4 national parks would cover 2% of land

China is pushing forward the establishment of four national parks that would cover about 2 percent of the nation's territory to protect precious natural resources, including wildlife such as giant pandas, Siberian tigers and Tibetan antelopes, said Yang Weimin, deputy head of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economic Affairs. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, has personally reviewed plans for the four pilot national parks and required preservation of the integrity and original condition of the local ecological system, said Yang. "The aim is to give about 215,000 square kilometers of land back to nature," he said at a news conference at the 19th CPC National Congress. An overall plan for the development of China's national parks released in September by the central leadership stipulates that there will be a new department to manage the natural assets. It will conduct the strictest protection measures, such as not allowing construction or exploitation of resources.

Housing market cools as brakes applied

New home prices in large Chinese cities fell slightly in September, while gains in smaller cities slowed as city-specific measures to cool the overheated property market continued to take effect. According to the National Bureau of Statistics in data released on Sept 23, both new home and pre-owned home prices in first-tier cities dropped by 0.2 percent on a monthly basis on average in September. New home prices in second-tier cities rose by 0.2 percent on a monthly basis, on a par with the change in August. Pre-owned home prices gained by 0.2 percent in September, but the monthly growth was 0.1 percentage point lower than that in August. In third-tier cities, monthly growth in new home prices declined by 0.2 percent, and preowned home prices fell by 0.1 percent compared with August. Wang Menghui, minister of housing and urban-rural development, said authorities will keep anti-speculative, city-specific measures consistent and will not loosen controls against speculation. Analysts said more measures for steady and stable growth of the housing market are likely to be introduced across China, and more supply models for meeting various housing demands also will be found as the country vows to offer inclusive housing conditions to residents nationwide.

New facility to detect gravitational waves

China is building a new facility to detect primordial gravitational waves - tiny ripples in the fabric of spacetime that were generated during the birth of the universe. The facility is located 5,250 meters above sea level in Ngari prefecture, in the western part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where the air is "thin and dry - an ideal place to detect possibly the weakest type of gravitational waves", says Zhang Xinmin, the project's lead scientist. Its first telescope is set to be completed by the end of 2019, and the facility will be operational in 2020, says Zhang, who is also a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of High Energy Physics. "It will be the world's highest observatory for primordial gravitational waves," he says, adding that there are only four ideal locations on Earth suitable to detect such waves. The three others are in Antarctica, Chile's Atacama Desert and Greenland. Apart from searching for the waves, scientists also plan to detect cosmic rays with high precision and build China's largest optical telescope, he says.

Fungus used in TCM believed to fight cancer

Chinese scientists have found evidence that a fungus used in traditional Chinese medicine, widely sought by the public for its healing powers, also carries anti-cancer benefits. The scientists found there was an interaction between two anti-cancer compounds in the fungus Cordyceps militaris. The first, cordycepin, was noted in Cordyceps militaris in 1950, but how it interacted remained unknown. The second, pentostatin, was first identified from a bacterium and was developed as a commercial drug to treat leukemia and other cancers in the 1990s. The research also showed that the fungus initiates a detoxification process when the cordycepin in the body reaches an excessively high level, which can be toxic.

Regulations revised for streamlining

China has revised regulations on administrative procedures to make it easier for businesses to gain government approvals, in the latest effort to invigorate the market. Altogether, 35 clauses in 15 administrative laws and regulations have been amended to eliminate approval requirements and enable the government to strengthen oversight, according to a State Council decree signed by Premier Li Keqiang.

Military schools to cut enrollment

Chinese military academies plan to limit the enrollment of postgraduates and doctoral students, according to the Central Military Commission's training management department. A total of 6,800 postgraduates will be enrolled in 2018, a 9 percent decrease compared with the number enrolled this year. The academies will decrease the enrollment of recent graduates from 2,200 this year to 1,800 next year.

More research vessels planned

China had around 10 marine research vessels in the design or construction phases by August, according to information from the Oceanic Scientific Research Vessel Technology Summit 2017, which was held recently. The country's first domestically built polar research vessel and icebreaker is expected to be operational in 2019. The vessel will be able to break polar ice with both its bow and stern.

Fewer workplace accidents seen

China's workplace safety record continued to improve, with both the number of accidents and fatalities dropping in the first nine months of this year, the country's work safety watchdog said on Oct 23. The number of accidents dropped by 26.3 percent year-on-year to around 36,000 during the January-September period, while related fatalities fell by 19 percent to 26,000, according to the State Administration of Work Safety.

Global talent flocking to work in China

China is becoming attractive to global talent on an unprecedented level because of the nation's economic size and vibrancy, according to a report released recently by US business magazine Forbes. The 2018 Global Talent Mobility and Wealth Management Report predicts the country will be a major exchange hub for global talent flow by 2022. "China's role as a hub in global talent mobility will further consolidate, and it will help the country to integrate its educational resources globally. Meanwhile, it will provide more competitive job opportunities for overseas talent," says Russell Flannery, Shanghai bureau chief of Forbes China. It is the third year in a row that the report has been jointly released by Forbes and Wailian Overseas Consulting Group, a Shanghai-based investment and immigration company.

