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56 Gigantic Pillars Installed on Tian’anmen Square

Sep 14th, 2009
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Workers are installing 56 gigantic red pillars that are painted with different ethnic patterns on Tian’anmen Square, for the symbolic meaning of China’s 56 ethnic groups. This is one of the main decorations on the square for this year’s 60th anniversary National Day ceremony. The 56 pillars implies the equality, unity, harmony and national ethnic structure. Each pillar is 13.6 meters high and weighs 26 tons. They are designed to resist level 11 wind, rain and fire.

Each pillar has an unique painting that symbolizes an ethnic group in China. The first pillar of national unity has been installed ib the east side of Tian’anmen Square today.

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China-made Advanced Jet Meets International Market

Sep 14th, 2009
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The third China-made advanced regional jet carried out its maiden flight here on Sunday, bringing the ARJ21 model one step closer to secure airworthiness qualifications from home and abroad. The trial flight of the ARJ21-700 at an altitude of 3,000 meters and a speed equivalent to 318 kilometers per hour began at 1:21 p.m. and lasted 56 minutes. After its landing, test pilot Deng Youming reported to general manager Jin Zhuanglong of the developer– Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC)– that everything was normal in the air.

This latest test would be mainly focused on the jet’s power-supply and avionics systems while the previous two tests, carried out in November and July respectively, targeted stability control and propelling machinery.

COMAC also announced that a fourth jet would be put to test this year and go through all tests in relation to the airworthiness certificate issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States Department of Transportation. These four jets would alternate to receive tests in both Shanghai and Xi’an, with the total test flight hours expected to hit 1,650.

According to plans, the ARJ21 regional jet should secure domestic airworthiness qualification by the end of 2010 and that authorized by the FAA by 2012. The first home-made commercial plane in China had so far received 208 orders from home and abroad, including 25 ordered by the GE Commercial Aviation Services, the largest aircraft-leasing company of the United States.

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Guang Dong Province in China Installs One Million Surveillance Cameras to Monitor Crimes

Sep 13th, 2009
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China’s southern province – Guang Dong is installing 1 million surveillance cameras in public places to monitor crimes. The cameras will be fully operational in 2010. The system, which is yet to pick up its full speed, has helped police detain more than 10,000 suspects since the beginning of the year. More than 18,000 cases of street crime have been prevented or fought, according to the newspaper. The cameras will be part of an advanced video network that will link local police crime-reporting centers to every major public place in the region’s cities.

So far, the province has already had more than 900,000 video cameras in major cities including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhongshan, Dongguan and cities in the Pearl River Delta. Guangdong, which borders Hong Kong and Macao, is one of China’s leading exporters and home to tens of thousands of migrant workers and business people who seek development and opportunities.

What concerns the public with this act would be their privacy. The quantity of surveillance in high density areas has reached record high.

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Documentary on Ancient Tang Dynasty Premieres in UN

Sep 12th, 2009
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Chinese documentary Da Ming Palace premiered in the UN headquarters in New York Wednesday, transporting audiences to the flourishing Tang Dynasty more than a thousand years ago.

Located in the northern part of Xi’an city, the capital of northwestern China’s Shaanxi Province, Da Ming Palace is the most splendid architectural complex of the Tang Dynasty. It is also renowned as the Eastern Sanctuary and demonstrates the developed economy, blooming culture and sophisticated architectural technique at the time.

The documentary Da Ming Palace contains various special effects to demonstrate the historical features of the palace. The film has won great public acclaim during its showing in China.

Director Jin Tiemu said at the premiere ceremony he hoped that the movie could help the world to “know the true legend of Tang and find the ultimate spirit of Tang embedded within.”

Ambassador Liu Zhenmin, China’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, said the Tang Dynasty enjoys a “significant and unique status in China’s history.” The Tang Dynasty had 20 emperors who ruled China from the 7th to the 9th centuries A.D.

“China at that time was a remarkably open society with unprecedented frequent and extensive exchanges and interactions with the rest of the world,” Liu said.

Chinatowns are springing up in various cities worldwide. The Chinese term for Chinatown is “Tang Ren Jie.” Literally, it means “residential blocks or districts of the people of the Tang Dynasty,” Liu explained.

“Through the documentary, we will not only get a glimpse of what the Tang Dynasty was like and how prosperous, peaceful and harmonious China was at that time, but we will also see that a magnificent imperial palace once exclusively enjoyed by emperors has now been turned into a public park,” Liu announced.

Some 100 representatives from the UN and permanent missions, including UN Secretary-General’s Chief of Staff Vijay Nambiar, Under Secretary-General Angela Kane and Under Secretary-General Lynn Pascoe attended the premiere.

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Tight Securities in Beijing During the 60th National Day Celebration

Sep 11th, 2009
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Beijing is tightening up security and traffic controls every day for the upcoming National Day celebration (October 1st).

By Sept. 15, police forces, including the armed police, in Beijing and its six neighboring regions will be required to carry out night patrols. Overhauls of safety in workplaces and key institutions will also be launched. The traffic administrations in Beijing and surrounding areas would set up more checkpoints to enhance security control over vehicles from places outside the Chinese capital.

The Public Security Bureau of Beijing issued a provisional regulation earlier this month on its official website, stipulating traffic limits on incoming vehicles between Sept. 15 to Oct. 8. The order bans transportation of toxic or dangerous chemicals within a certain region or time span unless they are subject to permits issued by traffic authorities. Cargo vehicles, tractors and tricars will not be allowed to enter Beijing’s newly launched sixth ring road except for the transport of daily necessities to the city and supplies for the National Day celebrations.

The regulation also reduced the period of validity of provisional permits for incoming passenger and cargo vehicles to three days from the original seven days.

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60th National Day Celebration at Tian’anmen Square Seeks for Pest Controls

Sep 3rd, 2009
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China celebrate the National Day (October 1st) every year. This year is the 60th celebration and it will be a grand gathering as the No. 1 leader in China – Hu Jintao will give a keynote speech at the Tian’anmen Square. Just to tell you how much the Chinese government cares about this event, Beijing is wiping out mosquitoes, flies, rats and cockroaches around the Tian’anmen square to make sure participants of the 60th National Day celebrations are free from epidemics and bites.

The Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) carried out extermination sweeps on Aug. 18, 21, 24 and 28 – and plans to do it again on Sept. 4, 11 and 25 – around Tian’anmen Square and adjacent streets, including the Tian’anmen Rostrum and the Memorial Hall of Chairman Mao. The campaigns, all at night to avoid affecting the public, aim to prevent epidemics and exterminate the four pests, especially rats and mosquitoes. Rats could eat electric cables and mosquitoes could bite and annoy people gathering in the square on October 1 to celebrate the60th anniversary of the founding of new China.

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Ophone Vs iPhone

Sep 1st, 2009
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A new mobile phone is launched today in China which could threat the dominating position of Apple’s iPhone. China Mobile, the world’s biggest wireless carrier, launched Monday its own mobile phone operating system that can support its homegrown 3G standard along with a new phone called “Ophone”. Ophone is the world’s first mobile phone operating system developed by a telecom carrier, and the Ophone handsets is seen by analysts as a move that could help China Mobile stabilize its slowing profit growth.

The Ophone handsets that can support China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA 3Gstandard will come out within this year, the company said, without specifying when. According to a recent survey, 51% of the 2,161 respondents said they might buy an Ophone, attracted by its “powerful” mobile Internet connection and application functions.

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A Man Smoked in Banned Areas Was Put in Jail for 5 Days

Aug 26th, 2009
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The Chinese government are acting on the new law to ban smokes in certain areas. Police in Chongqing have detained a man for five days for smoking in a wholesale market. It is a move the government hopes to set an example for others who may be tempted to break a new law.

Mr. Zhao, is the first person detained under the new law, which bans people from smoking in areas considered to be a fire hazard. On Aug 20, the ministry issued six new fire safety regulations, including one that police should detain people who smoke in fire hazard areas. The regulation followed an anti-fire law that came into effect on May 1, under which those who smoke in places with risks of fire or explosion can be warned and fined. Only in severe cases should the offender be detained for no more than five days, the law states.

This is the first move towards banning indoor smoking in China.

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Housing Comparison Between Shanghai and Paris

Aug 23rd, 2009
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In the first half of 2009, Shanghai average housing price rise 30%, close to 17.4 thousand yuan ($2500) per square meter record.

In a mature society, the middle class should be to alleviate the gap between rich and poor, promote social equity “stable valve,” but reporter through the survey found that, for middle-income groups, the intention to buy a house together is not easy.

In general, the middle-income groups in China should be defined as a monthly income of around 5,000 yuan, and their professions such as public institutions management, public civil servants, educators, business and technical personnel, managers and business owners. At least a college degree or more education, middle-income groups are sometimes dubbed “the sandwiched class”, which means that they are not like the upper class people who enjoys great wealth, but also not as low-income people can benefit from social welfare.

In the first-tier cities like Shanghai, in order for the young couple to buy a set of standard living space, not only going to cost both of their savings, but also money borrowed from their parents, in order to pay the down payment, and then they become what’s known as the “housing slaves” (or mortgage slaves).

