Break Schedule

Tourists visit the Palace Museum， also known as the Forbidden City， in Beijing on October 7.

The museum will be closed to the public every Monday for renovation and maintenance from next year， it announced on November 18.

The former imperial palace has been closed every Monday afternoon in 2013， with the closures to extend to cover the whole of Monday from January 1 onward.

On public holidays and Mondays during July and August， the museum will be open for normal hours， the spokesman said.

The Forbidden City was once home to China’s emperors and was the highest center of power for around 500 years up to the early 20th century. It attracts more than 14 million visitors annually.

Fastest Computer

The world’s fastest supercomputer， the Tianhe-2， began formal operations on November 20 at the National Supercomputing Center in Guangzhou in south China’s Guangdong Province.

The supercomputer， capable of achieving 33.86 petaFLOPS， ranked number one on the TOP500， a list ranking the world’s fastest supercomputers， which was updated at the SC13 supercomputing conference in Denver， the United States， on November 18. FLOPS stands for Floating Point Operation per Second， one floating point operation simply being one calculation， where as one petaFLOPS is equivalent to one quadrillion such calculations per second.

Developed by China’s National University of Defense Technology in June， the supercomputer was shipped to Guangzhou in September and installed and tested for more than a month， according to sources working with the supercomputing center.

Tianhe-2， which translates to Milky Way-2 in English， has been successfully tested for various applications， such as weather simulations and gene sequencing， the center said.

It is almost twice as fast as the next computer on the list， the U.S. Department of Energy’s Titan， which was clocked as performing 16.59 petaFLOPS.

Sanitary Toilets

An estimated 72 percent of households in rural China have access to sanitary toilets， the National Health and Family Planning Commission announced on November 19.

A previous survey in 1993 found only 7.5 percent of all rural households across the country had access to sanitary toilets. A national initiative to install toilets in rural areas was launched in 2004 to reduce incidences of infectious diseases.

According to a plan issued by the Chinese Government， 85 percent of rural households should have access to sanitary toilets by 2020.

A report by the UN Children’s Fund and the World Health Organization in 2012 showed that 2.5 billion people in the world still practiced open defecation or lacked adequate sanitation facilities.

Attack in Xinjiang

Nine assailants were shot dead on November 16 after they killed two auxiliary police officers while attacking a police station in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region， local police revealed.

The nine assailants， wielded knives and axes when they attacked the police station in Serikbuya Township in Bachu County of Kashgar Prefecture at around 5：30 p.m.

Two police officers were injured in the attack.

Social order has been restored， police said， without providing further details.

Air Quality

Density of the key air pollutants PM2.5 and PM10 increased in China by 46.2 percent and 39.6 percent respectively in October， environmental watchdogs announced on November 19. The Ministry of Environmental Protection attributed the rise to seasonal changes.

Nearly half of the 74 major Chinese cities monitored nationwide saw air quality for more than 50 percent of October failing to meet ministry standards.

Air quality in south China’s Pearl River Delta reported a marked drop compared with September， mainly due to less rain and more sunshine. The density of PM2.5 and PM10 increased 89.5 percent and 73.8 percent， respectively.

The nine monitored cities in the Pearl River Delta averaged about 24 days below the standard， while the national average stood at around 15 days.

In September， a government plan to tackle air pollution was announced， listing efforts to cut coal consumption， shut down polluters and promote cleaner production. The plan also aims to cut the density of inhalable particulate matter by at least 10 percent in major cities nationwide by 2017.

Money in Culture

The Ministry of Finance announced on November 18 that the government recently allocated 4.8 billion yuan （$788 million） to boost the cultural sector.

The amount of funding increased 41.18 percent from 2012， according to a statement on the ministry’s website.

So far， the Chinese Government has allocated a total of 14.2 billion yuan （$2.33 billion） to boost the cultural sector， the statement said.

Diabetes Spike

Lifestyle changes have led to increasing incidences of diabetes among China’s rural population， a senior health official warned on November 15.

The incidence rate of diabetes among adults in China’s rural areas has increased from 1.8 percent in 2002 to 8.4 percent in 2010， said Wang Linhong， a senior official with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention， at a seminar held in Beijing.

The incidence rate in the countryside increased faster than in cities， though the rate was still lower than that of the latter， Wang said， adding that the rural population has become a priority for diabetes control and prevention efforts.

The national incidence rate of diabetes among adults increased from 2.69 percent in 2002 to 9.7 percent in 2010， while the rates for 2011 and 2012 were not available， according to Wang.

Unhealthy diets and less exercise have caused obesity and higher blood lipid levels amongst the rural population， which could lead to diabetes， Wang said.

Esperanto Museum

China’s first museum for Esperanto has officially opened after more than two years of construction to promote the “universal language.”Esperanto is a constructed language that was invented by doctor and linguist L.L. Zamenhof in 1887， with the hopes of creating a new language that would be easy enough to learn that everyone in every country could eventually learn it.

The museum， in Zaozhuang University in east China’s Shandong Province， opened on November 16 after hosting more than 7，000 visitors during trial operations starting in May.

With a display area covering 680 square meters， the museum is the largest of its kind in Asia， said Sun Mingxiao， who is in charge of the facility.

It boasts more than 26，000 items， including books， newspapers， photographs and manuscripts. The majority of them were donated by Esperanto enthusiasts from more than 40 different countries or regions.

