Special Report: Yearender 2008                                     

    BEIJING, Jan. 4 -- As we embrace 2009, let's take a moment to take look back at some of the most memorable cultural stars in 2008. Some of these notable figures are still shining on the scene while others, sadly, are gone from the global stage.

As we embrace 2009, let's take a moment to take look back at some of the most memorable cultural stars in 2008.(Photo: CCTV.com) Photo Gallery>>>

    Whatever their individual stories, they all made their lasting mark on culture, as we turn the page to a new year.

French writer Jean Marie Gustave Le Clezio was the winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature.(Photo: CCTV.com) Photo Gallery>>>

    French writer Jean Marie Gustave Le Clezio was the winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature. The Swedish Academy called him the "author of new departures, poetic adventures and sensual ecstasy". And also "an explorer of a humanity, beyond and below, the reigning civilization".

Renowned Russian author Aleksandr Isayerich Solzhenitsyn (Photo: CCTV.com) Photo Gallery>>>

    Renowned Russian author Aleksandr Isayerich Solzhenitsyn passed away on August 3rd, 2008, at the age of 89. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970.

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