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Liu Ye married with French girlfriend from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Jackie Chan at the press conference (Image from Baidu (Cn))

Jackie and the concert promoter held a press conference on April 1st to announce the news; the concert is scheduled to run on May 1st and would be the first major non-sport event to be held at the stadium.

Themed as “Descendant of the Dragon: Jackie Chan and Friends”, it’s expected that a few big names will be invited for the concert, with Jackie Chan taking the lead.

[Update] Among the confirmed invited guests are Korean star Rain, pop group Suju-M and Zhang Liyin. Other

Jackie Chan to hold concert at Bird’s Nest from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Many people don’t know that giant pandas are good climbers; I’m rather amazed though, that the tiny tree branches could support the panda’s weight.

Giant panda tree climbing from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Jay held a press conference in Beijing on Monday to announce the filming (to begin on Feb 25). He said that he wants to create Chinese superheroes which could rival Spiderman and Batman in the west.

Pandamen is a story about two Chinese superheroes protecting their city (what else?). It’s not mentioned what kind of superpower the duo are having… but seems like it’s going to be a comedic drama instead of serious attempt to emulate the western superheroes.

The series will star Devon Song and Zhan Yuhao from Taiwanese pop group Nan Quan Mama; Jay Chou is not taking serious acting role, but is expected to make some cameo appearances.

Jay Chou to create Super-Panda-Heroes from YeinJee's Asian Journal

The building is part of the iconic CCTV tower complex and is to house CCTV’s cultural centre and the then nearly completed Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

Initial investigations suggested that the fire was caused by illegal fireworks by CCTV. Fireworks are generally allowed at the traditional Lantern Festival, the last day of Chinese New Year; but the fireworks that caught the fire was dangerous and needed approval (which CCTV didn’t get) before being allowed in downtown Beijing.

Beijing’s CCTV Headquarters on fire from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Art – Amazing cityscape art made from unusual objects [Neatorama]

Canada – Three Canadian men have claimed a new record for the fastest trek across Antarctica to the South Pole [BBC]

China – A Chinese farmer shows off his self-made rickshaw-pulling robot (pic) near his home in a village at the outskirts of Beijing [Cri]

Germany – Two German children, aged five and six, have been stopped by police on New Year’s Day from eloping to Africa for a sunny wedding… poor kids lol [BBC]

Japan – Said to be Japan’s scariest suspension bridge [Youtube, via Yamatologic]

Space – National Geographic’s top 10 space photos of 2008 [Nat-Geo]

S Korea – Emergency exits used at preschools… cute, but doubtful reliability [Brian]

USA – 6-year-old missed school bus, took mom’s car instead [Neatorama]

Offbeat roundup (January 11, 2009) from YeinJee's Asian Journal

After three years of development, the Palace Museum and IBM have unveiled on Friday (Oct 10) a virtual palace where online tourists can peek into the history and culture of the former imperial palace in a game-like 3D environment.

The project will allow people who cannot visit Beijing to experience the Forbidden City, while also providing a platform for further learning and refences for those who have visited the place in real life.

Image from the website’s photo gallery

The project looks pretty cool at first glance, but the loading speed is killing me… seems like it might take forever to download the software.

Virtual tour of Beijing’s Forbidden City from YeinJee's Asian Journal

3,000 participants from over 150 countries are competing for 35 gold medals in five events… bridge, chess, draughts, Go and Chinese chess. The events are a mixed variety of popular board and card games from the East and West [more on BBC]

The historical first gold medal is won by Alexandra Kosteniuk from Russia on Sunday in women’s chess individual blitz (image via WMSG 2008’s website)

1st World Mind Sports Games opens in Beijing from YeinJee's Asian Journal

A referee helping a soccer player with his shoestrings (Image from Xinhuanet)

I have been following the Chinese news on the event, and it seems like the Paralympic Games have been very well ran as well… kudos to the Chinese organisers for that. Hope that it will be another great event in London 2012, and hope that the international media will give more attention next time.

The end of Beijing Paralympic Games from YeinJee's Asian Journal

I am not sure about international media… but my local press are not giving much attention to the event, which is a pity because although its popularity is non comparable to Olympic Games, Paralympics is still one of the largest worldwide sporting events and features some amazing athletes.

Well, at least the Chinese organiser seems to be working hard to make the Paralympics a successful event as well. The opening ceremony, again directed by Zhang Yimou, was quite a splendid show; and the Chinese media are giving the games some decent coverage too. Kudos for all that.