The museum was built by Zaozhuang University in conjunction with the All-China Esperanto League for 3 million yuan（$490，000）.

To date， around 400，000 Chinese have learned Esperanto， according to Sun.

Snow Battle

Sanitation workers in Harbin， northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province， clear snow on the street on November 19， after the worst snowstorm in 50 years hit the city， lasting 60 hours after it started on November 16.

The average daily snowfall reached 11.4 mm， the highest since the city began record keeping in 1961.

More than 50，000 people were mobilized to remove snow from city streets.

Education authorities closed all urban-area kindergartens， primary and high schools on November 18 and 19.

Hi-Tech Helps Sell Apples

A buyer in Yan’an， Shaanxi Province， reads information about apples from Luochuan County of Shaanxi after scanning a QR code with a smartphone on November 19.

Each Luochuan apple is attached with a code， which can be scanned to give buyers detailed information covering the whole process of planting， packing and transportation.

Such practice has greatly boosted the sales volume of these apples.

Home Price Rise

Home prices in major Chinese cities continued to rise in October despite the government’s persistent efforts to cool the property market.

Of a statistical pool of 70 major Chinese cities， 65 saw month-onmonth rises in new home prices in October， while 62 reported price gains in existing and second-hand homes， the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） announced on November 18.

On a yearly basis， all cities except Wenzhou reported gains in new home prices.

First-tier cities continued to lead rises in October， with the prices of new homes in Beijing and Shanghai surging nearly 20 percent from a year ago， while prices in most second- and third-tier cities expanded at a more tempered pace， according to the NBS， which attributed the drastic growth partly to a low comparison base.

Driven by rapid urbanization and speculation， China’s property market has taken off in recent years and become a major problem for authorities as more people are priced out of the market.

Goods Safety

China’s quality watchdog is considering a consumer goods safety law for better consumer rights protection.

The draft law will be submitted to the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council for examination by the end of 2015， and will be included in the State Council’s legislative work， said the General Administration of Quality Supervision， Inspection and Quarantine （AQSIQ） on November 18.

The consumer goods safety law legislation is aimed at intensifying the institutional supervision of consumer goods safety， reducing and preventing consumer goods safety accidents， and safeguarding consumer rights and interests， said Mei Kebao， AQSIQ Vice Minister.

The consumer goods safety law should be linked with the product quality and food safety laws， and take into consideration the condition of Chinese enterprises and the country’s economic and social development， he added.

Tang Wanjin， a member of the leading group for the consumer goods safety law legislation， suggested that the law should highlight the liability of companies and governments， clarify fines and punishments and offer practical supervision methods to improve the efficiency of the consumer goods safety monitoring network.

So far， China has no specific law concerning consumer goods safety. The Food Safety Law went into effect on June 1， 2009 and the Product Quality Law became effective on September 1， 2000.

Shopping Portal

After more than a month of testing， the cross-border e-commerce platform of the China （Shanghai） Pilot Free Trade Zone （FTZ） started its dry run on November 18.

A total of 101 products are now being sold through Buyeasi.com， with prices around 30-percent lower than in stores， almost as low as those offered by online shopping agents based overseas.

The website requires that tariffs be added to sale prices， with tariff rates varying according to product category. For example， the tariff imposed on bags is 10 percent， while that for cosmetics is 30-50 percent.

Products on Buyeasi.com fall into two main categories. One category mainly includes luxury items， which are delivered to customers from the FTZ.

Buyeasi.com also sells skincare products supplied directly from overseas. Customers who purchase such products via the portal will receive their package direct from the overseas supplier within three or four days.

China-Australia FTA

A Ministry of Commerce spokesman said on November 19 that China is willing to complete negotiations with Australia on the establishment of a China-Australia Free Trade Area（FTA） soon.

Shen Danyang made the remarks while responding to questions from journalists at the ministry’s monthly press conference， and in the wake of Australia’s minister for industry making positive comments on the subject earlier this month.

Minister Ian Macfarlane said while visiting Tianjin that Australia expects to sign the free trade pact with China in the first half of 2014. He expressed hope that a comprehensive deal would be on the table by the time Prime Minister Tony Abbott visits China next year.

There have so far been 19 rounds of talks on the FTA since they were initiated in Sydney in May 2005， with an aim to facilitate trade and investment between the two countries.

Fuel Price Cuts

The National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC） on November 15 slashed gasoline price by 160 yuan （$26.09） per ton and diesel price by 155 yuan（$25.44） per ton.

The adjustment lowered the benchmark retail prices of gasoline by 0.12 yuan （$0.019） per liter and that of diesel by 0.13 yuan （$0.021） per liter.

This marked the third consecutive drop of fuel prices since China adopted a new pricing regime in March stipulating that domestic fuel prices will be adjusted when international crude prices reflect a change of more than 50 yuan（$8.2） per ton over a period of 10 working days.

The NDRC cited the strengthening U.S. dollar and decreasing fuel demand as major refineries went on seasonal checks as the major reason for the plunge in global oil prices.

Green Kitchen， Smart Kitchen

A visitor studies the family vegetable bar at the China Hi-tech Fair， held in Shenzhen， Guangdong Province， from November 16 to 21.

The bar， which is in the shape of a refrigerator， can adjust humidity， temperature and density of carbon dioxide according to the condition of vegetables.

An array of smart and green kitchen appliances have been put on display during the fair.