Fenghuang county in Xiangxi prefecture, Hunan Province has a well-
preserved ancient town with over half of its population made up of
the Miao and Tujia minorities. There are various ethnic languages,
customs, arts and many architectural remnants of the Ming and Qing
styles in the town. Surrounded by mountains, the town is also
embraced by a river.
2009-12-01 17:02 BJT
Editor: Jin Lin | Source: China.org.cn
Published Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009
Just a short train ride from Tokyo, Kamakura is a small seaside town with a big green Buddha. Besides seeing the famous Buddha, there are plenty of temples and shrines dotting the hills and valleys of the community to check out. This was once the seat of Japan’s military dictatorship and remnants of those times still remain.
One is the regular horseback archery demonstration called Yabusame. Colorfully clad riders gallop down paths and take aim at circular targets set up along the way. Interested parties can see it live at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine in April and September. The shrine is 20 minutes from Kamakura Station on foot. (The Yokosuka Line will take you to Kamakura for ¥890 from Tokyo Station.)
However, Kamakura’s main summer attraction is the beach. The coast from Yuigahama Beach down to Enoshima is where the surfers come to ride. Besides a surfer or two, be prepared for some trash to float by. Beaches in Japan are notoriously unclean, and Kamakura is no exception.
Need a break? Set back from the water are makeshift restaurants and bars. They’re only open during the summer season and are good fun.
February 28, 2010 12:05 a.m. EST
Japan evacuates coast, fear tsunami
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Japan preps for waves that could reach 9 feet high
- Tsunami warnings lifted for most of the Pacific Rim
- Pacific Tsunami Warning Center earlier canceled warning for Hawaii
- The warning for Japan primarily affects fishing areas and tourist areas
Tokyo, Japan (CNN) -- Tens of thousands of residents began evacuating Sunday morning from coastal Japan in anticipation of a possible tsunami following Chile's 8.8-magnitude earthquake.
The northern part of the main island was looking at the possibility of a tsunami at least 9 feet high, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Rail service was halted in coastal areas and residents were urged to evacuate low-lying areas of the island nation.
The warning primarily affected fishing areas and tourist areas; major cities like Tokyo, which is inland, were not affected.
Sunday's alert was Japan's first major tsunami warning in more than 15 years, the agency reported.
A tsunami spawned by Chile's 1960 earthquake killed 140 people in Japan.
On Saturday, tsunami warnings from Chile's temblor initially covered the entire Pacific region, but they were canceled less than 18 hours later except for Russia, Japan and the Philippines.
RELATED TOPICS
The Philippines Institute of Volcanology and Seismology issued a Level-2 tsunami alert for the east coast of the Philippines.
A Level-2 alert means people are advised to stay away from the shoreline; residents near coastal areas facing the Pacific Ocean are advised to go farther inland.
Meanwhile, an official with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the island chain of Hawaii "dodged a bullet" after smaller-than-expected waves were reported.
Coast Guard crews said they had found no significant damage to ports or waterways as a result of the tsunami.
"There was no assessment of any damage in any county, which is quite remarkable," said Gov. Linda Lingle, who said witnesses had reported seeing "dramatic surges going on in the ocean."
The only airport that was shut, the Hilo airport on Hawaii, reopened late in the afternoon.
"If people have a confirmed reservation they can go to the airport now and they will be able to catch their flights," Lingle said.
The center also canceled warnings for Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Antarctica, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Pitcairn, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, French Polynesia, Mexico, the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Kermadec Island, Niue, New Zealand, Tonga, American Samoa, Jarvis Island, Wallis-Futuna, Tokelau, Fiji, Australia, Palmyra Island, Pojnston Island, Marshall Island, Midway Island, Wake Island, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Howland-Baker, New Caledonia, Solomon Island, Nauru, Kosrae, Papua New Guinea, Pohnpei, Chuuk, Marcus Island, Indonesia, North Marianas, Guam, Yap, Belau, Philippines and Chinese Taipei.
Earlier, Hawaiian residents had scrambled to stock up on water, gas and food as sirens pierced the early morning quiet across the islands ahead of the tsunami.
Roads to beaches and other low-lying areas were closed and seaside hotels moved guests to higher ground.
Tsunami waves came ashore along the Chilean coast shortly after the earthquake, U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Victor Sardina told CNN.
