RIO DE JANEIRO， May 30 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's Paralympic torch relay route will include one city in each of Brazil's five geographical regions before ending at the Maracana stadium for the opening ceremony on September 7， organizers said on Monday.


The torch will will arrive in the capital Brasilia (Central West region) on September 1 before stopping in Belem (North)， Natal (Northeast)， Joinville (South) and Sao Paulo (Southeast) in the next five days.


The opening ceremony's creative directors will be plastic artist Vik Muniz， writer Marcelo Rubens Paiva and designer Fred Gelli.


The ceremony will feature performances from six samba artists: Monarco， Teresa Cristina， Hamilton de Holanda， Diogo Nogueira， Xande de Pilares and Pretinha da Serrinha.


Organizers did not reveal details but it is understood Muniz is working on a giant artistic structure that will be unveiled on the Maracana turf.


The Rio 2016 organizing committee said that 720，000 tickets to the Paralympics had been sold with 2.5 million still available.


Ticket prices start at less than three US dollars and can be purchased on the official Rio 2016 website or via authorized resellers.


Sports that have attracted the most interest from fans so far are athletics， wheelchair basketball， goalball， swimming and wheelchair rugby.


KABUL , Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Taliban militants fighting the government to regain power and reestablish the hardliner outfit's reign in Afghanistan , has stepped up attacks on highways in the war-ravaged country to mount pressure on government.


The armed group in its latest attempt to exert pressure on government forces and display its presence elsewhere in the country began checking travelers on the main highway linking the capital city Kabul to the southern Kandahar province.


According to media reports , armed Taliban fighters established a checkpoint in Sayedabad district of Wardak province at 05:00 a.m. local time and began intercepting and checking passenger buses heading from Kabul to Kandahar and vice-versa.


Confirming the report , Abdul Rahman Mangal , the spokesman for Wardak provincial government said that the security forces had been sent to the area and so far two Taliban fighters had been killed and several others injured.


He also hoped that the highway would soon be reopened and militants would flee the area.


In a similar step , Taliban insurgents attacked the road linking the capital city of Kabul to the northern Mazar-e-Sharif city in Kilagai area of Dushi district on Monday triggering gun battle and the security forces after fighting for four hours were able to reopen the road , Dushi district governor Shamsudin Sarhadi said.


Afghan observers believe that the Taliban by attacking highways and checking passengers from one hand wants to defame the government and from the other to intimidate government supporters traveling by buses and win media's attention in its propaganda war.


China marks PLA's 90th anniversary with grand rally


President Xi attends reception for founding anniversary of PLA


China issues commemorative stamps to mark 90th birthday of PLA


Nanchang Uprising commemorated in east China's Jiangxi


Military parade held to mark PLA 90th birthday (Part I)


SWAT team members take part in drill


Acrobatic show staged in China's Xinjiang


Martial arts competition held in China's Henan




CHANGSHA， Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- In Mao Anping's living room is a family photo. In the center of the frame sits Chairman Mao Zedong.


"He is my father's second cousin，" said the 72-year-old retiree from his front room in the village of Shaoshan in central China's Hunan Province， pointing at the solemn man in a white shirt. "Should he be alive today， he would have been happy to see how his hometown has changed."


Mao， the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC)， was born in Shaoshan in 1893 and lived there for 16 years.


He passed away on Sept. 9， 1976. Forty years after his death， the country he founded has gone through some dramatic changes， but he remains an influential figure.


CHANGES IN SHAOSHAN


Shaoshan was an impoverished village when New China was founded. In Mao Anping's photograph， shot in 1959， some of the villagers were bare foot.


Mao Yushi， 71， the Party chief of Shaoshan， remembers the sadness that rippled through the village when the news broke that Mao had passed away. The village was even more upset when they couldn't find anyone who owned a television to watch his funeral.


Several years later， China began its reform and opening-up drive， and Mao Yushi saw an opportunity.


"We tried to encourage villagers to start businesses，" he said. The response was far from positive -- all the villagers refused. "They saw businessmen as mercenaries and said they would bring shame on Chairman Mao and everything he stood for."


Mao Yushi prevailed， he pounded the pavements and went from door to door to talk with the villagers. Tang Ruiren was first to be persuaded.


In 1984， she began to sell food， secretly. She carried a bucket of porridge to Chairman Mao's residence， and set herself up outside， but she only dared sell to visitors. Whenever a fellow villager was nearby， she hid behind a tree.


She forgot how much she earned that day， but the remarks of one visitor struck her. "He told me 'it is good to earn money and support yourself'."


As a result， she carried on， and her business grew and grew. In 1987， she opened a restaurant and called it Maojia， meaning belonging to Mao.


Maojia began opening franchise restaurants in 1994. It now has more than 300 outlets across China. Maojia began selling pre-packed food in 2008， including red-braised pork and fire baked fish -- both favorites of Chairman Mao. The products are now available on online platforms such as.