time-honored culture of China will continue to play an active role in world culture. Chinese cultural workers are already making endeavors to bring Eastern and Western cultures into closer harmony.

While Western art focuses on representation, Eastern art stresses the power of the spirit. Well-known movie directors Zhang Yimou and Ang Lee, who was born in Taiwan, have undertaken to tell Chinese stories using the most advanced Western cinema technology.

While sticking to the traditional core of her culture, China is preparing herself to compete with other global giants in the cultural industry, which earns stunning profits.

Imbalance in the aging process. In economically developed areas the proportion of the aged population is considerably higher while in China's undeveloped areas the proportion is quite small. Compared to China's developed cities, the proportion of the aged population in undeveloped areas is quite small. Even in one city, the number of elderly tends to grow much faster in urban areas and inner suburbs than in outer suburbs.

— A rapid increase in the aged dependency ratio. According to statistics, the ratio between pensioners and the workforce is 14:100, and will rise to 24:100 in 2000 and 56:100 in 2030. In other words, in a little over three decades two workers will have to support one retiree. In 1992 payments and medical expenditures for pensioners were

67.5 billion yuan. This figure doubtlessly had increased substantially by 2000, posing an even heavier burden on the government and state-owned enterprises.

— Discordance between the aging population and economic development. In developed countries the aging of the population occurred after economic development, while China will become an aging country before it becomes a developed country. In

1970, when Japan first became an aging society, its per capita income was US $ 1,689.

When China becomes an aging society by the end of this century, per capita income will be only US$800.

— Contradiction between economic development and an aging society will pose greater difficulties to China. Nevertheless, China has to solve this problem no matter

how challenging it becomes.

Impact on Chinese Society

An aging society will have an impact in the following nine aspects:

1) Production. China's aging will also lead to the aging of the workforce. Following the rapid aging that many predict, the structure of the working population will change.

As a result, the proportion of middle-aged and older workers will increase. On the one hand, this means there will be more experienced workers, which will be good for raising productivity. On the other hand, it also means less adaptability of the workforce, which will have a negative impact on productivity in its own right.

2) A heavier burden on society. Some people believe that China's population will

age much more quickly than Japan's. After 2000 the rate will be faster than it is now. By

2040, those above age 60 will make up 28 percent of the total population, or one in four.

The number of senior citizens will grow, raising many new problems.

3) Changes in consumerism, production and the economy. Consumer demands among senior citizens are different from those of younger people. Senior citizens have special demands, such as articles to keep warm, Pharmaceuticals, medical care and home services. With the growth of the aged population, these demands will have their impact

on production, product mixes and employment trends.

4) Intelligence bank. Senior citizens are an important "intelligence bank", and have a lot to offer society. Their experiences and skills are an important factor in the "intelligence bank", especially in intellectual circles. Retirement of experienced professionals often causes a shortage of talent.

5) Scientific and technological progress. Generally speaking, young people have a greater interest in technical innovation, since they don't have preconceived ideas. The aging of the population could be unfavorable to scientific progress.

6) Politics. To meet the needs of modernization, many older people have retired from leading posts, and more and more energetic people are being promoted. This will hopefully add some vigor to Chinese society and accelerate modernization.

7) Weakening horizontal economic links. Economic development calls for the strengthening of horizontal links, but older people are less interested in moving. This will have a negative influence on horizontal, trans-regional and cross-trade economic activities.

Accelerating the service industry. With the advent of family planning and the aging of the population, a young couple may have to support four elderly people. A middle-aged couple will have to support four elderly people and raise one child- The burden on them will affect their own well-being, so it becomes imperative to develop new services to lighten the load.

9) The special needs for senior citizens will continue to increase. To meet special needs in material consumption and psychological and medical care, public facilities such

as retirement homes, hospitals, health centers and colleges for the elderly need to be developed.

Do a Better Job for Senior Citizens

An aging society is almost upon us, so the issue has to be put on the public agenda.

