Rundown downtown Hefei regenerated with shops and bars

Karolina Caban spent Christmas Day in a "village" in downtown Hefei, its narrow alleys bedecked with lanterns and packed with dozens of bars, inns, cafes and other small shops.

Around China

A bridegroom in Wuxi city received a surprising wedding gift from a former classmate: the IOU he had given his friend in lieu of a hongbao, or gift of money in a red envelope, four years earlier at the classmate's own wedding.

White clay advertised as food additive

A white clay typically used as a raw material to make pottery in China is being advertised online as "edible earth".

China recognizes foreign experts

Editor's note: The International Science and Technology Cooperation Award, the highest award of the Chinese government given to foreign scientists who have made significant contributions to the development of science and technology in China, honored seven foreign experts this year. China Daily received responses from six of the winners on their feelings about the award, the recent sci-tech boom in China and their careers here.

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Three countries join quantum network

Three countries have accepted China's invitation to join a super-secure quantum communications network that will ultimately cover the planet, altering global data sharing, when scientists launch the first quantum satellite later this year.

Fake sex drugs create a big workload for prosecutors

Sexual arousal drugs accounted for 90 percent of the cases addressed by prosecutors in Shanghai during a 10-month campaign last year against bogus medicines.

Chinese hybrid rice taking trip overseas

China's National Rice Research Institute is looking to tap into seed markets in Southeast Asia, Africa and South America as it promotes its hybrid rice varieties over the next five years.

Boss uses WeChat trick to catch rule breakers

Three employees of a private gas company in Chengdu, Sichuan province, were fined 500 yuan ($83) each on Monday, two hours after they rushed to open a digital hongbao - a red envelope containing money - issued by their boss on the company's WeChat social media group.

Beijing gets ready for rush of births

Beijing will have more than half a million extra births in the next few years because of the recently adopted national two-child policy.

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Ji Gang, a former member of Shanghai People's Procuratorate's procuratorial committee, is suspected of serious discipline violations and has been placed under investigation, the city's discipline inspection commission said on Thursday.

Drones add new wrinkle for wildlife

Recent news about an amateur photographer who frightened hundreds of wild swans wintering at Qinghai Lake by flying a drone equipped with a camera too close to the flock has created a feisty debate on the Internet, especially among bird-watchers and drone enthusiasts.