Check out the Beijing 2008 Paralympics’ official website for information and updates. Check out this link for some opening ceremony’s photos.

Beijing Paralympic Games is ON from YeinJee's Asian Journal

The 2008 gala managed to raise 10.35 million Yuan (~USD1.5 million) which will be channelled to the relief work in quake-hit areas in Sichuan province.

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Harper’s Bazaar Charity 2008 in Beijing from YeinJee's Asian Journal

The closing ceremony was ok for me; nothing much different than the opening… visually pleasing but not heart warming. I am a bit worried for London though; their short appearance last night was quite bland.

Beijing Olympics will be remembered as the Olympic with greatness. Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt obviously stole the spotlight… a few other personal favourite winners include Yelena Isinbayeva, Guo Jingjing, Zhang Ning, Roger Federer, Matthias Steiner, Japanese softball team and Argentine men soccer team etc.

It has been a wonderful event, but I am glad it has finally ended. The Olympics had taken away too much of my working (and sleeping) hours for the past two weeks… plenty of catchup needed now.

It’s goodbye to Beijing, and hello to London in 2012.

Good bye Beijing, hello London from YeinJee's Asian Journal

The power of love

Matthias Steiner of Germany was the men’s +105kg weightlifting champion on Tuesday. When I first saw the picture, I thought of how romantic this guy was… I only knew a day later that the woman in the picture was his wife Susann, who died in a car accident last year, and it sparked plenty of emotions…

Matthias with his gold medal and a photo of his late wife (Image via Beijing2008)

This will probably be the most memorable Beijing Olympics’ photo for me… it draws love, sadness, romance, pride, commitment and loyalty. If I am a woman I would probably fall in love with this guy.

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Beijing Olympics roundup (7) from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Matthew and Katerina Emmons

In Athens 2004, Matthew was just a shot away from winning a gold in the three positions competition… but he shot on the wrong target, a mistake that sounds almost impossible in professional shooting. He finished eighth.

It’s not all bad for Matthew though… later that night, he went to a pub and met Czech shooter Kateřina Kůrková who offered him consolation. The couple fell in love and got married in 2007.

If the name Kateřina Emmons sounds familiar to you, that’s because she is the winner of the first gold medal in Beijing Olympics 2008.

Matthew was trying to emulate his wife’s success, and he was pretty close at the three positions competition, again needing just an average score at his final shot to secure the gold.

Somehow, it’s deja vu… he didn’t fire the wrong target this time, but pulled the trigger at a wrong timing and got a bad score. He finished fourth.

Make no mistake though, Matthew is an excellent shooter. He won a gold in Athens in other shooting event and also a silver in Beijing. It’s just the bizarreness of how he missed those two golds that is going to make him a folklore of the Games.

Matthew has already expressed his ambition for London 2012… wish him luck.

[With reference from CNN and Wiki]

The tale of Matthew Emmons from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Liu Xiang leaving the track

Liu Xiang quits

World and Olympic champion Liu Xiang has withdrew from the 110m hurdle event following a right foot injury.

Liu’s appearance was in doubt when it was reported last weekend that he was suffering from a sore Achilles tendon, but he showed up for the qualifying heat anyway.

The 90,000 crowd at the Beijing National Stadium didn’t manage to catch Liu Xiang in real action though, as he quit after a false start (by another hurdler), limping out of the race track into the tunnel. The Chinese are generally disappointed, but showing plenty of support for the iconic athlete.

Liu Xiang was China’s best (and probably the only) hope for a gold medal at the track and field event.

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Beijing Olympics roundup (6) from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Sun Nan & Zhang Hui Mei – Forever Friends

“Forever Friends” (永远的朋友), composed by Italian composer Giorgio Moroder and Chinese pianist Kong Xiangdong. The English lyrics are helped by Michael Kunze, while Chinese lyrics by Huang Xiaosheng.

This is my favourite candidate for the official theme song. Moroder, having wrote the popular “Hand in Hand” (theme song for Seoul Olympics 1988), certainly understand what makes a good theme song. It might not be the nicest song among all, but I think it’s the best that fits the occasion.

Sharing here is the Chinese version sang by Chinese singer Sun Nan and Taiwanese star Zhang Hui Mei; the English version is sang by Sun Nan and Hong Kong singer Coco Lee…

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Beijing Olympics theme songs collection from YeinJee's Asian Journal