A Visual Delight

Tourists are treated to a fairy tale sight when a solar halo appears over a snow-covered scenic spot in Mudanjiang， northeast Chinas Heilongjiang Province， on January 21.

January is Mudanjiangs coldest month， in which the average temperature reaches minus 17 degrees Celsius.

Rural Fiber Optic Network

The fiber optic network in China now covers more than 82 percent of the nations rural villages， according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology （MIIT）， which aims to raise the figure to 90 percent in the second half of 2017.

In November 2016， more than 61 million rural households had access to the fiber optic network， an impressive 90 percent increase from one year previously， said MIIT general engineer Zhang Feng at a ministerial workshop held in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on January 20.

In 2016， China began the huge task of installing fiber optic cables in more than 100，000 villages nationwide， including 31，000 villages considered to be impoverished.

The campaign was financed by 30 billion yuan （$4.4 billion） of public and private sector funding.

Fiber optic cabling will be installed in 30，000 more villages this year.

Besides e-commerce， the installation of broadband Internet will allow villagers to access online healthcare， education， and agricultural resources， Zhang said.

EV Charging Networks

Electric vehicle charging networks will be built in 11 cities in east Chinas Zhejiang Province， the Zhejiang branch of Chinas State Grid Corp. has announced.

By the end of 2017， there will be a charging station every 2 km in the urban districts of the 11 cities. By the end of 2016， the company had installed 404 charging stations across the province， and charging facilities had also been set up in service stations along the provinces major expressways.

China is encouraging its populace to switch to electric cars as part of a shift from coal to renewable energy sources for power generation. One of the main obstacles discouraging potential buyers is the lack of charging facilities.

New Traffic Regulation

The names of people who violate traffic regulations will be made public in order to increase safety awareness， an official statement said on January 19.

Such transgressors include speeding drivers， drunk drivers and people who use forged license plates， according to the statement， which was jointly issued by five departments including the Ministry of Public Security and the National Development and Reform Commission.

The violators name， vehicle， plate number and assigned punishment will all be disclosed. Other information will be excluded in order to protect citizens legal rights， it added.

Wetland Parks

Another four wetland parks are planned in northwest Chinas Qinghai Province， the local forestry department said on January 19. The new parks increase Qinghais number of designated wetlands to 19.

Three of the new parks are located in Sanjiangyuan， the area home to the headwaters of the Yangtze， Yellow， and Lancang （Mekong） rivers. The fourth is near the Qinghai Lake. “The four parks encompass the regions typical riverine and marsh wetlands， with [their] rich biodiversity， landscapes and historical and cultural resources，” said Ma Jianhai， Director of the forestry departments wetland protection center.

Qinghais wetland accounts for around 15 percent of the nations total. Wetlands have important roles in water purification， flood control and maintaining biodiversity.

Relocation Plan

Some 400，000 families， consisting of 1.4 million people， living in areas known to be prone to geological disaster will be relocated， according to a government plan released on January 18.

These families live in areas where geological disasters cannot be prevented or reduced through human intervention， and they will be moved by the end of 2020， the plan states.

Throughout the 2016-20 period， measures will be taken to address geological risks such as gullies or slopes with landslide hazards， and protection projects will be launched in populated areas.

Groundwater exploitation will be outlawed in areas with serious subsidence or ground fissures， according to the plan， and relevant authorities will ascertain potential hazards that may result in loss of life or income.

China suffers some of the worlds worst geological disasters， as 65 percent of its landmass is mountainous or hilly. From 2011 to 2015， the nation experienced over 60，000 geological disasters， which resulted in 2，008 deaths and caused losses in excess of 20 billion yuan （$2.9 billion）， according to the Ministry of Land and Resources.

Bilingual Pre-school Education

Northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region plans to build more bilingual kindergartens in its rural areas to promote three-year bilingual pre-school education for an extra 560，000 children.

According to the regional education department， 4，387 bilingual kindergartens will be built or expanded in 2017 across the region， 3，223 of which will be added in south Xinjiang.

More government funds will be earmarked to recruit and encourage more bilingual local officials and teachers， the department said.

China offers nine years of free and compulsory education， but in Xinjiang， kindergarten and senior high school are also free.

Xinjiang added 2，500 new bilingual kindergartens in rural areas from 2011 to 2015， bringing the regions pre-school education penetration rate to 77 percent， or 480，000 young children， according to official figures.

