BUDDING BEAUTY

Tourists admire cherry blossoms on the Wuhan University campus in Wuhan， Hubei Province in central China， on March 8.

The campus， one of the best places to enjoy the sight in China， opened reservations that day for visitors to experience the spring phenomenon.

Real-name bookings have to be made three days in advance， with the number of daily visitors capped at 10，000 people on weekdays and 15，000 on weekends. In a tribute to the work of anti-epidemic medical staff， a green channel has been opened to facilitate their visit.

A Colorful Day

A crosswalk in Jiefang West Road in downtown Changsha， capital of Hunan Province in central China， painted pink and white and decorated with hearts in celebration of International Womens Day on March 8.

Vaccine Output

The inactivated COVID-19 vaccine developed by state-owned pharmaceutical firm Sinopharm has been put into mass production. This years output is expected to surpass 1 billion doses， Yu Qingming， Chair of Sinopharm Group， said on March 3.

By continuing to increase production capacity， annual vaccine output is projected to reach 3 billion doses in the future， Yu， also a deputy to the National Peoples Congress， Chinas top legislature， added.

Additionally， Sinopharm has made significant progress in the development of recombinant protein vaccines and will soon commence clinical trials， according to Yu.

Thus far， China has granted conditional marketing approval to four self-developed COVID-19 vaccines.

China had administered over 52 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines across the nation as of late February. Furthermore， the country at that time had successfully provided vaccine assistance to 69 countries and two international organizations， Guo Weimin， spokesperson for the Fourth Session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference， told a press conference on March 3.

Dinosaur Tracks

An international team of paleontologists on March 9 announced that it has identified a fossilized 5.7-cm-long stegosaur track—the smallest of its kind to ever be uncovered.

The dinosaur track was discovered in June 2019 at a site in Karamay， Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China. Since 2009， scientists have unearthed and confirmed the authenticity of a significant number of tracks left by dinosaurs， pterosaurs， and prehistoric birds and turtles at the site， speculating that the area was home to an abundance of aquatic plants and prehistoric wildlife some 120 million years ago.

Stegosaurs were herbivorous dinosaurs that lived during the Jurassic Period， approximately 155 million years ago. They walked on four short legs and had small heads. Other key physical features were platelike spines running down their backs and long tails capped with defensive spikes.

Stegosaur fossils have been found mostly in the Northern Hemisphere， particularly in the United States and China.

The newly confirmed deltashaped track is equivalent to 15 percent of the length of several other dinosaur tracks previously uncovered in the region.

Scientists believe this latest discovery is the worlds smallest stegosaur track currently on record， and that it could have been made by a young， 1-meterlong dinosaur.

Travel Drop

The number of Chinas passenger trips declined significantly during this years Spring Festival travel rush， official data showed on March 8.

During the travel rush， spanning from January 28 to March 8， an estimated 870 million trips were made nationwide. This number plunged by 40.8 percent from the previous year， according to the State Council joint prevention and control mechanism against COVID-19.

The figure was also 70.9 percent less than that during the 2019 Spring Festival travel rush.

Chinas railways， however， managed 220 million passenger trips， up by 3.5 percent from last years travel rush. Road trips were down by 50.2 percent to 600 million.

Journeys undertaken via water transportation amounted to 15.34 million， up by 24.5 percent from the 2020 travel rush； while flight trips dropped by 8.5 percent， down to 35.37 million.

Many Chinese people opted to stay put during the Spring Festival holiday this year in response to the governments call to avoid unnecessary gatherings as part of the nations antiepidemic measures.

Acts of Altruism

Volunteers in Fengtai District in Beijing provide free haircuts for senior citizens on March 5. The day is observed as Lei Feng Day in memory of the eponymous Peoples Liberation Army soldier who was known for his acts of altruism.

Proton Therapy

A Shanghai proton therapy center is set to take the lead in providing treatment for Chinese children suffering from cancer in about two years time， Xinhua News Agency reported on March 5.

The center will be jointly established by the Childrens Hospital of Fudan University， Shanghai Fosun Healthcare（Group） Co. Ltd.， and Mevion Medical Technology Group， under an agreement signed earlier in the week.

About 22，000 children are diagnosed with cancer every year across China. Surgery and chemotherapy are the main treatments.

Proton therapy delivers radiation to tumor tissue in a much more confined way than conventional photon therapy， thus allowing the radiation oncologist to use a greater dose while minimizing side effects.

Tibet Transportation

Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China is planning to allocate about 190 billion yuan（$29.3 billion） during the 2021-25 period to transportation infrastructure projects， Xinhua reported on March 6.

The money will go to the construction of new expressways， the upgrading of existing highways and the improvement of road conditions in rural areas， among others， according to the regional transportation department.

By 2025， the total mileage of highways in Tibet will exceed 120，000 km， and that of expressways will exceed 1，300 km， the department further announced in a statement.

A comprehensive transport system that is convenient， fair， shared， safe and green will take shape by 2025.

With strong support from the Central Government， Tibets transportation infrastructure made noticeable progress throughout the 2016-20 period.

Its road network reached a total length of 118，800 km at the end of last year， up more than 50 percent from the end of 2015.

Creative Agriculture

Tourists pick vegetables at a creative agricultural park in Quzhou， a county in Handan， Hebei Province in north China， on March 9. The county has been promoting agritourism to increase local farmersincome and boost rural vitalization.

Mental Health

Public awareness of mental health in China has been on the rise over the years， according to a mental health development report released by the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences， Xinhua reported on March 3.

