Olympics-2008

The Shenzhou-7 manned spaceship, the Long-March II-F rocket and the escape tower are vertically transferred to the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province Sept. 20, 2008. The transfer finished at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, marking the final stage of the launching preparation.


The Shenzhou-7 manned spaceship, the Long-March II-F rocket and the escape tower were vertically transferred to the launch pad at 3:15 PM on Saturday, marking the final stage of the preparation.

The 58.3-meter-high body was transferred to the launch pad on a 1,500-meter-long heavy rail line. The transfer lasted more than one hour and two check-ups were conducted.

More than 20 meteorological workers were monitoring the process as the transfer must be conducted with the wind speed under 10 meters per second.

The manned spacecraft Shenzhou-7 would be launched at an appropriate time between Sept. 25 and 30 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern Gansu Province.

The Long-March II-F rocket, developed in 1992, is said to be the most complicated and reliable carrier rocket in China's aviation history with all its launch mission successfully finished. So far the rocket had sent two manned spacecraft and four unmanned into space.

Since October 1996, the Long-March series rockets have successfully launched for 108 times. The Shenzhou-7 project will be its 109th mission.

Earlier reports said when Shenzhou-7 enters its orbit, one of the three taikonauts would conduct a space walk and cameras would be mounted outside and inside of the ship for live broadcast of the walk.

While the last mission of Shenzhou-6, with a crew of two, was aimed at multiple days of manned flight, this time the task might be more stringent as one of its main goals was the space walk.

China successfully put two manned spacecraft into orbit in 2003 and 2005, respectively, becoming the third country to send an astronaut into space after the United States and the Soviet Union.

(Xinhua News Agency Septemb

Liquid milk sold by three leading companies is contaminated with melamine, tests showed on Thursday, the day when the number of infant deaths caused by the chemical rose to four.

Supermarket staffs remove formula milk products found to be contaminated with melamine off the shelves in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, September 17, 2008. [CFP]

The fourth death was reported from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Two kids in Gansu and one in Zhejiang had fallen victim to contaminated milk earlier. A total of 6,244 infants who were fed contaminated milk food produced by Sanlu Group have been diagnosed with various urinary tract problems, including kidney stones.

Police in Shijiazhuang, where Sanlu is based, said 12 people were arrested yesterday for their alleged involvement in the milk food scandal, taking the total number of arrests to 18.

The State Council has decided to do away with the system of exempting certain food products from inspection. The government began the exemption system in 2000 to help companies that produced high-quality, globally competitive products avoid the hassle of facing repeated tests.

Tests conducted on liquid milk over the past few days showed 24 of the 1,202 batches were contaminated, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said in a report.

The AQSIQ, however, quoted scientists as saying the contamination level in liquid milk did not pose a big threat to people's health. Even milk with the highest concentration of melamine is safe for a 60-kg or heavier adult if he or she drinks up to 2 liters a day.

The AQSIQ Thursday said the tainted products came from the Yili and Mengniu groups, both based in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, and the Shanghai-based Bright Dairy.

It has asked the three companies to recall all their contaminated products.

Eleven of the 121 Mengniu batches that were tested had melamine, a chemical that makes milk appear rich in protein during quality tests, but can also cause kidney problems. Melamine is used to make plates, bowls, mugs and sundry other products but is banned from being used in the food industry.

The highest concentration of melamine was found in Bright Dairy products. Every kg of its liquid milk contained 8.6 mg of melamine.

The three firms' milk powder products, too, had tested positive for melamine, and they had started recalling those products.

The fourth melamine victim died in a hospital in Bayingolin, the Xinjiang regional health department said on its website.

The scandal has claimed the heads of five government officials of Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province, and Sanlu board chairman Tian Wenhua. The highest-ranking official to fall is the mayor of Shijiazhuang Ji Chuntang, who resigned late on Wednesday.

Shi Guizhong, spokesman for Hebei public security bureau, said six of the arrested people are suspected to have sold melamine and the rest, all milk suppliers, of mixing the chemical with milk before selling it to Sanlu.

One suspect surnamed Su admitted to have sold 4 tons of melamine to local dairy farms and milk collection centers between Feb 2007 and July 2008. Su said he used to buy a 20-kg bag of melamine for 200 yuan ($28.6), and resell it for 218 yuan.
 

Chinese stocks ended three straight days of losses with a sharp rise on Friday after the government stepped in to revive the market, cutting the trading tax and promising share buybacks.

A woman reads information on a electronic screen at a brokerage house in Shanghai September 19, 2008.


The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 9.46 percent to close at 2,075.09 points, recovering the steep losses in the previous three sessions due to the shockwaves of the US financial woes.