With central government funds， Xinjiang plans to offer three years of bilingual pre-school education in the regions rural areas during the 2016-20 period instead of the current two years.

Air Purifiers in Schools

Education authorities in the city of Shijiazhuang， capital of north Chinas Hebei Province， announced on January 18 that they would install air purifiers in schools to protect students from pollution.

The municipal education department of Shijiazhuang， which is among the most polluted cities nationwide， said the pilot program targets some kindergartens， primary and middle schools.

The department said it would install the equipment at more schools after advice from a thirdparty agency.

Higher awareness of the health effects of air pollution has prompted cities in China to install air purifiers in schools.

In mid-January， Zhengzhou， capital of central Chinas Henan Province， announced that air purifiers would be installed in all of its schools and kindergartens.

Beijing has also urged its districts to begin installing purification systems in schools.

Care for Migrant Workers

Volunteers visit a construction site and engage in New Year activities with migrant workers by making dumplings and putting up decorative paper cuttings in Xingtai Economic Development Zone， north Chinas Hebei Province， on January 20.

Frozen River

Icicles at the Hukou Waterfall on the Yellow River in north Chinas Shanxi Province impress crowds of tourists on January 14.

Less Pesticide Use

Farmers in southeast Chinas Fujian Province need not concern themselves about pesticide residues， thanks to pathogen-carrying predatory mites， developed by Zhang Yanxuan of the Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences， which can reduce pesticide use by up to 50 percent.

In 2005， Zhang started breeding a particular variety of mite—a small invertebrate closely related to spiders—for the purposes of agricultural pest control. After years of experiments， Zhang succeeded in infecting the mites with an insectkilling fungal pathogen.

“The fungus attached to hairy predatory mites can infect and kill various kinds of insect but is harmless to the mites themselves， humans and animals，” Zhang said.

2016 GDP Growth

Chinas economy grew 6.7 percent year on year in 2016， a slowdown from the 6.9-percent growth registered in 2015， according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） on January 20.

That marked Chinas slowest annual expansion in 26 years. But it was in line with the official target range of 6.5 to 7 percent for 2016， and much stronger than the figure some doomsayers had predicted at the start of the year， when concerns over a collapse in Chinas growth rocked global financial markets.

The figure represents mediumhigh growth level and shows that Chinas economy continued to expand within a reasonable range， further optimizing its structure and transforming its development model， NBS chief Ning Jizhe said at a press conference.

GDP totaled 74.41 trillion yuan（$10.83 trillion） in 2016， with the services sector accounting for 51.6 percent. Consumption contributed 64.6 percent to GDP growth in 2016.

In the fourth quarter， Chinas economy grew 6.8 percent， slightly beating market forecasts and suggesting that growth was stabilizing on a quarterly basis.

NBS data showed that major economic indicators softened last year， with industrial output growth slowing slightly to 6 percent from 6.1 percent in 2015. Fixed-asset investment continued to cool， rising 8.1 percent year on year compared with 10 percent in 2015.

Cooling Home Prices

Home prices in Beijing have shown signs of stabilizing and are expected to remain flat in 2017， according to data released by the municipal statistics bureau on January 20.

The cost of new residential apartments on the market dipped 0.1 percent month on month in December 2016， the first drop since March 2015.

The growth of second-hand apartment prices in December remained flat at 0.2 percent month on month compared to November， 5.5 percentage points lower than the growth registered in September， statistics show.

Beijings red-hot property market cooled in the fourth quarter of 2016 after the authorities announced purchase and lending restrictions to curb housing bubbles. Analysts say the restrictions are making both buyers and sellers adopt a wait-andsee attitude， helping to stabilize the market.

Olympic Deal

Jack Ma， founder and Chairman of e-commerce giant Alibaba， and International Olympic Committee （IOC） President Thomas Bach at a press conference during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos， Switzerland， on January 19.

Alibaba and the IOC jointly announced a long-term partnership running through 2028. Under the deal， Alibaba will supply cloud computing infrastructure and services to the IOC， help build a global e-commerce platform and customize the IOCs digital Olympic Channel for the Chinese audience.

Infrastructure Investment

Northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region plans to spend over 1.5 trillion yuan （$218 billion） on infrastructure in 2017， according to the regional government work report.

Xinjiang invested 998.4 billion yuan （$144.37 billion） and concluded construction in 62 major rail， expressway and energy projects in 2016， local authorities said. This year， the government plans to increase investment by 50 percent to further boost regional economic growth.

