How can the countryside in China regain a attractive image and develop sustainably? This post on Asia Snapshots holds Chengdu's local organic food farm in Anlong as a worthy model after they chat with Gao Qingrong from the Gao Family Farm in Anlong, Sichuan.

Chengdu and Sichuan have both come under fire during the crackdown on soccer corruption. China Sports Daily has a round-up of the latest scandals.

The state-owned newspaper The Global Times has run a particularly open article about the extensive controls on the internet within China and their effect on users and Internet companies. If you're too lazy--er, pressed for time--to read the whole thing, DigiCha posts some choice quotes.

China Beat has a long and wide-ranging article by Ross Terrill, author of the biography Mao, about the book's publication in China, Mao fever, and Mao's changing place in Chinese thought.

The stereotype of the old, baijiu-quaffing, banquet-eating male government official might soon be displaced by the under-qualified but connection-rich and altogether cuter next generation. To Rise From Ashes and ChinaSMACK translate skeptic netizen reactions to the appointment of 20-something-year-olds high up the hierarchy of officials.

There's still no access to YouTube here for most of us, but you can always head over to Youku Buzz, which has a selection of the most-viewed videos to hit their site this week, including the hottest beggar ever to stroll Chinese streets and Chinese cross-talk comedy.

Last Friday, UK citizen and longtime Kunming resident Mike Dawson fell to his death. Mike's friends have organized a few events this weekend in his honour and also to raise money to offset the costs of returning him home.

This Saturday a football (soccer) match will be held in Mike's honour at 2:00 pm at Yunnan Normal University. Anyone is welcome to stop by and watch Mike's former teammates play – any and all contributions will be welcome.

A fancy dress pub crawl has also been organized for Saturday night, beginning at 7:00 at Chapter One, after which it will move on to Salvador's Coffee House, The Box and Halfway House finishing up with a dance party at The Hump Bar. Silly attire is encouraged.

Tickets for the pub crawl cost 50 yuan, which will get you 60 yuan of free drinks plus half price drinks after that. Pub crawl tickets are available at all participating venues as well as at that afternoon's football match.

A memorial will also be held for Mike on Sunday, anyone who was friends with Mike are invited to meet his parents. Time and location details will be posted on this site soon.

GoKunming extends its condolences to Mike Dawson's family and friends.

China was presented with a golden opportunity to win yesterday's 2010 World Cup qualifier match against Australia in Kunming, but it was Aussie goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, not China's Shao Jiayi (邵佳一), who would emerge the hero after blocking Shao's 88th-minute spot kick – the match resulting in a 0:0 draw.

After yesterday's 2:0 upset of Iraq by Qatar, Australia has four points and leads Asia's 'group of death', with China in third place behind Qatar with two points. China has four more matches left during the qualifying stage and still has a chance of qualifying.

Aside from maintaining Australia's leading position in its group, yesterday's draw was a moral victory for the Socceroos, who went in to the match with five of its starters including Harry Kewell and Tim Cahill sitting out due to injuries. Australia was also concerned about the effects of Kunming's 1,900-meter altitude on both its players and the ball - Australia coach Pim Verbeek was critical of the choice of Kunming to host the match, saying his players had little time to adjust to the altitude and expressing concern about the possibility of 'floating balls'.

Ironically, it was China – which had been training in Kunming for weeks – that had problems with floating balls. In the second half China had several opportunities near the Australian goal that were wasted when passes sailed over the heads of open men.

With four goal attempts compared to Australia's one, China was increasing its pressure on the Australian goal, culminating in a penalty kick after goalkeeper Schwarzer was hit with a foul on Qu Bo (曲波) in the penalty area. The thunderous noise generated by the home crowd vanished when Schwarzer stopped Shao's kick with his feet, then pounced upon the ball. Shortly afterward, Australia's David Carney had an opportunity to win the match, but was unable to redirect Mark Bresciano's cross into the Chinese goal.

After the game, Shao apologized for missing the spot kick, which, had it made it past Schwarzer, would have likely given China a victory, putting it atop the group with four points.

Asia's 20 teams are divided into five groups, with the 10 winners and runners-up reaching the final group stage. Four teams will advance from the final group stage to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, with the two next-best teams playing for the chance to play the winner of the Oceania group for another berth.

"I truly feel it was regrettable, I'm sorry to everyone," Shao told Chinese media, "As it was, we totally had an opportunity to win this game, but the spot kick didn't go in… now all I can do is apologize to my teammates and the fans."

"You saw it today, we gave it our all," he continued, "You could say we had a definite advantage – during the game there were several opportunities, it's a pity we were unable to seize them."

Shao Jiayi image: clzg.cn

After weeks of preparation and no shortage of words from either camp, China will finally play Australia at 2 pm today at Tuodong Stadium in a must-win World Cup qualifier that is expected to be fiercely contested.

There will be many variables at play today – Kunming's altitude, an Australian side coping with several injured players and a fervent Chinese crowd that could end up turning on their own players should the Socceroos manage to build an early lead.

Although Australia is generally considered the stronger team, it has suffered untimely injuries to star players including Bruce Djite, Scott McDonald, Mile Sterjovski, Tim Cahill, Brett Emerton and Josh Kennedy. Even Aussie coach Pim Verbeek is on the ropes, suffering from stomach problems that interrupted a press conference earlier this week.

