Float parade
花车巡游
Photo by Yao Fan



On the afternoon of Feb 26, the 2005 Xiamen Float Parade kicked off. Twenty-six large floats and nineteen parade squads made their way through Bailuzhou Rd, Gongyuandong Rd, Tongan Rd, Zhenhai Rd, and ended at Tongwen Rd. The whole process lasted for over two hours, covering a distance of three kilometers and drawing tens of thousands of onlookers.

 

 

Economics

Textile exports rise
纺织品出口增长
In January, textiles and garments filed for export inspections in Xiamen totaled 2.41 million articles in 359 batches, worth USD 6.39 million, surging 170% over the same period last year. However, unit prices of these products were dismal, with garment prices dropping 30% over last year.

Folk music greets New Year
民乐迎新春
On the evening of Feb 25, Xiamen Youth Folk Music Orchestra held a New Year Concert at Xiamen Arts Theatre. Most of the orchestra members are teachers from art colleges and schools in Xiamen. Using captions and special lighting effects, the concert presented the audience with an ambience of both tradition and contemporary music. Shown in the picture is soloist Suona playing "Mantis plays tricks on a rooster".

 

 

Society

Contractor fined for disturbing white dolphins
惊扰白海豚被罚款
A contractor from Lianyungang City who conducted blasting operations in Xiamen Chinese White Dolphin Reserve has been fined RMB 15,000 by the city's Integrated Marine Law Enforcement Branch as a warning to other companies engaged in underwater blasting operations.

Several Marathon sculptures receive sponsorship
多件马拉松雕塑被认捐
With the 3rd Xiamen International Marathon Race around the corner, the campaign to solicit sponsors for the permanent marathon sculpture groups has delivered positive results. To date, more than 20 out of the 99 sculpture works have been sponsored by related organizations. It's reported that sponsors will be allowed to have their logos or messages printed on the clothes or ribbons of the sculptures.

Provincial sports dance competition to kick off this month
省体育舞蹈赛本月举行
The 3rd Fujian Provincial Sports Dance Tournament will take place in Mingpei Gymnasium, Xiamen University on March 19-20. Nearly 1,000 sports dancers from throughout the province will compete in modern dances and Latino dances in 40-plus amateur and professional categories.

"110" to expand capacity
"110"将大规模扩容
The local police are currently working on a major expansion of the city's "110" police emergency assistance hotline system; the city's "110" command center has procured a complete range of intelligent and highly automated equipment, which is now under testing and is expected to become operational in the second half of this year. Moreover, the police also suggest that they are likely to increase the number of police officers responding to "110" emergency calls.

Sewage discharge fee may rise
排污费可能上调
Since the current sewage discharge fee of RMB 0.5 per ton can barely cover related expenses, the local authorities may raise the fee this year. Xiamen will inject RMB 400 million into the construction of sewage discharge facilities and will increase spending in this regard in the years to come. Related government departments will organize a public hearing session for the planned fee increase; the new fee and the effective date for the new fee will be subject to a public hearing.

Xiamen becomes national demonstration city
厦门成全国无障示范城
A group of 12 cities, including Xiamen, has officially been designated as "National Demonstration Cities for No-barrier Facilities Construction", with Siming District receiving the title of "National Demonstration District for No-barrier Facilities Construction".

 

 

Transport

Zhongshan Road sidewalks under renovation
中山路人行道改造
Renovation of the sidewalks along Zhongshan Road has kicked off; upon the completion of the renovations from February 27 to April 17, a long cultural corridor featuring native South Fujian customs will be created on Zhongshan Road.

Xiamen Airlines offers 50% discount to newly-weds
厦航推新婚五折机票
From March 1st, Xiamen Airlines slashes its airfares by half for newly-wedded couples. Brides and grooms who travel during their honeymoon on Xiamen Airline's domestic flights will receive a 50% discount of normal rates.

 

 

City News
Edited by Lily

Beijing 北京

Income gap grows wider
收入差距拉大
The income gap among urban residents in Beijing is widening. The average income of the richest 20 per cent of its residents is four times that of the poorest 20 per cent last year.
Different educational levels were the most influential factors contributing to the widening income gap. Professionals, government employees and management staff occupied the top three groups in Beijing last year, while incomes of workers engaged in production and transportation, the service sector and commerce were all below the city's average income level.
The average income for people with master's and doctorate degrees was 2.6 times that of uneducated workers.

Forbidden City logo selected
紫禁城徽标选定
The number one on-line design for the Forbidden City Badge has been selected. The design, featuring the Wumen Gate will be used for 80th birthday celebrations of the Imperial Palace Museum this year.
The selected badge design features the Wumen Gate image and the seal with five Chinese characters representing the Imperial Palace Museum on it. The red color of the badge symbolizes the color of the wall of the Forbidden City.



Beijing solicits Olympic souvenirs
征集奥运纪念品
The Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games launched a collecting campaign as part of the city's legacy building program.
Documents, paintings, photos, handicrafts, design plans, models and souvenirs associated with Beijing's two bids for the Olympic Games (2000 and 2008), and the early organizing process for the 2008 Games before December 31, 2004, are being sought.
Donations can be sent to the soliciting office at the Beijing Museum or zhengji@beijingmuseum.org.cn via e-mail.

Shanghai 上海

Cut groundwater consumption to slow sedimentation
少用地下水以减缓沉积
Shanghai will continue closing more deep wells in over-exploited groundwater areas and control groundwater exploitation to stem sedimentation. Geologists have warned that ground sedimentation may be a major problem in the city in the future.
Shanghai has been losing groundwater quickly in recent years.
Intensively-located gigantic high-rises and underground construction may also increase the possibility of subsidence.

