Fish fry released at sea
放养文昌鱼苗
Photo by Yao Fan



November 6, 2005 saw 170,000 cultivated Wenchang fish fry released into the sea at Yefengzhai on the Island Ring Road. The release was organized by the Xiamen Marine and Fishery Bureau, and marks the beginning of the Wenchang fish population support project. Wenchang fish is a national 2nd level protected aquatic animal and Xiamen has established a national Wenchang fish nature reserve.

 

 

Economics

Local airfares slashed
本月机票平均五折
Since the beginning of this month, air tickets in Xiamen have been sold at an average discount of about 50%, down 15% or so on last month. Air ticket offices remind passengers to book tickets two to three days in advance if they want to take advantage of lower discounts.

Four local businesses appear on list of China's top 200 brands
四企业入选中国品牌200强
Four Xiamen-based companies, XOCECO, Amoi, Yinglu and Kinglong, are on the List of China's Top 200 Brands in 2005, which has recently been published in Beijing.

Six rich people appear on Forbes list
6富豪上福布斯榜
Six locals have been officially put on the Forbes List of the Nation's Richest in 2005. They are Chen Yongfei (no. 96) of Fujian Shenghui Group, Lan Weiguang (no. 134) of Suntar Membrane, Ke Xiping of Zijin Mining (no. 174), Sun Shaofeng of China Green Food Holding Corporation (no. 267), the Huang Xi Family of Good First Group (no. 334), and Liang Jian (no. 369) of Fujian Shenghui Group.

New measures to boost employment
帮助就业新举措
A "zero employment family" refers to a family in which no member is employed but at least one family member of working age has the wish to take up employment. In order to help members of such families to find jobs, the local government will provide subsidies to prospective employers to encourage them to hire.

Canned flower seeds enjoy brisk sales abroad
罐装花卉种子俏销海外
Statistics from Xiamen Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau show that since its trial exportation of canned flower seeds in early May, Xiamen Port has exported more than 20,000 kilograms of seeds to the US, France, Germany and Spain. Sales in these markets are increasing and the outlook for the product is bright.

 

 

Society

No. 1 Hospital to place antibiotics under strict control
第一医院严控抗生素
With the implementation of a general quality control system half a month ago, No. 1 Hospital has strictly controlled the use of antibiotics. Any breaches of the control by doctors are strictly prosecuted under the new system, so patients' clinical expenses have been effectively reduced.

Online charity supermarket opens
爱心超市开到网上
The charity supermarket, launched by Jialian Sub-district Administrative Office, has recently been put on line. Now anyone can log onto the website (www.jialian.gov.cn) to make donations and find out about the supermarket's operations with just a few clicks.

Xiamen Football Team to recruit players nationwide
厦足将向全国招兵买马
The Blue Lions are preparing for play in the China Football Super League by recruiting young players and new coaches. The team, which was promoted this year, will beef up its reserves teams with under 17s and new head coaches to give the club greater depth.

Taxi pooling gains in popularity
合伙打的成时尚
With the rising number of people residing along the Island Ring Road and the northeastern part of the island and the ever faster pace of city life, taxi pooling to and from work has become increasingly popular among middle-income workers.

Property developers take over historic buildings
房地产商入主老房子
A few real estate companies have recently spent huge sums to provide 27 historic buildings on Gulangyu with a facelift in exchange for the right to use these buildings for a certain length of time. Investigations show that Gulangyu is home to 207 historic buildings; of these buildings, 40 are dilapidated and in bad need of renovation and 20 are unoccupied.

First Hong Kong resident to practice law in Xiamen
首位香港居民厦门当律师
Mr. Zeng Shan, a permanent Hong Kong resident, has formally joined Xiamen Tianyi Law Firm. He is one of the first permanent Hong Kong residents allowed to practice law in China and the first one in Fujian.

Haicang Zoo Popular Science Education Hall opens
海沧动物园科普馆开馆
The Popular Science Education Hall at Haicang Zoo has recently opened, displaying 100-odd stuffed animals of more than 50 species. These animals used to live in the zoo and have been made into educational displays after death. The zoo has built a 400-plus square meter "home" for them.

 

 

City News
Edited by Lily

Beijing 北京

Average income $ 6, 000 by 2010
2010年人均GDP将达六千美元
Beijing's per capita GDP is predicted to reach 6,000 US dollars by the year 2010. This level of income will signal that Beijing has reached a level comparable to developed countries.

Fragrant Hills crowded
香山游客人满为患
The leaves on the mountain's 90,000 maple-like smoke trees are blazing red following the season's first frost. Tens of thousands of visitors are pouring into Fragrant Hills park, to experience the "essence of autumn": red smoke trees, green pines, yellow ginkgo trees and orange persimmon trees.



Longer, warmer autumn
秋暖绵长
Autumn in Beijing is expected to last longer than 50 days in 2005, making it the longest and warmest autumn of the past five years. It would have been early winter already at this time in former years. But a warm autumn does not necessarily mean there will be a warm winter this year.

