Exploring the South Pole

A scientist drills an iceberg near Chinas Zhongshan Station in the Antarctic Pole on November 29.

Chinas icebreaker Xue Long， or Snow Dragon， carrying 256 members of the countrys 33rd Antarctic expedition team， was trapped by icebergs and ice floes on the day.

The icebreaker had set off on November 2 from Shanghai. The team will execute 72 tasks in an estimated 161 days.

Property Rights

China on November 27 released a guideline on better protection of property rights in an effort to shore up social confidence and promote social justice.

This is the first time China has issued a state-level guideline on property rights protection.

The nation will provide equal， comprehensive and law-based protection to all kinds of property rights and encourage the participation of the public in the process， according to the guideline by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China （CPC） and the State Council.

Major problems concerning property rights must be solved to increase protection and build a long- term mechanism.

The guideline highlights equal protection of property rights for various market entities while vowing to enhance protection of non-public properties according to criminal law.

Legal procedures should be elaborated concerning the sealing up， seizure and auctioning （or other disposal methods） of property belonging to enterprises or individuals suspected of unlawful conduct.

The document stresses that law enforcement officers should take a prudent attitude in applying judicial policies in varying degrees to property rights and economic disputes.

Mechanisms to ensure the trustworthiness of government at all levels should be improved. Officials should be severely punished for breaches of contract.

The guideline also vows to intensify protection of intellectual property rights. Violators credit records will be negatively affected， and punishments will be made public.

South China Sea Museum

A national museum for the South China Sea is set to open in March 2017 with a wide range of antiques collected from China and abroad， the museums preparatory office in south Chinas Hainan Province has announced.

Ten valuable ceramic pieces were donated to the museum by two Chinese companies that purchased the items at an auction in New York City in September.

The ceramics—vases， incense holders， drinking vessels， dishes， cups and saucers dating from the Ming and Qing dynasties （1368-1911）—were part of a collection in New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art before they were bought.

In addition， the museums preparatory office has received 832 antiques donated by local fishing families in Tanmen Township of Qionghai City， where the museum is being constructed.

These antiques will provide researchers with valuable clues about trade and cultural exchanges along the ancient maritime Silk Road， said Zhang Jianping， an official with the museums preparatory office.

The museum will display artifacts about the history， culture and natural resources of the South China Sea， highlighting Chinas sovereignty over it and the protection of cultural heritage， according to Ding Hui， head of the Hainan Provincial Governments cultural department.

Rural Kindergartens in Xinjiang

Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China is to build kindergartens for 220，000 children in rural areas.

The regional education department said on November 27 that from 2016 to 2017， 220，000 children from the underdeveloped areas of southern Xinjiang would reach kindergarten age but the current facilities are far from adequate.

Only around 1，700 of the approximately 5，000 villages in southern Xinjiang have kindergartens. The situation is somewhat better in townships； some 260 of the 370 local townships have kindergartens.

The Central Government has approved a budget of 1 billion yuan（$145 million） to build 552 bilingual kindergartens in Xinjiang this year， and the regional government is encouraging the conversion of empty houses into kindergartens.

China has nine years of free and compulsory education， but in Xinjiang， this has been extended to include kindergartens and senior high schools.

By the end of 2015， southern Xinjiang region had 1，700 bilingual kindergartens catering to 350，000 children.

Antibiotics Usage

The use of antibiotics has decreased in the last five years in China， according to a health report.

Drugs prescription rates dropped from 67.3 percent inpatient cases in 2010 to 39.1 percent in 2015 and from 19.4 percent outpatient cases to 9.4 percent over the same period， said a report by the National Health and Family Planning Commission （NHFPC）.

The proportion of the total pharmaceutical budget spent on antibacterial medicines also decreased between 2010 and 2015， as did percapita expenditure on drugs， the report said.

It was based on research in over 180 general hospitals and 11 specialized hospitals.

By 2015， China had 12 training centers for drug-resistant microbial pathogens， with about 200 professionals having undergone training.

Overuse of antibiotics has given rise to new strains of bacteria that can withstand the use of drugs.

“Super bacteria” complicate treatment， cause higher mortality， and increase health expenditure， said NHFPC official Zhang Zongjiu.

In August， the NHFPC issued a national action plan to tighten supervision over antibiotic production， sale and use.

Deadly Collapse

A platform for a cooling tower， part of a power plant， collapses in Fengcheng， south Chinas Jiangxi Province， on November 24， leaving 74 people dead.

Construction of the cooling tower was part of an expansion of Fengcheng Power Plant. The tower was being built by Hebei Yineng Tower Engineering.