According to the Law on Safeguarding the Rights and Interests of Senior Citizens, we should take various measures to carry forward the fine tradition of respecting and supporting the elderly, to improve intergenerational relations and various welfare facilities for the elderly, and to make preparations for an insurance system for senior citizens, which will benefit from the joint efforts of the government, community, family and individual.

—Opportunities to experience China continue to increase

The World Tourism Organization (WTO) has forecast that by 2020 China will be the largest tourist receiving country in the world and the fourth tourism source nation. According to He Gangwei, head of the China National Tourism Administration, tourism accounts for 4.16 percent of national income at present, and by 2010 will represent 9 percent. To make China a strong tourism country, however, the rate must reach at least 15 percent.

Late Start, Quick Progress

Tourism did not really start in China until 1978. Before that the only visitors were individuals or organizations invited by the government. There were no decent hotels or restaurant for tourist, just a few simple guest houses. China, and the tourism industry with it, was virtually closed to the outside world. But in 1978 the tide changed and 760, 000 overseas tourists toured China, bringing in US $260 million in foreign exchange with them.

The tourism sector has been growing ever since. Deng Xiaoping, the instigator of China's, reform and opening policy, announced back in 1979 that "China has huge tourism potential. We should move fast to develop our tourism industry and give it the attention it deserves." Since then, many foreign-invested hotels, such as Beijing's Jianguo Hotel, have sprouted up in major cities. They introduced advanced management systems, laying the foundation for further development of the country's hotel industry. By 1988, China was receiving 4. 35 million overseas tourists and earning US $2. 24 billion in foreign exchange.,

A new stage began in 1991. Management, promotional activities and service progressed toward higher standardization. A system of establishing a theme for each year was started with Visit China '92, which helped attract 6.3 million overseas visitors and bring in US $ 3.95 billion in foreign exchange.

Between 1978 and 1997, China's tourism industry rose from 41st in world rankings to 8th. Its share of the world market went from 0.82 percent in 1990 to 2.69 percent in 1997. China is now the fifth largest tourist destination in the world.

A Wealth of Resources

A 5, 000-year cultural heritage has bequeathed China numerous attractions. The Terracotta Warriors of Xi'an, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace in Beijing, the beautiful mountains and rivers of Guilin and mysterious Tibet are well known the world over.

To better introduce the country to foreigners, the China National Tourism Administration introduced yearly tour themes in 1992.

China Mountain and River Tour '93 divided the country into five large regions, each offering an itinerary, to attract people with different interests. The program presented all of China's beautiful landscapes and major sites, including Huangshan Mountain in Anhui Province, Guilin in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Lhasa in Tibet, Huangguoshu Waterfall in Guizhou and the Changbai Mountains in Jilin.

China Heritage Tour '94 focused on ancient Chinese history and culture; and thus on the value of protecting the cultural heritage. Fourteen itineraries were drawn up allowing visitors to become familiar with important figures in Chinese history, from the great thinker Confucius to the first emperor Qinshihuang; from the Italian explorer Marco Polo to Chinese geographer Xu Xiake.

China Folklore Tour '95 aimed at introducing China's 56 ethnic groups. Tourists were encouraged to visit their regions, see their colorful dress, join in celebrating their traditional festivals and experience their way of life.

China Holiday and Resort Tour '96 promoted the 12 national holiday resorts opened since 1992 to meet the growing demand for leisure products on the international tourism market.

Visit China '97 selected the finest 16 itineraries of the previous five years, offering the best food, accommodations, travel arrangements, shopping and recreational opportunities.

China City and Country Tour '98 was designed to show how much all of China had changed since reform and opening were instituted in 1978. For example, participants got the chance to visit some villages that had grown wealthy, such as Huaxi in Jiangsu Province and Hancunhe in Beijing.

The theme for the year of 1999 is China Ecology Tour '99.

Future Prospects

The Asian financial crisis hit China's tourism sector hard. The number of tour groups decreased, visitors from Japan dropped by 20 percent, and the number of people visiting Hong Kong also fell. However, government policies designed to attract foreign investors have helped bring in business tour groups, making up for some of the loss. The occupancy rate of large hotels in Beijing is still 80 percent.

