Lantern Festival

Children in Hangzhou， Zhejiang Province， make sticky rice dumplings， or yuanxiao in Chinese， and shape them in various animals on March 4.

The festival， which fell on March 5 this year， is celebrated on the 15th day of the Chinese Lunar New Year and marks the end of the Spring Festival.

Online Citizenship

The Peoples Daily， the newspaper of the Communist Party of China （CPC）， urged Internet companies and influential social media users to take responsibility in safeguarding a “clean， healthy and dynamic” cyberspace on March 4.

The paper said in an editorial that“collective life” online is based on free choice by Internet users and full of varied content and information.

According to the editorial， ecommerce companies should clear counterfeit goods from their platforms and search engines should not promote bidding rank. It also said it is illegal for websites to ignore the spread of false or pornographic information.

China had 648 million Internet us- ers by the end of 2014. The large online market comes with huge responsibilities， the article said.

It warned that those who only focus on temporary and trivial gains may damage their reputations and lose great opportunities to develop.

Pollution Control

Chinas Ministry of Science and Technology started planning for a five-year air pollution prevention and control project， the ministry announced on March 3.

A draft blueprint for the project has been published on the ministrys website and the ministry is soliciting public comment.

According to the draft， the focus of air pollution control in China should be shifted from simply responding to heavy smog to a coordinated scheme to prevent both PM2.5—airborne particles measuring less than 2.5 microns in diameter—and ozone （O3）.

Air pollution monitoring and management practices will be shifted from the city level to a regional scale， the draft said.

According to the draft， the project will be carried out starting this year until 2020.

Museum Rules

Non-state-owned museums will receive the same treatment as state-owned institutions in establishment， management， and supportive taxation and financial policies， according to newly released regulations.

The regulations on museums， signed by Premier Li Keqiang， will take effect on March 20， said a statement issued on March 2 by the State Council， Chinas cabinet.

The rules detail the requirements for establishing museums and procedures for museum operations from founding to end of service.

The rules emphasize protection and management of collections and stipulate measures to boost the role of museums in education and research.

More Public Servants

Northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has promoted 2，138 public servants in the past month， local authorities said on February 27.

Over the past three years， Xinjiang has sent a staggering 200，000 civil servants to its rural areas to help improve the quality of life of residents. This is part of a wider push by the regional government to give city officials experience in the countrys underdeveloped areas.

Last March， the first 70，000 cadres from government departments， public institutions and state-owned enterprises were assigned to one-year posts in 8，636 villages； 759 branches of state farms； and 931 communities.

Zhang Chunxian， Party Chief of Xinjiang， said the cadres had achieved extraordinary results in their placements and really made a difference in villagers quality of life.

According to the regional CPC committee， 2.26 billion yuan （$367.7 million） has been allocated to finance the building of roads， power networks， water facilities， as well as residential renovation projects.

The next round of 70，000 public servants will start their placements in rural areas soon.

Mine Safety Concerns

The State Administration of Work Safety vowed on March 4 to close at least 5，000 small mines， which is equal to 5 percent of the nations total， to reduce the number of accidents and fatalities in 2015.

A 2007 regulation defines serious accidents as those causing 10 to 30 deaths， 50 to 100 serious injuries， or direct economic losses of between 50 million yuan （$8.13 million） and 100 million yuan （$15.87 million）.

Extremely serious accidents are classified as those that kill more than 30 people， seriously injure 100， or cost more than 100 million yuan （$15.87 million） in losses.

Many small mines were lambasted by the administration for using substandard technology and equipment， which made them hazardous.

There were 269，000 accidents nationwide in the first 11 months of 2014， down 4.7 percent from the same period in 2013. Fatalities dropped by 6.1 percent to 57，000.

As of the end of 2014， China had seven national mine accident rescue teams， 14 regional rescue teams， 16 res- cue teams established by state-owned companies and 10 rescue training centers， according to Yang.

Cattle Totem

A villager plows cropland with a head of cattle in the field in Zhengyuan Village of Qidu Township in Chenzhou， Hunan Province， on March 3.

The local villagers， who traditionally farm cattle， tie red flowers on cattle and perform a bullfight dance with straw bundled with incense on the 13th day of the first month of the Lunar New Year.

Whats in an Ear

A doctor teaches children from Huaqiao Primary School in Fuzhou， Fujian Province， about the structure of the human ear on March 3， Ear Care Day.

Cultural Relic Census

The State Administration of Cultural Heritage announced on March 2 that a nationwide census has registered 45 million pieces of “moveable” cultural relics—a category that excludes architecture， large statues， etc.—after surveying more than 1.02 million state organizations.

Launched in 2012， the ongoing project is Chinas first survey of cultural relics. The information collected will be uploaded to an online database.

Li Xiaojie， head of the administration， said the database will be made available to the public.

The survey currently only includes relics owned by state organizations. Those in the hands of private collectors will be surveyed after the projects completion in 2016.

PMI Rebounds

Chinese manufacturing business activity rebounded slightly in February but still stayed in contraction territory after falling to a 28-month low in January， official data showed on March 1.

The manufacturing purchasing managers index （PMI）， a key measure of factory activity in China， posted at 49.9 in February， up from 49.8 in the previous month， according to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion， while a reading below 50 represents contraction.

The February index ended a falling streak lasting for four consecutive months since October 2014 and showed manufacturing contraction has narrowed.

Chinas service sector activity picked up in February， as the PMI for the non- manufacturing sector recovered to 53.9 in February up from 53.7 in the previous month.

