Xue yaqing, 6, holds her brother on New Year’s Day at No 1 Hospital in Xiangyang, Hubei province. The newborn is the second child of a couple from the city in Central China. [Photo: Xinhua]

Most mothers in China feel they are happier after having a second child, according to a survey report released a year after the country relaxed its family planning policy.

The report, released on Sunday, was based on an online survey of about 4,200 mothers with two children. The survey found that about 63 percent of the respondents said they were happier after the birth of their second child, and 67 percent said they did not regret having another baby.

The survey of parents conducted this month was led by mama.cn, a website for Chinese mothers, and Muruai, a voluntary group based in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, that promotes breast-feeding. Of the 4,182 respondents, 4,151 were mothers.

The major reasons given for the increase in happiness after a second child included seeing their children play together and the fact that some couples now had both a boy and a girl, according to the report.

Nearly half of the mothers also said their husbands were more willing to help take care of the children after the second child, according to the report.

The survey also found some factors that caused unhappiness after a second child, such as the economic burden and the extra pressure resulting from the need to devote more time and energy.

About 72 percent of those surveyed said they may face heavier burdens to take care of their parents while having to raise two children, while less than 7 percent of mothers with a second child felt they had better career opportunities after having a second child.

More than 70 percent said they would not consider having a third child, even if they are allowed to do so in the future.

It was generally believed that many people would not choose to have another baby due to the increased expenditure, said Zhu Yuzi, who worked on the survey for Muruai.

“But the result of the survey shows that the spiritual joy brought by having a second child can greatly offset the increased economic burdens for many Chinese,” she said. “That is why so many people feel happier after having a second child, even with more economic burdens.”

Cai Lina, content supervisor at mama.cn, said that while bringing joy, having a second child can also bring many problems for couples.

“We expect more supportive measures, such as reducing taxes for families with a second child, so the second-child policy can be better carried out.”

Yang Jun, a 36-year-old media employee in Beijing who already has a child, said he will not consider having a second child even if it might bring him more joy.

“Both my wife and I are very busy, so who will take care of the second child if I have one? Besides, having a second child means we have to buy a bigger apartment, which is so expensive in Beijing,” he said.

China adopted the second-child policy at the beginning of last year, encouraging all couples to have two children. The number of newborns in China reached 18.7 million last year, an increase of 11 percent over 2015, and about 45 percent of them were a second child, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

A man in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, was placed under investigation for threatening two doctors, blaming them for his aunt’s death from pneumonia.

According to the hospital, the man, surnamed Wang, claimed to be a national security worker and said he would take revenge on the two doctors at Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine who sent his aunt to an intensive care unit for emergency treatment on Saturday.

Relatives of the 70-year-old patient insisted that only two traditional Chinese medicine treatments could be used to save her life, and they brought one remedy to the hospital themselves, the hospital said.

Doctors who treated the patient explained her condition to the relatives and received approval – and the signature – of her son. However, a nephew claimed that the emergency treatment caused the woman’s death, it said.

Although the hospital asked Wang to take his complaint to a higher authority, he continued to insist that the doctors, surnamed Lu and Zhao, should “pay for what they did”, the hospital said. Some witnesses said that Wang took pictures of the two doctors and claimed to know their personal information.

“As a doctor, I did what should be done to save a life,” the doctor surnamed Zhao said. “I don’t understand why he targeted me. He didn’t threaten me face-to-face, but told my colleagues that I should pay.”

The police in Qinhuai district received reports on Saturday afternoon and have been investigating the case. They confirmed that Wang does not work for the government.

Yuan Shenghan, a lawyer in Nanjing, said threatening other people does not violate Chinese law if no action results.

“But he could be punished for disturbing public order under China’s public security administration law,” Yuan said.

The news received wide public attention in China. A top transplant specialist was stabbed just two days earlier in his office in Nanjing.

The specialist, Sun Beicheng, head of Jiangsu Provincial Hospital’s liver transplant unit, is said to be one of the country’s finest. An alleged ticket scalper locked the door of the doctor’s office, stabbed Sun in his left leg, fractured his jaw and cut him around the mouth, later telling police that the doctor had once criticized him for buying up appointment tickets in bulk and selling them at inflated prices to would-be patients.

According to the Qinhuai publicity department, the results of the investigation into Wang’s threats will be made public by the end of this week.