In a rather popular Web forum, a user by virtue of their experience of living in France, writes an article entitled “The French price comparison Shanghai price” posts.

France’s low-income group of the monthly wage is around 3000-4000 euros, subtract 33% -48% of the personal income tax, true income would be around 1500-2000 euros or so. In Shanghai of low-income group is 1000-2000 yuan monthly wage, but with a lower tax rate, the true income would be about 1,500 yuan.

In Paris, a 60 square meters apartment would be prices at around 40 thousands euros which is approximately 200 months of income. In Shanghai, a 60 square meters apartment would cost around 70 thousands yuan which is 400 months of income. This means a resident in Paris could afford a home working at low-income wage for 17 years but a Shanghai resident needs 34 years of income. Of course this calculation does not include other living expenses.

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Fifth China Folk Art Fair Took Place in Changchun

Aug 16th, 2009
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The fifth China Folk Art Fair took place in Changchun over the past week. Changchun is the capital of the northeastern Jilin Province. The fair was wrapped up with a record 108.2 million yuan (15.91 million U.S. dollars) worth of business deals. The event attracted a record 1.88 million visitors. About 2,600 exhibitors from China and nine other countries, including Russia, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and India, displayed more than 80,000 styles of handcrafts made from paper, cloth, stone, clay, copper, tin and other materials.

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Largest Dinosaur Fossils in China Moved to Beijing

Aug 15th, 2009
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The most ancient, and the largest dinosaur fossils in China are moved from southern Yunnan Province to China Science and Technology Museum in Beijing. The fragile artifacts are transported in 15 special anti-shock freights by plane and special transportation vehicles. The skeletons of three prehistoric beasts will meet the public at the opening ceremony of the new museum on Sept. 16 in Beijing.

The fossils would be protected by 50 guards day and night. They were donated by Yunnan provincial government to the museum to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and would be permanently displayed in the new museum. The Chuanjie saurus anaensis is the largest dinosaur skeleton in China and the Lufengosaurus huenei is believed to be the oldest.

The dinosaur fossils include three sets:
- the 27-meter-long by 6.5-meter-high long-necked herbivore, Chuanjiesaurus anaensis (sauropoda), with a lizard-like tail, dating back to the Jurassic Period, 158 million years ago;
- the 180-million-year-old Lufengosaurus huenei (prosauropod),7.1-meters-long by 2.6-meters-high, a herbivorous dinosaur, from the late Triassic to early Jurassic periods;
- a 2.45-meter-high Dilophosaurus sinensis (theropod) from180 million years ago, which lived during the Pliensbachian stage of the early Jurassic period.

The three skeletons were unearthed respectively in 2006 and 2007 in Lufeng County, Yunnan Province.

The museum has arranged an exhibition hall of 1,600 square meters on the second floor for the fossils.

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Ancient Confucianism Books Being Translated into 9 Foreign Languages

Jul 27th, 2009
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A team of experts is in the process of translating the most essential books of Confucianism studies, “Five Classics” into nine foreign languages. The “Five Classics,” (”Wu Jing” in Chinese) is a body of five ancient books about Confucianism.

The five books are: “Classic of Changes” (Yijing), “Classic of Poetry” (Shijing), “Classic of Rites” (Liji), “Classic of History” (Shujing) and “Spring and Autumn Annals” (Chunqiu). The last one is said to be written by the Confucius himself.

Up to today, there is no comprehensive foreign language translations of these books. Experts said only parts of the work had been translated into French, English and German, but these versions were very dated and scarce outside professional libraries of Chinese culture.

The team of experts are lead by the Chinese Language Council International in Beijing. The translation committee consists of more than 30 experts and scholars from China, the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Italy and Israel. The committee is currently mapping a detailed schedule for the translation.

The plan is to first spend three and a half years completing the Chinese-to-English version on which the translations into French, German, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi and Malay will be based. Each foreign language version will have a preface, notes and explanations to guide foreign readers.

It is estimated that the “Wujing,” with around 700,000 Chinese characters, will translate into about a million English words.

The project comes amid booming interest in Chinese culture as 256 Confucius Institutes for Chinese language study have been set up in 81 countries as of March. The government’s goal is to establish 500 institutes by 2010, said the Office of Chinese Language Council International. Statistics show at the end of 2008, more than 40 million foreigners around the world were learning Chinese in 3,000 schools in 100 countries.

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Millions Chinese Oberved the Longest Complete Solar Eclipse in 500 Years

Jul 22nd, 2009
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MIDEAST LEBANON SOLAR ECLIPSE
The longest complete solar eclipse in 500 years appeared today over the Yangtze River, China. Millions of Chinese observed this amazing event through out the day. The full solar blackout appeared at approximately 9:30 a.m. Beijing time. In many cities across China, the weather is clear enough to observe the complete duration of the solar eclipse. The total blackout lasted for about 5 minutes and 38 seconds. Many Chinese cities, such as Chongqing and Wuhan in west and central China, turned off many street lights to allow the public to better observe the total eclipse.

The July 22 eclipse is the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century. It passed across China from Tibet to the coastal city of Shanghai, where 300 million people live. Millions of eclipse-watchers thronged to the banks of the Yellow and Yangtze rivers in northwestern Lanzhou and central Wuhan cities early Wednesday to observe the spectacle.

China holds one of the world’s earliest celestial records of a solar eclipse. The ancient Shangshu, or Book of Documents, recorded a story of a solar eclipse from the Xia Dynasty (21st-16th centuries BC). Chinese emperors were known to take advice from astrologists when eclipses occurred.

In ancient China, people ran and banged basins or gongs in an attempt to scare away the “celestial dog,” which was believed to be an evil swallowing the sun.

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China Selecting the First Female Astronaut Expected Space Journey by 2012

Jul 15th, 2009
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According to a recent comment from Yang Liwei (China’s first astronaut), the Chinese government is currently selecting China’s first female astronaut. The selected female astronaut is expected to join a space exploration in 2012. The potential female astronauts would be recruited from 16 female fighter pilots in the Chinese Air Force. These 16 female pilots were selected from 150,000 high school graduates in 12 provinces. The selected female astronaut (including the back up members) are expected to undergo between two and three years of training.

Up to today, the Soviet Union, the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Europe have all sent women into space. The world’s first female astronaut, Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova, who boarded the Soviet Union’s Vostok 6 in June 1963, stayed in space for three full days.

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Beijing Subway Bans Food and Drinks Upsets Passengers

Jul 14th, 2009
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Beijing subway passengers are not happy with the new policy on the new metro line – No. 4 Subway. The new policy limits passengers from eating or drinking on the subway system. Line 4 subway is a joint venture between Hong Kong MTR Corp. and two Beijing companies. The violators of this rule will be facing high fines. The other eight subway lines are not enforcing the “no food, no drink” rule.

Since the subway system is the major commuting tool for millions of Beijing people, it’s always jam packed during peak hours. Often passengers have to wait for hours to take the train. Eating and drinking at the subway stations and in the carts are quite common. This new policy has greatly disturbed the general passengers.

Several major cities, such as Shanghai and Guangzhou, are also facing opposition to ban food in their subways.

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China Cracks Down on Illegal Sales Affiliations

Jul 13th, 2009
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Police in central China’s Chongqing Municipality have broken up a pyramid selling scheme involving 409 people and detained more than 120. The affiliation ring, under the name of MDG International Science and Technology Group Co., LTD, was involved in the pyramid selling of so-called high-tech communication software ‘my-cool’. Chongqing Police department had undercover officers infiltrated the ring a month ago. They mapped the structure of the organization and identified the ringleaders. Members of the ring were required to sell the company’s products priced from 330 yuan (48 U.S. dollars) to 6,600 yuan.

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Passenger Train Collision in Hunan China

Jun 29th, 2009
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Two passenger trains collided at Chenzhou railway station in Hunan province, China early Monday. The collision drove several carriages off the tracks. This accident has caused at the least three people dead and over 60 people injured. Among the injured, 6 of them are in critical condition.

The two trains that collided were K9017 (from Changsha to Shenzhen) and K9063 (from Tongren to Shenzhen). The K9017 locomotive and its first five cars as well as the K9063 locomotive and its first two cars were derailed. A conductor with K9017 said that the train was about to pull in when the accident happened. “I don’t know why it didn’t stop at the station,” said the unnamed conductor. “Instead, it rushed into K9063, which just started.”

One of the trains crashed into two nearby houses, causing them to collapse. The fourth car of the K9017 was the most seriously damaged, rescuers said. Electricity supply at the station was also cut, rescuers said, giving no information about when it would be resumed. Services in one direction of the rail line resumed at 10 a.m. and the other resumed at 14:30. Thousands of passengers had been stranded in Chenzhou Railway Station. More than 50 buses had been sent to transport them to their destinations. As of midday, almost 1,000 passengers had been transported by 26 buses to Guangdong Province, the official said. The accident delayed several trains on the Beijing-Guangzhou line. Two trains were cancelled, said a staff with the Guangzhou railway station. A task force by the ministry and the Guangzhou Railway Group is set up to investigate into the cause of the accident.

