As of yesterday, the Chinese Olympic team had grabbed 35 gold metals, surpassing the total gold count in the previous Athens games. Just Friday, I was still speculating whether China can grab more than 40 gold metals. Now, I don’t think that’s question anymore. If the Chinese can dominate in ping pong this year, they'll get 40 golds in a flash.

Front Page Story

Sunday was a day of celebration as China won 8 gold metals including a first in women’s quadruple sculls. See the excitement of the rowers on the front picture; it is pretty hard to keep them from smiling.

Liu Xiang, who has isolated himself from the outside world, will appear in the preliminary around of the men’s 110 hurdles today. Carrying the hope of 1.3 billion, I don’t know if he can run with such a heavy heart.

Other headlines today

• The construction of the maglev from Shanghai to Hangzhou will begin in 2010. It will take 4 years to build this 199-kilometer long super railway. Live in Hangzhou while enjoying life Shanghai: not a bad deal.

• Amid the stock market gloom, the government is trying to lighten the market sentiment. A stakeholder holding more than 30 percent of a listed company will be free from application and governmental processing to acquire additional 2 percent of the total shares outstanding. Somehow, I don’t think the market is going to react to this.

• As most of the financial markets enter a period of hibernation, the Morning Post devotes a special page to money management strategy in a slower market environment. No wonder I wouldn’t find a paper-version of the news this morning.

• According old wisdom, the season is turning and fall is not so far away. Well, not true if you take global warming into account. Extremely hot and wet yesterday. Highest today is 34 degrees Celsius, but feels hotter than that.
  
  Zaobao! Zabao! is a daily article by Li Yizhong that translates and puts into brief perspective the headlines of the Shanghai Morning Post's daily newspaper. Read more of his work on the Zaobao! Zaobao! blog.