All the yuan-denominated A-shares rose to their daily limit of 10, or 5 percent. The 5-percent limit applies to shares of special treatment companies, which saw negative profits in the previous two years.

The rally came after the Ministry of Finance announced overnight that the stamp tax on stock purchases will be scrapped from Friday. Investors interpreted the move as a signal that the government will not let the market fall further.

The State-owned investment agency Central Huijin provided another boost. As the majority shareholder of three major banks, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China and China Construction Bank, Huijin said it would buy shares of the three lenders in the secondary market.

The aim is to "guarantee the government's controlling stake" and "boost their [the three banks'] stock prices", it said in a statement.

At the news, all financial shares jumped 10 percent, the maximum allowed by the exchanges, propelling a broad rally in other shares.

Banking shares alone account for more than 25 percent of the Shanghai Composite Index. Therefore, their performances can partly determine whether the rebound is short-lived or sustained.

On top of the Huijin pledge, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission voiced its support for major State-owned firms to buy back their shares.

An overnight surge on Wall Street also helped the Chinese market sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average leapt 410 points on Thursday to 11,019, powered by reports of a US government and Congress plan to soak up bad debts from troubled banks.

Shrugging off the on-going scandals involving dairy producers, Beijing Sanyuan Food Co. surged its daily limit, as none of its products were found to contain melamine, a chemical that have led to the deaths of four babies across the country.

The long-awaited official rescue came after the Shanghai index lost 70 percent in less than one year, with valuations nearing record low levels. Experts have called on the government to intervene to boost investor confidence.

At the start of the week, the central bank cut lending rates and reduced the amount of cash small banks must set aside as reserves in a sharp reversal in the country's monetary policy.

The tight monetary policy put in place at the end of last year to fend off inflation was partly blamed for the stock woes.

However, the energizing impact of loosening credit was overwhelmed by fears over the spillover effect from financial turmoil in the US, in which Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection and Merrill Lynch found help in the arms of Bank of America.

Investors doubt whether Friday's rally can sustain, as earlier government measures to revive the market have failed. The stamp tax was cut to 0.1 percent from 0.3 percent in April and restrictions were imposed on the sale of previously un-tradable shares, but only to see the stocks continue to slide after knee-jerk rebounds.

"Whether the rally can continue depends largely on investors' confidence," said Wang Dong, vice finance professor with the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University.

He was confident about the long-term performance of China's equity market, thanks to the steady development of the country's economy.

"China's overall economy fares relatively well, " he said. "Small and medium enterprises can get through the current difficulties and growth will pick up again."

Two girls drum to cheer at a booth of north China cuisine during 2008 Autumn/Winter Food Fair in Shanghai, China on September 17, 2008. Some 150 chefs participated in the fair to show their unique cuisine.


A chef cooks the beefsteak during 2008 Autumn/Winter Food Fair in Shanghai, China on September 17, 2008. Some 150 chefs participated in the fair to show their unique cuisine.


A fashion model helps to recommend dishes at a booth of cantonese cuisine during 2008 Autumn/Winter Food Fair in Shanghai, China on September 17, 2008. Some 150 chefs participated in the fair to show their unique cuisine.


A model with coloured pattern on her back helps to recommend at a booth of Sichuan cuisine during 2008 Autumn/Winter Food Fair in Shanghai, China on September 17, 2008. Some 150 chefs participated in the fair to show their unique cuisine.

People visit the Shanghai Port International Passenger Terminal yesterday as it prepared for its trial run today. The building, a glass hemisphere in the shape of an irregular ellipse, is expected to become one of the architectural landmarks of the city. The passenger shipping terminal has an 880-meter wharf giving it the space to berth three passenger liners. The project is part of the city's development plan of the northern Bund. (PhotoSource: Shanghai Daily)

A press conference is held on August 4, 2008 to promote the upcoming film "Confucius." [Photo: ent.sina.com.cn]


Director Hu Mei (R) receives the script for the upcoming film "Confucius" from screenwriter Khan Chan at a press conference on August 4, 2008. [Photo: ent.sina.com.cn]

BEIJING, Aug. 5 -- How did Confucius become one of the greatest philosophers of all time? Chinese director Hu Mei offers her answer in an upcoming biopic of the ancient legend.

Hu Mei will begin shooting the film "Confucius" in September, the director announced at a press conference on Monday.

She said a leading actor would play Confucius, while keeping his name under wraps.

Khan Chan, one of the screenwriters for John Woo's "Red Cliff," has written the script for "Confucius."