A fatal train collision happened on April 28 last year in east China’s Shandong Province when two passenger trains collided, leaving 72 dead and 416 injured. The railway was interrupted for more than 21 hours.

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China Has a Higher Concentration of Wealth Than the US

Jun 27th, 2009
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Gap between rich and poor in China has been increased dramatically. A recent report showed that 0.4% of Chinese hold 70% of the overall wealth in China. The concentration of wealth is greater than the United States.

The study indicates the extremely high concentration of wealth would lead to the abnormal consumption and social class in China. Some experts pointed out that at China has become the nation with the highest concentration of wealth in the world. The growth of China’s wealth concentration is approximately 12.3% each year, the figure is twice the global average growth rate.

According to the June 10 article on FORBES “The Research on Luxury Merchandise Market in China”, when the global economy is going into recession, China has become to be the most optimistic market for the international luxury brands. By the end of May 2009, a luxury residential building in Shenzhen China was launched to the market and all units were sold out in one day. At an average cost of 120,000 yuan per square meter (approximately $1678 Canadian per square inch)

High housing prices have become a major obstacle to the growth of the middle class in China, the widening income gap is starting to hurt the middle class.

China’s gap between rich and poor has been quite obvious among the Asian countries. Scholars and experts in China are very concerned about this phenomenon, worried that China’s over-concentration of wealth is bound to bring serious social problems.

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35 Taxi Drivers Arrested at a Protest in China

Jun 16th, 2009
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Over 5000 taxi drivers protested in Xining, the capital of Qinghai which is a province located in the western China. Drivers across Qinghai Province were upset after a misleading newspaper report on Friday: the provincial government would cut their license periods from 12 years to 8 years, meaning most of their licenses would expire now or in a year. But the truth is that the shorter period would only apply to new licenses, and that existing drivers would have unspecified advantages in renewing their licenses. But some say that the policy was ambiguous and might be hard to understand.

The police arrested 35 people during the protest for their “violent behaviors”.

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China Bus Fire Killed 25 Injured 78 in Chengdu

Jun 4th, 2009
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A bus fire killed 25 people and injured 78 a few hours ago in Chengdu. The injured were sent to the Chengdu No.2 People’s Hospital and the Chengdu Army General Hospital. The tragedy took place at 8 a.m. when the No.9 bus, with license plate of Chuan A 49567 was on its way from Tianhui Township to downtown Chengdu.

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Witness said it took only a few minutes for the bus to catch fire, and the body of the burnt bus was dragged off the scene, which was only a few meters from the bus station. The bus driver escaped the fire and took part in the rescue. The rescue mission is currently ended but the fire scene is blocked out and further investigation is taken place.

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At first, firefighters suspected the fire could be caused by self-ignition, but soon it was ruled out. According to the firefighters, the bus was not a new one and the temperature today in Chengdu is not high. An inspection team, made up of officials with the governments of Sichuan Province and Chengdu City, will examine fire and safety facilities at bus and coach stops in Chengdu from 3 p.m. Friday.

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Hostage-taking Incident at Wuhan University

Jun 3rd, 2009
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An armed hostage-taking incident took place today at the Wuhan University campus. The hijackers was shot and killed by the police at 14:40 local time. A SWAT team members were injured.

9:00 this morning, the suspect took a female staff as a hostage in a room on the second floor of the Administration building of Wuhan University. The campus was flooded by armed police and SWAT team shortly after. Police negotiated with him but found he had no clear demands. In the rescue operation, an armed policeman disguised as a canteen man to send meal to him and went into the room, but was shot in the head by the hijacker. Police immediately shot and killed the hijacker. SWAT team rushed into the room and opened fire immediately and the hijacker died instantly at the scene. The female staff was rescued unharmed. The injured police is currently hospitalized.

The hostage taker was previously employed by the university and charged for criminal behavior months back. The motive of this incident could be a simple rampage. Armed hostage incidents are very rare in China, especially when it takes place in the middle of an university campus.

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Application of Chinese Dragon Boat Festival in UNESCO List 2009

May 27th, 2009
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Central Hubei Province is proposing China’s Dragon Boat Festival, or Duanwu Jie to be included onto the UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The move came four years after South Korea registered a similar festivity at the UN’s cultural organization, which then ignited massive debates over the festival’s origin between the peoples.

Apart from the tradition of old rites which originated in Zigui County and Huangshi City in Hubei Province, festival-related traditions popular in Miluo City, Hunan Province and Suzhou City in Jiangsu Province have also been included in the proposal package submitted to UNESCO last October. These four customs had been listed as the first batch of the national intangible cultural heritages in 2006.

The Dragon Boat festival, originated more than 2,500 years ago and widely known to commemorate patriot poet Qu Yuan (278 BC – 340 BC) in Warring States period, is celebrated annually in many parts of China. People eat Zongzi, a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice and wrapped in reed leaves, and watch dragon boat competitions.

The festival, which falls on the 5th day of the 5th month every year on the Chinese lunar calendar, became a national holiday for the first time last year.

The Chinese government has been urged to step up its application of the Dragon Boat festival particularly after the Gangneung Danoje Festival of South Korea was listed as a UNESCO heritage in 2005. Many Chinese argue this Korean festival was a “cultural robbery” of China.

The Gangneung Danoje Festival, like the Dragon Boat festival, takes place annually in the town of Gangneung and usually begins with the brewing of a sacred liquor. Locals also eat Zongzi during the four-week celebrations. Korea’s success made many Chinese worry about whether the Dragon Boat festival could be accepted by the UNESCO. An official from the Hubei Intangible Heritage Protection headquarters said in anonymity that they have strong confidence in China’s success because although the two celebrations bear some similarities, great differences exist. He also explained the similar programs from different countries can co-exist in the UNESCO list.

Documents in South Korea’s application files showed the festival was developed from the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival that transferred to the country some 1,500 years ago.

China’s Kunqu Opera, the Art of Guqin, a cord musical instrument with a history of more than 3,000 years, the Art of Muqam, a performance popular in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and the Mongolian traditional folk Long Song have been so far listed as UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritages.

Click here for more information on the Dragon Boat Festival

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Beijing Modern Music Festival 2009 Opens This Week

May 19th, 2009
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The modern Music Festival takes place in Beijing this week. A rock ‘n’ roll ballet, featuring the music of Pink Floyd, will be of one of the highlight of this year’s festival.
The 2009 Beijing Modern Music Festival, which begins tomorrow and runs to May 26, will also stage a special version of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, and also puppet show from Fujian province, as well as many other events. By the definition from the organizers, all the music that is part of contemporary people’s musical lives can be called modern music.

There will be 17 performances, five lectures, one symposium and two exhibitions taken place throughout the festival.
Most of the activities will be held at the Central Conservatory of Music, but some of the important performances will be held at the Beijing Concert Hall and Beijing Tianqiao Theater.

Hu Yongyan, artistic director and principal conductor of the EOS Orchestra, will conduct the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra at the opening concert tomorrow at Beijing Concert Hall. A selection of contemporary symphonic works will be featured including Ye’s Pipa Concerto, Thai composer Narong Prangcharoen’s Phenomenon – the Mysterious and Unexplained – for Orchestra, and Evening Prayer by Robert Beaser, who is professor and chairman of the Composition Department at the Juilliard School of Music.

The following is a detailed list of the performances in the festival which will take place at 19：30，May 20, 2009 in Beijing Concert Hall:
1). Conductor: Yongyan HU
Director：Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra
Concert muaster：
Narong Prangcharoen(Thailand, b.1973)
Phenomenon —the mysterious and unexplained
-for Orchestra(2004)

2). Musheng Chen (China，b.1971)
A Dearm in the Peony Garden[Yun5] for Kun opera singer and Orchestra(2007)
Kun opera: Shen Yili

3). Robert Beaser (USA，1954-)
Evening Prayer (2008)

4).Xiaogang Ye (China,b.1955)
Pipa Concert of Opera (2001)

5). Ralph Vaughan Williams(Britain，1872-1958)
Flower of the Field(1925)
Viola: Wang Keju

6).Starry Star-for Piano(Commissioned compositions the Opening
Xiaogang Ye (China，1955-)
Ceremony of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games)
Zhou Hang(China，1975-)
A Dearm in the Peony Garden[Yun5](2007)
A Dream in the Peony Garden[Yun5] is the fifth piece of the Yun series .As with other works by the composer ,the Yun series are a reflection of Chinese traditional culture . in particular, the aesthetic principle of “line”(found in the art of calligraphy) was highly influential to the composition of this piece. A Dream in the Peony Garden[Yun5] draws inspiration from the famous drama The Peony Pavilion by the late Ming Dynasty playwright Tang Xiannzu(1550-1616). It is neither a musical reproduction of that dramatic scene nor a symphonic extension of musical material drawn from Kunqu opera, but rather a spiritual interpretation inspired by the unique romantic temperament and artistic cadences of that ancient drama

A concert this Saturday night will showcase chamber works by contemporary Chinese and international composers, such as Wen Deqing’s Ants Moving – for Four Pipas and Polish composer Zygmunt Krauze’s Piano Quintet.

