Pet show
宠物秀
Photo by Yao Fan



On May 2, a pet show was held at the Shimao Commercial Bldg on which the participating pets displayed their tricks. Also, judges had to decide which pet and its owner looked the most alike. The event is intended to encourage people to show more care to little animals.

 

 

Economics

For the King of Beer, a bottle is only a 5-second affair
5秒灌下一瓶酒
On May 5th when the "2005 Xiamen Daily - Future Seacoast Carnival" celebrated its conclusion with the "Beer Spree Final Contest", Wang Zhenlin, aged 23, excelled and stunned all by swallowing a bottle of beer within an incredibly short period of 5.41 seconds.

Deluxe furniture on display
名贵家具展风情
During the May Day holiday, the Guanfu Classic Artistic Museum in Shuzhuang Garden on Gulangyu held its preliminary display and the various types of valuable furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties attracted the eyes of many tourists. With a total investment of RMB 140 million and a floor area of 500 sqm or so, the Phase I project of Guanfu Classic Artistic Museum in Xiamen will be formally opened in June this year and the exhibits on display will primarily include furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, calligraphy, paintings of Fujian's artists and Chinese silverware at an estimated value of about RMB 100 million.

A multitude of cars broke traffic rules during the May Day Holiday
"五一"长假违法车多
The May Day holiday has seen an obvious increase of traffic load in Xiamen with more traffic rule violators caught. The statistics shows that more than 3,000 traffic rule violators were caught by the 110 Command Center of the Municipal Public Security Bureau through its traffic monitoring system from May 1st to May 3rd.

A wedding boom reoccurred during the week-long May Day holiday
黄金周再现结婚热潮
Xiamen witnessed another wedding boom during the week-long May Day holiday when each large and medium-size hotel and restaurant staged at least 2 wedding ceremonies everyday. Relevant industries in connection with weddings have also benefited a lot from the boom and more than 20 wedding service companies have opened since early this year.

Cat capable of squatting on a toilet
猫会蹲马桶
A cat named "Huniu" owned by Mr. Qin, residing at No. 3-1 Tuqiang Road, has been able to squat on a toilet to relieve nature since it was 7 months old. As Qin puts it, it is a real miracle that the cat learnt to do so concerning nobody ever taught it.

Criteria introduced for the sanitization of dental instruments
口腔诊疗器械将规范消毒
The "Technical Criteria for the Sanitization of Dental Instruments of Medical Organizations" enacted by the Ministry of Health has formally taken effect from May 1st. No dentist's will be licensed if it fails to meet the criteria.

 

 

Society

Four Xiamen companies exposed
四家厦企遭曝光
The Provincial Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision has recently published the list of enterprises whose products were found to be nonconforming during the national product quality inspection in the fourth quarter of 2004. Four Xiamen companies including Xiamen Yilufa Garment Factory, Xiamen Wufeng Industry & Trading Co Ltd, Xiamen Bailing Liren Garment Co Ltd and Xiamen Heshengwang Industry & Trading Co Ltd are on the list and their nonconforming products are all shirts.

Substantial fines imposed by the Power Supply Bureau
供电局开出巨额罚单
Meirenshan Cement Factory and Mingshan Cement Factory in Xike County of Tong'an District have recently been levied a penalty of RMB 690,000 and RMB 300,000 respectively due to the fact that they increased their power-consuming capacity without prior approval of the Power Supply Bureau with an attempt to underpay the basic electric bill.

Non-local customers purchase electric appliances in large numbers
外地顾客花千万买家电
The fierce competition in the electric appliance market during the week-long May Day holiday has attracted a large number of consumers from regions around Xiamen. Industry insiders estimate that non-local customers spent over RMB 10 million on electric appliances in Xiamen from May 1st to May 5th.

