WORTH WAITING FOR

Couples who took part in the fi ght against the novel coronavirus disease tie the knot in a group wedding organized by Changbai Mountain Management Committee in Jilin Province， northeast China， on July 8. The wedding was organized for 50 couples from around the country who had postponed their nuptial to work on epidemic prevention and control.

A Room With a View

Tourists drink tea on the balcony of a hostel in Yangshuo， a county in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region， on July 4. The local government encourages the development of high-end hostel industries to increase peoples income and promote rural revitalization.

Security Office

The Offi ce for Safeguarding National Security of the Central Peoples Government in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region （HKSAR） was inaugurated in Hong Kong on July 8.

The offi ce was established in accordance with the Law of the Peoples Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region， promulgated in HKSAR on June 30.

According to the national security law， the offi ce will analyze and assess developments related to safeguarding national security in HKSAR. It will provide opinions and make proposals on major strategies and important policies， and oversee， guide， coordinate with the SAR and support it in assuming the duties for safeguarding national security.

The offi ce will also collect and analyze intelligence and information about national security and handle cases on offenses endangering national security.

TCM License

Nearly 3，800 traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） specialists who have experience and expertise but no formal qualifi cations have been licensed to foster TCM talent and boost the industrys development. Many people learn TCM through the master-apprentice system rather than formal schooling. Hence a large number of veteran TCM specialists were unable to obtain the necessary certifi cates that are issued to those who pass the national TCM qualifi cation examination.

However， the situation changed when the Law on TCM went into effect in July 2017， allowing people with expertise to apply for medical qualifi cations through appraisals of their skills and treatment effi cacy.

Instead of sitting for the qualifying examination， they can go through on-site appraisals， which focus on their techniques and skills. They can get a license after passing the evaluation by TCM experts.

So far， 20 provincial-level regions across the country have completed such appraisals for TCM practitioners in the last three years， according to the National Administration of TCM.

Satellite Data

The Chinese Academy of Sciences（CAS） on July 7 confi rmed that data from the newly launched high-resolution multi-mode imaging satellite has been received successfully.

Launched on July 3， the optical remote-sensing satellite is meant for civil use. According to the Aerospace Information Research Institute under CAS， the remote sensing satellite ground station in Beijing fi rst tracked and received the downlink data on July 3.

The ground stations in Kashgar in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Sanya in Hainan Province， as well as the China Remote Sensing Satellite North Pole Ground Station， have also confi rmed reception of the data.

As of July 6， the ground stations had received 1，012 GB of data， which is being processed.

The satellite can provide highprecision remote-sensing image data for several industries including surveying and mapping and residential construction.

Geological Parks

China has added two geological parks to its list of UNESCO Global Geoparks， bringing the total number to 41， the National Forestry and Grassland Administration said on July 8.

The Xiangxi Geopark in Hunan Province in central China and Zhangye Geopark in Gansu Province in northwest China were approved as global geoparks by the UNESCO Executive Board at its 209th session on July 7， according to the administration.

The Xiangxi Geopark boasts 160 Paleolithic and Neolithic cultural heritage sites， while the Zhangye Geopark features color hills， Danxia landform and ophiolite suite， rocks with deep-sea sediments.

The number of global geoparks in China has surpassed one quarter of the worlds total， the administration said.

New Airport

Construction of the main structure of major buildings of a new airport in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China has been completed， Xinhua News Agency reported on July 8.

According to the Xinjiang Airport Group， the seven-story tower building of the Yutian airport was roofed earlier this month， and the interior and exterior decoration of the terminal and other buildings has started.

Located in Hotan Prefecture in southern Xinjiang， the airport in Yutian County has a total construction area of 18，500 square meters.

The airport is designed to handle 180，000 passengers and 400 tons of cargo and mail annually.

Happy Birthday

Fans of giant panda Yuanzai celebrate her sixth birthday at Taipei Zoo， Taiwan， on July 6. Fans from Sichuan Province in southwest China also joined the celebration through video link. Yuanzai， born to giant pandas Tuantuan and Yuanyuan， was given as a goodwill gift to Taiwan by the Chinese mainland in 2008.

