China's talent honored
Altogether 100 outstanding people were honored as "China's Talents" for their contributions to promoting China's
development in all fields. The award ceremony was held on February 4 at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, sponsored by the CPPCC Committee of Education, Science, Culture, Health and Sports, and organized by China's Talents magazine.
Among the winners, the oldest is professor Shen Panwen, 90, from Nankai University; the youngest is Zhang Xilan, 35, an entrepreneur from Jiangsu. There are also Luan Enjie, chief engineer of China's moon probing project, architect Wu Liangyong, as well as musician Qiao Yu and female singer Song Zuying (pictured above).
Votes for best hutong
Over 70,000 citizens have joined in trying to select the best hutong in Beijing over the past four weeks, reported Beijing Daily. So far 78,124 ballots have been cast via hotlines and the Internet and the number of votes is increasing every day. Some changes took place on the list this week, for instance, the top 10 best lanes are not only located in the eight urban districts but also in suburb districts like Changping, Tongzhou and Haidian.
Slash in house prices?
The Social Academy of China predicts that house prices will go down in a couple of years, reported the Beijing Daily Messenger. According to a report by the academy, there is little room for prices to rise and they will instead remain stable before starting to drop off in a couple of years. Some policies and regulations, such as collection of property taxes, the RMB increasing in value, and rate adjustment will all play an importance role in the housing market. In a survey conducted by the academy, three major concerns were raised by Beijingers including the cost of housing, health welfare and education.
New auction center in Panjiayuan
Construction of an auction center in Panjiayuan, the biggest antique market in Beijing, will be completed at the end of this year, reported the Beijing Youth Daily. Composed of eight ancient art, antique and furniture markets it will cover an area of 10,000 square kilometers. A number of big auctions will take place at the site.
More factories to be turned into art areas
The Beijing municipal government will turn more old factories into art areas , reported the Economic Information Daily. In the 1980s, most factories in Beijing were moved to the suburbs in a bid to cut pollution in the city. In recent years the city government has located art clubs and exhibition centers in former factories like the Factory 798 and Jiuchang art areas.
And in the next three years they plan to do more of the same. Experts at Tsinghua University say one quarter of the total 50-square-kilometer old factories could be turned into studios and exhibition centers.
Hire a girlfriend
Zhu Lijie, a student at Peking University put an advert up on campus last week saying that he wishes to "hire" a girlfriend for the Spring Festival. The girl is required to be honest, kind and similar-aged to Zhu. She will get 1,000 yuan if she spends 10 days with Zhu at his home and meeting his parents over Chinese New Year. Zhu says he is under so much pressure from his parents to meet a prospective daughter-in-law, that he has had to resort to paying a girl to pretend.
Put your best foot forward
A host of walking-related activities for the following two years have been announced by the Beijing Today Walk Center on Saturday, a professional walking organization. The events include the 6th Beijing International Great Wall Walking Convention this May, Beijing and Tianjing International Greet Wall Camping in October as well as a special celebration activities held for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games by 1,500 walking enthusiasts from The Netherlands.
(China Daily 02/07/2007 page19)
