China Beijing Tour

China Beijing Tour

Sino-foreign corporate travel management joint venture set up in Beijing
A joint venture corporate travel management company set up by China Air Service Ltd. (CAS) and Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) commenced operations here on Jan.16. The new company represents the first corporate travel joint venture in China approved purely on the basis of an outbound air ticketing license. Commenting on new joint venture, Herve Gourio, CWT's president and CEO, said, "China's rapid economic growth has amazed the world. Its entry into the WTO allows for more frequent e

Beijing revamps ancient downtown cultural street
A massive construction program to transform a 780 year-old cultural street in downtown Beijing into the city's largest distribution center for ancient Chinese cultural artifacts is currently underway. Liulichang Street, located just outside the Hepingmen (the Gate of Peace) in southern Xuanwu District, was originally built during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and later became a bustling book bazaar during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Today, the street is a famous cultural shopping

Qinqiang Opera Urged to Apply for World Intangible and Oral Culture Heritage
At the First Session of the Ninth Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Wei Xiaoli, a Qinqiang Opera singer, gave a speech about the situation of Qinqiang Opera. Her eyes were full of tears when she mentioned the bleak future of the ancient art of performance. Seeing the importance to protect it and help it revitalize, the participants at the meeting all agreed Qinqiang should apply for being listed as UNESCO World Intangible and Oral Culture Her

Beijing Attracts More Foreign Investment
In 2002, Beijing authorized the establishment of 1,370 foreign-funded enterprises, pulling in contracted foreign capital of US$5.5 billion, 70 percent more than that of the previous year. According to Li Zhao, director of the Beijing Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Commission (BFTEC), transnational companies made new progress in investment in Beijing last year. Nestle established a regional headquarters in Beijing and LG Electronic Appliance Co., from the Republic of Korea (ROK), also set

Holiday Gift-giving Going Modern
Expensive tonics, leisure and entertainment products, innovative electronic gadgets and gym member-ship cards have become the top choices for Chinese New Year gifts in Shanghai. "Hams," "candies" and "cakes" - the three "musts" of recent history - are seldom seen now on New Year gift shopping lists. More individualized and more fashionable presents are the "in" stuff. The Chinese New Year or Spring Festival falls on Saturday this year, celebrating the Year of the Sheep. Local economists attribut

24-Hour Border Crossing Starts
Twenty-four hour border crossing is like a brand new start to me. It seems as if an entirely new economic relationship has emerged between the Hong Kong SAR and the mainland, Zhou Qi, a Shenzhen Special Economic Zone resident said Monday. Zhou, moving unhurriedly with his fishing net and sports bag, was one of the first few of the approximately 2,200 people crossing the Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang border checkpoint into Shenzhen within the first two hours after the implementation of the 24-hourpasseng

Snap Shots Focus on India
It seems Buddha, movies and dancing are all Chinese people really know about India. Few have had an opportunity to visit the neighboring country that has so many similarities and differences with China. But three Chinese photographers are now showing a new face of India, an ancient civilization that is experiencing the dynamics and challenges of modern culture -- just like China. Organized by the Embassy of India in Beijing, the exhibition at the Jintai Art Museum in eastern Beijing's Chaoyang P

Guzheng Musician Rocks on
Wang Yong laughingly describes himself as "a hybrid." He is definitely not, but his music might be. He has been trained in traditional ways, yet he produces his music on a computer. He teaches electronic music in the China Conservatory of Music, yet his colleagues and students consider him a rock musician, while most of his friends in the rock field say he is a master of guzheng, a zither-like instrument mostly with 21 strings. No other word than "cross-over" better describes Wang's music and no

Holiday Gift-giving Going Modern
Expensive tonics, leisure and entertainment products, innovative electronic gadgets and gym member-ship cards have become the top choices for Chinese New Year gifts in Shanghai. "Hams," "candies" and "cakes" - the three "musts" of recent history - are seldom seen now on New Year gift shopping lists. More individualized and more fashionable presents are the "in" stuff. The Chinese New Year or Spring Festival falls on Saturday this year, celebrating the Year of the Sheep. Local economists attribut

From Farmers to Workers: Unions Adopt Grassroots Democracy
After negotiations with the directors of Hucais Group Co., Ltd., the company's trade union achieved its first success just after New Year's Day -- employees began to work a five-day week, half a day less than before. The trade union also signed a group contract with the company management, established an aid fund for employees and negotiated salaries. "I must be responsible for the people who elected me," said He Jinsong, chairman of the trade union of Hucais, a Hong Kong-invested company in Don

Monk's Mission Links Nations
It was more than 1,300 years ago in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). After experiencing too many hardships, Chinese monk Hieun Tsang (AD 602-664) made his way to the sacred "western world," today's India. With an unremitting faith in Buddha, he studied in the Nalanda Monastery for five years. In AD 645, when he came back east to Chang'an, today's Xi'an of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, he brought 657 sets of sutras, which were later translated into Chinese. The Tang monk's pilgrimage for Budd

24-hour Border Crossing Between HKSAR, Mainland
Twenty-four hour border crossing is like a brand new start to me. It seems as if an entirely new economic relationship has emerged between the Hong Kong SAR and the mainland, Zhou Qi, a Shenzhen Special Economic Zone resident said Monday. Zhou, moving unhurriedly with his fishing net and sports bag, was one of the first few of the approximately 2,200 people crossing the Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang border checkpoint into Shenzhen within the first two hours after the implementation of the 24-hourpasseng

China to promote air ticket reform in 2003
China will reform its air ticket pricing in the first half of 2003, Yang Yuanyuan, director of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC), said here on Jan.23. The reform will implement government-guided pricing for airline companies. The State Development Planning Commission and the CAAC will determine basic prices and fluctuation rates, Yang said. Airline companies will set up a multi-level air ticket system and sell tickets at different prices according to diff

China's aviation turnover takes off
China's aviation industry turnover reached 16.2 billion-ton kilometers in 2002, up 14.9 percent compared with the previous year. The rapid development of domestic and foreign trade as well as tourism stimulated the aviation demand last year. The total number of passengers reached 84.25 million and cargo reached 1.98 million tons, up 12 and 15.8 percent respectively compared with the previous year, said Yang Yuanyuan, director of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC)

China expects to become strong aviation nation by 2020
China will progress from a large to a strong aviation nation by the end of 2020, according to an official from the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC). China's aviation industry is expected to maintain an average annual growth rate of 10 percent, based on its seven percent economic increase. By the end of 2020, China's aviation turnover will reach 84 billion ton kilometers, ranking second in the world, said CAAC Director Yang Yuanyuan at a work meeting. Yang pr

CAAC: China's aviation industry more open
China's aviation industry became more open through the use of 80 million US dollars worth of foreign capital last year, according to sources at the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC). China implemented new rules on foreign investment in the civil aviation industry last year, including investment areas and shares,said Yang Yuanyuan, director of CAAC. China approved eight projects for foreign investment and four projects for domestic investment overseas, he said

CAAC: China's aviation safety steady
China's aviation safety was currently steady, according to sources from the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC). China carried out safety inspections of pilots, planes and strengthened aviation management, corrected overtime flights and canceled midnight domestic flights, said Yang Yuanyuan, director of CAAC. The country increased 800 million yuan (100 million US dollars) of capital on aviation safety last year. Thanks to its unremitting efforts, China's aviati

Rare ancient Chinese books to be photocopied and published
Thousands of volumes of precious ancient books and rare editions of Chinese writings, once stored deep in large libraries, are expected to be repaired, photocopied and put on the market. According to a national project jointly launched by the ministries of Culture and Finance, the Chinese government will allocate 80 million yuan (9.6 million US dollars) in four years starting from this year to the ancient book renaissance. Du Weisheng, of the National Library of China, said current

Jilin province enhances protection of wild animals
Seven years after northeast China's Jilin Province banned game-hunting, wild animals are leading a safer life and the ecology has become more balanced, officials said. Boasting vast fertile black soil, forests and pastures, Jilin has 2,700 wild plant species and 1,100 wild animal species, some of which are rare and endangered. As one of the provinces leading China in building a better ecological environment, Jilin put polices and regulations in place to punish those poaching since 1996.