He said the largest was 9 feet near the quake's epicenter. Another wave, 7.7 feet, hit the Chilean town of Talcahuano, according to Eric Lau of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
Video from the town showed one car sitting in a large expanse of water, boats littering the docks and widespread flood damage.
A large wave on the island of Juan Fernandez -- 400 miles (643 km) off Chile's coast -- killed three people, Provincial Governor Ivan De La Maza said. Ten people were missing.
Navigational buoys in Ventura County, California, sustained minor damage as a result of a 2-foot surge and waves, according to the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center. The Ventura County Fire Department had one report of damage to a resident's dock from the surge.
In 1960, the tsunami triggered by the Chilean earthquake destroyed much of downtown Hilo and killed 61 people, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The earthquake had a magnitude between 8.25 and 8.5, the USGS said, and the waves in Hilo Bay reached 35 feet, but only 3 to 17 elsewhere.
CNN's Kyung Lah, Mike Ahlers, Thelma Gutierrez, Carey Bodenheimer and Junko Ogura contributed to this report
LONELY PLANET:
I-55 Coffee Stop & Bakery
- Address: 67 Gaoerji Lu, city centre
- Phone: 8369 5755
With a library of English-language books, a stack of games, and treats that range from quiche to fresh-squeezed orange juice to oatmeal cookies, this contemporary café is a popular expat hang-out. English menu, English-speaking staff and free wireless internet access too.
FROMMER’S:
Buye Cheng Wangyuan (24 hr.; ¥3/40¢/20p per hour) is the most central Internet bar, located underground on the northwest corner of Shengli Guangchang. Dial-up is tel. 165 or 169.
By Jane Chen
THE 2008 Beijing Olympic Games generated a profit of 1.1 billion yuan (US$161 million), according to an audit by the National Bureau of Statistics and Beijing City Statistics Bureau.
By March 15 last year, the Games, held from August 8 to 24 in 2008, reported a direct income of 21.3 billion yuan with expenditure of 20.2 billion yuan - leading to a profit of 1.1 billion yuan, China National Radio reported today.
The Games also boosted Beijing's sports industry by 15.4 billion yuan from the year previously, or a growth rate of 75.8 percent. This accounted for a record high of 1.39 percent in the city's annual GDP growth.
In the Olympic year, the city's sports industry issued pay for 102,000 people and generated an income of 58 billion yuan, an increase of 7.4 percent and 67.4 percent respectively year on year.
Travelers at a security checkpoint at Reagan National Airport in Washington. Jason Reed/Reuters
January 24, 2010
Practical Traveler
SINCE the Transportation Security Administration began tightening security in response to the Christmas Day bombing plot, travelers have faced increasingly rigorous screenings at airports. They’ve been forced to cope with extra bag checks, closer scrutiny of their identification, and full body pat-downs that include children as well as adults.
The new measures come on top of the already arduous process familiar to any regular traveler: the ritual offering up of shoes, jackets, belts, watches, laptops, cellphones and keys. But it’s the inconsistencies in the security measures — from country to country, airline to airline and airport to airport — that have left many passengers exasperated and confused. Some say they have encountered the usual routine, while others tell of undergoing multiple screenings at various stages of the itinerary, mostly on international flights bound for the United States.
On a return flight from the Dominican Republic in early January, Carol Moon Goldberg, a retired lawyer from Elk Grove, Calif., and her family went through the usual drill at the security checkpoint. Then, at the gate, their passports were scrutinized a second time, they were patted down and their carry-on bags were unzipped and thoroughly searched. The family’s razor blades were taken before they were allowed to board, she said.
On arrival in Atlanta, the family, like nearly all international travelers, had to retrieve their checked luggage, recheck it and go through security again for the next leg of their flight. “We nearly missed our connecting flight despite having a two-hour layover,” she said.
Her advice: “Be prepared to be patient.”
More changes are expected to come to airports around the world as governments explore new security technology, including the much debated full-body scanners, which will soon be used in more American airports. Passengers traveling within the United States may notice an increase in random screenings, behavior detection officers who look for signs that passengers may be hiding something, and a wider use of tools like explosive-trace detection devices, not just at the checkpoint but throughout the airport.
For passengers, all of this means coping with an onerous, shifting security routine fraught with privacy concerns. But travelers are a resilient bunch and many are already adapting to the new realties. Here are a number of things you can do to navigate the new measures.