Another special concert on Friday night is titled Beautiful Tibet, which will present seven composers’ chamber works on the theme of Tibet, including Tibetan composers Juega’s Cycle Existence and Mijiu Danzeng’s Hymn for Tibet.

Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, one of the classics of 20th century music, will be given a special performance on May 24 by the EOS Orchestra under the baton of Hu, who promises that the performance will be full of surprises.

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Electricity Converted from Chicken Manure Powers Beijing

May 8th, 2009
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One would never imagine, the capital city of the world highest population nation, China relies on chicken farms for electricity! DQY Ecological Farm is a major organic egg supplier for Beijing, has been providing the city with electricity converted from chicken manure for the past 9 months. With a total capacity of 14,600 MWh a year, the farm is able to meet the power needs of 10,000 families in Beijing, Tianjin and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region in North China.

A gas engines was installed at the farm last August to generate power and heat from the 80,000 tons of manure produced annually by its 3 million chickens.

By using biogas for power generation in place of its previous coal-fired source, DQY farm is cutting its CO2 emissions by about 95,000 tonnes a year. The company planned to develop the model in other parts of the country. DQY is a foreign-invested company with registered capital of 208 million yuan (30.5 million U.S. dollars). The company farm produces 71 percent of the organic eggs in Beijing market. Its shareholders consist of Beijing Deqingyuan Science and Technology Co Ltd, U.S.-based GEF-Global Environment Fund, Inno Biz Agriculture from Hong Kong, Shanghai Yibei Management Consultancy Company, World Bank member International Finance Corporation and six individuals.

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China Railways Transported 6.54 Million Passengers in One Day – New Record

May 3rd, 2009
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A new Record was born in China on May 1st. The Chinese railway system carried over 6.54 million passengers on a single day. The total number of passengers broke the record thanks to the new generation of high speed trains with more seats. After two years of total chaos during the Chinese New Year festivals, the Ministry of Railway boosted their capacity on April 1st this year.

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The number of passengers was 641,000 more than May 1st 2008, a 10.9% jump. The ministry said an average 66.5 new passenger trains were put into use every day on the new schedule, with an increase of 238,000 more seats every day. The number of passengers on Friday has topped the previous daily passenger record.

May 1st is the Labor’s Day holiday in China, which used to be the second extended national holiday of the year (first is Spring Festival and third is the National Day on October 1st). However, started last year, Chinese get 3 days off instead of 7 days for the May holiday season. Over 75% of the travelers had made medium- or short-distance trips, to cope with the shorter holiday.

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Ten Percent of Tibetan Tourists Are Foreigners

Apr 21st, 2009
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Ten Percent of Tibetan Tourists Are Foreigners

Ten Percent of Tibetan Tourists Are Foreigners


According to a number released by the Tourism Bureau of Tibet Autonomous Region, one out of every ten visitors to Tibet is from a country outside of China. Foreign tourists may get into the southwest China’s region as of April 5 2009 after it lifted a month-long suspension. Tibet Tourism is reopened to foreign tourists or tourists from China’s Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan in early April.

As the impact of last year’s March 14 riots in Lhasa was over and it is becoming warmer, tourism in Tibet is beginning to enter the peak season. In early April alone, the region received about 20 foreign tourist groups every day, each with 100 members on average. Tibet Tourism Bureau has opened special routes like hiking along the grand Yarlung Zangbo River Valley, tours in the holy city of Lhasa and eco-travel to Mt. Qomolangma. A total of three million Chinese and foreign tourists are expected to visit the region in 2009.

To attract more visitors, the region has taken favorable measures including a series of promotions. For instance, tickets to major ecotourism scenic spots will offer a 40-percent discount, while hotels and restaurants will give customers 50-percent discount. As the “heaven lake” Namtso Lake reopened to the public and the May day holiday (from May 1 to May 3) is approaching, the number of tourists to Tibet will post a 30-percent increase, according to local travel agencies.

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Subway to Terracotta Warriors Museum in Xi An

Apr 14th, 2009
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Xi’an is building a subway which would connect the downtown of Xi’an and the the Linton District which is the location of the terracotta warriors and horses museum. The total distance of the subway track would be 30km. The subway and the Terracotta Warriors Museum station is expected to be completed by 2013. This is a major investment for the city to boost the world-famous Qin tomb tourism.

The underground trip from the city center to the Emperor Qin’s Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum is expected to take 50 minutes, down from the current one hour by expressway

Xi’an, famous for its buried army of terracotta warriors, mosques, pagodas and the splendid city walls, began building its first underground line in 2006, in an effort to ease traffic congestion. The east-west Line 1 will pass the terracotta warriors museum.

The Linton district receives 7.5 million tourists every year, including 500,000 from overseas. The terracotta army was discovered by chance in 1974 and the tomb that it “guards” has since been excavated, yielding many treasures.

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Wind Power Gains Popularity in China

Apr 7th, 2009
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Wind powering technology is regaining it’s popularity in China. There are many regions in China has strong wind sources such as Inner Mongolia, capturing strong winds from the heartland of Mongolia and Siberia. As the production cost drops, the three-blade turbines that produced tiny volumes of electricity for remote cottages is spreading across China’s countryside.

The Inner Mongolia province has installed wind power stations that reached 3 million kilowatts in capacity by the end of 2008. In 2009, that generating capacity is expected to rise by 50 percent. This goal aligns with the recent policy to boost development of alternative energies published by the Chinese government. More investment in the area will be supported by the Chinese government.

Wind power, as a main force of China’s alternative energy reserve, had been developing rapidly in the 21st Century. China’s total wind power installed capacity increased from 400,000 kilowatts in 2001 to 6 million kilowatts in 2007. It is the fifth highest in the world.

In a law passed in 2005 by the National People’s Congress, China’s legislature, the state set a goal to increase the proportion of renewable energy resources to 10 percent of total energy consumption by 2020.

China is still in the need of right technology and well trained human resources in the area of developing alternative energies.

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Chinese Government Plants Fish into Yangtze River to Replenish Ecosystem

Mar 30th, 2009
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The Wuhan government released 70,000 fish in to the Yangtze River last week in order to restore the ecosystem. The government is planning to replenish the Yangtze with total of 500 million fish in the year 2009. On top of this, there will be a 3 month fishing ban which would be imposed starting April 1st this year.

The Yangtze, with a length of 6,403 kilometers, is the longest river in China. It originates in Qinghai, and flows eastward through Sichuan,Tibet, Yunnan, Chongqing, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui and Jiangsu. For thousands of years, the Chinese people calls the Yangtze River as the “Mother River” which has been the lifeline for generations. In the recent years, pollutions and heavy fishing has jeopardized the river’s ecosystem fatally.

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20 Chinese Cities Participate World-Wide Going Dark Relay

Mar 28th, 2009
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Today in China, 20 cities joined the worldwide relay “Earth Hour” to raise the environmental awareness. Tens of thousands of Chinese in the 20 cities either switched off their lights and appliances at home or joined outdoor activities such as candle-lit dinners and star-gazing parties, to show their support. The National Stadium (The Bird’s Nest) and the National Aquatics Center (Water Cube) in Beijing, usually illuminated by floodlights, went dark completely at 8:30 p.m. local time (1230GMT). Many glitzy hotels, office buildings, shopping malls and restaurants in Beijing also switched some lights off for 1 hour.

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At a hotel next to the “Bird’s Nest”, more than 100 officials, dignitaries and journalists gathered to witness the symbolic ceremony which unveiled the China leg of Earth Hour, the global campaign organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

In Shanghai, floodlights to illuminate some 160buildings, including the world’s third tallest TV tower “Oriental Pearl” and the 492-meter-tall World Financial Center, also went dark. In many KFC restaurants in Shanghai organized candle-lit dinners.

The “Earth Hour” relay was initiated in Australia in 2007, Earth Hour is a time zone-by-time zone plan in which people around the world are encouraged to switch off their lights for 60 minutes on the last Saturday night of March to show their concern about global warming and climate change. There were around 3,000 cities in more than 80 countries and regions will join this year’s campaign, compared with 35 countries last year, according to the organization.

The Chinese government promised to cut the nation’s energy consumption by 20 percent by the year of 2010.

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Restoring Bruce Lee’s Former Residence in Hong Kong

Mar 27th, 2009
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An open design competition is taken place in Hong Kong this week to set the blueprint for restoring the late Kungfu star Bruce Lee’s former residence in the city. This competition is organized by the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau in Hong Kong. The best design from the competition will be used as the blueprint for restoring the property. The competition would allow the incorporation of suitable design elements to maximize the use of space when restoring the property to its original appearance. It would also provide an opportunity for the public to take part in the project. This is the first step in promoting the movie star Bruce Lee whom has become to be one of the symbolic figure of Chinese Culture in the past decades.

