China in Pictures Page 38

Feb 08, 2023 18:54 PM

Gallery: Rescuers Race to Save Quake Survivors
Back-to-back earthquakes in Turkey and Syria have left more than 8,700 people dead and tens of thousands injured as of Wednesday afternoon. An enormous rescue effort is underway following Monday’s disaster, with countries and organizations around the world dispatching personnel to help. A group of rescuers from China arrived in Turkey early Wednesday morning to provide relief in the quake-stricken areas
Feb 07, 2023 20:22 PM

Gallery: China Restarts Group Tours Abroad
China will again allow group tours overseas after a nearly three-year suspension due to the pandemic. Through a pilot program announced by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, travel agencies will be able to sell plane ticket and hotel packages to tourists looking for an overseas getaway. Under the program, travel agencies will be allowed to offer group tours to 20 destinations favored by Chinese tourists before the pandemic, such as Thailand and Switzerland. The program aims to meet some of the growing demand for oversea trips that has been unleashed since China’s reversal of its strict ‘zero-Covid’ policy. Chinese travelers made 1.4 million trips overseas during this year’s Lunar New Year holiday, more than double than during the comparable period in 2022
Feb 07, 2023 16:47 PM

Gallery: Over 4,300 Killed in Turkey Earthquake
A powerful earthquake near the country’s southeastern border with Syria had left over 4,300 people dead as of Tuesday morning. The initial 7.8-magnitude quake struck early Monday in Gaziantep province and was followed by several powerful aftershocks, including one that measured 7.5 on the Richter scale. The disaster leveled thousands of buildings, including historical sites, in the two countries. The World Health Organization warned Monday that the death toll could rise eight-fold
Feb 06, 2023 20:08 PM

Gallery: Founder of Taiwan Buddhist Monastery Dies
Buddhist master Hsing Yun, founder of the influential Fo Guang Shan Monastery in Taiwan, died at the age of 97 on Sunday afternoon. Born in 1927 in East China’s Jiangsu province, he entered monastic life at the age of 12, moved to Taiwan in 1949 and founded the Fo Guang Shan order in 1967. He dedicated his life to promoting Buddhist education, culture, charity and led religious exchanges between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan for decades
Feb 06, 2023 19:52 PM

Gallery: Lantern Festival Lights Up China
There were lavish firework and lantern displays across China for the annual festival on Sunday. With Covid restrictions lifted, local governments in cities like Xi’an and Hangzhou resumed putting on fireworks shows that attracted large crowds. The festival also boosted the country’s tourism, with data from Ctrip.com showing searches for night-time tourist destinations doubled in the week before the festival
Feb 03, 2023 20:40 PM

Gallery: Dragons, Drums Kick Off Lantern Festival
China marked the lead-up to the annual holiday with traditional festivities including dragon dances, drum performances and lantern shows. Celebrated on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, the event marks the end of the Spring Festival and the first full moon of the new year. This year it falls on Sunday
Feb 03, 2023 19:53 PM

Gallery: China’s Star Sprints to Gold
Su Bingtian gained his first gold of the season Thursday, winning the men’s 60-meter final with a time of 6.59 seconds at the World Athletics Indoor Tour 2023 Gothenburg Games in Sweden. Su won international recognition in 2021 after setting a new Asian record in the men’s 100-meter sprint at the Tokyo Olympics. In 2019, he clocked 6.42 seconds in the men’s 60-meter final during the IAAF World Indoor Championships, making him one of the all-time top five fastest runners in the event
Feb 02, 2023 20:34 PM

Gallery: Polka Dotted Luxury
Yayoi Kusama’s signature polka dots have been emblazoned on Louis Vuitton stores across China, after the French fashion house partnered with the famed Japanese artist for the second time in a decade. Born in Japan in 1929, Kusama gained international acclaim in the 1960s for her avant-garde artwork. She opened her first exhibition in China in 2013. An exhibition featuring her work stretching all the way to 1945 is running in Hong Kong until mid-2023
Feb 02, 2023 17:54 PM

Gallery: BYD’s New Hiring Drive
China’s leading EV-maker started recruiting Sunday in Henan province’s capital Zhengzhou, with plans to take on 5,400 workers for its new industrial park at the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone. A BYD employee told Caixin that up to 3,000 job applications were made daily. The construction of the Zhengzhou base started in July and production is expected to commence next month
Feb 01, 2023 20:03 PM

Gallery: Chapter Closes for Sanlitun Bar Street
Residents in Beijing bid farewell to the famous ‘Sanlitun bar street’ after the businesses there were ordered to vacate the premises before Tuesday. Authorities had deemed the building conditions in the vicinity structurally unsafe. The street had been home to some of the oldest bars in the capital
Feb 01, 2023 19:35 PM