Climate Change

Chinese researchers have found that the southeastern region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau went through great climatic and vegetation changes from desert to forest due to a topography shift 44 million years ago.

The researchers from the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research under CAS recently published their fi ndings in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

According to the article， the altitude of the area rose rapidly from 700 to 3，800 meters above sea level due to the northward subduction of the Indian subcontinent， leading to a series of climatic and vegetation changes.

Expeditions to a basin in the southeast of the plateau led to the discovery of two different sedimentary strata.

The lower stratum was mainly made of sand and fl uvial deposits formed in a dry climate， while the upper one was mainly lakerelated deposits formed in a humid environment.

According to Ding Lin， corresponding author of the article， the area was once a hot， dry and low-altitude desert with subtropical vegetation.

As the Indian subcontinent subducted northward， the terrain lifted， and the monsoons were able to bring rain to the area， making its climate moister and cooler.

Cinema Subsidies

Shanghai will offer subsidies of nearly 18 million yuan （$2.6 million） to cinemas that have been shuttered amid the novel coronavirus disease（COVID-19） epidemic.

The Shanghai Municipal Film Administration on July 8 released a list of 345 cinemas that will receive the subsidies， ranging from large cineplexes to small startup cinemas.

The administration said the exact amount each cinema receives will be based on their scale， number of screens and boxoffi ce fi gures in 2019.

Shanghais cinema operators called the subsidies timely， as they struggle with zero income and mounting fi nancial pressure following the cinema closure in late January amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

The epidemic has dealt a heavy blow to Chinas fi lm industry， with cinemas closed， movies pulled from theaters and pro duction halted for an extended period of time.

In April， the China Film Administration said relief measures， including tax relief for fi lmmakers and cinemas， will be introduced to boost the fi lm industry.

Intelligent Raising

A cow wears a collar with a chip to monitor its physical conditions in a farm in Xingtang， a county in Shijiazhuang， Hebei Province in north China， on July 7. Shijiazhuang is developing large-scale intelligent cow farms， with over 100 farms having completed the transition.

Boosting Blockchain

Beijing has unveiled an action plan to boost blockchain deployment， integrating the transaction data technology into the citys operations.

Under the Beijing Blockchain Innovation Development Action Plan 2020-22， the city is expected to become an infl uential new highland for blockchain innovation， application demonstration， industrial development and talent by 2022.

The plan outlines four key strategies and 20 specifi c tasks， including building platforms for theory and technology research， building and implementing multi-fi eld application scenarios， and building a leading team of blockchain talent.

In fi nance and taxation， the city will focus on real estate registration and unifi ed electronic bills.

Beijing is also planning to foster a business climate favorable to blockchain innovation and enterprises with great growth potential. It will set up a special fund to allocate government funding to blockchain projects.

Last October， China launched a nationwide blockchain-based service network to improve the layout of the sector and support the development of smart cities and the digital economy.

Electronic Profit

Chinas electronic information manufacturing sector saw revenue and profi t expansion in the fi rst fi ve months of the year as work and production resumption pressed ahead， data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology （MIIT） shows.

According to the MIIT， total profi ts of fi rms with annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan （$2.83 million） surged 34.7 percent year on year， while the operating revenues of the fi rms rose 1.3 percent， rebounding from the 1.6-percent decline in the fi rst four months.

Value-added output of major electronic information manufacturers registered 3.7-percent yearly growth in the January-May period， while fi xed-asset investment in the industry grew 6.9 percent year on year， 0.7 percentage point higher than the same period of last year.

In breakdown， profi ts of the communications equipment manufacturing sub-sector soared 70.3 percent from a year earlier， while that of the computer manufacturing sub-sector jumped 41.6 percent.

In May alone， the output of laptops and tablets jumped 28.6 percent and 25.4 percent year on year， respectively， and that of smartphones and integrated circuits rose 8.4 percent and 3.4 percent， respectively.

Way to Free Trade

A view of Terminal 2 of the Haikou Meilan International Airport expansion project in Haikou， Hainan Province in south China， on July 6. Hainan is accelerating expansion of the airport to support its free trade port.

