A Winter Leisure

Life Week

Issue No. 49， 2017

The industrial revolution and urbanization have bred generations of office workers. Long hours working at desks forced them to pay more attention to exercises， which led to the emergence of modern sports. Against such backdrop， skiing developed from an aristocratic amusement to an activity popular among the middle class that is comprised of public servants， office staff， attorneys， and accountants. After WWII， skiing rose in popularity due to changing trends in sports– people became more aware of their inner selves.

All aforementioned reasons contribute to the popularity of skiing in China. Yearning to see the best snow and best resorts， a flock of advanced skiers have turned to overseas snowy peaks， such as in Japan and Switzerland； while a large chunk of entry-level skiers are doing back-breaking practice in suburban environs. On Alibabas online retailing platform， more than 13 million people bought ski equipment in 2016. As man-made snow fields developed， the game is no longer exclusive to Northeast China or North China， but gradually pushed southwards.

It is expected that， before long， skiing will be the norm of many peoples lives， especially among the middle-income class.

Speedy Trains to Prosperity

South Reviews

Issue No. 23， 2017

A week prior to the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games in August 2008， the BeijingTianjin intercity bullet train was put into operation， marking the entry of the country into an age of high-speed train travel. Ten years on， Chinas high-speed train has entered into overseas markets.

High-speed train means a lot to China， prominently in two aspects. First， it stimulated the development of a whole industrial chain， and thus upgraded the level of Chinas equipment manufacturing industry. Second， it has reshaped the economic geography by increasing the efficiency of nationwide spatial allocation.

For a nation， high-speed train is far more than a tool of promoting economic development or addressing regional imbalance. It can propel the role of the market in the allocation of labor force， intellect， and capital， so as to boost efficiency. For individuals though， high-speed trains will not pull down the price of housing in the downtown area， it may instead push it up. It could create unprecedented opportunities for ordinary people by changing the spatial allocation of resources， especially the intellectual resources.endprint

A Megalopolis on the Rise

China Economic Weekly

Issue No. 47， 2017

First put forward by French geographer Jean Gottmann in 1957， “megalopolis” was used to describe the city groups that emerged in several countries. The term currently refers to a specific region with one core city that is surrounded by at least three big cities. Based on developed infrastructure and telecommunication facilities， the region is highly integrated with compact spatial organizations and close economic relations.

The 216，000-square-kilometer Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is one of the most dynamic regions in China. However， this region is challenged by unbalanced， inadequate development. Beijing and Tianjin outperform small and medium-sized cities in the region， with a staggering gap in development.

Now the region faces an opportunity of transformation. In his report to the 19th CPC National Congress， General Secretary Xi Jinping said that the state will relieve Beijing of functions nonessential to its role as the capital and use this effort to drive the coordinated development of the Beijing-TianjinHebei region； and will develop forward-looking plans and adopt high standards for building the Xiongan New Area.

Run Robots， Run

China Financial Weekly

Issue No. 24， 2017

Robots are now able to clean windows， deliver packages， shoot the basket， perform surgery， and even complete calligraphic works. These unthinkably capable robots “attended” the World Robot Conference 2017， held in Beijing in last August.

They constitute a template for the new round of the Artificial Intelligence （AI） revolution. Against such sweeping trends， the robotics industry keeps robust， unveiling a future that will completely alter our means of production and lives.

China is also speeding up in this regard. Sensing great opportunities， a large injection of capital flocks to start-ups. Hitech companies are also searching for AI talents and spending on labs and data centers lavishly.

On November 15， the Ministry of Science and Technology unveiled the first four nationallevel innovative AI platforms –autonomous driving platform developed by Baidu， smart city platform by Alibaba Cloud， medical imaging platform by Tencent， and an intelligent voice computing platform by iFlytek.

No one doubts the capability of China turning its plans to reality. “The direction has been pointed out， and plans charted out，” an AI expert told China Financial Weekly.endprint