Gas Pricing Policy

China will set an equal natural gas pricing structure for all industrial users to allow market forces to lead the energy sector， the top economic planner announced on February 28.

The National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC） previously launched a market-oriented energy pricing mechanism on July 10， 2013， assigning a different pricing system for existing and new factories.

This meant that longtime users enjoyed relatively low prices compared to newcomers.

To fulfill its promise to gradually level the price gap， the NDRC raised the wholesale gas price for longtime users on September 1， 2014， for the first time since the measure was put in place.

On February 28， the NDRC announced that the wholesale price for longtime users would be increased for the second time， by 0.04 yuan （less than 1 U.S. cent） per cubic meter， and new users would pay 0.44 yuan （$0.07） less starting on April 1.

After the adjustment， the price for both groups will be the same， and will rise and fall uniformly.

To Russia With Love

The first regular cargo train service linking northeast Chinas Heilongjiang Province to central Russia leaves on its maiden voyage on February 28.

The cargo train， carrying oil exploration equipment， pulled out of Xiangfang Railway Station in the provincial capital of Harbin， arrived in Biklyan， Russia， in 10 days.

Standardized Farms

By the end of 2014， China had established 4，272 national-level demonstration zones over eight stages， edging it closer to its goal of agricultural standardization， said Tian Shihong， head of the Standardization Administration of China （SAC）， on March 3.

Demonstration zones are largescale farming areas set up by the SAC as model estates to test agriculture， forestry， husbandry and fishery systems to improve production capacity， according to a document published by the SAC in 2007.

The SAC encouraged local governments， leading agricultural enterprises and farmers to collaborate in the zones.

Chinas vision for agricultural standardization involves infrastructure construction， product circulation and information feedback， as well as brand and talent building.

“Agricultural standardization is an important step in the modernization of the sector，” said Tian.

Year of the Green

China will promote clean industrial production in 2015 by encouraging green technology and more economical resource use to protect the environment， authorities said on March 4.

The Central Government will initiate a program that aims to reduce pollution， cleanse industries and prompt sustainable development this year， according to a statement published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology （MIIT）.

Companies will consume 4 million fewer tons of coal by the end of 2015 after the ministry helps them with technological upgrades， it said.

Emission cuts including 70，000 tons of sulfur dioxide， 60，000 tons of nitrogen oxides， 40，000 tons of industrial fumes and 20，000 volatile organic compounds take place throughout the year， according to the MIIT.

The authority will prioritize aid to factories in Beijing and neighboring Tianjin Municipality and Hebei Province， as well as those in the Yangtze River Delta. Those areas have been the worst effected by smog.

Super Bulb

Workers operate on the production line of super quantum LED bulbs in Liancheng County， southeast Chinas Fujian Province， on March 3.

The super quantum LED bulb and its high-speed automatic production line were unveiled that day. The bulb is characterized by high luminous efficiency and a long life span.

Rare Earth Exchange

Chinas first rare earth exchange has operated well in its first year， turning over more than 35，000 tons of products.

The trading volume of the Baotou Rare Earth Products Exchange， launched in March 2014 in Baotou， north Chinas Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region， reached 5.6 billion yuan （$910 million） at the years end， said Gu Ming， general manager of the exchange.

Ninety-five rare earth firms and traders in about half of Chinas provinces have opened accounts with the exchange， an electronic platform created to help regulate the domestic rare earth industry and improve its transparency， Gu said.

The exchange was initiated by China North Rare Earth Group Co. Ltd.， the countrys leading rare earth producer， and another 12 firms and institutions with a registered capital of 120 million yuan （$19 million）.

It has three spot transaction modes： price bidding， listed trading and realtime trading online， with trading items including cerium oxide， praseodymiumneodymium oxide and europium oxide.

Fly Like 5G Technology

If events at the 2015 Mobile World Congress （MWC） currently held in Barcelona from March 2 to 5 were anything to go by， Chinese telecom firms， including Huawei， look certain to lead the development into 5G technology.

The Internet of Things and the Internet of Vehicles were muchdiscussed topics in Barcelona， and it is obvious that the 4G network simply isnt going to be enough to carry the estimated 100 billion Internet connections that are needed， something Huaweis acting CEO， Ken Hu has described as “a huge challenge to the mobile industry.”

“Everything will be connected： our toothbrushes， our sneakers， glasses， watches as well as forklifts and robotic arms used in factories，” said Hu， stressing that 5G， with a capacity 1，000 times greater and an estimated 100 times faster than current 4G networks， can make that connected future possible， providing the speed needed for selfdriven vehicles， for example.

At the MWC， Huawei signed a collaboration agreement with Japans major mobile operator DOCOMO for both companies to test 5G remote access technology in the latest of a series of agreements with countries from all around the globe. Huawei backed the commitment further， announcing plans to invest at least $600 million in research and development in the technology over the next three years.

Rise in Service

The Yangtze River Delta is exhibiting a more service-based economy， as the service sector for the first time became the regions largest economic sector last year.

According to a report released on March 2 by the Statistics Bureau of Wuxi， east Chinas Jiangsu Province， the tertiary industry of the regions 16 major cities added value reached 5.43 trillion yuan （$882.9 billion） in 2014， accounting for 51.2 percent of the total GDP， compared with the secondary （45.8 percent） and primary （3 percent） sectors.

The report analyzed that the region had stepped up economic restructuring in recent years under pressure from shrinking resources， deteriorating environment and rising labor costs. The tertiary industry， also known as the service industry， will be a new driving force of regional development， it said.