Summary: Fujian province is expanding its marine economy, guided by Xi Jinping's past directives to develop "Maritime Fujian" and recent calls to accelerate ocean economic development in Fuzhou and Xiamen. The province is focusing on high-quality development through advancements in aquaculture technology, marine biomedicine, and marine equipment manufacturing. New technologies include deep-sea aquaculture platforms and high-purity glucosamine production. Fujian has established several marine industry clusters and is fostering innovation through financial support and the creation of science and technology platforms, aiming to become a leading province in marine science and technology. Zhou Zuyi, the Party Secretary of Fujian province, emphasized the importance of technological innovation, industrial strength, ecological protection, and opening up to promote the province's transformation into a maritime powerhouse.
Summary: In response to a query about why China, as a developing nation, continues to pursue carbon reduction ("减碳") while some developed countries purportedly abandon it, the article argues that "减碳" is a necessity for China's own sustainable development and international responsibility. "减碳" is framed as crucial for mitigating the impacts of global warming, highlighted by record temperatures and extreme weather events in China. Furthermore, the article asserts that "减碳" contributes to China's global leadership in green technology and its role in global environmental governance, while also facilitating domestic economic transformation and improved environmental quality. The article emphasizes that China's commitment to "减碳" remains unwavering, seeing it as integral to high-quality development. The United States is not specifically mentioned, but the article addresses the global context of climate change and the actions of "some developed countries".
Summary: Bijie, Guizhou, once a typical impoverished area, is striving to become a demonstration zone for implementing the new development concept, focusing on green development, human resource development, and institutional innovation. The city has increased its forest coverage and improved water quality, while also transforming its coal industry from a "fuel-based" to a "raw material-based" model. Bijie is also focused on vocational education to develop its human capital, increasing the number of skilled workers. Furthermore, Bijie has implemented reforms to improve its business environment and attract investment, leading to economic growth. The article did not mention the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: Zhengzhou, Henan province, is transforming from an agricultural county into a major automotive production base, driven by national policies and a focus on high-quality manufacturing. Local Party officials emphasize the importance of adhering to Xi Jinping's directives on manufacturing and innovation. The city is aggressively pursuing the development of a trillion-yuan-level new energy vehicle industry cluster, attracting companies like BYD and supporting the transition of existing firms like Yutong. Zhengzhou aims to increase its vehicle production capacity to over 3 million units and achieve an industry scale of 500 billion yuan by 2025, focusing on strengthening the supply chain and enhancing indigenous research and development capabilities. This includes improving local component sourcing and building state-level technology platforms.
Summary: During the overlapping Dragon Boat Festival and International Children's Day holidays, people across China enjoyed diverse recreational activities. Children participated in colorful events to celebrate "June 1st." The article focuses on domestic celebrations and does not mention any U.S. related topics.
Summary: China's Ministry of Commerce reported that the 2025 consumer goods trade-in program generated 1.1 trillion yuan in sales by May 31st. The program, covering five major categories, issued approximately 175 million subsidies directly to consumers. Specifically, the program saw 4.12 million applications for auto trade-in subsidies, facilitated the purchase of 77.62 million home appliances by 49.86 million consumers, and led to 5.66 million digital products being purchased by 53.53 million consumers. Additionally, 6.5 million electric bicycles were traded in, and 57.63 million home renovation projects were completed.
Summary: During the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, new energy vehicle sales increased, partly due to government subsidies for consumers trading in older goods. Over 1 trillion yuan in sales have been generated through the "trade-in" program, with 175 million subsidies distributed. The article emphasizes the need for both effective policy and competitive products through technological innovation to further upgrade industry via increased consumption. It concludes that China is moving towards a high-quality supply-demand environment through macro policy and technological innovation.
Summary: China's market regulator has implemented new standards for individual-run online shops ("natural person" shops), aiming to address issues such as fake registrations, poor product quality, and difficulties in consumer redress. The new rules standardize platform management practices, including registration, operation, and exit procedures, to ensure accountability and protect consumers. Platforms are required to collect and verify shop owner identities and ensure consistent information, including requiring the name of the online shop owner to match the bank account used for withdrawals. The new regulations also include measures to incentivize compliant shops and provide avenues for dispute resolution and assistance.
Summary: During National Science and Technology Week and National Science and Technology Workers' Day, various mass science activities were held across China to stimulate innovation and inspire scientists. These activities included showcasing scientists' stories, displaying technological achievements, and promoting science to the public through various events like lectures, museum exhibitions, and stage dramas. Scientists are encouraged to serve the needs of the people and contribute to the development of a strong nation in science and technology. Wan Gang, chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology, encouraged scientists to integrate their ideals into the cause of building a strong country. The article does not mention the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: Bijie, Guizhou province, once a typical impoverished area, is striving to become a demonstration zone for the "new development concept" by focusing on green development, human resource development, and institutional innovation. The city has increased its forest coverage and improved water quality. Bijie is transforming its coal industry from fuel to raw material, increasing the efficiency of resource utilization and promoting high-end manufacturing, and is building a crucial resource processing base. Bijie is also developing its vocational education to cultivate skilled workers, and has reformed its systems and mechanisms to promote collaborative change. According to Wu Shenghua, Bijie is committed to converting every beneficial factor into practical development achievements.
Summary: Yiwu International Trade City merchants are participating in foreign language training programs, including Spanish, Arabic, and English, to better facilitate trade with international partners. This initiative by the Yiwu Mall Group aims to improve communication and build stronger relationships with clients, particularly in regions like Latin America and the EU, where trade has seen significant growth. Merchants emphasize that while translation software is helpful, direct communication in the client's language fosters trust and promotes cooperation. The merchants recognize that continuous learning is essential to stay competitive in the ever-evolving global market. The article did not discuss the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: The 2025 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Auto Show in Shenzhen featured numerous automakers and executives who emphasized the importance of "value" over "price" in the future of China's automotive industry. The event showcased advancements in AI-powered vehicles and smart mobility solutions, with companies like BYD, Huawei, and XPeng highlighting their latest innovations and significant R&D investments. Industry representatives, including executives from XPeng, GAC Group, and Huawei, stressed the need for fair competition and a focus on user needs for personalized and intelligent experiences. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers has recently addressed the issue of "disordered" price wars, advocating for healthy and sustainable industry development. There was no mention of the United States or U.S.-China relations in the article.
Summary: The article details Zhengzhou's efforts to bolster its automotive industry, particularly in the realm of new energy vehicles, in line with Xi Jinping's directives on high-quality manufacturing. Zhengzhou has focused on attracting companies like BYD and supporting the transition of existing firms like Yutong to new energy vehicles, while also strengthening the local supply chain. Through policy support, strategic investments, and focus on R&D, Zhengzhou aims to increase its vehicle production capacity and become a major automotive hub. The city has also worked to improve its infrastructure and logistical capabilities to support the industry's growth. The article does not discuss the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: The World Mayor's Dialogue Shanghai and the 2025 Shanghai International Friendly City Cooperation Forum were held, focusing on green development, low-carbon initiatives, and innovation. Representatives from 26 cities in 22 countries discussed topics such as green initiatives and youth empowerment. Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Dipuplit Sidhu highlighted the establishment of a green shipping corridor between Los Angeles and Shanghai, aiming to promote the green transformation of the shipping industry. The Mayor of Tacoma, Washington, noted the long-standing friendship between his city and cities in China, mentioning President Xi Jinping's visit to his alma mater and his own correspondence with the President.
Summary: The article argues that the U.S. tariff policy is unpredictable due to arbitrarily changing standards and targets, creating uncertainty for both foreign and domestic businesses. It asserts the U.S.'s imposition of tariffs will raise consumer prices and production costs, exacerbating inflation. Referencing historical precedent, the article warns that protectionism harms the global economy, and ultimately, the U.S. itself. The author writes that even close U.S. allies are threatened by U.S. tariffs, specifically mentioning that potential U.S. auto tariffs could significantly harm Japan's economy. The article concludes that the U.S. benefits most from the multilateral trade system, exploiting the "dollar privilege" to purchase goods and services globally.
Summary: Defense Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang responded to U.S. Secretary of Defense's "negative comments" regarding China at the Shangri-La Dialogue, accusing the U.S. of hegemony, bullying, and a Cold War mentality. Zhang stated that the U.S. actions, including trade wars, forming blocs, military deployments in the Asia-Pacific, and interference in internal affairs, are driven by self-interest and threaten regional stability. He emphasized that Taiwan is an internal matter where the U.S. has no say and asserted China's commitment to safeguarding its sovereignty and opposing "Taiwan independence". Zhang also accused the U.S. of stirring up trouble in the South China Sea and being the biggest threat to regional peace. Finally, Zhang reaffirmed China's commitment to regional peace, development, and opposing any attempts to instigate conflict in the Asia-Pacific.
Summary: A joint China-Central Asia media delegation visited Kazakhstan's Arul Group, a major car manufacturer partly owned by Chinese firms, to observe the success of Sino-Kazakh automotive cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. The Arul Group's annual production has increased substantially since 2019, due to partnership between the company and Chinese investors. Journalists from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan highlighted the growing importance of automotive manufacturing as a symbol of cooperation, noting the presence of Chinese EV manufacturing in Uzbekistan. Media representatives emphasized their role in fostering understanding and promoting stories of China-Central Asia collaboration. Arul Group representatives expressed commitment to future cooperation with Chinese partners.
Summary: At the "Future of Asia" forum in Tokyo, former Chinese Vice Minister of Finance Zhu Guangyao criticized the U.S. government's use of tariffs, warning it could lead to a "jungle law" in global trade and emphasizing China's counter-measures are to protect the global trade system. Former head of the China International Development Cooperation Agency Luo Zhaohui noted the importance of regional cooperation amid rising unilateralism and protectionism. Participants advocated for maintaining multilateralism and free trade, with multiple speakers highlighting the importance of a rules-based global trade system and the need for cooperation to counter unilateralism and economic globalization headwinds.
Summary: China and Laos have launched regularly scheduled international road transport services, marked by a ceremony in Kunming and Xishuangbanna on May 30th. The new road transport routes are intended to improve transportation efficiency and reduce logistics costs. This development aims to strengthen the transportation network between the two countries. The new network is expected to create increased opportunity for enterprises in both China and Laos. The article does not mention the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: As of June 1st, the Erenhot railway port in Inner Mongolia has exceeded 1,500 China-Europe freight train passages for the year. The Erenhot port, a key transit point on the China-Europe rail line and the largest land port between China and Mongolia, has expanded its network with new routes to Moscow and Minsk. The port now operates 73 routes reaching over 70 hubs in more than 10 countries, including Germany, Poland, and Russia. The trains transport goods including automobiles, machinery, electronics, and textiles, connecting 60 cities across 24 Chinese provinces to Europe.
Summary: A dual celebration of the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival and International Children's Day was held in Beijing, hosted by the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation. The event, titled "Childlike Fun and Joy - Together Beautifully," involved over 300 families from 30 countries, including Uzbekistan and Pakistan. The event focused on cultural exchange and technological exploration for the children and families involved. The China Industry and Commerce International Committee supported the event, which was hosted by the China Soong Ching Ling Youth Science and Culture Exchange Center. The event did not discuss the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: A "Tea and the World: Elegant Gathering" event was held in Minsk, Belarus, on May 31st. The event brought together Chinese and Belarusian individuals from various sectors at Freedom Square in the city center. Attendees fostered friendship through tea, experiencing the beauty of Eastern harmony and integration through tea and art.
Summary: A recent announcement by the central authorities detailed two cases of Party members violating regulations against extravagant banquets and drinking during a study and education period. The first case involved officials in Hubei Province, including Zhang Jian (then working in Chengdu), who organized a gathering with local officials, including Huanggang city secretary Li Junjie, resulting in the death of one official; subsequent cover-ups by involved parties were also detailed. The second case involved the entire leadership of a township in Anhui Province, where a similar gathering resulted in the death of a deputy secretary, and details attempts to cover up the incident. Disciplinary measures were taken against numerous individuals across both cases, including officials in Anqing city, including the city's acting mayor Zhang Junyi. The announcement emphasized the severity of these violations, highlighting the need for continued vigilance and stricter enforcement of regulations to prevent a resurgence of such behavior.
Summary: Ahead of International Children's Day, the National Young Pioneers Committee is promoting the "Remember the Party's Teachings, Strive to Be a Youngster of a Strong Country" campaign. Young Pioneers are participating in activities like patriotic-themed song performances, historical site visits, and practical experiences. Events include activities held in Beijing, Tianjin, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Zhejiang, and Anhui. The Young Pioneers are also participating in the "Young Pioneer Lark - Singing a New Journey" chorus exhibition activity.
Summary: Wang Yani, a former resident of the Hohhot Children's Welfare Institute, returned to visit the children on the eve of Children's Day, bringing gifts and supplies. Wang was previously visited by Xi Jinping in 2014, who encouraged her to study hard. Now a teacher at a special education school, she frequently visits the welfare institute, which she considers her home. The welfare institute utilizes a "simulated family" model and provides specialized care and education, including partnerships with hospitals for medical care and targeted rehabilitation programs. The article emphasizes the importance of societal care and gratitude for orphans and disabled children.
Summary: A centennial celebration was held at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE) in Chengdu on June 1st. SWUFE originated from Guanghua University a century ago, relocating to Sichuan during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The university was formed in 1952-1953 by merging the finance and economics departments of 17 institutions in Southwest China. SWUFE has been included in national initiatives such as "211 Project," "985 Project," and the "Double First-Class" project and has trained over 200,000 talents.
Summary: The "Lü'antong" cargo ship officially began operations on the Yantai-Dalian route on May 31st, marking the opening of a dedicated sea route for transporting new energy vehicles (NEVs) in the Bohai Strait. The "Lü'antong" is designed to transport NEVs across the Bohai strait, boosting the transport of NEVs and supporting the NEV industry. The ship docked in Yantai to load NEVs, signaling the commencement of this specialized transportation service. The new route is anticipated to improve the efficiency of NEV distribution within China.
Summary: The 2025 China Taklimakan Rally, a 13-day, 5183 km race, concluded on June 1st in Kashgar. Starting in Aksu on May 20th, the rally featured 55 teams, 105 cars, 23 motorcycles, and 233 competitors from multiple countries. The Shaanxi Yunxiang Club (driver Liu Yangui, navigator Chen Feng) won the car T1 group, the Shasui Shock Absorber Team 61 (driver Liang Zhihui, navigator Shi Zesen) won the car T2 group, the Qianjiang Panda Team (Zhou He) won the all-terrain vehicle group, and the Red Camel Motorcycle Factory Team 1 (Ma Ting) won the motorcycle group. No U.S. or U.S.-China relations were mentioned in the article.
Summary: This article discusses the booming early childhood education (早教) market in China and associated problems. Parents are driven by anxieties about their children "falling behind" to enroll infants in expensive programs, but experts question their effectiveness. Concerns include "running away" of institutions with prepaid fees, difficulties in obtaining refunds, low barriers to entry for instructors, and lack of clear regulatory oversight. Experts emphasize the importance of parental involvement and caution against marketing tactics that exploit parental anxiety.
Summary: The 2025 China Children's Development Forum was recently held in Beijing, focusing on strengthening collaboration between families, schools, and society to cultivate young people. Central and local officials, along with experts from various institutions, discussed topics such as promoting ethical development, protecting children's rights, and building innovative collaborative systems. The forum aimed to improve mechanisms for education involving schools, families, and society. Hosted by the China National Children's Center and the Chinese Society of Education, the event also saw the launch of a new family education program by the All-China Women's Federation.
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Summary: Here's a short summary of the provided article, focusing on key details and cultural elements: The article highlights Dragon Boat Festival celebrations in various Chinese regions, showcasing the festival's deep cultural significance. In Gansu's Gaotai, dragon boat races on the desert oasis are a major event, promoting teamwork and community spirit. Hubei's Zigui, the birthplace of Qu Yuan, commemorates the poet with traditional rituals and poetry festivals. Guangdong's Dongguan emphasizes unity through its month-long dragon boat festivities, including the "起龙" (qǐ lóng) ceremony. Finally, Guizhou's Huishui displays its ethnic diversity with a grand parade featuring traditional costumes and performances.
Summary: This article emphasizes the enduring patriotic spirit embedded within the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节). It traces the festival's evolution from ancient rituals aimed at warding off disease to a commemoration of Qu Yuan's (屈原) loyalty to the state. The piece highlights how traditions like eating zongzi and dragon boat races foster national unity and cultural pride. It also notes the contemporary relevance of the festival, citing the "Zhurong" Mars rover's Dragon Boat Festival greetings and the growing popularity of modernized festival-related products, demonstrating the ongoing cultural and patriotic significance of the holiday.
Summary: Please provide the article you would like me to summarize. I need the text of the article to create an accurate and concise summary for professional analysts of Chinese politics.
Summary: Traditional Chinese corridors ("lang") have evolved over millennia from basic passageways to integral elements in palaces, gardens, and residences. These corridors, which can be water-based, bridge-like, sloped, or multi-story, are now being revitalized with modern construction techniques and materials, such as solar panels and weathering steel. Architect Liu Jiakun's project in Chengdu incorporated a weathering steel corridor to revitalize a historic district. These updated corridors highlight the enduring cultural and architectural significance of "lang" in modern society.
Summary: The article discusses the "Mangzhong" (芒种) solar term, marking a busy agricultural period, especially for planting rice in southern China. In侗族 villages of Guizhou, the tradition of "mud fighting" (打泥巴仗) is highlighted as a joyful activity during this time, celebrating the land and fostering community spirit. This tradition involves throwing mud on each other and has evolved into a more ritualistic event involving young people and villagers participating in planting activities followed by traditional songs and dances. The practice integrates agricultural techniques, belief systems, and social ethics, promoting harmony between humans and nature. There is no discussion of the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: This article explains the traditional Chinese concept of 夏至 (the Summer Solstice) and 三伏 (the hottest period of summer). It details how the start dates of 初伏, 中伏, and 末伏 are calculated based on the 干支 calendar system and the 夏至 and 立秋 solar terms. The article explains that understanding these patterns is useful for agriculture, urban planning, and health practices. The calculations for the start and duration of 三伏 in 2025 are provided as an example.
Summary: This article from People's Daily focuses on selecting and consuming fresh fruit. It advises readers to use a five-step method – observe, smell, touch, check the stem, and select the origin – to ensure freshness when buying fruit such as mulberries, cherries, and loquats. It also provides guidance on selecting fruits with low sugar, low GI, and low GL for healthier consumption, recommending appropriate daily intake amounts for different groups. The article also highlights the benefits of eating whole fruits over juice to retain fiber and nutrients. There is no discussion of the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: Please provide the article you would like me to summarize. I need the text of the article to provide an accurate and concise summary tailored for professional China analysts.
Summary: The article discusses the burgeoning "birdwatching economy" in China, highlighting two specific locations: Dandong, Liaoning, and Sanming, Fujian. In Dandong's Yalu River Estuary, official Ma Li oversees efforts to protect migratory bird habitats, including monitoring bird populations and preventing disturbances, which are attracting increased tourism after the area was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. In Sanming, Fujian, the local economy benefits from the presence of the white pheasant, with "bird guides" assisting tourists and photographers; official Lin Huibi expresses the local government's intention to further develop bird-watching-based industries. Both regions are seeing increased tourism revenue and ecological awareness due to the rise in popularity of birdwatching. The piece does not discuss the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: This article discusses techniques for photographing birds in China. Chen Lin, vice chairman of the Fuzhou Photographers Association in Fujian, emphasizes the importance of understanding bird behavior, using appropriate equipment like long telephoto lenses, and mastering timing and perspective for successful bird photography. Chen also stresses the need for photographers to respect birds and avoid disturbing their natural environment. The article does not mention the United States.
Summary: A volunteer bird conservationist named Xie Yongdong was selected from nearly 3,000 candidates to work on the Nanjishan Islands National Nature Reserve in Zhejiang. Xie's responsibilities included attracting Chinese crested terns to the breeding grounds by placing bird models and playing their calls. He monitored the terns, recorded their behavior, and reported data to the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History, contributing to bird research. Life on the island was difficult, with limited resources and reliance on volunteers for conservation efforts. Xie hopes to promote bird conservation by incorporating it into his children's reading programs.
Summary: Please provide the article you would like me to summarize. I need the text of the article to provide an accurate and relevant summary for professional analysts of Chinese politics.
Summary: This article introduces a collection of essays focused on personal memories of the Dragon Boat Festival (端午). The editor invites readers to appreciate the essays and reminisce about their own unique experiences of the festival, both grand traditions and small sensory details. The article emphasizes the connection between personal memory and cultural heritage during the Dragon Boat Festival.
Summary: This article describes the cultural significance of dragon boat racing and "dragon boat rice" in a region of Southern China. The author recounts childhood memories of dragon boat races, the local martial arts master, and the communal tradition of eating dragon boat rice for good luck. One man, Ah Wei, was particularly skilled at making dragon boat rice, eventually opening a restaurant specializing in it. His niece later used her uncle's recipe to reduce her rent with an elderly Chinese expatriate living in Canada, and the elderly man never forgot the dish.
Summary: This article is a personal reflection on the experience of watching dragon boat races during the Dragon Boat Festival in southern China. The author reminisces about watching the races as a child from their father's shoulders and later chasing the boats along the riverbank. They describe the excitement of the drums, the colorful boats, and the speed of the race. The piece concludes with the author watching the race from a modern teahouse, reflecting on how these fragmented memories form a powerful connection to their past and culture.
Summary: This article discusses the 端午 (Dragon Boat Festival) traditions as depicted in Chinese literature, highlighting customs like dragon boat races, eating *zongzi* (粽子, glutinous rice dumplings), and consuming/playing with salted duck eggs. It notes regional variations in *zongzi* and duck egg traditions. The article also mentions customs aimed at warding off insects and evil spirits, like wearing tiger-head hats and writing the character "王" on doors with realgar wine. The piece concludes that the most cherished aspects of 端午 are the personal connections and blessings shared during the holiday.
Summary: This article is a nostalgic recollection of the author's childhood memories of the Dragon Boat Festival spent at their grandmother's house in a lakeside town. It describes the local customs, such as using reed leaves instead of bamboo leaves to make zongzi, collecting dew-covered leaves for medicinal purposes, and hanging artemisia and shellfish to ward off evil spirits. The author fondly remembers learning to make zongzi with their grandmother, watching dragon boat races, and playing in the rain. These traditions reflect a deep connection to nature and a desire for health and good fortune. The article does not discuss or allude to the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: The article discusses the painting *A Beautiful Scene of Tianzhong* by Fang Shishu, held in the Shanghai Museum. The article provides information on the painting, its artist, and its current location. There is no mention of Chinese politics, officials, the United States, or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: This article is a personal reflection on the author's deep connection to mugwort (艾草), particularly its significance during the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节). The author recounts childhood memories of the plant's pervasive presence in their hometown of Ganzhou, Jiangxi, and its use in traditional foods and customs. They also share stories of mugwort's medicinal properties and its ability to evoke a sense of home and comfort for their mother after moving to Northern China. For the author, encountering mugwort abroad evokes a sense of familiarity and connection to their cultural roots.
Summary: This article is a poem reflecting on nostalgia and returning home. The author evokes imagery of rural life, childhood games, and traditional customs associated with the Dragon Boat Festival. The poem expresses a longing to reconnect with past selves and fill the void left by absent family members. The author reflects on the changes over time and the feeling of being unrecognized by the new generation in their hometown. There is no mention of U.S.-China relations or the United States in the poem.
Summary: The provided text is too short to provide a meaningful summary. It only contains contact information for the newspaper and a designer's name. Therefore, I cannot extract information about Chinese politics, official statements, or U.S.-China relations.
By: 本报记者 付 文 刘晓宇 施 钰
In Fuzhou's Lianjiang County (福州连江县), on the "Fu Bao No. 1" (福鲍1号) deep-sea aquaculture platform, a light press of a button sends the aquaculture cages "taking the elevator" to the surface, where the green abalone await their next feeding. The platform is equipped with intelligent devices such as water quality monitoring and video surveillance, allowing fishermen to understand the offshore aquaculture situation in real time from the shore.
In Xiamen's Haicang District (厦门海沧区), within the Biomedical Port, various automated production equipment for raw material reaction and impurity removal at Lanwan Technology Co., Ltd. (蓝湾科技有限公司) operate rapidly, "transforming" shrimp and crab shells into high-purity glucosamine sulfate, which can be used to prevent and treat osteoarthritis, with an annual output value of over 400 million yuan.
During his time working in Fujian, Xi Jinping (习近平) successively proposed building "Maritime Fuzhou" (海上福州) and "Maritime Fujian" (海上福建). In October 2024, during his inspection in Fujian, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平总书记) pointed out: "Promote Fuzhou (福州) and Xiamen (厦门) to accelerate the construction of national marine economic development demonstration zones, and strengthen the marine economy."
Thoroughly implementing the spirit of the General Secretary's important instructions, Fujian leverages its marine resource advantages, cultivates and strengthens marine industries, and promotes the high-quality development of the marine economy. In 2024, the province's total marine economic output value exceeded 1.25 trillion yuan, and multiple indicators such as aquatic product export volume and per capita aquatic product possession ranked among the top in the country.
Firmly establishing and practicing the grand food concept, Fujian, with its vast sea area and abundant resources, is seeking food from the ocean and steadily advancing the construction of marine pastures.
Unlike traditional nearshore aquaculture rafts, "Fu Bao No. 1" (福鲍1号) ventures into the deep sea. Here, the seawater exchange volume is greater and the water temperature is more stable, greatly improving the quality, weight, and survival rate of abalone. In recent years, Lianjiang County (连江县) has continued to promote the transformation and upgrading of the offshore aquaculture industry. At the end of March this year, it comprehensively completed the upgrading and renovation of traditional aquaculture rafts, and the proportion of excellent water quality near the coast reached 92.5%.
