News

Olis China Trip

March 21 – Beijing： Chinese Premier Li Keqiang （right） and visiting Nepal Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli at a signing ceremony for bilateral cooperation at the Great Hall of the People. At the invitation of Premier Li Keqiang， Prime Minister Oli of Nepal attended the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference and made an official visit to China from March 20 to 27. During the highest-level interaction between China and Nepal since the establishment of the new Nepalese government last October， the two sides agreed to expand reciprocal cooperation in pursuit of common development. Practical cooperation in “key” areas， including connectivity， industrial capacity， oil and gas， trade， tourism and law enforcement， will be carried out. Oli said his country looks forward to benefiting from Chinas peaceful development and will actively participate in Chinas “Belt and Road” initiative.

Drought Alleviation

An aerial view of the dam at Jinghong Hydropower Station， Yunnan Province. From March 15 to April 10， China will release the emergency water supply from Jinghong Hydropower Station to the lower reaches of the Mekong River to alleviate drought in Laos， Myanmar， Thailand， Cambodia and Vietnam. Earlier， the Foreign Ministry of Vietnam， through which the lower reaches of the Mekong River flow， requested that China increase water flow through the Jinghong Hydropower Station to help ease the drought. Since late 2015， countries along the Lancang-Mekong River have suffered from drought to varying extents due to the impact of the El Nino phenomenon. Recently， the situation has worsened and threatens peoples livelihoods.

Known as Lancang in the Chinese stretch， the Mekong River is an important water source for the five countries on the Indochinese Peninsula， the five aforementioned drought-ridden countries.

Shanghai Disneyland to Open

March 27 – Shanghai： Shanghai Disneyland Resort under construction in Pudong New Area. On March 28， the Walt Disney Co.s $5.5-billion Shanghai theme park began selling tickets for its June 16 opening to better deal with massive lines and counterfeit tickets.

Tickets were offered through several avenues， including an official website， official store， and by phone through the resorts reservation center， and sold out quickly. Because of the surge in traffic， fans trying to purchase tickets online even had to wait for about 30 minutes. The theme park offers both regular and peak tickets， with regular pricing set at 370 yuan （$56） and peak pricing for highdemand dates set at 499 yuan （$77）. Some analysts believe that Shanghai Disneyland will likely limit daily visitors to ensure safety.

Kung Fu Monks

March 17 – Dengfeng City， Henan Province： Chinese Shaolin monks practice kung fu on a walkway on the cliff of a mountain in Sanhuangzhai scenic area. Although Shaolin Temple is widely recognized as the Chan Buddhist temple in Dengfeng City， very few Chinese use the term for the Southern Shaolin Temple in Fujian Province. The Dengfeng temple and its Pagoda Forest were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010 as part of the “Historic Monuments of Dengfeng.”

Shaolin kung fu， also called Shaolin Wushu， is among the oldest institutionalized Chinese martial arts. Originating in the Buddhist Shaolin Temple， Shaolin kung fu has become one of the most popular kung fu schools after 1，500 years of development.