Covering an area of 1.6 million square km， or about one sixth of Chinas land area， Xinjiang is vast and its infrastructure still requires expansion to support its development.

Under the plan， the autonomous region will spend heavily on transport. This includes more than 200 billion yuan （$28.92 billion） on new roads， 34.7 billion yuan （$5 billion） on the rail network and 14.4 billion yuan （$2.1 billion） to upgrade the airport in the capital city Urumqi.

The region also plans to invest over 227 billion yuan （$32.82 billion） in projects including water diversion， power transmission and cloud computing.

Upgrading infrastructure in Xinjiang is important for tackling overcapacity， deepening supply-side reform and supporting Chinas Belt and Road Initiative， according to the work report.

Express Delivery Grows

Chinas courier sector should continue to post strong growth in 2017， due to more consumption and better services， the State Post Bureau （SPB）said on January 19.

Over 8 billion deliveries are expected to be made in the first quarter of 2017， with revenue expected to reach over 100 billion yuan （$14.5 billion）， according to the SPB.

In the fourth quarter of 2016， 10.2 billion deliveries were made， up 47.2 percent year on year. The country has plans to extend the courier network and improve technology， services and international connections by 2020.

Annual revenue of the courier sector will top 800 billion yuan（$116 billion） by 2020， according to a policy document released by the State Council in October 2016.

Outbound Cruising

The number of outbound cruise passengers in China topped 2 million for the first time in 2016， according to a report by China Cruise and Yacht Industry Association （CCYIA） on January 19.

A total of 2.12 million Chinese holiday-makers departed from Chinas 10 major port cities， including Tianjin， Dalian， Yantai， Shanghai， Guangzhou and Haikou， to travel overseas in 2016， up 91 percent year on year.

In the meantime， the number of overseas cruise tourists visiting the 10 Chinese ports rose 8 percent to 138，715 in 2016.

Shanghai， Tianjin and Guangzhou were the top three port destinations to welcome passengers in 2016， taking up 65， 16.3 and 7.2 percent of total inbound and outbound travelers respectively， according to the report.

China has become the worlds eighth biggest cruise market， with domestic tourists planning more diverse travel experiences in recent years.

“Amid the burgeoning cruise industry， issues such as poor service should also be highlighted，” said Zheng Weihang， Executive Vice Chairman and Secretary General of CCYIA. “China will make more efforts in enhancing the manufacturing of cruise liners and improving the capacity and efficiency of its ports.”

Mega Bridge

The two sides of Tianshenggang Channel Bridge， part of the Shanghai-Nantong Yangtze River Bridge， are connected in Nantong， east Chinas Jiangsu Province， on January 21.

The main span of the bridge is 336 meters. It is the worlds largest long-span heavy-duty highway and railway steel arch bridge.

Fishing for Photons

A birds-eye view of a large-scale photovoltaic power station in Yangdong Village， Huzhou City of east Chinas Zhejiang Province.

The facility consists of more than 300，000 photovoltaic modules installed above ponds currently used for fish farming.

Broadband in Tibet

The number of broadband users in southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region increased 50 percent in 2016， reaching 383，000. At the end of 2016， broadband reached 44 percent of Tibets families， according to the Tibet Regional Telecommunications Bureau.

The region hopes for a further increase in broadband users in 2017 to ensure more than 50 percent of local households have access.

Broadband now covers 84 percent of Tibetan villages since the service was expanded to 200 more villages last year. Tibet has 1.74 million mobile Internet users， more than half of its population. “Phone and Internet services have improved links between the region and the rest of China and the world， boosting‘Internet Plus applications，” said Chochi， head of the bureau.

The telecommunications network has become vital to remote villages and has improved the lives of locals. In Coqen County in western Tibet， many villagers have opened e-commerce shops since cables reached their homes. The county has nine e-commerce sites selling local products.

Foreign Investment In Shanghai

Shanghai Municipality received $18.5 billion of foreign investment in 2016， up 0.3 percent， official data showed on January 21.

The figure has increased for 17 consecutive years， with European investment being a major factor in 2016， according to the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce. Investment from European countries including France， Britain and Germany reached $1.86 billion， up 42.4 percent from 2015. About $16.3 billion， more than 88 percent of the total， went into the services sector， up 2.5 percent， said an official with the commission.

More foreign investment in services will help the citys industrial transformation and upgrades， according to the commission.