It's rare that the protagonist in a Chinese movie wins the audience's hearts with an emotionally uplifting message, rather than by showing off his or her good looks. But Wolf Warrior II is putting China in the global spotlight. It's also the first film to taste success both in terms of box office earnings and promoting Chinese values.

    Kung fu artist Wu Jing both starred in and directed the action movie. Since its release on July 27, it's earned an unimaginable 4.5 billion yuan, setting a record for domestic movies at the box office. The success of the film has surpassed the anticipations of all, including the production team.

    The film focuses on a rescue operation in Africa, led by former special forces soldier Leng Feng-played by Wu. Leng helps Chinese workers and local Africans flee a war-torn and plague-ravaged country. Wolf Warrior II links art to reality, and reminds people of the massive evacuation of Chinese people from Libya when civil war broke out there in 2011, and from Yemen in 2015, as well as the challenges the Ebola virus created in West Africa from 2013 to 2016. The film describes how the Chinese government aims to protect overseas Chinese citizens. Just as the message at the end of the film reads: “Citizens of the People's Republic of China. When you encounter danger in a foreign land, do not give up! Please remember, at your back stands a strong motherland.”

    Thanks to China's increasing participation in global affairs, now could be considered the right moment to introduce a modern Chinese hero.

    “Holding up a banner of peace, friendship and responsibility, Wolf Warrior II should be seen as a brave effort to promote Chinese values around the world,” columnist Zhu Ping wrote in China Daily.

    “It's time Chinese filmmakers produced films that tell good stories and carry the right spirit. Let us assume Wolf Warrior II has started that trend.”

    I don't think there is anything more important than health. “Health is the greatest wealth，” wise people say. You can't be good at your studies or work well when you are ill.

    If you have a headache, toothache, backache, earache or bad pain in the stomach, if you complain of a bad cough, if you run a high temperature and have a bad cold, or if you suffer from high or low blood pressure, I think you should go to the doctor. The doctor will examine your throat, feel your pulse, test your blood pressure, take your temperature, sound your heart and lungs, test your eyes, check your teeth or have your chest X-rayed. After that, he will advise some treatment, or some medicine. The only thing you have to do is to follow his advice.

    Speaking about doctor's advice, I can't help telling you a funny story. An old gentleman came to see the doctor. The man was very ill. He told the doctor about his weakness, memory loss and serious problems with his heart and lungs. The doctor examined him and said there was no medicine for his disease. He told his patient to go to a quiet place for a month and have a good rest. He also advised him to eat a lot of meat, drink two glasses of red wine every day and take long walks. In other words, the doctor advised him to follow the rule: "Eat with pleasure, drink with pleasure and enjoy life as it is." The doctor also said that if the man wanted to be well again, he shouldn't smoke more than one cigarette a day. A month later the gentleman came into the doctor's office. He looked cheerful and happy. He thanked the doctor and said that he had never felt a healthier man." But you know, doctor," he said, “it's not easy to begin smoking at my age.”

    Most heroes are not super. They don't appear in comic books, on television, or in movies. They just do what they believe needs to be done to make their world a better place. Bike Batman is one of them.

    Bike Batman is a 30-year-old married engineer who lives in Seattle, Washington. He's a cyclist who also buys and sells bikes as a hobby.

    About three years ago, he was looking for a bike for his wife. He found one on Craigslist, a website where people list things they want to sell. As he often does, he also looked at Bike Index, a popular website that allows users to register their bikes and post reports when they're taken. The bike, which he was considering purchasing, clearly matched one reported stolen on Bike Index.

    Then he called the person who claimed to be the bike's owner and arranged to meet him— supposedly to complete the sale. When the two men met, Bike Batman told the thief, “You've got two options. You can wait until a police officer gets here, or you can just get out of here.” You can imagine what the thief did.

    After that first success, Bike Batman developed a safer routine. When he sees questionable bike ads on Craigslist, he cross-references the image with bikes reported on Bike Index. Once he has confirmed it with the owner, he arranges a meet-up with the thief and will call the Seattle police department so that officers can participate in the action. In more than half of the 22 cases in which he has got back and returned bikes, the thieves have been arrested. In one case, Bike Batman even helped a family recover a wide range of prized possessions that suspects had stolen during a home burglary.

