CHINA ON THE MOVE

A holiday train special for migrant workers in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, takes to the track before the kick-off of the 2007 Spring Festival travel peak, carrying more than 1,000 passengers back to their homes in Guizhou Province.

China's railways and highways are reportedly ready to transport a record 156 million and 2 billion passengers between February 3 and March 14, up 4.3 and 5 percent year on year, respectively, said government sources.

Chinese traditionally travel home for family reunions on the Spring Festival, which falls on February 18 this year.

In addition to a freeze on transport fares to benefit the public, transportation authorities have also taken measures to keep vehicle flows fluid during the rush period. A total of 318 pairs of temporary passenger trains will be added to ease the traffic pressure.

Waste smuggling uncovered

China uncovered 49 cases of hazardous waste smuggling last year, involving a total of 8,002 tons of solid waste, Xinhua learnt from the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

The GAC said most of the cases involved industrial waste and domestic waste from the European Union, the United States, the Republic of Korea and Japan.

China's thirst for raw materials has, in recent years, produced a surge in imports of waste materials for recycling, but the presence of hazardous waste has raised concerns over potential dangers to the environment.

The GAC and the State Environmental Protection Administration have begun a campaign to identify kingpins in the hazardous waste smuggling business. The investigation will last until the end of June this year.

First real-name blog launched

A blog site that only allows users to publish blogs and comments using the writers' real names-believed to be the first in China-was launched January 29.

The website, www.blshe.com, targets Chinese intellectuals and aims to become an online platform of communication, social contacts and business, said the founder Mao Xiaolin.

One can only register on the website after being invited by the website, being recommended by another user or through self-introduction with valid proof. The website will check the work background and identity of every applicant.

During the one-month test run of www.blshe.com, more than 2,000 people from the academic, media, education and business circles as well as some freelances have registered as users. None of them are using pseudonyms.

Shanghai to outlaw foul language

Tired of tetchy residents engaging in obscenity-littered tiffs on the street, Shanghai authorities may fine the foul-mouthed as part of a new regulation governing behavior at public venues, domestic media reported.

"Dirty words often lead to fights, some of which may turn lethal," said Luo Huarong, a member of Shanghai's legislative body.

Shanghai has launched a campaign to improve the manners of its 20 million residents ahead of the 2010 World Expo, which the local government is regarding as a coming-of-age party for China's financial capital.

Efforts have included urging locals who speak the Shanghai dialect to brush up on their Mandarin to avoid confusing Chinese visitors. Teams of students are being sent out to smile at strangers in public places to spread politeness among the traditionally frosty populace.

A new weather satellite to launch

China is likely to launch a new polar-orbiting meteorological satellite, Fengyun-3 (FY-3), this autumn, to improve its global weather monitoring capacity, the China News Service reported.

The satellite, which is developed and manufactured by the Shanghai Aerospace Administration, is China's second generation of solar-synchronous weather satellite.

The FY-3 weighed more than 2.4 tons, triple the weight of FY-1 satellite, Gao Huoshan, General Director of the FY-3 research team, was quoted as saying.

The new satellite was equipped with 11 monitoring devices, which were far more sensitive than those of the FY-1, China's first generation of solar-synchronous satellite, Gao said.

He said the satellite would be able to detect meteorological changes more accurately and send back high-resolution images.