Sailor Returned Home
Sailor Guo Chuan makes it back home  to become the first Chinese to successfully circumnavigate the globe solo by sea
Second Female Astronaut
Wang Yapingm has been appointed the only female astronaut of China's new spacecraft Shenzhou-10, scheduled to blast off in June this year

"China is more prepared in handling public health emergencies than a decade ago when it fought severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)."

Liang Wannian, Director of the H7N9 influenza prevention and control office under the National Health and Family Planning Commission, speaking at a Beijing press conference on April 8

"Today, parents spoil their children, which makes them more fragile and unable to deal with difficulty. Sometimes a small disappointment can make them take the road to ruin. It's time for education departments, family and society to rethink the issue."

Lin Kunhui, founder of the Life Education and Crisis Intervention Center, a nonprofit organization in Shanghai, speaking to China Daily on April 5

"I know it's bad, but I was in the middle of the street when the light turned red and I could not turn back. Besides, traffic was jammed, so there was no way of missing the chance to cross the road."

Yang Qing, a junior college student in Beijing, explaining her motive for jaywalking. The Beijing Traffic Management Bureau announced on April 8 that people who do not wait for the "green man" signal to cross at intersections will receive on-the-spot fines of 10 yuan ($1.60)

"This is the beauty of hitchhiking—you don't know what will happen the next second, so just let fate lead you. "

Li Shengbo, a 24-year-old undergraduate in Beijing who stopped school for a year to hitchhike around China, sharing his understanding of hitchhiking on April 4

"It is boring and lonely jogging or doing Tai Chi by yourself. But you can chat with your friends while Nordic walking."

Hou Xiaodong, 62, organizer of the Nordic walking group in Beijing Olympic Forest Park, expressing his ideas of Nordic walking on April 4. According to a report from China Nordic Walking Association, the country has around 100,000 Nordic walkers and 20,000 people practice regularly

Mass Grave Threatened

Chongqing Times
April 10

During the infamous Japanese invasion of China in the 1930s and 40s, a large number of locals were slaughtered in Pipashan, west of Ji'nan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, and dumped in a mass grave. A monument was later erected at the site as a reminder of the tragedy. However, because of development plans, it is due for removal.

In many places around China, historical and cultural heritage is suffering likewise at the hands of "urbanization." While, several years ago, the Pipashan mass grave was appointed a base for patriotic education, but now it will have to make way for property development.

How to Curb Jaywalking

Beijing Youth Daily
April 9

Beijing traffic authorities announced they would roll out fresh measures to counteract jaywalking, a problematic phenomenon in China.

Blame should not fall on pedestrians alone. The so-called "Chinese style Jaywalking" reflects that traffic facilities and rules need to improve. In Beijing, some red lights take an unbearable amount of time switching to green, in turn affording people, especially the old, too short a period to cross the street.

more>>
 
Another Cruise Port A national cruise ship tourism development zone in north China’s coastal city of Tianjin has received approval to be built (XUE LIQIANG)
Riverhead Protection The government will spend 1 billion yuan in 2013 to protect Sanjiangyuan, a region that serves as the source of China’s three biggest rivers—the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers (WU GUANGYU)
Corruption Trials
Former Minister of Railways Liu Zhijun has been charged with bribery and abuse of power
Transit Visas
Guangzhou in south China's Guangdong Province is expected to become the third Chinese city to allow foreign visitors to transit for 72 hours without a visa
Jobs for the Disabled
New progress has been made in the employment of the disabled, as China created new jobs for 329,000 disabled urbanites in 2012
more>>
 
Modern Machinery People visit China Agricultural Equipment Expo 2013 in Nanjing, capital of east China’s Jiangsu Province, on April 9. The three-day event attracted more than 300 companies from 15 countries and regions (DONG JINLIN)
Real-Name Trading A real-name tea trading system is introduced on April 9 in Xinchang County, east China’s Zhejiang Province, to satiate consumer concerns over quality (YUAN YUN)
Broader Tax Cuts
China pledges to expand a reform program to replace business tax with a value-added equivalent to further ease the burden on smaller businesses
Trade Friction Woes
Twenty-one countries initiated 77 trade remedy investigations targeting Chinese products in 2012, up 11.6 percent from 2011
Inflation Drops
China's consumer price index rose 2.1 percent year on year in March, down from a 10-month high of 3.2 percent in February
more>>
Looming Bad Loans
The Yangtze River Delta Economic Region has been severely affected by bad loans
More Outlets
Despite the recent slowdown in China's economic growth, German wholesale retailer Metro Cash & Carry is planning to open at least 12 outlets in China in 2013, following equally fast expansion the year before
Capital Adequacy
The Bank of Shanghai plans to raise about 15 billion yuan through an initial public offering in Hong Kong this year to supplement its capital, according to an internal document circulated to the bank's shareholders
more>>
  • CANADA
    A bevy of swans take part in a parade in Stratford, Ontario, on April 7. The traditional event has been held for 24 years to celebrate the advent of spring (XINHUA)
  • BRITAIN
    Mourners lay floral tributes outside the residence of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in London on April 8. Thatcher, the first and only female prime minister of Britain, died of a stroke at the age of 87 (WANG LILI)
  • FRANCE
    Chinese Ambassador to France Kong Quan (center) visits the Noyelles-sur-Mer Chinese cemetery on April 4. More than 800 Chinese laborers recruited to work in Europe during World War I are buried at the cemetery (GAO JING)
  • BOLIVIA
    A woman walks in a Quinoa field in the Tarmaya community in the Bolivian Andes on April 8. The UN has declared 2013 the International Year of Quinoa in recognition of Andean indigenous peoples, who grow the crop for food (XINHUA/AFP)
  • TURKEY
    Kurdish people flash the victory sign at a birthday rally for jailed Kurdish Workers' Party leader Abdullah Ocalan on April 4 in Urfa, southeastern Turkey. Ocalan called on his group to peacefully bring an end to the three-decade-long Kurdish insurgency (XINHUA/AFP)
  • THE UNITED STATES
    New Yorkers take part in the annual Pillow Fight Day in Washington Square Park in New York City on April 6 (XINHUA/AFP)
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