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As a Chinese student studying in America, I am eager to know everything aboutthe Beijing Olympic Games. I think China Today has done a wonderful job covering the Olympics and Paralympics.

Through your reports, I see the efforts China made to host the Games, and I can feel the warm atmosphere, even though I am abroad.

The series of articles on Olympic venues, Chinese athletes and coaches, and the Olympic Village help me know more about the Games. The vivid report on the opening ceremony made me feel I was there. I was also deeply touched by the article about the Paralympics, and happy to know the life of people with a disability has improved dramatically in China.

I also gave the magazines to classmates and friends around me. They were delighted to read all these reports. Besides, we told what weve read to our foreign friends and let them know more about the Beijing Olympic Games and China. The articles help us understand the “green Olympics, technology-empowered Olympics and culturally-enriched Olympics” better.

The Olympic Games are a window to show a modern China. And the country is coming onto the world stage. Thanks to your magazine, that has always shown a real China to the world. Expecting more amazing reports in the future.

Cheng Lin

Texas

USA

Due to business considerations, my wife and I are going to take our first trip out of the United States, to China.

Like most Americans, we knew very little about China. In an effort to help us, our daughter got us a subscription to China Today.

For several months, we read each and every article. By the time we were ready to travel, we felt we had a knowledge and understanding of the people, their customs, and their country. We actually felt we were going to revisit friends. Thank you for helping prepare us for what turned out to be the trip of a lifetime.

Steven A. Gewirtz

California

USA

Here are some of my thoughts on recycling, a topic you touched on in the September issue. This is not a new subject in the nation, but unfortunately real progress has been slow. Here in Beijing we do have twin dustbins respectively marked “recyclable” and “unrecyclable” on every street, but few use them as instructed. Even if people do, I know many dustmen shovel the stuff from the two bins indiscriminatingly into their carriage when shipping the rubbish out. Used batteries are another problem. We are taught that batteries can do tremendous harm to soil and groundwater if disposed of without special treatment, but few communities have set aside particular places to deposit used batteries. For a time a battery producer offered a new battery to anyone who brought in ten used ones. But the campaign did not last long. China started late in environmental protection. With the size of our population and economy, we could ruin our environment to an irretrievable degree if we dont act aggressively and quickly. Let us do something now, everyone -- individuals, corporations and the government -- for the sake of our children and grandchildren.

Xu Lei

Beijing

China