Hyundai Sonata cars debut in Beijing
The first Hyundai Sonata car rolled off production line on Dec.23 in a Beijing factory jointly funded by the Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. and the Hyundai Motor Co. of the Republic of Korea (ROK). Jia Qinglin, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, attended a ceremony to mark the cars' Beijing debut, the result of a 50-50 joint venture deal between the two countries. The deal, which is the first a

Tianjin builds China's largest auto trade center
North China's Tianjin Municipality has completed construction of the country's largest center for imports and exports of automobiles and parts. The Tianjin Port Bonded Zone International Auto City, costing 120 million yuan (14.5 million US dollars) and covering 55,000 sq.m. of land, has 30,000 sq. m. of international standard expo halls,20,000 sq. m. of open expo area and 20,000 sq. m. of storage area. Equipped with a satellite receiving system and Internet access, both sellers and

Experts warn Beijing students against fireworks
Beijing launched a campaign recently to warn students across the city against the dangers of setting off fireworks 10 years after a ban on fireworks in the city. A task force of experts from local public security departments and hospitals started the campaign in Beihai Middle School and will visit other schools over the next few days. They organized various activities, including handing out paper with fireworks information for the students to write down their assignments for the co

Zhjiang province records 70 billion yuan in tourism revenue last year
East China's Zhejiang province reported 71 billion yuan (8.6 billion US dollars) in tourism revenue last year, a year-on-year increase of 21 percent, according to official figures. According to the figures released Thursday by the Tourism Bureau of the Zhejiang Provincial government, the coastal province received 2.04 million tourists from outside the Chinese mainland in 2002, up 38.9 percent from the previous year. A total of 1.21 million foreign tourists toured the province last

State to authorize more international flights
Top aviation officials promised to open China's skies wider to international air carriers, which should give travellers greater choice. Based on the principal of mutual benefit, the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) will authorize more international flights to China this year, even though domestic airlines do not have the capacity to operate all the extra quotas. The expansion will mainly concentrate on major cities in Europe and North America, while a few ma

China, Vietnam specify security responsibilities in cross-border tourism
Barring unavoidable or unpreventable events, the safety of cross-border tourists is the responsibility of the country the tourists are traveling in, according to an agreement reached between Chinese and Vietnamese tourism administrations. The agreement on cross-border tourist safety was reached Tuesday at a meeting between a delegation of the Tourism Administration of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and a delegation of a provincial tourism administration of Vietnam.

China building large botanical garden to rescue endangered plants
A botanical garden designed to be the world's largest is under construction in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, as the country doubles its efforts in rescuing endangered rare plants. With a projected land area of 458 square kilometers, the Qinling Botanical Garden built by the Xi'an Branch of Chinese Academy of Sciences will protect a total of 6,100 rare plant species. This means that apart from the 3,200 types of indigenous plants already under protection, some 900 temperate pl

Luxury Hotels Expand in China
Marriott International, Inc. is planning its biggest Asian expansion, adding six properties in China as analysts warn oversupply may force five-star hotels to slash rates. Marriott, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. - which runs the Sheraton and Westin hotels - Shangri-La Asia Ltd. and other companies are expanding on China's mainland, betting the country's 2001 entry into the World Trade Organization and the 2008 Olympic Games will boost visitor arrivals. Since 1997, the number of five-s

Scientists Chart Route of Sandstorms
The route taken by the devastating sandstorms that sweep across northeast regions of Asia has been charted by a team of top scientists in China. Spot research and analysis conducted in more than 40 cities in northern parts of China since August have revealed the dust storms travel mainly through Mongolia, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, East China, the Korean Peninsula, Japan and the northwest Pacific Ocean. Research has also discovered that both the frequency and intensity of dust storms

Scientists Chart Route of Fierce Sandstorms
The route taken by the devastating sandstorms that sweep across northeast regions of Asia has been charted by a team of top scientists in China. Spot research and analysis conducted in more than 40 cities in northern parts of China since August have revealed the dust storms travel mainly through Mongolia, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, East China, the Korean Peninsula, Japan and the northwest Pacific Ocean. Research has also discovered that both the frequency and intensity of dust storms

Hong Kong Becoming Tourism's King Kong
Senior Disney officials, long committed to investing in Hong Kong's tourism sector, are pleased with the region's potential and continually growing market strength. "We've never been more confident in either Hong Kong or the potential success of Hong Kong Disneyland," Robert Iger, president of the Walt Disney Co, said recently. "Hong Kong is an even stronger tourism market than it was back in 1999, when we first announced this project," Iger said. Iger's bullish view of Hong Kong and the Chinese

Insurance Price Wars Unlikely
Newly revised rules governing aviation passenger accident insurance will help prevent the market from sinking into ill-fated price wars. But the rules will have little affect on the entire market, which is dominated by several large life insurance players, experts suggest. Three major life insurers, China Life, China Pacific Insurance Co and Ping An Insurance, which control most of the aviation passenger accident insurance market developed the rules. The new rules will take effect in March, afte

Luodai, an Ancient Hakka Town in the Southwest
Less than 10 km east of Chengdu, capital city of Sichuan Province in southwestern China, there is a small town called Luodai. The town is famed as a Hakka culture town; not only the houses are in ancient style, but the residents all speak the Hakka dialect and retain their traditional lifestyle. Among Luodai's 23,000 inhabitants, 20,000 are Hakka people. Chen Shisong, director of the Sichuan Hakka Culture Research Center and a researcher of the Sichuan Academe of Social Sciences, said it's a rar

Luodai, an Ancient Hakka Town in the Southwest
Less than 10 km east of Chengdu, capital city of Sichuan Province in southwestern China, there is a small town called Luodai. The town is famed as a Hakka culture town; not only the houses are in ancient style, but the residents all speak the Hakka dialect and retain their traditional lifestyle. Among Luodai's 23,000 inhabitants, 20,000 are Hakka people. Chen Shisong, director of the Sichuan Hakka Culture Research Center and a researcher of the Sichuan Academe of Social Sciences, said it's a rar

Sino-Japanese Cartoon Exhibit Entertaining Children
The city of Wuhan, in China's Hubei Province, is playing host to a Sino-Japanese children's cartoon exhibition which is attracting large numbers of visitors. Ding Zhujun, curator of the Hubei Provincial Art Gallery, the organizer of the event, said that the exhibition features 1,500 cartoons, including 800 created by Japanese youngsters. According to Ding, the event drew some 1,000 visitors on opening day, most of them school children on their winter holidays. The exhibition will run through Jan

New Light on Chinese Civilization
A week ago a farmer in northwestern China's Shaanxi Province swung his hoe onto the ground and opened up another world -- a cave appeared. Well laid-out were 27 inscribed bronze artifacts. The more than 2,000 characters inscribed on them are expected to shed light on the history of the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC), which has puzzled historians for two millenniums. Zhou Kuiying, archaeologist with the Shaanxi Administration of Cultural Heritage, said formal archaeological excavation has kic

Luxury Hotels Expand in China
Marriott International, Inc. is planning its biggest Asian expansion, adding six properties in China as analysts warn oversupply may force five-star hotels to slash rates. Marriott, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. - which runs the Sheraton and Westin hotels - Shangri-La Asia Ltd. and other companies are expanding on China's mainland, betting the country's 2001 entry into the World Trade Organization and the 2008 Olympic Games will boost visitor arrivals. Since 1997, the number of five-s

Four Buildings Collapse on Sinking Ground in Guangdong
Four houses collapsed and 10 others were damaged on Saturday night in Lufeng County in the eastern part of Guangdong Province. Some houses sunk several meters below ground in the incident, which affected at least 50 people from 10 families, who all escaped unscathed. The direct economic losses came to more than one million yuan (US$120,000). Lufeng County government has set up a task force to help deal with the consequences of the collapse, and provide temporary accommodation in government dormi

Have a Nice Dream in Stone Bamboo Mountain
Shizhusi (Stone Bamboo Temple) is situated on Shizhu (Stone Bamboo) Mountain in Fuqing, Fujian Province. Legend says that one who stays overnight in the temple's Jiuxian (Nine Immortals) Tower will have a beautiful dream and have all his or her wishes realized. The mountain is covered with verdant bamboo groves and pine trees. With a summit of 534 meters above the sea level, the scenic area's beauty lies in its precipitous peaks, queer crags and deep caves. Among its scenic attractions are the p

China's Ethical, Cultural Progress Awards Announced
The Central Commission for Guiding Ethical and Cultural Progress is to award more than 1,000 work units across China for their outstanding achievements and progress in ethical and cultural advancement. The Jixi Railway Station of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province and the Beijing-based Diaoyutai State Guesthouse are on the list of winners. The commission called on all work units to learn from the awarded units, to emancipate their minds, seek truth from facts, keep pace with the times and h

E. China City to Build Country's Tallest Pagoda
Changzhou City, located in east China's Jiangsu Province, has announced plans to build a 153.79-meter pagoda in the Tianning (Heavenly Peace) Temple. It will be the tallest pagoda in the country. Tianning Temple, a local Buddhist temple, originally built during the Zhengguan and Yonghui periods (627-655) of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), is known as the "No.1 temple in southeast China". The pagoda project, with an estimated cost of 150 million yuan (about US$18 million) is scheduled to be completed

Scientists Chart Route of Sandstorms
The route taken by the devastating sandstorms that sweep across northeast regions of Asia has been charted by a team of top scientists in China. Spot research and analysis conducted in more than 40 cities in northern parts of China since August have revealed the dust storms travel mainly through Mongolia, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, East China, the Korean Peninsula, Japan and the northwest Pacific Ocean. Research has also discovered that both the frequency and intensity of dust storms

Migrants' Leave Causes Headache in Cities
For 11 months of the year, the millions of migrants in Shanghai are often looked down upon by some locals as peasants and blamed for many of the city's crime. Then Spring Festival arrives, the migrants head home, and locals realize just how important those "peasants" really are. With an army of migrant workers once again cramming onto busses and trains back to their hometowns, many local residents have suddenly found themselves with no one to help them clean the house, cook dinner or take care o