The film is estimated to have a budget of 150 million yuan (21.9 million U.S. dollars).

(Source: CRIENGLISH. com)

China's evening TV news program has received an unexpected spectator recently -- a tortoise who seems to be crazy about the anchorman's voice.

 

"Every time she hears the anchorman's voice from the newscast, she would stop whatever she had been busy with and stretches her head from the shell immediately," her owner Liu Jie told the paper.

    Liu bought the animal for 8 yuan (1.2 U.S. dollars) last year. She happened to discover the turtle's keen interest in watching the news when Liu's mother was watching TV with the tortoise beside her. She was then given the nickname "Dr. Turtle," according to the paper.

    Dr. Turtle seems to care for the anchorwoman much less than the anchorman, and she shows little interest in soap operas or other programs," it said.

    The paper said Liu bought another turtle as a playmate for Dr. Turtle in May and now the new member always watch news programs with her together.

    Tu Jing, the reporter with the paper, told Xinhua she went to visit Dr. Turtle on Sunday. The turtles stop playing with each other and became quiet as the afternoon news started.

    When Dr Turtle heard the voice of the anchorman, she slowly climbed up on to the shell of the other turtle to watch, Tu said.

    A netizen called "fangjunbmw" said at zhidao.baidu.com, a popular online forum, his pet turtle also liked watching TV programs and they usually held his interest for about 10 minutes.

    The paper also published a photo of the turtle clinging to the bathtub and facing the television. But a netizen on sohu.com suspected it was a set-up. "I don't believe turtles can climb so high and stand still without falling down," he wrote.

    Officials in Chengdu Institute of Biology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Kunming Institute of Zoology, both told Xinhua in telephone interviews they had no research on such a phenomena and had no idea why turtles would like to watch TV.

    "Turtles may have emotional feelings, just like human beings, or maybe she feels comfortable about the frequency of the anchorman's voice," said Chen Rongying, a Beijing college student.

    Pet turtles also have other anecdotes. This March, Xinhua reported a turtle in the northeast Jilin Province with a fondness for smoking and a craving for tobacco. The animal could smoke a cigarette within four minutes.

The main part of the Blue Sea Pearl Tower in Jiayuguan, a city in Gansu province, was finished on July 6, 2008. [Photo: China Foto Press]


BEIJING, July 12 -- The main part of the Blue Sea Pearl Tower in Jiayuguan, a city in northwestern Gansu province, finished construction earlier this month, Sina.com reported.

Standing at 94.94 meters, it will become the highest meteorological tower in China. The national meteorological administration and local government invested more than 34 million Yuan to co-fund the construction.

Consisting of a dolphin-shaped main structure and accessorial buildings, the steel architecture bears a floor space totaling 5278 square meters.

The eighteen-story meteorological tower will be used as a complex for disaster prevention, tourism and science education, the report said.

It will mainly monitor disastrous weather-types like strong winds, thunderstorms, hail, and torrential rains, thereby contributing significantly to disaster prevention in the Hexi Corridor and neighboring areas.

The construction of the tower began on Dec. 8, 2006, and is expected to begin service in the near future.

(Source: CRIENGLISH।com)


The main part of the Blue Sea Pearl Tower in Jiayuguan, a city in Gansu province, was finished on July 6, 2008. [Photo: China Foto Press]

Guangdong TV host Ou Zhihang does pushups near China's National Stadium (known also as "Bird's Nest"). He said in his blog: "I love my country, I also love my body. I contrast my tiny body with the 'miracle of the world' through the popular exercise -- pushup." (Photo: Ou Zhihang blog)

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A mini metro train runs inside the new Red Star Macalline mall on Shanghai's Zhenbei Road.
A mini metro train runs inside the new Red Star Macalline mall on Shanghai's Zhenbei Road.

BEIJING, June 24 -- Shopping can be fun but exhausting, especially for girls wearing high heels. So how's this for a solution - what if ladies could browse through stores while on a train? Sounds bizarre? Believe it.

    A newly-opened home furnishing mall in Shanghai features an in-house metro train that can take shoppers to any store inside the 6-story building, the local News Times reported Monday.

    The 14-meter-long train runs on a spiral rail and is the first of its kind in the world, the newspaper says.

    Besides the train, the leading furniture chain Red Star Macalline offers more creative shopping concepts. The building's interior design features many trees and water landscapes, supporting its claim of being China's first park-style shopping complex.

    "It's an absolutely different experience here," a visitor surnamed Liu was quoted as saying. "It feels like a forest park."

    (Source: CRIENGLISH. com)

A mini metro train runs inside the new Red Star Macalline mall on Shanghai's Zhenbei Road