He Guangwei says that his work would be made easier by more government funds being channeled into tourism development. According to He, the most urgent task now is to educate the Chinese people and tourists on the importance of protecting cultural heritage and the natural environment.

Years ago, when I started looking for my first job, wise advisers urged, "Barbara, be enthusiastic! Enthusiasm will take you further than any amount of experience". How right they were. Enthusiastic people can turn a boring drive into an adventure, extra work into opportunity and strangers into friends.

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm," wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. It is the paste that helps you hang in there when the going gets tough. It is the inner voice that whispers, "I can do it!" when others shout, "No, you can't."

We are all born with wide-eyed, enthusiastic wonder as anyone knows who has ever seen an infant's delight at the jingle of keys or the scurrying of a beetle.

It is this childlike wonder that gives enthusiastic people such a youthful air, whatever their age.

How do you rediscover the enthusiasm of your childhood? The answer, I believe, lies in the word itself. "Enthusiasm" comes from the Greek and means "God within." And what is God within is but an abiding sense of love — proper love of self (self-acceptance) and, from that, love of others.

Enthusiastic people also love what they do, regardless of money or title or power. If we cannot do what we love as a full-time career, we can as a part-time avocation, like the head of state who paints the nun who runs marathons, the executive who handcrafts furniture.

Elizabeth Layton of Wellsville, Kan, was 68 before she began to draw. This activity ended bouts of depression that had plagued her for at least 30 years, and the quality of her work led one critic to say, "I am tempted to call Layton a genius." Elizabeth has rediscovered her enthusiasm.

We need to live each moment wholeheartedly, with all our senses — finding pleasure in the fragrance of a back-yard garden, the crayoned picture of a six-year-old, the enchanting beauty of a rainbow. It is such enthusiastic love of life that puts a sparkle in our eyes, a lilt in our steps and smoothes the wrinkles from our souls.

The well -know banker, Ellington, was at one time in his younger days the manager of a New York office. His secretary had been with him for many years, and knew his ways and habits.' She always kept a glass of water on his desk, and knew that he disliked flowers in the office. He had a habit of interrupting a letter (when she was writing it down) with a few words on other subjects which had no connection with .the letter»2 but she knew how to deal with that., She was never late, and was always willing taw beyond office hours3 when necessary. Therefore i when she left the office to 'get married, Ellington felt rather sorry for himself4.

In those days good secretaries were hard to find. Ellington rang up the office in the city which had supplied him before;5 but the woman there said that she had no one suitable. He tried save the places, but the answer was always the same. There did not seem to be any secretaries unemployed. But it was absolutely necessary for him to find someone, and at last he rang up the first office again and urged the woman to find a girl who could at least type'.

"Well," she said slowly, "there's Miss Steele.

In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth , and there was no one to till the ground ; but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground — then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the matt "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die. "

Then the Lord God said, " It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner. " So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,

"This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken. "

Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.

Looking out his living room window Frank saw a brown object fluttering on the stockade fence that separated his yard from the neighbor's. The fluttering was near the top of the fence where the flat laths took the shape of rounded arrowheads. Frank assumed the object was a leaf blown down by the Autumn breeze; it rested when the wind died, fluttered when it blew again.

But then lately Frank had been seeing things. He had quit smoking, was straining terribly to control his habit. His,daughter had encouraged him to do so.

"Daddy, it's so bad for you. It gives you heart attacks and cancer. Please don't smoke." So with his daughter living apart from him at her mother's, Frank quit as appeasement to his little child. But there was this side effect to his abstinence: what he gained in peripheral vision from the smoke cloud lifted from his retinue, he lost in clarity (no, it was not clarity) — he lost in definition among the many more objects he now as non-smoker could see.