Learn your rights Under T.S.A. regulations, travelers may request a private area for a pat-down, which could be a separate room or an area out of the view of the general public. You can also ask for a security officer of the same sex, though you may have to wait if one is not immediately available.
Passengers who do not wish to pass through the metal detector for religious or cultural reasons can request a pat-down as an alternative. Head coverings, whether religious or not, are also permitted, though they may be subject to a pat-down search or removal in a private screening area.
Pack carefully Innocent items can actually appear to be potential threats on an X-ray image, simply by the way they’re packed. Tying up loose headphones and cellphone cords so your luggage doesn’t look like an ominous jumble of wires can help expedite screening, for instance.
Be Upfront Don’t try to hide objects that may be flagged for secondary screening, either. Jami Counter, senior director of TripAdvisor Flights, an online flight search tool, was carrying a bar of Kiehl’s soap, a gift he had received, when returning to New York from Atlanta over the holidays. He suspected the soap’s density could make it hard to identify in the X-ray machine, so he packed it at the very top of his bag.
Sure enough, an agent asked to search his bag, but the placement helped speed up the process. “Once he zipped it open and saw the soap, that was it,” said Mr. Counter. “He didn’t have to go rummaging through the bag.”
Dress for the occasion Slip-on shoes, beltless pants and bras without underwires were already common among travelers. Now, savvy entrepreneurs are offering new products to help ease the security process. Scott Jordan, a former corporate lawyer in Chicago, invented the Scottevest 10 years ago to carry and organize all his gadgets. Recently, he rebranded it for travelers as a way to avoid the tedious task of emptying their pockets for security. The 22-pocket vest, $100, can double as a carry-on of sorts for your iPod, cellphone, glasses, wallet, change, keys and other items. It may be particularly handy now that some airlines have been requiring travelers to remain seated for the last hour of the flight, without access to the overhead bins.
In the fall, Mr. Jordan said, he plans to introduce a trench coat that can hold a change of clothes and a laptop in its pockets. After passing through the X-ray machine, the jacket could convert into a messenger bag that could easily be carried and stored on the plane.
Another fashion option: the Runnur, billed as a modern alternative to the dreaded fanny pack, is a wide strap worn across the body like a bandolier or sash — bike-messenger style — that offers various pockets where you can stash your stuff. Cost: $34 at www.gorunnur.com.
Use a special laptop bag These “checkpoint friendly” bags provide a clear and unobstructed X-ray image of the laptop, allowing travelers to keep the computers in their cases at airport security checkpoints. This eliminates the hassle of having to unpack the laptop, place it in a bin and repack it at the end of the conveyor belt. The luggage retailer eBags.com sells 112 models ranging from a $30 Netpack bag to a $595 Tumi case.
Prepare the children Some of the angriest responses to the heightened security measures come from parents who have watched their children being patted down or questioned by agents. “Children who are selected for secondary screening at security or the departure gate may well be separated from parents for the first time, or be subjected to what they perceive as inappropriate behavior,” said Kyle McCarthy, editor at FamilyTravelForum.com. Explaining in advance to children what they might encounter can help avoid a meltdown at the airport. The T.S.A. offers a Kids to Kids video at tsa.gov/travelers that walks children through security procedures, from removing shoes and toiletries to stepping through the metal detector.
Ask for an explanation When Patricia Grey, 58, from Andorra in southern Europe, is flagged at security she politely asks the agent what it was that made them select her, so she can avoid a repeat incident. Last year, before a flight from Las Vegas to Park City, Utah, she was told the plastic bag that held her liquid makeup showed a chemical deposit. “Apparently when it was screened previously the scanner had left a residue,” she said. “Hence, always use a new Ziploc bag for your makeup.”
Follow the rules It may sound simple, but anyone who has been to an airport recently knows how frequently this point is overlooked. Shoes must be placed on the X-ray belt, as opposed to in a bin, to help security officers get a good look at them. Liquids, aerosols or gels must be packed in containers no larger than 3.4 ounces in one clear, quart-sized zip-top bag. A list of prohibited items is at www.tsa.gov/travelers.
Cooperation is key. “It really works both ways,” said Jurgen W. Shulze, an insurance adjuster from Milford, Pa., who recently flew from Germany to the United States.