Scientists Chart Route of Fierce Sandstorms
The route taken by the devastating sandstorms that sweep across northeast regions of Asia has been charted by a team of top scientists in China. Spot research and analysis conducted in more than 40 cities in northern parts of China since August have revealed the dust storms travel mainly through Mongolia, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, East China, the Korean Peninsula, Japan and the northwest Pacific Ocean. Research has also discovered that both the frequency and intensity of dust storms

First Taiwan-mainland charter flight stops over in HK
A Taiwanese China Airlines charter flight taking off from Shanghai's Pudong airport arrived at the Hong Kong International Airport Sunday afternoon (Jan.26) to make a stopover before going to Taiwan. The charter flight, which is the first civil aviation flight between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland since 1949, was required by the Taiwanese authorities to make stopovers in Hong Kong for 50 minutes to and from Shanghai. With more than 200 Taiwanese business people and their families

First Taiwanese charter flight returns to Taipei
The Taiwanese China Airlines' charter plane returned to Taipei's Taoyuan airport at 3:40 p.m. Sunday (Jan.26), ending a successful round trip between Taipei and Shanghai. More than 240 Taiwanese business people and their family members went back home aboard the plane, which took off early Sunday morning in Taipei and arrived in Shanghai at 8:52 a.m. via Hong Kong. The plane left the Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 11:15 a.m. It marks the success of the first charter flight

Taiwanese charter flight leaves Shanghai for Taipei
The Taiwanese China Airlines charter plane, which arrived at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport two hours ago, left here at 11:15 a.m. Sunday (Jan.26) for Taipei via Hong Kong. More than 200 Taiwanese business people and their family members were on the plane, returning home for the traditional Chinese Spring Festival which falls on Feb. 1 this year. A welcome ceremony was held in the airport after the plane's arrival. Officials from Shanghai and the General Administration o

Taiwanese return for festival via direct sea route from mainland
For the first time Taiwanese business people from several provinces and cities on the Chinese mainland are returning to Taiwan by the direct Xiamen-Jinmen sea route to celebrate the Chinese Spring Festival from Saturday (Jan.25). Taiwanese people living in Beijing, Shanghai and southern China's Fujian, Zhejiang, Yunnan, Hunan and Jiangsu provinces will go home by the Xiamen-Jinmen route from Jan. 26 to 30. To date, about 2,340 Taiwanese business people have registered to return for

Ecological weather station set up in NE China
A newly built weather tower in Liaoning Province is to be put into use soon to monitor ecological changes in the area. As the first ecological weather station in China, the weather tower would observe the local ecological system, according to an official with Liaoning provincial meteorological bureau. The station would mainly provide statistics on the rise of temperatures and sea levels, acid rain and damage to the ozone layer. The 100-meter high weather tower was built near

Paper-cutter finds success in NE China
Xu Huichun, 45, a former clerk in charge of cultural affairs in northeast China, has made a successful career out of paper-cutting, by which Chinese characters, beasts and birds, fishes and insects are formed. Xu has created more than 50,000 Chinese characters and hundreds of pictures by cutting paper since he developed a passion for the art in 1992. Xu now runs a painting and calligraphy store, named Yishi Shuhuayuan in Jinzhou city of northeast China's Liaoning Province. T

China publishes book on Far East War Trial
China has published a book giving the first-ever detailed account of the trial of Japanese Second World War criminals 55 years ago. According to the book, titled Far East International Trial, Chinese judges played an important role in the Tokyo Far East Court Martial to bring Japanese war criminals to justice. Published by Shanghai People's Publishing House, the book represents first detailed account of the trial of 28 top Japanese war criminals in World War II by 11 judges.

Guangdong to build new provincial museum
South China's Guangdong province is to build a new provincial museum at an expected cost of almost one billion yuan (120 million US dollars). Construction is underway on the 50-meter high building with an acreage and a floor space of 15,000 and 60,000 square meters respectively. The exhibition section is a key part of the project and upon completion, historic, cultural, natural, artistic, calligraphy, porcelain, craftwork, inkstone and root-carving exhibits will go on display.
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Beijing-Kowloon double-track railway completed
The last section of the double-track line of the Beijing-Kowloon Railway, one of the major north-south trunk lines in China, was put into operation recently. Construction on the Longchuan-Dongguan section of the double-track line, with a length of 220 kilometers, began in March 2001. The project cost a total of 2.698 billion yuan (325 million US dollars). The Beijing-Kowloon Railway connects China's capital to Kowloon in Hong Kong. The single line of the railway was put into operat

China sends students abroad Spring Festival greetings by letter
Chinese Vice-Minister of Personnel Shu Huiguo on Jan.17 sent Spring Festival greetings by letter to students studying abroad. Shu wrote in the letter that those Chinese students studying abroad are making valuable efforts for the prosperity of China. "Your motherland and families are gratified with your progress and success," he said. The Ministry of Personnel of China (MPC) always supports citizens to study abroad and gives Chinese people enough freedom in this regard, acco

Chinese government boosts cultural sector
More than 19,000 new plays were staged by China's artistic troupes between 1998 and 2001 as a result of the rapid development of China's cultural sector. Minister of Culture Sun Jiazheng told a national conference recently that, over the past five years, China has invested nearly 6.8 billion yuan (819.6 million US dollars) in Chinese artistic troupes. Since 1998, Chinese people have had the opportunity to view nearly 418,000 play performances annually, and total profits from all st

Hong Kong's visitor arrivals hit 16.57 mln in 2002
Total visitor arrivals in Hong Kong for 2002 reached 16.57 million, an increase of 20.7 percent over the previous year, boosted by a further surge of visitors in Dec. 2002. Announcing the latest tourism statistics Friday (Jan.24), Selina Chow, chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), said new records were set almost every month in 2002 and all markets saw positive growth. She said the Chinese mainland is the world's fastest-growing travel market and Hong Kong was ideally pla

Passengers in, out of, Hong Kong up 8.4 pct in 2002
A total of 162.2 million passengers traveled in and out of Hong Kong by air, sea and land in 2002, representing an increase of 8.4 percent over the preceding year, said Director of Immigration T K Lai Friday (Jan.24). Lo Wu, already the busiest control point in the world, witnessed a year-on-year increase of 7 percent. On an average day, more than 260,000 people crossed the boundary there and the highest record made on Oct. 12, 2002 was close to 360,000. The growth at Lok Ma

Feature: 24-hour border crossing marks new economic relation between HKSAR, mainland
Twenty-four hour border crossing is like a brand new start to me. It seems as if an entirely new economic relationship has emerged between the Hong Kong SAR and the mainland, Zhou Qi, a Shenzhen Special Economic Zone resident said Monday . Zhou, moving unhurriedly with his fishing net and sports bag, was one of the first few of the approximately 2,200 people crossing the Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang border checkpoint into Shenzhen within the first two hours after the implementation of the 24-hou

Sharon's Likud Wins; Israeli Left Crushed
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Likud party swept to victory in Israel's general election on Tuesday and dealt a crushing defeat to the leftist parties that pursued peace deals with the Palestinians. Television projections showed Sharon could win a ruling but shaky majority in parliament with a right-wing, ultranationalist and religious parties, but such a coalition could harden his already tough line against the Palestinian uprising. Labour Party leader Amram Mitzna, who also lost votes to the se

Nanyang-- An Ancient Town by the Lakeside
Weishan Lake, with a water area of 1,200 square kilometers, is located in the south of Shandong Province. It is the largest fresh water lake on the North China Plain; and it consists of four small lakes: the Weishan, the Shaoyang, the Dushan, and the Nanyang. A narrow lake stretching 150 kilometers from north to south, it accepts water from 40 rivers and streams running through eight regions of four provinces, including Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan, and Anhui. The ancient Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Cana

A Stunning Corner of Southwest China
Daxin County is under the jurisdiction of Nanning City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and shares over 40 kilometers of its southern border with Vietnam. Formerly an undeveloped area, it is famous for its Detian Scenic Zone, which boasts a variety of fantastic landscapes. Along with the enhancement of friendly ties between China and Vietnam, the Detian Scenic Zone was established several years ago, and was so named for its spectacular Detian Waterfall. The Detian Waterfall is over 200 meters

Devoted Scholar Still Respected
A shabby desk piled with a heap of books and reference materials, along with an old stool, was the eye-catching features in Zhong Jingwen's study, inside his home in the humble, timeworn "red building" on the campus of Beijing Normal University, where he lived for the last two decades. More than 10,000 copies of books were arranged, stacked, and piled along every wall, in every corner, above and beneath every piece of furniture. The 12-square-meter study remains unchanged, except for the desk, a

Egypt Air Inaugurates Cairo-Beijing Direct Flight
An Egypt Air Airbus 340 passenger plane touched down at Capital International Airport in Beijing at 20:00 Tuesday (Beijing Time) following a nine-hour voyage from the Egyptian capital of Cairo. The inaugural flight marked the commencement of direct flights between the two capitals by Egypt Air. Egypt Air flights are scheduled twice a week, departing Cairo at 4:30 a.m. (Cairo Time), every Tuesday and Friday. Industry sources say the initiation of direct flights between Cairo and Beijing will prom