As of the end of last year, Fujian had built more than 5,300 deep-water wave-resistant cages and invested in 23 deep-sea aquaculture platforms. The scale of deep-sea aquaculture ranks among the top in the country, and the aquaculture output of large yellow croaker, abalone, oysters, and kelp is considerable.
Climbing "high" and moving towards "new," a modern marine industrial system is accelerating its construction.
Glucosamine is a matrix that generates articular cartilage and synovial fluid. "We have invested a total of 500 million yuan in research and development. The purity of our glucosamine products is greater than 99%, breaking the long-term foreign monopoly," said Lin Xiufen (林秀芬), chairman of Lanwan Technology Co., Ltd. (蓝湾科技有限公司). The company is currently developing a new original drug for high-purity glucosamine.
From "selling by the ton" to "selling by the gram," Xiamen (厦门), relying on scientific research institutions such as the Third Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural Resources, is promoting the transformation of traditional fisheries towards directions such as biological breeding and deep processing of aquatic products, and strategic emerging industries such as marine biomedicine are developing rapidly.
At the outfitting wharf of Ningde Funing Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. (宁德福宁船舶重工有限公司), China's first pure electric marine tourist passenger ship, "Yujian 77" (屿见77), is undergoing final commissioning. "Our orders are scheduled until the end of 2026," said Hu Yuguo (胡裕国), assistant general manager of Funing Heavy Industry (福宁重工). The company has formed a full-chain capability from design and construction to system integration.
The 26-megawatt offshore wind turbine unit rolled off the production line, and the world's first floating offshore hydrogen production platform combined with renewable energy was born... Fujian has formed two 500 billion yuan-level marine industrial clusters for green petrochemicals and marine tourism, as well as three 100 billion yuan-level marine industrial clusters for marine fisheries, shipping logistics, and marine information.
Innovative mechanisms are cultivating and strengthening new quality productive forces.
Having been stationed in the Marine Economic Science and Technology Innovation Highland in Gulou District (鼓楼区) of Fuzhou (福州) for more than a year, Fuzhou Haike New Quality Technology Co., Ltd. (福州海科新质技术有限责任公司) has developed a large-scale application system for the comprehensive marine disaster prevention and control system with independent intellectual property rights, helping to solve marine safety problems such as pre-disaster forecasting and underwater detection and early warning.
"There is a rich pool of digital talent here, which can help companies develop rapidly," said Kou Weibin (寇伟滨), general manager of the company. Through holding government-enterprise matchmaking meetings, project roadshows, and other activities, the Science and Technology Innovation Highland connects resident enterprises with scientific research institutes and financial institutions, cultivating and strengthening new quality productive forces.
"We are innovating marine-related financial service models and promoting financial institutions in Fujian to support more than 360 billion yuan in intended financing in the marine field within five years," said Yan Zhihuang (颜志煌), Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Director of the Fujian Provincial Ocean and Fisheries Bureau (福建省海洋与渔业局). Fujian has built 8 national-level marine science and technology innovation platforms, 6 ministerial-level platforms, and 106 provincial-level platforms, becoming an important source of marine science and technology in China.
Zhou Zuyi (周祖翼), Secretary of the Fujian Provincial Party Committee (福建省委书记), stated that Fujian will **牢记**习近平总书记嘱托 (láo jì - "firmly remember," to bear in mind the entrustment of General Secretary Xi Jinping), adhere to invigorating the sea through science and technology, strengthening the sea through industry, protecting the sea ecologically, and enlivening the sea through openness, strive to write a new chapter in strengthening the country through the sea, and promote the transformation from a large marine province to a strong marine province.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 程 晨
I saw in the media that some developed countries have already given up on carbon reduction. Why should China, as a developing country, still insist on carbon reduction?
——People's Daily Online Netizen
Carbon reduction is not something others are asking us to do, but something we must do ourselves.
Let's start with what "carbon" is.
In the context of "carbon reduction," "carbon" does not refer to the element carbon, but rather greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and other gases that cause the greenhouse effect are called greenhouse gases. Among them, carbon dioxide is closely related to human activities and is used as a "representative." In daily expressions, "carbon dioxide" is abbreviated as "carbon."
Why reduce carbon?
The direct reason is that global warming threatens human survival and the continuation of civilization.
The United Nations has repeatedly warned that there is a direct link between increased greenhouse gas emissions and increasingly frequent and severe climate disasters, and that global warming is accelerating. Data from the World Meteorological Organization shows that 2024 is the hottest year on record, with extreme weather events occurring frequently in many parts of the world. Compared to the beginning of this century, the frequency of setting new monthly rainfall records in 2024 is 27% higher, and the frequency of setting new daily rainfall records is 52% higher.
No country can be immune to the effects of global warming. Specifically in China, the China Climate Bulletin shows that in 2024, the national average temperature was 10.9 degrees Celsius, the highest in history since 1951, and the national average number of high-temperature days was 6.6 days more than the normal year, the second most since 1961; the national average precipitation was 697.7 mm, 9.0% more than the normal year. Related natural disasters affect agricultural production and threaten people's lives and property.
The deeper reasons lie in two levels: international and domestic.
At the international level, carbon reduction is an urgent need for China to actively assume its responsibility as a major country and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Carbon reduction enables China to maintain strategic initiative in the global trend of green and low-carbon development. Efforts to reduce carbon can help developing countries enhance their hard power to cope with climate change and contribute to building a community with a shared future for mankind. As an important participant, contributor, and leader in global ecological civilization construction, China deeply participates in global environmental governance and continuously enhances its voice and influence in the global environmental governance system. China has built the world's largest and most complete new energy industry chain, and the export of wind and photovoltaic products in 2023 alone helped other countries reduce carbon emissions by about 810 million tons.
At the domestic level, carbon reduction is conducive to the green and low-carbon transformation and sustainable development of the economy and society.
Carbon reduction is conducive to meeting the people's growing needs for a beautiful ecological environment and promoting harmonious coexistence between man and nature. China has vigorously adjusted its energy structure, and the power generation of hydropower, nuclear power, wind power, and solar energy has increased significantly, which not only reduces carbon emissions but also reduces the emissions of PM2.5 and other pollutants. From 2015 to 2023, the average concentration of PM2.5 in cities at the prefecture level and above in China decreased by more than 30%. From 2013 to 2022, the GDP of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (京津冀) region increased by 60%, while the PM2.5 concentration decreased by more than 60%.
Carbon reduction is conducive to solving outstanding problems of resource and environmental constraints and achieving sustainable development. China ranks first in the world in terms of total installed capacity of wind, solar, hydro, and biomass power generation. In the past 10 years, the proportion of coal in China's energy consumption has decreased by 12.6 percentage points. From 2013 to 2023, China supported an average annual economic growth of 6.1% with an average annual energy consumption growth of 3.3%. In 2023, China's annual renewable energy power generation accounted for about 1/3 of the total social electricity consumption.
Carbon reduction is conducive to adapting to the trend of technological progress and promoting the transformation and upgrading of the economic structure. China has cumulatively phased out more than 150 million tons of backward steel production capacity, completed ultra-low emission transformation of 134 million tons of steel in the entire process, and built the world's largest, most complete, and most competitive clean energy industry chain. The output of polysilicon, silicon wafers, battery cells, and modules all account for more than 80% of the world's total; the manufacturing capacity of wind turbine units accounts for 60% of the world's total.
It can be seen that while reducing carbon, what is achieved is development. Thinking about why to reduce carbon is essentially exploring how to develop.
The development we want to achieve is the development that can well meet the people's growing needs for a better life and the development that reflects the new development concept.
Some countries are backing down from carbon reduction, but China's commitment is unwavering. Green is the underlying color of high-quality development, and carbon reduction is an inherent requirement for promoting high-quality development. While reducing carbon, what we are achieving is a transformation of the development mode.
When the wind from Zhangbei (张北) lights up the lights of Beijing (北京), when "blue sky, white clouds, and twinkling stars" become the norm, this hardcore romance and steady sense of security make people can't help but give a thumbs up.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 马跃峰 卞民德 黄 娴
The new development concept has taken root deep in the Wumeng Mountains, nurturing infinite vitality in Bijie City (毕节市), Guizhou Province (贵州省).
Bijie, once a typical impoverished area in the west, is also a vivid example of poverty alleviation in impoverished areas. General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) made important instructions emphasizing: "Focus on promoting green development, human resource development, and institutional mechanism innovation, and strive to build the Bijie Experimental Zone (毕节试验区) into a demonstration zone for implementing the new development concept."
With a weak foundation and being underdeveloped, how can a demonstration zone be built?
Being realistic and pragmatic, Bijie is based on its resource endowments, basic conditions, and other factors, giving play to its comparative advantages and working persistently.
Green development is the foundation of high-quality development. Bijie has suffered from ecological degradation. The forest coverage rate was once only 14.9%, more than half of the land was damaged by soil erosion, and bare rocky mountains covered more than 2.3 million mu.
Through dialectical trade-offs, Bijie insists on doing something and not doing something, guarding the two bottom lines of development and ecology.
The gorgeous transformation of the Baili Dujuan Management District (百里杜鹃管理区) is a perfect example.
Rhododendrons resemble a sea, and underground lies black gold. The original rhododendron forest belt, stretching more than 50 kilometers, was once surrounded by more than 3,800 illegal coal kilns.
By banning illegal coal kilns, integrating and standardizing coal mine production, and developing the tourism industry, Bijie is enacting a new story.
Changing his thinking and opening a homestay, Chen Shangyong (陈尚勇), a villager from Miaojiao Village (庙角村) who used to work in the mining industry, now "earns money with peace of mind and comfort."
In 2024, the city's forest coverage rate exceeded 60%, and the water quality compliance rate of centralized drinking water sources above the county level and the excellent water quality rate of the main river exit sections were both 100%.
The beauty is preserved, but what about the coal?
Bijie is rich in mineral resources, but in the past, its deep processing capacity was limited, and its industrial economy was "foolish, big, black, and crude."
Green transformation cannot be achieved overnight. Following economic laws, Bijie starts from reality and focuses on industrial transformation and upgrading.
The rolling black gold under the rhododendron forest belt is shown in a brand new look.
In the Qianxi Economic Development Zone (黔西经济开发区), inside Guizhou Qianxi Chemical Co., Ltd. (贵州黔希化工有限责任公司), coal is transformed into ethylene glycol, the raw material for polyester fiber fabrics. The carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and other gases produced during the production process are all recycled.
"The use of coal has shifted from 'fuel type' to 'raw material type', the efficiency of resource utilization has been improved, and product production has shifted from general processing to high-end manufacturing," said Wang Fujun (王付军), Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Guizhou Qianxi Chemical Co., Ltd. (贵州黔希化工有限责任公司党委副书记).
Bijie is accelerating the construction of a nationally important base for the deep processing of resources. From 2018 to 2024, phosphate rock development increased from zero to 2 million tons per year, and the output value of phosphate iron and other key non-energy mineral resources mining and beneficiation increased by 139.13%.
Bijie has a population advantage, but also faces its own problems. The city has a registered population of 9,527,700. In 2018, the average years of education for the local population aged 15 and above was 7.34 years, lower than the national average.
Giving play to its strengths and making up for its weaknesses, Bijie promotes human resource development with vocational education as the focus.
The change of fate proves that skills illuminate the future.
Qin Peng (秦鹏) comes from Paoma Village (跑马村), Pudi Township (普底乡), Dafang County (大方县), and his family used to be a registered poor household. After graduating from junior high school, he had no skills and could only do odd jobs everywhere.
"Entering the 'Guangdong Technician · Guangzhou Port Class' (广东技工·广州港班) of Bijie Vocational and Technical College (毕节职业技术学院), I had a new opportunity in life." Rooted in Guangzhou (广州), Qin Peng became a shore container crane driver.
Strengthening vocational skills training, cultivating the "Bijie Craftsman" brand, and building a "1+8" vocational education regional layout centered on Bijie Vocational Education City (毕节职教城)... The total number of skilled personnel in Bijie has increased from 178,500 in 2018 to 412,100 in 2024, accounting for 33.13% of the total talent resources.
The change of industry reflects the strong support of talent.
Bijie Mingyue Arts and Crafts Co., Ltd. (毕节明月工艺美术有限公司) has been established for only 4 years, and its employment has rapidly increased to more than 1,400 people.
For labor-intensive enterprises, recruitment is a problem, but General Manager Wang Dongyang (王冬阳) is very relaxed: "There are many industrial workers here and the vocational education system is complete. After simple training, they can quickly start working."
Gathering talents with industry and revitalizing industry with talents, Bijie actively develops labor-intensive industries dominated by textiles, and cultivates and strengthens characteristic industries with strong employment absorption capacity such as ecological food and electronic information, driving the masses to find employment nearby.
"In the past 6 years, we have introduced 3,071 high-level urgently needed talents and 3,137 industrial talents," introduced Zhang Heguo (张和国), Deputy Director of the Bijie Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau (毕节市人力资源和社会保障局副局长). The total talent resources in the city have increased from 723,200 in 2018 to 1,244,000 today.
However, the limited economic volume is still a bottleneck for human resource development in Bijie. To promote high-quality and full employment, Bijie weaves two dense networks, internal and external.
Expanding jobs within the city, 9 "zero-employment markets," 880 zero-employment stations, and 3,716 village-level employment information platforms care for left-behind groups; exporting labor outside the city, establishing labor cooperation relationships with 80 cities, and optimizing 30 labor cooperation stations outside the province.
Reform is the key to liberating and developing social productive forces. Upholding both breaking and establishing, Bijie insists on breaking down barriers and promoting collaborative changes, seeking impetus and vitality from comprehensively innovating the system and mechanism.
In the Zhijin Economic Development Zone (织金经济开发区), the Guizhou Bijie Phosphate Coal Chemical Integration Project (贵州毕节磷煤化工一体化项目) encountered a thorny problem.
Launched in August 2024, the first phase of the project was originally planned to be completed in 3 years. Due to sudden market changes, some production capacity must be put into operation more than a year in advance, otherwise the company will lose its competitive advantage.
A change of thinking broadens the horizon. Breaking down departmental barriers and optimizing work processes, the city and county are advancing in an integrated manner. During the Spring Festival holiday this year, breakthroughs were made in project land acquisition and demolition, freeing up time for subsequent construction.
"The ability to overcome this tough challenge is due to the change in the work style of cadres, and even more to the institutional mechanism reforms that Bijie has been continuously promoting in recent years," said Fu Zhengxiang (付正祥), Director of the Zhijin Economic Development Zone Management Committee (织金经济开发区管委会主任), with emotion.
Issuing Guizhou's first forestry carbon ticket, deepening the "Guiren Service · Bi Xu Ban" (贵人服务·毕须办) government service, and implementing the "one-paper commitment is worth ten thousand gold" reform for bidding... In the past 6 years, the city and county levels in Bijie have focused on promoting 408 and 811 reform items, respectively.
Data reflects Bijie's answer sheet.
In 2024, the regional GDP was 245.759 billion yuan, ranking third in Guizhou, and the growth rates of major economic indicators such as fixed asset investment and total retail sales of social consumer goods ranked among the top in Guizhou; Weining apples (威宁苹果), Tianma wine (天麻酒), and potatoes were sold overseas, and the total import and export trade increased by 16.13% year-on-year; 892,500 people lifted out of poverty have stable employment, firmly guarding the bottom line of preventing large-scale return to poverty.
"There is progress in vertical comparison, and there are gaps in horizontal comparison," said Wu Shenghua (吴胜华), member of the Standing Committee of the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Bijie Municipal Party Committee (贵州省委常委、毕节市委书记). "With hard work as the top priority, we will step up the implementation of various goals and tasks, and strive to transform all positive factors into development achievements."
Mountains are connected to mountains, and bends are connected to bends. Driving in Wumeng (乌蒙), the most anticipated thing is to suddenly see a clear and open plain. The new development concept leads Bijie to overcome mountains and move towards the future.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 王乐文 方 敏 朱佩娴
In the past, it was a mudflat wasteland filled with insect noises; now, trucks shuttle back and forth, and machines roar. This is Zhongmu County (中牟县) in Zhengzhou (郑州), Henan (河南), the largest automobile and parts production base in the province.
"Previously, Zhongmu (中牟) was an agricultural county with a weak industrial base," said Rong Xuguang (荣旭光), a member of the Standing Committee of the Zhongmu County (中牟县) Party Committee and Deputy County Chief. In recent years, Zhengzhou (郑州) has been making every effort to develop the automotive industry, and hundreds of auto parts production companies have settled in Zhongmu (中牟), with an annual output value of more than 200 billion yuan.
The transformation of Zhongmu (中牟) is a vivid example of Zhengzhou's (郑州) efforts to expand and strengthen the automotive industry.
In September 2019, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) pointed out during his inspection in Henan (河南): "To promote high-quality economic development, we must seize the strategic opportunity of promoting the rise of the central region, base ourselves on the actual conditions of the province, give full play to our strengths and avoid our weaknesses, take high-quality manufacturing development as the main direction, and place innovation in a prominent position in the overall development." In May 2025, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) emphasized during his inspection in Henan (河南): "Manufacturing is an important pillar of the national economy, and promoting Chinese-style modernization must maintain a reasonable proportion of manufacturing."
Deeply implementing the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important speech, Zhengzhou (郑州) is focusing on developing the automotive industry. It currently has seven complete vehicle companies, including Yutong Bus (宇通客车) and Zhengzhou BYD (郑州比亚迪), and more than 150 core supporting enterprises. Its production capacity has increased from 700,000 vehicles in 2012 to more than 2.6 million vehicles, with an industrial scale of over 300 billion yuan.
How has Zhengzhou's (郑州) automotive industry grown so large? And how can it be strengthened?
Aiming at new tracks and seizing the development opportunities of new energy vehicles. In recent years, Zhengzhou (郑州) has been making every effort to build a trillion-yuan-level industrial cluster for new energy vehicles. On the one hand, it guides companies such as Yutong Bus (宇通客车) to transform to new energy, and encourages Haima Automobile (海马汽车) and others to revitalize idle production capacity through equity cooperation, joint research and development, and other methods; on the other hand, it accelerates the introduction of new energy complete vehicle production projects such as BYD (比亚迪) to settle in Zhengzhou (郑州).
Development brooks no delay—in September 2021, Zhengzhou (郑州) signed a contract with BYD (比亚迪), the project started in 37 days, and it was put into production in 17 months. In the year it was put into production, the output exceeded 200,000 vehicles, completing an output value of 33.47 billion yuan. Currently, Zhengzhou BYD (郑州比亚迪) has produced more than 760,000 vehicles, with an output value of over 100 billion yuan.
Policy leadership releases vitality, and practical work achieves practical results. Zhengzhou (郑州) strengthens the automotive industry chain with "one chain, one special team, one research and development institution, one map, and eight lists," and has introduced a number of automotive industry-related policies.
For new industrial investment, the government takes the lead in finding land and providing supporting facilities; to carry out fuel cell vehicle research and development, Zhengzhou (郑州) has opened a public transportation demonstration line to support demonstration operations... "In recent years, Yutong (宇通) has grown from small to large, inseparable from policy support," said Fu Shenghua (傅生华), Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. (宇通客车股份有限公司).
Development vitality is constantly being released. In 2024, Yutong (宇通) sold a total of 65,000 commercial vehicles of various types, an increase of 43.8% year-on-year, and the production and sales of large and medium-sized buses remained at the forefront of the industry.
"We not only want to catch up, but also want to achieve a 'curve overtaking'," said a responsible comrade of the Zhengzhou (郑州) Municipal Party Committee.
If you want to overtake, how do you step on the "accelerator"? Zhengzhou (郑州) steadily makes up for its shortcomings and strengthens its strengths, and accumulates quantity to transform into qualitative change.
Enterprises proposed: "There are not enough key supporting enterprises."
Then supplement—Zhengzhou (郑州) focuses on the Airport Economic Zone (航空港区), Economic Development Zone (经开区), Zhongmu County (中牟县), and High-tech Zone (高新区) to promote the construction of "4+N" new energy vehicle parts industrial parks. Now, from large automotive engine modules to small metal stampings, Zhengzhou (郑州) can produce them. The local supporting rate of parts has increased from 30% in 2022 to more than 50% now, and the local supporting rate of some key models has reached 65%.
Enterprises reflected: "Independent research and development capabilities are still weak."
Then strengthen—around the automotive industry, Zhengzhou (郑州) has built 16 national-level technology platforms such as national-level enterprise technology centers and complete vehicle test centers, and 39 provincial-level key research and development platforms. A number of key common technologies such as automotive intelligent sensors have achieved breakthroughs.
Enterprises suggested: "Related supporting support needs to be improved."
Then optimize—encourage policy banks to provide low-interest loans and provide differentiated financial service solutions. Zhengzhou (郑州) has specially issued documents to strengthen financial support; relying on logistics hubs such as Zhengzhou International Land Port (郑州国际陆港) to create a modern automotive logistics base integrating "multimodal transport + warehousing services + international logistics"...
With efforts from all parties, "Zhengzhou-made" has enhanced its strength. In 2024, Zhengzhou's (郑州) automobile production exceeded 1.1 million vehicles.
Zhengzhou (郑州) has set a goal: In 2025, it will strive to break through 3 million vehicles in complete vehicle production capacity, and the overall industrial scale will reach 500 billion yuan.
In the Zhengzhou Airport Economic Zone (郑州航空港区), in the BYD (比亚迪) fully automatic welding workshop, the robotic arm swings lightly, and the welding error is as low as 0.2 mm;
At Zhengzhou International Land Port (郑州国际陆港), the China-Europe train loaded with automotive wiring harnesses arrives;
In Zhengzhou High-tech Zone (郑州高新区), in the intelligent connected vehicle test demonstration zone, unmanned heavy trucks are tested for precise turning...
"Develop new quality productive forces in accordance with local conditions and accelerate the construction of a modern industrial system" and "Promote the integrated development of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, vigorously promote new industrialization, and expand and strengthen advanced manufacturing." The policy spring breeze in the "Government Work Report" is urging "Zhengzhou-made" to continue to move forward.
Return to TopThis year's Dragon Boat Festival holiday overlapped with International Children's Day on June 1st. People in various regions enjoyed the holiday and enriched themselves through various means, and children also celebrated "June 1st" in colorful activities.
Return to TopThis newspaper's Beijing (北京) dispatch on June 1st (Reporter Wang Ke (王珂)): The Ministry of Commerce (商务部) released data on the 1st, showing that as of May 31st, the "trade-in" program for consumer goods in 2025 across 5 major categories has driven a total sales volume of 1.1 trillion yuan, with approximately 175 million subsidies issued directly to consumers.
Among them, the number of applications for car trade-in subsidies reached 4.12 million; 49.863 million consumers purchased 77.618 million units of 12 major categories of home appliances; 53.529 million consumers purchased 56.629 million units of digital products such as mobile phones; 6.5 million electric bicycles were traded in; and there were 57.626 million orders for home decoration and kitchen/bathroom "renovations."
Return to TopBy: 路 娟
During the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, consumers flocked to purchase new energy vehicles, and some stores saw a significant increase in customer traffic. Thanks to the consumer goods trade-in policy, consumers receive subsidies and enjoy tangible benefits when purchasing cars.
Consumption is linked to millions of households and all walks of life. Since the beginning of this year, the sales volume of consumer goods traded in for new ones has exceeded 1 trillion yuan, and 175 million subsidies have been directly distributed to consumers. Behind these figures is a series of policies that are continuously strengthening, expanding, and becoming more precise and effective. Trading old for new "renews" a better life, releasing potential consumption, activating industrial vitality, and smoothing the domestic circulation.
Leading industrial upgrading with consumption upgrading requires not only precise policy implementation but also the market to expand high-quality supply. Ultimately, competitive products rely on enterprises to create them. By leveraging policy tailwinds and grasping consumption trends, companies should strengthen technological innovation, enhance brand value, and launch more products that meet consumer needs.
Today's China is striding forward in the "two-way rush" of high-quality supply and high-quality life. Comprehensively expanding domestic demand, leveraging the catalytic role of macroeconomic policies, making good use of technological innovation as a key variable, clearing bottlenecks, and tapping potential will surely enhance development resilience and create a better life.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 林丽鹂
Farmhouse specialties go directly from the fields to urban dining tables, and designers create exclusive handmade pottery... In recent years, individual-operated online stores have developed rapidly, accounting for nearly 60% of the total number of operators on the platforms. Behind the rapid growth in the number of online stores, there are also hidden concerns: some are due to inconsistent platform entry and management standards, leading to false registration of some online stores, making it impossible to find someone for rights protection; some have insufficient monitoring and disposal of violations, leading to frequent problems such as "three-no" products (三无产品), false shipments, and false advertising, resulting in the bad driving out the good; some have arbitrary exit management, leading to direct "runaways" after selling fake goods and engaging in credit fraud, leaving consumers with no recourse for complaints.
Effective June 1, the State Administration for Market Regulation's "Management Specifications for Natural Person Online Stores" (《自然人网店管理规范》) (hereinafter referred to as the "Specifications") was officially implemented. As the first market regulation industry standard, it regulates natural person online stores throughout the entire process and chain, filling the gap in the regulatory system for natural person online stores. Regarding issues of concern to consumers, this reporter interviewed the person in charge of the Network Monitoring Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation (市场监管总局).
What are the prominent problems?
Q: In recent years, what prominent problems have been discovered in the supervision of natural person online stores that have prompted the introduction of special regulations?
A: Natural person online stores refer to business entities that sell self-produced agricultural and sideline products, household handicrafts, or engage in convenient labor services and small-scale transactions (annual transaction volume not exceeding 100,000 yuan) through the internet. They play an important role in stabilizing growth, promoting consumption, ensuring employment, and benefiting people's livelihoods.