Gallery: More Western Arms Head to Ukraine
Western countries have pledged to deliver more weapons to Ukraine to help the war-torn country defend its territory from Russia. Kyiv’s ambassador to France said Ukraine’s allies have committed to sending more than 300 tanks to aid in the fight, with more than 30 countries having provided military assistance since the war began. Among them, the U.S. and the U.K. are the top suppliers, contributing more than $30 billion worth of military aid since February 2022. Countries such as Germany and France also announced plans to deliver armored vehicles and carriers, including Leopard tanks and Caesar howitzers in the first quarter
Jan 31, 2023 19:36 PM

Gallery: Curtains for Famous Hong Kong Fabric Market
After more than 40 years, Hong Kong’s iconic fabric market in Sham Shui Po closed on Tuesday to make way for public housing. The Yen Chow Street Temporary Hawker Bazaar, commonly known as Pang Jia, was built in 1978 and was once home to more than 190 textile stalls. As one of the oldest blue-collar neighborhoods in Hong Kong, Sham Shui Po’s streets, restaurants and old buildings boast a rich history behind the stalls
Jan 31, 2023 18:22 PM

Gallery: Deadly Mosque Bombing in Pakistan
Dozens have been killed in a suicide bombing at a mosque inside the police headquarters in Peshawar, Pakistan. Local media reported 93 dead and 221 injured as of Tuesday afternoon. The bombing occurred on Monday afternoon while more than 300 worshippers had gathered. A member of the Islamist organization Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan initially claimed responsibility for the attack, but that was later contradicted by a spokesperson who denied the group was involved
Jan 30, 2023 21:08 PM

Gallery: Cafes Filter Into Smaller Cities
China has witnessed an increasing number of stores serving up a daily caffeine fix to customers in smaller cities and counties across the country. After conquering major centers like Shanghai and Beijing, where coffee shops number in the thousands, outlets have begun to spring up in lower-tier markets. The demand is so strong that unlikely baristas such as the state-owned China Post have also thrown their hat into the ring and set up chain stores across the country
Jan 30, 2023 17:03 PM

Gallery: China’s Post-Holiday Hunt for Workers
Local governments across China are organizing job fairs following the Lunar New Year holiday to help companies fill vacancies in a bid to support the economy as it weathers a wave of Covid infections. More of the events, which are attracting droves of job seekers, will be held in provinces including Jiangsu and Henan through March. Some counties have also arranged free trains and buses to help workers delayed by the post-holiday travel rush return to their jobs
Jan 27, 2023 20:36 PM

Gallery: Hopping on the Year of the Rabbit Bandwagon
Foreign brands got into the Lunar New Year spirit by releasing products featuring rabbit motifs and designs to match the Chinese zodiac sign for the coming year. Luxury fashion brands including Loewe, Tory Burch and Tommy Hilfiger released limited edition clothes and accessories themed around the Year of the Rabbit ahead of the holidays, while others like Coach cooperated with iconic domestic brands such as White Rabbit Candy to appeal to Chinese shoppers
Jan 27, 2023 18:38 PM

Gallery: China Braces for Post-Holiday Travel Rush
Transport hubs across the country are preparing for the multitudes of travelers returning home following the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, which ends Friday. Railway stations and airports are expected to be inundated with people, with Thursday already seeing more than 43 million passengers on trains, planes and ships — an increase of 86% from the same period last
Jan 26, 2023 20:01 PM

Gallery: China Freezes Up as Mercury Tumbles
A cold wave gripped regions across China this week, with temperatures dropping to -23 degrees Celsius (-9.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in Shenyang, the capital of the northeastern province of Liaoning. The freezing weather caused ice floes in rivers and frozen shores by the seaside in some regions. More chilly weather is expected from Thursday to Saturday, when a new cold front will bring strong winds to central and eastern China, the National Meteorological Center reported
Jan 26, 2023 18:27 PM

Gallery: Lunar New Year Travel Rebounds
China’s domestic tourism sector enjoyed a spike in visitors over the Spring Festival holiday starting from Jan. 21. Popular destinations across the country, such as the Temple of Heaven in Beijing and the Longmen Grottoes in Henan province, received millions of visitors. For safety reasons, crowd control measures were implemented in many attractions
Jan 20, 2023 20:06 PM

Gallery: Avalanche Leaves at Least 20 Dead in Tibet
Rescuers continue to clear debris and hunt for survivors among vehicles trapped in the snow outside the exit of a highway tunnel in Nyingchi, Southwest China’s Tibet autonomous region. The local government has dispatched around 1,000 rescuers to the scene of the disaster. Eight people were still missing as of Friday