    His nickname came from a discussion with a police officer who suggested he be called “Robin Hood”. Since he wasn't exactly stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, “Batman” seemed a better fit. The idea of a superhero punishing criminals feels pretty silly to him, but the main reason he continues his work is to keep up Seattle's reputation as a friendly city.

    When your dream is to become a footballer, nothing should get in your way—even if you have no feet.

    Gabriel Muniz, an 11-year-old Brazil kid, was born without feet. Although his family thought he would have serious difficulties living a normal life, he started walking before he was one year old. His mother would go after him, expecting him to keep falling, but he never fell. It took him a while to make the jump from walking to playing football, but he did make it. And, in fact, there's nothing he loves more than playing football. In his school, the skillful youngster (年轻人) is not only the best player in his school team but also the captain of his gym team.

    He knows that his disability means he'll never be able to play for a professional (专业的) football team. So Gabriel is hoping that football will one day become a Paralympics (残疾人奥运会的) sport. He proved to everyone there he could go head to head with any other boy. Watching him play is unbelievable. He's fast and he's got a big bag of tricks—he's very skilled and he does everything he can to copy his hero, Messi so much that he is invited to go to Spain to meet his hero Messi and show his talent in the Barcelona Football Club.

    His coach says he is proving the disability only exists (存在) inside our heads.

    The summer I turned 16, my father gave me a car, which permitted Hannah and me to drive around Tucson whenever we wanted to.

    Hannah was my best friend. "Hannah's amazing," my mother always said. And sure enough, that summer she signed with a modeling agency. She was already doing runway work.

    One day, Hannah and I went to the movies. On the way home, we stopped at the McDonald's drive-through, putting the fries on the seat between us to share. "Let's ride around a while," I said. It was a clear night, moonlight shone over the desert. Taking a turn too fast, I hit a patch of dirt and fishtailed.

    French fries on the floor. An impossible amount of blood on Hannah's face. They took us in separate ambulances. In the ER, my parents spoke quietly Best plastic surgeon in the city. End of her modeling career.

    We'd been wearing lap belts, but the car didn't have shoulder harnesses. I'd cracked my cheekbone: Hannah's forehead had split wide open. What would I say to her?

    When her mother, Sharon, came into my hospital room, I started to cry, bracing myself for her anger. She sat beside me and took my hand. "I almost ended my best friend when I was your age," she said, "I totaled her car and mine."

    "I'm so sorry," I said.

    "You're both alive," she said, "The rest is window dressing." I started to protest, and Sharon stopped me. "I forgive you. Hannah will too."

    Sharon's forgiveness allowed Hannah and me to stay friends throughout life. I think of her gift of forgiveness every time I want to resent someone for a perceived wrong. And whenever I see Hannah, the scars are a symbol of grace for me.

    I always feel sorry for world leaders busy dealing with fights between nations. When my three children were young, most days it was hard to keep my house from becoming a battlefield.

    It got worse as they grew older. Three years ago, Zack, then 16, couldn't make it through a day without making his sisters, Alex 11 and Taryn 9, angry.

    My husband and I tried to be understanding the boy at such an age. We reasoned, punished, and left heartfelt notes on his bed about how he was hurting our family. His answer was" I say it because it's true."

    I even tried telling the girls to fight back. Bad idea. Now I had three children at war. Whatever I said to them, they paid no attention. When there was no way out, I told everything to my sister, Mary, in an e-mail. She replied, "Don't e-mail me. E-mail him."

    Our son was online every day, mailing and talking with his friends. Maybe he would actually hear me this way. I didn't say anything different, but e-mail just took the tension away. There'd be no shouting or door banging. Zack wouldn't feel under attack.

    Zack didn't reply for days. When he finally did, his entire message was four small words. I smiled when I read them: "You're right. I'm sorry."

    The children still fought, of course, but Zack changed. Best of all, I now have a better way to talk with not one but three of them. I like it that they don't tune me out as much as they used to. They like not having to listen to me shouting to them. Or as Alex says, "You're so much nicer online."

    All I know is that the house is quiet. But we're talking.