Too many meetings, forms and chat groups leave no time to work

Editor's note: Thanks to the central leadership's repeated calls for them to be curbed, the formalism and bureaucracy of government departments have been reduced, but it still requires time and efforts to root them out. People's Daily summarizes advice and complaints from some civil servants at the basic level:

People should remain rational about state of real estate market

ACCORDING TO OFFICIAL DATA, the price of newly constructed houses in first-tier cities rose by 0.3 percent on average in February and the price of secondhand houses by 0.1 percent on average, which indicates that the realty market is in a stable condition. Thepaper.cn comments:

May Day holiday boost for tourism

ACCORDING TO A DECISION by the State Council, China's Cabinet, on Friday, employees nationwide will enjoy a four-day-long holiday from May 1 to 4 this year. Sunday April 28 and Sunday May 5 are make-up work days. China Daily writer Zhang Zhouxiang comments:

Cartoon

By using Taiwan, US is playing with fire

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations signed by Beijing and Washington that acknowledges there is only one China and Taiwan is part of China. It is also the 40th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act the US Congress passed to permit unofficial relations with Taipei to continue and the US to sell arms and military equipment to the island.

Falling marriage rate reflects changing times

Editor's Note: Over the past six years, the marriage rate, the ratio of registered marriages to the total population in a year, has been dropping. For example, only 72 couples out of every 10,000 people in China got married last year, the lowest marriage rate since 2013. Simultaneously, the divorce rate has been rising steadily since 2002, reaching 0.315 percent in 2017. What are the factors behind the falling marriage rate and the rising divorce rate, and what should we do about it? Two experts share their views on the issue with China Daily's Liu Jianna. Excerpts follow:

Uncertainties over Brexit are harming UK's economy

On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Theresa May sought a three-month delay for Britain's divorce from the European Union, which originally was scheduled for March 29. The European Union has given her until April 12 to find a way forward.

Blogger shares his passion for travel with China guide

Bulgarian draws up tips to help tourists get the most out of stay in the country

Legendary hospitality in the heart of Beijing

Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing opened in Beijing on Monday, a new member of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, which owns and operates international luxury hotels.

Exotic taste adds spice to capital's St. Regis hotel

Chef Made Karyasa from The Ritz-Carlton, Bali, presented delicacies at The St. Regis Beijing during the Flavors of Indonesian Spices event, which was launched on Monday night.

Wuhan strives to further open up as international business center

Wuhan in Central China's Hubei province is on the right track to internationalization based on its sound economic foundation, favorable business environment and vast talent pool, according to local officials.

Cambridge may adopt Chinese innovation

Local authorities in the historic English university city of Cambridge are considering installing a "trackless metro" transit system that is similar to those developed in China.