Digital Target

Guizhou Province in southwest China， the countrys fi rst comprehensive big data pilot area， has set an annual growth target of about 10 percent for its digital economy this year， according to a recently released action plan.

The province also plans to invest 12 billion yuan （$1.7 billion） in information infrastructure and 9.2 billion yuan （$1.3 billion） in key digital economy projects in 2020.

Guizhous digital economy enterprises are expected to reach 40，000 by the end of this year， the action plan said.

Hu Jianhua， deputy head of the provincial big data development administration， said that Guizhou will continue to provide cloud services for enterprises and promote the intelligent transformation and digitalization of phosphorus chemicals， liquor， coal and other traditional industries.

Guizhou has stepped up efforts to promote big data development in recent years. With a batch of projects including Huawei and Tencent data centers put into operation， the number of major data centers in the province has increased to 17.

Fund Boom

China is set to see a record level of money raised by newly established mutual funds this year as its capital market reform facilitates more institutional investments.

By the end of June， it had issued about 680 new mutual funds， raising more than 1.06 trillion yuan （$150 billion） in total， market data shows.

The half-year amount has already neared the record for wholeyear fundraising of 1.43 trillion yuan（$203 billion） set last year， showing the enthusiasm among Chinese investors for professionally managed products， analysts said.

New equity funds were among the most popular investments， raising more than 710 billion yuan （$101 billion） in the fi rst half of the year， accounting for 67 percent of the total.

The growing popularity of mutual funds comes as individual investors in China are becoming increasingly aware of the potential for higher returns on investments managed by institutions， Hu Lifeng， an analyst with Galaxy Securities， said.

China has been stepping up reforms of the capital market to foster a healthier， more value-oriented investment environment， with a string of measures supporting longterm investments.

As peoples disposable income increases， Chinese investors will be more willing to diversify their investment portfolios， Wang Hanfeng， an analyst with China International Capital， said.

Nighttime Vitality

Children paint at a night market at Hehua Square in Jinhu County， Jiangsu Province in east China， on July 4. The county has developed leisure areas based on its natural conditions to enrich the nightlife of local people.

Railway Freight

Foreign trade volume by railway through Manzhouli， the largest land port on the China-Russia border in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region， north China， exceeded 10 million tons in the fi rst half of this year， up 6.4 percent year on year， the Manzhouli Railway Station under China Railway Harbin Group said on July 6.

According to the station， about 8.25 million tons of goods were imported by train via Manzhouli from January to June while the export volume was 1.79 million tons.

Major commodities included coal， iron concentrate， chemical fertilizer， wood and large-scale construction machinery.

A total of 1，505 China-Europe freight trains passed through the port in the fi rst half， an increase of 19 percent compared with the same period last year， carrying 134，700 TEUs of goods in total.

The China-Europe rail routes have become an important transport channel for stabilizing global trade and recovering production amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. Authorities in the Manzhouli Port have speeded up customs clearance to increase effi ciency and help enterprises reduce logistics and transportation costs.

Booming Production

Workers at a workshop of Mingyang Glass Co. Ltd. in Yongchuan District， Chongqing in southwest China， on July 9. Glass manufacturers in Chongqing have been busy with production as orders have increased steadily since the work resumption.

Rising Revenue

The Internet and related services sectors in China have maintained expansion in the fi rst fi ve months of this year， displaying enhanced profi tability despite the COVID-19 epidemic， data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology （MIIT） showed.

According to the MIIT， major Internet companies raked in 471.9 billion yuan （$66.8 billion） in the January-May period， up 14.9 percent year on year， 10 percentage points higher than the growth rate registered in the January-April period.

During the fi rst fi ve months of the year， the operating profi t of the industry rose 3.1 percent year on year to 53.3 billion yuan （$7.5 billion）.

Meanwhile， the sectors spending on research and development neared 23.7 billion yuan （$3.3 billion）， increasing by 10 percent over the same period last year.

The Internet sector has become a key component of Chinas new economy as the country shifts to growth driven more by technology and consumption.

The MIIT statistics cover enterprises with annual revenue from Internet services of above 5 million yuan （$712，000） in the previous year.