World's largest auto parts supplier to set up regional base
世界最大汽配商入沪
Bosch, rated as the world's largest automotive parts supplier, will set up its regional headquarters in Shanghai. The investment in China will exceed one billion US dollars in the next two or three years.
A new office building is being planned to house the regional headquarters in the future. The headquarters of Bosch (China) Investment Ltd will also move from Beijing to Shanghai.
Bosch Group has so far founded 26 ventures in China, with a total investment approaching 600 million US dollars. Out of Bosch's 40 billion euros in global sales revenue last year, 1.4 billion euros were from sales in China.

2000-year-old recipe spawns sashimi
中华老菜谱孕育生鱼片
To most people, raw fish is mainly associated with Japanese sashimi. Less widely known is the tradition of using raw fish in Chinese cuisine in the traditional Spring Festival dish called Feng Sheng Shui Qi, generally believed to be the forerunner of sashimi.
The Chinese for raw fish is sheng yu, which also sounds like another word which means wealth or prosperity. Over time, a name for the raw fish dish was coined - Feng Sheng Shui Qi, meaning "wind grows and waves surge", implying a perfect time to harvest fish. The dish spread to many parts of the country and became very popular in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). However, the dish disappeared from most dinner tables in the 1950s and 1960s, due to health concerns related to the consumption of the raw river fish used to prepare the dish.

Guangzhou & Shenzhen 广州 & 深圳

Century-old restaurant closes
百年老店关张
A restaurant with a history of more than 120 years closed in Guangzhou.
The restaurant, Taipingguan, opened in 1885, in the Qing Dynasty and hosted the former Premier, Zhou Enlai's wedding ceremony in 1925.
The restaurant's first floor is now being transformed for small vendors selling cotton-padded jackets and underwear. The other three floors are still waiting to be leased. During the past century, the restaurant served more than 800 western style dishes. Some people who had lived in Guangzhou for decades still remember trying the original menu for the Premier couple.

Refund to be paid for wrong flight ticket
误机获赔
Shenzhen Airlines has agreed to refund the price difference for a woman who bought the wrong plane ticket because of the booking agency's mistake.
The booking office had refused a refund for the Jan 17 ticket, which had expired when the woman, who could not read English on the ticket tried to board a Feb 17 flight to Shenzhen. She had to buy another ticket the next day.
The details on the ticket were printed in accordance with International Air Transport rules. Some details, such as the place of departure and destination, are printed in Chinese and English; some in English only.
The CAAC spokesperson said the English problem was common worldwide and urged passengers to make themselves familiar with the rules.

Chongqing 重庆

Remarkable progress in environment
环境改善进步显著
Chongqing has invested 20 billion yuan to improve the environment of small river valleys, curb land erosion and implement projects to decrease air, water and land pollution since it became a municipality in 1997. Now 72 percent of the sewage in the city is processed before running into rivers, and the water in the Three Gorges Reservoir area has kept its high quality.
Chongqing has also made some progress in geological disaster prevention, natural forest protection and returning farmland to forest or grassland.
The municipality has replanted 800,000 hectares of trees and grass, increasing forest coverage to 27 per cent and reducing silt which used to run into the Yangtze River each year.

More passengers take light railway
更多人选择轻轨车
More passengers are taking the light railway, which is open to the public in the main districts of Chongqing, since the ticket price went down from 10 yuan to 5 yuan a few days ago. Even some commuters are now taking the light railway.



Hong Kong 香港

Administration suggests 3 children per couple
鼓励每对夫妇生育3胎
Local couples are encouraged to have three children to alleviate problems caused by an ageing society. It is also vital to boost Hong Kong's competitiveness by expanding the talent import scheme to attract educated mainlanders - especially young single males. As one of the lowest "total fertility rates" in the world, Hong Kong couples need to give birth to at least two children to reach the population replacement level. Three will be the best. The proportion of the population aged 65 and over, is projected to rise markedly. The median age of the population will increase from 38 in 2003 to 49 in 2033.

Unit construction to fall next year
单位建筑将减少
This year 17,400 apartments are expected to be completed in Hong Kong, down from 21,200 for year 2004, and 26,000 in 2003.
Prices rose significantly at the beginning of last year, consolidated in mid-year and climbed up again in the latter part of the year. Overall, private office completion this year is expected to plunge 77 per cent to 62,000 square meters, but will rise to 105,000 square meters in 2006.

Banks' profitability rises on lower loan loss provisions
银行赢利得益于低贷低储备损耗
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that the profitability of Hong Kong's banking sector continues to improve, but it is largely a result of lower loan loss provision expenses. The city's banking system is characterized by high liquidity, sound capitalization and a strong regulatory regime.
While the profitability in 2004 was a result of decreasing loan loss provision expenses and growing no interest income, competition continues to put pressure on net interest margins.
The asset quality of most domestic banks is also improving in line with general recovery in the domestic economy and the rebound in the property market.

Taipei 台北

Businessmen to attend PCC in Xiamen
台商参加厦门政协会
Five Taiwan businessmen have been invited to the Political Consultative Conference in Xiamen City.
It's the first time that delegates from the Taiwan business community have been allowed to take part.
About 60,000 Taiwan business people are employed by around 2,000 enterprises in Xiamen.
President of the Taiwan Businessmen's Association in Xiamen says the delegates want to help develop the city and promote good relations across the Taiwan Straits.

Vocabulary
legacy 遗产、遗赠
solicit 恳请
paraglider 跳伞滑翔机
sedimentation 沉淀、沉积
spawn 卵;刚孵不久的小动物
provision 储藏物、供应银行