MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Lunar probe Change-5s return capsule touches down on Earth on December 17 in Siziwang Banner， Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region， north China. It brought back Chinas fi rst samples collected from Moon， as well as the worlds most recent lunar samples in over 40 years.

It marks the successful conclusion of Chinas current three-step lunar exploration program of orbiting， landing and bringing back samples， which began in 2004.

In a congratulatory message， President Xi Jinping called it a great step forward in Chinas space industry and another major achievement in overcoming diffi culties. He said it will contribute to deepening the understanding of the origin of Moon and the evolution of the solar system.

Ice World

Workers build an ice structure on December 14 for the 22nd Harbin Ice-Snow World， a renowned seasonal theme park opening every winter in Harbin， Heilongjiang Province in northeast China. The park is expected to open soon.

Nanjing Tribute

Thousands of people in dark clothes attended the seventh national memorial ceremony in Nanjing， Jiangsu Province in east China， to mourn the victims of the Nanjing Massacre on December 13.

At 10：01 a.m.， sirens began to blare and drivers across the city stopped their cars and sounded their horns. Pedestrians observed a minute of silence.

Despite the winter chill， people attended the ceremony with white fl owers pinned to their clothes to convey their condolences. They included survivors of the massacre， students and foreign visitors.

A group of teenagers read out a declaration of peace and citizen representatives rang the Bell of Peace， a giant bell at the Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders. Doves symbolizing the hope for peace were released.

Japanese troops captured Nanjing on December 13， 1937. The invaders massacred about 300，000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers during the six-week carnage， which was one of the most blatant atrocities during World War II.

In 2014， Chinas top legislature designated December 13 as the National Memorial Day for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

Flu Vaccine

Beijing has seen a major rise in the number of people receiving fl u vaccine this year， according to a press briefi ng on epidemic prevention and control on December 12.

Over 2.4 million fl u vaccine doses had been given by December 11， up 38 percent compared with the total number last year， according to the offi cial data released at the press conference.

Among the susceptible population in the city， the number of infl uenza shots received by primary and secondary school students increased by 27 percent， while the number received by elderly people grew 17 percent， Pang Xinghuo， Deputy Director of the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention， said at the conference.

The city has been offering， since 2007， free fl u vaccines to primary and high school students as well as local people aged 60 or above. A total of 480 injection sites， where people can get the fl u vaccine at their own expense， have been set up across the city to meet the demand.

Infl uenza cases have dropped sharply this year in the capital city， thanks to precautions like wearing masks and fl u inoculation.

Elderly Friendly

All urban and rural communities nationwide will be made elder-friendly by the end of 2035， according to a circular published by the National Health Commission and the Offi ce of the National Working Commission on Aging， Xinhua News Agency reported on December 14.

By 2025， 5，000 exemplary elder-friendly communities will be created in both urban and rural areas.

The focus is on six areas， including improving the living quality and environment of elders， encouraging their participation in public activities， and enriching their lives.

Home appliances and room layout in senior peoples houses will be improved to accommodate their daily needs. Public facilities will also accommodate the needs of elders betters.

China had 254 million people aged 60 and above by the end of 2019.

Nature Honor

Chinese epidemiologist Li Lanjuan has been selected in Natures list of 10 people who were part of big stories in science in 2020， as the science journal published the annual list online on December 15.

“In a year when the novel coronavirus disease （COVID-19） pandemic touched all parts of the globe， Nature has selected a group of people from around the world who were part of some of the biggest events in science in 2020，” Rich Monastersky， chief features editor of the journal， said.

Among the 10， Chinese epidemiologist Li Lanjuan was selected for her role in helping to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Cleaner River

The Fuyang River in Cixian， a county in Handan， Hebei Province in north China， on December 15. Handan has carried out a project to clean up the river and its surroundings in recent years to improve the environment.

Safe Tax Payment

More and more taxpayers are choosing to pay their taxes online as contactless tax payment is advocated as part of the efforts to improve the business environment and reduce the risk of virus transmission.

In the fi rst 11 months of the year， nearly 90 percent of tax-related services were handled online， the tax authorities said on December 15.

After the outbreak of COVID-19， 185 tax-related services began to be provided online such as tax declarations and payments， and tax reductions and exemption fi lings， Han Guorong， an offi cial with the State Taxation Administration， said.

