Collaborative art project
国际当代艺术展


Chinese and foreign artists communicate.

From Feb 12th till 18th, a contemporary art exhibition named "Via" was on at Qidian Fine Arts School in Quanzhou. Nine young artists from the Netherlands, America, Canada, Germany and China showed their works and exchanged understandings and ideas. The exhibition will soon move to No.1 Building, Tan Kah Kee College, Xiamen University Zhangzhou Campus. It will start on Feb. 25 and conclude on March 2. The activity is sponsored by Tan Kah Kee College.

 

 

Economics

300 mln. yuan worth of goods sold over 13 days
13天卖了近3亿
Over the February 2-15 period, 20-plus leading retailers based in Xiamen, including Metro, SM Shopping Mall and Siwen Electric Appliances, launched a joint promotional campaign to coincide with the Lunar New Year holidays. Statistics show that over the two-week period, these retailers registered combined sales revenues of RMB 283 million.

"Golden Week" generates 588 mln. yuan
黄金周送来5.88亿
As a top tourist destination during the golden week of the 2005 Lunar New Year holidays, Xiamen received 545,100 visitors who spent a total of RMB 588 million.

Private businesses pay 1.28 bln. yuan in taxes
民企去年缴税12.8亿元
The number of private businesses based in Xiamen has exceeded 24,000. Xiamen saw the highest growth in tax payments made by private businesses last year which amounted to RMB 1.28 billion, testifying their renewed strong growth momentum.

Book sales jump 30% over the holiday
过节图书销量增30%
Since the 3rd day of the Lunar New Year holidays, local book sales have jumped over 30% compared with other holidays. For many local residents, visiting bookstores has become a regular part of their Lunar New Year holidays.

 

 

Society

White dolphins to enjoy more spacious home
白海豚将有更宽敞的家
The number of species, genetic structure and protective measures for white dolphins in Xiamen sea waters have basically been determined. The population of Chinese white dolphins living in Xiamen sea waters currently stands at over 60; the core area of the protection zone will be redefined and expanded; experts also recommend establishing a professional dolphin repelling team.

Low-income households to enjoy affordable baby delivery services
低保户限价接生
According to Li Jian, head of the City Hospital for Women & Infants, the hospital, with the instructions from the city's public health authority, will provide fixed-priced baby delivery services to low-income households, with all expenses for a spontaneous delivery adding up to no more than 800 yuan, as compared to 2000 yuan or so at a Level 3 hospital.

Turtle Garden stone carvings suffer erosion
鳌园石雕渐遭侵蚀
Many stone carvings in the Turtle Garden in Jimei which have significant artistic merit are subject to weather erosion. Li Danyou, a history teacher at Jimei Middle School, has recently put forward a proposal to erect a glass shed over the garden as a protection.

LED color lamps to spruce up Hexiangxi Road
LED彩灯妆点禾祥西
In a bid to build a shiny premier business street, the Siming District will use LED (Light Emitting Diode) commercial color lamps to spruce up the bustling Juxiang Plaza intersection on the Hexiangxi Road; an area of nearly 2,000 square meters around the intersection will be covered, with an investment estimated at millions of yuan.

Medicine price hikes to be capped at 8%
医药费涨幅要低于8%
The local public health authority has set its sight on capping the price hikes of medicines in the year at 8%, no larger than the growth rate of people's disposable incomes. Medical expenses have risen dramatically over the past eight years, with outpatient charges and daily ward bed expenses nationwide averaging an annual growth of 11% and 13%, respectively, far outstripping the growth of per capita incomes.

Plastic surgery demand surges
美容手术节日火爆
To meet the surging demand, for the first time, Xiamen Zhongshan Hospital provided plastic surgery service during the Spring Festival holidays. Over twenty operations were done, including wrinkle ridding, fat removing, breast enlarging, double eye-lid making and eye pouch clearing. Dr Xiu Zhifu, Dean of the Plastic Surgery Department of Zhongshan Hospital, is shown working on a nose heightening operation.

 

 

City News
Edited by Lily

Beijing 北京

Tourism booms during Spring Festival
春节旅游火爆
Beijing received 870,000 tourists from throughout China during the weeklong Spring Festival, yielding a year-on-year increase of 2.4 percent.
Tourist income generated over the past seven days total more than 1.8 billion yuan or 220 million US dollars, up 10 percent over the same period last year.
Beijing hosted five snow and ice festivals during the seven-day holiday, drawing 110,000 visitors, doubling the 2004 figure.



National Grand Theatre construction to continue
国家大剧院建设延续
The theatre, designed by French architect Paul Andreu who also designed the Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris, will likely have to undergo another safety test and assessment, following the conclusion that the collapse of the Paris airport's terminal roof was caused by design fault. The theatre will have a floor space of 200,000 square meters and is estimated to cost 2.688 billion yuan. The result of the investigation will not influence the ongoing construction of the China National Grand Theatre. It is due for completion this year.

Nine high schools to open branches overseas
九所中学海外办分校
Nine high schools are to open branches overseas to publicize China's experience in elementary education and Chinese language teaching around the world. According to a source with the Beijing Municipal Education Committee, the committee's agenda for the first time includes encouraging local high schools with rich teaching experience to open branches overseas.
The move is designed to push forward exchanges and cooperation between Beijing and foreign countries in the education sector.
Beijing currently has cooperation programs with foreign educational organizations ranging from kindergartens to colleges.

