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China

Three 3,000-year-old balls discovered at the Yanghai cemetery complex in Xinjiang

Cool Finds

These Hair-Filled Leather Pouches Are the Oldest Balls Found in Eurasia

Some 3,000 years ago, Chinese horsemen may have used the objects to play a team sport involving hitting a ball

Female Hainan gibbons are bright yellow with black patches while males are completely black.

New Research

Rope Bridges Save the Most Endangered Primates From Making Death-Defying Leaps

After an avalanche destroyed part of the rainforest, a bit of infrastructure connects the gibbons to their favorite fruit-filled trees

The stolen items' owner estimates their value at around $645 million.

A Stolen Mao Zedong Scroll Was Found Cut in Half

Prior to the defacement, the nine-foot-long calligraphy work was valued at an estimated $300 million

One of two perfectly preserved fossil skeletons of the newly discovered burrowing dinosaur Changmiania liaoningensis and an artist's rendering of the species.

New Research

New Species of Burrowing Dinosaur May Have Died During ‘Cretaceous Pompeii’

Perhaps killed by a volcanic eruption while resting at the bottom of its burrow, the four-foot-long digging dino’s remains were immaculately preserved

The postage-stamp sized sample of amber contained 39 half-millimeter-long crustaceans called ostracods, including 31 of a new species.

New Research

Scientists Discover Oldest Sperm Yet Preserved in Amber

The longest sperm in the sample is one-third the body length of the creature that produced it

On August 18, 2020, flood waters threatened the Leshan Giant Buddha following heavy rains in Leshan in China's southwestern Sichuan province, where thousands of residents have been displaced by rising waters.

Flooding Endangers World’s Largest Buddha Statue

Rising waters in China dampened the toes of the Leshan Giant Buddha for the first time since 1949

In the first days, Mei Xiang kept the cub mostly hidden, but a new photograph and video recently revealed the new arrival—born at 6:35 on August 21, 2020.

Pandamonium

Giant Panda Mama Gives Birth to Baby Cub at National Zoo

The pink, squeaking infant is about the size of a stick of butter and will be named in 100 days

Two packages of unidentified seeds that arrived, unsolicited in the mailboxes of Washington State residents. Packaging appeared to indicate that the seeds originated in China.

Americans Plant Mysterious Seeds Despite Government Warnings

The USDA urges people not to plant unsolicited seeds they receive. Evidence suggests the packages are part of a scam designed to boost online sales

A Dutch art dealer realized the vase's significance after appraising an elderly European woman's collection.

Cool Finds

Rare Chinese Vase Found in Pet-Filled Home Sells for $9 Million

The 18th-century artifact was made in a style specific to the Qianlong dynasty

An archival photo of the main street in the Frog's Hollow neighborhood of Brisbane, Australia

Archaeologists Unearth Trove of Artifacts From 19th-Century Australian Chinatown

Chinese immigrants created a community in the Frog’s Hollow neighborhood of Brisbane

An 18th-century ink rendering of Hua Mulan on silk

Researchers Uncover New Evidence That Warrior Women Inspired Legend of Mulan

Nearly 2,000 years ago, women who rode horseback and practiced archery may have roamed the steppes of Mongolia

A policeman stands over a graffiti drawn to bring awareness to social distancing as a preventive measure against COVID-19 in Chennai, India, on April 9, 2020

Covid-19

How ‘Social Distancing’ Can Get Lost in Translation

Governments around the world grapple with how to deliver important guidelines on minimizing the spread of COVID-19

Parks reopened in Wuhan on Thursday, March 26.

Covid-19

China Plans to Lift Lockdown on Wuhan, Where COVID-19 Was First Detected

With no new infections reported in Hubei province in recent days, restrictions are easing up—but experts worry about possible ‘second wave’ of cases

Saddle up! Donkeys can do much more than carry sacks of food: They can hoist around sporty, polo-playing humans, too.

Cool Finds

After a Lifetime of Donkey Polo, This Chinese Noblewoman Asked to Be Buried With Her Steeds

New research reveals a Tang Dynasty woman’s love for sports—and big-eared, braying equids

A view of the deserted courtyard outside the closed Louvre

Covid-19

How COVID-19 Is Affecting the Cultural World

Museum closures and event cancellations abound as officials rush to contain the new coronavirus’ spread

This illustration, created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), shows the virus' spiky, crown-like fringe that shrouds each viral particle—giving it a “coronated” appearance.

Covid-19

A Guide to What to Know About COVID-19

As COVID-19 spreads around the globe, so does misinformation. Here, you can find facts about the virus and infection it causes

The National Museum of China in Beijing is one of many institutions upping its online offerings in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

China’s Art, From Museum Exhibits to Rock Concerts, Moves Online During Coronavirus Outbreak

The government has directed museums to “enrich the people’s spiritual and cultural life during the epidemic [with] cloud exhibitions”

The list includes Artemisia Gentileschi, Wilma Mankiller, Frances Glessner Lee and other Oscar-worthy women.

Based on a True Story

Nine Women Whose Remarkable Lives Deserve the Biopic Treatment

From Renaissance artists to aviation pioneers, suffragists and scientists, these women led lives destined for the silver screen

A Ludus Latrunculorum board found in Roman Britain

The Best Board Games of the Ancient World

Thousands of years before Monopoly, people were playing games like Senet, Patolli and Chaturanga

Among the artifacts believed to be lost are letters written by Chinese immigrants, photographs of Chinatown and an 1883 document on the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Fire at Museum of Chinese in America Caused Less Damage Than Initially Feared

Around 200 boxes recovered from the building have been deemed “very much salvageable,” but they represent only a “fraction” of the museum’s collection

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