However, because natural person online stores are exempt from registration, and each platform has inconsistent management standards for natural person online stores entering the platform, information disclosure, operational inspection, violation monitoring and disposal, rights relief, and exiting the platform, it is often impossible to find someone or investigate the matter after a problem occurs, making it difficult to effectively hold them accountable. Natural person online stores have become a disaster area for problems such as counterfeit and shoddy products, false advertising, consumer infringement, and online sales of prohibited items. These problems are not conducive to the further development and growth of natural person online stores, nor are they conducive to the protection of the rights and interests of online consumers, affecting the high-quality development of the platform economy.
In order to promote the healthy and standardized development of natural person online stores, the State Administration for Market Regulation (市场监管总局) has studied and formulated market regulation industry standards, in the form of recommended standards, to promote and improve the standardization of network transaction platforms' management of natural person online stores.
How do consumers protect their rights?
Q: How does the "Specifications" solve the regulatory difficulties of natural person online stores? How will it solve the problem of consumers' difficulty in protecting their rights after online stores "run away"?
A: The network transaction platforms to which the "Specifications" apply include not only traditional shelf e-commerce platforms, but also new e-commerce platforms such as live-streaming e-commerce, social e-commerce, and second-hand e-commerce. By constructing a "four unifications" management framework for platforms to manage natural person online stores, the regulatory difficulties of natural person online stores are systematically resolved.
Unified entry standards to ensure the authenticity of online stores from the source. Refine the information collection and review of natural person online stores entering the platform, require the platform to collect the identity information of natural person online store operators, conduct consistency review of the natural person's name and the online store's withdrawal bank account, promote the resolution of the main authenticity problem of natural person online stores, and ensure transaction security.
Unified operating rules to regulate online store operating behavior. Refine the display requirements of natural person online stores to protect consumers' right to know. Refine the platform's credit evaluation and evaluation information management system, and prohibit the deletion, alteration, or impersonation of consumer evaluation information. Refine the platform's violation monitoring system, and require the platform to actively investigate, promptly discover, and dispose of and report behaviors such as selling counterfeit and shoddy products, false advertising, and false shipments. If a natural person online store fails to protect consumers, it can investigate and support consumers' demands according to the platform rules and inform the natural person online store of the handling results.
Unified exit mechanism to protect consumers' after-sales rights. Refine the information disclosure obligations of natural person online stores exiting the platform, requiring stores to post a continuous announcement in a prominent position on the homepage 30 days in advance before closing the store, giving consumers enough time to protect their rights. Refine the transaction guarantee requirements for natural person online stores exiting the platform, and clarify that the platform should urge natural person online stores to fulfill their obligations such as delivery, return, exchange, and maintenance during the publicity period to avoid consumers having no recourse after the online store "disappears."
Unified data reporting standards to improve regulatory and rights protection effectiveness. Clearly require platform operators to record and save natural person online store management information and report data to market regulatory authorities, and give full play to the role of data in improving the effectiveness of network transaction supervision and the efficiency of rights protection.
How to incentivize high-quality online stores?
Q: How to balance standardized management and encouraging the development of small and micro-operators?
A: Adhere to the equal emphasis on encouraging development and standardized management. On the one hand, implement and refine relevant provisions of the E-commerce Law and other regulations. By clarifying the management requirements of network transaction platforms for natural person online store operation inspections, online store displays, intellectual property management, compliance management, and violation monitoring, draw a "red line" and compliance boundary for the operation of natural person online stores, and guide natural person online stores to operate in accordance with the law.
On the other hand, from the perspective of stabilizing entities and employment, innovatively propose encouraging and supporting content such as positive credit incentives, relief, and assistance. Establish a positive credit incentive mechanism. Provide priority or simplified procedures, reduced technical service fees or commissions, and other incentives in scenarios such as marketing activity support for natural person online stores with good credit ratings to support high-quality online stores. Provide rights relief and assistance. Encourage platforms to assist natural person online stores in mediating disputes, take relief measures when performance is difficult due to force majeure, and provide special subsidies. Pay attention to the combination of leniency and strictness. Require platforms to first correct violations of natural person online stores, comprehensively consider the circumstances of the violations, and take tiered disposal measures such as reminders and warnings, time-limited corrections, public warnings, and permission restrictions to avoid "severe punishment for minor offenses."
Q: According to the "Specifications," what are the changes in the steps and procedures for natural persons to open stores? Will it increase compliance costs?
A: The "Specifications" follow the principle of "minimum necessity" and unify the information collection and review standards for natural person online stores entering various network transaction platforms, facilitating market access for natural person online stores. It should be noted that if the natural person's name and the online store's withdrawal bank account are inconsistent, the online store will not be able to be opened. This requirement is a refinement of the obligation of network transaction operators to truthfully disclose identity information and does not increase the compliance costs of law-abiding operators.
Q: Will the "Specifications" increase the operating burden of platform enterprises and natural person online stores?
A: The "Specifications" follow market laws, respect the characteristics of the platform economy and the autonomous operating rights of operating entities, focus on the key issues in the development and supervision of natural person online stores, on the one hand, enhance the operability of relevant laws and regulations, and on the other hand, summarize and refine the effective agreement rules and management measures in the management of platform enterprises, and elevate them to standards to promote and improve the level of platform compliance governance. It is conducive to guiding platform enterprises to actively fulfill their main responsibilities and improve the management level of natural person online stores; it is conducive to urging natural person online stores to operate in compliance, achieve healthy, orderly, and sustainable development; and it is conducive to regulating the order of the network transaction market and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and related entities. The "Specifications" are recommended industry standards and do not increase mandatory obligations.
Return to TopListening to science "big names" tell innovation stories, entering laboratories to explore the "national heavy equipment," and experiencing the power of the spirit in scientist-themed stage plays...
The 24th to 31st of May is National Science and Technology Activities Week, and May 30th is National Science and Technology Workers' Day. In recent days, various regions have widely carried out diverse mass science and technology activities to stimulate the innovation and creativity of the whole society and encourage the vast number of science and technology workers to strengthen their confidence and strive to build a strong science and technology country.
Spreading the Story of Serving the Country, Cultivating the Fertile Soil of the Spirit
Inside the China Science and Technology Museum (中国科学家博物馆), a manuscript of an application to join the Party from 68 years ago allows viewers to see the starting point of Academician Hou Yunde (侯云德), a virology expert and winner of the National Top Science and Technology Award, in serving the country through science: "I firmly and deeply believe that after I join the Party, with the Party's continuous education and my own continuous efforts, my life will be able to dedicate itself more infinitely and loyally to the cause of the Party, the cause of the people... to dedicate my life's energy to creative labor."
On National Science and Technology Workers' Day, the China Science and Technology Museum (中国科学家博物馆) centrally exhibited 10 precious collections, including manuscripts and photos of many scientists, and told the stories behind the collections to the public. Zhang Yong (张勇), a student of Hou Yunde (侯云德) and deputy director of the Institute of Viral Disease Control and Prevention of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (中国疾控中心病毒病所), said: "For decades, Academician Hou has always adhered to his original intention, based on the national conditions, worked diligently, and made great contributions to the country and the people."
Scientific achievements cannot be separated from spiritual support. This year's National Science and Technology Activities Week and National Science and Technology Workers' Day activities vigorously promote the spirit of scientists, telling the stories of scientists through innovative forms and means—
The China Association for Science and Technology's (中国科协) "Hundred Lectures on the Spirit of Scientists" entered universities, enterprises, and science and technology innovation parks across the country, allowing science and technology workers to draw spiritual strength from the deeds of role models;
The China Science and Technology Museum's (中国科技馆) "Beichen Dialogue" column invited many academicians and representatives of young science and technology workers to discuss together the rich connotation of the spirit of scientists in the new era;
Fujian (福建) launched the musical drama "Eight Min Constellations" (八闽繁星), presenting a panoramic view of the moving stories of science and technology workers, bringing the audience an audio-visual feast...
Displaying Scientific and Technological Achievements, Sowing the Seeds of Innovation
During the event, various regions actively promoted scientific and technological achievements to the public, making high-precision technology more knowable, perceptible, and touchable.
At the Chongqing (重庆) Science and Technology Activities Week site, robots kicking and shooting, and versatile robot dogs, the "steel partners" made the children exclaim in amazement.
"How do robots 'think'? Do they have their own ideas?" The 6-year-old "little science and technology reporter" asked a naive question, and Mu Yunbo (穆云波), secretary-general of the Youth Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence Professional Committee of the Chongqing Electronics Society (重庆市电子学会青少年信息技术与人工智能专业委员会), enthusiastically answered the children.
"Popular science is not only the transmission of knowledge, but also a bridge to eliminate 'technological strangeness.'" Mu Yunbo (穆云波) said that he hopes that through high-quality popular science activities, more people can approach and understand science and technology, learn and apply science and technology, and make advocating science and pursuing innovation a social trend.
From the National Pulse High Magnetic Field Science Center of Huazhong University of Science and Technology (华中科技大学国家脉冲强磁场科学中心) inviting more than 100 middle school students to explore the country's heavy equipment, to the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (中国科学院自动化研究所) centrally presenting scientific research achievements in cutting-edge fields such as smart healthcare and brain-computer interfaces to the public, and then to the Guizhou Science and Technology Museum (贵州科技馆) extending scientific exploration from "daytime classrooms" to "nighttime adventures"... doors to science are opening to the public, and seeds of innovation are quietly sown.
Bearing in Mind the Mission and Responsibility, Rooted in the Needs of People's Livelihood
Popular science activities should be both "interesting" and "useful." The vast number of science and technology workers bear in mind serving the country through science and technology, go deep into the fields, factories, mines, workshops, schools, and communities, and use what they have learned and researched to serve economic development and the needs of people's livelihood.
In Hebei (河北), agricultural expert service groups go deep into planting bases to solve technical problems for farmers; in Tianjin (天津), university teachers popularize the "knowledge" of dressing and horticultural techniques to community residents...
In recent days, Lü Shiwen (吕世文), a science and technology commissioner in Litong District, Wuzhong City, Ningxia (宁夏吴忠市利通区), has been busy. He not only goes from house to house teaching farmers how to scientifically raise livestock and poultry, but also helps farmers sell unsalable agricultural products through nutritional science popularization. "We are not only technology promoters, but also fellow travelers of farmers," said Lü Shiwen (吕世文).
The blueprint for building a strong science and technology country by 2035 has been drawn. "The new journey gives the science and technology community a new mission, and the new era calls on science and technology workers to show new achievements." Wan Gang (万钢), chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology (中国科协), encouraged the vast number of science and technology workers to "take 10 years as a measure of struggle, integrate personal ideals into the great cause of a strong country, accelerate the realization of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-improvement, and light up the road to national rejuvenation with the fire of innovation."
(According to Xinhua News Agency (新华社) Beijing (北京) June 1st report, reporters Wen Jinghua (温竞华), Wu Yanxia (吴燕霞), Tang Zichen (唐紫宸))
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 马跃峰 卞民德 黄 娴
The new development concept has taken root deep in the Wumeng Mountains, breeding infinite vitality in Bijie City (毕节市), Guizhou Province.
Bijie (毕节), once a typical impoverished area in the west, is also a vivid example of poverty alleviation in impoverished areas. General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) made important instructions, emphasizing: "Focus on promoting green development, human resource development, and institutional mechanism innovation, and strive to build the Bijie (毕节) Experimental Zone into a demonstration zone for implementing the new development concept."
With a weak foundation and being underdeveloped, how can a demonstration zone be built?
Being pragmatic and realistic, Bijie (毕节) is based on its resource endowments, basic conditions, etc., to leverage its comparative advantages and work persistently.
Green development is the foundation of high-quality development. Bijie (毕节) has suffered from ecological degradation. The forest coverage rate was once only 14.9%, more than half of the land was damaged by soil erosion, and bare rocky mountains covered more than 2.3 million mu.
Through dialectical trade-offs, Bijie (毕节) insists on doing something and not doing something, guarding the two bottom lines of development and ecology.
The gorgeous transformation of the Baili Dujuan (百里杜鹃) Management District is a sample.
Rhododendrons are like a sea, and black gold is hidden underground. The original rhododendron forest belt, stretching for more than 50 kilometers, was once surrounded by more than 3,800 illegal coal kilns.
Banning illegal coal kilns, integrating and standardizing coal mine production, and developing the tourism industry, Bijie (毕节) is telling a new story.
Changing his thinking and opening a homestay, Chen Shangyong (陈尚勇), a villager in Miaojiao Village (庙角村) who used to work in the mining industry, now "earns money with peace of mind and comfort."
In 2024, the city's forest coverage rate exceeded 60%, and the water quality compliance rate of centralized drinking water sources above the county level and the excellent water quality rate of the main river exit sections were both 100%.
The beauty is preserved, but what about the coal?
Bijie (毕节) is rich in mineral resources, but in the past, its intensive processing capacity was limited, and its industrial economy was "crude, large, and black."
Green transformation cannot be achieved overnight. Following economic laws, Bijie (毕节) starts from reality and focuses on industrial transformation and upgrading.
The rolling black gold under the rhododendron forest belt is shown in a new light.
In the Qianxi Economic Development Zone (黔西经济开发区), inside Guizhou Qianxi Chemical Co., Ltd. (贵州黔希化工有限责任公司), coal is transformed into ethylene glycol, the raw material for polyester fiber fabrics. The carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and other substances generated during the production process are all recycled.
"The use of coal has shifted from 'fuel type' to 'raw material type', the efficiency of resource utilization has been improved, and product production has shifted from general processing to high-end manufacturing," said Wang Fujun (王付军), deputy secretary of the Party Committee of Guizhou Qianxi Chemical Co., Ltd. (贵州黔希化工有限责任公司).
Bijie (毕节) is accelerating the construction of a nationally important resource intensive processing base. From 2018 to 2024, phosphate mine development increased from zero to 2 million tons per year, and the output value of phosphate iron and other key non-energy mineral resources mining and beneficiation increased by 139.13%.
Bijie (毕节) has a population advantage, but also faces its own problems. The city has a registered population of 9,527,700. In 2018, the average years of education for the local population aged 15 and above was 7.34 years, lower than the national average.
Leveraging strengths and addressing weaknesses, Bijie (毕节) promotes human resource development with vocational education as the focus.
The change of fate proves that skills illuminate the future.
Qin Peng (秦鹏) comes from Paoma Village (跑马村), Pudi Township (普底乡), Dafang County (大方县), and his family used to be a registered poverty-stricken household. After graduating from junior high school, he had no skills and could only do odd jobs everywhere.
"Walking into the 'Guangdong Technician · Guangzhou Port Class' (广东技工·广州港班) of Bijie Vocational and Technical College (毕节职业技术学院), I have a new opportunity in life." Rooted in Guangzhou (广州), Qin Peng (秦鹏) has become a shore-side container crane driver.
Strengthening vocational skills training, cultivating the "Bijie Craftsman" (毕节工匠) brand, and building a "1+8" vocational education regional layout centered on Bijie Vocational Education City (毕节职教城)... The total number of skilled personnel in Bijie (毕节) has increased from 178,500 in 2018 to 412,100 in 2024, accounting for 33.13% of the total talent resources.
The change of industry reflects the strong support of talents.
Bijie Mingyue Arts and Crafts Co., Ltd. (毕节明月工艺美术有限公司) has been established for only 4 years, and its employment has rapidly increased to more than 1,400 people.
For labor-intensive enterprises, recruiting workers is a problem, but General Manager Wang Dongyang (王冬阳) is very relaxed: "There are many industrial workers here and the vocational education system is complete. After simple training, they can quickly start working."
Gathering talents with industries and revitalizing industries with talents, Bijie (毕节) actively develops labor-intensive industries dominated by textiles, and cultivates and strengthens characteristic industries with strong employment absorption capabilities such as ecological food and electronic information, driving the masses to find employment nearby.
"In the past 6 years, we have introduced 3,071 high-level urgently needed talents and 3,137 industrial talents," introduced Zhang Heguo (张和国), Deputy Director of the Bijie Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau (毕节市人力资源和社会保障局). The total talent resources in the city have increased from 723,200 in 2018 to the current 1,244,000.
However, the limited economic volume is still a bottleneck for human resource development in Bijie (毕节). To promote high-quality and full employment, Bijie (毕节) weaves two tight nets, internal and external.
Expanding jobs within the city, with 9 "zero-work markets" (零工市场), 880 "zero-work stations" (零工驿站), and 3,716 village-level employment information platforms, caring for left-behind groups; exporting labor outside the city, establishing labor cooperation relationships with 80 cities, and optimizing 30 labor cooperation stations outside the province.
Reform is the key to liberating and developing social productive forces. Upholding both destruction and construction, Bijie (毕节) insists on breaking down barriers and promoting collaborative changes, seeking impetus and vitality from comprehensively innovating institutional mechanisms.
In the Zhijin Economic Development Zone (织金经济开发区), the Bijie (毕节) Phosphorus-Coal Chemical Integration Project in Guizhou (贵州毕节磷煤化工一体化项目) encountered a thorny problem.
Launched in August 2024, the first phase of the project was originally planned to be completed in 3 years. Due to sudden market changes, some production capacity must be put into operation more than a year in advance, otherwise the company will lose its competitive advantage.
A change of thinking broadens the horizon. Breaking down departmental barriers and optimizing work processes, the city and county are jointly promoting the project. During the Spring Festival holiday this year, breakthroughs were made in project land acquisition and demolition, freeing up time for subsequent construction.
"The ability to overcome this tough challenge is due to the change in the work style of cadres, and even more so to the institutional mechanism reforms that Bijie (毕节) has been continuously promoting in recent years," said Fu Zhengxiang (付正祥), Director of the Zhijin Economic Development Zone Management Committee (织金经济开发区管委会), with emotion.
Issuing Guizhou's first forestry carbon ticket, deepening the "Guiren Service · Bi Xu Ban" (贵人服务·毕须办) government service, and implementing the "one-paper commitment is worth ten thousand gold" (一纸承诺抵万金) reform for bidding... In the past 6 years, Bijie (毕节) city and county levels have focused on promoting 408 and 811 reform items respectively.
Data reflects Bijie's (毕节) answer sheet.
In 2024, the regional GDP was 245.759 billion yuan, ranking third in Guizhou (贵州), and the growth rates of major economic indicators such as fixed asset investment and total retail sales of social consumer goods ranked among the top in Guizhou (贵州); Weining (威宁) apples, Tianma (天麻) wine, and potatoes are sold overseas, and the total import and export trade increased by 16.13% year-on-year; 892,500 people lifted out of poverty have stable employment, and the bottom line of preventing large-scale return to poverty is firmly guarded.
"There is progress in vertical comparison, but there are gaps in horizontal comparison." Wu Shenghua (吴胜华), member of the Standing Committee of the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Bijie Municipal Party Committee (毕节市委书记), said, "With hard work as the top priority, we will step up the implementation of various goals and tasks, and strive to transform all positive factors into development achievements."
Mountains are connected to mountains, and bends are connected to bends. Driving in Wumeng (乌蒙), the most anticipated thing is to suddenly see the light and have a smooth road. The new development concept leads Bijie (毕节) over the mountains and towards the future.
(Our reporter Cheng Huan (程焕) participated in the writing)
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 王靖远摄影报道
At 8:40 AM, many shops in the Yiwu International Trade City (义乌国际商贸城) in Zhejiang (浙江) province are not yet open. However, the hall at Gate 60, Zone 3 of the Trade City is already bustling with activity, as dozens of shop owners follow their teacher in reading Spanish: "Hola (你好) (hello)," "Hasta luego (回头见) (see you later)," "barato (便宜的) (cheap)"...
This is not a special event, but a daily morning exercise. In this "world supermarket" with over 75,000 shops, "continuous learning" is not just an inspirational slogan, but a necessity for merchants to cope with external challenges. According to the Yiwu China Commodities City Group (义乌商城集团), the organizer of the foreign language morning exercise training, the first English morning exercise training class of this year started on March 5th; on April 7th, Arabic courses were added to the morning exercise; now, with the addition of Spanish courses, the multilingual training system of the Trade City has been further improved.
In the first quarter of this year, Yiwu's trade with Latin America and the European Union reached 27.31 billion yuan and 16.36 billion yuan respectively, an increase of 14.1% and 16.5% year-on-year. This has made merchants more aware of the importance of mastering foreign languages.
Fu Jiangyan (傅江燕), who participated in the morning exercise, said: "Translation software can help in an emergency, but it is not enough. Many of my customers are from Latin America. A genuine Spanish greeting can enhance their sense of closeness, build trust, and facilitate cooperation."
Zhao Lufang (赵璐芳), who was taking notes, said: "I shipped goods until one or two in the morning last night, and I still have to come to class this morning with a 'bird's nest head'. Everyone is making progress, and if you don't learn, you will be left behind."
[Reporter's Notes] Zhao Lufang (赵璐芳) said that Yiwu (义乌) merchants love to learn. They study in the Trade City during the day and sign up for classes at night. The carrying pole that was once used for "chicken feathers for sugar" has now been transformed into study notes; the peddlers who once roamed the streets have become "sailors" who control digital "sails" and fight in the business sea. When merchants move the classroom into the shops, they are writing not only personal growth stories, but also the commercial code of a city's development. Diligence in learning, integrity and courage, honesty and inclusiveness - this is the Yiwu people's refinement of the Yiwu spirit, and it is also their confidence in facing the future and meeting challenges.
Return to TopAccording to Xinhua News Agency, Shenzhen (深圳), June 1st (Reporter Yin Peng (印朋)) - The 2025 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Auto Show opened in Shenzhen (深圳) on May 31st. Many heads and senior executives of car companies gathered together, believing that the future of China's automotive industry lies in competing on "value" rather than "price."
The number of visitors on the first day of the 2025 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Auto Show reached 183,000, exceeding the 157,000 on the first day of last year, once again setting a new historical high. Safe travel and smart travel have become the main considerations for families buying cars.
From the megawatt flash charging area exhibited in the "BYD Group (比亚迪集团) Pavilion" to the Zunjie S800 model officially launched by the "Harmony Intelligent Mobility Pavilion (鸿蒙智行馆)," to the first luxury flying car "Tian Nian 1 (天辇1号)" exhibited by Hongqi Automobile (红旗汽车), competing on the same stage has become the main theme of the auto show. With the theme of "Facing Technology, Facing the Future, Facing the Market," this exhibition brings together 112 complete vehicle brands, 1039 models, and 50 new car launches.
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (中国汽车工业协会) recently released the "Initiative on Maintaining Fair Competition Order and Promoting the Healthy Development of the Industry." The initiative pointed out that for some time, the industry's profitability has declined, and "involution" competition, mainly manifested as a disorderly "price war," is an important factor in the decline of industry efficiency. It is hoped that the entire industry will work together to maintain a fair competition order and promote the healthy and sustainable development of the industry.
He Xiaopeng (何小鹏), Chairman and CEO of XPeng Motors (小鹏汽车), said at this auto show that large computing power and large models jointly define the upper limit of AI cars. XPeng Motors (小鹏汽车) has been exploring AI cars, flying cars, and AI robots for many years, with a single-quarter R&D investment of nearly 2 billion yuan.
Ge Xianqing (閤先庆), Deputy General Manager of GAC Group (广汽集团), said at the auto show that current user demand for cars far exceeds transportation, pursuing a more personalized, intelligent, and convenient travel experience. GAC Group (广汽集团) has invested more than 55 billion yuan in R&D, adhering to a user-centric approach and focusing on providing users with high-quality products and high-value services.
Jin Yuzhi (靳玉志), CEO of Huawei (华为) Intelligent Automotive Solution BU, said at the auto show that in 2024, Huawei (华为) invested more than 10 billion yuan in R&D in the field of automotive intelligence. High-intensity R&D investment has brought core technology breakthroughs, continuously improving the competitiveness of products and solutions.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 王乐文 方 敏 朱佩娴
In the past, it was a muddy wasteland filled with the sounds of insects; now, trucks shuttle back and forth, and machines roar. This is Zhongmu County (中牟县) in Zhengzhou (郑州), Henan (河南), the largest automobile and parts production base in the province.
"In the past, Zhongmu (中牟) was an agricultural county with a weak industrial base," said Rong Xuguang (荣旭光), member of the Standing Committee of the Zhongmu County (中牟县) Party Committee and Deputy County Chief. In recent years, Zhengzhou (郑州) has been making every effort to develop the automotive industry, and hundreds of auto parts production enterprises have settled in Zhongmu (中牟), with an annual output value of more than 200 billion yuan.
The transformation of Zhongmu (中牟) is a vivid example of Zhengzhou's (郑州) efforts to expand and strengthen the automotive industry.
In September 2019, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) pointed out during his inspection in Henan (河南): "To promote high-quality economic development, we must seize the strategic opportunity to promote the rise of the central region, base ourselves on the actual conditions of the province, give full play to our strengths and avoid our weaknesses, take high-quality manufacturing development as the main direction, and place innovation in a prominent position in the overall development." In May 2025, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) emphasized during his inspection in Henan (河南): "Manufacturing is an important pillar of the national economy, and we must maintain a reasonable proportion of manufacturing in order to advance Chinese-style modernization."
Deeply implementing the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important speech, Zhengzhou (郑州) is focusing on developing the automotive industry. It currently has seven complete vehicle enterprises, including Yutong Bus (宇通客车) and Zhengzhou BYD (郑州比亚迪), and more than 150 core supporting enterprises. Its production capacity has increased from 700,000 vehicles in 2012 to more than 2.6 million vehicles, and the industrial scale exceeds 300 billion yuan.
How has Zhengzhou's (郑州) automotive industry grown so large? And how can it be strengthened?
Aiming at new tracks and seizing the development opportunities of new energy vehicles. In recent years, Zhengzhou (郑州) has been making every effort to build a trillion-yuan-level industrial cluster for new energy vehicles. On the one hand, it guides enterprises such as Yutong Bus (宇通客车) to transform to new energy, and encourages Haima Automobile (海马汽车) and others to revitalize idle production capacity through equity cooperation, joint research and development, and other methods; on the other hand, it accelerates the introduction of new energy vehicle production projects such as BYD (比亚迪) to settle in Zhengzhou (郑州).