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Warren Buffet Invites China to Display Electric Cars at Shareholder Meeting

Mar 25th, 2009
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China’s BYD Auto accepted Warren Buffet’s invitation to display its electric cars in the United States in May. Buffet will hold a general meeting of shareholders in Omaha, Neb on May 2. BYD is China’s leading company in electric car manufacturing. BYD president Wang Chuanfu will be demonstrating F3DM or E6 model to the shareholders in the meeting. Warren Buffet bought 10 percent of BYD stake with 1.8 billion Hong Kong dollars last September, which was his first investment in a Chinese company.

BYD’s innovative battery, used in its dual mode cars, can fully charge in nine hours from a regular electrical outlet, or much faster at charging stations. The E6 can travel up to over 402 km purely on battery, more than double the range of the western models on a single charge.

F3DM, China’s first mass-produced plug-in hybrid, went on sale in China last December. It was at least a year ahead of General Motors’ anticipated Volt. So far, only the U.S. auto giant and Toyota have announced plans to launch plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2010.

F3DM is currently only sold to government agencies and corporations, but the company will start nation wide sales promotions in June 2009. It’s a fair prediction that the Chinese electric cars will soon find its way into the US market.

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Coca Cola Failed To Acquire China Huiyuan Juice Group due to China Anti-monopoly Law

Mar 19th, 2009
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Coca-Cola offered to buy Huiyuan, China’s largest juice maker, for 2.3 billion U.S. dollars (17.92 billion Yuan) in cash on Sept. 3.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced on Wednesday (March 18th, 2009) that Coca-Cola’s bid to acquire China Huiyuan Juice Group failed to meet the country’s anti-monopoly law. The ministry found the transaction may disturb market competition. According to the reviewers of the case, if the acquisition of Huiyuan went into effect, Coca-Cola is very likely to take a dominating position in the domestic market and the consumers may have to accept the high price fixed by the company as they don’t have more choices.

Coca-Cola applied anti-trust investigation to the Ministry of Commerce in September. The investigation was officially launched on Nov. 11 to determine whether the acquisition of Huiyuan would harm other rivals and consumers rights or hamper technological development. The acquisition of Huiyuan was the first major deal to test China’s new anti-monopoly law. Experts said the decision to reject Coca Cola’s acquisition will cost the world’s largest soft drink maker the opportunity to boost its shares of China’s juice market by more than 20 percent. The Ministry of Commerce has received 40 anti-trust applications from companies since last year when the anti-monopoly law was passed. It has investigated in 29 of the total and draw conclusion for 24.

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Shaolin Kung Fu Features in UNESCO 2009 Paris

Mar 16th, 2009
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Shaolin Kung Fu will be featured in the world cultural event held by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Shaolin Kung Fu is a school of martial arts associated with the monks of the Shaolin Temple based in central China’s Henan Province. There have been four unique shows from China on the UNESCO list:
1) The 500-year-old Kunqu Opera, known for its graceful movements and poetic lyrics;
2) The 3,000-year-old guqin seven-string zither;
3) The Twelve Mukams, a 12-part suite of ancient Uygur music;
4) Mongolian Pastoral Songs.

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Chinese Language Becomes More Popular Worldwide

Mar 15th, 2009
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The Chinese language is becoming more popular worldwide. There are currently 40 million people learning Chinese as a second language. This number was 25 million 5 years ago which indicates an approximately 10% (3 million) increase in Chinese learners every year.

As of March 2009, there are overall 256 Confucius Institutes and 58 Confucius classrooms across 81 countries world wide. Meanwhile, an increasing number of primary and high schools in various countries are now offering Chinese language courses for students. There are 1,200 primary and high schools have opened Chinese language courses in the United States. And in Thailand, more than 1,000 primary and high schools are offering Chinese language courses to 300,000 students.

Canadian universities are qualifying Mandarin courses as a primary academic subject for their admission evaluations.

The Chinese government expects to launch 500 Confucius Institutes worldwide by next year.

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Tiananmen Square is no-longer the Largest Square in China

Mar 9th, 2009
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Beijing’s Tiananmen Square is no-longer world largest square. Size wise, it has fallen short compare to other man-made squares across China.

Some Chinese cities and counties have built large gathering squares to beat the Tiananmen square by footage. Even some small townships in China have created squares 20,000 square meters bigger than the Tiananmen square.

A number of medium and small cities and townships have become craze in constructing mammoth government buildings with fairyland-like artificial lakes and squares.

In China, there has been a long tradition of constructing oversized architects, such as mausoleums, palaces, dams and great walls, to show off the leaders’ merits.

The Tiananmen Square, known as the “heart of China”, with an area of 440,000 square meters, can hold one million people. The square serves as a place for leaders to convene mass gatherings in special celebrations, like the marking of the anniversaries of the birth of the nation.

The square has also witnessed various demonstrations and gatherings over the past century. Created in the 15th century, it was formerly a royal site of the Forbidden City. The government expanded it after the founding of the People’s Republic of China 60 years ago.

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World’s Fastest Train in China by 2012

Mar 6th, 2009
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China is currently building the world fastest railroad connecting Beijing and Shanghai which is 1,318 kilometers in distance. The completed railroad will support trains that travel at 350 km/hr, a world record speed. Once the railroad construction is completed, Trains will take less than five hours to make the run from the capital city Beijing to China’s economic center Shanghai. The trip would take more than 11 hours by the current railway system.The new railway service would be used for passenger service only, while the existing one for cargo transportation.

The Ministry of Railways is going to invest over 175.44 billion U.S. dollars (1.2 trillion yuan) to improve the railway system, aiming to have 13,000 km coverage of passenger services across China by 2012. Among that, 8,000 km of the lines would allow trains to travel between 200 to 350 km per hour, and 5,000 km for trains with a speed from 200 to 250 km. The money is part of the 4-trillion-yuan stimulus package announced by the government late last year. The there are not enough seats for all the people who want to travel, especially during the Lunar New Year every year, when millions are on the move for family reunion. China is currently also developing trains that would run 380 km/hr.

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Top Romantic Destinations in China

Mar 4th, 2009
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This post will introduce the top 2 romantic destinations in China: Hangzhou and Lijiang.

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Hangzhou is the capital city of Zhejiang Province. The city is known for the most romantic tourist destinations in entire China. As the matter of fact, it has been the China’s number one destinations for honeymoons in the past decades. The city has a concentration of more than 40 scenic spots, which would take up to weeks to visit. Among all of the sight seeing spots, the 6-square-kilometer West Lake is the pride of the city and a world famous tourist destination. Unlike the man-made lakes in the other cities, West Lake is natural and its sights are more delightful, no matter what the season. Scholars and poets have left a legacy of rhapsodic poetry and prose after visiting the lake, and some settled, or stayed on to live the life of a hermit.

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One common aspect about all Chinese tourist destinations is the rich cultural background behind every tourist destination. This is no different with Hangzhou. Along with the beautiful scenery and places of interest, West Lake has many romantic tales. Classical stories include that of the love between a young man named Xu Xian and the “white snake,” an immortal whose earthly form was that of a beautiful woman, but who also took on the shape of a white snake if she drank wine. Their love was not tolerated by society and the white snake was eventually imprisoned under Leifeng Tower and Xu Xian’s family fragmented.

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The romantic nature of Hangzhou inhabitants has nurtured the quality of local artists. Hangzhou has produced numerous scholars and men of letters and the city is permeated with an artistic atmosphere.

The other well known romantic destination in China is the world famous tourist town in Yunnan province – Lijiang. It has a demure charm that is revealed in myriad forms: Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, the grey-tiled town of cobbled streets and thousand year-old bridges, the charm of the Naxi people and their customs and much more. Such qualities prompted UNESCO to include it on the World Heritage List and also inspired the best-selling novel, “Lost Horizons.”

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Lijiang is the perfect tourism place for couples to enjoy their romance along with thousands years of local culture and the exotic ethnic group customs. The highlight of any visit to Lijiang is spending time in the old quarter, Dayan Town. This is no exception for couples. This 800-year-old World Heritage site features ancient timber and earth houses with tiled roofs set on delightful canals. No cars are allowed in the narrow, winding streets, which are paved with large stones. The idea is to get lost in Dayan’s quaint streets if you really want to discover the place. The old town attracts local artists and artisans and there is plenty of high quality jewelry, clothing, pottery, paintings and carving on sale. It’s quite pleasant sitting at an outdoor restaurant beside the canal eating a Naxi delicacy such as goat’s cheese sprinkled with sugar.

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Young couples should visit Yufeng Buddhist monastery, famous for a 500-year-old camellia said to produce 10,000 blossoms every year. The camellia is actually two plants grafted together that supposedly represent a pair of lovers who were forbidden to marry and committed suicide rather than live apart. Today, Chinese couples believe that being photographed in front of the camellia will ensure that they will be together in the next life.

