Three famous Chinese tourist spots were warned by the industry regulator Saturday for deteriorating quality.

The Old Town of Lijiang in southwestern China’s Yunnan Province was required by the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) to improve management within six months.

As a 5A-level national tourist attraction, or the top level, the Old Town of Lijiang was subject to rising complaints and poor security, the CNTA pointed out after inspecting 5A-licensed tourism spots.

China has recently delisted three 5A tourist attractions and warned 19 others, while 20 attractions were added to the 5A category.

China has a tourism-rating classification system which rates a tourist attraction from one A to 5A for its overall tourism quality.

Nyima Drolma has spent 15 years as a police officer, helping Tibetan people in remote areas to acquire ID cards. Compared to her work in the field, days spent at her desk in Lhasa are a walk in the park.

An ID card in China is an absolute essential. Chinese people use ID cards for everything: buying houses or train tickets, checking into hotels, visiting the doctor. The ID card system was born in 1984 and introduced to Tibet in 1987.

“Tibet is so vast and herdsmen live in far-flung areas where transportation is often problematic. It is the officers’ job to help them take photos, fill in forms and actually get the physical ID cards to the herdsmen,” said Drolma, 45.

“I have ridden horses, yaks, donkeys and tricycles to reach people in remote areas,” she said.

In 1998, she and her colleagues spent days collecting information and taking photos of herdsmen in a settlement about 200 kilometers from the nearest town in Qushui county on the Lhasa River. “We lived in the tents of the herders. It was so cold that the photos could not be developed. Despite the hardship, we think it is important to make the system accessible to all people no matter where they live,” she said.

Thirty years on, now almost all adults in Tibet have ID cards and frequently use them in modern social life.

“There was nothing like ID cards in the old Tibet,” said He Xiaodong, a historian at the regional museum. The museum keeps private stamps of serf owners and indentures which tell the gruesome social structure. Serfdom was abolished in 1951 in Tibet.

Identity cards are a modern social necessity to grant each individual equal rights to public service, said He.

Tsering Namgyel, a 71-year-old carpenter in Lhasa, was one of the first Tibetans with an ID card.

“Before, we used the hukou registration document, and when we needed to travel to other places, we went to local community commissions to ask for stamps and endorsement, which involved complex procedures,” he said.

In the first generation ID card, personal information was hand-written on small cards. China has been issuing its second-generation ID cards, featuring computer chips and digital encryption, nationwide since 2005. The cards have validity periods ranging from 10 years to 20 years.

The Tibetan regional police department said over three million 2nd-generation ID cards have been granted.

Generally, people over 16 years old are required to have an ID card, and those under 16 years old can get one if they wish.

Phurbu, a tourist guide in Lhasa, frequently uses his ID to book tickets for travelling. He cited a 2015 film “Tharlo,” which depicted a pony-tailed Tibetan sheep herder’s life, far from modernity, but upended after a journey he made to have an ID card made in the city.

“Life is not as dramatic as the story in the movie,” said Phurbu. “ID cards tell who we are and record how we interact with the world around us.”

Two more human infections of H7N9 bird flu were reported in east China’s Jiangxi Province, bringing total number of infections to 30 in the province this year.

The new cases were reported between Feb. 13 and 23, said a statement issued by the provincial health and family planning commission.

As of Thursday, 10 people had died of the infection in Jiangxi, said the statement.

People are advised to avoid exposure to live poultry and buy licensed poultry-related products.

Announced by the Chancellor today (26 February 2017), FinTech Week 2017 will take place in April and showcase the sector’s successes, aim to attract more investment into Britain and share global regulatory expertise. Planned events include:

• Innovate Finance’s Global Summit (April 10-11)
• the government’s first International FinTech Conference (April 12)
• Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) International Innovate Seminar (April 12)

Designed to bring together industry, government and regulators, the second UK FinTech Week will build on the success of last year’s event, and focus of the issues affecting Britain’s world leading sector, including investment, access to skills and business support to FinTech start-ups.

As part of the week, the Chancellor will host the first International FinTech Conference on 12 April in London. He will be joined by the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Simon Kirby and other market leading industry voices.

The conference, which will connect hundreds of FinTech companies from across the UK with investors from all over the world, will also include expert led discussions and panels as well as workshops from the government, FCA and financial services organisations. UK FinTech firms will have an opportunity to showcase themselves in an exhibition space and during a pitch session.

The Innovate Finance Global Summit on the 10th-11th April will convene the start-ups, investors, regulators and institutions shaping the global FinTech agenda. With over 2000 expected attendees, 100 speakers, the inaugural Pitch360 demos and Innovate Finance’s 300+ member companies, the summit will bring the global FinTech community together in London.

The two-day summit will focus on the themes driving innovation in financial services, such as the blockchain, digital identity, cyber security, financial wellness and inclusion.

The FCA will also be hosting an International Innovate Seminar on 12 April, which will bring together regulators from around the world who are working on, or have an interest in, the regulation of positive innovation and technological developments in financial services.

The seminar will provide an opportunity for regulators to share experiences, approaches and perspectives on a range of different issues and challenges related to the regulation of FinTech.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond said:

The FinTech sector is one of our fastest growing sectors, adding more than £6.6 billion into the UK’s economy and attracting more than £500 million of investment.

FinTech Week 2017 is an opportunity for Britain to build on these successes and attract further investment in our world-leading sector, ensuring we remain at the cutting edge of financial innovation.

HM Treasury’s special envoy for FinTech, Eileen Burbidge said:

The UK is already the best place in the world to start, grow and scale a FinTech company thanks to our strong financial services heritage, leadership in digital technology, strong investment landscape and progressive and innovative regulators.

This second annual UK FinTech Week will showcase all of the many strengths of the UK, and highlight the reasons why even more entrepreneurs and investors should look to the UK for value creation and market opportunities.

CEO, Innovate Finance, Lawrence Wintermeyer said:

The UK has developed a blueprint for the best FinTech ecosystem in the world through progressive government policy, an innovative regulator, and a global pool of FinTech talent that is the envy of the world. We have invited the world to the UK in April to showcase our community and share with entrepreneurs and investors why this is the place to do FinTech.

Further events taking place on April 13 will be announced nearer the time.

Sixty four (64) exporters dealing into range of Agriculture and Processed Food products are participating under the banner of APEDA.