IN BRIEF (Page: 7)

Shanghai to build downtown heliport

The city's Longhua Airport has approved the development of a civil heliport featuring comprehensive general aviation service facilities, according to Shanghai Observer. The new Longhua Airport is being heralded as an important pivot in the city's general aviation industry, and it will also be the first civil heliport in central Shanghai. According to official statistics, Shanghai's business aviation market experienced more than 20 percent year-on-year growth over the past few years.

Man buys aircraft in a mall

An aircraft was sold for 1.35 million yuan ($196,000) at a Suning store in Shanghai, reported Shanghai Observer. The plane was one of the two German aircraft models available in the store, with the other priced at 990,000 yuan. The buyer surnamed Ding paid a 20 percent deposit for the aircraft, which can fly at a maximum speed of 205 km per hour for a maximum distance of 800 kilometers.

Long queues for knifefish noodles

Local gourmands have been queuing in front of Lao Ban Zhai Restaurant to savor its famous knifefish sauce noodle. The dish is usually available before the start of the Qingming Festival which fell on April 4 this year. The fish is known to enter the Yangtze River from the sea every year around March and catching it could soon be banned due to deteriorating pollution and overfishing practices which have led to a severe dip in population.

Man marries four times to sell houses

In a bid to exploit a gray area in the government regulation which states that single people without permanent residencies in Shanghai are not allowed to buy properties, a 30-year-old property agent surnamed Wang married four of his customers so that they could buy homes, with the oldest client he married aged over 70 years old. Wang was found to have received between 60,000 and 80,000 yuan from each sale. No one has been arrested because such practice is not considered illegal.

Strict road traffic rules unveiled in city

Shanghai's latest road traffic regulation, which has been hailed as the most stringent one in history, came into force recently. More than 85 percent of previous regulations have been replaced, with over 20 types of violations added. According to the new regulations, motorists are not allowed to park on roads with "solid yellow lines", passengers caught not wearing seat belts will face a 50-yuan fine and those who fail to pay their initial fines on time will be subjected to additional fines.

(China Daily USA 04/21/2017 page7)