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Hiking outside the city is one of the great highlights of any visit to this region. Some treks last only one hour and some take up to six hours or more but Lijiang’s trekking routes feature some of the most striking landscapes found in the world including the trek near Tiger Leaping Gorge and along the banks of the Jinsha River.
At night the old town takes on a different character. A popular activity for couples is to light a candlelit float and let it gently head downriver. Candles floating past on paper lotus flowers make dining alfresco beside the canals an enchanting experience.

The enchantment continues with a concert by the Naxi orchestra which plays classical Taoist music on traditional instruments. The average age of the musicians is 80.

As you can see, both of the destinations are known for their natural beauties and romantic cultures. Don’t wait forever to experience them yourself!

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Huang Mei season hits Shanghai Early – Record High Raining Days

Mar 3rd, 2009
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Normally the “Huang Mei Season” （黄梅天 or 梅雨季节) takes place in Shanghai during early summer (June/July). However, it seems arrived much ealier this year. A continuous wet weather that has lingered in Shanghai for 20 continuous days and broken a 136-year record for the longest continuous downpour. The number of people suffering depression has risen in Shanghai during the cloudy weather. Since mid-February, local mental health centers have seen about 10 to 20 percent more of patients, many of them young or middle-aged office workers or with a history of depression. The so called “winter blues”, is a psychological reaction caused by the recent bad weather. The symptoms include sadness, anxiety and inability to concentrate. The rain in Shanghai is expected to ease off this week but more showers are expected this weekend. Mental health experts have suggested that residents help avoid suffering the disorder by listening to light music, using bright lights at homes or offices, or indulging in easy exercise.

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China Achieves 8% GDP Growth in 2009

Mar 2nd, 2009
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Despite the global financial chaos, the spokesman in the Second Session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) announced today that China will achieve an 8% GDP growth in the year 2009. In order to do so, China will try all means to boost domestic demand and submitted many proposals on economic policies. Although many financial specialists around the world think this is an ambitious goal. It is true that the Chinese regional economy has shown strength to stabilize China’s GDP growth in the past years. However, in the extreme conditions today, can China pull off an miracle and becomes a black horse in the financial crisis? We shall wait and see.

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World Expo 2010 Tickets on sale in Shanghai – Discount Available

Feb 26th, 2009
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World Expo 2010 Shanghai Tickets Sale Starts

Tickets for the World Expo 2010 will go on sale for starting March 27. It will focus on group purchases only until June 30. Group bookings can be made for organizations, institutions and enterprises. Tickets for the general public will be on sale starting July 1. The complementary ticket price will be US$ 22.40 dollars (160 yuan). Guests out side of China may buy tickets from local outlets authorized by the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination. Tickets for the peak days will cost US$28 dollars (200 yuan). The peak day tickets are mainly aiming for the Chinese national holidays such as Labor Day (May 1-3), National Day (October 1-7), and the last week before closing (October 25-31). There will be 19% discount for the tickets buyers before the Expo opens on May 1, 2010. Visitors can receive half price tickets after 5pm everyday. A three-day passes will cost US$56 dollars (400 yuan) and seven-day passes US$120 dollars (900 yuan). There will be more than 62 million tickets available for the entire exhibition. Discount tickets will also be available to the disabled, senior citizens, students with valid IDs and Chinese servicemen and women. Children under 1.2 meters will not have to pay.

The organizer is expecting 70 million visitors, 5 percent of whom will be from outside of China. The organizer will appoint domestic and overseas agencies to sell tickets and there will be 3,200 ticket outlets in China. People will be able to purchase tickets at branches of China Mobile, China Telecom, Bank of Communications and China Post. Online ticket purchasing and tickets via telephone will also be available.
During Expo, visitors will be able to buy tickets on site or at kiosks. The Expo Bureau will appoint travel agents to organize group tours.

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China Construction Bank releases $5.8 billion bonds

Feb 25th, 2009
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china-construction-bankChina Construction Bank (CCB), recently ranked top 2 bank in the world released the information that it has issued 5.8 billion U.S. dollars (40 billion yuan) of subordinated callable bonds. The lender originally planned to issue 4.3 billion U.S. dollars (30 billion yuan), but it exercised the over-allotment option of increasing that by no more than 10 billion yuan. The sale would improve its capital adequacy ratio, support its strategic development goals and sharpen its competitive edge. The issue includes 12 billion yuan 10-year bonds with a five-year call option that pays a coupon of 3.2 percent in the first five years and 28 billion yuan 15-year bonds with a 10-year call option that pays a coupon of 4 percent in the initial 10 years. If the issuer does not exercise the call options, the coupons will increase by 3 percentage points.

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Shanghai Offers Permanent Residence to All Chinese Citizens After 7 Years of Residency

Feb 24th, 2009
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For the longest time, “hukou” has been the “internal passport/visa” barrier for the Chinese to choose their residential cities. All Chinese citizens are “locked” to their birth location by default, identified by their family record at the state bureau which is called “Hu Kou”. If one choose to work and live in another city, they need to go through a fairly complicated process called “relocation of Hukou”. Without the proper paper work, the residency of the family or individual in the new city are not properly recognized. e.g. A person born in Beijing can never be identified as a true Shanghai resident until he/she relocates the Hu Kou.

However, recently the Shanghai government has announced that they will allow residents who have lived in the city for seven years or more to become permanent residents in the city, but very few are expected to qualify as restrictions are tough. People who have lived for seven years cumulatively in Shanghai, may qualify permanent residence, according to a regulation posted on Monday on the municipal government website. Applicants should also have participated in the social security system for seven years and paid taxes in Shanghai. Other conditions include holding mid-level professional certificates and abiding by the country’s “one-child” policy. Under the regulation, the city will impose an unspecified quota on new permanent residents. Only about 3,000 people are believed to have reached the required number of years of residence, and the number of those meeting all the qualifications is expected to be even lower.

There are total of 19 million residents in Shanghai but only 68% (13 million) of them are “permanent shanghai residents”.

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Tibetan New Year 2009

Feb 22nd, 2009
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Tibetan New Year celebration starts on the first day of the first month on he Tibetan calendar and ends on the 15th. This year’s Tibetan New Year starts on the 25th of February.

Tibetan New Year are the most formal and important festival in Tibet. Because the majority people in Tibet believe in Buddhism, the Tibetan New Year celebrations are accommodated with a strong religious atmosphere. It is believed that both God and Human are celebrating the festival.

The preparations for the Tibetan New Year celebration generally begin early in the previous December. In addition to year end shopping and entertainment activities, every household creates a bucket named “Qiema” which can be used to contain a typical Tibetan food called “Tsampa”. Then the bucket will be decorated by colorful food elements and flowers. “Qiema” is used to worship God and pray for a good harvest in the New Year. When it is approached to the new year’s eve, men are busy cleaning the courtyard, women were well-produced “Karzai”, a typical Tibetan pasta, made into ear-shaped, butterfly-shaped strip, or square and circular shapes, coated with pigment, wrapped on sugar cubes, which can be used as both decorative arts or snacks to honor the family guests.
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On the New Year’s Eve, the whole family sits around a table for the New Year’s evening banquet. A special dumpling will be served that night. There will be several “specially made” dumplings that contain objects “coin” etc. The person who gets the “money dumpling” will make a good fortune in the New Year. Fireworks are performed on Tibetan New Year’s eve in order to chase away the devil and bad luck.

The 2009 Tibetan New Year will fall on Feb. 25 and a gala TV show is being recorded for broadcast across China on that evening. The nationwide audience can watch this gala show on Tibet Satellite TV. Over 800 artists will be performing on the Tibetan New Year’s gala, among them, many are amateur performers. The purpose is to involve the general public to share joyful evening with everyone in Tibet. They will perform folk dances and play traditional Tibetan instruments.
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China’s Legal System Becomes More Transparent Using Online Services

Feb 18th, 2009
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China’s Supreme Court is allowing online access to judicial documents. According to a plan for facilitating judicial services for the people, courts at different levels in China are now required to set up information centers and dispatch staff to take care of people’s complaints and case inquiries. Information about publicly-tried cases should be announced ahead of trials to ensure that people can sit in on the proceedings. Eligible applicants should be allowed to witness the trial by using hearing certificates or their ID cards, according to the plan. Also, deputies to the people’s congresses, the country’s legislative body, and members of political consultative conferences, the country’s advisory body, should be invited regularly to hearings. Courts should gradually establish an information inquiry service for judgement and litigation documents, or make that information public online according to law if conditions permit. A public hearing system could be introduced in execution cases, examination proceedings for case retrials and cases involving penalty reductions, parole or state compensation.

Local courts will offer case registration services through the phone and Internet. They were also encouraged to deliver door-to-door service for the sick, disabled and seniors. Courts and judicial personnel will be publicly reprimanded and held accountable if they attempt to persuade parties to withdraw lawsuits for the purpose of gaining higher case settlement rates and if they make unauthorized decisions to stop litigation and execution of court cases.

