Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol. 62/No.30 i Beijing Review

LUXEMBOURG Jin Liqun, President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and Pierre Gramegna, Finance Minister of Luxembourg, at the fourth annual meeting of the AIIB in Luxembourg on July 12. This was the first time the meeting was held outside Asia THAILAND Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and newly appointed cabinet ministers pose for a group photo at the swearing-in ceremony in Bangkok on July 16 PAKISTAN A train accident site in Rahim Yar Khan on July 11. Two trains collided, killing 13 people and injuring over 70 SUDAN Representatives of the Transitional Military Council and the opposition Freedom and Change Alliance congratulate one another in Khartoum on July 17 after signing a political declaration on establishing transitional authorities to jointly govern the country NEPAL The Balkhu River floods Kathmandu…

Every summer, ripe wheat ripples across large stretches of fields on the North China Plain, a major crop producing area, painting the landscape a mellow yellow and filling farmers’ hearts with joy. Liu Weike, a 37-year-old farmer in Nanhe County of north China’s Hebei Province, told the media in mid-June that the wheat yield of his and his neighbors’ fields in the first half of the year was higher than that of the same period last year. Across the country, the yield of summer crops is also pleasing. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on July 15 that in the first half of 2019, the overall output of summer grains was 141.74 million tons, up 2.1 percent, hitting the highest record equal to that of 2017. This is heartening…

It is summer and Xiamen, China’s famed coastal city in southeast Fujian Province that played a key role in Chinese going out to explore opportunities abroad, has its dog days’ features on full display. It is hot and humid despite the sea breeze, lush ripe mangoes dangle tantalizingly from bent tree branches, and the bike lanes are deserted except for a stream of diehard afternoon runners since Xiamen, after all, is also famous for its marathons. The other prominent feature is the golden key hanging in the air on Huandao Road, the snaking ring road that encircles the island and provides dazzling glimpses of the sea and exquisite scenic spots. Look again and the key turns out to be an ingenious combination of the figures nine and eight. Propped on…

Dawa is an unconventional host and his house in Trashigang, a village of less than 350 people in Lulang Town in south-west China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, is also bound to look unusual to many of the visitors. The two-story stone house with its beautiful red main door ornamented with carved metal and an exquisitely painted wooden lintel in the traditional Tibetan style stands in a neat little row of similar houses out of which men and women in traditional Tibetan clothes come and go about their daily business. The shingle outside says Yu Zhen Family Hotel. Family hotel village Family is the keyword. In this village of 66 households, there are 51 family inns—or homestays—developed with the support of the local government to supplement farming and create a trail of…

Twelve-year-old Shan Yujia, wearing a long flowing traditional dress with floral embroidery and holding a delicate silk fan, stood out from the crowd in the Palace Museum, once the royal palace, in Beijing. She was there with her mother to see the exhibition Liangzhu and Ancient China: The 5,000-Year Civilization Demonstrated by Jade, which opened to visitors on July 16. “In this outfit I feel closer to China’s traditional culture and these jade artifacts from 5,000 years ago,” she told Beijing Review. “I wanted to come to this exhibition when I learned Liangzhu has been named a world heritage site.” Liangzhu, an ancient city that existed in the Neolithic Age 5,000 years ago, was located near what is today Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, in east China. Ten days after…

Digital Museum A staff member introduces the Digital Palace Museum in Beijing on July 16. The museum launched seven digital products to transform cultural heritages into digital resources during a press conference on the same day. Healthy China The State Council issued a new guideline to implement the Healthy China initiative on July 15. With a focus on disease prevention and health promotion, the guideline proposes 15 special campaigns to “intervene in health influencing factors, protect full-life-cycle health and prevent and control major diseases.” An action plan for 2019-30 devised by a newly established State Council special committee was also made public, specifying the objectives and tasks of each campaign, as well as the responsibilities of different actors in the campaigns. In 2016, the Communist Party of China Central Committee…

The blare of reggaetón hits you as you approach the Latin American Pavilion at the International Horticulture Exhibition 2019 in Beijing. The music is a modern mix of reggae, hip hop and tropical rhythms originating in Panama, and is a perfect example of the diversity and blending of cultures in the region. Along with the Caribbean Community Pavilion, it provides visitors a glimpse into what some countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are doing to build green lives, better lives, the theme of the expo. Many LAC countries have signed the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the 1992 commitment by UN member countries for sustainable development; the Kyoto Protocol focusing on reducing greenhouse gas emissions; and the Paris Agreement on climate change. Mayan tribute The joint pavilion…