China-ASEAN free trade zone gaining momentum
Substantial steps have been taken to build the China-ASEAN free trade zone in Yunnan province, on the southwestern border of China, said sources with the provincial government recently. Transport infrastructure, commercial networks, industrial cooperation, environmental protection and friendly contacts and exchanges constitute the five priorities in the provincial draft to speed up the establishment of the free trade zone, according to Niu Shaorao, deputy governor of the Yunnan province.<

Yunnan boosts transport links with China-ASEAN free trade area in mind
Yunnan Province, on the southern border of China, is boosting its international transport network in readiness for the proposed China-ASEAN free trade area. At present, the province was developing air, land and water transport links with Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand and Laos, said Xu Rongkai, governor of Yunnan. Progress has been made in building the 1,800-km highway linking Kunming, capital of Yunnan, with Bangkok, the Pan-Asian Railway and harnessing the navigation channel on the L

China improves quality control in its domestic food market
China is improving safety of its domestic food market with the help of a new quality control system. The General Administration of Quality Supervision and Quarantine (GAQSQ) recently issued permits to 1,323 companies for the processing of five kinds of food, including rice, flour, cooking oil, soy sauce and vinegar. Beginning August 1, 2003, other companies will be forbidden from processing these foods. The GAQSQ vowed to expand the system to include other foods this year, i

China to hold 7th Arts Festival in Zhejiang
China will hold its 7th Arts Festival next October in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province. The biennial event is China's most important showcase for its artistic achievements, which help enhance cultural taste and promote general economic and social progress in Zhejiang, local officials said. "Zhejiang's comparatively developed economy, dynamic cultural market, flourishing cultural demand and comprehensive cultural facilities will provide a solid foundation for the

Macao's tourist industry makes another leap in 2002
Tourist arrivals in Macao hit a record 11.53 million in 2002, led by the huge influx of China's inlanders, according to the latest official figures. The figure was a 12.2 percent rise from the previous year, when Macao for the first time played host to more than 10 million tourists. The Statistics and Census Services posed Tuesday that the Special Administrative Region (SAR) in south China saw the inflow of 5.1 million Hong Kong visitors last year, a dip of 1.8 percent, though Hong

China's lantern show features foreign flavor
Foreign cultures for the first time are the main "theme" of the 1,000-year-old lantern show at Zigong in southwest China's Sichuan Province. The current 40-day show, which began Friday (Jan.24), is displaying 98 different lantern groups and 2,000 small lanterns featuring the ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian cultures, as well as historical events, totems, religions, fairy tales, folk art and customs from more than 30 countries around the world. To attract more visitors, organizers

E. China province reports sharp rise in tourism income
The coastal province of Fujian, in east China, registered 42.4 billion yuan (5.12 billion US dollars) in tourism income in 2002, up 23 percent from the previous year. Tourism income accounted for 9.1 percent of the province's total gross domestic product last year, statistics from the provincial tourism administration show. The province hosted 1.84 million overseas visitors last year, up 13.1 percent on a yearly basis, and earned 1.1 billion US dollars in foreign exchange in touris

Folk art center to be revived in Beijing
A "citizens' square" currently under construction in southern Beijing is expected to breathe new life into the "folk art center" of the early 1900s. Located in the southern part of the city, the "Tianqiao", or "heavenly bridge", was first built during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and became a center of Chinese folk art at the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Historians say folk art performed at Tianqiao in the early 20th century were modern forms of some ancient religious ritua

China striving to restore beach's natural beauty
The encroaching buildings and other facilities had destroyed plant life, reduced shelter greenwood and caused sand quality to worsen on Yintan (Silver) Beach, a stretch of scenic coastline in southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The original natural beauty of Yintan beach in coastal Beihai city is, however, expected to return very soon after the last three buildings on the beach were reduced to rubble recently. Sited in the southern part of Beihai, the 24-km coastal area, thr

Students asked to remember Chinese social values during holiday
More than 2,500 students attending a foreign language school in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, received special winter holiday assignments as they were leaving school last week with their minds already focused on the upcoming Spring Festival, the most important holiday for the Chinese people. The assignments included "making New Year's visits to relatives, friends teachers and classmates and cooking a meal for your family on the eve of the Chinese lunar new year,"

Hopes rise for direct cross-Straits flights
Successful indirect flights from Shanghai to Taiwan by two chartered planes of Taiwanese airlines have raised hopes that direct flights between the mainland and the island can be kick-started. The distance between Shanghai and Taipei is about 1,000 kilometres and the direct flying time is just one hour and fifteen minutes. But it took more than four hours for the China Airlines chartered plane to fly from Shanghai to Taipei on Sunday (Jan.26) because of a stopover in Hong Kong, sai

Guangzhou airport sees passenger tide on eve of Spring Festival
Baiyun Airport in Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong in south China, handled over 504 flights and 104 chartered planes on Jan. 26, as the upcoming Spring Festival sparked a flood of passengers into and out of the city. The airport handled 38,000 passengers all up on Sunday (Jan.26), and the figure was expected to increase during the next few days, airport sources said. More than 80 percent of outgoing passengers are migrant workers from other parts of China, mainly from

Beijing stocking up for enjoyable Spring Festival
Beijing, the Chinese capital, has stocked up with goods worth 5 billion yuan (about 600 million US dollars) especially for the coming Spring Festival, a Chinese lunar new year for family reunion, which falls on Feb. 1 this year. The quantities of goods are double that of the previous year, according to the municipality's Commerce Bureau. As well as a wealth of festive commodities which range from fresh flowers, luxury clothes, automobiles and furniture, to food and modern digital p

HK, mainland start 24-hour passenger clearance
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and Guangdong provincial government started 24-hour passenger clearance service at the Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang checkpoint right after midnight Sunday (Jan.26). It is the first time that round-the-clock passenger clearance service is provided at HK-Guangdong checkpiont, a historic step toward the further integration of Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta region.

Exodus Moves into Top Gear
The great Spring Festival move of China's populace this week entered its peak period. With the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year just two days away, transport authorities have mobilized all available resources to get passengers home safely and in time for the traditional family celebration. Sources with the Ministry of Railways said fully loaded trains would carry 3.2 million to 3.4 million passengers a day between Sunday and Thursday. The Spring Travel Season concludes on February 25, with pe

Experts Hail ajor Archaeological Discovery in NW China
Chinese archaeologists are calling the bronze ware unearthed in a Shaanxi Province village "a major archaeological discovery in the 21st century." "I was shocked when I saw these relics," said Li Boqian, director of the Archaeological Department of Beijing University, at Wednesday's seminar in Xi'an, the provincial capital of Shaanxi, to discuss the importance and value of the excavation of the 27 bronze pieces. On Jan. 19, residents of Yangjia Village presented the relics they had stumbled upon

Primitive Fish May Be Ancestor of Man
Latest scientific findings prove that the jawless Haikou fish, also known by the scientific name of haikouichthy, may be the ancestor of humans and all modern vertebrates. Samples of the fossilized fish, dating back 530 million years, were first found in 1997 at Haikou, near Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province. The findings are achieved by Chinese paleontologist Shu Degan in partnership with the scholars from Britain, France and Japan. The latest edition of Britain-based Nature

Three Electronic and Information elts Formed in China
Three information technology "belts" have taken shape in China, according to a report from the Ministry of Information Industry. They are located on the Zhujiang River Delta in south China, the Yangtze River Delta, and across Beijing, Tianjin and Tanggu in north China. The output value of the electronic and information technology (IT) industry of Guangdong Province totaled 390 billion yuan (US$46.9 billion) in 2002, the highest in the country. The output value of the electronic and IT industry o

Measures Taken to Ensure Sound Trips
As the most important Chinese holiday, the Spring Festival, falls this Saturday the transport departments are working hard to ensure that passengers can have a smooth trip. It is estimated that the total number of trips during the one-month period of the festival will reach a record high of 1.8 billion. The Chinese traditionally hold family reunions during the Spring Festival. Every year before and after the festival, a large number of people will travel between their hometown and their working

Feeling Festive, Fighting for Space!
Ages before we grasped our spin around the sun, the earliest efforts at organizing the passage of days involved looking at the moon. While the lunar system is imperfect, understanding phased shapes of light reflected off earth's original satellite was how ancient civilizations recorded time. Thus, celebrating the lunar new year is one of humankind's oldest traditions and continues to be a brilliant excuse to party, travel, or once again start afresh. On Friday night we dismount the Horse and get

Chinese Lunar New Year Festival Sees New Trends
China saw in its New Year on Saturday -- the year of the sheep, according to the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac. Despite the fact that 2002, the year of the swift horse, has given way to 2003, the year of the slower sheep, 2003 is expected to be a year of changes and progress for the country. Xie Yujian, a resident of Nanning City of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, left Friday for the neighboring province of Guizhou. However, he was not traveling by train nor by plane. He wa

Chinese Lunar New Year Festival Sees New Trends
China saw in its New Year on Saturday -- the year of the sheep, according to the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac. Despite the fact that 2002, the year of the swift horse, has given way to 2003, the year of the slower sheep, 2003 is expected to be a year of changes and progress for the country. Xie Yujian, a resident of Nanning City of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, left Friday for the neighboring province of Guizhou. However, he was not traveling by train nor by plane. He wa