Han said the proportion of taxrelated services handled online has continued to increase.

Dinosaur Tracks

A team of scientists announced that they have discovered a group of dinosaur footprints in Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China， Xinhua News Agency reported on December 14.

The team consisting of experts from China， the United States and Germany found about 99 footprints in sandstone in Qamdo， a city in Tibet.

According to their fi ndings， published in the academic journal Historical Biology earlier this month， these footprints ranging from 22 cm to 99.3 cm in length are believed to have been left by large， medium and small-sized sauropods dating back to the Middle Jurassic period， about 161 to 176 million years ago.

Scientists estimate that these dinosaurs measured 22 meters， 10 meters and 5 meters in length， respectively.

The site of the large footprints is a famous tourist attraction and has become part of a folkloric legend. Locals believe the sauropod footprints were left by the mythological warrior King Gesar.

“This belief helped keep the footprints intact，” Xing said. The footprint site has a huge sauropod sculpture nearby to draw dinosaur fans.

From 2017 to 2019， research teams from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and China University of Geosciences carried out explorations in the area， fi nding multiple sets of footprints and collecting detailed data.

Maglev Train

A new type of middle-to-low-speed magnetic levitation train developed by Chinese train maker CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles rolls out in Changchun， Jilin Province in northeast China， on December 15.

The train， with a maximum operational speed of 120 km per hour， will be deployed on a tourist route in Qingyuan， a city in Guangdong Province in south China.

Forest Coverage

Chinas forestry and grassland authority on December 17 vowed to increase the forest coverage rate to 24.1 percent in the next fi ve years.

The forest stock volume would reach 19 billion cubic meters by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan（2021-25） period， an increase of 1.4 billion cubic meters from the present level， according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

The comprehensive vegetation coverage rate will grow by 1 percentage point to reach 57 percent， Liu Dongsheng， an offi cial with the administration， said.

The authority also revealed the forest carbon reserve for the fi rst time.

Chinas forest carbon reserve has reached 9.2 billion tons， representing an increase of over 200 million tons on average each year， which is equivalent to a carbon sink of 700 million to 800 million tons， according to Liu.

Liu said with the expansion of forest area and the increase of forest stock， forest carbon sinks will gradually increase， helping the country cope with climate change and reach its carbon neutral target.

Consumer Spending

Consumer spending continued to gather steam in November， solidifying its role as a key growth engine amid the economic recovery， according to the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） on December 15.

Retail sales of consumer goods went up 5 percent year on year to 3.95 trillion yuan （$603 billion） in the month. The growth picked up from the 4.3-percent gain in October， sustaining the upward momentum since the major consumption gauge posted its fi rst growth this year in August.

Excluding auto consumption， retail sales went up 4.2 percent.

Consumption in rural areas gained 5.6 percent， outpacing a rise of 4.9 percent in cities and towns.

In the fi rst 11 months， retail sales went down 4.8 percent year on year， with the decline narrowing by 1.1 percentage points from the drop in the January-October period.

Growth of online consumption remained strong， with online retail sales rising 11.5 percent year on year in the January-November period.

A breakdown of the data revealed that upgraded demand has pushed up the consumption growth， led by sales of telecom equipment， cosmetics and jewelry.“As the economy gradually recovers to normalized growth， consumption will remain a major engine underpinning the economic growth，” NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui said.

Financing Curb

China on December 11 lowered a key parameter in its macro-prudential management to rein in the ability of fi nancial companies to borrow foreign debt.

The macro-prudential adjustment parameter， a multiplier that decides the upper limit of outstanding cross-border fi nancing an institution can have， has been revised to 1， down from 1.25 previously， according to a joint statement issued by the Peoples Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

The downward revision will further improve the macro-prudential management of cross-border fi nancing and guide fi nancial institutions to adjust their foreign debt structure， the statement said.

Financial institutions should stick to a risk-neutral philosophy and better serve social and economic development， it added.

Rural Sightseeing

Tourists visit a traditional sunken courtyard， known as dikengyuan， in Sanmenxia， Henan Province in central China， on December 10. A national intangible cultural heritage， dikengyuan residences have been renovated and become distinctive tourist attractions， helping provide jobs for local people.