Export cargos in wooden packing expected to suffer barriers
木质包装货物出口将遭壁垒
From June 1st 2005, Korea, the Philippines and Chile will start to impose international quarantine standards on the wooden packing of import cargos, i.e. wooden packing must be effectively deinsectized and affixed with an IPPC label prior to entry; otherwise the wooden packing and the cargos inside will be rejected. Considering that more than USD 400 million of cargos were shipped to these three countries from Xiamen Port in 2004, Xiamen Entry-exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau reminds relevant companies to get well prepared for that.

Five fruits awarded export license to Thailand
五种水果获许出口泰国
Five fruits including apples, pears, tangerines, grapes and Chinese dates have been approved to enter the Thai market. Xiamen Entry-exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau reminds relevant companies to hurry up the registration of their orchards and packing factories of Thailand-bound fruits.

 

 

City News
Edited by Lily

Beijing 北京

Tourism peak in golden week
黄金周旅游高峰
Beijing witnessed the first tourism peak in the golden week during the May Day holiday, as soaring numbers of tourists visited sites throughout the city.
The Forbidden City and Longqing Gorge, two famous sight spots in the city, received 84,900 tourists and 15,000 tourists respectively, both above the maximum handling capacity for the spots. The figures were up 43.7 and 76 percent respectively over last year.



New rules to protect old Beijing
将实施保护老北京新措施
A set of rules and regulations to protect sites of historical and cultural value, and old urban districts, streets and structures took effect. Under the new rules, the municipal government encourages residents to move out of the areas under protection in order to reduce the population density in the old city areas and improve their living conditions. A 100,000- to 200,000-yuan (12,000 to 24,000 US dollars) fine will be imposed on those who illegally dismantle, renovate or expand the buildings listed for protection.

New travel permits system for Beijing residents
新审批程序缩短旅游签证办理期
A new simplified travel permit application service will give Beijing residents easier access to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. Residents will only need to fill out an application form and hand in valid passes if they want to have their travel papers extended or renewed. Residence booklets and ID cards are no longer required for applications. Multiple documents required for applying for one-year or three-year multi-entry business permits to Hong Kong and Macao have been slashed from the current eight forms to four from May 8.

Shanghai 上海

Overseas legal cases on the rise
海外商业诉讼案上升
China's business hub has seen an 81 per cent increase in international business lawsuits in each of the last three years. Companies and individuals from nearly 50 countries have filed lawsuits or have been charged in Shanghai. The 2,121 lawsuits in Shanghai in three years were related to some 5.2 billion yuan (US$629 million). And as more foreign companies and individuals choose to invest in Shanghai, more lawsuits are expected.

Colored lanes to link 2 universities
彩色车道连接两高校
At the end of August, two dark green lanes for non-automobile vehicles, each totaling 1.8 kilometers, will link Fudan and Tongji, Shanghai's two prestigious universities in the northeast area, becoming the city's longest colored road. On the lanes, white signs will be added for cyclists. Because of stronger friction, the colored lanes are safer for student bicyclers to ride on between the two universities, and the friendly green color will protect the eyes of the riders.

Fanatics come out at comic book fair
新奇连环画展开展
Inside Shanghai's futuristic TV Tower, a group of teenagers dressed themselves up as prim high school girls and kung fu masters from some alternative universe where weird eye make-up and bright hair are par for the course. Outside, hordes of people enjoying the week-long May Day holiday came and went, making the landmark almost impossible to navigate-nearby, comic book fans were indulging in a fetish of the fantastic and colorful. The event at the TV Tower is the first such comic book fair held in China.

100th museum opened this year
年内共开放100个博物馆
In 2000 the municipal government set a target of opening 100 museums in Shanghai by 2005, an aspiration that has since been updated to 150 by 2010. The current 90-plus museums can be categorized into three types: public museums supported by the local government, industrial museums sponsored by the industries they represent, and privately-owned museums.

Guangzhou & Shenzhen 广州 & 深圳

Tougher housing policies set
严格建房审批
The Guangdong government decided to implement land control, financial and tax policies to strengthen the real estate sector's guidance and management. The provincial government has asked municipal and district governments to stop giving land to property developers building villas. It has also asked housing developers to build more ordinary and low-priced economy houses as early as possible. The provincial government will also tighten the scale of industrial parks and other large-scale civilian projects that require people living nearby to move.