To keep his hands busy, he went into the kitchen, did the crossword in the daily paper, made himself a snack, washed the dishes. Then he went into the bedroom, put his clothes away, made the bed, was passing through the living room to get the vacuum cleaner when he looked out the window again. There was the fluttering, more compelling, almost urgent. He pressed his face to the window, realized a new condition: the wind had died down; there was not a stir of leaves or branches. He ought to ignore it. He told himself, it was such a little thing. But after he readjusted his daughter's photo¬graph on the end table, he opened the door, stepped outside. But even closer to the object, his vision unobstructed. He could still not make out what it was. He was going to turn, go back inside, but there was something imperative about the fluttering, something that made him move forward.

He walked toward the fence, his eyes fixed on the object, but here a ray of sunshine gleamed, caught him with its brightness. He closed his eyes, saw a vision from his past. He was in the kitchen of his old house, with his ex-wife (then wife), his daughter, a tad younger, as faithfully filial as now—daddy's girl. But she was under the kitchen table, her legs pulled to her chest, sobbing uncontrollably. He was holding packed bags, his ex-wife pointing demonstrably to the door. "Get out, Frank!" But then his daughter reached out from under the table, grasped her daddy's leg. "No, daddy. Please don't go. Please, daddy." He felt his little daughter's soft hands against his leg.

He was halfway across the lawn when he noticed the object was not a leaf. It was fuller, rounder, did not have the shape or thinness of a leaf. It was a little bird, and at the fence he saw it was a spar¬row, its breast mottled brown, its throat white, bright yellow slashes above its eyes. Its spindly thinness leg was caught between laths, pinched and held there, so the sparrow could only spin.

Pollution is the price we pay for an overpopulated, over-industrialized planet. When you come to think about it, there are only four ways you can deal with rubbish: dump it, burn it, turn it into something you can use again, attempt to produce less of it. We keep trying all four methods, but the sheer volume of rubbish we produce worldwide threatens to overwhelm us.

Rubbish, however, is only part of the problem of polluting our planet. The need to pride increasing quantities of cheap food leads to a different kind of pollution. Industrialized farming produce cheap meat products: beef, pork and chicken. The use of pesticides and fertilizers product

grain and vegetables. The price we pay for cheap food may be already too high: Mad Cow Disease cattle, salmonella in chicken and eggs, and wisteria in dairy products. And if you think you'll abet and become a vegetarian, you have the choice of very expensive organically-grown vegetables or diet of pesticides every time you think you're eating fresh salads and vegetables, or just having an i glass of water!

However, there is an even more insidious kind of pollution that particularly affects urban areas and our daily lives, and that is noise. Burglar alarms going off at any time of the day or night serve only passers-by and actually assist burglars to burgle. Car alarms constantly scream at us in the street at source of profound irritation. A recent survey of the effects of noise revealed (surprisingly?) that dogs 1 incessantly in the night rated the highest form of noise pollution on a scale ranging from 1 to 7. The 20 revealed a large number of sources of noise that we really dislike. Lawn mowers whining on a summer late-night parties in apartment blocks, noisy neighbors, vehicles of all kinds, especially large trucks thundering through quiet villages, planes and helicopters flying overhead, large radios carried public places and played at maximum volume. New technology has also made its own contribution to A lot of people object to mobile phones, especially when they are used in public places like restaurants public transport. Loud conversations on mobile phones invade our thoughts or interrupt the pleasure of m< friends for a quiet chat. The noise pollution survey revealed a rather surprising and possibly amusing fashioned source of noise. It turned out to be snoring! Men were found to be the worst offenders. I revealed that 20% of men in their mid-thirties snore. This figure rises to a staggering 60% of men in sixties. Against these figures, it was found that only 5% of women snore regularly, while the rest are const woken or kept awake by their trumpeting partners. Whatever the source of noise, one thing is certain: silt it seems, has become a golden memory.

Why is it that when you study a foreign language, you never learn the little phrases that let you slip into a culture without all your foreign edges exposed? Every Chinese-language textbook starts out with the standard phrase for greeting people; but as an American, I constantly found myself tongue-tied when it came to seeing guests offal the door. An abrupt goodbye would not do, yet that was all I had ever learned from the awful books. So I would smile and nod, bowing like a Japanese and groping frantically for words that would smooth over the visitors' leaving and make them feel they would be welcome to come again. In my fluster, I often hid behind (he skirts of my Chinese husband's graciousness.

