Tag Archives: China

Visitors to Shanghai Disneyland cannot bring any food to the theme park.

The park’s operator said it has updated its rules, which are now consistent with other Disney operations in Asia.

Before, food kept in sealed commercial packing was allowed, while instant noodles and food in containers requiring reheating or home-cooked meals were prohibited.

Water bottles are also being monitored by the theme park. Beverages with volumes larger than 600 milliliters are forbidden, as is alcohol.

“Our park policy around outside food and beverage is consistent with our other destinations in Asia and many theme parks across China’s mainland,” according to the Shanghai Disney Resort.

Customers, however, have complained on social media that eating in the park is more costly than doing so outside.

The resort’s response is that visitors can enjoy their own food and beverages and dine outside the park in a convenient setting in Disneytown or the Wishing Star Park. They can then re-enter the park after their meal.

Shanghai Disney Resort features a variety of dining options that it said suits every taste and budget. The resort’s culinary team constantly reviews the menu and incorporates feedback from guests, the resort added.

Shanghai Disneyland said that in recent months it has expanded its selection of affordable food offerings, including fresh fruit and vegetables.

“We regularly review our park rules and from time-to-time make adjustments to meet the needs of our operation,” the resort said.

 

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Peng Honghua, 76, felt like a star after she finished singing a piece of Yueju Opera, a form native to Guangdong province, and heard the applause of her audience. She was partying with friends at a karaoke bar in Guangzhou.

Every Friday afternoon, she and her friends and neighbors meet for karaoke, or KTV, near her home, all of them retirees.

“I would feel uncomfortable if I couldn’t sing songs with them every week,” she said.

More elderly people like Peng now visit KTV or music cafes regularly, to relax and meet friends. Previously viewed as entertainment for younger age groups, the venues are finding steady customers in the gray-haired crowd.

An employee at a KTV venue in Guangzhou’s Tianhe district, who only gave her surname, Li, said senior citizens have become the primary customers at her business, particularly in the daytime.

“Senior citizens usually represent about 80 percent of the KTV visitors from 10 am to 5 pm on weekdays,” she said.

Many KTV operators in the city are offering elderly customers discounts in the morning and afternoon. A KTV bar manager in Guangzhou’s Liwan district, who insisted on anonymity, said a senior spends an average of only about 50 yuan ($8) to sing for an entire morning or afternoon at the venue on weekdays. “And we offer a free buffet lunch,” he added.

Businesses are reaching out to seniors because they are losing younger patrons. The manager in Liwan said the pace of business across the city has slowed since the central and local governments banned using public funds to visit luxury entertainment venues in 2012.

And those who once were willing to spend their own money at a KTV venue are gradually losing interest. “People now have more choices to entertain themselves than before,” the manager said.

A businesswoman surnamed Chen who sold her KTV business in September after eight years’ operation in Nanping, Fujian province, said the business is becoming difficult.

“The minimum cost for a room a night is 1,000 yuan including beer and snacks. In earlier times, all the rooms were full at night. But not anymore,” she said. “Now, only those targeting low-end customers－at usually 200 to 500 yuan a night, and less than 200 yuan in the daytime－are still operating in my city.”

The gray-haired singing enthusiasts now need only pay a fraction of the high price charged before to enjoy high-quality karaoke systems in a well-decorated room.

Chen Zhanwen, 61, a former business executive in Guangzhou who retired last year, said he and his wife meet their retired friends at KTV often.

“In addition to enjoying singing, I exchange views on domestic and international issues with friends and talk about life in retirement,” he said.

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Nearly 90 percent of students infected in a tuberculosis outbreak at a middle school in August had returned to school or were able to do so by Wednesday, the government of Taojiang county, Hunan province, said on Thursday. The outbreak occurred at Tao… read more

The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has set the guideline for China’s development and renewed its commitment to an open economy, which has great significance for the world, China’s top publicity official said on Thursday.

Huang Kunming, head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, speaks on Thursday in Beijing about China’s elevated role in the world following the success of last month’s 19th CPC National Congress. Leaders and former leaders from around the world attended “The 19th CPC National Congress: Implications [Photo/China Daily]

Huang Kunming, head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks in his keynote speech at an international think tank symposium in Beijing.

