The Week April 16, 2010

China on caffeine

How about trading a dainty cup of Chinese tea for a great big mug of high-octane coffee? The CEO of Starbucks, the giant US-based chain of coffee shops, told the Wall Street Journal this week that he wants to open thousands of new coffee shops across China. Beijing already has 376 Starbucks. What will the big, busy city be like with an even bigger jolt of caffeine?

All the news that's fit to flush

A luxury toilet recently opened in Nanjing, which cost 400,000 yuan. That's $35,000. The toilet covers more than 100 square meters, and is equipped with antique furniture, central air-conditioning and an LCD TV. And,according to WeirdAsianNews.com, it's free to use, too.

It's not the first toilet that comes with TV sets. At a nature resort in China's Guizhou province, the men's room is fully equipped with TVs, too.

Thank you (I think)

Xinhua reports this week that a simple thank you can do a lot to strengthen relationships. That's based on a study from US researchers published in the latest issue of Psychological Science. But what about those foreign newcomers to China who find saying thank you – spelled xie xie in pinyin - so hard to pronounce? The Week installed a special camera in a local restaurant to show you what kind of trouble you can get into when you don't know how to correctly pronounce ‘thank you’ in Chinese …

About the broadcaster:

Renee Haines is an editor and broadcaster at China Daily. Renee has more than 15 years of experience as a newspaper editor, radio station anchor and news director, news-wire service reporter and bureau chief, magazine writer, book editor and website consultant. She came to China from the United States.