Shuttle Columbia Disaster, Seven Astronauts Dead
The space shuttle Columbia flared and broke up in the skies over Texas on Saturday, killing the seven astronauts on board in what NASA and President Bush called a tragedy for the entire nation. NASA launched an investigation into the disaster and began searching for the astronauts' remains. It said that although there had been some data failures it was too early to nail down a precise cause. The break-up, 16 minutes before the shuttle was due to land at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, spread po

Three People Arrested for Buying Votes in Election
Two villagers and one official have been arrested in Yongkang City, east China's Zhejiang Province, on charges of bribing voters in the election of the city's People's Congress deputies. Yu Tingbiao, a villager who had failed to qualify as a candidate, decided to try to get his wife elected, while Ling Yulin, who had also failed to qualify, became his accomplice. With the help of Ling Guansheng, a local official, Yu and Ling tried to bribe voters, initially, with cigarettes and cooking oil, and

Drug Firms Struggling to Meet New Standards
As the deadline for applying the Good Sales Practice for Pharmaceutical Products (GSP) Certificate draws nearer, many mainland medicine distributors are facing the pressure of being kicked out of the industry if they fail to obtain one. At present, only about 80 of the 16,500 medicine distribution companies in the country have obtained the GSP certificate, according to a mainland medicine industry association. An earlier survey conducted by the association said only 27 percent and 20 percent of

More Chinese going abroad for private reasons
Nearly 4.02 million Chinese went abroad for private reasons in 2002, an increase of 30.3 percent over the previous year, official statistics show. The country's exit and entry administrative departments approved 118,000 Chinese applying to settle in other countries and regions last year, and the figure rose 68.6 percent over 2001. The number of Chinese applying to settle in other countries and regions made up 2.9 percent of the total applicants wishing to go abroad in 2002.

Taiwan, mainland to co-host lantern show
A local cultural exchange center in Fuzhou City, the capital of Fujian Province, and Mawei Island, in Taiwan Province, will join hands for the second time to host a traditional lantern show in Fuzhou. The show, to be held during February's Lantern Festival, is one of a series of new developments in the relations between the mainland cultural center and the island. On Jan. 28, 2001, the two sides signed an agreement on people-to-people economic and cultural exchanges, and since then

World's biggest Snoopy-themed park to be built in Guangdong
A theme park featuring famous peanuts characters will be opened in the first half of year 2004 in Shunde, Guangdong province, the project's investor Shunde Jiaxin Realty Development Co. Ltd announced recently in Hong Kong. The Snoopy Fun Fun Garden and the Snoopy Playground, occupying more than 550,000 square meters and with a total investment of about RMB 100 million yuan (12.2 million US dollars), will be the biggest snoopy park in the world and the first one of its kind in the Chinese

Historical park to be built at the site of China's first emperor's mausoleum
Northwest China's Shaanxi Province has planned to invest 553 million yuan (66.6 million US dollars) in building a historical park at the site of the Mausoleum of Emperor Qinshihuang (259 BC-210 BC), the first emperor of China's feudal dynasties. The local government plans to requisition more than 2,900 mu (193 hectares) of land and afforest an area of more than 3.2 square kilometers in the park and the surrounding areas. Three villages, including 1,007 families and 24 enterprises,

China's tourism sector gets boost from Spring Festival
Most of China's tourist attractions have reported increases in revenue and in numbers of tourists over the past several days of the week-long Spring Festival holiday, according to official figures. The Feb. 1-7 holiday also produced a boost in revenue for the transportation sector and for the hotel and shopping sectors, according to a report by the official inter-ministry office on national holiday tourism. The Oriental Pearl Radio and TV transmission tower, one of Shanghai's major

More Chinese taking foreign holidays
A growing number of Chinese are choosing to go abroad with their families for holidays as their incomes rise. According to the exit and entry department of the Ministry of Public Security, more than 2.65 million Chinese went abroad for holidays in 2002, a rise of 36.6 percent over the previous year. Countries bordering China were the favorite destinations for Chinese tourists. An estimated 1.76 million people, or 66.4 percent of the total, mostly from Yunnan, Jilin, Guangdong, Heil

More short trips in latter part of Spring Festival
The number of people in short trips increased dramatically on Feb.5 as the Spring Festival holiday from Feb. 1 to 7 entered its latter stages, according to the China National Tourism Administration. In Tianjin, tourists from nearby Beijing, Hebei and Shandong were on the rise, drawn by historic sites and the food with special flavors. Scenic spots in Suzhou received over 40,000 tourists on Feb.5.The new highway through Suzhou, Jiaxing and Hangzhou was convenient for motorists on on

Traffic peak starts in China as festival ends
A traffic peak starts in China as the Spring Festival holidays end and millions of people are heading back to work. With Friday's (Feb.7) transportation peak, trains, planes, buses and cars were once again groaning under the strain, reported China Daily on Saturday (Feb.8). Four million people traveled by train on Friday (Feb.7) and 360,000 by air, according to official estimates by the Ministry of Railways and the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China. In China,

Rural Migrant Workers Get Social Insurance
Beginning March 1, rural migrant workers in Chengdu, capital city of southwest China's Sichuan Province will join local citizens in enjoying social insurance designed to protect their legitimate interests. According to a new provisional regulation, migrant labor, once employed in Chengdu, must be provided an insurance package which covers pension allowances, reimbursement of medical costs and compensation for unexpected losses such as industrial injuries. The premium must be jointly paid by the

China Speeds up Pace of Urbanization
A sample survey recently conducted in 16 southern Chinese cities showed that almost all the cities had expanded and urbanized through readjustment of their administrative divisions. By merging with neighboring Huadu and Panyu cities, the area of Guangzhou, a leading metropolis in southern China, now sprawls to 7,400 square kilometers, bigger than the area of Shanghai, the country's largest industrial center. Its population has surpassed 10 million, approaching that of Beijing. Meanwhile, Hangzho

Experts Probe Relics of Nomadic Ethnic Group in Xinjiang
After three years of surveys and excavation, archeologists have completed unearthing an ancient site of nomadic people in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the first research on relics of nomadic people in China, reported Sunday's Guangming Daily. According to Prof. Wang Jianxin, director of the archeology center in Northeast China University, more than 100 construction sites, some 200 burial sites and more than 1,000 cliff paintings were unearthed in a 3,000-year-old, 10-sq km area in the s

Golden Week Sees Travel Boom
China has experienced a record travel boom during this year's week-long Spring Festival holidays, with the Golden Week wrapping-up on Friday. According to statistics released by the National Tourism Administration and the National Bureau of Statistics, the country hosted 59.47 million tourists during the holiday, up 15.3 percent from the same period last year. Total tourism income in the seven-day holidays reached 25.76 billion yuan (US$3.13 billion), an annual increase of 13 percent, revealed t

Records Tumble in Travel Boom
After handling a record number of Spring Festival passengers so far, China's transport sector is bracing itself for another travel peak. The Ministry of Railways said that from February 1 to 8, it had transported a record 27.83 million passengers, 2.9 percent more than the same period last year. The second peak will be from February 17 to 19 and involve 4.1 million people per day, according to the ministry. Most will be students and migrant workers. To guarantee that trains are safe, punctual an

Zhang Rongqi a Very English Grandma
Zhang Rongqi is an old grandma who lives near Ganshi Bridge in Jinan, Shandong Province. Every morning she gets up at 5:30 for the English lecture and first thing she does is turn on the radio. She will listen and read all the way through her routine of washing, dressing, sweeping and making breakfast. And so she starts every day as an "English Day." Before she retired, Zhang was a medical worker in Jinan Railway Hospital. Now she lives alone and her favorite pastime is her studies. Her husband

Non-Communist Woman Elected to Prominent Government Position
Liu Xinwen, a 48-year-old female former deputy mayor of Beihai City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, was recently elected vice-chairwoman of the autonomous region at the First Session of the Tenth People's Congress of Guangxi. Liu immediately attracted much attention in the regional political circle for her gender and age, and for her status as a non-Communist. Liu is a member of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang. Yet nationwide, non-Communists holding senior

Migrant Workers Swarm into Cities
Wang Dahai, a 20-something man from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, stepped out of the exit of the Shanghai Railway Station yesterday in search of a job in the big city. After more than 30 hours of travel, he still seemed quite excited. "I'm coming here for the first time. I hope to find a well-paid job since I've long heard that there are enormous opportunities in Shanghai," said Wang. He is not alone. Railway stations in big cities around the country are filled these days with migrants f

Shenzhen Plans More Satellite Towns
Shenzhen City in south China's Guangdong Province is to build three to four new satellite towns in the next two years. Mayor Yu Youjun announced the plans recently while addressing the first meeting of the urban planning commission of Shenzhen. However, the city would work harder still to reduce land transfers and control real estate development in a rational way so as to prevent a real estate bubble, said Yu. Mayor Yu urged urban planners to reserve more room for the development of industries s

China has world's 2nd largest number of netizens: report
China had 59.1 million Internet users by the end of last year, the second largest number in the world after the United States, according to an industry report released recently. The number of netizens accounted for 4.6 percent of China's population of some 1.3 billion, said the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) in its latest report on the country's development of the Internet industry. The report predicted to number of net surfers in China would jump 46 percent to 8