Tourist attractions reduce ticket fees

More than 100 major tourist attractions across China will reduce admission fees as the slow tourist season approaches. A ticket to the Palace Museum in Beijing will cost 40 yuan ($6; 5 euros; ￡4.54) from Nov 1 to Mar 31, down from 60 yuan, according to the museum's website. Ticket prices for the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet autonomous region, and the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu province, will both be cut in half, down to 100 yuan from Nov 1 to April 30.

Emissions to be cut in heating season

Beijing plans to cut more than 1,800 metric tons of nitric oxide emissions during this year's winter heating season, Beijing Thermal Group said on Oct 22. Boilers were upgraded using low nitrogen combustion technology to cut nitric oxide emissions to 15 milligrams per cubic meter. According to the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, Beijing has eliminated many coal-fired boilers in the past four years.

Mining suspended in nature reserves

Mining has been suspended in all nature reserves in Liaoning province, local authorities say. Eleven mines are located in nature reserves in the province. All mines will be closed by the end of this year. According to Li Yongtao, deputy director of the land resources bureau of Kuandian Manchu autonomous county, the local government will start environmental restoration work as soon as production ceases.

New type of dinosaur egg found

Researchers have found a fossilized nest containing a new type of dinosaur egg, according to Anhui Geological Museum. The newly discovered dinosaur species egg, umbellaoolithus xiuningensis, was named after Anhui province's Xiuning county, where it was discovered. The eggs can be distinguished from all other known dinosaur eggs, so researchers have classed them as a new dinosaur egg family. The fossils date to the late Cretaceous Period, about 145 million to 66 million years ago.

2 rare horses born this month

Two female Przewalski's horses, a rare horse subspecies, were born at a wild horse breeding center in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on Oct 9 and Oct 13, bringing the total number of the wild horses to 379 in the region. Przewalski's horses historically lived on grasslands that are now part of Xinjiang and Mongolia. The breed was extinct in China in the 1960s due to overhunting, and was reintroduced to Xinjiang and Gansu province from stock of captive-bred horses in Europe in the late 1980s. There are about 2,000 Przewalski's horses in the world, even fewer than the number of giant pandas.

1,000-year-old coins turned in

Several metric tons of copper coins dating back more than 1,000 years have been found in the city of Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, the center of China's historical porcelain industry. The cache of coins, weighing about 4 tons, was found in a cellar by a villager building a new house in Fuliang county and reported to police. It is very unusual for such a large hoard of coins to be stored randomly in a cellar. They would not have been owned by an individual or a bank. Archaeologists are trying to identify the owner. The coins are being stored in the county museum.

Monastery repairs nearly finished

Restoration work on 12 Buddha halls has been completed at Labrang Monastery in Gansu province, one of the largest temples of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism, local authorities said on Oct 23. According to Sonam Gya, who is in charge of protecting the monastery's artifacts, the renovated halls will soon open to the public, while repair work on paintings and frescoes continues. He said that around 80 percent of the work had been completed since the restoration project began in 2012.

Foreign students cheer Xi's pledge for openness

Many foreign students in China were encouraged by the report that General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered at the start of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. More than 300 students from members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, watched the live broadcast of the opening at Guizhou Minzu University. They were especially pleased when Xi said China "will not close its door to the world, and we will only become more open". Students from 18 countries, dressed in their local garb, were inspired when Xi stressed the importance of both "bringing in" and "going global", and called on the country "to pursue the Belt and Road Initiative as a priority".

Soccer to go into more schools

The Ministry of Education said China has added eight experimental zones to promote soccer on school campuses, taking the total number of such areas to 12. The 12 experimental zones include Yunnan province and cities such as Shanghai, Chengdu and Xiamen. A national campus soccer leading group, spearheaded by the ministry, will grant funds for the experimental zones for three years and help introduce top foreign coaches.

Better relations to benefit all parties, Xi says

Xi Jinping, re-elected general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, said on Oct 25 that the CPC and Kuomintang Party should contribute to the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Straits and "the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation". Xi's comment came in response to KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih congratulating him on his election for a second term. In his congratulatory message, Wu said that with joint efforts from the two parties, cross-Straits relations have changed from tense opposition to peaceful development. Wu said he hoped the KMT and the CPC can further adhere to the 1992 Consensus, deepen mutual trust and enhance cooperation in order to make new progress of peaceful development across the Straits.

Tram line to ease tourism traffic

Beijing is testing a new tram line connecting landmarks in the west of the city. The Beijing Bus Group said it has run 13 trams on a 6.1-kilometer section of the line for testing. The full line is 8.8 km long with six stops. It will be put into service by the end of the year, linking subway line 10 with Fragrant Hills, the Kunyu River, the Summer Palace and several other sites. Each tram can carry up to 300 passengers. The new line will relieve congestion in the tourist-heavy area, and passengers will be able to enjoy the scenery along the route, the bus line said.

Children return after surgeries

China has provided free medical treatment to 12 Mongolian children with congenital heart disease, the Chinese Red Cross Foundation announced on Oct 23. The CRCF conducted congenital heart disease screenings in Mongolia last month and brought 12 children to Hohhot, in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, for treatment. The surgeries were successful and all the children have been discharged and returned to Mongolia.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 10/27/2017 page2)