Development waits for no one – in September 2021, Zhengzhou (郑州) signed a contract with BYD (比亚迪), the project started in 37 days, and it was put into production in 17 months. In the year it was put into production, the output exceeded 200,000 vehicles, with an output value of 33.47 billion yuan. At present, Zhengzhou BYD (郑州比亚迪) has produced more than 760,000 vehicles, with an output value of more than 100 billion yuan.
Policy leadership releases vitality, and practical work yields practical results. Zhengzhou (郑州) strengthens the automotive industry chain with "one chain, one special class, one research and development institution, one map, and eight lists," and has introduced a number of automotive industry-related policies.
For new industrial investment, the government takes the lead in finding locations and providing supporting facilities; to carry out fuel cell vehicle research and development, Zhengzhou (郑州) has opened a public transportation demonstration line to support demonstration operations... "In recent years, Yutong (宇通) has grown from small to large, which is inseparable from policy support," said Fu Shenghua (傅生华), Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. (宇通客车股份有限公司).
Development vitality is constantly being released. In 2024, Yutong (宇通) sold a total of 65,000 commercial vehicles of various types, an increase of 43.8% year-on-year, and its production and sales of large and medium-sized buses remained at the forefront of the industry.
"We not only want to catch up, but also want to achieve 弯道超车 (wān dào chāo chē - "overtake on a curve," to surpass competitors by taking advantage of opportunities or innovative strategies)." said a responsible comrade of the Zhengzhou (郑州) Municipal Party Committee.
If you want to overtake, how do you step on the "accelerator"? Zhengzhou (郑州) is steadily making up for its shortcomings and strengthening its strengths, and accumulating quantity into qualitative change.
Enterprises proposed: "There are not enough key supporting enterprises."
Then supplement them – Zhengzhou (郑州) is promoting the construction of "4+N" new energy vehicle parts industrial parks, mainly in the Airport Economic Zone (航空港区), Economic Development Zone (经开区), Zhongmu County (中牟县), and High-tech Zone (高新区). Now, from large automotive engine modules to small metal stampings, Zhengzhou (郑州) can produce them. The local matching rate of parts has increased from 30% in 2022 to more than 50% now, and the local matching rate of some key models has reached 65%.
Enterprises reflected: "Independent research and development capabilities are still weak."
Then strengthen them – Focusing on the automotive industry, Zhengzhou (郑州) has built 16 national-level technology platforms such as national-level enterprise technology centers and complete vehicle testing centers, and 39 provincial-level key research and development platforms. A number of key common technologies such as automotive intelligent sensors have achieved breakthroughs.
Enterprises suggested: "Related supporting support needs to be improved."
Then optimize them – Encourage policy banks to provide low-interest loans and provide differentiated financial service solutions. Zhengzhou (郑州) has specially issued documents to strengthen financial support; relying on logistics hubs such as Zhengzhou International Land Port (郑州国际陆港), it has created a modern automotive logistics base integrating "multimodal transport + warehousing services + international logistics"...
With efforts from all parties, "Zhengzhou-made" has enhanced its strength. In 2024, Zhengzhou's (郑州) automobile production exceeded 1.1 million vehicles.
Zhengzhou (郑州) has set a goal: By 2025, it will strive to increase the production capacity of complete vehicles to more than 3 million vehicles, and the overall industrial scale will reach 500 billion yuan.
In the fully automated welding workshop of BYD (比亚迪) in Zhengzhou Airport Economic Zone (郑州航空港区), the robotic arm swings lightly, and the welding error is as low as 0.2 mm;
At Zhengzhou International Land Port (郑州国际陆港), a China-Europe freight train loaded with automotive wiring harnesses arrives;
In Zhengzhou High-tech Zone (郑州高新区), in the intelligent connected vehicle testing demonstration zone, unmanned heavy trucks are tested for precise turning...
"Develop new quality productive forces in accordance with local conditions and accelerate the construction of a modern industrial system" and "Promote the integrated development of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, vigorously promote new industrialization, and expand and strengthen advanced manufacturing." The policy spring breeze in the "Government Work Report" is urging "Zhengzhou-made" to continue to move forward.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 黄晓慧 崔 寅 巨云鹏
From May 28th to 30th, the World Mayor's Dialogue · Shanghai and the 2025 Shanghai International Sister Cities Cooperation Forum, themed "Green, Low-Carbon, Development, and Innovation – Urban Cooperation for the Future," was held in Shanghai (上海). Representatives from 26 sister city delegations from 22 countries gathered on the bank of the Huangpu River (黄浦江) to engage in dialogue on topics such as green initiatives, low-carbon strategies, youth empowerment, and innovation.
As a window for China's reform and opening up, Shanghai (上海) has established friendly relations with 95 cities in 59 countries, with its "circle of friends" spanning the globe. This forum provides a Chinese solution for international sister city cooperation through a series of practical measures, demonstrating China's proactive commitment to practicing the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Open Cooperation, Building a Green City Development Network
Sitting on a driverless minibus, traveling through forests, grasslands, and lake parks... Adler Misael Rojas, a representative from Mexico City, wasted no time despite the fatigue from the dozen-hour journey. On the afternoon of the 28th, he went straight to the Shanghai International Automobile City (上海国际汽车城) in Jiading (嘉定) after getting off the plane, eager to experience intelligent connected new energy vehicles. How smart are intelligent cars? What details reflect low-carbon and environmental protection? He kept asking questions.
"Mexico has a certain automotive industrial base and can learn from China how to develop new energy vehicles in a green and low-carbon manner," Rojas said. In recent years, Chinese brand cars have been very popular among Mexican consumers, and he is preparing to buy a new energy vehicle produced in China.
Many of Shanghai's sister cities are port cities, and the two sides deepen their friendship through port cooperation. "In August last year, the 'A.P. Moller-Maersk' container ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles, becoming the first green methanol-fueled vessel to arrive at the port relying on the Transpacific Green Shipping Corridor mechanism. This is a landmark achievement of our cooperation with Shanghai," said Dee Dee Myers, Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles (洛杉矶), USA. As two major global shipping hubs, Los Angeles (洛杉矶) and Shanghai (上海) have established a green shipping corridor on one of the world's busiest container routes, jointly committed to promoting the green transformation of the shipping industry.
When Kong Fu'an (孔福安), Executive Deputy Director of the Hongqiao International Central Business District (虹桥国际中央商务区) Management Committee, presented a diagram of the park's low-carbon full industrial chain, the foreign guests at the meeting raised their mobile phones to record it. Bui Xuan Cuong (裴春强), Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City (胡志明市), Vietnam, said that Ho Chi Minh City (胡志明市) is also undergoing transformation and has established development pillars such as green growth. He proposed the establishment of an "Innovation City Alliance" to create a "green corridor between cities" between hub ports and commercial centers such as Shanghai (上海), Singapore (新加坡), Busan (釜山), Ho Chi Minh City (胡志明市), and Jakarta (雅加达), focusing on the development of low-carbon logistics infrastructure. "Ho Chi Minh City (胡志明市) promises to be an active, proactive, and innovative partner, ready to work with Shanghai (上海) and its sister cities to implement the above initiatives."
"The forum powerfully embodies the spirit of cooperation between global cities, which is exactly what the world needs now," said Michèle Rubirola, First Deputy Mayor of Marseille (马赛), France.
Pioneering Innovation, Youth Power Creates the Future of the City
Standing on a Huangpu River (黄浦江) night cruise ship, the refreshing summer breeze blowing, Victoria Woodards, Mayor of Tacoma (塔科马), Washington (华盛顿) State, USA, happily talked about the unforgettable past of friendly exchanges between Chinese and American cities. "We have a friendship with Chinese cities that spans more than 30 years. In 2015, President Xi Jinping (习近平) visited Lincoln High School (林肯中学) in Tacoma (塔科马) – my alma mater. Three years ago, I wrote to President Xi Jinping (习近平), extending New Year greetings to President Xi Jinping (习近平) and the Chinese people, and wishing the Beijing Winter Olympics (北京冬奥会) a success. Soon after, I received a reply from President Xi Jinping (习近平)," Woodards said. "The future of our two countries is in the hands of our young people. As exchanges continue and fully demonstrate the vigorous power of youth, the future of our cities will be brighter."
The city is a stage for young people to realize their dreams, and young people are the future of the city. Lee Kwang-ho (李光镐), International Relations Ambassador of North Jeolla Province (全罗北道), South Korea, shared the local efforts to retain young talents. He suggested that North Jeolla Province (全罗北道) and Shanghai (上海) continue to cooperate in youth policy exchanges, joint incubation of start-ups, and joint research on smart agriculture, making full use of the advantages of the two places to benefit each other, "paving the way for youth growth."
In the view of Ndeuhala Haindongo, Mayor of Windhoek (温得和克), the capital of Namibia (纳米比亚), the "China Pavilion" in Windhoek (温得和克) Central Park, the city's main road "Shanghai Street (上海街)", and the books obtained through the "Shanghai Window" project in the library are all symbols of the 30-year friendship between Windhoek (温得和克) and Shanghai (上海). "We are very grateful for Shanghai's (上海) continued support in education, youth capacity building, and knowledge sharing, which has inspired our young people and broadened their horizons." She likened the partnership between sister cities to a catalyst for local innovation and an engine for global cooperation.
On the opening day of the forum, Vientiane (万象), Laos (老挝), and Shanghai (上海) signed a letter of intent for friendly cooperation and exchanges between the two cities. Atsaphangthong Siphandone (阿萨庞通·西潘敦), Mayor of Vientiane (万象), said that more and more Lao students are coming to China, with more than 800 studying in Shanghai (上海), 70% of whom will return to Vientiane (万象) after graduation and play an important role in different jobs. "We look forward to more cooperation between the two cities in the field of education, so that more Lao students can benefit from it."
People's City, a Chinese Solution for Joint Construction and Sharing
On the eve of the forum's closing, a field visit allowed foreign friends to feel the warmth of Shanghai (上海). At the Huamu Community Health Service Center (花木社区卫生服务中心) in Pudong New Area (浦东新区), Noufissa Lamhamdi, Deputy Mayor of Casablanca (卡萨布兰卡), Morocco (摩洛哥), saw that the primary health care institutions were fully equipped – with family doctors, children's vaccination, traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis and treatment, etc., and more than 30 kinds of vaccines for children were all free. She also praised the intelligent management level of the intensive care unit of Renji Hospital (仁济医院) affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (上海交通大学医学院): the intensive care quality control management platform can allow doctors to grasp the patient's condition at any time through digital and artificial intelligence technology.
"From 2003 to 2005, I went to Morocco (摩洛哥) to carry out medical and health assistance. This is a photo of my work at that time." Zhang Jidong (张继东), Vice President of Renji Hospital (仁济医院), talked about his experience in participating in medical aid to Morocco (摩洛哥). Lamhamdi took the lead in applauding and thanked him repeatedly.
"Shanghai (上海) and Casablanca (卡萨布兰卡) both place the life and health of the people in an important position," Lamhamdi said, "We should continue to strengthen cooperation so that fair and inclusive medical and health services can cover more people and benefit more people."
Hearing that Shanghai (上海) is continuing to carry out urban renewal to improve people's well-being, Nick Small, a member of the Liverpool (利物浦) City Council Cabinet in the United Kingdom (英国), also shared Liverpool's (利物浦) experience in old city renovation. He believes that the urban renewal experience of Liverpool (利物浦) and Shanghai (上海) can be used for reference by more sister cities.
"Technological development is changing with each passing day, but we must always remember that the ultimate goal of technological development should be to serve human well-being." Osvaldo Panaro, Director of Culture, Sports and Urban Promotion of Bologna (博洛尼亚), Italy (意大利), visited the graduation exhibition at the College of Design and Innovation of Tongji University (同济大学) and saw not only the whimsy presented by the works, but also the humanistic feelings contained in them. The old man, who has visited Shanghai (上海) many times in the past two years, shared that Shanghai's (上海) medical system is efficient and convenient, subway staff provide assistance at any time, and technology is deeply integrated into daily services... setting a benchmark for global public services. He said: "I often tell my Italian friends to come to Shanghai (上海) to learn about urban services."
"Sister cities are an important link to promote mutual learning between civilizations and promote mutually beneficial cooperation." Gong Zheng (龚正), Mayor of Shanghai (上海), said in his opening speech, expressing the common aspiration of the participating representatives.
Return to TopBy: 田代秀敏
The targets and standards of U.S. tariff impositions may change arbitrarily, making its tariff policy unpredictable. Both foreign and U.S. domestic enterprises will find it difficult to make reasonable arrangements for their business activities, and the global economy will face greater uncertainty.
The international community generally believes that the U.S.'s indiscriminate use of tariffs will harm all parties' economies and will eventually lead to the U.S. 自食其果 (zì shí qí guǒ - "eat one's own fruit," to reap what one sows; to suffer the consequences of one's actions).
In the 1930s, trade protectionism prevailed, and the mutual restriction of international trade was an important cause of the economic depression at that time. In 1948, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) provisionally came into effect, gradually incorporating countries with different economic systems, different stages of development, and different ideologies into negotiations on tariff and trade issues, thereby establishing the basic principles and framework of the post-war multilateral trading system. In the following 40 years, the average tariffs of developed countries were reduced from 36% to 4.7%, and the average tariffs of developing countries and regions also fell to 13% during the same period. The total volume of world trade increased more than 10 times. In 1995, the World Trade Organization (WTO) was established on the basis of the GATT.
The international community generally believes that the biggest beneficiary of the multilateral trading system is the United States. Under this system, the U.S. dollar is the main settlement currency in international trade. Many trade surplus countries use the U.S. dollars obtained through trade to purchase U.S. Treasury bonds. By issuing U.S. dollars and U.S. Treasury bonds, the U.S. can enjoy the "dollar privilege" of purchasing goods and services from all over the world, and obtain a large number of high-quality and inexpensive goods from all over the world. The U.S.'s wanton imposition of tariffs will push up consumer prices in the U.S. market. The U.S. manufacturing industry is highly integrated into the international supply chain, and the imposition of tariffs will increase U.S. production costs and exacerbate inflation. Surveys show that U.S. consumers expect the annual inflation rate for the next 5 to 10 years to reach 4.1%, the highest since 1993.
Whether it is the U.S.'s neighbors Canada (加拿大) and Mexico (墨西哥), South Korea (韩国), which has signed a free trade agreement with the U.S., European countries that have joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (北大西洋公约组织), or Japan (日本), which is an ally of the U.S., they will all face the threat of U.S. tariffs. In addition, the targets and standards of U.S. tariff impositions may change arbitrarily, making its tariff policy unpredictable. Both foreign and U.S. domestic enterprises will find it difficult to make reasonable arrangements for their business activities, and the global economy will face greater uncertainty.
The United States is the largest export market for the Japanese automotive industry. According to Nomura Securities (野村证券) forecasts, U.S. tariffs on automobiles may lead to losses for Mazda (马自达) and a 30% decline in Toyota's (丰田) operating profit. The automotive industry is one of Japan's pillar industries, providing more than 5.5 million jobs. If the U.S. imposes additional tariffs, it will lead to a deterioration in the earnings of Japanese automotive companies, which in turn will have an impact on the Japanese economy.
(The author is the chief economist of Japan Unlimited LLC (日本无限合同会社))
Return to TopXinhua News Agency, Beijing (北京), June 1st (Reporter Wang Chuntao (王春涛)) - Defense Ministry Spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang (张晓刚) answered reporters' questions on June 1st regarding the negative comments made by the U.S. side concerning China during the Shangri-La Dialogue.
A reporter asked: According to reports, the U.S. Secretary of Defense made negative comments about China at the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue, exaggerating the "China military threat." What is your comment on this?
Zhang Xiaogang (张晓刚) said: "The U.S. is accustomed to using the Shangri-La Dialogue to create disputes, provoke confrontation, and seek selfish gains. The U.S. Secretary of Defense's remarks are full of deeply rooted hegemonic logic, bullying practices, and Cold War mentality, seriously provoking China's sovereign rights and interests, distorting China's policy positions, seriously disregarding the joint efforts of regional countries to maintain prosperity and stability, and seriously deviating from the common desire of countries around the world to seek peace and development. We express our strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this."
He said, "The whole world can see clearly what the U.S. is doing. For its own selfish interests, it has launched tariff wars and trade wars, and extorted taxes everywhere; it has formed 'small circles' and engaged in camp confrontation, causing deep concern among countries; it has strengthened its military deployment in the Asia-Pacific region, rudely interfered in other countries' internal affairs, and incited and created tensions. Facts have repeatedly proven that the U.S. will inevitably suffer the consequences of going against the trend and acting arbitrarily."
He said: "The Taiwan issue is purely China's internal affair, and the U.S. has no right to make irresponsible remarks, let alone妄想 (wàng xiǎng - "wildly imagine," to presumptuously attempt) to use this as a bargaining chip to contain China. The Chinese People's Liberation Army (中国人民解放军) will resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, resolutely crush any 'Taiwan independence' separatist plots and any interference by external forces. Our determination and will are as solid as a rock (坚如磐石 - jiān rú pán shí - "firm like a rock," extremely firm and unshakeable), and our capabilities and means are powerful and reliable."
He said that the South China Sea (南海) is one of the most congested and safest waterways recognized internationally. China will continue to adhere to properly handling differences with relevant countries through dialogue and consultation, adhere to safeguarding territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in accordance with laws and regulations, and work with regional countries to build a sea of peace, friendship, and cooperation. The United States (美国) fears nothing more than chaos in the South China Sea (南海), forming cliques and creating disturbances, and is the biggest threat to regional peace and stability.
He said: "China has always been a guardian and builder of peace and development in the Asia-Pacific region. The Chinese military will work with regional countries to jointly oppose hegemonism harming the Asia-Pacific, oppose the introduction of geopolitical conflicts into the Asia-Pacific, and oppose any country or any force creating war and chaos here. We will actively practice the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind and the three major global initiatives, and work together to maintain long-term peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region."
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 陈尚文 李应齐 谢亚宏
Recently, the China-Central Asia media joint interview delegation for high-quality co-construction of the "Belt and Road" visited Arur Group, Kazakhstan's largest automobile production and assembly enterprise, at a car dealership in Almaty (阿拉木图), to experience firsthand the fruitful results of cooperation between China and Kazakhstan in the automotive field. The dealership showcases several Chinese brand cars, including Hongqi (红旗) and Jetour (捷途). The highly modern car body design and intelligent control system attracted media reporters from the joint interview delegation to get into the cars for a test drive (see Figure ①, photo by Li Yingqi (李应齐), reporter of this newspaper).
In 2019, General Technology Group China National Machinery Import & Export (Group) Co., Ltd. (通用技术集团中国机械进出口（集团）有限公司) and Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Corp., Ltd. (安徽江淮汽车集团股份有限公司) jointly acquired 51% of the shares of Arur Group, opening a period of rapid development of mutually beneficial cooperation between the two parties. Arur Group's annual automobile production and sales have achieved substantial growth year after year, with automobile production increasing from more than 9,000 vehicles in 2019 to nearly 100,000 vehicles in 2024. It currently accounts for more than 60% of the annual production of various types of vehicles in Kazakhstan, and its market share has consistently exceeded 40%. Chinese brand cars are becoming a common sight on the streets of Kazakhstan, entering more and more local car dealerships, and are widely favored by consumers.
"The ride is spacious, the power is sufficient, and the turning is smooth... I believe this model is very competitive in Kazakhstan and even the entire Central Asian market." Ruslan Kenzhayev, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Uzbekistan's "People's Word" newspaper, praised after test driving a Jianghuai Automobile pickup truck (see Figure ②, photo by Chen Shangwen (陈尚文), reporter of this newspaper). In his view, the automotive manufacturing industry is now becoming a landmark area of cooperation between Central Asian countries and China. In Uzbekistan, BYD (比亚迪) is building a factory, and new energy vehicles have achieved mass production. "These capacity cooperation projects are benefiting Central Asian countries, and more cooperation results are constantly emerging," said Kenzhayev.
Maskhabo Jumaev, a reporter from Tajikistan's "Asia Express" news agency, said that media and journalists, as bridges of international cooperation, play a key role in enhancing mutual understanding between different countries. "I hope to bring back what I have seen and heard here and let more people know about the vivid stories of cooperation between Central Asian countries and China through reporting."
In the view of Yelena Zholobova, President and Editor-in-Chief of Kyrgyzstan's "Argumenty i Fakty," the automotive manufacturing industry is an important pillar industry for the overall industrial development of a country, which helps promote rapid economic development and create a large number of jobs. Central Asian countries and China are continuously deepening practical cooperation in various fields such as automobile manufacturing, which will inject strong impetus into regional economic development.
Stanislav Oyun-Bem, Head of Strategic Marketing and Public Relations at Arur Group, said that in recent years, Arur Group has entered a new stage of strategic development, with continuous improvement in production capacity, continuous enrichment of brand portfolio, and successful launch of many new models into the market. "We have established good cooperative relations with our Chinese partners and achieved many gratifying results. In the future, we will continue to work together to allow the fruits of cooperation in the automotive field to benefit the people of Kazakhstan and even Central Asia more."
(Reported from Almaty (阿拉木图) on June 1st by this newspaper)
Layout design: Zhang Fangman (张芳曼)
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 朱玥颖
From May 29th to 30th, the 30th International Conference on "The Future of Asia," hosted by Nikkei Inc. under the theme of "A World Full of Challenges, Asia Rising to the Challenge," was held in Tokyo, Japan. Participating guests discussed topics such as maintaining multilateralism and the free trade system, and Asian countries working together to achieve prosperity.
Zhu Guangyao (朱光耀), former Vice Minister of Finance of China, stated that the U.S. government's excessive use of tariffs has brought great uncertainty to world development. "If this continues, the world will return to the 弱肉强食 (ruò ròu qiáng shí - "the weak are prey to the strong," survival of the fittest) jungle law." China's countermeasures against the U.S.'s unilateral tariff policies were not only to protect China's interests but also to safeguard the global trade system. Countries should respect each other and establish an orderly multilateral trade system. He hopes that through the efforts of global partners, the rule-based global trade system can be maintained, which is in the interests of all countries.
Luo Zhaohui (罗照辉), former Director of the China International Development Cooperation Agency, said that unilateralism and protectionism are spreading, and regional cooperation is particularly important. He emphasized that China and Japan are both driving forces for promoting regional cooperation.
Shigeru Ishiba (石破茂), former Japanese Minister of Defense, said that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, and Japan must actively learn from that painful memory and history. Japan is determined not to repeat the mistakes of war, and its path as a peaceful nation after the war will not change in the future. He is willing to humbly learn from the history and culture of Asian countries. Japan should not only deepen economic relations with Asian countries but also build genuine trust. Shigeru Ishiba (石破茂) also talked about Japan's determination to support the free trade system and said that Asian countries should work together to show the world the importance of a rule-based free economic order.
"China's high-level opening-up and advocacy of a new type of globalization place its own development in the coordinate system of human common development," Yang Bojiang (杨伯江), Director of the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (中国社会科学院), told this reporter. "Faced with unilateralism and the reverse trend of economic globalization, China connects the world market with institutional opening-up and improves global governance with the spirit of multilateralism, which not only opens up new space for domestic high-quality development but also provides the world with more diversified development paths."
Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa (玛里) said that in order to achieve Asia's development, priority issues should be trade and investment, resilient supply chains, green energy transition, digital transformation, and people-centered development. He also called on Asian countries to further strengthen cooperation, "Maintaining a rule-based multilateral trade system is essential."
"China is a beneficiary of the world's multilateral trading system and a staunch defender of it. Since joining the multilateral trading system with the WTO as its core in 2001, China has not only achieved rapid economic development but also made great contributions to the prosperity of the world economy. At a time when global value chains, industrial chains, and supply chains are being reshaped, China, whose economy is constantly growing and developing, is increasingly becoming a strong driving force and traction force for economic globalization," said Zhang Yulai (张玉来), Vice Dean of the Institute of Japanese Studies at Nankai University (南开大学).
In response to the increasing global uncertainty, Yunus (尤努斯), Chief Advisor to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh, said: "We need to shift our mindset from pursuing individual interests to achieving collective happiness." He emphasized that we are at a turning point in history, and the future face of the world will depend on the choices we make now. To achieve peace in Asian countries, we must go beyond empty talk and develop concrete solutions.
(Reported from Tokyo (东京) on June 1st by this newspaper)
Return to TopThis newspaper's Kunming (昆明) June 1st dispatch (Reporter Ye Chuanzeng (叶传增)): On May 30th, witnessed by representatives from both China and Laos, the inaugural ceremony for international road transport from China to Laos was held simultaneously in Kunming (昆明), Yunnan (云南) and Xishuangbanna (西双版纳), marking the entry of China-Laos international road transport into a state of normalized and efficient operation.
The opening of China-Laos international road transport further improves the transportation network between the two countries, will greatly promote the efficiency of cargo transportation between the two countries, reduce logistics costs, and create more development opportunities for enterprises on both sides.
Return to TopHohhot (呼和浩特), June 1st (Reporter Zhang Cheng (张枨)) As evening fell on June 1st, a China-Europe train loaded with auto parts, household appliances, and daily necessities sounded its whistle and departed from the Erenhot (二连浩特) railway port in Inner Mongolia (内蒙古), marking the passage of over 1,500 China-Europe trains through the Erenhot (二连浩特) railway port this year.
It is reported that the Erenhot (二连浩特) port is a central passage for China-Europe trains and also the largest land port between China and Mongolia (蒙古). In recent years, with the rapid development of China-Europe trains, the railway department has continued to densely weave an international logistics network. In the second quarter, the Erenhot (二连浩特) railway port successively added the "Wuhu (芜湖) - Moscow (莫斯科)" and "Liulihe (琉璃河) - Minsk (明斯克)" train routes, bringing the number of operating routes to 73, reaching more than 70 hub stations in over 10 countries including Germany (德国), Poland (波兰), and Russia (俄罗斯), radiating to more than 60 cities in 24 provinces across the country, and covering more than 10,000 kinds of goods including domestic automobiles and accessories, high-end machinery and equipment, electronic appliances, textile products, and daily necessities.
