Society

National Plan to Tackle Soil Erosion

The State Council recently approved the National Soil and Water Conservation Plan（2015-30）， the first of such kind in China， and a milestone in the countrys efforts to prevent soil erosion.

China is one of the countries hardest hit by soil erosion， which affects nearly 2.95 million sq km， or 30.72 percent of its territory， according to a Ministry of Water Resources official. This problem costs China 67，000 sq km of arable land each year， seriously jeopardizing its ecological and food security. On parts of the Loess Plateau the surface soil is diminishing at the alarming rate of one cm per year. Some areas in Northeast China have lost their entire layer of fertile dark soil. Soil erosion on this scale constitutes a major environmental problem for China， and massive urban development is the main culprit. After consultation with the parties concerned， the Ministry of Water Resources and other relevant departments compiled the National Soil and Water Conservation Plan over a fouryear period.

Tibets Largest Hydropower Station Completed

After eight years of construction， and with an investment of RMB 9.6 billion， Tibets largest hydropower station became fully operational on October 13. It is the first to be built on the trunk of the Yarlung Zangbo River， and expected to significantly alleviate electricity shortages in central Tibet.

Positioned at over 3，300 meters above sea level， the Zangmu Hydropower Station has a total installed capacity of 510，000 kilowatts， and is designed to generate 2.5 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually. A major project listed in the 11th and 12th Five-year Plans， it is funded and operated by China Huaneng Group and was built mainly by China Gezhouba Group Company Ltd.

The Zangmu Station also features the largest environmental-protection accessorial facility of hydropower projects in Tibet. The station includes a waste incineration plant and a waste water treatment plant， among other facilities. It has also conducted research on hydraulics in fish passages and the habits of rare fish species.

Chinese Youngest Retirees

The average retirement age in China， at 55， is the youngest in the world， according to Yin Weimin， minister of Human Resources and Social Security. The central government is at present considering a steady rise in the retirement age. This is imperative for a country that is becoming old before getting rich.endprint

China now has 210 million people aged above 60， representing 15.5 percent of its population. This figure will rise to 19.3 percent by 2020 and 38.6 percent by 2050. In contrast， by 2020 the old-age dependency ratio will fall from the current 3.04：1 to 2.94：1 and to 1.3：1 by 2050. This demographic change will have tremendous impact on Chinas pension and medical care systems.

The existing retirement policy dates back to the early 1950s， Yin said， when life expectancy was less than 50. As， on average， Chinese people now live well into their 70s， the policy is obviously obsolete.

PV Industry Rallies

Amid the sluggish world economy， Chinas photovoltaic industry reports strong growth， with installed capacity soaring 161 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters of this year to 38 million kilowatts. The industrys output value exceeded RMB 200 billion over this period. Manufacturers profits also ticked up， the gross profit margin of the top 10 accessory producers having surpassed 15 percent， and most players in the sector having staunched red and seen profits.

“The yield rate of development of photovoltaic power stations could reach eight to 10 percent， much higher than that of the manufacturing industry，” Chairman of China Photovoltaic Industry Association Gao Jifan said.

Wang Sicheng， a researcher at the Energy Research Institute， National Development and Reform Commission， predicts that the cumulative installed capacity of Chinas photovoltaic industry will reach 43 million kilowatts this year， taking China to the No.1 slot that German presently occupies in the global photovoltaic applications ranking.

Activity

Ballet by the German National Youth Ballet

Date： December 3-5， 2015

Place： Tianqiao Theater， Beijing

Price： RMB 100/180/380/480/580/680/880/1280

Germanys first ever National Youth Ballet was founded at the beginning of the 2011/2012 theater season. The group consists of eight professional dancers between the ages of 18 to 23. With its own repertoire mainly created by young choreographers， the group has performed not only in theaters， but also in schools， museums， nursing homes， and even prisons.

J？rg Demus Piano Concert

Date： December 4， 2015

Place： Wuhan Theater

Price： RMB 50/100/150/200/280

Austrian pianist J？rg Demus was born in 1928. At the age of six， Demus received his first piano lesson. His debut as a pianist came at the age of 14. In 1956 he won first prize at the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition. J？rg Demus has been active as an accompanist， accompanying in concerts famous singers such as Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf.endprint