Fifteen people have been detained， including the chairman of Hebei Yineng Tower Engineering， and the chief engineer of the construction project. Investigation is underway.

HIV Cases

Yunnan in southwest China recorded 9，723 new cases of HIV/AIDS in the first 10 months of 2016—slightly lower than during the same period last year—the latest data from the provincial HIV/AIDS prevention authorities show.

Among the new cases， 92.6 percent related to unprotected sex， a rise of 1.2 percentage points from a year earlier.

Unprotected sexual intercourse， intravenous drug taking， and mother-to-child transmission are the three main ways in which HIV/AIDS spreads.

Yunnan， which borders south-east Asias notorious Golden Triangle region， faces greater illegal drug use than other regions in China. Illicit drug taking， formerly a key channel by which HIV spread in the region， accounted for 6.3 percent of the new cases from January to October this year.

Yunnan had 93，437 people living with HIV/AIDS as of October 31 this year.

Eyeing Civil Service Posts

Candidates prepare for the 2017 national civil service exam in Nanjing， capital of east Chinas Jiangsu Province， on November 27.

About 1 million students participated in Chinas national civil service exam on that day， at more than 900 sites in 47 cities throughout the country.

According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security， about 984，000 finally sat the exam this year although about 1.48 million people registered and qualified for it.

Since there are only 27，061 vacancies， only 1 out of every 36 candidates stands to get a job.

The exam has been held annually since 1994 to select employees for the government and its affiliated institutions.

Winter Sports

Winter leisure facilities look set to improve， as authorities in Beijing aim to attract as many as 5 million local people to take up winter sports by 2020 in the lead up to Chinas first hosting of the Winter Olympic Games. Beijing， together with the city of Zhangjiakou in Hebei Province， won the bid for the games in 2022. The Beijing Municipal Government on November 28 approved a five-year （2016-20） plan on public fitness， pledging “vigorous efforts” to introduce all sorts of winter sports to the public， including alpine skiing， speed skating， figure skating and curling.

Under the plan， the government will use sports lottery revenue and other funds to build sporting venues， set up sports associations， and organize competitions and festivals.

The plan particularly aims to attract student enthusiasts by establishing recreation centers， clubs， winter camps and sports schools. The scale of investment and other project details are to be disclosed.

Maritime Economy

The China Ocean Economic Development Index， which gauges Chinas maritime economic development， rose to 119.9 in 2015， the National Marine Data and Information Service announced.

The index was 2.8 percent higher than in 2014.

The seas and oceans are integral to Chinas social-economic development， and the maritime economy has already become a powerful driver for the national economy.

During the 12th Five-Year Plan（2011-15） period， the annual growth rate of the index was 3.7 percent， suggesting a good overall development of the maritime economy.

The index refers to the comprehensive quantitative evaluation of Chinas maritime economic development in a certain period. It includes three sub-indices （development level， efficiency and potential） and covers 29 third-grade indicators. Taking the levels recorded in 2010 as baseline readings， the basic index is set as 100.

The development level subindex， which includes development scale， structure， benefits and openness of the maritime economy， was 119.7 in 2015， 0.7 percent higher than the previous year.

The development efficiency sub-index， which includes the development stability of the maritime economy and peoples quality of life， rose to 118.8， 4 percent higher than in 2014.

The development potential sub-index reflects innovation in the maritime economy， natural resources and the environment. It increased to 121.4 last year， which was 4.6 percent higher than in 2014.

Duty Free， Shopping Spree

An aerial view of the Sanya Duty-Free Shopping Mall in south Chinas Hainan Province.

Cumulative sales volume of the mall has amounted to 17.2 billion yuan （$2.5 billion） since the duty-free policy for offshore passengers was piloted on the island in April 2011.

The move aims to speed up the development of international tourism on Hainan Island.

Service Trade Deficit

Chinas foreign service trade deficit narrowed in October while the trade volume dropped， data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange（SAFE） showed.

The deficit stood at $20.9 billion in October， down from $23.3 billion in September and $25.4 billion in August.

Income from trade in services stood at $22.3 billion in October， down from $23 billion in September. Meanwhile， expenditures totaled$43.2 billion， less than Septembers$46.3 billion.

Different from trade in merchandise， trade in services refers to the sale and delivery of intangible products such as transportation， tourism， telecommunications， construction， advertising， computing and accounting.

Chinas service trade volume grew from $362.4 billion in 2010 to$713 billion in 2015， double that of the average international growth rate in the sector. The country is aiming to increase its service trade volume to over $1 trillion by 2020.

The State Council has pledged measures to improve the development of services trade， including gradually opening up the countrys finance， education， culture and medical sectors.