Return to TopOn the morning of May 31st, the "Childlike Fun and Joy, Beauty and Harmony" – 2025 Chinese and Foreign Children Hand-in-Hand for the Dragon Boat Festival and Celebrating "June 1st" Double Festival Activity, hosted by the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation (中国宋庆龄基金会), organized by the China Soong Ching Ling Science & Culture Center for Young People (中国宋庆龄青少年科技文化交流中心), and supported by the International Committee for the Promotion of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives (中国工合国际委员会), was held in Beijing (北京). More than 300 Chinese and foreign families from 30 countries, including China (中国), Uzbekistan (乌兹别克斯坦), and Pakistan (巴基斯坦), gathered together to share a joyful journey of cultural integration and scientific exploration.
People's Daily reporter Jiang Yushi (蒋雨师) photographed and reported.
Return to TopAccording to Xinhua News Agency, Minsk, May 31st (Reporter Chen Ting (陈汀)) The "Tea and the World: An Elegant Gathering" event was held on May 31st in Minsk (明斯克), the capital of Belarus (白俄罗斯). People from all walks of life in China and Belarus (中白) gathered at Freedom Square (自由广场) in the city center to "make friends through tea," experiencing the harmonious and integrated beauty of the East in the fragrance of tea and art.
Return to TopXinhua News Agency, Beijing, June 1st (Xinhua) -- Recently, the special working group at the central level for in-depth implementation of the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulation and the General Office of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection publicly announced two typical cases of Party members and cadres violating regulations on eating and drinking and seriously violating the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulation during study and education.
1. Irregular eating and drinking by relevant Party members and cadres in Huangmei County (黄梅县), Huanggang City (黄冈市), Hubei Province (湖北省)
On April 5, 2025, relevant Party members and cadres in Huangmei County (黄梅县), Huanggang City (黄冈市), Hubei Province (湖北省) engaged in irregular gatherings and drinking, accepting and providing banquets that could affect the impartial execution of public duties, seriously violating the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulation. On April 4, Zhang Jian (张建), a member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Head of the Jinniu District (金牛区) Government in Chengdu (成都市) (formerly a member of the Standing Committee of the Huangmei County (黄梅县) Party Committee in Hubei Province (湖北省) and Secretary of the Party Committee of the Xiaxin Town (下新镇)), returned to his hometown in Hubei (湖北) to pay respects to his ancestors. Huang Xiaosong (黄小松), Secretary of the Party Committee and Executive Director of China Railway Erju Real Estate Group Co., Ltd. (中铁二局房地产集团有限公司) in Jinniu District (金牛区), arranged for Xiang Minghui (向明辉), a receptionist from the company, to rent a vehicle in Wuhan (武汉) and provide services for Zhang Jian (张建) by bringing alcohol and cigarettes. On the same day, Zhang Jian (张建) contacted Yin Shiguo (殷士国), the former Second-Level Chief Staff Member of the Xiaxin Town (下新镇) Government (retired), and agreed to invite former colleagues to dinner. At noon on April 5, Zhang Jian (张建), Yin Shiguo (殷士国), Luo Panjun (罗盘军), a member of the Standing Committee of the Huangmei County (黄梅县) Party Committee and Minister of the United Front Work Department, Gui Lijun (桂黎军), Chairman of the Huangmei Town (黄梅镇) People's Congress, Chen Xianlong (陈贤龙), a member of the Huangmei Town (黄梅镇) Party Committee and Deputy Town Mayor, Shang Min (商敏), Director of the Finance Office of Xiaxin Town (下新镇), and others gathered for dinner at a restaurant. After Luo Panjun (罗盘军) left first, Wang Bo (王波), Deputy Secretary of the Huangmei Town (黄梅镇) Party Committee and Town Mayor, and Chen Hao (陈浩), Deputy Secretary of the Zhuogang Town (濯港镇) Party Committee, arrived at the restaurant for dinner. Except for Chen Xianlong (陈贤龙), Shang Min (商敏), Xiang Minghui (向明辉), Yin Shiguo (殷士国), and his wife, the remaining diners consumed high-end liquor provided by Xiang Minghui (向明辉). The meal expenses were paid by Xiang Minghui (向明辉) and Yin Shiguo (殷士国). Luo Panjun (罗盘军) died that afternoon. After testing, his blood alcohol content was 4.35 mg/100 ml, and the diagnosis was cardiogenic sudden death. Afterwards, Pan Guohua (潘郭华), a member of the Standing Committee of the Huangmei County (黄梅县) Party Committee and Director of the County Party Committee Office, concealed information such as Zhang Jian (张建) and several Party members and cadres in Huangmei County (黄梅县) violating regulations on eating and drinking. With the consent of Ma Liang (马梁), Secretary of the Huangmei County (黄梅县) Party Committee, he submitted a report to the Huanggang City (黄冈市) Party Committee Office. When modifying the report, Yu Youbin (余友斌), a member of the Standing Committee of the Huanggang City (黄冈市) Party Committee and Secretary-General of the Municipal Party Committee, concealed Zhang Jian's (张建) true identity, deleted information such as the number of diners, and blurred the handling of who paid for the meal. After obtaining the consent of Li Junjie (李军杰), Secretary of the Huanggang City (黄冈市) Party Committee, he submitted the report to the Provincial Party Committee Office.
After the problem occurred, the Discipline Inspection Commission of Hubei Province (湖北省), Sichuan Province (四川省) and the Discipline Inspection Commission of China Railway handled the case at a higher level and gave relevant responsible persons treatment and punishment. Zhang Jian (张建) was given the punishment of expulsion from the Party and demotion from his position in the government, reduced to a second-level staff member; Yin Shiguo (殷士国) was given a one-year probation within the Party and his retirement benefits were adjusted according to a second-level staff member; Huang Xiaosong (黄小松) was given the punishment of removal from his Party post and demotion; Gui Lijun (桂黎军) was given a serious warning within the Party (affecting the two-year period) and demotion from his position in the government, reduced to a fourth-level chief staff member; Wang Bo (王波) and Chen Hao (陈浩) were given a serious warning within the Party and demotion from their positions in the government; Chen Xianlong (陈贤龙) and Shang Min (商敏) were given a warning within the Party; Pan Guohua (潘郭华) and Yu Youbin (余友斌) were given a serious warning within the Party. Li Junjie (李军杰) was ordered to make a written examination for his lax review of the reported materials; Ma Liang (马梁) was given a serious warning within the Party for his ineffective performance of the main responsibility for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, his lax review of the reported materials, and his failure to report the abnormal death of Luo Panjun (罗盘军) in a timely and accurate manner; Chen Jianxin (陈建新), a member of the Standing Committee of the Huangmei County (黄梅县) Party Committee, Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, and Director of the Supervisory Committee, was given a reprimand for his ineffective performance of the supervisory responsibility for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party.
2. Irregular eating and drinking by members of the Party and government leadership team of Qianling Township (千岭乡), Susong County (宿松县), Anqing City (安庆市), Anhui Province (安徽省)
On April 27, 2025, all members of the Qianling Township (千岭乡) Party and government team and relevant Party members and cadres engaged in irregular gatherings and drinking, accepting and providing banquets that could affect the impartial execution of public duties, seriously violating the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulation. Wu Xingzhou (吴行舟), Deputy Secretary of the Qianling Township (千岭乡) Party Committee, invited Zhang Jinguo (张金国), Deputy Secretary of the Qianling Township (千岭乡) Party Committee and Township Mayor, Luo Guidong (罗桂冬), Chairman of the People's Congress, Wu Ping (吴平), Head of the CPPCC Work Liaison Group, Huang Zhenhua (黄振华), a member of the Party Committee and Deputy Township Mayor, Li Lingfeng (李凌峰), a member of the Party Committee and Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, Fang Jian (方健), a member of the Party Committee and Organization Member, Xu Tao (许涛), a member of the Party Committee, Li Yiyang (黎溢阳), a member of the Party Committee and Propaganda Member, Zhang Linhai (张林海), a member of the Party Committee and Minister of the Armed Forces Department, He Bing (何兵), Deputy Township Mayor, Shi Wenhua (石文华), Deputy Township Mayor, Hu Wei (胡伟), Director of the Party and Government Office, Shi Binbin (石彬彬), Deputy Secretary of the Party General Branch of Maoba Village (毛坝村), and Hong Zhipeng (洪志鹏), Director of the Qianling Police Station (千岭派出所) of the County Public Security Bureau, to participate in a dinner he organized at a restaurant. Hu Wei (胡伟) assisted in ordering the meal. That night, Wu Xingzhou (吴行舟), Wu Ping (吴平), Zhang Linhai (张林海), Huang Zhenhua (黄振华), He Bing (何兵), Hu Wei (胡伟), and Shi Binbin (石彬彬) drank liquor. On that day, Zhang Jinguo (张金国) and Luo Guidong (罗桂冬) were the leaders on duty, and Li Yiyang (黎溢阳) was studying at the County Party School and did not go through leave procedures. Wu Xingzhou (吴行舟) drank excessively, the meal expenses were not paid, and he died of suffocation due to gastric content reflux in the early morning of April 28. Afterwards, the diners raised funds to compensate the family of the deceased and agreed on matters such as exemption from liability and confidentiality. Zhang Jinguo (张金国) also contacted some companies to provide financial assistance to the family of the deceased.
After the problem occurred, the Discipline Inspection Commission of Anhui Province (安徽省) handled the case at a higher level and gave relevant responsible persons treatment and punishment. Zhang Jinguo (张金国) was given a two-year probation within the Party and demotion from his position in the government, reduced to a second-level staff member; Li Lingfeng (李凌峰) was given a one-year probation within the Party and demotion from his position in the government, reduced to a second-level staff member, and transferred away from the discipline inspection and supervision system; Luo Guidong (罗桂冬), Li Yiyang (黎溢阳), Zhang Linhai (张林海), and Hu Wei (胡伟) were given a one-year probation within the Party and demotion from their positions in the government, reduced to a second-level staff member; Huang Zhenhua (黄振华) was given the punishment of removal from his Party post and demotion from his position in the government, reduced to a second-level staff member; Shi Binbin (石彬彬) was given the punishment of removal from his Party post; Wu Ping (吴平) was given a serious warning within the Party (affecting the two-year period) and demotion from his position in the government, reduced to a fourth-level chief staff member; He Bing (何兵) was given a serious warning within the Party (affecting the two-year period) and demotion from his position in the government, reduced to a second-level staff member; Fang Jian (方健), Xu Tao (许涛), Shi Wenhua (石文华), and Hong Zhipeng (洪志鹏) were given a serious warning within the Party.
The Anqing City (安庆市) Party Committee, the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, the Susong County (宿松县) Party Committee, and the County Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision failed to effectively fulfill their main responsibility and supervisory responsibility for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party. The Organization Department of the Anqing City (安庆市) Party Committee and the Organization Department of the Susong County (宿松县) Party Committee failed to implement the system of requesting instructions and reporting important matters related to organizational work. Zhang Junyi (张君毅), Deputy Secretary of the Anqing City (安庆市) Party Committee and Mayor (temporarily responsible for the work of the Municipal Party Committee), was given a reprimand; Geng Yanqiang (耿延强), a member of the Standing Committee of the Anqing City (安庆市) Party Committee, Secretary of the Commission for Discipline Inspection, and Director of the Supervisory Committee, was given a reprimand; Lin Yunfei (林云飞), Deputy Minister of the Organization Department of the Anqing City (安庆市) Party Committee responsible for daily work, was given a warning within the Party; Cao Xiaoge (曹晓革), Secretary of the Susong County (宿松县) Party Committee, was given a serious warning within the Party; Wang Wengang (王文刚), a member of the Standing Committee of the Susong County (宿松县) Party Committee, Secretary of the Commission for Discipline Inspection, and Director of the Supervisory Committee, was given a reprimand; Lin Shengli (林胜利), a member of the Standing Committee of the Susong County (宿松县) Party Committee and Minister of the Organization Department, was given a warning within the Party.
The above two cases of violating regulations on eating and drinking both occurred during the period of study and education. The organizers and participants were mainly Party-member leading cadres. They are typical cases of disregarding laws and disciplines and violating regulations against the trend. Their nature is extremely serious, their impact is extremely bad, and their lessons are extremely painful. This study and education takes the centralized rectification of violating regulations on eating and drinking as an important task and puts forward clear requirements. The above-mentioned Party members and cadres, while participating in study and education, took the lead in organizing and participating in violating regulations on eating and drinking against the trend, and even the entire leadership team violated regulations on eating and drinking, engaging in "**小圈子**" (xiǎo quān zi - "small circles," cliques) and "**小团体**" (xiǎo tuán tǐ - "small groups," factions), and to varying degrees, there were concealment problems afterwards, indicating that these Party members and cadres do not attach great importance to it ideologically, are not politically sober, and have extremely weak concepts of discipline and law and sense of responsibility. They turn a deaf ear to the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulation, have no awe or fear, and **阳奉阴违** (yáng fèng yīn wéi - "ostensibly comply, but covertly defy," to outwardly obey but inwardly disobey) to the Party Central Committee's deployment of study and education, and do their own thing; indicating that some places and units lack the main responsibility and supervisory responsibility for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, and a strict atmosphere has not yet truly formed; indicating that the unhealthy trend and bad habits of violating regulations on eating and drinking have not been completely eliminated in some places and units, and there are signs of rebound and resurgence, which must be heavily hammered and severely attacked.
Currently, study and education are being carried out in depth. Party committees (Party groups) at all levels must continue to study in depth General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions on strengthening the Party's work style construction and the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulation and its implementation rules, deeply understand that the "**四风**" (sì fēng - "four forms of decadence," formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism, and extravagance) problem has stubbornness and repetitiveness, deeply understand the serious political harm of violating regulations on eating and drinking, and consciously fight against erroneous ideas such as "small matters and minor details theory," "impact on development theory," and "industry special theory." It is necessary to focus on rectifying violations of regulations on eating and drinking, take real action, catch the current situation, catch typical cases, and catch reports. Those who violate regulations on eating and drinking against the trend must be investigated and dealt with strictly and quickly in accordance with regulations and disciplines to form a strong deterrent. It is necessary to strengthen warning through cases, and take the above two typical cases as important content of warning education, deeply analyze the nature, manifestations, and harms of violating regulations on eating and drinking, so that Party members and cadres can be awakened, know awe, and abide by the bottom line. Leading cadres at all levels, especially the "top leaders," must lead by example and set an example, resolutely resist violations of regulations on eating and drinking, and promote the correction of the "**四风**" (sì fēng - "four forms of decadence," formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism, and extravagance) and the establishment of new styles to continuously extend to the grassroots. Guidance groups and supervision groups should play the role of "sharp swords," guiding and supervising the places and units they go to vigorously correct the stubborn disease of violating regulations on eating and drinking, and promote the solution of outstanding problems.
Return to TopThis newspaper reported from Beijing on June 1st (Reporter Yang Hao (杨昊)) On the occasion of the "June 1st" International Children's Day, the National Working Committee on Children and Young Pioneers deployed and carried out the theme activity of "Bearing in Mind the Party's Teachings and Striving to Be a Youngster Strong in the Country." The vast number of Young Pioneers felt the great achievements of the new era in the theme team day, joining ceremonies, visits and explorations, and practical experiences, and strived to become good youngsters of the new era who love the Party, love the country, are diligent and studious, and develop in an all-round way.
The vast number of Young Pioneers actively participated in the "Young Pioneer Commentator" and "Young Pioneer Nightingale" activities to express their love for the Party and the country and show their confident and lively demeanor. In Beijing (北京), the "Let Us Swing Our Oars" Young Pioneer Song Festival was held in Beihai Park (北海公园), where the team members celebrated the festival with songs. In Tianjin (天津), the "Young Pioneer Commentator" used recitations, situational dramas and other forms to tell the history and new look of Tianjin (天津) with the theme of "Welcoming the SCO to My Hometown."
Recently, centralized joining ceremonies were held in various places. In Zunyi (遵义), Guizhou (贵州), the new team member joining ceremony was held in red education bases such as Hongjun Mountain (红军山) and the Gouba Conference Site (苟坝会议会址), where a new group of Young Pioneers listened to the story of the Red Army's Long March and felt the great spirit of the Long March. In Jiangxi (江西), Young Pioneers from Aketao County (阿克陶县), Xinjiang (新疆) and Changbei No. 2 Primary School (昌北二小) in Nanchang Economic and Technological Development Zone (南昌市经开区) gathered together to join the team in a centralized manner, forging a deep friendship in exchanges and interactions.
The vast number of Young Pioneers walked into museums, scientific research institutes, and fields to learn knowledge and increase their knowledge. In Sichuan (四川), Young Pioneers in the Xinjin Campus (新津校区) of the Chengdu Youth Palace (成都市青少年宫) attended the "First Class of Ancient Shu Civilization" together to feel the long history of Chinese civilization on the spot. In Zhejiang (浙江), Young Pioneers experienced drone operation and listened to astronomy lectures at the Hangzhou Youth Activity Center (杭州青少年活动中心). In Hefei (合肥), Anhui (安徽), Young Pioneers immersed themselves in the "Vocational Skills Workshop" to experience the fun of various occupations.
It is reported that on the eve of the "June 1st" International Children's Day, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League (共青团中央) and the National Working Committee on Children and Young Pioneers also launched the chorus exhibition activity of "Young Pioneer Nightingale - Singing a New Journey for Young People."
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 吴 勇
Wang Yani (王雅妮) has "returned home" once again.
On the eve of "June 1st" Children's Day, at the Hohhot Children's Welfare Institute (呼和浩特市儿童福利院) in Inner Mongolia (内蒙古). Carrying fruits and snacks in one hand, and daily necessities in the other, Wang Yani (王雅妮) was greeted with enthusiastic greetings from the teachers as soon as she stepped through the door.
"I brought fruits and snacks for the younger children, as well as a piggy bank shaped like a cloth doll. The clothes and pants are for Zheng Xiaoyuan (郑小园) and Tie Mei (铁梅)..." Wang Yani (王雅妮) said animatedly, gesturing rapidly in sign language as she communicated with everyone.
On the eve of the 2014 Spring Festival, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) visited the Hohhot Children's Welfare Institute (呼和浩特市儿童福利院) to see the children living there. Wang Yani (王雅妮) was one of them. Upon seeing little Yani (雅妮), the General Secretary smiled kindly and learned sign language from her, also encouraging her to study hard and achieve academic success.
Eleven years have passed, and Wang Yani (王雅妮) has grown into a young woman. She is now a teacher at the Hohhot Special Education School (呼和浩特市特殊教育学校). The 26-year-old is usually diligent in her work and also thinks about the Children's Welfare Institute (儿童福利院), which she considers her home. "The school and the Children's Welfare Institute (儿童福利院) are just across the street, so I come back here to visit whenever I have time."
"She has always been a member of our big family," said Mi Hongrui (米红瑞), Director of the Hohhot Children's Welfare Institute (呼和浩特市儿童福利院).
Wang Yani (王雅妮) was sent here when she was 3 years old. The Children's Welfare Institute (儿童福利院) adopts a simulated family approach, recruiting real couples from society to serve as foster parents. In the simulated family, the "father" goes out to work during the day, and the children go to school; in the evening, the family "returns home" to live together.
"Now, in order to better meet the needs of the children, each simulated family has added a Party member cadre, leading a social worker, a rehabilitation therapist, and a special education teacher to provide professional medical care and educational services on a one-to-one basis," said Mi Hongrui (米红瑞). In recent years, the standards for selecting staff at the Children's Welfare Institute (儿童福利院) have been continuously raised. "They must not only have love and a sense of responsibility, but also have sufficient energy."
Currently, there are 111 children being raised here. After distributing the gifts, Wang Yani (王雅妮) played games with the children for a while and helped with cleaning.
Over the past 11 years, the number of children raised at the Hohhot Children's Welfare Institute (呼和浩特市儿童福利院) has been reduced by about half. Although the care ratio has increased significantly, most of the children in the institute have physical disabilities, with about 80% having severe disabilities or above. To this end, the Children's Welfare Institute (儿童福利院) has signed green channel agreements with 6 hospitals for children's medical treatment and has opened targeted rehabilitation courses.
With the coordinated follow-up of medical care, rehabilitation, and education, the Children's Welfare Institute (儿童福利院) provides care and concern, and also strives to tap into the potential of each child.
Chen Xingqian (陈兴钱), a child with intellectual disabilities, has good motor skills. "I just sparred with him a few moves," said staff member Liu Qingjun (刘清军) with pride. "He likes table tennis, so we often practice with him." Last year, Chen Xingqian (陈兴钱) won the men's singles championship (ages 12-15, Group B) at the National Special Olympics Table Tennis Tournament. "Every bit of progress the children make will inject hope into their future," said Mi Hongrui (米红瑞).
"It is very important to have a grateful heart. The whole society should have compassion and care for children, especially orphans and children with disabilities, and work together to enable them to grow up healthily and feel the warmth of the socialist family," the General Secretary's emotional words not only warmed Wang Yani (王雅妮), but also illuminated the way forward for the children.
In March of this year, Wang Yani (王雅妮) got married, and the teachers from the Children's Welfare Institute (儿童福利院) attended her wedding. These parents and colleagues from the special education school recorded a long video of blessings for her. Wang Yani (王雅妮) said, "I am also willing to do everything I can to provide help to 'my children'."
This Children's Day, the cafeteria prepared a rich festive meal for the children and organized outdoor games. Mi Hongrui (米红瑞) said that the Welfare Institute (福利院) has received care and love from all sectors of society, and many children like Yani (雅妮) often come back to visit. "Every child has a grateful heart and will give back this gratitude to the entire society."
Return to TopPeople's Daily, Chengdu, June 1 (Reporters Zhang Fan (张帆) and You Yi (游仪)) The celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Southwestern University of Finance and Economics was held in Chengdu (成都), Sichuan (四川) on June 1.
Southwestern University of Finance and Economics originated from Guanghua University (光华大学), which was founded a century ago. During the Anti-Japanese War, in 1938, the school traveled thousands of miles to protect its books and move to Sichuan (四川), starting its educational journey from the Huangpu River (黄浦江) to the Huanhua Creek (浣花溪). From 1952 to 1953, the finance and economics departments of 17 universities and colleges in the Southwest region formed the Sichuan College of Finance and Economics (四川财经学院). In 1985, the school was renamed Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (西南财经大学). In 1997, it became a key construction university under the national "211 Project." In 2000, it was transferred to the management of the Ministry of Education (教育部), and in 2011, it became a construction university for the "985 Project" Advantage Discipline Innovation Platform.
Entering the new era, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (西南财经大学) was selected as one of the first batch of national "Double First-Class" construction universities. Over the past century, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (西南财经大学) has trained and delivered more than 200,000 outstanding talents for national economic construction and social development.
Return to TopOn May 31st, the new energy vehicle transport ship "Lü An Tong" (绿安通) officially began operating on the Yantai (烟台) - Dalian (大连) route, marking the opening of the Bohai Strait (渤海海峡) new energy vehicle sea transport line. The picture shows the "Lü An Tong" (绿安通) docked at Yantai Port (烟台港) on the same day, preparing to load new energy vehicles.
Tang Ke (唐克) photographed (Xinhua News Agency) (新华社发)
Return to TopBeijing, June 1st (Reporter Zeng Huafeng (曾华锋)) On June 1st, as the last car quickly crossed the finish line of the SS10 Makit N39 section in the Kashgar competition area, the 2025 China Taklimakan Rally, lasting 13 days, with a total mileage of 5183 kilometers and a special stage of 2350 kilometers, successfully concluded.
The event started on May 20th at the Taklimakan Rally Camp in the Aksu (阿克苏) Film Town, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (新疆维吾尔自治区), with 55 teams, 105 cars, 23 motorcycles, and 233 competitors from various countries participating. After competition, the Shaanxi Yunxiang Club (陕西云翔俱乐部), with Liu Yangui (刘彦贵) as the driver and Chen Feng (陈峰) as the navigator, won the championship in the T1 car group; the Shaxi Shock Absorber 61 Team (沙蜥减震器61车队), with Liang Zhihui (梁志辉) as the driver and Shi Zesen (史泽森) as the navigator, won the championship in the T2 car group; Zhou He's (周贺) Qianjiang Panda Team (钱江熊猫车队) won the championship in the all-terrain vehicle group; and Ma Ting's (马汀) Red Camel Motorcycle Factory Team One (红驼机车厂队一队) won the motorcycle championship.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 丁雅诵
"How old should a child be to start early childhood education classes?"
"The earlier, the better." Walking into an early childhood education institution in Beijing (北京市), a staff member skillfully introduces, "0 to 3 years old is the golden period for a baby's brain development, don't miss it."
Nowadays, such scenarios are common.
With social development and progress, early childhood education for infants and young children has received increasing attention. However, at the same time, the early childhood education market is 鱼龙混杂 (yú lóng hùn zá - "fish dragons mixed," a mixed bag of good and bad), leaving parents at a loss. Is early childhood education for infants and young children "true enlightenment" or "selling anxiety"?
Is earlier early childhood education better?
Avoid blindly following the trend
"I don't want my child to lose at the starting line." Speaking of the English early childhood education classes she signed up for her child, Ms. Zhou (周女士) from Wuhan (武汉市), Hubei Province (湖北省), said frankly, "We hope that our child can be exposed to a multilingual environment from an early age."
Walking into the early childhood education institution where Ms. Zhou signed up, several babies under the age of 2 snuggled in their parents' arms, following the teacher singing English songs, babbling and making physical movements.
"We have developed enlightenment courses for children of all ages, including physical fitness, music, and language, all taught in English." The relevant person in charge of the institution introduced that the youngest child here is only 3 months old.
