It has released a number of new books in English on the theme over the past few months that have appealed to many international readers.

Among the new titles, Classical Chinese Gardens, in hardback and written by Yao Tianxing and Gu Yu, highlights ancient Chinese scholars' poetic descriptions of exquisite classical Chinese gardens.

The gardens featured in the book include those of the emperor's temporary residences, rich families' flower gardens, and imperial palaces.

The Art of Chinese Pavilions, also in hardback and written by Zhu Junzhen, should be considered a companion to the classical Chinese gardens.

Pavilions - a common sight in the vast territory of China - are small buildings closely connected with people's sightseeing habits and leisure time.

The pavilions are so ubiquitous in China that ancient Chinese believe "there is no famous mountain without a pavilion," or "no rivers or lakes without pavilions," and "no parks or gardens without pavilions."

Another of the recent books is Hand Acupuncture Therapy, printed in paperback, which describes the principles of hand acupuncture therapy, the location of the hand acupuncture points, hand observation diagnosis and the clinical application of hand acupuncture therapy for some common diseases.

Culture is also displayed in museums, as described in the new book Museums: Treasure Houses of History.

In this book, author Lan Peijin tries to unravel the broad range of duties the modern museums have undertaken in contemporary China, in addition to their valuable collections.

(China Daily May 22, 2003)