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Letter from the Editor Letter from the Editor Letter from the Editor Letter from the Editor Letter from the Editor April 2004

Letter from the Editor

Welcome to the 100th edition of Beijing This Month,for us a king of bonus red-letter day which follows hard on the heels of our eighth brithday celebration at the end of 2001.We have also been blushing a bit at the shortcomings of some of our very first efforts,a confusing time born of hit-and-miss experimentation,conflicting ideas and verbal punch-ups as we tried to force our ideas on each other,each individual adamant that his or her approach was the best.

Now we have evolved into a truly unified team with a common purpose--to each month provide you with pages that inform,educate and entertain.We have learning to listen to as many of you out there as possible,and try hard to take into account your comments and criticisms. Thank you for your encouragement and support,and we hope you stay with us as we embark on our second "century" of issues.

The 8th of this month is International Women's Day.It symbolizes the ongoing elevation of women and their talents in many areas of the world, thekey word being equality(or something very close to it). Many women have emerged as role models to the younger generation--which left us wondering about the role models of the role models themselves. We tell you who some of them are.

Other pages contain the first article in our revealing new series entitled The Expat File, brainchild of perceptive writer James Laver;a profile of a famous artist who literally "learned it all from books";some of the attractions of Chaoyang District in our popular Know Your Beijing series; local news updates; a fond valedictory for a departing foreign ambassador;the first winner of our fun new Snap-Happy competition (keep your photos coming!); hotel happenings; and of course all the regular columns on dining,exhibitions,upcoming entertainment and what have you.

LI Mingxia