Holding a candle to Earth Hour

By Gan Tian (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-30 09:58

Make a date tonight with your partner to gaze at the stars or go for a cozy evening with a quiet candle-light dinner.

Or, if you have been postponing that question to your sweetheart, do it in the dark, as you join an estimated one billion people worldwide who will turn off their lights to mark "Earth Hour", from 8:30-9:30 pm.

You will also be keeping celebrity company with Chinese actress Li Bingbing, being chosen by the World Wide Fund for Nature to be the face of Earth Hour on the Chinese mainland.

"Global warming is the greatest problem facing the world today," says Li, who starred as a demoness alongside Jackie Chan and Jet Li in last year's martial arts blockbuster, The Forbidden Kingdom.

"I'm extremely proud to be selected as a 2009 Earth Hour Ambassador," says the beauty from Harbin, Heilongjiang province, who wowed audiences with her portrayal of the fierce Nichang.

In recent months, Beijing has been making a concerted effort to improve air quality and reduce vehicle emissions.

Energy-efficient buildings are another focus of this effort and the authorities made good on their promise of holding a Green Olympics with the Beijing Olympic Village becoming the first Olympic Village to be awarded the LEED-Gold certification by the US Green Building Council.

In a bid to cut down air pollution, the city introduced an odd-even car ban for two months from July 20. The move made such a dramatic difference that a one car-free day per week rule continues to remain in force.

You can also go to the Village at Sanlitun and join a voluntary gathering of people who will stand still for three minutes from 2 pm to express their concern for environmental protection.

More than 200 people have already signed up online for this and if interested, make sure to get to the Village at Sanlitun by 1:30 today.