An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter
scale shook southwest China this afternoon at 4:30 pm. According to initial reports, the earthquake's epicenter was located 50 kilometers south of Panzhihua (攀枝花), Sichuan province.

As of 6:30 pm Beijing time no reports of damage or injuries have emerged. Panzhihua, a city of slightly more than 1 million, is located near Sichuan's southern border with Yunnan roughly 350 kilometers north of Kunming. The tremor was able to be felt in high buildings throughout Kunming.

Today's earthquake is the second episode of major seismic activity to hit southwest China in the past month - on August 19 and 21, two quakes hit Yunnan's Yingjiang County (盈江县) near the Myanmar border, measuring 5.0 and 5.9 in magnitude, respectively.

The first Yingjiang quake was quickly followed by two aftershocks measuring less than 5.0, while the second quake killed at least three and left 106 injured, 24 of which were considered serious injuries.

Today's quake also hits Sichuan as it was recovering from the devastating earthquake in Wenchuan County on May 12, which killed nearly 70,000 people.

GoKunming will provide more updates as they become available.

UPDATE: At least 22 are confirmed dead - 17 in Sichuan and five in Yunnan - and more than 100 are injured from Saturday's quake, according to Xinhua reports. At least 1,000 homes were destroyed by the tremor.

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Tags: disasters, earthquake, Panzhihua, Sichuan, Wenchuan

This past Saturday the Italian clothing label Max & Co held its third annual Kunming fashion show at TCG Nordica. A boutique line under Italian fashion giant Max Mara fashion group, Max & Co presented its 2008 fall and winter collection to an audience of more than 200 spectators and local media.

Adding to the buzz around a major fashion group's show in Kunming was the presence of famous Chinese models Ge Huijie (葛荟婕) and Wang Yina (王伊娜).

Max & Co launched its first show two years ago in an effort to promote its store at the Gingko shopping center in downtown Kunming. In the ensuing two years, Max & Co's Kunming store has become one of the label's best-performing stores in China.

Max Mara fashion group PR Director Adele Lobasso is an Italian who first came to China as a foreign student in the 1980s and has worked at the firm's Beijing office for the past seven years. GoKunming sat down with Lobasso to learn more about the challenges of bringing ready-to-wear women's fashion from Italy to China.

GoKunming: The concept of high-end fashion is relatively new in China. What characteristics of the Chinese market have you most noticed since you began working for Max & Co?

Adele Lobasso: Although consumers from around the world like purchasing brand-name clothing, the Chinese wealthier classes showed an even more pronounced preference toward wearing well-known designer items. For example, in the early 90s, I saw quite a few Chinese women leaving the sticker on a new pair of sunglasses in an attempt to flaunt their purchase.

As far as taste is concerned, the majority of Chinese women dress more modestly than their European or North American counterparts, so we de-emphasize particularly revealing clothing when appealing to the Chinese market. Regional variations matter, however. It is difficult to compare fashion trends in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai with cities in the country's interior.

GK: Does Yunnan province - and Kunming in particular - display any fashion tendencies that are less evident in other parts of China?

AL: We discovered that our bright, floral clothing sold less well in Kunming, perhaps as a result that Yunnan people tend to associate such clothing with ethnic minority groups. In other parts of China, this trend seems less pronounced although in general we find that brighter colors sell better in other parts of the world than in China.

GK: What are some of the other regional differences in fashion that you have noticed during your time in China?

AL: Because of their taller physical stature, our customers in northern China are able to wear a wider variety of clothing than those in the south. For instance, certain types of trousers are far more popular in cities such as Beijing than they are in Guangzhou or Kunming. In addition, we have found that differences in skin color affect consumer choices. Few of our customers, for instance, wear brown or beige because they feel those colors do not flatter them as much. In terms of style, women in certain cities (such as Chengdu) tend to dress more femininely than in others.

GK: Who does Max & Co view as their target customer in China? How would you describe a "Max & Co woman"?

AL: Most of our Chinese customers are in their thirties and forties and earn a good income. A typical customer might be a woman who likes to dress casually but smartly, and one who wants attractive clothing for a variety of situations. A benefit of our store is the range of products on hand; for instance, a woman may come in looking to buy only a pair of trousers and emerge with a top and shoes as well.

GK: Does Max & Co plan to hold fashion shows in other southwestern Chinese cities?

AL: We had hoped to hold shows in Chengdu and Chongqing this year, but due to the earthquake we felt the timing wasn't appropriate. When we first opened in Kunming, we found it difficult attracting much business. It was only after the success of the fashion show that people began patronizing our store, and as a result we view these shows as a useful way to expose our clothing to a wider audience.