Then finally, listening to others, I began lo pick up the phrases (hat eased relations and sent people off with a feeling of mission not only accomplished but surpassed.

Partings for the Chinese involve a certain amount of ritual and a great deal of one-upmanship1. Although I'm not expected to observe or even know all the rules, as a foreigner, I've had to learn the expressions of politeness and protest that accompany a leave-taking.

The Chinese feel they must see a guest off to the farthest feasible point — down flight of stairs to the street below or perhaps all the way to the nearest stop. I've sometimes waited half an hour or more for my husband to return from seeing a guest off, since he's gone to the bus stop and waited for the next bus to arrive.

For a less important or perhaps a younger guest, he may simply say, "I won't see you off, all right?" and of course the guest assures him that he would never think of putting him to the trouble of seeing him off. "Don't see me off! Don't see me off!".

That's all very well, but when I'm the guest being seen off, invariably my protests are to no avail, and my hostess or host, or both, insists on seeing me down the stairs and well on my way, with our going through the "Don't bother to see me off ritual at every landing. If I try to go fast to discourage them from following, they are simply put to the discomfort of having to fleet after me. Better to accept the inevitable. Besides, that's going against Chinese custom, because haste is to be avoided. What do you say when you part from someone? "Go slowly." Not farewell or Godspeed, but "Go slowly". To the Chinese it means "Take care" or "Watch your step" or some such caution, but translated literally it means "Go slow."2

That same "slow" is used in another polite expression^ used by the host at the end of a particularly bountiful and delicious meal to assure his guests what a poor and inadequate host he has been.

American and Chinese cultures are at polar opposites. An American hostess, complimented for her culinary skills, is likely to say, "Oh, I'm so glad you liked it. I cooked it especially for you." Not so a Chinese host or hostess (often the husband does the fancy cooking), who will instead apologize profusely for giving you "nothing" even slightly edible and for not showing you enough honor by providing proper dishes. The same rules hold true with regard to children. American parents speak proudly of their children's accomplishments, telling how Johnny made the school team or Jane made the honor roll4. Not so Chinese parents, whose children, even if at the top of their class in school, are always so "naughty", never studying, never listening to their ciders, and so forth.

The Chinese take pride in "modesty"; the Americans in "straightforwardness". Thai modesty has left many a Chinese hungry at an American table, for Chinese politeness calls for three refusals before one accepts an offer, and the American hosts take a "no" to mean "no", whether it's the first, second, or third time.

My father sent me to buy wire and fencing for our farm in Mario County, South Carolina. At 16 I liked nothing better than gelling behind the wheel c our Chevy pickup, but this lime there was a damper on my spirits. My father had told> me I'd have to ask for credit at the store.

Sixteen is a prideful age, when a young man wants respect, not charity. It was 1976. And the ugly shadow of racism was l a fact of life. I'd seen my friends ask for credit and then stand, head down, while a store owner questioned whet he they were "good for it." I knew black youths just like me who were watched like thieves by the store clerk each lime they went into a grocery.

My family was honest. We paid our debts. But before harvest, cash was short would the store owner trust us?

At Davis Brothers General Store, Buck Davis stood behind the register, walk into a middle-aged farmer. Buck was a tall, weathered man in a red hunting shirt an

khaki

pan, and I nodded as I passed him on my way to the hardware aisle. When

brought my purchases to the register, I said carefully. "I need to put this on credit."

The farmer gave me an amused, cynical look. But his face didn't change

"Sure," he said easily. "Your daddy is always good for it." He turned to (the other mar

, "This here is one of James Wiliiams's sons."

The farmer nodded in a neighborly way. I was filled with pride. James William’s son. Those three words that opened a door to an adult's respect and trust.

That day I discovered that a good name could bestow capital of good will of immense value. The good name m father and mother had earned brought our whole family th respect of our neighbors. Everyone knew what to expect for a Williams: a decent person who kept his word and respect himself too much to do wrong