Basking in the first rays of morning sunlight in the 21^st century,we turn a new page. Former days, like precious pictures, are hidden deeply in our hearts: The weather-beaten doors of the old house, the mother's sewing machine, the coupons once used to buy rationed daily necessities.

        While we remember the past, we begin a new life. We are moving into new houses, using computers, sending information by cell phones and using digital video recorders to capture life's images. We try new and exciting sports and savor the elegant and passionate life surrounding us.

        Gazing from our windows, we can see the air, the traffic, the trees and the flowers. When looking afar, we think of the mothers in China's vast western regions, children who have dropped out of school and laid-off women. These are all things we are concerned with.

        This is life, as lived daily by the women of the 56 ethnic groups residing in this 9.6-million-square-kilometer country.