2 . Last weekend, my husband and I drove a dog to her new home. Typically, when we have a new dog in the backseat, it’s a young dog. But this passenger was a much different story. Magdalen is a 13-year old dog. Her owner gave her up temporarily when he was sick, but when he fully recovered several months later, he said he didn’t want her back. He had her since she was young but now had no place for her.

The family who had given her a temporary home had children and other dogs and was unable to give her a forever home. When Speak St, Louis, the rescue team I work with, was contacted about the dog, they offered to take her in. She went to a vet (兽医) for a basic health check. But the vet didn’t have great news. Her mouth was swollen (肿胀的) with all sorts of problems. Two teeth fell out during cleaning and eleven more had to be pulled out.

Luckily, a good friend of mine, a dog trainer with a soft heart for seniors, had agreed to adopt Magdalen. On the trip to the trainer’s home, the sweet senior looked so relaxed in our backseat. I felt a great sense of relief and pleasure.

Her owner needed some temporary help when he was sick. But I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t have wanted her back. I think of my own dog and dogs we lost to old age in the past. We’re family and we stay that way forever. She’d be able to live a good life. I hoped, in her new home!

4 . E-bikes are becoming more and more popular. It opens cycling to older people, those with disabilities, people who live in hilly cities where regular cycling requires serious effort.

Three things are needed to make e-bikes popular—a safe place to ride, good affordable bikes and a secure place to park. Safety comes first. For bike lanes (车道) to work, the network has to be continuous, not just forcing cyclists into the middle of a busy street. It should be well protected so that the cyclists won't feel they'll be knocked down by cars. It's necessary to provide good affordable e-bikes to customers either in physical stores or in online stores. Only in this way can people consider buying one as their means of transportation. Parking remains an avoidable problem if we want to encourage more people to ride e-bikes. In Netherlands or Copenhagen, large bike parking lots at train and bus stations encourage varieties of transport. People can easily find bike parking everywhere. This is going to be needed in other cities too for e-bikes to really become a form of transportation.

As a matter of fact, people have found that e-bikes are effective transportation choices. A recent study shows that people who ride e-bikes increase their travel distance from 2. 1 to 9. 2 km per day on average. That is sure to do good to their health. It's also believed that if just 15% of a city’s population turn to e-bikes, it would reduce the carbon emissions (排放) from transportation by 12%.

All of these lead me to conclude that e-bikes are a far better way of dealing with transportation emissions than electric cars. They won't work for everyone, but they don't have to.

Located in southwest Anshun, Guizhou Province, Huangguoshu Waterfall is the largest and most wonderful group of waterfalls in China. With splendid scenery, the waterfall was included in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest waterfall group in 1999. It is 77.8 meters high and 101 meters wide, with 17 smaller waterfalls.

Best time to visit: May to October

Admission: 180 yuan(March 1 to Oct. 31); 160 yuan off-season(Nov. 1 to Feb. 28)

Kanas Lake, lying in a valley in the Altai Mountains, is located near the very northern tip of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous(自治的)Region. The lake is famous for its fantastic natural landscape and mysterious local legend. It is surrounded by thick layers of forest, and the color of the water changes according to different seasons, weather and depth. Kanas Nature Reserve founded in 1980 is now considered a paradise(天堂)for travelers and hikers.

Best time to visit: June, September

Admision: 150 yuan(April 1 to Oct. 31); 80 yuan of-season(Nov. 1 to March 31)

Jiuzhai Valley in Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, is a magical fairyland in nature that enchants tourists with mountains, forests, lakes, waterfalls and crowded wildlife.   During autumn, colorful leaves are reflected in the clear waters. Lakes vary in color according to their depths, angles and surroundings, striking a lively contrast with the blue sky and snow-white clouds.

Best time to visit: September to October

Admission: 220 yuan(April 1 to Nov. 15); 80 yuan(Nov. 16 to March 30)

Changbai Mountain in southeastern Jilin Province is located on the border(边界)between China and North Korea. Considered as the most famous mountain in northeast China, Changbai Mountain has rich biodiversity(生物多样性). With an average altitude of 2,000 meters, the mountain is well-known for its snowy scenery, cool summers and many mineral springs.

Admission: 100 yuan for adults; 50 yuan for children

Hours: 8 a. m. to 4p. m.