In recent years, some capital has entered the early childhood education market, and the popularity of early childhood education has been increasing day by day.
"Generally speaking, educational activities provided to infants and young children aged 0 to 6 and their parents, in addition to childcare and education activities in nurseries and kindergartens, belong to early childhood education services." Sun Qiangqiang (孙蔷蔷), associate researcher at the Institute of Basic Education of the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences (中国教育科学研究院), said that a clear characteristic of the current early childhood education market is its younger age focus, with many institutions even launching courses specifically for infants aged 0-1, and another characteristic is high fees, and a considerable number of early childhood education institutions have problems with excessive packaging.
Are all kinds of early childhood education products really beneficial to the physical and mental health of infants and young children? Qian Zhiliang (钱志亮), professor of the Faculty of Education at Beijing Normal University (北京师范大学), said that there are many types of early childhood education institutions on the market, often touting cutting-edge teaching concepts or high-end teaching methods, "but most are still a marketing means."
"Whether early childhood education institutions can promote the growth and development of infants and young children is questionable. For example, some studies have shown that allowing infants and young children to do more gross motor activities helps brain development, but the effect of spending money on indoor space activities may be far less than parents taking their children to run, jump, and crawl in the park grass," said Sun Qiangqiang (孙蔷蔷).
More courses, more discounts?
Beware of "running away" risks
"I received a call from customer service saying that there were discounts for renewal, so we renewed a large course package. As a result, the institution 'ran away' in less than a month, and the money was all wasted." Seeing that the training institution for the dance class she signed up for her child was empty, Ms. Yang (杨女士) regretted it, "It seems that not all large institutions and large shopping malls can be guaranteed."
In addition to the risk of "running away," difficulty in refunds is also a common phenomenon. The reporter's investigation learned that some early childhood education institutions have such regulations: those who have taken 1/3 of the courses can get a 50% refund; those who have taken 1/3 to half of the courses can get a 30% refund; those who have taken more than half of the courses will not be refunded any fees.
In fact, regarding the fee management of off-campus training, the Ministry of Education (教育部) has issued clear policies in conjunction with relevant departments: fees shall not be charged for more than 3 months or 60 class hours, and one-time fees shall not exceed 5,000 yuan; full coverage of pre-charge supervision shall be implemented, and all pre-charges must enter a special account for fund custody.
"If the regulations are strictly implemented, and all pre-charges enter the regulatory account, and funds are allocated according to the students' attendance, problems such as refunds and 'running away' can be avoided. However, in actual operation, the regulatory account is often a mere formality." Xiong Bingqi (熊丙奇), president of the 21st Century Education Research Institute (21世纪教育研究院), said, "Many parents are affected by the institution's marketing rhetoric and 'more courses, more discounts' and other influences, and purchase courses for more than a year or even longer at one time."
Some time ago, Hangzhou (杭州市), Zhejiang Province (浙江省), led by the Market Supervision Bureau (市场监管局), launched the "Anxin Pay" product. Under the "Anxin Pay" model, the funds paid by consumers at one time will be directly transferred to the bank account designated by the merchant. Only when the user confirms that they have enjoyed the service can the merchant deduct the user's funds according to the actual consumption amount, and the bank will complete the allocation of the user's funds.
"Ensuring the safety of consumers' funds and reducing the risk of unscrupulous merchants 'running away' can enhance consumer confidence," said Xiong Bingqi (熊丙奇).
Low entry threshold?
The nature of early childhood education institutions needs to be clarified
"My child couldn't concentrate in class. We listened to the early childhood education sales recommendation and signed up for sensory integration training. But as my child grew up, I found that my child actually didn't have any sensory integration disorder problems, it was all the institution's rhetoric." Ms. Xu (徐女士) from Guangzhou (广州市), Guangdong Province (广东省), said, "Later I learned that the entry threshold for the sensory integration training industry is very low, and many institutions not only do not have training qualifications, but the trainers also do not have relevant professional qualifications."
The chaos in sensory integration training institutions is a microcosm of the current situation of early childhood education training. "The educational concepts, teaching methods, and teaching staff of many early childhood education institutions are difficult to match the early development needs of infants and young children," said Qian Zhiliang (钱志亮).
At the same time, there are also blind spots in supervision. "The management bodies of early childhood education institutions involve multiple departments such as health, education, market supervision and management, culture and tourism, etc. Many institutions register in the name of education consulting or cultural technology, etc., and then conduct education and training in disguise after obtaining a business license, thus avoiding the entry threshold and making it difficult to effectively supervise." Sun Qiangqiang (孙蔷蔷) suggested that the nature of early childhood education institutions should be clarified as soon as possible, and the responsible departments, approval authority, and setting and operation criteria should be clarified.
What kind of education do infants and young children need? Experts believe that high-quality parental companionship is the key to the growth of infants and young children. When facing early childhood education products, there are a few points to note: be wary of quick success theories and exaggerated promises, those who claim to be able to "change children in a few days" and "completely develop potential" are mostly exaggerating to exploit parents' psychology; examine the "scientific" cloak and evidence support, and be highly vigilant against promotional materials that are full of professional terms but lack empirical data support such as "the latest scientific research results" and "developed by authoritative expert teams"; avoid anxiety marketing rhetoric such as "can't miss the critical period."
"When parents choose early childhood education products and services, the evaluation criteria should focus on whether the products and services follow the age characteristics and individual development needs of children; whether they fully guarantee and support play activities with children as the main body; whether they emphasize and promote positive high-quality parent-child interaction; and whether they fully respect the individual differences of children and provide corresponding personalized support," said Sun Qiangqiang (孙蔷蔷).
This issue is coordinated by: Liu Jingwen (刘静文)
Return to TopPeople's Daily, Beijing, June 1st (Reporter Yang Hao (杨昊)) The "Home-School-Community Collaboration: Nurturing New Talents for the Times" 2025 China Children's Development Forum was recently held in Beijing (北京).
Responsible individuals from relevant central and local departments, along with experts and scholars from universities, primary and secondary schools, research institutions, and social organizations, engaged in in-depth exchanges and discussions under the themes of "Ideological Guidance and Collaborative Leadership," "Care and Protection, Joint Safeguarding," and "Multi-Party Linkage, Concentrated Efforts to Build Dreams." They focused on topics such as collaboratively promoting the ideological and moral development of minors, collaboratively caring for and protecting children's rights and interests, and innovating collaborative systems and capacity building through "education consortia." They jointly discussed strategies and measures for improving the school-family-society education mechanism, and exchanged theoretical research and innovative achievements in promoting home-school-community alignment and collaborative education.
The forum was hosted by the China National Children's Center (中国儿童中心) and the Chinese Society of Education (中国教育学会). At the opening ceremony, the "Full Life Cycle Family Education Learning Course," jointly created by the All-China Women's Federation's (全国妇联) Department of Family and Children Affairs and the China National Children's Center (中国儿童中心), was officially launched.
Return to TopMay 5th is the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节), with mugwort hanging on the door and fragrance filling the hall. The Dragon Boat Festival (端午节) has a long history and profound significance, embodying the Chinese nation's remembrance of its virtuous predecessors and expressing the Chinese people's pursuit of a better life. It is China's first festival to be included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Traditional festivals are important time nodes for the inheritance of outstanding Chinese traditional culture, containing profound spiritual strength. People celebrate our festivals in diverse and colorful forms, inheriting the national spirit, demonstrating cultural confidence, and allowing the millennium-old culture to shine with new brilliance in the tides of the times.
-- Editor
Gaotai, Gansu:
Gobi Dragon Boat
Racing Out Spirit
People's Daily reporters Dong Hongliang (董洪亮) and Zhao Shuaijie (赵帅杰)
Holding up the paddles, holding their breath and concentrating. "Bang!" The starting gun fired, and the dragon boats moved forward quickly like arrows leaving the string, "One, two, one, two..." Accompanied by the high-pitched shouts, the paddlers vigorously split the water surface, splashing up朵朵浪花 (duǒ duǒ làng huā - "朵朵 waves," many waves).
On June 1st, at the Dahuwan waters in Gaotai County (高台县), Gansu (甘肃) Province, a dragon boat final was staged here. The 15 dragon boat teams that stood out in the preliminaries started from 3 lanes and started racing.
"Wonderful! The county in the Gobi oasis actually has dragon boat races." A tourist from Jiangsu (江苏) exclaimed.
"Relying on the resource advantages of the Heihe Wetland (黑河湿地) and Dahuwan (大湖湾), we held the first dragon boat race in 2005." Yang Wenming (杨文明), director of the Gaotai County (高台县) Culture, Sports, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau, introduced that nowadays, dragon boat races and traditional folk customs such as making rice cakes, braiding colored ropes, and folding willow branches have become the "standard configuration" for the people of the county to celebrate the festival during the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节).
What are the characteristics of the Gaotai (高台) dragon boat race?
"The competition water area has an altitude of more than 1,200 meters, which is a typical plateau dragon boat race. The 1-kilometer straight sprint tests the athletes' physical strength and endurance, and even more so, the team's cooperation and tacit understanding," said Yang Wenming (杨文明).
This year, Zhang Guobing (张国兵), a young teacher from Jiefang Street Primary School (解放街小学), participated for the first time and entered the final. In Gaotai (高台), the dragon boat race insists on mass participation. Each team forms teams across age groups, and senior team members teach paddling skills and competition experience to achieve a virtuous inheritance of "old leading new."
"Earlier, the competition used 12-person small dragon boats, and the track was only about 500 meters." Bai Hua (白桦), a villager from Liu Yi Village (六一村) in He Li Town (合黎镇) who has participated in many competitions, recalled that in 2018, the competition was changed to use national standard dragon boats, the track was extended, and the number of people also doubled. A drummer sits at the bow of the boat, a helmsman sits at the stern, and 20 paddlers are arranged in a row on both sides, and the competitiveness is constantly enhanced.
"Dong dong dong", a dense drumbeat came from the water surface. About 100 meters away from the finish line, each dragon boat team began to sprint! The paddlers waved their paddles harder, and the frequency also accelerated synchronously, and dense beads of sweat oozed from their foreheads and behind their necks. "5 minutes and 25 seconds!" The referee's whistle sounded, and the Water Affairs Bureau (水务局) dragon boat team, which took the lead, won the championship again.
"This year is the team's three consecutive championships." Yin Jianjin (尹建锦), the captain of the Water Affairs Bureau (水务局) dragon boat team, said proudly that the competition is a comprehensive competition of strength, speed and endurance. As soon as everyone gets on the dragon boat, they have endless energy. "Although it is 17 seconds slower than last year, it is more important to race out the spirit and improve cohesion."
Nowadays, the influence of the Gaotai (高台) dragon boat race continues to expand, and its attraction to young people is getting stronger and stronger. Data shows that this year, among the more than 460 participants, those under 40 accounted for more than 70%, and the youngest was only 22 years old.
"Holding dragon boat races not only promotes excellent traditional culture, but also promotes national fitness and tourism development, and has become a characteristic brand event in the county." Yang Wenming (杨文明) said that in the future, on the basis of maintaining competitiveness and viewing, dragon boat experience projects will be developed to make this event originating from the people more attractive.
Zigui, Hubei:
Qu Yuan's Hometown Poetry Festival
Singing for Life
People's Daily reporter Qiang Yuwen (强郁文)
The fragrance of zongzi floats in midsummer, and the calamus sword reflects the Dragon Boat Festival (端阳). In Zigui (秭归), Hubei (湖北), the hometown of Qu Yuan (屈原), more than 100,000 Chinese and foreign tourists meet to experience the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节) culture every Dragon Boat Festival (端午) event. Ancient sacrificial rituals such as "burning Liao to sacrifice to the sky, wrapping Mao to shrink wine, and music and dance to welcome the gods", and a series of activities such as dragon boat races and Dragon Boat Festival (端午节) poetry festivals make the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节) culture dynamic.
In Zigui (秭归), the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节) is even more grand than the Spring Festival, and there is a saying that "the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节) is bigger than the New Year, and one Dragon Boat Festival (端午节) is celebrated three times" - the fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the "first Dragon Boat Festival (头端午)", the fifteenth day of the fifth lunar month is the "big Dragon Boat Festival (大端午)", and the twenty-fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the "last Dragon Boat Festival (末端午)". The "first Dragon Boat Festival (头端午)" is mainly to worship Qu Yuan (屈原), and every household is busy wrapping zongzi and steaming baba, and hanging mugwort at the door to pray for peace; the "big Dragon Boat Festival (大端午)" holds a grand dragon boat race; the "last Dragon Boat Festival (末端午)" holds folk activities such as releasing river lanterns and sending off plague boats.
Among a series of celebrations, the most culturally rich is the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节) poetry festival. On the occasion of the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节), poets from all over the country gather in the Qu Yuan (屈原) Theater (屈原剧场) in Zigui County (秭归县) to create and recite poems.
The Dragon Boat Festival (端午节) is also known as Poet's Day. In Lepingli (乐平里), Qu Yuan Town (屈原镇), Zigui County (秭归县), the birthplace of Qu Yuan (屈原), there is a poetry society called "Sanlu Sao Tan (三闾骚坛)", which has been established for hundreds of years. Every Dragon Boat Festival (端午节), the members spontaneously organize poetry festivals, present their most proud poems of the year on stage, and remember Qu Yuan (屈原) and express their emotions.
"Often holding a plow and writing in hand, half farming and half reading to find poetry." The generational inheritance of the poetry festival is also a firm adherence to Qu Yuan (屈原) culture and patriotic spirit.
Writing poetry is integrated into the daily life of these farmer poets. They follow the millennium-old poetry style and use their calloused hands to write down the things they see and hear in labor and their feelings in life on cardboard and calendars. The works are not limited to genres: there are both ancient styles and new styles; there are both poems and ballads, and even jingles.
"The oranges and pumpkins in the fields, farming and seasons can all become the source of our poetic inspiration." Xiang Gang (向刚), a farmer poet from Qu Yuan Town (屈原镇), Zigui County (秭归县), told reporters that there are more than 130 core members of the poetry society, and more than 2,500 members in the county. In recent years, more than 20 poetry collections have been published, and more than 1,000 poems have been published in newspapers and periodicals. Zigui (秭归) was awarded the title of "China Poetry Town" by the China Poetry Society.
In the process of inheritance, the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节) poetry festival is also constantly innovating. There are not only farmer poets chanting Sao-style poems in local accents, but also inviting well-known domestic poets and scholars to participate in the grand event, holding the "Qu Yuan (屈原) Cup" poetry competition, and deeply discussing the cultural connotation and contemporary value of Qu Yuan's (屈原) poems. Nowadays, the "Qu Yuan's (屈原) Hometown Dragon Boat Festival (端午节) Poetry Festival" has developed into a national poetry festival, attracting poets and communities from all over the country to Zigui (秭归) to participate in the event.
Here, poetry is a belief, a glory, and even more a normal state of life. Poetry not only enters workshops, campuses, and communities, but also enters rural areas, scenic spots, and cafes... "Dragon boat races and chanting ancient poems are not only a tribute to Qu Yuan (屈原), but also the people's yearning for a better life," said Xiang Gang (向刚).
Dongguan, Guangdong:
Dongjiang River Dragon Boat Race
Striving to Promote Unity
People's Daily reporter Hong Qiuting (洪秋婷)
In early May, in Jiaolian Community (滘联社区), Wanjiang Street (万江街道), Dongguan City (东莞市), Guangdong (广东) Province, a grand "Zhengya Qilong (正丫起龙)" ceremony was held. At about 8 a.m., at the Zhengya Bay (正丫湾), gongs and drums were blaring, and the shore was crowded with spectators, witnessing more than 20 young adults from Zhengya Village (正丫村) going into the water to "raise the dragon".
They saw them dig the dragon boat out of the "dragon bed" (a section of the riverbed where the dragon boat is hidden), clean the silt, and the villagers installed the cover plate and dragon head on the old dragon boat, and put "Heqing (禾青)" into the dragon's mouth. A traditional "raising the dragon" ceremony reproduced the classic processes of dragon head consecration, inviting the dragon head, raising the dragon, washing the dragon, and dotting the eyes in Dongguan (东莞) water towns, which was a feast for the eyes.
The Pearl River Delta (珠三角) region has a network of rivers and crisscrosses. Since ancient times, boats have been an indispensable part of people's production and life. Dongguan City (东莞市) is located on the east bank of the Pearl River Estuary (珠江口), and the dragon boat culture has a long-standing reputation. The "Guangdong New Language (广东新语)" written by Qu Dajun (屈大均), a famous scholar in Guangdong (广东) in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, records: "The dragon boats in Guangzhong (广中) (Pearl River Delta (珠江三角洲)) are the most prosperous in Dongguan (东莞). From the first day to the last day of May in the lunar calendar, every village has them."
"Raising the dragon" is the prelude to the Dongguan (东莞) dragon boat folk custom and the first event of the Dongguan (东莞) dragon boat month every year. This folk activity, which carries a profound historical and cultural heritage, is particularly popular in Zhengya Village (正丫村).
"'Raising the dragon' has a tradition of hundreds of years in Dongguan (东莞) water towns. At this time of year, everyone will gather together to feel this excitement and nostalgia. This ceremony reminds us of where our roots are," said Mr. Xie (谢先生), a villager in Zhengya Village (正丫村).
Dongguan (东莞) people race dragon boats, not for a day or two, but for a month, so it is called Dragon Boat Month. Among them, dragon boat racing is one of the most inherited and developed traditional folk activities in Lingnan (岭南), which demonstrates the spirit of unity, cooperation and striving for the first place of Dongguan (东莞) people.
Zhongtang Town (中堂镇) is located in the northwest of Dongguan (东莞). As one of the birthplaces of dragon boat culture in the Pearl River Delta (珠三角), dragon boat competitions have a history of more than 500 years, and every village has its own dragon boat team.
What is special about the Zhongtang (中堂) dragon boat scene? Zhongtang Town (中堂镇) holds a Paibiao (扒标) competition every three years, and a dragon boat parade is held in the intervening years. In the past, the dragon boat scenes in each village did not necessarily "compete for the standard" and compete. In the years when there was no standard, visitors called it "Chenjing (趁景)". The villages that are in the scene are decorated with red and green on the village gate building, and colorful flags are flying along both sides of the river, and a sea of dragon boats gathers. Dragon boats shuttle back and forth, sailing freely, greeting each other, and celebrating with cannons.
The most interesting is the Zhongtang Town (中堂镇) scene on the thirteenth day of the fifth lunar month. On this day, as many as hundreds of dragon boats from the town gather on the Dongjiang River (东江) tributary in the southeast of the town to participate in the race.
"As the largest dragon boat folk activity in Zhongtang Town (中堂镇), there are as many as tens of thousands of dragon boat team members, and there are hundreds of thousands of spectators every year," said Qiu Faping (邱发平), a staff member of the Rong Media Center of the Propaganda and Education Office of Zhongtang Town (中堂镇).
Every Dragon Boat Festival (端午节), as one of the essences of Lingnan's (岭南) excellent traditional culture, the long-standing dragon boat event is vividly integrated into the cultural life of the masses in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (粤港澳大湾区) and has become a bright cultural business card of Guangdong (广东).
Huishui, Guizhou:
Parade and Street Stroll
Colorful Ethnic Style
People's Daily reporter Chen Junyi (陈隽逸)
In Huishui County (惠水县), Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture (黔南布依族苗族自治州), Guizhou Province (贵州省), there is a parade and street stroll event with tens of thousands of people. People of all ethnic groups wear costumes and take musical instruments to form multiple square formations that reflect the local ethnic cultural characteristics, winding along the river, forming a flowing "ethnic cultural corridor". Before the event started, the county town was already万人空巷 (wàn rén kōng xiàng - "ten thousand people empty lanes," all the people leave their lanes; a mass exodus), and citizens and tourists arrived early on both sides of the street to wait, just to admire the style of the parade team up close.
The parade and street stroll event evolved from the local Dragon Boat Festival (端午节) custom of "Touring Hundred Diseases (游百病)" that has been passed down for hundreds of years. "We believe that outdoor activities on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节), getting close to nature and breathing fresh air can drive away diseases and pray for peace and health." Luo Huiping (罗惠萍), president of the Huishui County (惠水县) Folk Literature and Art Association, introduced, "The night before the parade and street stroll, women will make a big zongzi with more than ten kilograms of glutinous rice, which is also our health and peace zongzi."
On the day of the festival, men and women, old and young, from all directions flocked to Nanmen Bridge (南门桥), so this event is also called "Catching the Dragon Boat Festival Bridge (赶端午桥)". Along the way, everyone either strolled, stopped, sang, or danced, which was very lively.
As a multi-ethnic gathering county dominated by the Buyi and Miao ethnic groups, Huishui County (惠水县) has enough ethnic culture to enrich the parade and street stroll square formation. The national intangible cultural heritage Fengxiang printing and dyeing technique is taken from nature, and the flowers, birds, fish and insects in nature are printed on clothing to convey good meanings; the Miao girls wear costumes and wear all the silver ornaments they have accumulated since childhood, which is confident and bright. In addition, there are modern element square formations such as street dance and skateboarding in the team, each with its own beauty and sharing the beauty together.
"This year, we have added the 'Buyi Ethnic Wedding Customs' square formation." Luo Jianhua (罗建华), vice chairman of the Huishui County (惠水县) Federation of Literary and Art Circles, introduced, "Wedding customs have rich content, which can centrally display the customs, etiquette, clothing and customs of the ethnic group, and is a complex that carries ethnic folk culture."
Another national intangible cultural heritage of Huishui County (惠水县), "Buyi Folk Songs (Haohua Hong Tune (好花红调))", is integrated into various square formations in different forms. "'Haohua Hong (好花红)' is our Buyi folk song tune. At present, there are 118 kinds of tunes collected and compiled into books. The lyrics include love songs, wedding custom songs, etc., and these songs will be displayed in the square formation," said Luo Huiping (罗惠萍).
"The Dragon Boat Festival (端午节) has become a grip for us to promote the integration and development of culture and tourism." Yan Zhonglin (严忠林), deputy director of the Huishui County (惠水县) Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau, introduced. In order to create a cultural and tourism brand with characteristics, Huishui County (惠水县) artistically created the mass-spontaneous "Touring Hundred Diseases (游百病)" activity, displayed the characteristics of various ethnic groups in the form of square formations, integrated ethnic songs and dances, and became a grand ethnic carnival activity.
"The ethnic parade is a lively festive activity on the surface, but from a deeper level, it demonstrates the full confidence of the children of all ethnic groups in uniting as one and jointly achieving development and prosperity," said Luo Jianhua (罗建华).
Return to TopBy: 李卓尔
Another year of the Dragon Boat Festival has arrived, and the aroma of zongzi leaves fills the streets. When people greet each other with "Dragon Boat Festival Ankang," this blessing not only carries a long-standing folk culture but also embodies the unchanging patriotism of this traditional festival.
"Ankang" (安康) has become a key word for the Dragon Boat Festival, stemming from the profound understanding of the natural order by our ancestors. In the fifth month of the lunar calendar, the weather is hot and prone to epidemics. The "Chronicle of Jingchu Festivals" records "collecting mugwort to make human figures and hanging them on doors to ward off poisonous air," and the "Book of the Later Han" records "using vermilion ropes and five-colored seals as door decorations"... Customs such as hanging mugwort and calamus, wearing sachets, and drinking realgar wine are essentially a manifestation of the Chinese nation's spirit of resistance in the face of survival challenges. As an important part of outstanding Chinese traditional culture, traditional festivals are an important expression and vivid practice of Chinese people's understanding of heaven, earth, society, and life, and they embody the emotions and thoughts of the Chinese nation.
With the changes in festival customs, since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the historical story of Qu Yuan (屈原) throwing himself into the river has gradually been integrated into the festival narrative, and the word "Ankang" (安康) has transcended the dimension of individual life. Qu Yuan's (屈原) worries of "sighing deeply and wiping away tears, lamenting the hardship of the people's lives" and his persistence of "it is also what my heart desires, even if I die nine times, I will not regret it" closely tied his personal destiny to the rise and fall of the country. In the late Southern Song Dynasty, Wen Tianxiang (文天祥) was framed by rumors. It was the Dragon Boat Festival, and filled with "Danxin" (丹心) of loyalty to the country, he wrote "Dragon Boat Festival Events": "Danxin (丹心) shines on the past, temples have changed with the days. I want to follow Lingjun, but I am separated from Liaohai by the three Xiang rivers." Generations of Chinese people have regarded Qu Yuan (屈原) as a benchmark of personality, commemorating the sages and drawing strength during the Dragon Boat Festival, and closely connecting personal ideals with national development.
It is this profound cultural heritage that injects the profound connotation of patriotism into the Dragon Boat Festival customs. The aroma of zongzi leaves has been floating for thousands of years. Although the tastes are different, they condense the emotional resonance of "sharing this moment together despite being far apart"; the zongzi thrown into the river contain the collective empathy of "fish and shrimp do not eat Qu Zi's (屈子) body"; the dragon boat race shows the spirit of "unity and struggle" and "crossing the river in the same boat"... Traditional festivals carry the cultural blood of the Chinese nation, vividly convey the values of Chinese culture, and nourish the roots and souls of the Chinese people.
For more than 2,000 years, this spirit of patriotism has inspired Chinese sons and daughters to constantly explore. On the Dragon Boat Festival in 2021, the "Zhurong" (祝融号) Mars rover sent blessings from Mars: I am putting "zongzi" on Mars, wishing everyone a healthy Dragon Boat Festival. The naming of China's first Mars probe "Tianwen-1" (天问一号) originated from Qu Yuan's (屈原) long poem "Tianwen" (天问). It is the continuous struggle of generations that has achieved the ancient and modern dialogue across time and space, and has brought about a prosperous China. A "Dragon Boat Festival Ankang" (端午安康) from Mars carries the heavy expectation of "**国泰民安**" (guó tài mín ān - "the country is prosperous and the people are at peace," a wish for national prosperity and peace), and stimulates a strong sense of national pride among Chinese people.
