First sandstorm of year hits northern China Northern China was blanketed in dust on Saturday as the first sandstorm of the year struck the region, including the capital Beijing, state media reported, citing the national weather service. Yao Ming spawns China's hoops generation To understand China's basketball ambitions, look no further than the four Chinese characters that adorn 16 glass backboards in a sprawling sports complex near Tiananmen Square. "Basketball's new generation surpassing the old," they read. Chinese film about a woman's two husbands wows Berlin festival The story of a Mongolian herdswoman's brave struggle to keep her family together has opened China's bid for the top film prize at the Berlin festival.