PRIDE DONATION: A volunteer in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, shows the certificate and thank-you card she received after donating blood before the 67th World Red Cross Day, which fell on May 8 (LI AN)

Cultural Coop

China is planning a program to promote cultural cooperation among countries along the ancient Silk Road, the Ministry of Culture said on May 5.

The program is aimed at improving cooperation in fields such as the entertainment business, tourism, protection of cultural heritage and sport, said a statement from the ministry.

The Silk Road, an ancient trade route, linked China with Europe through Central Asia for centuries. Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Central Asia last September put forward the idea of a Silk Road economic belt.

The program will include an annual cultural forum, joint production of TV shows, films and animation, trade centers and exhibitions of cultural products as well as cultural events, according to the ministry.

China's Central Government and provincial governments along the Silk Road will work out preferential policies, it added.

No Smoking

China's TV channels at or above the provincial level, as well as major video websites, will have a one-month "intense run" of an anti-smoking commercial starting on May 5.

Titled "supporting the ban on public smoking for yourself and others," the ad is part of a month-long anti-smoking campaign, according to a statement from the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

China is home to 320 million smokers, accounting for nearly one third of the world's smoking population.

At least 740 million non-smokers are also subject to second-hand smoke, according to official statistics.

Subsidies in Xinjiang

Regional government subsidies for poor families in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region increased 6.6 percent to 4.16 billion yuan ($668 million) in 2014.

As a key program to improve people's living standards, the regional government earmarked 2.3 billion yuan ($369 million) and 1.8 billion yuan ($289 million) as living subsidies for urban and rural poor families respectively, according to Peng Gang, an official with the regional civil affairs department on May 2.

Xinjiang has 860,000 urban citizens and 1.3 million rural residents who enjoy subsidies for living expenses. The monthly per-capita subsidy is 277 yuan ($44.49) for urban families and 129 yuan ($20.72) for rural households.

In 2013, the regional government allocated 3.9 billion yuan ($626 million) as the minimum living allowances for the poor.

With a land area of 1.66 million square km, Xinjiang has a population of 22.6 million. Ethnic minority groups account for approximately 60 percent of the total population.