Shanghai 上海

Female execs to provide job advice
商界女高管指点女生求职
Successful female business leaders will hold career counseling seminars with female students from six top universities in Shanghai to help teach them how to find jobs and compete with their male peers. Top female executives from companies will be invited to share their experiences and offer face-to-face consulting for young female students.

Best "career doctors" up for election
竞选十佳"事业诊断师"
An election will be held to pick Shanghai's top 10 "career doctors" from among the city's consultants, HR professionals and others who are able to solve the headaches that plague locals in their career development. The 10 most common career development problems and 10 best recipes for a happy working life will also be voted on, and the results will be announced on a website.

Airbus to open storage facility
"空中客车"将设新仓储
Airbus plans to open a storage facility in Shanghai soon. It will move the spare parts of its wide-body aeroplanes to the new site, leaving only parts for the A320 single-aisle jet and the A380 in its existing storage unit in Beijing. Airbus will not create a new organization but will rent space by cooperating with China Eastern Airlines Corp.

Guangzhou 广州

Citizens spend most on dining
外出餐饮消费居首
Residents in Guangzhou spend 4,143 yuan (512 US dollars) per person on eating out every year. This is over seven times the national average. Increases in disposable income are the main cause for the growth. Improvements in restaurant hygiene and services have also contributed to the trend.

Southern Airlines offer automatic boarding service
南航首推自助登机服务
China's first automatic boarding system has been launched at Baiyun Airport. China Southern Airlines is the first airline company in the country offering the new service. Passengers will be able to get their boarding cards from special computers located at the airline's counter and also choose seats.

Opera stars brought together
戏剧名流会演
The Voice of China concert marked the first time in history that leading singers from the eight traditions of Chinese opera have performed together. The eight traditions represented were Beijing Opera, Kun Opera, Guangdong Opera, Sichuan Opera, Huangmei Opera, Yu Opera, Yue Opera, and Hebei Opera. The concert will be held each year from now on, as part of an effort to popularize the classical arts among the general public.



Chongqing 重庆

Chongqing-Suining high speed railway to open
渝遂快速铁路通车在即
The construction of Chongqing-Suining high speed railway has been completed recently. It is the first high speed railway in the southwest of China. The railway will open for traffic in January next year. After a total investment of 4.65 billion yuan, it will now take only half an hour to get from Chongqing to Suining by train.

New observation posts for migrating birds
新设候鸟观察站
Thirteen new observation posts have been established recently for watching migrating birds. Many birds fly through Chongqing on their migrations from east Asia, central Asia and east Africa. If it becomes necessary, forest workers will take measures to deal with the birds and their feces so as to prevent the spread of bird flu.



Longest ship on the Yangtze
长江上最长的轮船建成
The longest ship on the Yangtze River, the Guangyun 77, has recently been launched in Fuling District. It is 125 meters long and 21 meters wide with a capacity of 7,000 tons. Owners hope to attract sightseers to take riverside cruises.



Hong Kong 香港

2.7 bn dollar refit for Ocean Park
27亿港币重塑海洋公园
HKSAR government will provide support for half of the total 5.55 billion HK dollar (about 71.5 million US dollars) cost of the redevelopment of Hong Kong Ocean Park. Developers are aiming to turn Ocean Park into a world-class marine attraction. After the redevelopment, it is estimated that visitor numbers will increase from 4 million in 2004-5 to more than 5 million by 2010-11.

Public welcomes expansion of RMB business
扩展人民币业务广受欢迎
With more mainland people choosing to study or holiday in Hong Kong and more Hong Kongers buying apartments or settling on the mainland, Hong Kong residents have given a warm welcome to the loosening of limitations on RMB business. The credit limit of 100,000 yuan has been removed, and the cash exchange limit increased from 6,000 yuan (743 US dollars) to 20,000 yuan (2,475 US dollars).

CEPA extended to HK film industry
CEPA惠及电影业
The new supplement to the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, commonly known as CEPA III, will be extended to Hong Kong's film sector. Hong Kong-made Chinese-language movies will be exempted from the import quota regime that is imposed on foreign movies. Under the WTO commitments, the mainland has agreed to import no less than 20 foreign movies annually.

Taipei 台北

Suicide prevention center opened
预防自杀中心开张
A suicide prevention center has been opened in a leading hospital in Taipei, following a reported rise in repeat suicide attempts at hospitals throughout Taiwan. But doctors stressed that the center was only one link in a chain of measures aimed at boosting suicide prevention.

New mainland travel permit offices
新增两个往返内地签证地
From the end of October, Taiwan residents are able to replace their mainland entry permits in Shanghai and Jiangsu. Before this month, permits were issued only by agencies in Hong Kong, Macao, Fuzhou and Xiamen. Typical permits allow for unlimited entry to and exit from the mainland for five years.


Vocabulary
fry 鱼苗
slash 锐减
dilapidated 破烂的
renovation 修复
permanent 永久的
exec 企业高管
consultant 顾问
migrate 迁徙
quota 配额
suicide自杀
smoke 栌
ginkgo 银杏
persimmon 柿子