HAIKOU， Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Mission Hills World Celebrity Pro-Am 2016 golf event， which is set to last until Oct. 23 in Haikou， capital of south China's Hainan province， teed off on this Friday.


The star-studded golf event includes nine world top professional golfers and 27 famous stars from the world of sports and entertainment.


The guest list includes golfing greats Gary Player， John Daly， Mark O' Meara and Rich Beem - with 14 Major Championships between them. Oscar winner Michael Douglas， Wimbledon champion Boris Becker as well as basketball Hall of Famers Allen Iverson and Yao Ming round out the non-golfing side.


A team consists of one pro and three celebrity partners. The event is divided into two parts: a Pro-Am match and an individual match.


The biennial Mission Hills World Celebrity Pro-Am was established in 2010 as Asia's first and only pro-celebrity golf tournament.


The Mission Hills World Celebrity Pro-Am has since become one of three world pro-am tournaments， alongside Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and Dunhill Championship.




by Xinhua Writer Wang Fan， Yuan Yue


NEW YORK， Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Monday， to most people， was just the beginning of another week. But to cartoonist Lucio Zago， it marked the onset of a new journey: the printing of his very first book to be completely funded by hundreds of strangers all over the world.


Thirty days ago， in his cozy apartment in Brooklyn， New York， Zago decided to try a thing he had never done before: launch a 30-day crowdfunding campaign for his graphic novel entitled Williamsburg.


Having lived in the now trendy， hipster neighborhood of Williamsburg for 23 years， he had a story to tell through the graphic novel about the fast-changing community where once nobody wanted to live.


"Honestly (at first) I didn't really trust the crowdfunding process very much，" he told Xinhua.


But to his surprise， the first day had gone stupendously. The goal of the 30-day campaign was to raise 7，800 U.S. dollars. Twenty-four hours into the crowdfunding campaign， he had raised nearly one third of the goal.


"I felt encouraged， and also a bit scared， because at the time I get a backer， I know that I owe them something，" Zago said.


Since the advent of the first crowdfunding platform in 2008， the economic trend has been simmering for years and seemed to blossom in 2016.


It is estimated that global crowdfunding investments reached 34 billion dollars in 2015， and in 2016 it will surpass the annual amount venture-capital funds received globally.


Like Zago， hundreds of thousands of kindred spirits share their ideas， from high-tech gadgets to food to the film industry and even to real estate. Crowdfunding brings their inspirations to life.


This comes as no surprise for Slava Rubin who， along with two other partners， launched Indiegogo in 2008， the first rewards-based crowdfunding site， with an ambition to "democratize the access to capital."


"That (crowdfunding is on fire) is not a surprise. And we have lots of work left to do because the world needs an alternative way of funding，" he said.


To Zago， what crowdfunding brought to his life was never about the money， but the connection with his fans all over the world.


On May 30， after the cartoonist collected 15，475 U.S. dollars from 318 supporters， a sense of emptiness kicked in. "No more notifications， no more new backers，" he said.


Zago， an obscure cartoonist in the comic world， saw the crowdfunding campaign as a way to reach out to his backers.


"If I hear it rings， I would run over to see if there is anything new. It is not about the money， it is about who it is， where is he or she from. Then I feel most excited when there is a phone far away."


He got responses from backers all over the world， such as the Philippines， Australia， Germany， Austria， Italy， South America， and Chile. "It is encouraging to know that my work is being seen somewhere on the other side of the world."


Having done a lot of research on the subject， Anindya Ghose， professor of marketing with New York University， also believes that money is actually the secondary outcome of crowdfunding.


"Its primary benefit is generating market awareness and buzz or word-of-mouth of your idea，" he said.


Have raised more money than his original target， Zago plans to add some elements to increase the quality of the book， including printing the entire book with recycled paper， inserting a certain amount of pages in color， and giving the book a protective sleeve.


"I have gone through the entire experience of doing a crowdfunding project， I am a fan of it. But don't just jump into it， prepare yourself really really well， create a very good program，" he said. "It is a lot of work."

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Buddhist monks bless Cambodian peacekeepers with holy waters at a departure ceremony， in Phnom Penh， Cambodia， Nov. 2， 2016. Cambodia dispatched the third batch of 216 peacekeepers to join a United Nations peacekeeping operation in the Central African Republic (CAR) on Wednesday. (XinhuaPhearum)

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RIYADH Air Jordan Retro For Sale Free Shipping , Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Saudi public security Wednesday called on citizens to use social media to report suspected terrorist activities, Al Akhbariya TV channel reported.


A day earlier, a suicide attack targeting two premises of Saudi Defense Ministry in Riyadh was foiled, and two suicide bombers, identifited as Islamic State (IS) militants, were arrested.


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