“If some passengers were better prepared for a flight rather than arrive at the airport with a belligerent attitude, and if some of the security representatives were more sensitive to privacy issues, the whole process could be expedited.”
KTO's Suggested Itineraries for Independent Travelers
Course - Jongmyo Royal Shrine – Changgyeonggung Palace – Nolbujip (restaurant) – Daehangno
Experience the past and present of Korea through Seoul Experience Tour which covers Jongmyo Royal Shrine, registered as World Cultural Heritage, and Changgyeonggung Palace which is one of the five major palaces in Seoul, as well as traditional restaurant, Nolbujip and the youthful, cultural streets of Daehangno.
Introduction and Links to Detailed Info.
■ Jongmyo Royal Shrine 
Registered as World Cultural Heritage in 1995, Jongmyo Royal Shrine enshrines the spirit tablets of Joseon Kings and Queens. The simple layout of the construction creates a grave and divine atmosphere. Jongmyo Jere, the Royal Ancestral Rite, takes place on the forth Sunday of May every year. This ritual is accompanied by Jongmyojereak, which includes ritual music and solemn dance. Jongmyo Jere and Jongmyo Jereak were designated intangible cultural assets in 2001. The full tour without the ritual rites takes about 20 minutes.
>> View Detailed Info.
Walk 1 minute
■ Changgyeonggung Palace
Changgyeonggung Palace can be reached just across the bridge from Jongmyo Royal Shrine. Changdeokgung Palace also stands nearby adjoined by a wall. Myeongjeongjeon is a national treasure and Tongmyeongjeon, Pungidae, and Gwancheondae are designated treasures. Completed in 1909, Changgyeonggung Botanical Garden is a great area to take pictures of trees. With plenty of resting areas to take short walks, a full tour may take about 40-50 minutes.
>> View Detailed Info.
Walk 10 minutes
■ Nolbujip
Korean traditional restaurant, Nolbujip is located in Daehangno street. There are no tables and instead, while you sit in one of the big rooms, waiters dressed as Joseon servants bring in the tables with fully prepared meals. 18 different dishes are served just for 1,2000 wonLive flute and guitar performances are held every day from 12:20 p.m. to 2:30p.m., and traditional performance is held from 6:30p.m. to 8:30p.m.
*Phone no. +82-2- 3675-9990~2
*Hours : 11:30a.m.~10:00p.m. (Delivery available until 9p.m.)
*Closed : Chuseok, New Year’s Day, and Lunar New Year’s Day.
*How to get there : From exit 1 of Hyehwa Subway Station (Seoul Subway line no. 4) walk straight ahead for 2 minutes until arrival at Pizza Hut building. The restaurant is located on its basement floor. (Please see the map below)
Walk 3 minutes
■ Daehangno
It takes only 3 minutes from Nolbujip to Maronnier Park, which is the center of Daehangno. It had transformed into a bustling cultural area since Seoul National University was replaced by Maronnier Park and all kinds of art organizations. Variety of performances are held in up to 300 small theatres. Numerous beautifully designed cafes, unique restaurants and bars are plentiful in Daehangno. With the main road at the center, Daehangno is divided into performance and restaurant area in the Maronnier Park direction and shopping area toward the Sungyungwan Univerisity direction.
>> View detailed info
>> Daehangno Column
■ Course Map
■ Total Fee as of March 2005
■ TIPS
* As most tourist attractions are free of charge for the elderly over age 65, Jongmyo Royal Shrine has been a resting area for many of the elderly. Jongmyo Royal Shrine and Pagoda Park are such places.
* To reach Nolbujip from Changyeonggung Palace, cross the road from the palace, turn left and walk straight ahead until the road intersection at Hyehwa-dong Rotary. Cross the road and walk to the right for a minute where you will find the Pizza Hut building. There is a large sign on front of Pizza Hut. (Please see the map above)
February 27, 2010
By Megan K. Stack
Reporting from Moscow - Day after painful day, the failures have been piling up: The Russians couldn't catch any Olympic gold in figure skating, fumbled the early biathlon races and, most crushing of all, got trounced at ice hockey.
And, for once, this country of stoical nationalism and deep, black humor is showing signs of rage and a rare flash of public humility. From the penniless to the powerful, Russians lashed out against officials this week over the country's performance in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics with a vitriol seldom seen, even amid pervasive graft and lawlessness.
