Juventus' Alex Sandro (C) celebrates after he scores team's third goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Juventus and Crotone in Turin Air Jordan Retro For Sale Free Shipping , Italy, May 21, 2017. Juventus wins 3-0. (XinhuaAlberto Lingria)






Tourists visit lily garden in SW China's Guizhou


In pics: scenery of cliffs in Guoliang Village


Cheongsam lovers give performance in east China


Pic story: Technique of making Jianzhan porcelain


Weekly choices of Xinhua photos (May 15 - May 21)


First Giants Parade held in Leuven, Belgium


China succeeds in mining combustible ice in South China Sea


In pics: road on cliffs of Taihang Mountain in N China


PARIS, May 29 (Xinhua) -- China's top-ranked tennis player Zhang Shuai took on two strong comebacks to go past Donna Vekic of Croatia 7-5, 6-4, making into the women's singles second round of the 2017 French Open here on Monday.


Zhang, positioned 34th on WTA world rankings, held her serves twice with Vekic to tie the game at 2-all, before Vekic had the first break in the following game, and led 5-2 into the eighth game with some tricky hits.


Zhang then took five games in a row to turn around at 7-5.


The second set went on in a similar manner, as Vekic came back from 2-1, 40-0 down in the fourth game to ride on a three-game winning streak for a 4-2 advantage.


Again, it was Zhang who kicked off another surge for five games in a row, highlighted by an ace in the ninth game.


"After the ace, I knew that I could win the match," said Zhang.


Vekic saved three match points of Zhang, who still sealed the win on her Croatian opponent's double fault.


Zhang found it pretty hard to taste victory on clay this year, but taking her consecutive losses in recent weeks as good experience for her growth.


"I had to admit that I didn't play very well today despite the win. Actually, I have shown some qualities although I lost time and time again in the past several weeks," said Zhang.


"I met many strong opponents before on clay this year. When I play against a player who has a lower world ranking, I can still taste the win even though I'm not at the top," she added.


Zhang will face the 98th-ranked Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus, whom she beat in Australian Open early this year, in the second round. One more victory would beat Zhang's previous personal best record in Roland Garros.


"She is a quality and competitive player despite her world ranking. It will a good matchup," commented Zhang.


In pics: Kenya's Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway


(My Railway, My Story) Part 1: Bridges


People buy "zongzi" to greet Dragon Boat Festival in Taipei


S. Korea's former president arrives for trial at court in Seoul


Cheongsam show held at Sanshuiwan scenic spot in Taizhou City


In pics: Amboseli National Park in Kenya


In pics: outdoor cultural performance given by Ulanmuqi in N China


Water park attracts many citizens in SW China's Chongqing




By Yuan Quan


BEIJING， June 9 (Xinhua) -- "Paddles ready? Go!"


The crew of the small dragon boat begin pounding the water with their paddles to the rhythm of the drummer at the bow. Ignoring the splashing， the dragon boaters focus on powering the boat forward.


Welcome to a practice session of TBT， or Towards the Best Team， a group of amateurs who assemble twice a week to train on Beijing's Houhai Lake.


They compete not only to win races， but to tempt other urbanites to join them on the water. Dragon boating may be a tradition dating back thousands of years， but it can seem remote from the lives of modern Chinese， especially in the dry northern cities.


TBT's best chance of changing that comes with China's annual Dragon Boat Festival， a national holiday celebrated this year from June 9-11.


Dragon Boating is the perfect way to wind down after a hard week at work， say many of the 200 members of TBT， although few of them knew much about the sport before taking up their paddles.


Zhang Na and her Canadian friend Victor Kok established the club in 2002. It has a high turnover of members as boaters go abroad or leave for other reasons like pregnancy， but the sport continues.


"We are always seeing new faces introduced by old members，" says Zhang.


Fifteen years ago， when most of the participants were expats， many came in the hope of practicing English. But a love of paddling soon became their prime motivation.


Beijing native Xia Tian， 34， finds the experience exhilarating.