The bronze mirror that was unearthed in the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun. [Photo provided to China Daily]

A polished bronze mirror unearthed in China’s most complete Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24) cemetery bears the earliest known image of Confucius, while the writing on it may offer more information about the educator and philosopher who lived about 2,500 years ago, an archaeologist said on Monday.

The mirror, mounted on painted wood, was discovered in the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun. It is nearly 1 meter in height and has a painted wooden cover and holder. Confucius is depicted on the cover dressed as a commoner. Images of two of his students are also on the cover, said Yang Jun, head of the tomb’s excavation team.

Also on the painted wood are almost 2,000 Chinese characters, written in ink, that tell stories about Confucius and his students.

The mirror doubled as a folding screen, Yang said.

The mirror is believed to have been used by Marquis Liu He, the grandson of Emperor Wu.

The stories about Confucius and his students would likely have been written by some masters of Confucianism who were Liu’s teachers, Yang said.

However, that information is not the same as that found in Records of the Historian, written by Sima Qian during the Western Han Dynasty, he said.

Archaeologists began to excavate the tomb in 2011, and the remains of the marquis were removed for research in January last year. The burial chamber, near Nanchang, the Jiangxi provincial capital, covers about 40,000 square meters and is one of the few imperial tombs that have not been looted. It contains eight small tombs and a burial site for chariot horses.

Among the greatest archaeological finds made were 285 gold ingots, 48 gold horse hoofs, 25 gold hoofs of qilin (a mythical animal) and 20 gold plates.

Archaeologists also found a bronze pot containing chestnuts, possibly a sign that China’s hotpot cuisine was also popular among ancient aristocrats.

During the excavation, care was taken to preserve the site, and an application has been submitted to include it on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Confucius, who lived from 551 BC to 479 BC, was an educator and philosopher whose teachings have influenced generations of Chinese society.

Chinese tourists wait in line out of a shopping store in the U.S. [file photo]

Going shopping is a must-do thing for Chinese tourists travelling to the U.S. Thanks to low prices, they can always find something they badly need.

From t-shirts to sneakers, watches to iPhones, it seems that most consumer goods in the U.S. are cheaper than they are in China.

For example, the price of a pair of Levi’s pants in a U.S. store is about 30 to 40 dollars, while the price may go as high as 600 to 700 yuan (US$87.4-102.1) in China. An iPhone 7 (128G) is sold in the U.S. for 749 dollars, while in China you have to spend 6,188 yuan (US$901.2) to get one.

Chart 1: Price comparison between the U.S. and China

The per-capita annual income for an average American is about 40,000 dollars, but in China, people only earn 50,000 yuan (US$7282.1) a year on average – which means the American per-capita annual income is five or six times than that of Chinese.

However, some overseas Chinese found that it’s not cheap at all living in the U.S.

For example, if you want a haircut, you have to pay 20 to 30 dollars excluding tips in a Los Angeles salon; but in Beijing, it only costs you 20 to 30 yuan (US$2.9-4.7). The starting price for a taxi in Chicago is 10 dollars, but in Beijing and many Chinese big cities, it’s only 10 yuan (US$1.5).

Generally speaking, the price of consumer goods in the U.S. is lower than in China, but the price of service is higher. In other words, the U.S. has cheap manufactured goods, while the Chinese advantage falls on lower labor costs.

Dongcheng District and Xicheng District of downtown Beijing will build multi-floor car parking towers this year to help citizens park their cars more easily, as parking is often difficult in these densely populated areas.

Dongcheng District announced on Feb.15 that it would build 13 parking towers this year. The district is home to a huge number of cars but limited parking spaces, often resulting in difficulty parking. The parking lots will be built in Nanluoguxiang, Dongsi and other sub districts, with parking space both on the ground and underground. The district also decided to scrap parking locks in hutongs, or narrow alleyways.

The downtown area in Beijing also plans to create more space in its bypasses. The Xicheng District will smooth Shoubi Street, a narrow road which often impedes traffic as it links two main streets, and build an underground parking lot there which can provide 500 parking units.

Moreover, Dongcheng District is also drafting an agreement which enables residents to park their cars at night in the parking lots nearby office buildings, in order to make more use of the parking space. A total of 2,800 such parking units are expected to be open to the public this year.