Festival gifts get new lease of life

Reselling presents a thriving business after holiday

Fireworks sales fizzle in capital

Many fireworks vendors in Beijing have made last-ditch efforts to boost their sales, offering big discounts throughout the capital on the Lantern Festival on Sunday.

Courageous kid leaves hospital after donation

The brave young boy who donated bone marrow to save the life of his dangerously ill mother was discharged from hospital yesterday.

Illegal blades melted down in show of safety

Beijing police destroyed 16,000 illegal knives on Saturday to highlight security ahead of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) to be held later this week.

IN BRIEF (Page 26)

Economic whiz-kid recalls his fortune

The last two months for Ma Wenya have been spent at home, in his luxury serviced apartment purchased in 2008.

All about ma wenya

METRO: What property do you own?

'Boring' tax forms are overlooked by majority

Most Beijingers are ignoring rules that call for those who earn more than 120,000 yuan a year to complete a self-declaration tax form.

Another good year for the local property market

Li Wenjie, general manager of property agency Centaline China (North China region), speaks to METRO about the housing market in Beijing.

Break-ins rise in parts of Beijing

A yearlong special effort to fight burglary in Beijing seems to have helped in some districts, but failed dramatically in others as 17 areas in Beijing witnessed a surge of burglary cases in the latter half of 2009.

Keeping crimes in check

In the first half of 2009, the Beijing police solved more than 33,000 crime cases and eliminated more than 1,300 organized criminal gangs, according to figures from the 2009 Annual Report on Public Service of Beijing published by the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences.

Top officer walks small beat, catches scores of criminals

Zhang Huiling, a policeman from Shuangyushu police station, recently received his fifth award for outstanding performance. In the last five years, Zhang has caught more than 1,100 criminals, including 228 in 2009.