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(China Daily) Updated: 2017-07-05 07:00

Books

Learning Chinese

Mastering Chinese is a dream of many foreigners who live and work in China, especially diplomats. Now a book, titled Stories of Diplomats' Chinese Class, about how they learn the language is out. It has been compiled by the Beijing Language and Cultural Center for Diplomatic Missions.

Founded in 1956, the center has so far received 20,000 students, mostly embassy staff members and their families, from more than 100 countries and regions. Some well-known students include former US president George H.W. Bush, the late Indian president Kocheril Raman Narayanan and the princess of Thailand Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

The stories are told by teachers, recalling their students' hard work, cultural anecdotes and how the diplomats survived learning Chinese - one of the hardest languages in the world.

Monkey King

Wukong, better known as the Monkey King, is the main character of the ancient Chinese classic Journey to the West. His tale is told with a modern twist in Wukong: A Biography, an online book.

"This is the world I've come to, fought for and loved. I don't care how it would end."

The cry of Wukong influenced readers when it was first published online in the early 2000s and is regarded as a milestone in Chinese online literature. The story has been adapted into a film, which will be released in July. A printed version of the book has also been published with behind-the-scene stories of the film.

For foodies

Gourmets mustn't miss the revised version of The Guide to La Liste's Top Chinese Restaurants. It introduces 59 of the 100 Chinese restaurants that made the La Liste's selection of the 1,000 most outstanding eateries in the world in December. Known as "the guide of the guides", French gastronomic classification La Liste (The list) was first unveiled in 2015. The Chinese-language app La Liste will soon be available for consumers to look for information of all listed restaurants. The guidebook is co-authored by Dong Keping, He Nong and Xie Ling (or Lingxin Xiaoxie) - the only Chinese members on La Liste's international advisory board.

"Many Westerners have never been to China and we'd like to broaden their understanding of authentic Chinese cuisine and give Chinese gastronomy its right place," says Joerg Zipprick, co-founder of La Liste.

China Daily