Shanghai 上海

New lures for blood donors
奖励献血者
Shanghai is trying out two new incentives to address its chronic blood shortage: free medical exams and accident insurance for donors. When the plans are fully implemented, Shanghai will become the first city in the nation to offer these innovations.
Officials said more locals are marking the holiday by giving blood during the weeklong Spring Festival. Through December, 4,681 donors received the insurance, and everyone said they were encouraged to give a second donation.

Released fish threaten lake's ecology
放生鱼危及湖水生态环境
An age-old Chinese tradition, particularly popular with followers of the Buddhist faith, stating that a person will be blessed after setting a fish free, is threatening the ecosystem in a downtown lake.
Over the past two years, many locals released various types of fish and other aquatic creatures in the lake; others showed their kindness by freeing all kinds of aquatic animals such as tortoises, goldfish, bullfrogs, and the black snakeheads. Everyday cleaners collect about a kilogram of dead fish from the lake, often they have bites on their bodies and sometimes their tails are missing.

Aquarium awaits shark babies
水族馆迎幼鲨
A four-month pregnant nurse shark is the first nurse shark to get pregnant at the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium since it opened to the public in 2001.
Generally speaking, a nurse shark gives birth to four to ten baby sharks after a pregnancy that lasts for around ten months.
The nurse shark is a large, sluggish, bottom-dwelling shark that is generally harmless unless provoked. Nurse sharks range in size from about one to four meters in length and reach maturity at the age of eight.



Guangzhou & Shenzhen 广州 & 深圳

Guangzhou subway extensions to start
广州地铁扩线在即
The construction of the Guangzhou Metro Line 3 to connect Baiyun Airport and Guangzhou East Railway Station will start next year and be completed at the end of 2009.
The new subway will have a speed limit of 120 km per hour, will be 30.8 km long and have ten stations. The projected will extend from Guangzhou East Railway Station to Baiyun Airport, where two metro stations will be built. Two transfer stations will also be built, enabling Yantang station to connect with Metro Line 6 and Jiahe station with line 2.
The Guangzhou Metro Company has already invited tenders.

Prices expected to rise by 3.8% in Guangdong
广东物价预计上扬3.8%
The prices of commodities in Guangdong are expected to rise by 3.8 percent. The consumer price index rose by 4 percent from January to November last year, below the national average.
However, pressure to restrain prices was obviously mounting and undecided factors which contribute to rising prices would be much more complicated. A moderate rise in prices would occur with the overall pricing remaining stable.
Plans have also been implemented to raise prices of agricultural materials, the minimum price of food, and to tackle fluctuations in the price of liquefied petroleum in eight cities.

British visa applications made easier
赴英签证申请更便捷
In April, residents in Shenzhen will be able to submit applications for British visas locally instead of traveling to Guangzhou.
The British Embassy has introduced a network of visa application centers across the country. The first center will open in Beijing on Feb 23, and centers in Shenzhen and Fuzhou will open in early April. The visa application center in Guangzhou will open March 22.
Advice on applications and visa forms can be found on the embassy web site: www.uk.cn.

Chongqing 重庆

Fengjie Yangtze River Bridge to be opened to traffic
奉节长江大桥即将通车
The two sections of the main structure of the Fengjie Yangtze River Bridge will be joined by the end of this month and be opened to traffic this year. The bridge is 893 meters long with four lanes of two-way traffic.

Red plum blossoms awakening spring
红梅醒春
Red plum blossoms at the Three Gorges Square of Shapingba District, Chongqing, are now in full bloom-awakening spring in the air. Gardeners explain that a lot of flowers are in bloom earlier than usual because of the recent warm weather.



Hong Kong & Macao 香港 & 澳门

HK's bankruptcy petitions down 7.5 %
申请破产率下降7.5%
There were 900 bankruptcy petitions presented in January, down 7.5 percent from the figure of 973 last December.
During January, the court made 852 bankruptcy orders, up 76.4 percent from the previous month's figure of 483, but a drop of 24.8 percent on the average monthly figure of 1,133 in 2004.
In January 2004, there were 1,046 bankruptcy petitions presented while the court made 1,700 bankruptcy orders.

Red fire ants appear in Macao
红蚁现身澳门
Colonies of the harmful Latin American red fire ants were found in deserted places near construction grounds in two of Macao's offshore islands. Local hospitals confirmed that no cases of ant bite were reported since last October until now.
It's suspected that the ants were imported to Macao along with building materials.
Acting upon alerts from its neighboring regions, Macao has reinforced inspections to prevent the possible spread of red fire ants, and intensified plant quarantine at customs.

Taipei 台北

Carriers complete chartered flights
两岸包机直航完成
With the end of the Spring Festival, Taiwan airlines have completed their chartered services across the Straits.
Six Taiwan airlines provided 24 direct round trip flights carrying nearly 6,000 passengers.
Taiwan business people welcomed the fights as a fast, convenient, and cost effective way to return home for the holiday. Many hope the future will see more regular flights directly linking the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, as well as direct cargo transport links.

Universities woo Macao students
台高校吸引澳门学生
Taiwanese universities and colleges have wooed Macao students with campus life and inexpensive tuition fees.
Nearly 2,100 Macao students are currently enrolled in Taiwan universities and 1,246 local students took part in Taiwanese university entrance examinations in Macao last year.
Most Macao students in Taiwan study business administration, followed by medicine, the arts, literature and education.

Vocabulary
ecology 生态
aquarium 水族馆
woo 吸引
petition 申请