Internet users at new high ¨C survey
More than 59.1 million Chinese were logging onto the Internet for an hour or more each day by the end of 2002 - more than any country in the world except the United States. But only 4.6 per cent of the 1.3 billion Chinese people have become netizens, which means there is large room for the development of the Internet industry. The figures were disclosed by the China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC) when it published a report on the development of the industry in the coun

Lunar New Year traditions give way to modern trends
This year's Spring Festival activities are a bit different from those in the past, they are less festive than before, said Mr. Yang, an official in a government department. The Spring Festival, an occasion for family reunions, grew out of ancient harvest rituals, and one of the earliest Chinese characters, "nian", meaning year, was shaped like a grain of rice. The festival is traditionally celebrated with family dinners on the eve of the lunar new year, spring festival scrolls with

Traditional Chinese medicine to revolutionize nation's health care
More work is to be done so that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) can play a greater role in improving the health of millions of China's rural people, said a leading TCM official. Various organizations and individuals, both from home and overseas, are being encouraged to open more privately run TCM hospitals in the countryside, particularly those western and remote poverty-stricken areas, She Jing was quoted as saying. She, director of the State Administration of TCM, made the rem

China's second all-cargo airline takes off
One of China's most profitable carriers announced recently it has established its own all-cargo airline, in a bid to tap into the country's huge freight market. Hainan Air Group, the fourth largest carrier in the country, has been granted approval to operate the Yangtze River Express Co by the Eastern branch of the Civil Aviation Administration of China. The Shanghai-based Yangtze River Express Co is China's second all-cargo carrier, following China Cargo Airlines, an arm of China

Spring Festival presents get cultural touch
People in China's rural areas are more likely to receive a book or VCD as a gift this Spring Festival, rather than the traditional bag of confectionery. Gift hunters in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi province, this year are looking for presents that are food for the mind, rather than food for the body. Newly-printed books and compact discs are top of the list and popular among buyers who work in Taiyuan away from their rural homes. The Erya bookstore, located on Sh

Guangdong ensures quality food supplies to HK, Macao
Guangdong Province in south China has prepared 5.3 million chickens, 170,000 ducks and 10,000 geese for the Spring Festival holidays in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions (SARs). Local authorities have taken strict measures to prevent contaminated meat from entering the two regions, according to local officials. The authorities have launched a province-wide inspection covering over 140 registered farms to ensure the safe supply of meat and vegetable to Hong Kong

Olympics preparations to stimulate Beijing's economy: mayor
The Chinese capital of Beijing will take measures to improve its economic environment as it prepares for the 2008 Olympic Games, which should serve to stimulate investment and consumption, Mayor Liu Qi said here recently. Addressing his city's preparations for the games at the 12th local People's Congress at the 12th local People's Congress, Liu said Beijing would combine Olympic-related construction with urban development. Since investment is the driving force of economy in Beijin

S. China provincial capital sees peak passenger influx
The city of Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong province, greeted a record influx of travelers Friday (Feb.8) as the official seven-day Spring Festival, or the Chinese lunar new year, vacation came to an end. Guangzhou railway station on Friday (Feb.7) received an estimated 240,000 passengers, mostly migrant workers. Sources said that the station had received over 100,000 people Wednesday (Feb.5) and another 153,000 people Thursday (Feb.7). Guangzhou airport Friday (Feb.8

Guangdong handles 40 million passengers before festival
Transportation departments in southern China's Guangdong province transported about 39.46 million passengers during the period from Jan. 17 to Jan. 31, up 10.6 percent over the same period last year, according to local government sources. During this peak season before the Chinese Lunar New year, the number of rail passengers reached 4.894 million, up 3.7 percent over last year's figure. Bus passengers numbered 32.856 million, sea passengers 0.839 million and air passengers 0.87 million,

Mainland tourists enjoy shopping in HK
Tourists from the Chinese mainland have brought a new round of shopping wave in Hong Kong during China's lunar New Year period starting as of Feb. 1. According to the Hong Kong tourism administration, a total of 2,500 mainland touring parties paid visits to Hong Kong in the past five days and over 300,000 mainland tourists are expected to visit Hong Kong during the lunar New Year period. The Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong estimated that Chinese mainland tourists' consuming in

Guilin airport sees growing number of passengers
About 30,000 tourists have arrived in or left China's famous tourist destination of Guilin by air since Jan. 31, airport authorities said Thursday. Officials with Liangjiang International Airport in Guilin of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, south China, the tourists are mainly from the Republic of Korea and Hong Kong, as well as Shenzhen and Guangzhou in the neighboring province of Guangdong. About 6,200 people arrived in and left Guilin through the airport Wednesday (Feb.5),

Chinese airlines fly 1.76 million passengers during Spring Festival
China's civil airlines handled more than 1.76 million passengers during this year's week-long Spring Festival holiday, up 9.5 percent over the previous year. According to the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China, during the "golden week", a total of 16,901 flights were put in service with an average occupancy rate of 65 percent, up 8.4 percent and 3.7 percentage points respectively year-on-year. Compared with previous years, the time of this year's passenger peak lengt

China hosts 59.47 million tourists during Spring Festival
China hosted 59.47 million tourists during the Spring Festival holiday from Feb. 1 to 7, up 15.3 percent from the corresponding period of last year, an official said on Feb.8. Total tourism income in the seven-day holiday reached 25.76 billion yuan (3.13 billion US dollars), an increase of 13 percent. Family travel during the Spring Festival was a new trend. More Chinese people preferred to travel abroad, with Vietnam, Thailand, the Republic of Korea and Australia their favorite ch

China's Island Province A Popular Destination During Festival
The island province of Hainan in south China hosted 665,300 tourists during the seven-day "golden week" Spring Festival which began on Feb. 1. The figure is 8.89 percent more than that of last year, said sources from the provincial tourism department. Tourism earnings totaled 608 million yuan (about US$73.25 million) during the period, up 26.69 percent. According to the sources, Haikou, the provincial capital, Sanya City on the southern tip of the island, and Boao, the permanent venue of the For

Tibetan Children to Receive Nine-year Compulsory Education
Over 98 percent of school age children in the Tibet Autonomous Region will enjoy nine years of compulsory education by 2007, according to a regional education blueprint unveiled in Lhasa recently. Over 95 percent of Tibetan children will receive a six-year compulsory elementary education by 2005, the regional education plan shows. This is a striking improvement from the situation 52 years ago. At that time, fewer than two percent of Tibetan children could afford to attend school while more than

Yellow River Faces Water Shortage
Stopping the Yellow River from running dry this year will be a major task for water resource authorities, after experts warned that far less water will flow into the river in the first half of this year. According to experts' predictions, the water flow into the river's mainstream in the first seven months of this year will be much less compared with previous years, and probably the lowest since 1950. It is estimated that the water flow will be 5.5 billion square meters less than 1997, when the

Beijing Revamps Third Ring Road
A major upgrade of Beijing's Third Ring Road started Monday night, sources with the city's traffic authorities confirmed. From 11:00 pm to 6:00 am every day for the next six months, the part of the road under renovation will be closed for replacing the surface with new and environmentally friendly materials. Vehicles are encouraged to travel on other roads or the support road which runs parallel to the main ring road during construction to avoid traffic jams. The latest road repair follows the r

Preserving Customs in Fuzhou
For many natives of Fuzhou of east China's Fujian Province, especially the elderly, Spring Festival means much more than a gala broadcast nationwide by China Central Television or a seven-day long vacation. When I arrived at Chen Zhengsheng's home late on the afternoon of the fourth day of the first month of the lunar year, I saw Chen and his wife bowing deeply from the waist towards a niche set in a corner of their dining room. Displayed in front of the set on a long table was a feast consistin

Snowstorm Disrupts Traffic in Henan
Thousands of travelers on one of the country's major transport routes were stranded for up to 10 hours after bad weather hit Henan Province over the weekend. Road, train and air services were all affected, delaying returning holidaymakers during the peak Spring Festival travel period. For hundreds of passengers aboard Train T38 which left Wuhan on Sunday evening for Beijing, a scheduled 12-hour trip turned out to be a journey they would not forget. For nearly 10 hours, they were stranded in thei

Breast Milk Forbidden on Chinese Market
The possible sale of human breast milk has been forbidden by China's Ministry of Health, an official in central China's Hunan Province said Monday. On Jan. 26, a restaurant in Changsha, capital of Hunan, put on its menu 12 dishes made from the breast milk of six women in the province's mountainous areas. The incident aroused a heated dispute on the marketing of breast milk products across the country, forcing the restaurant to suspend production. Huang Jinsong, an official with the Hunan provinc

Government Approves Island Link in Shanghai
The central government yesterday approved Shanghai to embark on a 12.2 billion-yuan (US$1.47 billion) project, involving building a tunnel, bridge and elevated highway to connect the Changxing and Chongming islands to the city proper. This largest ever urban project for Shanghai will see an 8.5-kilometer-long tunnel built between Pudong and Changxing Island, which is situated to the northeast of the city proper in the Yangtze River. A 9.5-kilometer-long bridge will further link the island with C