During the symposium, former top government leaders from countries including Japan, Pakistan and France spoke highly of the significance of the CPC’s 19th National Congress, saying that China has made great contributions to the world through programs such as the Belt and Road Initiative and products such as its high-speed railways.

China’s development will bring numerous opportunities for the whole world, and other countries are welcomed to board the fast train of China’s development, said Huang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

Huang was elected a member of the Political Bureau at the First Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee last month in his first public speech at an international event since then.

The congress has set the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Huang said, adding that Xi Jinping Thought is the fundamental guide for international communities to understand China.

Huang said that Xi, who was endorsed by the whole Party and is loved by the people for his political wisdom and leadership capability that was demonstrated during the past five years, has become an influential global leader.

Noting that the congress highlighted China’s proposal to build a community of shared future for humankind, Huang said China will stick to its path of peaceful development and push for developing a new type of international relations on the principle of mutual trust, justice and mutual benefit.

China will proactively promote cooperation through the Belt and Road Initiative, support a multilateral trade system and continue to maintain and contribute to economic globalization, the publicity leader told the symposium.

The congress also highlighted the importance of fighting corruption with the promise of having zero tolerance toward corrupt activities, Huang said. He said it is not an easy task for the world’s largest political party, with more than 89 million members.

The symposium, themed as “The 19th CPC National Congress: Implications for China and the World”, attracted hundreds of people from around the world, including incumbent and former political figures, politics analysts and think tank researchers.

Former Japanese prime minister Yasuo Fukuda said at the symposium that China has made remarkable achievements in the past decades, during which the country developed its high-speed railway system, with a total length of 20,000 kilometers already built.

Fukuda spoke highly of Xi’s proposal to build a community of shared future for mankind, saying that it means China’s development will not impose any threat to other countries.

Shaukat Aziz, former prime minister of Pakistan, said the Belt and Road Initiative, put forward by Xi in 2013, will bring historic and substantial changes to the world as it “provides new connectivity, open markets, increases trade and creates jobs”.

Aziz told the symposium that the initiative has benefited many countries, including Pakistan, since it has improved the infrastructure and production capacity for developing countries.

Dominique de Villepin, former French prime minister, said that the 19th CPC National Congress “opened a new era”, which gives “strong signal” of continuity in the Chinese leadership.

In his speech, De Villepin recalled Xi’s speech at the Davos World Economic Forum in January, saying that it reminded the world of the benefits of economic globalization and inclusive growth.

Mentioning that China and France opened a cargo rail line between Wuhan in Central China and French city of Lyon last year, De Villepin said the Belt and Road Initiative has yielded numerous fruits on the basis of mutual trust and equality.

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Forty million residents in Dezhou City of Shandong Province are benefiting from the water diverted from the Yangtze River through the eastern route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project.

The Datun reservoir, located on the eastern route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, is the major water supply for Dezhou City in Shandong Province. [Photo by Cui Can/China.org.cn]

The eastern route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project has channeled more than 2 billion cubic meters of water from China’s wetter south to the arid north since November 2013, benefiting 40 million people in Shandong Province, according to the officials from the Shandong South-to-North Water Diversion Construction Bureau.

One villager, Zhang Jinyun, said he feels water quality is better than before when using underground water as drinking and irrigation sources.

“We used to drink the water from underground, which is not good for our health,” he said. “Diseases such as goiters and osteoporosis are quite common among us. But thanks to the project, now we could have the water from the Yangtze River.”

Hu Zhouhan, deputy manager of the China Eastern Route Corporation of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, said the surface water has reached the Grade III water quality through water pollution prevention and eco-environment protection along the route.

“The initial phase of the eastern route has achieved progress in satisfying citizens and villagers’ daily water use, as well as the need for agriculture and industry, boosting the economic structural adjustment and upgrading,” Hu said.

The eastern route helps to solve water shortages in Shandong Province. The water diversion project will also supply water to the fertile farm lands in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, consequently supporting the economic development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

“Ensuring water quality and controlling pollution are crucial to the success of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project,” said Gao Degang, manager of the Shandong Eastern Route Corporation of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. “Shandong has appointed river chiefs along the eastern route to oversee the rivers, lakes and reservoirs.”

Launched in 2002, the South-to-North Water Diversion Project is an important strategic measure in redistributing China’s water resources. The project has improved agricultural production as well as river and lake environments by supplying water for farmland irrigation and to drying rivers.

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