Briefly

Customs intercept trio of ivory products

Customs officials have seized three ivory items weighing about 1 kilogram in total from an imported package in Changsha, Hunan province. Changsha Customs said they found the three artifacts hidden in a package declared as glass cups and cigarette holders and later identified them as ivory products. The seizure, made on Feb 9, was the largest of its kind reported by Changsha Customs since 2020, according to customs officials. The Chinese government suspended imports of ivory and ivory products in 2015 and ended related commercial processing and sales at the end of 2017.

Ancient fiefdom city unearthed in Shaanxi

An ancient site in Northwest China's Shaanxi province has been identified as a major city run as a fiefdom that dates back to the late Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC) and the early Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), according to the provincial institute of archaeology. The Taoqu site, located in Hancheng city, was discovered in the 1980s. After dedicating the last two years to excavation, they discovered that the site encompasses 800,000 square meters and features high-level and common residential sites, as well as tombs of varying sizes.

Poyang Lake's water level on the rise

The water level of China's largest freshwater lake, Poyang, in Jiangxi province, has continued to rise, thanks to continuous rainfall and the rising water level of the Yangtze River, said the provincial water resources department. The water level at the lake's landmark Xingzi hydrological station rose to 9.16 meters on Monday and is expected to increase further, and the provincial hydrological monitoring center canceled the alert for a low water level. The water level on Nov 17 dropped to 6.46 meters, the lowest since record-keeping began in 1951, due to continuous drought.

Xinhua