TURNING WASTE INTO HAPPINESS

Students entertain themselves by inventing games using old tires during playtime at Xianling Primary School in Yongchun County， Fujian Province， on May 25. The primary school tries to combine used tires with sports and created dozens of games since 2018. These games， which have turned waste into useful tools， have become a distinguishing feature of the school.

Blossoming Industry

A staff member checks the mini lotus plants at the Mini Lotus Planting Cooperative in Linzhang， a county in Hebei Province， on May 25. More than 200，000 pots of mini lotus plants have bloomed recently at the cooperative. In recent years， mini lotus planting has become a new way for locals to increase income.

Child Welfare

Chinas child welfare services will be restructured； the reform will see its completion by 2025， with the focus of the service system shifted to minor protection， the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on May 25 at a press conference.

Child welfare services in China have been dedicated to sheltering and supporting underage children whose guardianship has been assumed by the civil affairs authorities， the ministry said， noting that many of the facilities now lie idle as the number of orphans dropped 66 percent from the 2012 figure to the current 190，000.

Close to 70 percent of county-level child welfare facilities have fewer than 10 residents， Zhao Yong， an official with the ministry， said， adding that there are 1，217 child welfare facilities across the country.

In contrast to the declining orphan number， more children with serious illness or disability are in need of professional care， which the existing child welfare facilities fall short of， Zhao said.

Weather Warning

In the face of the nations most recent severe weather disasters， Chinas weather authority has stressed efforts to improve warning services at the grassroots level as well as for major events.

Since the end of April， severe weather disasters have occurred frequently， and rainfall has increased from the same periods in previous years， the China Meteorological Administration（CMA） said during a video conference on May 24.

Meteorological support services for sports and other major events should receive an upgrade. Emergency plans should also be upgraded regarding meteorological support for major events， natural disasters， and accidents in the workplace， the CMA said.