Society

China has promulgated a regulation on the administration of Tibetan Buddhist temples which stipulates, among others, that overseas individuals or organizations should not interfere in temple affairs.

The regulation, issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA), will come into effect on Nov 1.

The regulation, which was made public in a circular on the agency's website, says Tibetan Buddhist temple affairs must not be subject to the control by any overseas individual or organization.

It also states that no individual or organization should use Tibetan Buddhism as a cover to disrupt social order and the state's education system, harm people's health, or infringe public interest and the citizens' legitimate rights.

Chinese scientists are considering launching a high-profile search for an ape-like Bigfoot creature in Central China's Hubei province, nearly 30 years after the last organized expedition to seek the legendary beast in the early 1980s.

Scientists are hoping the expedition could end the long-running debate on the existence of the creature, according to Wang Shancai, a 75-year-old expert with the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, who is also the vice president of the Hubei Wild Man Research Association -- organizer of the expedition.

Located deep in the remote mountains in Hubei, Shennongjia Nature Reserve has long been rumored to be the home of the elusive creature known in China as the "Yeren," or "Wild man." It is also referred to as "Bigfoot" after the legendary North American ape-man.

More than 400 people have claimed Bigfoot sightings in the Shennongjia area since last century, but no hard evidence has been found to prove its existence.

Women wear swimsuits with Chinese characters "Sports Models" written on red sashes in a promotion campaign on Chouzhou street in Chengdu, Sichuan province on Sept, 27, 2010. They drew the attention of many passersby.

The 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games flame was ignited in a traditional sun-ray ceremony at the Juyongguan pass of the Great Wall Saturday morning.

The sun shone just enough over the military stronghold of the old time for Kang Chenchen, a 22-year-old student from Yunnan Arts University, to focus its rays on a silver torch using a concave mirror.

The flame will burn at the November 12-27 Guangzhou Asian Games, following a one-month torch relay in Beijing, Harbin, Changchun, Haiyang and 21 cities of the Guangdong province.