The report said that in a survey conducted in 2020， 94 percent of interviewees considered maintaining mental health an important aspect of public effort， an increase of 6.1 percentage points from 2008.

Fu Xiaolan， head of the institute， added that mental health work is now better organized and more professional than before.

Despite the progress， the supply of mental health services is yet to fully meet public demand， cautioned the report， stating that the geographical discrepancy in this regard is“obvious.”

The report also called for the standardization of mental health services and the need to pay special attention to the mental health status of the more underdeveloped and undereducated segments of the population.

Trade Surge

The national imports and exports in goods expanded 32.2 percent year on year to 5.44 trillion yuan （$838.16 billion） in the first two months of 2021， sustaining the growth momentum of previous months， according to the General Administration of Customs of China on March 7.

Exports jumped 50.1 percent while imports rose 14.5 percent in yuan terms. In February alone， the overall trade volume totaled 2.42 trillion yuan （$370 billion）， climbing 57 percent from a year ago， the administration said.

The country saw doubledigit growth in trade with major trading partners.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations （ASEAN） remained its largest trading partner， with bilateral import and export volume rising 32.9 percent year on year.

Trade with the EU， the U.S. and Japan surged 39.8 percent， 69.6 percent and 27.4 percent， respectively.

Meanwhile， Chinas foreign trade with countries along the Belt and Road routes amounted to 1.62 trillion yuan （$248 billion） in the first two months， up 23.9 percent year on year.

Imports and exports by private businesses stood at 2.57 trillion yuan （$394 billion） in the period， rising 49.5 percent year on year and accounting for 47.2 percent of the total.

RCEP Ratification

The Chinese Government has officially ratified the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership （RCEP） agreement， Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao said on March 8.

Some member countries are also accelerating their procedures， and it is hoped that relevant countries can speed up their progress and finally reach the threshold of entry into force， Wang told reporters on the sidelines of the annual session of the 13th National Peoples Congress.

Ratifications of six ASEAN member countries and three non-ASEAN members are needed for reaching the threshold， and the sooner the agreement enters into force， the sooner the people of the member countries will be benefited， he said.

The RCEP， the worlds largest free trade agreement， was signed in mid-November 2020 by 10 ASEAN member countries， China， Japan， the Republic of Korea， Australia and New Zealand.

Forex Data

Foreign currency reserves of China fell $5.7 billion to $3.2 trillion at the end of February， or 0.18 percent month on month， Wang Chunying， a spokesperson for the State Administration of Foreign Exchange， said on March 7.

In global financial markets， the dollar index， which measures the greenback against six major peers， rose， while the financial asset prices of major countries fell， due to the progress in the development of COVID-19 vaccines and major countries fiscal policies and inflation expectations， she said.

She attributed the decline in Chinas foreign currency reserves to the combined effects of currency translation and changes in asset prices.

Wang， however， said the reserves will remain generally stable， despite uncertainties in global financial markets amid virus-induced risks.

Chemical Hub

U.S. chemical giant Dow will establish a manufacturing hub for specialty chemicals in Zhanjiang， Guangdong Province in south China， to capture growth opportunities in the country and the entire Asia-Pacific chemicals market， the company said in a press release on March 4.

The chemical producer signed a memorandum of understanding with the Zhanjiang Economic and Technological Development Zone to build the Dow South China Specialties Hub.

Under the document， Dow would invest approximately$250 million to construct specialty polyurethanes and alkoxylates facilities， with a total production capacity of about 250，000 tons.

Noting that the Asia-Pacific region is the worlds largest chemicals market， Jon Penrice， Dow Asia Pacific President， said demands are evolving toward high-value， specialty chemicals that help customers meet rapidly developing mega trends in mobility， urbanization and sustainability.

According to the company， advanced digital， intelligence and automation technologies will be adopted and employed at the new manufacturing hub.

The site also offers opportunities for future development and expansion， the company added.

Online Tutoring

More than 87 percent of Chinese parents have signed their children up for online tutoring sessions to supplement their education， according to a survey report from China Youth Daily on March 4.

A total of 1，523 parents took part in the survey. They mainly attributed the booming online tutoring market to the fact that the courses are immune to antiCOVID-19 measures.

Online courses also spare parents the stress of taking their children to extracurricular training centers and bringing them back home after their classes， according to respondents.

Of the respondents， 83.5 percent hold positive views on the quality of online tutoring， while just 0.5 percent expressed complete disapproval.

Their biggest concern was the impact of online classes on their childrens eyesight， with 49.3 percent of respondents citing this issue.

More than 95 percent of respondents called on authorities to enhance scrutiny of online training platforms in terms of advertisement content， operation licensing and financial safety.

Coal Output

The annual coal output of China will be no higher than 4.1 billion tons by the end of 2025， after it climbed 1.4 percent year on year to 3.9 billion tons in 2020， according to a report issued by the China National Coal Association in early March.

The number of coal mines will shrink to about 4，000 by the end of 2025 from about 4，700 at the end of 2020， and of the total， more than 1，000 will be equipped with smart mining technology， the report said.

Annual coal consumption will be kept to around 4.2 billion tons by the end of 2025， it said.

Mergers and acquisitions will be encouraged amid efforts to eliminate backward production capacity in the next five years and 10 super large coal enterprises will be established each with an annual output of 100 million tons.

The coal sector has been tackling overcapacity in the past five years. By the end of last year， about 5，500 mines had been closed and about 1 billion tons of annual output capacity had been eliminated.

Meanwhile， China has built some 1，200 large and modern coal mines， each with an annual output capacity above 1.2 million tons， which contribute about 80 percent of Chinas total output， the report said.

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