Road project halted to shield protected birds

A road construction project in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region was suspended this week to protect the brooding of protected birds near the road.

Low funding cited as top reason for lackluster smoking control

A lack of funding has become a major obstacle to the enforcement of anti-smoking regulations in major Chinese cities, a Beijing law firm warned in a new report.

IN BRIEF (Page 4)

Steel-maker failed to rectify problems

China's top environmental watchdog sharply criticized the country's largest private steel-maker on Thursday for failing to carry out rectification plans and dumping steel slag along the Yangtze River in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province.

Vice-premier looks to future in meeting with Macao SAR chief

Vice-Premier Han Zheng met with Fernando Chui Saion, chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region, on Thursday in Beijing.

Young island generation carries the 'reclamation spirit' forward

"We didn't expect him to write back, and we were exhilarated when he did," said Chen Yuling, a special delegate to the 18th National Congress of the Communist Youth League of China.

Facial recognition comes to university

A top university in China is using a facial recognition system to verify the identity of students and staff members entering its campus.

High-speed rail coming soon to frigid zone

The longest high-speed rail line in China's frigid zone is expected to start operating in September, China Railway Harbin Group said.

School aims to inspire by parking tanks at gate

A high school in Handan, Hebei province, said the military tanks at its gate that have caused controversy since they were unveiled on Tuesday are there for patriotic education.

Armed Police to oversee Coast Guard

China's Coast Guard will be better trained once it starts working under the Chinese Armed Police Force, and it will then be able to play a leading role in fighting maritime drug trafficking, which is difficult to detect and dangerous to stop, a senior officer of the Coast Guard said on Wednesday.

It's already hot, but Xinjiang will soon get hotter

The temperature of the ground surface in Turpan - China's "heat pole" in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region - reached 83 C on Monday afternoon, the hottest so far this year.

Heritage concerns stall treatment of foul water in Shaanxi

Inspectors have found three bodies of water in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, that are black and smelly - including one traversing the ruins of an ancient capital - even though the city said it had eliminated such problems.