This would be a giant step for the Chinese legal system improving it’s transparency and services to the disadvantaged

Posted in: China Politics.
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Harbin Hosting the 24th Winter Universiade – World University Games 2009

Feb 17th, 2009
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The 24th Winter World University Games has officially started today in Harbin, the capital city of China’s northern province Heilongjiang. This year’s Universiade will take place from February 18 to February 28, features in 12 sports and 82 competitions. The games will attract over 2,100 athletes from 42 different countries. China is sending 193 athletes from 13 universities and colleges to the games, it is yet the largest ever Chinese delegation to a Winter Universiade. The Chinese student althelets will compete in 12 sports and 76 events. China’s medal hopes are in short course speed skating, speed skating, figure skating, freestyle skiing and women’s ice hockey. In 2007, China won three gold, six silver and six bronze medals in Turin, Italy. They are expected to earn more metals this year due to the home field advantage. Russian is sending 180 athletes whom will participate in 79 competitions at the Winter Universiade.

The tickets for many events are already sold out, especially those speed-skating events. A total of 370,000 tickets will be sold for the 81 events in 12 sports. The ticketing service of this year’s Winter Universiade is adopting “first-come-first-serve” policy, and the selling service started January 5, 2009.

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30 ARJ Jets to be Delivered 2012

Feb 16th, 2009
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ARJ stands for Advanced Regional Jet which is going to be the name of the first generation of Chinese homemade commercial jets. China’s has started mass production of the the ARJ21 this year. Thirty ARJ planes are expected to be delivered to clients by 2012. The plane manufacturer will deliver the first five planes in the year 2010, 10 planes in the following year and the remaining 15 planes in 2012. The plane maker has received 208 orders for the 90-seat jet from domestic and overseas buyers, including GE Commercial Aviation Service, which bought 25 planes in a deal valued at 5 billion yuan. The 33-meter-long jet has a maximum range of 3,700 kilometers and a maximum altitude of 11,900 meters. Increasing cost on jet fuels accelerate the demand of regional jets on shorter routes. According to a recent study, from 2008 to 2027, Chinese airlines will need to add 2822 jumbo jets and 993 regional jets to their fleets.

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China’s Auto Sales Supass USA

Feb 13th, 2009
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China sold 735,500 units of vehicles in January 2009. The number far surpasses the sales in the US where monthly sales plummeted 37% from last January to 656,693 vehicles, the worst since 1963.

China produced 658,800 units of vehicles last month, a 20.22 percent drop compared with a year earlier, but an increase of 5.07 percent over December.

The Chinese government passed a stimulus package for the once-thriving auto sector last month, halving the purchase tax on vehicles with engine capacity of less than 1.6 liters, and spending 5 billion yuan on subsidies to farmers for replacing three-wheeled vehicles or outdated trucks with small, 1.3-liter or less, vehicles. The moves were aimed at boosting automobile sales in rural areas and promoting more energy efficient vehicles.

As a result, small passenger cars, with engine capacity of less than 1.6 liters, became the only group with rising sales in passenger car segment in January.

Posted in: Business China.
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Prophecies on China in 2009

Feb 12th, 2009
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By now, many people are aware of the CCTV building fire in the evening of Lantern Festival 2009. The fire caused 1 death and 6 injuries. However, not many people are aware of a prophecy that may be related to the fire and the prophecy was published on the American McKinsey Quarterly October 30th edition. The article is titled “Seven reasons China will surprise us in 2009 ” which has a specific prediction of an office building collapses at the Chaoyang district in Beijing in the year 2009. Many link the prophecy to the CCTV building fire which pretty much destroyed a brand new office building. Others do not believe they are related. However, the seven predictions in the article are quite interesting. Here they are:

1. China announced that by 2020, electric vehicles will take over half of China’s automobile market. To achieve this goal, China will invest in billions of dollars in the R&D of electric cars. This may cause China to be the future leader in the global automobile industry.
2. The Chinese Government buys a 50-year lease on an entire geographic region of Mexico, enabling Chinese companies to build factories there to supply the North American market more easily. This will hinder its economic growth to overcome the geographical constraints.
3. A major office building collapses in Chaoyang district, Beijing. This accident will cause a major improvement in building codes. China’s construction quality standards have long been criticized. This may triggers key changes in China’s construction standards.
4. A leading Chinese company tries to buy one or two iconic US enterprises. The volume of the business transaction may be 10 or 100 times more than the acquisition between Lenovo and IBM.
5. A major restructure of China’s telecommunications industry. The three major operators in the industry will merge due to a more competitive marketing environment.
6. The English Premier League football association buys its Chinese counterpart, the Chinese Super League.
7. Warmer cross-strait relationships lead to a merger between the mainland’s Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Taiwan’s Chinatrust Commercial Bank.

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Hong Kong Film Awards 2009 Press Conference

Feb 11th, 2009
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The 28th Hong Kong Film Awards just held a press conference today, and at the same time announced the 19 award shortlist. Among those who have nominated, the Best Actor will be likely granted to either Donnie Yen and Tony Leung due to their outstanding performances in the recent films.

Awards nomination list is formed by qualified voters and the result is also commonly known as “the first round of selections”.

It is reported that the Film Awards Presentation Ceremony will present on the 19th (Sunday) at Hong Kong Cultural Center and the Film Development Foundation has allocated 5,850,800 U.S. dollars (equivalent to RMB 40 million) to organize the event. This year’s broadcast rights have been granted to the Television Broadcasts Limited and Television Hong Kong. This will be a great show since many films this year had high production costs.

Posted in: Entertainment China.
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China Shuts Down 276 More Pornography Web Sites

Feb 10th, 2009
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Started in January 2009, the Chinese National Internet Regulation Office started a “crackdown” project which focuses on web sites containing pornography related contents. The project team is formed by the State Council’s Information Office and the ministries of Public Security and Culture. The office shut down an addition of 276 web sites relate to pornography today. There are total of 1911 web sites have been shut down by the “crackdown” project so far.

Any type of pornography or “lewd” contents distributions are illegal in China. The officials urges the Internet Access Providers block such websites, or else being held held responsible. The authorities are working on a reporting scheme which involve the public in monitoring online pornography. Individuals would be rewarded for reporting porn websites. This national wide ban will be extended to mobile phone contents providers, online book stores, blogs, video sites, radio programs, chat rooms and IM groups.

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Four Chinese Banks Ranked in Top 10 Banks of the World

Feb 9th, 2009
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A recent study revealed the top ten banks in the world based on their global market value. Among them, there are four banks from China. The top three are all Chinese banks. Here’s the list of the top 10 banks in the world: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of China, the United Kingdom HSBC, JPMorgan Chase Bank USA, Wells Fargo Bank USA, Spain international banks, Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, the United States Goldman Sachs , China Bank of Communications.
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According to the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” (FAZ)’s report a few days ago, the financial crisis severely disrupted the market value of the world’s largest bank ranking. Citibank, Bank of America and the Swiss banks used to dominate the top banks list, but failed to do so due to the financial chaos. In the meanwhile, the Bank of China ( market share it) further enhance their position in the list.

Major banks in the United States, the JP Morgan Chase Bank is clearly not impacted from the acquisition of Bear Stearns, which allowed them to keep the previous position along with the Wells Fargo Bank. On the other hand, Citibank and the United States is lagging far behind. Citibank has been a serious damaged by the financial crisis. Bank of America was considered one of the most stable banks, but the acquisition of Merrill Lynch last fall gave the BOA a heavy hit.

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Lantern Festival 2009

Feb 9th, 2009
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Happy Lantern Festival 2009! It is the last day of the Chinese New Year celebration, the 15th day of the first Month in the Chinese Luna calendar. Click here to find out more information on Lantern Festival.

In Tianjin, a three day competition of “lantern making contest” is taking place. The lanterns made by citizens are hung on the ancient apple trees in the Old City Museum. Some folk artists are invited to make performances of calligraphy, painting, paper cutting, embroidery, flour sculpture, etc.
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In Inner Mongolia, the tradition of spinning lights was carried out. Spinning lights literally means walking around the lanterns, which has a history of more than 3,000 years. A shelf made by more than 300 poles was made to hold 365 lanterns, each representing a day in one year. People believe that walking around the shelf symbolizes walking around hardship in the year.
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In the Taer Monastery in Qinghai, more than 40 monks made Ghee flowers to celebrate the festival. Exhibition of ghee flowers, which the monastery was famous for, was held every year for the Lantern Festival. The theme this year was the life story of Tsongkhapa, founder of the Geluk school, or the largest one of Tibetan Buddhism.
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Horse Fighting Festival

Feb 6th, 2009
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The Horse Fighting Festival is a regional festival in Rongshui, China. It is a tradition shared by the ethinic groups of Miao  and Yao. According to local cultural, this event stems from a ruling of marriage. The legend says over 5OO  years ago, a beautiful girl in the ethinic group attracted many brave young men from the sourroundings. They fought over the girl. She
did not want to see more blood shed therefore she insisted to give her love to the winner of a horse fighting competition.