The reason why the Dragon Boat Festival culture has been able to traverse thousands of years and remain new is that every Chinese son and daughter is an inheritor, and that it is constantly inherited and updated with the development of the times. Mugwort is matched with calamus, sachets, Fuka (福卡) and other materials to make new Chinese-style mugwort bouquets, and sachets are made into car pendants, keychains, mobile phone chains and other cultural creations. With the surge of national trends, traditional festival items have been transformed into fashionable items that are highly sought after, showing the cultural identity of the younger generation. Moreover, many Dragon Boat Festival folk activities have transcended the time limit of the festival and have been integrated into daily life. In Shanghai (上海), dragon boat racing is already a "familiar face" in urban water sports. This traditional Chinese national sports activity has also attracted enthusiasts from more than 20 countries, writing a vivid footnote to cultural confidence. The Dragon Boat Festival customs embody a new spirit and style of the times in inheritance and development, making the strong patriotic feelings a tangible, participatory, and inheritable way of life.
As time goes by, the background color remains unchanged. Let us transform our sincere patriotism into the power to move forward, and make the national spirit even more high-spirited.
Return to TopBy: 彭长歆
As one of the spatial elements of traditional Chinese architecture, verandas are widely used in palaces, gardens, residences, and more. The veranda first appeared in the spatial system of traditional architecture as a traffic space. With the rise of garden culture, the veranda, while dividing scenic spots and organizing viewing lines, gradually became an important part of the garden space through diversified spatial forms, elegant and ingenious architectural shapes, and close integration with environmental scenery. Today, architects are constantly innovating the construction technology and application scenarios of verandas, giving this ancient architectural form a new lease of life.
From Cave Dwellings to Garden Verandas
A Development History Spanning Thousands of Years
The formation of verandas has a long history, and its spatial form has experienced thousands of years of development.
It is generally believed that the entrance and exit space of cave dwellings in ancient times was the corridor, which is reflected in the pictographic characters of oracle bone inscriptions.
After the Xia Dynasty, verandas began to be applied to palace buildings. The Erlitou Palace Site in Yanshi, Henan (河南偃师二里头宫殿遗址) shows cloisters relying on rammed earth walls and facing the courtyard. In the Shang Dynasty palaces, there appeared columned verandas surrounding the main building and formed by overhanging large eaves, such as the Panlongcheng Shang Dynasty Palace Site (盘龙城商代宫殿遗址) in Huangpi District, Wuhan, Hubei (湖北武汉市黄陂区的). During the Qin and Han Dynasties, high platform palace buildings were popular, and the "pavilion roads" (阁道) with wooden frames erected between the high platforms could also be regarded as verandas. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the covered verandas extending from both sides of the palace enclosed the courtyard and gradually developed into cloisters. This was subsequently followed by palaces of successive dynasties, and some new combinations were developed. In the regular and rigorous spatial order, the veranda became a rare place for leisure and adjustment within the palace city.
The development of verandas in Chinese gardens largely benefited from their application in traditional folk houses. A large number of unearthed Han Dynasty portrait bricks and stones confirm that verandas were widely used in Han Dynasty folk houses to connect buildings and separate courtyards with different functions. Especially in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with the rise of private gardens, verandas were more widely involved in the construction of garden spaces. For example, "Dream of the Red Chamber" ("红楼梦") describes the verandas many times when describing the Jia Mansion's residence and garden, indicating that the veranda plays a special role in garden tours.
Water and Land, Flat Slopes, Curves and Straight Lines, Single and Multiple
Showing the Dynamic Beauty of Gardens
In a limited space, the veranda meanders along the mountains and rivers, and the seclusion of the forest, providing visitors with a rich experience.
Because it is closely related to the creation of scenery, the layout of the veranda in the garden is free and follows the shape of the land. It is divided into water and land, flat slopes, curves and straight lines, and single and multiple. According to the different positions and shapes, garden verandas can be divided into water verandas, bridge verandas, slope verandas, cloisters, and building verandas.
The water veranda is attached to the water's edge or built across the water. It is also known as a wave-shaped veranda because its shape undulates like water waves. The water veranda in the West Garden of the Humble Administrator's Garden (拙政园西花园) in Suzhou, Jiangsu (江苏苏州) is a typical example.
The bridge veranda, also known as the covered bridge or aerial veranda, is similar to the water veranda, spanning the garden pool but with a slightly shorter length, such as the "Small Flying Rainbow" (小飞虹) in the central water courtyard of the Humble Administrator's Garden (苏州拙政园) and the "Huanhong Kualv" (浣红跨绿) bridge veranda in the Yu Yin Shan Fang (余荫山房) in Guangzhou, Guangdong (广东广州).
The slope veranda is built on the mountain and is also known as the climbing veranda. It is divided into two types: inclined slope climbing veranda and stacked climbing veranda, depending on the different height differences. For example, in the Summer Palace (颐和园) in Beijing (北京) Wanshou Mountain (万寿山), inclined slope verandas and stacked verandas are built along with the undulating terrain.
The cloister is characterized by meandering, twisting, and repeating. It is used in the Zhan Garden (观瞻园) in Nanjing, Jiangsu (江苏南京) and the Lingering Garden (苏州留园) in Suzhou, and other places.
The building veranda is expressed as a multi-layered complex road in terms of form. It is more common in southern residences and gardens. For example, the He Garden (何园) in Yangzhou, Jiangsu (江苏扬州) combines the garden and the residence into a network space structure through a 1500-meter two-story complex road building veranda.
The diversified verandas, with their smooth and dynamic beauty, together with the central buildings of pavilions, terraces, and towers, as well as the waterfront rocks and trees, jointly construct the scenic beauty of 曲径通幽 (qū jìng tōng yōu - "winding path leads to seclusion," a winding path leading to a secluded place) in the garden.
Veranda + Photovoltaic, Veranda + Weathering Steel
More and More Rich Forms of Expression
After thousands of years, the veranda, as an important part of the garden space, still maintains its vigorous vitality. With the blessing of modern construction technologies such as reinforced concrete and steel-wood structures, the durability and industrialization level of the veranda structure have been greatly improved, and the forms of expression have become more and more abundant.
In rural areas, some veranda designs are combined with solar photovoltaic panels to expand new functions. In addition, the advantages of verandas in facilitating transportation, integrating interfaces, and enclosing spaces are also widely used in urban renewal and micro-transformation of blocks, forming a number of excellent cases that can be replicated and promoted.
In the design of the Wenli · Songyang Sanmiao Cultural Exchange Center (文里·松阳三庙文化交流中心) in Chengdu, Sichuan (四川成都), architect Liu Jiakun (刘家琨) used the existing buildings and environmental elements of different eras as the base, and while dispersing and opening up the alley pores, he also implanted a winding and continuous weathering steel veranda, transforming the entire block into a garden-style block that both displays architectural relics and expresses current life.
The Yongjia Road 309 Lane Pocket Park (上海永嘉路309弄口袋公园) in Shanghai (上海) is another case of reshaping daily life through the intervention of the veranda. Facing an open space about 18 meters wide and 40 meters deep, the architect transformed it into a courtyard square embedded in the community. Four windmill-shaped verandas enclose a regular rectangular inner courtyard, providing residents with the diversified space needed for daily life.
The development of the veranda is not only the continuation of architectural skills, but also the inheritance of cultural spirit. It has witnessed the wisdom and creativity of the Chinese nation and embodies the concept of harmonious coexistence between man and nature. Looking forward to the future, the inheritance and development of the veranda needs to continue to be people-oriented and innovative, and through the combination of modern technology and close to the needs of use, it will rejuvenate new vitality in modern society.
(The author is a professor at the School of Architecture of South China University of Technology (华南理工大学建筑学院), and this newspaper reporter Li Zong (李纵) interviewed and compiled it)
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 孟 扬
Grain in Ear
Grain in Ear (芒种) is the ninth solar term in the twenty-four solar terms and the third solar term in summer. In 2025, Grain in Ear begins on June 5th.
Grain in Ear (芒种) is a solar term typically named after agricultural phenology. "Grain" (芒) refers to the awns that have grown on mature crops such as barley and wheat; "in Ear" (种) refers to the season for sowing summer crops such as millet.
Grain in Ear (芒种) is indeed very "busy." For many regions in China, with the arrival of Grain in Ear (芒种), summer-ripening crops need to be harvested, summer-sown crops need to be planted, and spring-sown crops need to be managed. The time is tight, and the tasks are heavy, making it one of the busiest times of the year.
"Timely rain reaches Grain in Ear (芒种), seedlings are transplanted in all fields. Every family enjoys delicious wheat meals, and everywhere echoes with the songs of water caltrop pickers." The verses of Lu You (陆游), a poet of the Southern Song Dynasty, vividly depict the life scenes of the Grain in Ear (芒种) season. The Grain in Ear (芒种) season, with its significantly rising temperatures and abundant rainfall, prompts the farming instruction that "grains with awns can be sown." In southern regions, it is the critical moment for planting rice seedlings.
At this time, in the Dong villages of the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture (黔东南苗族侗族自治州) in Guizhou (贵州), in addition to planting, the Dong people use the custom of "mud fighting" to sublimate the busy farming activities into a song of life, expressing praise for the land.
Traditionally, the Dong people have the custom of "sitting at the mother's home" (坐家), meaning that women still temporarily stay at their parents' home after marriage, returning to their husband's home for a few days during busy farming seasons and festivals. Around Grain in Ear (芒种), after the dates for transplanting seedlings are determined, the groom's family will prepare the paddy fields and invite young men from the same village to help. The bride, returning to her husband's home to participate in transplanting, will bring glutinous rice and dyed red boiled duck eggs, and invite bridesmaids to go with her. After the transplanting work, the young men "pretend" to challenge the girls, and then enter the happy time of mud fighting. After the "mud war" is over, everyone comes to the creek, jumps into the water, and splashes water while washing off the mud, continuing the joy.
As time passes and society develops, traditions are also inherited in richer and more appropriate forms in contemporary life. Today, in Liping Dong Township (黎平侗乡), a ritualistic "closing the seedling gate" (关秧门) activity is held around Grain in Ear (芒种), and mud fighting is an important part of it. On this day, young men and women and villagers gather in the last field in the village that has not yet been transplanted, spreading green grass, cow dung, and other materials as fertilizer in the field. They bury these "green fertilizers" into the soil by trampling and plowing, which is called "beating the seedling green" (打秧青). Between labor, they can start mud fights by throwing mud and splashing water, completing this traditional "mud and water blending" ceremony in the collective labor of throwing and planting seedlings. After the transplanting is completed, young people in national costumes and villagers participating in the "closing the seedling gate" (关秧门) activity gather on the ridges and enter the "stepping song hall" (踩歌堂) ritual procedure. People sing Dong songs and dance around the paddy fields, celebrating the successful completion of transplanting seedlings and looking forward to another year of harvest.
Mud fighting during Grain in Ear (芒种) adds a light and joyful color to the busy farming, relieving the hard work in collective play. In a joyful atmosphere, "mud" becomes a medium for emotional transmission, condensing collective memories of agricultural culture. The Dong people have a natural belief that "soil produces all things," and mud fighting completes a ritual of gratitude to the land through intimate contact between people and soil. The youthful mud fighting also incorporates wedding customs, providing opportunities for young men and women to interact openly. This activity is usually carried out by families or villages, which to some extent strengthens ethnic identity and enhances the spirit of cooperation. Yang Zuhua (杨祖华), deputy curator of the Liping Meeting Memorial Hall (黎平会议纪念馆), introduced that as a living heritage of agricultural civilization, mud fighting during Grain in Ear (芒种) reflects multiple values in contemporary times. Every year during this season, some young people working outside return to their hometown to participate in this ritual. Many tourists also appreciate the charm of Dong culture through folk activities.
In the Dong villages, whether it is mud fighting during Grain in Ear (芒种) or the "Mud Man Festival" (泥人节) (known as "Duoma" (多玛) in the Dong language) held during the autumn harvest season, traditional customs with ethnic characteristics weave together farming techniques, belief systems, community ethics, and entertainment spirit with soil as a link, demonstrating the wisdom of "harmony between man and nature" (天人合一 (tiān rén hé yī - "heaven and man in one," the belief that humans and nature are interconnected and should live in harmony)). Their survival is not only related to the protection of cultural diversity, but also reminds us that in today's rapidly developing modern technology, awe of nature and respect for the laws of nature are still the eternal rhythm of our harmonious coexistence with the earth.
Return to TopBy: 文 馨 唐嘉跃
Summer Solstice
The summer solstice is the tenth solar term in the twenty-four solar terms and the fourth solar term in summer. The summer solstice in 2025 begins on June 21.
The summer solstice does not mean that summer has arrived; at this time, summer is already halfway over. "Zhi (至)" here means the most or extreme. At this time, the sun's direct position on the Earth reaches the northernmost point of the year, and the Tropic of Cancer and areas north of it receive the most solar radiation of the year.
"Dumplings for the winter solstice, noodles for the summer solstice." Why eat noodles during the summer solstice? First, in northern regions, wheat is harvested, and noodles are made with new flour to celebrate the harvest. Second, ancient people believed that eating hot noodles during the summer solstice could remove stagnant dampness from the body.
The Sanfu (三伏) period is a unique time concept in the traditional Chinese calendar, referring to the period of the year with the highest temperature and humidity. This "high-temperature warning code," which has been passed down in China for more than two thousand years, starts after the summer solstice and usually occurs from mid-July to late August in the Gregorian calendar. Its calculation method integrates the Ganzhi (天干地支) calendrical system and the twenty-four solar terms, and is the result of the intertwining of the traditional calendar and natural rhythms, reflecting the wisdom of the ancients in observing nature and summarizing laws.
The calculation of the Sanfu period is based on the "dual coordinates" of Geng days and solar terms, and is divided into three stages: the initial Fu (初伏), the middle Fu (中伏), and the final Fu (末伏). The duration of the initial Fu and the final Fu is fixed at 10 days. The length of the middle Fu fluctuates, either 10 days or 20 days. In the calculation, it is necessary to grasp the keywords "Geng day," "summer solstice," and "start of autumn (立秋)."
The so-called "Geng day" is related to the Ganzhi calendrical system. In China's traditional calendar, the ten Heavenly Stems (甲, 乙, 丙, 丁, 戊, 己, 庚, 辛, 壬, 癸) and the twelve Earthly Branches (子, 丑, 寅, 卯, 辰, 巳, 午, 未, 申, 酉, 戌, 亥) are matched to form 60 basic units, which are cyclically used to record the days. Among them, the Heavenly Stem day containing the character "Geng (庚)" appears once every 10 days, which is called "Geng day." The critical point of the Sanfu period is determined based on the two solar terms "summer solstice" and "start of autumn (立秋)."
"Count the three Geng days after the summer solstice to determine the initial Fu." Specifically, the starting point of the initial Fu is the third "Geng day" after the summer solstice, which lasts for 10 days and enters the middle Fu. The first day of the final Fu is the first "Geng day" after the start of autumn (立秋). The start of autumn (立秋) signifies the beginning of autumn, and the weather gradually changes from hot to cool. The final Fu also marks the imminent end of the Sanfu period. The period between the initial Fu and the final Fu is the middle Fu. The starting point of the middle Fu is the fourth "Geng day" after the summer solstice. Since the cycle of "Geng days" is 10 days, if there are 4 "Geng days" between the summer solstice and the start of autumn (立秋), the middle Fu is 10 days; if there are 5 "Geng days," the middle Fu is 20 days. This variation makes the total duration of the Sanfu period either 30 days or 40 days.
Taking 2025 as an example: The summer solstice is June 21. The first "Geng day" after this is Gengwu day (庚午日) (June 30), the second "Geng day" is Gengchen day (庚辰日) (July 10), and the third "Geng day" is Gengyin day (庚寅日) (July 20), which is the first day of entering the Fu. The initial Fu lasts for 10 days, from July 20 to July 29. The starting point of the middle Fu is Gengzi day (庚子日) (July 30), which is the first Geng day after the initial Fu, until August 8, for a total of 10 days. The start of autumn (立秋) is August 7, and the first "Geng day" after the start of autumn (立秋) is Gengxu day (庚戌日) (August 9), so the final Fu is from August 9 to August 18, lasting 10 days. The total duration of this year's Sanfu period is 30 days, which belongs to the "short Sanfu."
This calculation system that has traversed thousands of years is not only a living fossil of the traditional Chinese calendar, but also demonstrates the remarkable wisdom of the ancients in combining astronomical observation, climate laws, and life practices. From a modern scientific perspective, it also has a certain rationality. After the summer solstice, although the days gradually shorten and the nights gradually lengthen, the daytime is longer than the nighttime in a day, and the heat absorbed by the surface is more than the heat emitted. The cumulative effect of solar radiation heat gradually increases, reaching its peak during the Sanfu period.
The calculation method of the Sanfu period not only allows us to understand the profound insights of the ancients into nature, but also continues to play a role in modern society. In agricultural production, it reminds us to do a good job in irrigation, heatstroke prevention, and other tasks for crops according to weather changes. In urban life, it provides a reference time frame for formulating emergency plans for extreme weather. In terms of health care, people will carry out Sanfu moxibustion (三伏贴), winter disease summer treatment (冬病夏治), and other conditioning during this period.
Return to TopHow to Pick Fresher Fruits
Tang Zhiqiang (唐志强)
Fruits have always been an indispensable delicacy on the dining table. In summer, mulberries, cherries, loquats, and other fruits appear one after another. Let us follow the elegance and wisdom of the ancients to select fresh and delicious fruits.
The selection of seasonal fruits can be done using the "five-step method" of "observing shape, smelling fragrance, touching texture, checking stems, and selecting origin."
First, observe the shape and color. Fresh fruits have a shiny skin and a natural, even color. Second, smell the aroma. Ripe fruits emit a natural fruity fragrance. If you smell a fermented odor, it may be overripe. Third, touch the texture. Gently press the fruit with your fingertips; moderate softness and hardness are ideal. Fourth, check the fruit stem. The fruit stem of fresh fruit is generally fresh green and upright. If the fruit stem is black and dry, and the leaves are wilted, the freshness is questionable. Fifth, select the origin, that is, pay attention to the fruit's origin and the season of its market availability. Choose according to the seasonal main producing areas of fresh seasonal fruits to ensure quality and taste. In addition, it is recommended to give priority to products with a traceable QR code, which can be scanned to view origin information and testing reports.
Next, let us follow the ancients to see the "purple jade" (紫玉) flowing with fragrance on the branches, the "bright pearls" (明珠) reflecting color on the plate, and the "golden balls" (金丸) dripping with dew on the treetops, and explore the selection methods of mulberries, cherries, and loquats in detail.
Mulberry, "purple jade" (紫玉) on the branches. Generally speaking, dark purple mulberries have a better sweetness. In addition, you can prioritize selecting fruits with plump and distinct grains, large size, and thick flesh. *Shi Shuo Xin Yu* (《世说新语》) records "mulberries are sweet and fragrant." Mature mulberries also have a natural sweet fragrance.
Cherry, "bright pearl" (明珠) on the plate. Cherries are named because "their appearance is like a necklace of pearls." High-quality cherries are round and symmetrical, as plump as pearls. Except for special varieties such as crystal cherries, naturally ripened cherries are generally dark red or dark red with a shiny luster. When selecting, you can also observe the cherry stem. If the stem is obviously sunken, the pulp is fuller and the taste is sweeter.
Loquat, "golden ball" (金丸) adorning the tree. High-quality loquats have a symmetrical fruit shape, are oval, and slightly bulging at the top. The surface of fresh loquats has complete villi and no shedding. If the bottom shows a relatively regular five-pointed star shape, it is generally well-developed, with sweet fruit and plenty of juice.
(The author is the Director and Research Librarian of the Agricultural History Research Department of the China Agricultural Museum (中国农业博物馆).)
How to Eat Fruits Healthier
Li Renjia (李任佳)
Cherries are red and moist, and loquats are golden in May; bayberries are sour and sweet, and lychees are plump in June; longans hang on branches, and watermelons relieve the summer heat in July. How can you eat nutritious, tempting, and refreshing fruits healthily? Here is a practical eating guide:
Hawthorn has a sugar content of 22%, which is far higher than the 6% sugar content of watermelon. Why is hawthorn not as sweet as watermelon? The reason is that the sweetness of fruit is determined by the type and ratio of sugar. Fructose is 1.7 times sweeter than sucrose. Watermelon has a high proportion of fructose, while hawthorn has a low proportion of fructose, so watermelon tastes sweeter.
In order to eat healthier, when choosing fruits, give priority to "three-low" fruits with low sugar, low GI (glycemic index), and low GL (glycemic load), such as strawberries, blueberries, plums, star fruit, grapefruit, peaches, apricots, cherries, and watermelons. Warm reminder: Even if they are "three-low" fruits, you should not eat too much.
The *Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)* (《中国居民膳食指南（2022）》) recommends that the daily recommended fruit intake varies for different groups of people: the daily fruit intake for infants and children is the size of one egg (about 50 grams), 1-2 times a day; the daily fruit intake for adults is one fist (about 200 grams) + one handful of berries (150 grams), 350 grams throughout the day; the daily fruit intake for people controlling sugar/losing weight is one fist (about 200 grams) or one handful of berries (about 150 grams).
When is it more reasonable to eat fruit? Healthy people can eat it between meals; people controlling sugar can eat it 2-3 hours after meals or half an hour before meals, with 10 grams of nuts, which can avoid overlapping blood sugar peaks and slow down the rate of blood sugar increase. Special reminder: Children and the elderly should be careful to eat fruit before meals, so as not to affect regular meals; hawthorn and persimmon contain tannic acid, and eating them on an empty stomach can easily cause stomach pain and even form stomach stones.
Eating fruit directly can completely retain dietary fiber. For example, eating apples with the peel increases the polyphenol content by 30%. Some people like to drink juice, but you should know that juicing loses 50% of vitamin C, and the sugar absorption rate increases by 3 times. If you really have the need to make fruit drinks, you can choose the "cell-breaking" method. For example, blueberries, kiwis, and other seeded fruits can release more dietary fiber after cell-breaking, and making milkshakes with milk and soy milk can delay blood sugar increase and reduce the loss of antioxidant components.
(Author's affiliation: Clinical Nutrition Department of Kunming Yan'an Hospital (昆明市延安医院), interviewed and compiled by Ye Chuanzeng (叶传增), reporter of this newspaper)
Return to TopLayout Design: Zhang Danfeng (张丹峰)
Return to TopWatching herons dance at Yuyuantan Park (玉渊潭) in Beijing (北京); observing black-headed gulls fluttering by Xuanwu Lake (玄武湖) in Nanjing (南京); traveling to Yingjiang (盈江), Yunnan (云南) to photograph river terns hunting... Birdwatching is now gaining popularity among more and more people.
Relying on the "ecological traffic" brought by rare birds, various regions are vigorously developing the "birdwatching economy," with emerging business formats such as "birdwatching + ecotourism" and "birdwatching + nature education" accelerating their formation. The "birdwatching economy" turns "green" into gold, promoting the realization of the value of ecological products and expanding the path of transforming green mountains and clear waters into golden mountains and silver mountains.
-- Editor
Liaoning (辽宁) Dandong (丹东): Caring for the migratory route of migratory birds with heart
Tens of thousands of birds flock to the Yalu River (鸭绿江)
By Hu Jingyi (胡婧怡), reporter of this newspaper
The Yalu River Estuary Wetland (鸭绿江口湿地), located in Dandong (丹东), Liaoning (辽宁), is an important habitat on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway and one of the most concentrated migratory stations for bird populations in the world. Every year, more than 500,000 migratory birds stop here, including endangered species such as the spoon-billed sandpiper, of which there are only a few hundred left in the world, and the Nordmann's greenshank, of which there are just over a thousand.
The afterglow of the setting sun adorns the sky as a fiery red stage, and the surging waves play the rhythm of nature... In the Yalu River Estuary Wetland (鸭绿江口湿地), a group of plovers and sandpipers, like well-trained dancers, sometimes swoop down and sometimes soar straight up, leaping out of graceful postures between the sea and the sky. In the crowd, someone suddenly loudly shooed the migratory birds to take off, but was quickly stopped. Following the sound, Ma Li (马力), director of the Yalu River Estuary Coastal Wetland National Nature Reserve Management Center (鸭绿江口滨海湿地国家级自然保护区管理中心), was maintaining order on the scene.
This year is Ma Li's (马力) twenty-third year working in the reserve. "The birdwatching season is our busiest time of the year, because it is not only our most concentrated period of observation and research, but also the period with the heaviest patrol tasks." Ma Li (马力) introduced that ensuring that bird habitats are not disturbed by humans is one of the important contents of the patrol. In addition to paying attention to behaviors such as catching and poisoning birds, it is also necessary to promptly stop uncivilized behaviors such as loud startling, throwing stones at bird flocks, and using drones to photograph birds.
After the high-frequency "click" sound of the camera shutter, zooming in on the picture in the viewfinder, you can occasionally find migratory birds wearing colored flag marks in the flock. "Different colored marker combinations represent different protected areas. The green-over-orange flag mark represents the Yalu River Estuary (鸭绿江口) in China, proving that this bird has been 'ringed' by us." Ma Li (马力) introduced that ringing is an important means of studying the migration dynamics and patterns of migratory birds. After capturing migratory birds, researchers put bird rings made of nickel-copper alloy or aluminum-magnesium alloy on the tarsometatarsus, neck, wing root, nostrils, etc. of the birds, and then measure the bird's body, record the data on a specially designed ring card, and then release it. "Through ringing work, we can understand valuable information such as the age, population size, and migration tracks of migratory birds."