Hainan Province a Popular Destination During Festival
The island province of Hainan in south China hosted 665,300 tourists during the seven-day "golden week" Spring Festival which began on Feb. 1. The figure is 8.89 percent more than that of last year, said sources from the provincial tourism department. Tourism earnings totaled 608 million yuan (about 73.25 million US dollars) during the period, up 26.69 percent. According to the sources, Haikou, the provincial capital, Sanya City on the southern tip of the island, and Boao, the permanent venue of

Tourism Market Thrived During Spring Festival
The Spring Festival, Chinese Lunar New Year, brought huge benefits to China's tourism market. A lot more people chose to travel during the seven-day holiday this year. Some went to see famous historical sites and cultural relics; some found places to experience rural lives; others simply travel with their own characteristics. Lijiang: A Hot Attraction of Ethnical Culture The ancient town of Lijiang, a World Cultural Heritage site, attracts tourists with not only its splendid natural landscape, b

Harbin Launches Free Aid Hotline for Old, Disabled
Simply by pressing a button on a phone for about 10 seconds, an old or disabled person at the Rongshi community in Harbin, capital of northernmost Heilongjiang Province, can now send an emergency message to a first aid center. Dubbed a "health umbrella", this is the first free-aid hotline to operate in Harbin with an aim to provide help for the old or disabled if they face an emergency at home and have nobody around to help them. Information on the person is fed into the computerized system's me

Traffic Snowed Under in Henan
Thousands of travelers on one of the country's major transport routes were stranded for up to 10 hours after bad weather hit Henan Province over the weekend. Road, train and air services were all affected, delaying returning holidaymakers during the peak Spring Festival travel period. For hundreds of passengers aboard Train T38 which left Wuhan on Sunday evening for Beijing, a scheduled 12-hour trip turned out to be a journey they would not forget. For nearly 10 hours, they were stranded in thei

2,000-year-old Iron Ax Unearthed on Mt Wuyi
A 2,000-year-old iron ax has been found in a Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) tomb at Mt Wuyi, a World Heritage site in east China's Fujian Province. This is the first intact object excavated at the tomb since excavations started last December. Archeologists believe that the tomb, which measures 13 meters long by nine meters wide, would be the largest of its kind found in Fujian Province so far. The excavation would cost 1.8 million yuan (about US$216,870) and has entered its crucial period. As for t

Yunnan Opens Door to Pharmaceuticals Development
The government of southwest China's Yunnan Province says it welcomes overseas scientists, research institutes, universities and companies to invest in or work with local enterprises in developing its pharmaceuticals sector. Yunnan, known as China's botanical kingdom, boasts 15,000 valuable tree species used in herbal medicine. The province has pledged to give priority to developing biological and natural drugs and traditional Chinese medicine in the 21st century. Under a long-term provincial med

Ancient Chinese Scholar Tree Discovered in Fujian
Experts in coastal Fujian Province recently discovered an ancient Chinese scholar tree which is included on the list of ancient and famous trees under top state protection. The 900-year-old tree was found in Chengmen Town of Fuzhou, the provincial capital, and is 10 meters tall with a diameter of 1.4 meters. Infested by red ants, the tree is now hollow inside with thin leaves. Yet it is still able to sprout, said Xu Wei, a senior researcher at the local gardening bureau. More interesting, there

East China province farewells poor towns
Zhejiang, one of China's richest provinces, has said good-bye to its poor towns, Zhang Mengjin, deputy governor of Zhejiang told a meeting on rural development held recently in the provincial capital Hangzhou. The last 100 poorest towns in the east China province had swapped poverty for affluence in 2002, with the average annual income of farmers rising from 1,200 yuan (145 US dollars) in 1997-1999 to 1,922 yuan (232.4 US dollars), said Zhang. With half its 47 million people being

China's growth benefits neighbours ¨C ADB
China's rapid economic upswing will offer unprecedented market opportunities for neighboring economies in East and Southeast Asia in the coming two decades, said a senior expert with the Asian Development Bank (ADB). China's growth has induced a variety of dramatic adjustments in East Asia, but the benefits for every regional partner will outweigh the costs if accommodating multi-lateral trade policies are developed, said David Roland-Holst, a senior expert with the ADB Institute.

Some Chinese longing for carnival-like Lunar New Year holiday
Since fireworks have been banned in some cities, some Chinese found the just ended week-long Lunar New Year holiday less cheerful and attractive than others they remember. "Should we make our Lunar New Year celebrations like the carnival in Western countries " asked Han Xiaohua, who came back from Japan to reunite with her family during the new year holiday. At least one psychologist agreed. "There must be reasonable and legal ways for people to vent their emotions," said ps

Chinese lamas learning to speak English
English is becoming increasingly popular in China, and even lamas in north China are taking courses to learn the language. Lamas from Punin Temple of Tibetan Buddhism, in the rural areas of Chengde city in Hebei province, practice English everyday to be able to communicate with the growing numbers of English-speaking overseas tourists to the temple, a number which exceeds 50,000 each year. Zhaxi, a lama at the Buddhist temple, said he still remembers embarrassing moments in the pas

Fake "Yellow River Mother" brought to court
A typical case against a fake granite "Yellow River Mother" sculpture was recently brought to court in northwest China's Shaanxi Province by its original maker. He E, a noted Chinese woman sculptor from northwestern Gansu province, claimed that a copy of the Yellow River Mother has been on a scenic island in neighboring Shaanxi province since September last year. Tickets are sold to tourists who come to visit and worship the sculpture, according to the eminent sculptor, a practice

Research institute for light civil aircraft founded in NW China
China's first institute for the design and research of light aircraft for civil use has been founded in Xi'an, capital of the northwestern province of Shaanxi. Li Dajiong, head of the new institute which is affiliated to the Xi'an Aircraft Design and Research Institute, said he and his colleagues would focus on developing new models of China-made light civil aircraft to meet the growing domestic market demand. Light civil aircraft refers to small planes used for civil purposes outs

China's first professional expedition begins "Silk Road" journey
China's first professional expedition team left here recently for the Tarim River, China's longest inland river, to begin a nearly 4,000 km expedition along China's ancient Silk Road. The expedition, widely supported by Chinese environmentalists, historians and hydraulic specialists, plans to carry out a series of scientific and cultural investigations along the route. Wu Shiguang, expedition leader, says that the team will attempt to piece together the history of the Chinese peopl

Shenzhen-HK Land Boundary Police Cooperation Scheme comes into force
The Shenzhen-Hong Kong Land Boundary Police Cooperation Scheme came into operation recently to cope with the increasing demand from cross-boundary passengers for police assistance, a Hong Kong police reporting center announced. During a press visit to the Hong Kong police reporting center at Lowu, Law Cheuk-hung, assistant district commander (operations and crime) of border, said the system is aimed at fostering the liaison on police matters across the land border and enhancing the police

Tourism grows fast in east China province
Statistics from the Zhejiang statistical bureau revealed that tourism grew rapidly last year. A total of 71 billion yuan (8.6 billion US dollars) of revenue was achieved by the provincial tourism industry in 2002, up 19 percent over the previous year. During the year, Zhejiang recorded 80.2 million visits by domestic tourists, which brought the province 63.3 billion yuan (7.6 billion US dollars), up 16 and 18 percent respectively. Meanwhile, the province hosted over two mill

HK's dragon boats join Chinese New Year celebrations in Sydney
Dragon boats from Hong Kong took part in the Chinese New Year Dragon Boat Festival held in Sydney Saturday (Feb.8) and Sunday (Feb.9), adding much jubilation to the city, Hong Kong sponsors said. With the Hong Kong icon, the dragon boat "Hong Kong", sponsored by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO), and the boat Team Hong Kong Dragon, sponsored by Hong Kong Tourism Board, took part in the races. Under the colorful array of banners and buntings, the Hong Kong boats were v

Egypt Air inaugurates Cairo-Beijing direct flight
An Egypt Air Airbus 340 passenger plane touched down at Capital International Airport in Beijing at 20:00 Jan.28 (Beijing Time) following a nine-hour voyage from the Egyptian capital of Cairo. The inaugural flight marked the commencement of direct flights between the two capitals by Egypt Air. Egypt Air flights are scheduled twice a week, departing Cairo at 4:30 a.m. (Cairo Time), every Tuesday and Friday. Industry sources say the initiation of direct flights between Cairo a

Beijing's doors are to open wider
Foreigners coming to Beijing will no longer have to lodge at government designated hotels, but be free to stay where they choose, announced a senior official with the Beijing Public Security Bureau recently. Zhang Jiawang, vice-director of the bureau, said the municipal government will this year abolish the long-standing rule that foreign visitors may only be accommodated at hotels authorized by the capital's authorities. Zhang, also a deputy to the 12th Beijing Municipal People's

Cross-Straits chartered flights conclude
The chartered flights across the Taiwan Straits, specially launched for Taiwan business people working or living on the Chinese mainland during the Spring Festival, or Chinese lunar new year, concluded here Sunday night (Feb.9). The last of the flights, Flight CI 585 of Taiwan's China Airlines, landed at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 11:14 p.m. Sunday, with 222 passengers on board. Beginning Jan. 26, with the approval of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, si