Restaurant to return
老餐馆新开张
The Yuexiu District Government will rebuild a famous restaurant on its original site. The restaurant, once one of Guangzhou's four famous restaurants, is scheduled to open in spring next year. The Guangzhou Eatery Service Enterprises Group owns the Dasanyuan Restaurant property, which was set up in 1919 with its original site at No. 258 to 262 on Changdi Dama Road.

Guangzhou's first water delivery room
将建首家水中产房
Guangzhou will build its first water delivery room, a new facility that helps shorten labor and ease delivery. The delivery room will be equipped with a delivery pool, which contains disinfected water with constant temperature, and a home-like room for pre-delivery rest. Because the water in the delivery pool is similar to the amniotic fluid in the womb, the woman will have loose muscles. For this reason, underwater delivery will shorten the period of delivery and lowering the chance of injury to newborns.

Chongqing 重庆

Chongqing Publishing Group hangs out shingle
重庆出版集团挂牌
Chongqing Publishing Group hung out its shingle and proclaimed its founding.
The foundation marks an important forward step that Chongqing has taken in structural reform of cultural undertakings. The Group grew out of Chongqing Publishing House, which had kept the fame of Better Publishing House in China for many years.

Three Gorges launch archaeological tour
三峡欲推出考古游
Wushan County of Chongqing plans to launch an archaeological tourist route to view and study the palaeoanthropological cultural ruins in Longgupo, the ruins of prehistoric man. The travel route will start from Fengjie County and pass through a number of caves and waterfalls before reaching the ruins. Tourists will also have the chance to view the specimens and fossils of prehistoric man and see models of how he might have lived.



Hong Kong 香港

HK youths encouraged to contribute
鼓励青年奉献精神
Hong Kong youths are encouraged to spend more time understanding their motherland and to contribute to society in the spirit of democracy and science. 1,500 18-year-old youngsters assembled at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center to participate in an "adulthood" ceremony organized by the association to swear they would shoulder responsibilities towards society and the country. This is the 10th youth festival and eighth adulthood ceremony the association has organized since 1996.

Program launched for boosting copyright protection
大力保护版权
Hong Kong will launch a program this summer to promote awareness and respect for intellectual property among Hong Kong youngsters. The program will cover seminars, visits and other activities first targeting scouts aged 11 to 16 and will be expanded to other age groups in the near future. Intellectual Property Rights Scout badges will be presented to the qualified scout attendees who have completed the program.

Property sales consideration up 44%
房地产销售上扬44%
April saw 16,280 sale and purchase agreements for all types of building units for registration in Hong Kong, up 59 percent over March and 43.1 percent over a year earlier. Among the agreements, 14,124 were for residential units. This represented a rise of 62.9 percent over March and 57 percent over a year earlier.

Taipei 台北

Taiwan to receive giant pandas
大熊猫台湾落户准备就绪
As a symbol of peace, unity and friendship, a pair of giant pandas will be sent to Taiwan, as a gift from the mainland to the Taiwan compatriots. A spacious habitat is ready for the cuddly pandas to settle in, and follow-up preparations are in full swing. The panda couple's new home is Taipei's Municipal Zoo, where a 6,000 square-meter panda enclosure has been built for them to start a new life. It is estimated that only about 1,600 pandas are currently living in the wild, and there are none in Taiwan.


Vocabulary
deinsectize 除虫
affix 附上
tangerine 柑橘
deluxe 豪华的
multitude许多
sanitization 消毒
futuristic 未来派的
par 平均的, 标准
shingle 挂牌
amniotic 羊膜的
archaeological 考古学的
palaeoanthropological 古人类的

 

 

 

Secretary week held
京闽举办秘书周



Secretary Week has become a traditional event of The Best Western Premier Xiamen Central Hotel (厦门京闽中心酒店). This year, under the theme of "Value health and enjoy life", the organizer invited a beauty expert to show basic skin care knowledge to secretaries from related companies and also a class on fruit salad making was held.