Images: Phoebe Zhang, Max & Co

Related article: Kunming attracting global luxury brands

Tags: Adele Lobasso, fashion, Max & Co, Max Mara, TC/G Nordica

Despite marked progress in recent years, the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases remains a major challenge for China - especially in Yunnan, which is just north of the Golden Triangle and where China's first AIDS case was discovered. In an effort to combat the disease and other problems such as malaria, the Chinese government cooperates with several international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) who work towards reducing the prevalence and spread of these illnesses.

One such Population Services International (PSI), has its Chinese headquarters in Kunming. Funded by US AID and The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, PSI uses targeted behavior change intervention, social marketing and evidence-based research in their work toward improving the health of the most vulnerable people in China.

GoKunming spoke with Clare Ye Sheng, a Shanghai-born American who works as PSI's China Communication Officer, to find out more about what PSI is doing in Yunnan and elsewhere in China:

GoKunming: What projects is PSI currently managing?

Clare Ye Sheng: PSI primarily works to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and malaria in Yunnan and Guangxi. We work on HIV prevention through the promotion of healthy behavior and social marketing of condoms and lubricants geared towards high risk groups. We also provide health services and outreach within the community through our drop-in-centers for injection drug users in Kunming and for female sex workers in Mengzi, Honghe. For malaria prevention, we engage in social marketing of long-lasting insecticide treated mosquito nets as well as malaria prevention education in villages throughout Yunnan.

GK: Have PSI programs met with any resistance from its target population on a cultural basis?

CYS: Although PSI is an international NGO based in the US, we strongly believe in local engagement as one of our primary working principles. PSI/China's role is to support the government of China in combating HIV/AIDS and malaria. In addition, most of our staff are locally hired Chinese, so there are very few communication or cultural conflicts to deal with.

Obstacles that we do face derive mainly from a lack of awareness and correct knowledge of HIV/AIDS prevention and social norms regarding relationships amongst the vulnerable population that our programs aim to help. For example, many female sex workers believe that they can prevent the transmission of disease through hygiene alone, and many villagers view mosquito nets as a source of warmth in winter rather than a method of preventing mosquito-borne diseases. We work to correct these misconceptions through targeted intervention based on extensive research to understand the barriers for them to adopt healthy behavior.

GK: Does PSI hope to expand? If so, what are some future projects that the organization would like to engage in?

CSY: We would like to continue our work in Yunnan and Guangxi and expand our HIV prevention services to other at-risk populations such as migrant youth and are also working to promote our social marketing approach with local partners and organizations.

GK: What do you personally consider the most gratifying aspect of your work with PSI?

CSY: During my tenure with PSI I've had the opportunity to travel to villages in remote locations in Yunnan. Being able to talk to villagers about pertinent health issues, understand their lives, and make these personal connections has been immensely gratifying.

Tags: Clare Ye Sheng, Golden Triangle, Guangxi, HIV/AIDS, PSI

A branch of the popular Wenhua Xiang eatery Guozi Lou (锅子楼) sustained severe fire damage after a gas canister in the kitchen exploded at 9:10 pm last Friday night. Members of the kitchen staff suffered burns to their hair and clothes, though no serious injuries have been reported in local media coverage of the fire.

After unsuccessfully attempting to put out the fire with an in-house extinguisher, kitchen staff immediately notified local police who dispatched several fire trucks to the scene. According to eyewitness accounts, no customers were dining at the time, and the flames were extinguished before any further damage or injuries occurred.

Residents living above the restaurant reported that flames reached as high as the fourth story, damaging windowpanes and anti-theft window bars located on apartment balconies. At Guozi Lou itself, the front door became unhinged and the restaurant sign was almost completely destroyed with only one character remaining (see above image).

One observer noted that the damage would have been far worse had the local police not dispersed cars parked on Wenhua Xiang, thus allowing firemen unfettered access to the disaster site.

Friday's fire was the third to strike a Wenhua Xiang restaurant in the past two years. According to residents, all three were caused by gas canister explosions. A local resident surnamed Huang remarked, "Not only do we have to deal with loud noise and street lamps, but now we're under regular threat from restaurant fires."

There was no word from local authorities regarding whether measures will be implemented to prevent a repeat of Friday's near-disaster. As of this writing, all Wenhua Xiang Guozi Lou branches are closed indefinitely.

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Tags: fires, Guozi Lou, Wenhua Xiang