China names 10 most famous mountains
A list of China's 10 most famous mountains, including Mount Taishan in east China's Shandong Province and Mount Huangshan in east China's Anhui Province, was published in Beijing recently. The mountains were selected by a panel of 21 prestigious Chinese scholars and specialists, including Sun Honglie, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. The event was sponsored by the China Territory Economics In

Generous Collector Hands over Historic Stockpile
The mysterious gods and spirits ride on horses, holding weapons. Hundreds of women have different hairstyles from the early 20th century. All are characters from the shadow puppet genre which are now on display at the exhibition room of the China Academy of Fine Arts in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province. There are also distinctive tables, chairs and beds showing different furniture styles of the past dynasties, which have been collected by Zhao Shutong. "These puppets can be used to put o

Jinan Sets up Database for Migrant Construction Workers
The government of Jinan, capital of east China's Shangdong Province, began setting up a personal database for the city's migrant construction workers at the beginning of this year to protect their interests. According to the new regulations made by the local construction administration bureau, all migrant construction workers in the city should register their personal information with their unit before they begin work. The information will then be put into computer and updated as the bureau trac

Masterminds of Stowaways to ROK Put on Trial
Seven Chinese went on trial yesterday in Beijing accused of masterminding efforts to smuggle 66 people to the Republic of Korea (ROK) last March. Beijing No 2 Intermediate People's Court heard the stowaways were told to pose as fans heading to the Korean Peninsula for the 2002 World Cup for football. The case has rocked the tourism industry and has been billed as the largest disappearance of Chinese in the ROK since 1998. That was the year travel to the ROK was authorized for Chinese citizens by

Li Lanqing Highlights Merit of Market Regulation
Vice-Premier Li Lanqing stressed on Monday that China will continue its efforts to rectify and regulate the market economy to ensure the rapid and sound development of the national economy. Li made the remarks at a national meeting in Beijing on rectifying and regulating the market economy. He called on all localities to spare no efforts in cracking down on fake and substandard goods. Li stressed that priority should be given to the fight against the production and sale of fake food, medicine, m

Corporate Fraud Before the Courts
China's first foreign-related lawsuit against listed companies for compensation was filed last Saturday by the Shenyang Intermediate People's Court in Northeast China's Liaoning Province. This is the first time a B share company has been sued on the Chinese mainland by stockholders for civil compensation. The defendants include one of the world's major accounting firms, KPMG, which audited the company. The plaintiffs held the Shanghai-listed Jinzhou Port B shares, promoted in an annual report fo

Vice-Premier Stresses Importance of Market Regulation
Vice-Premier Li Lanqing stressed on Monday that China will continue its efforts to rectify and regulate the market economy to ensure the rapid and sound development of the national economy. Li made the remarks at a national meeting in Beijing on rectifying and regulating the market economy. He called on all localities to spare no efforts in cracking down on fake and substandard goods. Li stressed that priority should be given to the fight against the production and sale of fake food, medicine, m

In Love with Silhouette Figures
To his neighbors in Panjiayuan village, Huaxian County, Pan Jingle is first of all an elderly farmer who lives with his youngest son's family and mainly earns a living by farming a 0.25-hectare plot. But Pan is also a shadow puppet play master from a village not far from Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. At 75 years of age Pan has won the hearts of hundreds of thousands of people at home and abroad, who have watched his superb shows and are fascinated with the mysterious Chin

Stowaways Posing as Football Fans Disappear in South Korea
Seven Chinese went on trial yesterday in Beijing accused of masterminding efforts to smuggle 66 people to the Republic of Korea (ROK) last March. Beijing No 2 Intermediate People's Court heard the stowaways were told to pose as fans heading to the Korean Peninsula for the 2002 World Cup for football. The case has rocked the tourism industry and has been billed as the largest disappearance of Chinese in the ROK since 1998. That was the year travel to the ROK was authorized for Chinese citizens by

Pan Jingle a Shadow Puppet Play Master
To his neighbours in Panjiayuan village, Huaxian County, Pan Jingle is first of all an elderly farmer who lives with his youngest son's family and mainly earns a living by farming a 0.25 hectare plot. But Pan is also a shadow puppet play master from a village not far from Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province. At 75 years of age Pan has won the hearts of hundreds of thousands of people at home and abroad, who have watched his superb shows and are fascinated with the mysterious Chi

Beijing to well protect cultural heritage in preparation of Olympics
During Beijing's preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games, the style and features view of the fast-developing city famous for its long history and culture will be well protected, newly-elected Beijing mayor Meng Xuenong said here recently. Meng said at a press conference that in 2008, Beijing will welcome the guests from all over the world with its unique sight of the Chinese culture. "Any world-class ancient city faces the dilemma of modernizing development and cultural protection.

China sets up fund for cultural heritage protection
China will use five million yuan (about 600,000 U.S. dollars) to initialize a fund for cultural heritage protection, sources with the Chinese Ministry of Culture said recently. Zhou Heping, vice-minister of culture, said the money will be used for establishing a database and eco-system for folk and ethnic cultural heritage and financing folk artists engaged in passing on cultural heritage. The ministry set up a protection work team on Jan. 3, and invited well-known scholars to be c

Will the Chinese continue to enjoy firecracker displays
Though the traditional Spring Festival holiday season ended five days ago, debate still rages over whether to allow firecrackers in big cities' downtown areas during joyous Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations. The centuries-old Spring Festival custom in China originated from a legend. According to the legend, an evil beast named "Nian"assault humans every Lunar New Year's Eve household by household and village by village in ancient times. Eventually, villagers managed to scare the "Nian"

US diplomat donates canteen to Stilwell Museum in China
US Consul General to southwest China's Chengdu city David Bleyle here recently donated a canteen used by US armed forces during World War II to a Chinese museum commemorating former US General Joseph W. Stilwell. The water container reflected the history and was a symbol of the long, deep friendship between the Chinese and American peoples, Bleyle said. The two countries were carrying out exchanges and cooperation in all fields, especially in the international war against terrorism

HK issues Lunar New Year special stamps
A set of new Lunar New Year Special Stamps for the "Year of the Ram" was issued by Hongkong Post on Jan.19. At the same time, two additional stamp products to commemorate the Lunar New Year, namely, a "Gold and Silver Stamp on Lunar New Year Animals - Horse/Ram" and a pane of "Flock Stamps on Lunar New Year Animals - Dragon/Snake/Horse/Ram," were also issued. At a ceremony held in the morning at the General Post Office, Postmaster General Luk Ping-chuen and Secretary for Home Affai

Ancient kiln find rewrites history of celadon porcelain
Excavations at a large ancient kiln site in east China's Anhui Province, dating back to the Five Dynasties Period (907-960), have produced evidence which effectively rewrites the history of China's white celadon porcelain. The findings at a 500-square meter kiln site, including several hundred pieces of white celadon, a special type of porcelain, indicate the kiln appeared more than 1,000 years ago. It was generally accepted that the technology to make white celadon porcelain first

Scenic lake sees large number of visitors during Spring Festival
West Lake, a major tourist attraction in this capital city of east China's Zhejiang Province, attracted more than 827,500 visitors from both home and abroad during this year's week-long Spring Festival holiday, a local tourism official said here recently. As one of the most beautiful and famous scenic spots in China, the lake is known for its abundance of lotus flowers in the summer and its beautiful surroundings with classical gardens and green hills. Figures released by the Hangz

China's island province a popular destination during festival
The island province of Hainan in south China hosted 665,300 tourists during the seven-day "golden week" Spring Festival which began on Feb. 1. The figure is 8.89 percent more than that of last year, said sources from the provincial tourism department. Tourism earnings totaled 608 million yuan (about 73.25 million US dollars) during the period, up 26.69 percent. According to the sources, Haikou, the provincial capital, Sanya City on the southern tip of the island, and Boao, the perm

Rental cars in high demand on Hainan during Spring Festival
With more Chinese in south China's Hainan Province getting behind the wheel to celebrate their Spring Festival, automobile leasing was a hot business this year. During the week-long holiday period, the province's four major auto-leasing companies, Sanjiu, Huajia, Changdao and Zhonglu, leased an average of 90 percent of their vehicles. Sources with the Sanjiu Automobile Leasing Company said orders were placed by telephone or web site two months ahead of the festival. As all their 10

Zhejiang Folk Art Group to treat New Zealand audiences
A folk art troupe from eastern Zhejiang province will perform in Auckland, New Zealand in mid February at a lantern festival to mark the Chinese new year, says a source with the provincial association for friendship with foreign countries. Zhejiang sent troupes to similar celebrations in 2000 and 2001,with both winning high acclaim from local audiences. This time, the 33-member group is set to treat New Zealand viewers to traditional art with a special Zhejiang flavor -- local folk

Guangzhou reaps good fortune from new year of goat
South China's Guangzhou City, known as the "city of the goat", has experienced good fortune from the very start of China's lunar new year -- the year of the goat. Statistics show that during the past week-long Spring Festival holiday, the capital of Guangdong Province received more than 6 million