An exhibition of 260 invaluable jade objects collected from 17 museums and institutions across China opened at the Palace Museum in Beijing on July 16, celebrating UNESCO’s tribute to a 5,000-year-old Chinese culture. Liangzhu and Ancient China: The 5,000-Year Civilization Demonstrated by Jade exhibits jadwares from Liangzhu, an ancient city that flourished 5,000 years ago near what is today Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, in east China. The ancient Liangzhu city ruins, first discovered by a local archaeologist in 1936, were named a world heritage site by UNESCO on July 6. The Liangzhu people established a hierarchical ritual system represented by jade objects, such as the cong, yue and bi. This exhibition of jade artifacts brings the civilization of this advanced state before the public eye. The highlight is a…

In recent years, there have been several media reports about infants and toddlers being abused or sexually assaulted in care institutions and kindergartens by the very people who are supposed to take care of them. This age group, incapable of protecting themselves, are extremely vulnerable to such kind of abuse. While child abusers must be stringently punished, the effects of the abuse on the victims can never be mitigated, and the harm continues to cast a shadow for the rest of their life. Therefore, preventing such abuse is extremely important. The National Health Commission (NHC) recently drafted a regulation on the management of care institutions, proposing that those with a record of child abuse, both institutions and individuals, should be blacklisted. Such individuals would be barred from being hired and…

Credit Regulation The State Council, China’s cabinet, announced a credit-based market regulation mechanism will be built to help manage market orders and improve the business environment. It said in a guideline the mechanism will cover the whole life cycle of market entities as well as the regulation process. Market entities are encouraged to make public promises for honest operation and make use of credit reports for their businesses. Their credit performance will be recorded in a timely, accurate and comprehensive manner, while targeted regulatory measures will be taken on market entities with differencing credit levels. Credit defaulters will be held accountable in line with specific regulations and laws. More efforts will be made to enhance credit regulation information disclosure and improve regulation efficiency by leveraging big data and other technologies,…

As it released data on China’s economic performance in the first half (H1) of 2019 on July 15, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) suggested that a solid foundation has been laid for the country to achieve its annual growth targets as the economy maintained steady, resilient development. The GDP in H1 grew 6.3 percent year on year to about 45.09 trillion yuan ($6.55 trillion), meeting the annual target range of 6-6.5 percent set by policymakers. In the second quarter (Q2), it rose 6.2 percent year on year, slowing from 6.4 percent in the first quarter (Q1). The Chinese economy has performed within an appropriate range despite global economic slowdown and domestic downward pressure. Instead of resorting to massive stimulus packages, the country has promoted reform and innovation, improved the…

It was not until Yu Youde was 12 years old that he and his family lived in a house made of bricks and concrete. Before that, they lived in a forest with a primitive life of hunting, picking edible plants, farming and bartering at an altitude of over 2,000 meters, along with seven other households from the Lisu ethnic group. In 2002, with the help of the local government, they resettled in Xieli, Zhefang, a China-Myanmar border town in southwest China’s Yunnan Province. To get their life rolling, the local government provided various supports such as helping with household registration and social security. These households started breeding domestic animals and growing organic vegetables, which brought them a rising income. “I witnessed so many changes,” 47-year-old Yu said. In 2016, his…

($1=6.9 yuan) 17.42 bln yuan Value of funds raised by China’s National Equities Exchange and Quotations, the “new third board” in the first half of 2019 96,000 Number of Chinese car exported in June, up 22.6 percent compared to May 186 mln units Total shipments of mobile phones in China during the January-June period, down 5.1 percent from the same period last year 472 Number of public offering funds issued in China in the first half of 2019 6.6% Year-on-year growth in the number of excavators sold by China’s 25 leading excavator makers in June 6.5 bln yuan Sales of offshore duty-free shops in Hainan Province in the first half of 2019, up 26.56 percent year on year 69.3% Year-on-year growth in the number of charging posts for new-energy vehicles…

A recent documentary film about five folk artists from the region along the Yellow River moved the audience with its recording of the challenges of these people to survive in modern days and their love for the art sprung from their hometowns. The movie, titled The River in Me, is from an idea of Su Yang, a contemporary musician from Yinchuan, capital city of northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. He later became one of the five characters in the film. Born in east China’s Zhejiang Province, Su moved to Yinchuan with his parents when he was a child. His music style combines the folk music style of northwest China and rock and roll music from the West, which gained him a fan base after his debut album in 2006.…

University stores are central to campus life. They usually sell everything a student might need for class or dorm room. Living on the Tsinghua University campus, I enjoy shopping at the university stores. Past shopping excursions have added university logo jackets, hoodies and stylish backpacks to my wardrobe. I usually also grab necessities at the same time. It has always been an adventure shopping in C Center, the big campus store in the basement of the C-shaped building near the students’ dormitories. I never knew quite what I’d find in stock when I wandered in, but I knew it would have a generous selection, sprinkled with a bit of dust and old-fashioned displays. It strongly reminded me of my own American university’s campus store from 40 years ago. It was…