Palace Museum to build new offshoot to display more exhibits

The Palace Museum will build a new museum in North Beijing to showcase more items, as currently the exhibits displayed each year account for less than one percent of its collections, Shan Jixiang, curator of the museum said.

According to Chinanews.com, Shan made the remark during the International Smart Tourism Conference 2016 in Hangzhou. He said that as the Palace Museum has a special identity as a tourist destination, museum, and a cultural education institution, it cannot fully display its abundant collection. In major museums around the world, generally, 10% or even 20% of their collections are on show, while the Palace Museum can only display 0.5% of its entire collection through around 80 exhibitions each year. Therefore, the building of a new museum is quite necessary. The plan has been approved by the authorities and it is already in process.

Shan revealed that the new museum, 25 kilometers away from the current site, is in a picturesque area neighboring tourist attractions, to the north of the Old Summer Palace, to the south of Badaling Great Wall and the Ming Tombs. The new museum will be a museum in a park, surrounded by a lake in the south and a river in the north.

The first stage of the project will cover an area of 12,500 square meters, which can be used to showcase a large number of exhibits with different themes. Meanwhile, the public will be able to view the process of cultural relic restoration at the new site.

"The new museum will surely be a green, low-carbon, zero emission and responsible example of modern architecture, which is also a harmonious museum which is best for the display of museum collections and for tourist visits," Shan said.

The Palace Museum is one of the top five museums in the world, along with the Louvre Museum in France, Metropolitan Museum of Art in US, the British Museum in the UK and the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg of Russia. It is the largest wooden architectural complex, the most complete palace building complex, and the museum that receives the most visitors in the world.

(Source: China Daily)

Seawater desalination makes up for China's water shortage

Desalinated seawater has become an important source of water in China, according to an international meeting in Hangzhou, capital of eastern China's Zhejiang Province.

Yang Shangbao, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the meeting on Tuesday that China has built 112 water desalination facilities with a combined daily treatment capacity of 1.08 million cubic meters.

"Seawater desalination has provided an important supplementing water source and provided a strategic reserve in China," Yang said.

He said an industry had taken shape to make comprehensive use of seawater. About half of current desalination facilities are used for providing water for public use, such as for water used in urban landscaping.

"Membrane technology has already made it feasible to recycle polluted water for drinking. With the technology, several water desalination plants in northern China have started to process seawater to ease acute water shortages," said Xing Weihong, deputy principal of Nanjing University of Industry, who is attending the three-day meeting.

(Source: Xinhua)

China warns of property-related financial risks

China's banking watchdog has ordered strict control of financial risks related to real estate as bank loans to the sector surged.

Regulations over property loans must be rigorously implemented, and financial business related to real estate agents and developers should be conducted in a prudent manner, according to a statement on the website of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC).

Irregular inflow of loans or wealth management funds into the property sector must be banned, said the statement.

By the end of September, financial institutions in China had lent 25.33 trillion yuan ($3.74 trillion) to the property sector, up 25.2 percent year on year, central bank data show.

While the property sector has been a significant growth driver for the Chinese economy so far, policymakers have tried to prevent an asset bubble following drastic price rises in some first- and second-tier cities.

As a result of government curb policies, including purchase limits and tightened mortgage restrictions, the month-on-month price index for new homes in 15 first- and second-tier cities retreated in the first half of October from September, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

48-yr-old bridge on Yangtze River to undergo major repair

The first ever bridge created by Chinese bridgebuilders on the country's longest Yangtze River will be closed for a major overhaul.

The maintenance project for the bridge in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, will begin next Friday and last for more than two years.

The cost of the project is estimated over $160 million dollars.

Built in 1968, the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge has a double layer structure for both highway traffic and trains.

The bridge is one of the longest in China and a landmark structure in Nanjing.

The traffic flow on the bridge has reached a capacity greater than it was designed to handle.

Source: China Daily

AT&T announcesto buy Time Warner for nearly $86bn

BBC reports that the US telecoms giant AT&T has announced that it will buy entertainment group Time Warner for nearly $86bn (£70bn).

The deal was agreed at a meeting of the two boards on Saturday but will still need to be approved by regulators.

Correspondents say it is the biggest deal in the world this year.

It reflects the desire of the telecoms company to acquire content to stream over its high-speed network and attract more online viewers.

If the deal is approved by regulators, AT&T would gain control of CNN and the HBO TV network, in addition to the Warner Bros film studio and other prized media assets.

Local folk opera competition held in Fuzhou, China's Jiangxi

A contestant performs in Ganju Opera "The Peony Pavilion" during a local folk opera competition in Fuzhou, east China's Jiangxi Province, Oct. 11, 2016. The four-day competition kicked off on Oct. 9 to commemorate prominent playwright Tang Xianzu (1550-1616) of the Ming Dynasty. His major work "The Peony Pavilion" tells a love story between Du Liniang and Liu Mengmei, embodying young people's pursuit of love and freedom.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

China details plan for debt-for-equity swaps

China's State Council on Monday released a guideline on the long-discussed debt-for-equity swaps, pledging to "orderly" conduct the scheme as the country steps up efforts to tackle high corporate debt.

Companies in "temporary difficulties" but with "long-term potential" will be able to exchange their debt for stocks, according to the guideline.

Poor-performing "zombie enterprises" and those with bad credit records will not participate, according to the State Council.