In bitter Internet forums and smoky pubs, fans cursed the corruption that they believe has seeped into Russian athletics, accusing sports officials of growing fat and rich even as impoverished players are forced to seek better lives abroad.
They bemoaned the bygone days of Soviet athletic glory, which was underpinned by a vast complex of sports schools and training complexes before the collapse of the USSR.
Most of all, they demanded quick, decisive change lest they be shamed at home when the Winter Games come to the city of Sochi in 2014.
"Our leaders are to blame. They should be kicked out," snarled Yuri Sinyov, a 62-year-old pensioner who stayed up all night to watch Russia's hockey team lose to Canada. "They've been at the trough for so long, and they haven't done anything."
Wednesday's hockey loss, fans here agreed, was the coup de grace in a humiliating string of failures. With just three gold medals to boast for the country, Russian spectators were giving up on the Olympics and returning home early, local news reports said.
On Friday, reports circulated that President Dmitry Medvedev would not go to Vancouver for the closing ceremony. The president had said that he planned to go and that he hoped to watch the hockey finals.
About a third of the Russian players are members of the Kontinental Hockey League, their nation's recently formed professional league that aims to be a world-class rival to the North American National Hockey League. The team was expected to help Russia bring home a fistful of gold medals.
"It's a disaster," said goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov after their devastating 7-3 loss to Canada, the team they were supposed to challenge for gold. "End of the world."
In a front-page diatribe in the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, famed Russian figure skater Irina Rodnina took harsh aim at the sports bureaucrats who, she wrote, were shamelessly corrupt.
"The highest level of sports can raise the prestige of the nation, unite it. Yes, we need victories," wrote Rodnina, who won three successive Olympic gold medals during Soviet times. "But how can we get them if the Olympic team is not in the mood?"
From her perch in Vancouver, Rodnina described her indignation at the sight of Leonid Tyagachev, president of the Russian Olympic Committee, eating with gusto in a restaurant, his appetite apparently undented by repeated loss.
"All of Russia is in shock," she wrote. "And do you think those responsible for the results are really so worried?"
Politicians also swung into action. Boris Gryzlov, head of the ruling United Russia party and a figure close to the Kremlin, said that both Tyagachev and the sports minister would be summoned before parliament to justify their failings.
Imperious sports officials, perhaps sensing a whiff of their own vulnerability, were quick to blame the athletes.
"Their slightest whim was catered to. They lacked only breakfast in bed, and they could have had that, if they had asked," Russia's Olympic spokesman, Gennady Svets, said of the hockey team. "They proved they couldn't play against real professionals."
Men's hockey coach Vyacheslav Bykov was openly enraged by the first stirrings of anger at his players.
"Let's get the guillotine or the gallows out, yeah?" he snapped to Russian reporters in Vancouver. "We have 35 people on the squad. Let's cut them all up on Red Square."
Beneath the anger, there was a sense of true dismay. In a country that has been lavishly encouraged to think of itself as the latter-day heir to Soviet might, the losses are hard to swallow.
The Soviet Union's collapse was followed by the shuttering of hundreds of sports schools; the flight of the country's strongest coaches and trainers; and the loss of sports facilities in Soviet states beyond Russian borders.
Today's Russia is an oil- and gas-rich place where, theoretically, people accept the curtailing of democratic freedoms because they are compensated with a rising standard of living and a sense of restored national pride.
But this year's Games have drawn dramatic attention to the failure to translate massive oil profits into the effective reconstruction of the sports infrastructure, sports historian Oleg Milshtein said.
"It has already resulted in a huge public discussion," he said of the Olympics. "It's a huge stimulus to change the system, and I think it will be done."
Related
X
Interactive: Interactive: U.S. Olympic medal tally
Interactive: Interactive: 2010 medal standings
A TV in Tokyo shows Toyota President Akio Toyoda testifying before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. (Shizuo Kambayashi, Associated Press / February 25, 2010)
February 27, 2010
By Jerry Hirsch and John M. Glionna
Reporting from Seoul and Los Angeles - A series of aggressive federal probes into the recalls of Toyota autos are looking at whether the automaker has been less than forthcoming about the safety defects in some of its vehicles.
