Dear Friend,

It is hard to believe that another year is already coming to a close. We hope that you are enjoying this time with friends and loved ones. In just five short days, the New Year of 2005 will be celebrated in the West. The Chinese will usher in the year 4703, the Year of the Rooster, on February 9th this year. Make sure that you are ready to revel in the New Year by visiting our Chinese New Year page. You can also stock up for the next holiday season by taking advantage of our After-Christmas Sale. And, we are continually receiving great new products, so be sure to check out our latest additions, many of which would make great New Years gifts.

Apparel and Accessories…

Make Red Envelopes truly memorable by including red thread bracelets, hair accessories, a jade pendant, or YinYang and Fortune beads and give them as special gifts for both kids and adults this New Year. We have also added a beautiful Mandarin dress, blouse, and fan, which exude a lovely Asian style, perfect for holiday parties! There's even a delightful dress for your little one's favorite doll to make sure she, too, is dressed to greet the New Year.

• Red Thread Bracelet with Coins
• Red Thread Bracelet with Beads
• Guanyin Jade Pendant
• Ladybug Hairbuns
• Little Children Accessories
• Mei Lan Zhu Ju Flower Fan
• Sleeveless Short Mandarin Dresses
• Butterfly Mandarin Blouses
• Chinese Mandarin Dresses for 12'' Dolls
• 10 Brass YinYang and Fortune

Home Decor…

Share the joy and well-wishes of the Chinese New Year with some of our brightly-colored New Year's decorations, distinctive Red Envelopes, and auspicious greeting cards. For a special gift, be sure to check out the water color painting, photo album, and Mahjong set. All of these beautiful items are sure to be treasured momentos of the dawning of the Year of the Rooster.

• Papercuts - Lion Dances
• New Year Greeting Couplet
• 8 Double Happiness Red Envelopes
• Year of Rooster New Year Greeting Cards
• Chinese Painting Photo Albums with Case
• Girl with Fish Watercolor Painting
• Chinese Mahjong in Brocade Case

Books…

ChinaSprout has some fabulous new Chinese language tools for beginners in stock. Choose from textbooks, flash cards, puzzles, dictionaries, and workbooks, to help get you and your child started on the path to learning the Chinese language. While exploring the Chinese culture, you can also see what the future has in store for you with our fun, new I Ching Pack or enjoy the delightful artwork of Jimmy year round with our 2005 table calendar.

• Jimmy's Paintings 2005 Table Calendar
• I Ching Pack
• Easy Chinese Textbook and VCDs  
• Beginner's Chinese Dictionary
• Picture Flash Cards - Fruits & Vegetables
• Picture Flash Cards - Animal
• Bilingual Puzzle Set - Chinese Zodiac
• Learn Chinese Characters
• My First Chinese Reader 1 Workbook
• Happy Chinese Flashcards

DVDs and VCDs…

Learn about Chinese culture and performing arts with our latest DVD and VCD additions. The productions are both stunningly beautiful and deeply moving and provide wonderful insight into the depth and splendor of Chinese culture and history. Chinese language students, young and old, will enjoy supplementing their book learning with our "Ni Hao Little Friends" DVD and "China Panorama" VCDs, which will help bring greater understanding to their knowledge of the Chinese language.

• Flying Songs on Earth
• Impression Liu Xanjie by Zhang Yimou
• Collection of Best Peking Opera
• Qian Long Kingdom (14 DVD)
• Da Zhai Men (14 DVD)
• Ni Hao Little Friends - Learn Chinese with ChinaSprout DVD
• China Panorama, Approaching Chinese 10 VCDs

Popular Products Back in Stock

Some of our best selling products are now back in stock!  We have replenished our supply of handbags, jewelry and accessories for kids and adults, fun and educational toys, great Chinese language learning books and supplies, and popular DVDs and VCDs. These are great to have on hand all year for birthdays and other special events. Or, stock up for next year's holiday season. Order now before they go out of stock again!

• Craftswork - Dragonboat
• Mini Chinese Architecture
• Dragonfly Backpacks
• Dragonfly Handbag
• Flower Handbags
• Dragonfly Handbags
• Blossom Wallets
• Brocade Coin Purses
• Dragon and Phoenix Travel Jewelry Bags
• Silver Pendant - Forever Family
• Tibetan Silver and Beads Decorative Bracelet
• Panda Comb & Mirror Set
• Pucca Comb & Mirror Set
• Panda Hairclips
• Blossom Fashion Watches
• Chinese Knotting for Beginners
• Essentials of HSK - Comprehensive Exercises
• Essentials of HSK - Listening
• Essentials of HSK - Grammar
• Essentials of HSK - Reading
• Flash Cards - Color and Shape
• 4 Bilingual Placemats - Fruits & Vegetables
• Standard Chinese (Biao Zhen Zhong Wen) Level 1
• Standard Chinese Workbook Level 1
• Standard Chinese Teacher's Instructional Manuals Level 1
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar
• Goodnight Moon
• The Art of War
• Dr. Seuss: The Cat in the Hat
• Cultural Interpretations of China - An Advanced Reader I
• Blossom Sleeveless Blouses
• Dragonfly Baby Shirt & Pants
• Dragon Baby Blankets w/Pads
• Flower Baby Blankets w/Pads
• Peony Pattern Padded Jacket
• Cotton Eternity Mandarin Suits/Pajamas
• Cotton Kungfu Suits
• Satin Vest for Man or Woman
• Silk Double Fish Flower Blouse
• Chinese Poetry Trimmed Mandarin Jackets
• Panda Circus
• Waiting for Spring
• Winter Snow
• Chinese Characters for Beginners
• Teletubbies in Chinese - Favorite Things (VCD)
• Teletubbies in Chinese - Nursery Rhymes (VCD)
• Teletubbies in Chinese - Big Hug (VCD)
• Teletubbies in Chinese - Teletubbies and the Snow(VCD)
• Teletubbies in Chinese - Happy Christmas (VCD)
• Teletubbies in Chinese - Here Come the Teletubbies (VCD)
• Teletubbies in Chinese - Ready...Steady...Go! (VCD)

Rural Exodus for Work Fractures Chinese Family

New York Times, December 21, 2004

Yang Shan is in fourth grade and spends a few hours every day practicing her Chinese characters. Her script is neat and precise, and one day, instead of drills, she wrote letters to her parents and put them in the mail.

Get the whole story here
 

China's Elite Learn to Flaunt It While the New Landless Weep

New York Times, December 25, 2004

Chateau Zhang Laffitte is no ordinary imitation. It is the oriental twin of Château Maisons-Laffitte, the French architect François Mansart's 1650 landmark on the Seine. Its symmetrical facade and soaring slate roof were crafted using the historic blueprints, 10,000 photographs and the same white Chantilly stone.

Get the whole story here

In Roaring China, Sweaters Are West of Socks City

New York Times, December 24, 2004

You probably have never heard of this factory town in coastal China, and there is no reason why you should have. But it fills your sock drawer. Datang produces an astounding nine billion pairs of socks each year - more than one set for every person on the planet. People here fondly call it Socks City, and its annual socks festival attracts 100,000 buyers from around the world.

Get the whole story here