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Over the years, the horse fighting event bacame a local celebration of bravery and love. Only the top breed of healthy and strong male horses are selected for the competition. The owner of the winning horse takes great prices and pride. Although it looks rather scary and disturbing, it’s actually not as bloody as the “dog fights’ or “rooster fights” in other parts of Asia.
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Hong Kong and Shanghai Ranked Top 5 Highest Cities In the World

Feb 3rd, 2009
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world-highest-cities-shanghai21Over the past twenty years, major cities around the globe are “growing taller” at a steady rate. These major cities often play important roles in the global economic growth. Today, the world wide financial structures are collapsing but these skyscrapers stand still in the cities and quietly observing  the financial chaos. This week, Forbes magazine released a study on “the world’s highest cities”. Among the top 5 cities, Hong Kong and Shanghai are both listed as number 2 and number 4. The ranking is based on the number of buildings in the city that are higher than 200 meters. Here’s the list of the top ranked cities:

NO. 1 New York with 35 buldings that are higher than 200 meters. The signature architecture is the Empire State Building, 351 meters above the ground. Not to mention they are building “The Freedom Tower” which will be 541 meters high.

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NO. 2 Hong Kong with 30 buildings that are higher than 200 meters. The signature architecture is The International Financial Center, 415 meters.

NO. 3 Dubai with 25 buildings that are higher than 200 meters. The signature architecture is Dubai Tower, 818 meters (under-construction).

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NO. 4 Shanghai with 21 buildings that are higher than 200 meters. The signature architecture is the World Financial Center, 492 meters. A new skyscraper is under construction which is named the “Shanghai Tower”. It will be completed in year 2014 which will be 600 meters high thus the tallest building in Shanghai by then.

NO. 5 Chicago with 17 buildings that are higher than 200 meters. The signature architecture is the Sears Tower, 443 meters.

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NO. 6 Another Chinese city, Shenzhen with 13 skyscrapers that are taller than 200 meters. The signature building is the Emperor Tower, 384 meters.

Due to the uniques of it’s historical culture, Beijing only has 3 buildings that are taller than 200 meters. There may be political or security implications for not having too many highrises in Beijing. HOwever, this may all change in just matter of years due to fact that Beijing is playing a more important role in the recovery of the global economy.

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China Improves Accessibility Signages

Feb 2nd, 2009
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For the longest time, access signs for the disabled were a mess in China. Different standards and signage across the nation. Starting the year 2009, China starts to introduce access signs for the disabled based on internationally-recognized symbols. Fifteen graphical symbols have been designed at the China National Institute of Standardization which will be used as the official signage for accessibility need to the disabled. “The symbols resembles to the international standards for guide dogs, for telephone, for people with hearing and speaking problems, and for access for the physically-impaired. They also serve the elderly, the injured and the ill.

This is one giant step forward to recognize the equality of disabled and non-disabled in China. The signages are being distributed across China starting January 2009. However, there are still many improvements needed in China for assisting the disabled group.

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New Free Chinese Lessons added – Shopping and Ordering in Restaurant

Jan 30th, 2009
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Two new lessons added today:

Shopping in Chinese – learn how to negotiate prices in Chinese and exchange merchandises in Chinese
Ordering food in Chinese – learn how to get seated and order food and drinks in Chinese

The two lessons are designed to focus on the common dialogs in both categories. They are meant to give learners a jump start in both shopping and restaurant experiences. Enjoy the lessons and don’t forget to write your questions or suggestions at the bottom of each lesson!

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China Tourism Revenue Hits $170 Billion in 2008

Jan 29th, 2009
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With the growth of the Chinese economy, China’s tourism revenue have surged a 5.8% increase from the previous year. In the year 2008, the Chinese tourism industry generated total revenue of 1.16 trillion Yuan (equivalent to $169.5 billion US). Most of the revenue was from the domestic tourism when the inbound tourism declined due to the global economic slowdown. On the opposite side, Chinese tourists made 45.8 million outbound tours in 2008, which is a 11.9% increase from the year 2007, partially due to the appreciation of the Yuan against other currencies.

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The Largest Population Migration – China Rail Way Carries Billions Holiday Passengers

Jan 28th, 2009
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The rail way transportation in China during the Chinese New Years got to be the most crowded transportation in the world. What’s crazy about it is that the chaos repeat itself once every year and there is not much a government can do about it. The recent numbers show that China’s railways carried 75.05 million passengers between Jan. 11-27, 2009. This is only the number for the first half of the Chinese spring festival travel rush! The figure represents a 17 percent increase from a year earlier. In addition, 114.7 million passengers have traveled by road between Jan. 25-28, up 5.4 percent from the same period last year. Short trips account for 80 percent of the total in the first four days of the seven-day Spring Festival holiday.

Similar to the Christmas holidays in the Western world, hundreds of millions of Chinese go home for family gatherings in the lunar new year holiday. This creates the world’s largest population migration.

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The largest population migration in the world – China’s rail way carries billions in weeks

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The largest population migration in the world – China’s rail way carries billions in weeks

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The largest population migration in the world – China’s rail way carries billions in weeks

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World Wide Ox Stamps Fever – Australia Brazil Canada Korea New Zealand USA

Jan 27th, 2009
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With the overwhelming world wide Chinese New Year celebrations, many countries have published their own sets of OX Stamps to reflect the multiculturalism across the nation. All of them are beautiful, I present them to you in alphabetical order of the country names:

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Australia: Ox Stamps celebrating of the 2009 Chinese New Year

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Brazilian Ox Stamps celebrating of the 2009 Chinese New Year

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Canadian Ox Stamps celebrating of the 2009 Chinese New Year

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Korean Ox Stamps celebrating of the 2009 Chinese New Year

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New Zealand Ox Stamps celebrating of the 2009 Chinese New Year

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Chinese Ox Stamps celebrating of the 2009 Chinese New Year

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New Chinese Tennis Star Out of Australian Open Due to Wrist Injury

Jan 26th, 2009
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It’s unfortunate to hear that Zheng Jie, the rising star in tennis is outof the Australian Open today due to a left wrist injury. Zheng Jie injured herself while playing against Russia’s eighth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round. She fell to the ground while saving an awkward angled ball and injured her left wrist. She tried to come back to the game after some medical attention but gave up the match after a couple more games.

Zheng Jie is suppose to be the successor of the former Chinese legendary tennis player Li Na. It seems Belarussian Victoria Azarenka is also out of the Australian Open 2009 due to injury.

The following are some fact about the Chinese Tennis star, Zheng Jie:

- Zheng Jie is the first tennis player from China to reach a Grand Slam singles semi final in Wimbledon 2008.
- Zheng Jie defeated world no. 1 and tournament’s top seed Ana Ivanovic in Wimbledon 2008.
- Zheng Jie attended Wimbledon 2008 with world ranking of 133.
- Zheng Jie’s (partners with Yan Zi) doubles ranking is 22
- Zheng Jie  debuted in WTA rankings in 2000.
- Zheng Jie started playing professional tennis from 16 January 2003 and successfully ended the year in the top 100 of singles ranking.
- Zheng Jie won 11 WTA doubles titles in her career in total till date.
- Reaching 27th in WTA singles ranking has been Zheng Jie’s best ever ranking which came in 2006.

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Happy Chinese New Year – Year of Ox

Jan 25th, 2009
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The Chinese Spring Festival is the oldest and most important festival in China, which takes place on the first day of the lunar calendar and usually falls somewhere between late January and February. More information on Chinese Spring Festival can be found here.

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According to the Chinese media, there were more than 68 tonnes of fireworks debris collected on the eve of the Spring Festival in Beijing alone. You can easily multiply this number by hundreds for the entire China. There were 639 million Yuan (about 85.2 million U.S. dollars) spent on New Year’s shopping in Beijing, defintely a huge boost for the local economy for a short while. The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sent a message to every one celebrating the festiva in Chinese on Friday: “Happy New Year to the Chinese people and all the ethnic Chinese all over the world.”

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The years of OX are:

February 19 , 1901 to February 7, 1902 (Metal Ox)
February 6, 1913 to January 25, 1914 (Water Ox)
January 25, 1925 to February 12, 1926 (Wood Ox)
February 11, 1937 to January 30, 1938 (Fire Ox)
January 29, 1949 to February 16, 1950 (Earth Ox)
February 15, 1961 to February 4, 1962 (Metal Ox)
February 3, 1973 to January 22, 1974 (Water Ox)
February 20, 1985 to February 8, 1986 (Wood Ox)
February 7, 1997 to January 27, 1998 (Fire Ox)
January 26, 2009 to February 13, 2010 (Earth Ox)
2021 – 2022: Metal Ox
2033 – 2034: Water Ox

People who are born in the year of Ox are trustworthy and consistent. They have great patience along the path to success… [more on horoscope of people born in the year of OX]


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Spring Festival Going Global

Jan 23rd, 2009
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Spring Festival is China’s most traditional festival, but in the past few years, it has become a rather popular festival in many other countries around the world. Western politicians are using the opportunity to greet the growing local Chinese communities. Many countries held a grand festival parade for the Chinese New Year. The Spring Festival in New York has been incorporated into the statutory holidays. It appears to be that China’s Spring Festival has become a world-wide celebration.


World-wide celebration of Chinese Spring Festival.

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