But in Japan many believe it's the U.S. government that has something to hide. Congressional hearings on the recalls, they say, are part of conspiracy to help prop up Toyota's largest American rival, General Motors Co., which the government bailed out of bankruptcy last year, becoming the majority shareholder.
The evidence suggests otherwise, and top Toyota executives have sought to debunk such speculation. Even so, "the conspiracy theory on these Toyota hearings is alive and well in Japan," said Jeffrey Kingston, a professor at Temple University in Japan.
"Conspiracy theories don't deal with the facts, but there's a comfort factor among the Japanese public in believing that Japan is being made the scapegoat for U.S. economic problems."
In the case of Toyota, however, the theory that it has been singled out for criticism fails to take into account that U.S. corporations regularly come in for beatings by Congress -- with Wall Street banks being just the most recent examples.
And in granting GM and Chrysler tens of billions of dollars of aid, Congress for years blamed the companies' leaders for poor management and lousy products.
What's more, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating reports of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles years before the government took its controlling interest in GM and a 10% stake in the post-bankruptcy Chrysler Group. Indeed, NHTSA is now under fire for not acting more quickly and more forcefully in demanding that Toyota take action to address sudden acceleration.
"It's not about politics, it's about safety," said Kurt Bardella, spokesman for Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), the ranking minority on a House committee that organized one of the Capitol Hill hearings this week.
The view that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee efforts to review Toyota's safety defects and recalls to assist U.S. companies is "idiotic" considering that Issa was an ardent opponent of the automaker bailouts, Bardella said.
Even Toyota's president, Akio Toyoda, and his top U.S. executive rejected the notion when queried during congressional hearings this week.
"I don't believe that's true. I think the government's acting fairly," Jim Lentz, Toyota's top U.S. sales executive, told the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee.
Lentz also apologized for a series of missteps that allowed the sudden-acceleration problem to go unchecked for years, ultimately leading Toyota to issue nearly 10 million recall notices and temporarily halt sales of eight models.
At least 34 deaths have been blamed on sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles, according to complaints filed with NHTSA, which the agency said is more than all other automakers combined.
Still, to some in Japan, the congressional hearings are reminiscent of the anti-Japanese hysteria of the 1980s, when Japanese investments in high-profile properties such as the Rockefeller Center in New York set off a political firestorm.
One Japanese customer, who bought her fourth Toyota car in June but declined to give her name, said she felt safe driving her Toyota. "I think things are being exaggerated in the U.S.," she said.
Even some Japanese analysts, while acknowledging problems in Toyota's handling of its recall, said they thought Congress has been a bit too opportunistic in its pursuit of a solution.
"It does seem that emotions are a factor at these hearings," said Masahiro Fukuda, manager of Fourin Inc., a research and publishing company specializing in the auto industry.
"Many Japanese see these hearings as an effective way for the U.S. to beat up Toyota and allow General Motors and Chrysler to recover and grab a bigger share of the market," said Koji Endo, an analyst at Advanced Research Japan, an independent research house.
While acknowledging the safety problems that prompted the recalls, some in the United States also wonder whether the passion with which Congress has gone after Toyota during the hearings isn't partially fueled by economic self-interest.
It "can't be ignored," said Mark Zupan, dean of the University of Rochester's School of Business. Zupan said that if lawmakers applied the same standard to all auto companies, the hearings would never end. "This is not an unbiased jury."
Toyota has made things worse by not addressing its problems more aggressively, he said.
Jeon Ji-hyun
DATE 02/11/2010
Jeon Ji-hyun, star of the hit movie "My Sassy Girl," has been cast as one of the leads in the Chinese film "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan," and began shooting on Tuesday. She will star alongside top Chinese actress Li Bingbing and "Wolverine" star Hugh Jackman.
The movie is an adaptation of a novel of the same title by Chinese-American author Lisa See. It is being directed by Wayne Wang, an American filmmaker originally from Hong Kong known for his 1993 movie "The Joy Luck Club."
Jeon's management agency said, "Wang had expressed interest in working with Jeon several times since first seeing her in 'My Sassy Girl', but there was no opportunity to do so until now. Both Jeon and Wang are very excited about this project."
With "The Joy Luck Club," Wayne proved himself as a director capable of achieving both commercial and artistic success. In 1995 he won the Silver Bear trophy at the Berlin International Film Festival for his movie "Smoke."
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