After drawing with Iraq, China needs a win today if it wants to keep its hopes alive of participating in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. China is also dealing with its own injuries - strikers Dong Fangzhou and Shi Jun will not be playing today.

Regardless of how the match ends up, it is providing Kunming with a rare taste of international soccer and an excuse to take the afternoon off. There are a couple of match-related events planned for today:

Pre-match party: Chapter One on Wenlin Jie will be holding a pre-match party beginning at 10:30 am today, with free snacks and one half-price drink for all ticketholders.

Post-match party: Socceroos supporters have organized a party for after the match at the Fisherman's Bar in Kunming Zoulang on Renmin Zhong Lu, featuring select beers on discount for 12 yuan as well as Kunming's largest selection of Aussie beers including Coopers and VB.

China's World Cup qualifier match against Australia is little more than two weeks away, but Australia coach Pim Verbeek has already fired the opening salvos in what come gametime is likely to be a fiercely contested match.

Saturday's Sydney Morning Herald quoted Verbeek – who was in Chongqing to witness China's losses to South Korea and Japan in the East Asian Championships last week – as saying the China Football Association's decision to host the Australia match in Kunming has made his team more determined to win. At an elevation of 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level, Kunming's altitude is expected to present a challenge to the Australian team.

Pressure on China to win their upcoming match in Kunming is high after they played to a draw in their World Cup qualifier against Iraq.

Australia's confidence is high after beating Qatar – the fourth country in what has been dubbed as the qualifying round's "group of death". Defeating China would make it very likely that Australia would make it into the World Cup for its third time ever.

"Probably we will have [the] better players, so the only way to beat us is to make it as difficult as possible - and that's why they play in Kunming and not in Beijing or Shanghai," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Verbeek as saying.

"They're not stupid. On purpose they play at 1900 meters, on purpose they ask us to travel longer than normal … that's why we play in a place nobody has heard of. But on the other hand, I think that is a mistake, because our players are very willing to show it doesn't matter at all. At this moment, I go for three points. I don't go for a draw. After the game, we may have to be honest and say this is the best result we can get. But now the players want to show we have the better team, so we go there to win."

After losing in Chongqing to East Asian rivals South Korea and Japan, the pressure on China to beat Australia is high – a win would keep its hopes of going to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa afloat, but a loss would make it highly unlikely that China would qualify.

"China is one of those countries where the fans definitely expect their team to win," Verbeek said. "And they have to win, because after the draw against Iraq, they have to beat us. They have a lot of new players in the team. They have had a very long preparation, and during that preparation, the coach sent out five or six players because he was not happy with them.

"At the East Asian Championship, the results were not good, but I thought they were not bad. I was not concerned with results, I was looking for quality and weakness in the team, and I still think they will be dangerous. But they have the pressure. They will have 50,000 people making unbelievable noise, and that is good for us."

There will also be some cash at stake for host team China when they play Australia at Tuodong Stadium on the 26th.The China Football Association has pledged to give eight million yuan to China's national team should it qualify for the upcoming World Cup. Additionally, the team will receive 500,000 yuan for each victory over a nation ranked in the world top 50 and 300,000 yuan for defeating lesser-ranked teams.

Image: FOX Sports Australia

Related article:

China, Australia to battle for World Cup playing rights in Kunming

Kunming's Tuodong Stadium has been selected as the site of the March 26 World Cup qualifying match between China and Australia's national soccer (football) teams as they fight to advance through what has been dubbed the "group of death" – a qualifying group that also includes powerhouses Iraq and Qatar. Only the group winner and runner-up will advance to the World Cup.

Each team will bear its own unique burden going into the stadium, with the ultimate goal of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

For China, the pressure to qualify for the World Cup is immense. China has only managed to qualify for the global soccer tournament once – in 2002, by beating Oman in the freezing weather of wintry Shenyang. After failing to qualify for the 2006 World Cup and with the country preparing to hold the Olympics this year, there is national pride at stake, but there is also a hefty bonus riding on the team's ability to qualify.

The China Football Association has pledged to give eight million yuan to the national team should it qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Furthermore, the team will receive 500,000 yuan for each victory over a nation ranked in the world top 50 and 300,000 yuan for defeating lesser-ranked teams.

Last week the Beijing Youth Daily reported that the Chinese team took a New Year's oath to qualify for the World Cup, reciting:

"I pledge to advance to the World Cup, which is the professional goal that we strive for… we swear by death to kill along the bloody road of defending the honor of the motherland and realize our youthful dreams."

For Australia, aside from having to play strong teams from Iraq and Qatar, the Socceroos will have to cope with Kunming's high altitude. At roughly 1,900 meters above sea level, Tuodong Stadium poses a major challenge to Australia, which has no high-altitude training facilities of its own.

Australia is now filtering through player files from 2005 to determine which of its players are best- and least-suited to playing at high altitude. Australian media is viewing China's selection of Kunming as a strategic move to disrupt the Australian side.

Image: Football Wallpapers.com

Kunming International Football Club is looking for men and women in Kunming who want to play football (soccer).

The club has been going for over 10 years and is one of the top teams in Kunming. Currently the club has full 11-a-side matches during weekends and plays indoors during the week, usually on Wednesday evenings. It runs two teams and accepts players of all abilities.

Anybody interested contact Piers at 13888556850, James at 13116221933 or stop by Chapter One and see who's around.

Thanks to Maggie Rauch for this video from China's 7th National Disabled Games, held last week in Kunming. Here is a look at some of China's top blind footballers in action.