Anti-Trust Fine

The State Administration for Market Regulation （SAMR） slapped administrative penalties on three leading companies on December 14 for their failure to notify concentration of undertakings in advance， which violated the anti-monopoly law.

Alibaba Investment Ltd.， an affi liate of Alibaba Group， Tencentowned China Literature Ltd.， and Shenzhen Hive Box Technology Co. Ltd.， an affi liate of delivery giant SF Express， were fi ned 500，000 yuan（$76，450） each for the violations.

They had acquired control of fi rms in retailing， fi lm and television production， and terminal service in express， without prior notifi cations to regulatory authorities， the SAMR said.

Failure to notify the concentration of undertakings in advance entails measures to restore the status before the move and a maximum fi ne of 500，000 yuan.

The administration said the concentration of undertakings did not eliminate or restrict competition and regaining the previous status would have a major impact on the companies operations and the economy， so the fi rms had not been asked to implement the restoration.

Still， the market watchdog decided to impose heavy f nies as the three heavyweight buyers knowingly f louted the notif ciation system and caused adverse impact， the SAMR said， hoping that handling of such cases would help boost regulation in the industry.

Although the fi ne is relatively low， the penalty is expected to send a signal of tougher anti-monopoly supervision in the Internet sector and act as a deterrent.

The SAMR has announced 11 administrative penalty decisions related to similar breaches in concentration of undertaking cases since the beginning of 2020.

Green Fortune

A villager picks cucumber at a farm in Guantao County， Hebei Province in north China， on December 14. The local government has launched several agrotourism projects to improve farmers income.

Rainwater Deal

Chinas fi rst transaction of collected rainwater was completed on December 14， the China Water Exchange announced.

The deal was done in the hitech industrial development zone of Changsha， Hunan Province in central China.

The Hunan Yuchuang Environmental Protection Engineering Co. Acquired 20，000 cubic meters of rainwater from the Hunan Gaoxin Property Co. for 14，000 yuan （$2，140）.

The engineering company later sold 12，000 cubic meters of rainwater at a price of 3.85 yuan （$0.58） per cubic meter， about one fi fth of the local tap water price， to the gardening and environmental sanitation company of the hi-tech zone.

The raindrops will be used for landscaping and regular sanitation in place of tap water.

More deals valued at around 1 million yuan （$152，000） are being considered for the coming three years， according to Liu Bo， Secretary General of Changsha Sponge City Ecological Industry Innovation Strategic Alliance.

Digital Ambition

Beijings Zhongguancun， better known as Chinas Silicon Valley， is eyeing new digital economy growth in its roadmap for the next fi ve years.

By 2025， the total income of the digital economy in the Zhongguancun Science Park is expected to exceed 6 trillion yuan（$912 billion）， with an average annual growth rate of no less than 15 percent， according to its management committee.

From January to October this year， its revenue grew 16.3 percent year on year to reach 2.56 trillion yuan （$391 billion）， with new developments in Internet applications for medical services， education and offi ces.

The hub aims for breakthroughs in core and applicable technology， fostering strong enterprises in the digital economy and supporting industrial innovation.

It will further boost innovation in and the application of artifi cial intelligence， big data， blockchain and the Internet of Things， and will advance the integration of the digital and real economy.

Solar Power Exploitation

Workers install solar panels at the construction site of a 300-megawatt photovoltaic electricity project in Gonghe County， Qinghai Province in northwest China， on December 15. The installed capacity of renewable energy sources in Qinghai has exceeded 15，000 megawatts.

Investment Platform

A new online platform has been launched to facilitate foreign investment， according to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade （CCPIT） on December 15.

Overseas investors can get a better understanding of Chinas business environment， investment policies and specifi c project information via the Investchinaccpit.com website.

The platform has released information on 1，186 projects and 157 policy measures and will continue to update， the CCPIT said.

China has been encouraging the use of the Internet to promote trade and investment as part of its efforts to offset impacts of the novel coronavirus disease. Among the measures， the country has held various online exhibitions and rolled out policies to support cross-border e-commerce.

Paid-in foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland expanded 5.5 percent year on year to 98.7 billion yuan （$14.38 billion） in November， the eighth consecutive month of growth， data from the Ministry of Commerce showed.