In October， China saw a surplus of $49.9 billion in foreign merchandise trade， up from $44 billion in September， according to SAFE.

2016 Box Office

Chinas 2016 box-office sales are expected to exceed the 2015 total of 44 billion yuan （$6.8 billion）， the countrys film watchdog said.

Box-office sales in the worlds second largest film market have posted an average growth of 35 percent year on year since 2003. In 2015 alone， it grew a whopping 48.7 percent， according to the State Administration of Press， Publication， Radio， Film and Television.

The regulator said that although this years growth will be slightly lower than 35 percent due to the Chinese currencys depreciation， the film market will continue to see robust growth.

The countrys film output ranks third in the global market and is expected to exceed 700 films by the end of 2016. Sales of film rights to online video sites raked in 4 billion yuan （$560 million） in the same period.

Chinas box-office sales increased from 1 billion yuan （$145.1 million） to 40 billion yuan （$5.8 billion） in the past decade as the industry adopted more marketoriented reform measures.

By 2020， annual box-office sales are expected to reach 100 billion yuan （$14.5 billion）， according to industry estimates.

Service Consumption

The Chinese Government on November 28 issued guidelines to boost service consumption as part of the efforts to build the tertiary sector into a new growth driver.

“We will attempt to unleash potential consumption by improving service quality and increasing service supply，”the State Council document said.

Tourism， elderly care， and cultural， sports and health industries were highlighted， as well as education and training.

The government believes more consumption in these areas will help improve peoples livelihoods， as well as contribute to economic restructuring and growth.

Specific measures include expanding visa-free policies for inbound cruises， pre-tax reductions on health insurance， less administration for nursing homes and Chineseforeign cooperation in schools.

Confronted with a prolonged slowdown， China has channeled energy into the services sector to offset flagging manufacturing and lackluster exports. In the first three quarters， services made up 58.5 percent of GDP growth， up 3.4 percentage points from a year ago.

The government will also impose higher standards on domestic products in the hope of attracting consumers that usually spend big on foreign products.

Fishing Season

Fishermen at work in Xiannu Lake in Xinyu City， east Chinas Jiangxi Province， on November 29.

It was the first day of fishing in the lake this winter. The fresh catch， amounting to tens of thousands of kilograms， was snapped up by buyers from Zhejiang， Jiangsu and other provinces.

World Cup Contract

China Railway Construction Corp.（CRCC） has won the contract to build a stadium for Qatars 2022 World Cup， the state-owned company said on November 29.

It is the first time that a Chinese company will build a World Cup venue， said Zhuo Lei， Chairman of CRCC International Ltd.

A joint venture between the CRCC and Qatar-based HBK Contracting will be the main contractor for the stadium in Lusail， a coastal city in Qatar.

The contract is worth $767 million in total， with the Chinese company accounting for 45 percent of the deal.

With a contract period of 40 months， the 92，000-seat stadium is designed to be the worlds largest membrane-structure building， incorporating 45，000 square meters of membrane. About 100，000 tons of steel will be used for its construction.

Video-Game Consoles

Sales revenue of video-game consoles in China is estimated to reach 3.37 billion yuan （$488 million） in 2016， said a government official on November 27.

Ma Feng， a deputy department director with the Ministry of Culture， told a gaming conference in Shanghai that console sales in China will grow 56.7 percent over that in 2015， surpassing the growth pace of the entire gaming industry.

“Chinas console market is becoming the gaming industrys most active and fastest growing subsector，” said Ma.

He attributed the boom to improved environment for homegrown game designers and console manufacturers to do businesses and cooperate with foreign partners. More domestic companies are investing in developing new games， while the latest products， including virtual reality gadgets made by foreign titans like Microsoft and Sony are faring well in the market， Ma added.

Agriculture Expo

The 2016 Central China （Hunan） Agriculture Expo is held in Changsha， capital of Hunan Province， on November 30.

With a floor area of 52，000 square meters， the expo， which ran from November 29 to December 5， attracted over 2，500 businesses from over 30 countries and regions to showcase their farm products.

Tibet Online Trading

An online commodity-trading platform specializing in Tibetan goods was launched in southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region.

The Tibet Jinxiu Commodity Trading Center—Chnte.net—trades Tibetan medicine， agricultural produce， gemstones， jade， paintings and other arts. Its operation combines e-commerce， commodity trade， modern logistics， and traditional retail shops， said Xu Chenyang， director of the trading center.

Xu said Tibet is rich in natural resources， but the regions products have difficulty in reaching the worlds major markets due to connectivity constraints.

The trading platform， he said， would help bridge the gap and boost the development of Tibets traditional economic sectors.