The plan prevents banks from directly swapping non-performing loans, with conversions to be handled by asset management institutions and state investment firms.

This kind of swap is generally believed to benefit both banks and struggling companies. They reduce the pressure on companies and free up bank balance sheets, releasing capital for investment.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

Shanghai Free Trade Zone foreign trade volume up 6.5%

Foreign trade volume in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone(FTZ) grew 6.5% in the first eight months from the previous year, local customs said.

The import and export volume in the zone reached $113 billion in the first eight months, accounting for 42 percent of the city's total foreign trade volume, according to the Shanghai Customs on Thursday.

Since the launch of the Shanghai FTZ in 2013, 14,000 enterprises have been registered in the zone, 130 of which are regional headquarters of trans-national corporations.

Source: Xinhua

Top 10 FDI sources for Chinese mainland in Jan-April 2016

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland came to 286.79 billion yuan ($45.3 billion) between January and April, up 4.8 percent year on year, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.

FDI from the top 10 sources amounted to $42.87 billion, accounting for 94.6 percent of the total.

The top 10 FDI sources are:

No 10 Luxemburg
Investment: $710 million

No 9 Germany
Investment: $940 million

No 8 The United Kingdom
Investment: $940 million

No 7 China's Taiwan region
Investment: $1.3 billion

No 6 Japan
Investment: $1.36 billion

No 5 South Korea
Investment: $2.02 billion

No 4 The United States
Investment: $2.06 billion

No 3 Singapore
Investment: $2.14 billion

No 2 China's Macao special administrative region
Investment: $2.93 billion

No 1 China's Hong Kong special administrative region
Investment: $28.45 billion

Box office receipts see sharp drop during long holiday in China

Box office revenue in China declined sharply during the first three days of the National Day holiday compared with last year. It was the first plunge of holiday ticket sales in five years.

According to the latest figures from China Box Office, a State-run analyst, four major openings injected nearly 1.3 billion yuan ($195 million) in ticket sales since the start of the holiday, traditionally a golden week for moviegoers.

But sales in the first three days stood at 774 million yuan, 10 percent behind the same period last year.

Source: China Daily

China made $71.58 billion from tourism income during the Golden Week

China saw a marked increase in train trips and tourism income as millions of Chinese went on a travelling spree for the National Day holiday, known as "Golden Week", data showed Friday.

From Sept 28 to Oct 7, it is estimated that 108 million passengers will have made train journeys, up 9.3 percent year on year, according to China Railway Corp.

China is expected to have made 478.18 billion yuan (71.58 billion US dollars) from tourism income during the holiday week, a 13.5 percent increase year on year, according to a survey by China Tourism Academy and Ctrip, an online travel agent.

China's major tourist destinations are expected to have received 589 million visitors during the holiday, up 12 percent from last year, according to the survey.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

China spends RMB 500M to support public-private partnerships

China will support the "preliminary stages" of public-private partnerships (PPP) with 500 million yuan (about 75 million U.S. dollars) in subsidies this year.

The funding will be spent on planning, evaluation, formulating implementation programs, preparing bids and contracts, financial consultation, legal counsel, and asset evaluation for over 700 PPPs, said the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The projects, worth 1.2 trillion yuan, cover energy, transportation, water conservation, environmental protection, civil engineering, health, culture and education.

Since 2015, the NDRC has given out 500 million yuan each year to support the "preliminary stages" of PPPs.

China has explored funding infrastructure and public works through the PPP model since 2013 amid concern over rising local government debt.

Since May 2015, the NDRC has announced two rounds of PPP projects worth 4.23 trillion yuan. Of which, contracts for 619 PPPs worth one trillion yuan had been signed by the end of July 2016.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

More Chinese cities see home price growth in August

China's property sector saw growth accelerate in August, with more cities reporting month-on-month rises in new home prices, an official survey showed Monday.

Of 70 large- and medium-sized cities surveyed in August, 64 reported new home price climbs month on month, up from 51 in July and 55 in June, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

Portable Wi-Fi keeps travelers real time connected

More and more Chinese outbound travelers are renting portable Wi-Fi devices before they embark on a holiday, to keep overall vacation costs low and to keep in almost constant touch with family, colleagues and friends, a survey has found.

Industry experts said this relatively new trend is a result of the rising travel and increasing demand from tourists for affordable access to the internet while in a foreign country.

Many travel agencies have been offering free portable Wi-Fi devices to their customers at no or nominal additional charges. This, in turn, is encouraging many more people to travel abroad.

Using internet for such heavy data needs on roaming feature could punch a big hole in a traveler's wallet.

That is where a portable Wi-Fi device, which offers high-speed access and unlimited data, and could be shared by several people, could prove very useful. It is now popular among outbound travelers.

The service is relatively cheap or sometimes even offered as a freebie, part of the overall tour package deals of travel firms.

The device could be obtained at the airport or is home-delivered to travelers in advance. Charges have dropped in the last year or two, and now vary from 10 yuan ($1.5) per day in Japan and South Korea to about 30 yuan per day in European countries.

Portable Wi-Fi service providers generally tie up with telecom firms at tourist destinations. For instance, Tuniu launched the outbound Wi-Fi rental business in 2013. It cooperates with 200 carriers, and its network covers 123 countries and regions.

Such services have become essential because hundreds of millions of people are given to wanderlust and active life on social media. From China alone, 120 million people traveled across the world last year, spending $194 billion in all.

Story by By Fan Feifei (China Daily)