From 2021 to 2022, Ma Li (马力) and researchers conducted a year-long monitoring of a bar-tailed godwit: On May 25, 2021, it flew from the Yalu River Estuary Wetland (鸭绿江口湿地) to Alaska (阿拉斯加), and in the fall it flew from Alaska (阿拉斯加) to New Zealand (新西兰) for the winter. On April 10 of the following year, after 9 days of continuous long-distance flight, it returned to the Yalu River Estuary Wetland (鸭绿江口湿地) again. "This is very valuable data! The process of migratory bird migration is actually very difficult. They must maintain sufficient physical strength and avoid predators. The probability of being continuously tracked for a 1-year cycle is very small." Ma Li (马力) explained, "What we can do is to protect their habitats so that they can get sufficient supplies and rest when they stop at the Yalu River Estuary (鸭绿江口)."
In July 2024, at the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, the China Yellow (Bohai) Sea Migratory Bird Habitat (Phase II) (中国黄（渤）海候鸟栖息地（第二期）) successfully passed the review, and five nominated sites, including the Dandong Yalu River Estuary (丹东鸭绿江口), were expanded and included in the World Heritage List.
"After becoming a heritage site, more birdwatching enthusiasts come to the Yalu River Estuary Wetland (鸭绿江口湿地), which has driven the development of local ecotourism." Xu Min (徐敏), Director of the Dandong Municipal Bureau of Culture, Tourism and Radio and Television (丹东市文化旅游和广播电视局), introduced that around the theme of birdwatching, the cultural and tourism departments integrate resources, connect points into lines, and use National Highway 228 (国道228线) to connect the Yalu River Estuary National Wetland Birdwatching Park (鸭绿江口国家湿地观鸟园), the North Yellow Sea Hot Spring Resort (北黄海温泉度假区), and rural flower sea scenic spots to promote the transformation of ecological value into cultural and tourism benefits.
"The heritage site name card has given Dandong Yalu River Estuary (丹东鸭绿江口) world renown. A few days ago, we also received a few guests from New Zealand (新西兰)." Yu Wende (于文德), the operator of a fisherman's inn near the birdwatching park, said that in recent years, with the increasing popularity of birdwatching tourism in the Yalu River Estuary Wetland (鸭绿江口湿地), the inn has been continuously upgraded and expanded to meet the increasing demand for accommodation and catering.
"This year, we will also carry out scientific monitoring work such as biodiversity, hydrological monitoring, waterbird ringing, and protection management effectiveness evaluation in the heritage site. At the same time, we will orderly promote the construction of the Yalu River Estuary Wetland Exhibition Center (鸭绿江口湿地展示中心) and explore the 'wetland + culture + tourism' development model." Ma Li (马力) said. At present, the Dandong Yalu River Estuary Migratory Bird Habitat World Natural Heritage Development and Tourism Plan (丹东鸭绿江口候鸟栖息地世界自然遗产发展与旅游规划) is being formulated to improve the quality of habitats and ecosystem service levels and develop an ecological economic model based on high-quality ecological products through the protection and restoration of the Yalu River Estuary Migratory Bird Habitat.
Fujian (福建) Sanming (三明): Vigorously exploring the birdwatching characteristic industry
"Phoenix" spreads its wings in the mountains and forests
By Liu Xiaoyu (刘晓宇), reporter of this newspaper
The silver pheasant, also known as the white pheasant or silver chicken, can be more than one meter long, with gorgeous feathers and elegant posture. It is known as the "white phoenix" or "mountain phoenix." In Qingshui She Ethnic Township (青水畲族乡), Yong'an City (永安市), Sanming (三明), Fujian (福建), the subtropical monsoon alpine climate and more than 85% forest coverage have created a natural environment very suitable for the life of the silver pheasant. According to statistics, 22 silver pheasant birdwatching spots have been discovered locally, attracting many tourists and photography enthusiasts.
"Look! There's another silver pheasant over there by the azaleas on the left!" In the early morning, many tourists who came to Fengtian Village (丰田村), Qingshui She Ethnic Township (青水畲族乡) as they wished saw the silver pheasant and were very excited.
At this time, Xiong Shengchun (熊生春), the village's "bird guide," was holding a bamboo basket full of food, which contained the silver pheasant's favorite corn kernels. He walked to several familiar corners and carefully placed the food on the forks of branches and on the rocks by the stream. After a while, several silver pheasants appeared gracefully, foraging and playing in the forest. Tourists excitedly raised their cameras and captured this beautiful moment.
In Qingshui She Ethnic Township (青水畲族乡), there are more than 20 professional "bird guides" like Xiong Shengchun (熊生春). They know the habits of the local silver pheasants like the back of their hands and have become a "bridge" for tourists to communicate with the silver pheasants.
Zhang Aijuan (张爱娟), chairman of the Yong'an City Photographers Association (永安市摄影家协会), became obsessed with photographing silver pheasants in 2017. She has been to each of the 22 silver pheasant birdwatching spots no less than 5 times. "The silver pheasant is like a 'forest fairy,' who likes quiet and dislikes noise. The principle of 'try not to disturb' must be followed to complete the shooting."
Zhang Aijuan (张爱娟) actively suggested to the local government to hold bird photography competitions and other activities to attract domestic and foreign photography enthusiasts to pay attention to Yong'an (永安). Under the promotion of many photographers, Yong'an City (永安市) established the first birdwatching association and set up 22 silver pheasant birdwatching spots, 2 Cabot's tragopan birdwatching spots, as well as eagle, forest eagle, and rusty-cheeked partridge birdwatching spots.
"Phoenixes" fly together, and their calls are harmonious. Now, every morning and evening, silver pheasants either soar in the sky or shuttle through the forest, and their elegant posture attracts many birdwatching enthusiasts and photography enthusiasts who come here admiringly. "Fengtian Village (丰田村) has excellent natural ecology and is the best choice for shooting rare birds such as silver pheasants. The rise of birdwatching activities has activated a pool of spring water for rural revitalization. In 2024, a total of more than 30,000 tourists came to watch birds, and 'ecological traffic' has truly been transformed into 'economic traffic.'" The relevant person in charge of the Yong'an Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism (永安市文旅局) said.
With the rise of the birdwatching economy, the local catering and homestay industries have also ushered in opportunities for vigorous development. Farmhouse owners have launched She ethnic characteristic dishes mainly made of local ingredients such as free-range poultry and mountain wild vegetables. At the same time, the local area actively revitalizes and transfers idle farmhouses and guides villagers to build characteristic homestays. At present, there are more than 20 homestays with more than 200 beds in the township, which can receive tens of thousands of tourists annually.
Xiong Shengchun (熊生春) has been a "bird guide" for nearly 10 years and is one of the first villagers in the village to operate birdwatching spots. "Being a bird guide, running a homestay, picking up and dropping off guests, plus guests buying my dried bamboo shoots and honey, it's not a problem to earn more than 100,000 yuan a year!" Xiong Shengchun (熊生春) said with a smile.
"The birdwatching economy has attracted a large number of young people to return to their hometowns to start businesses, and the average annual income of villagers has exceeded 100,000 yuan." Xiong Qiwu (熊启武), deputy director of the Fengtian Village Committee (丰田村村委会), introduced that in order to meet the needs of tourists, Qingshui She Ethnic Township (青水畲族乡) insists on infrastructure construction and ecological protection going hand in hand, and focuses on road improvement, environmental optimization, and service enhancement, and the village has taken on a new look.
Walking in the mountains and fields of Fengtian Village (丰田村), as far as the eye can see, birdwatching tourists from all over the world are walking slowly, taking pictures from time to time. "The bamboo forest and silver pheasants here are so harmonious, I like this artistic conception so much!" said Lü Xiaojuan (吕晓娟), a member of the Nanjing Photographers Association (南京市摄影家协会).
"The increasing prominence of the 'silver pheasant culture' has injected new vitality into the countryside, and villagers are paying more attention to ecological protection. We will vigorously explore new business formats in the birdwatching characteristic industry and promote the transformation of green mountains and clear waters into golden mountains and silver mountains." Lin Huibi (林恢笔), Secretary of the Party Branch of Fengtian Village (丰田村党支部), is full of confidence.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 张武军
In recent years, with the continuous improvement of the ecological environment, more and more species of birds have appeared around us, which has also attracted more photography enthusiasts to join the ranks of bird photography. However, as a photography category with a certain technical threshold, it is really not easy to take good photos of birds. It requires not only excellent basic photography skills, but also the support of a lot of experience and skills.
The skills of bird photography mainly include using the right photographic equipment, grasping the shooting time, and finding a good shooting angle. Before that, we must first understand the habits, distribution areas, and migration patterns of different birds. Before shooting, photographers should consult materials to determine the time of arrival of birds, the purpose, and so on. "There are currently about 1,500 species of birds in China (中国), and they live in different regions. Only by being familiar with the characteristics of the birds to be photographed can we improve shooting efficiency, predict the possible location of birds, and their behavior," said Chen Lin (陈林), vice chairman of the Fuzhou Photographers Association (福州市摄影家协会) in Fujian (福建).
How to choose the right photographic equipment? When shooting, using a long-focal-length zoom or prime lens can make it easier to capture close-up shots of birds. Generally speaking, depending on the shooting scene and the distance between the photographer and the bird shooting object, we will choose 400mm, 600mm or even longer focal length lenses. Because such lenses are generally heavy, in order to stabilize the shooting, photographers will set up tripods and arrange small benches, sitting quietly by the water and in the forest like fishing, shooting for several hours. When shooting, a high-speed shutter of 1/1000 of a second or more is generally used to freeze the moment of bird movement.
Next is to master the specific season and time for shooting. Different regions have their own specific best seasons. For example, in northern China (中国), March to October every spring to autumn is the best time to shoot migratory birds, while the warm southern region has a longer shooting window. Like other types of photography, bird photography also emphasizes the organic combination of light and shadow. In order to obtain softer light and shadow effects, photographers always choose to shoot in the morning or evening with the light, and generally try to avoid strong sunlight or backlight environments at noon.
Although the protagonist of the shooting is birds, for a good picture, it also needs a beautiful background to set off the subject, which requires the photographer to find a good shooting angle. "We usually use a large aperture to blur the background, so that the background of the birds is as clean and simple as possible," Chen Lin (陈林) summarized his experience, "For example, you can lower the lens height and shoot birds staying on the water surface and their reflections in the water from a low angle, so that the birds interact with the environment in which they are located, showing the harmonious coexistence of birds and nature or humans."
"Prediction" is a keyword often mentioned in the process of bird photography. Faced with birds with light body and extremely fast flying speed tens or even hundreds of meters away, novice photographers are often at a loss: just raised the camera, the bird has disappeared without a trace. "We generally have to predict where the bird will fly from, set up the position in advance to focus, so as to capture their figure," Chen Lin (陈林) said.
When shooting, photographers should also observe and shoot birds in a civilized manner. It is necessary to avoid wearing clothes with colors that are too different from the environmental color, and do not interfere with the normal life of birds for the sake of shooting effects. Chen Lin (陈林) said, "Birds are good friends of human beings. If you want to take good pictures of them, you must first respect them."
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 窦瀚洋
Do you know of a job like this? Watching the sea, listening to the waves, observing birds, and protecting rare birds – the Chinese Crested Tern. This job as a bird protection volunteer in the Jiushan Islands National Nature Reserve (韭山列岛国家级自然保护区) in Xiangshan (象山), Zhejiang (浙江) has always been regarded as one of the most poetic jobs. Since 2017, every year from April to August during the tern breeding season, the Xiangshan (象山) Jiushan Islands National Nature Reserve (韭山列岛国家级自然保护区) recruits bird protection volunteers from all over the country to take turns on the island in two batches.
Xie Yongdong (谢勇东), a young man from Guangdong (广东), is one of the bird protection volunteers. Why was he able to stand out from nearly 3,000 candidate volunteers? The advantage lies in the fact that he is a bird watching enthusiast. Because he is engaged in the public welfare promotion of rural children's reading, Xie Yongdong (谢勇东) has traveled all over the country, and always carries bird watching equipment such as binoculars and SLR cameras on every business trip. To date, Xie Yongdong (谢勇东) has observed more than 500 species of birds.
In 2016, Xie Yongdong (谢勇东) volunteered at the Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve (白马雪山国家级自然保护区) in Yunnan (云南) and met a group of bird watching enthusiasts. "Under their influence, I found that birds' foraging, reproduction and other behaviors are particularly interesting." Since then, whether going to and from work or traveling, Xie Yongdong (谢勇东) has had more expectations – discovering and recording birds he has never seen before.
In addition to adhering to daily observation, Xie Yongdong (谢勇东) also pays attention to accumulating bird knowledge, searching for information online, buying popular science books to study, and participating in offline bird protection activities... When he worked in Guangzhou (广州) before, he not only participated in the natural education training of the local wetland park, but also became a bird guide volunteer, responsible for leading citizens and tourists to watch birds in the wetland park on weekends and holidays, and explaining bird knowledge.
In 2021, Xie Yongdong (谢勇东) noticed that the Jiushan Islands National Nature Reserve (韭山列岛国家级自然保护区) in Xiangshan (象山), Zhejiang (浙江) was recruiting bird protection volunteers, so he signed up as soon as possible, preparing to use his career gap to experience this "poetic job." "It's a rare opportunity to be able to observe the entire breeding process of the Chinese Crested Tern, a rare bird species, at close range!" Due to his relatively rich bird watching experience and field survival skills, Xie Yongdong (谢勇东) was successfully selected after layers of selection.
"I didn't expect life on the island to be so difficult." Xie Yongdong (谢勇东) told reporters that after landing on the island in the spring of 2021, he found that the island's power supply at that time relied only on a few solar panels. When encountering continuous cloudy and rainy days, it was necessary to turn off the power of fans and refrigerators to ensure the power consumption of bird watching monitoring. When encountering typhoons, ships were suspended, and life supplies could not be transported in. Xie Yongdong (谢勇东) and his companions would dig wild vegetables to eat.
Attracting Chinese Crested Terns is also one of the responsibilities of Xie Yongdong (谢勇东) and other bird protection volunteers. "In the breeding farm, we need to number the grids and place bird models, and at the same time play the sound of terns on the radio to attract terns to land on the breeding farm," Xie Yongdong (谢勇东) introduced.
"Here they come!" On the second day of landing on the island, under the guidance of staff from the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History (浙江自然博物院), Xie Yongdong (谢勇东) saw the figure of the Chinese Crested Tern for the first time through the monitor. During the peak breeding season, there are nearly 6,000 birds on the island. Xie Yongdong (谢勇东) and his partners need to carefully observe the number of Chinese Crested Terns in the flock, and also record their courtship, incubation and other conditions, and then report the data to the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History (浙江自然博物院) to accumulate original data for bird research.
In June, many chicks hatched on the breeding farm; in mid-July, the Chinese Crested Tern chicks reached the stage of learning to fly, "1 meter, 5 meters..." Xie Yongdong (谢勇东) and his companions recorded and photographed the chicks taking off; in late July, there were not many birds incubating eggs. Xie Yongdong (谢勇东) personally ringed some Chinese Crested Terns in order to track their breeding and migration. "After long-term observation, I have developed a deep affection for birds." Xie Yongdong (谢勇东) said that in the past two years, when he meets volunteers from the reserve, he always asks whether the Chinese Crested Terns he personally ringed that year have returned.
August is called the "bird famine season" by the staff on the island. The migrating birds have not yet arrived, and the breeding work of the local bird population is coming to an end. The work of the volunteers is also coming to an end. "August is the most difficult month, the weather is very hot and humid, and there is only one small fan on the island," Xie Yongdong (谢勇东) said.
"As a bird lover, I hope to combine my job with my hobbies and make more contributions to bird protection and popular science work." Xie Yongdong (谢勇东) said that now when he goes to rural areas to promote children's reading, he always selects some popular science books about birds for the children, hoping to help them open the door to understanding birds, loving birds, and loving nature.
Return to TopLayout Design: Zhang Danfeng (张丹峰)
Return to TopOn Dragon Boat Festival, a day filled with the fragrance of verdant green, memories seem to be tinged with color as well. Those unforgettable festival memories, whether grand like a long cultural lineage or as subtle as the fragrance of mugwort, connect to the customs deep in time, weaving together into each person's unique memory.
Today, on "Earthly Dragon Boat Festival," we invite readers to jointly savor the Dragon Boat Festival memories in beautiful articles.
-- Editor
Return to TopBy: 陈崇正
The northern willow catkins have not yet finished flying, and the southern dragon boats have already begun to awaken. Some of them are dug out from the silt of river ponds, and some are carried down from the wooden frames hanging in ancestral halls. After some repairs, they float on the water again, and the glorious moment of this year begins.
Thinking about it carefully, my earliest recognition of the term "dragon boat" came from an action. The most powerful boxing master in the town once demonstrated his famous stunt. After a powerful series of punches and kicks, he told us children that the name of this stunt was "Dragon Boat Hanging Sand." Grandpa Qi used it to resist the Japanese pirates hundreds of years ago. It was a life-saving stunt and was generally not shown easily. A little friend next to me was about to say how it was different from the last time he fought, but another little friend covered his mouth. Later, when I saw the real dragon boat racing on the Bi River, the rowing action of bending over and exerting force with "hey ha, hey ha" was somewhat similar to the moves under the kerosene lamp that night.
One year, my father was on a dragon boat as fast as an arrow. My father touted himself as a dragon boat racing expert. At that time, he had not yet gone bald, and he had a body of strong muscles. In addition, with the drums rumbling on the Bi River and crowds of people on the shore, many details were not clear at all, so we firmly believed in it. However, my father's friend Awei immediately exposed his lies, saying that he was an expert in eating dragon boat rice. My father just smiled foolishly and did not object, let alone arm wrestle with him. So I thought that dragon boat rice must be more important than dragon boat racing. Curiosity made me secretly follow to see, but I was greatly disappointed. This dragon boat rice was just home-cooked food, but with an extra plate of stir-fried meat, a large pot next to it was filled with rice, and a large bucket was filled with soup. However, many people in the village came to ask for dragon boat rice with porcelain bowls, saying that it was to ask for good luck, and eating it would cure all diseases and bring peace. Awei was the captain of the second dragon boat team, and he was always very polite to everyone who came to ask for dragon boat rice, filling their bowls and asking if they had enough.
Dragon boat rice is sometimes also braised fragrant rice, which is to stir-fry meat, vegetables, rice, shiitake mushrooms, and dried shrimps together, and it tastes almost like the filling of a zongzi (sticky rice dumpling). Awei is a master of braising fragrant rice. In my memory, Awei's braised fragrant rice during dragon boat racing was so delicious that it was like a metaphor, and I regarded it as the authentic dragon boat rice. Chaoshan culture is like a marinated platter, with different customs every five miles and different customs every ten miles, and even the dialects are different across a river ditch. The fillings of Chaoshan zongzi are also sometimes salty, sometimes sweet, and sometimes half sweet and half salty. Later, I traveled to many places and ate many zongzi, but they were nothing more than glutinous rice and mung beans, and they were not as diverse as Chaoshan zongzi. For example, in our family, zongzi have always been known for their abundant ingredients: shiitake mushrooms, shrimp, quail eggs, and braised pork. The zongzi are not big, but there is a lot of content inside. My grandmother just turned 100 this year, and her zongzi-making skills are superb. She said that she used to be poor, and there was no meat in the zongzi; now there is everything in the zongzi, and of course she has reason to look down on all other zongzi.
No matter what my grandmother said, my father would agree. My father is also a little old man now. He often mentions the year when the first dragon boat team won the championship. That time, they had a very rich dragon boat meal at Awei's house. Awei's wife was overdue and had not given birth. The championship team heard about this and carried the championship flag to their house to bring good luck. The championship flag was inserted at the door of their house, fluttering in the summer breeze. Awei was so moved that he almost shed tears, and immediately asked people to prepare a table of rich dragon boat rice in the courtyard to entertain them. I asked if the child was saved? My father shook his head and said that everyone was very confident at first and drank all of Awei's wine, but, alas—he sighed deeply. Things in this world are probably always imperfect. At that time, I had just published my first book, and I thought I would let this child be born safely in the story, perhaps because of this thought, in another parallel universe, the child really survived. He would probably also like zongzi with quail eggs and braised fragrant rice with the atmosphere of dragon boats.
Awei became very depressed after that and did not participate in dragon boat training the following year. The team members came to invite him several times, but he politely declined and stayed at home. My maternal grandfather, Baimao Gong (白毛公), learned about this and made a special trip. He was not very good at walking at that time and stood at Awei's door with a cane. "You can not care about anything, but you can't really have nothing." Later, Awei said that Baimao Gong's words woke him up, and he changed his clothes and went to eat dragon boat rice.
Awei later moved to Dongguan (东莞) and opened a small shop specializing in dragon boat rice, and the business was very good. His niece is my friend and has also learned this dragon boat rice skill. She rented an old house from an old overseas Chinese when she was studying in Canada. She actually managed to get her rent reduced by half with dragon boat rice. In the years after she returned to China, the old overseas Chinese family would call her every Dragon Boat Festival. Last year, the old overseas Chinese's son made a special trip back to China to find her, and they talked for a long time. He told her that his father often talked about dragon boat rice and missed her very much. The old overseas Chinese recalled the scene when she brought the prepared dragon boat rice to his house when he was dying. It was freezing cold, and the dragon boat rice was as hard as a stone when she arrived. After saying that, the old overseas Chinese laughed loudly. The old overseas Chinese's son said that his father passed away in laughter, and he would always be grateful for that.
Return to TopBy: 黄咏梅
For Southerners living by the West River, watching dragon boat races is probably the most important event of the Dragon Boat Festival. Entering May, before the Dragon Boat Festival, cold and warm air currents densely exchange and fiercely clash in the sky, with loud thunder and torrential rain. People point to the lively sky and say - "Dragon Boat Water" is here! The rain during this period is collectively called "Dragon Boat Water," as if these surging rains are rehearsals for the dragon boat races, with a very grand formation.
In my memory, watching dragon boat races during the Dragon Boat Festival began on my father's shoulders. On the day of the dragon boat race, my father would take us early to occupy a favorable position on the riverbank closest to home. Gradually, more and more people gathered on the bank, and our "favorable" position eventually lost its advantage due to the crowding. My father would lift me up and let me straddle his neck. Then I had my own "favorable" position. There were quite a few children "sitting" like me around, and we quickly "clustered" together, exchanging snacks from our pockets, which gave us the patience to wait for the dragon boats.
Among the crowd, someone with sharp ears heard the faint sound of gongs and drums and shouted, "Here they come, here they come!" So, people held their breath and listened intently towards the bend in the river. Sure enough, after a while, several colorful dots emerged on the river, as if being pushed by the water. The sound of gongs and drums seemed to rise from the bottom of the water, "dong qiang, dong qiang, dong qiang"... Those colorful dots gradually thickened, turning into long shuttles flying towards us. The sound of gongs and drums grew louder and louder, and people began to stir, trying to identify which team was in the lead. After the dragon boat teams approached, people were surprised at how fast the boats were actually moving. The two rows of paddlers on the dragon boats, following the rhythm of the drumbeats, shouted slogans, uniformly inserting their paddles into the water and then uniformly pulling them out, splashing water everywhere as the boats moved forward, cutting through the waves. Each dragon boat had a different color, but they were all very bright, red, yellow, blue, green, and black, with the dragon heads raised high at the bow, full of momentum, as if spitting out the waves. Watching the dragon boat teams disappear into this water area, we could still hear the distant sound of gongs and drums, until the sound gradually sank into the water.
According to my father later, when the dragon boat was closest to us, he desperately pulled my legs with both hands so that I wouldn't fall off his shoulders. In those exciting drumbeats, my feet also stepped in the air with the rhythm.
In the past, the waterways for dragon boat races in our area were fixed, from the starting point to the finish line, about 10 kilometers of water. Those who were not satisfied with standing on the riverbank to watch fragments of the race rode bicycles along the riverbank to chase the dragon boats. The land route was often longer than the water route, and the people who reached the finish line were as proud as if they had won the championship. One year, my father had a whim and rode the only bicycle at home, joining the team chasing the dragon boats. I sat on the back seat of the bicycle, holding my father's waist tightly with both hands. To avoid the dense crowds on the riverbank, we took a dirt road with few people. The river was right next to us, but we were always left far behind by the dragon boat teams, and my father only chased the sound of gongs and drums coming from ahead. That time, if I hadn't complained about getting off halfway because my butt was too sore from the bumps, my father would have insisted on riding to the finish line, where he would have enjoyed a bowl of roasted pork.
Last year, I returned to my hometown to visit relatives, just in time for the Dragon Boat Festival. At a teahouse on the banks of the West River, I booked a table by the window on the second floor early. We drank tea while waiting for the dragon boats. The modernly decorated teahouse had windows that framed the scenery of the river like viewfinders. I had my father and mother sit on the chairs by the window, and in this "favorable" position for watching the dragon boats, we held up our mobile phones, waiting for the dragon boat teams to break into our window, freezing those exciting moments. Arriving before the dragon boats was the sound of "dong qiang, dong qiang, dong qiang" gongs and drums, just like every time I had heard it in the past, it was this rhythm that directed the paddlers to paddle forward. More than a dozen colorful dragon boats passed by our window one after another, and soon paddled to the next window. The dragon boat teams disappeared from our sight, and the water surface returned to calm. I suddenly realized that I had never seen a dragon boat cross the finish line, and that all the dragon boat races I had watched since I was a child were just fragments. And it is these festival fragments that make time no longer a string of fleeting moments, they ring familiar and powerful drumbeats in my memory, like the heartbeat coming from the depths of the West River.
Return to TopBy: 刘月悦
Dragon Boat Festival is a grand festival in summer. In Shen Congwen's (沈从文) "Border Town," the Dragon Boat Festival has the same pomp as the Lunar New Year. On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, "local women and children all wore new clothes, and used realgar dipped in wine to draw a king character on their foreheads." The most lively event is, of course, the dragon boat race. After the meal, all the people of Chadong (茶峒) gathered by the river to watch the rowing. "Each boat can seat twelve to eighteen paddlers, a leader, a drummer, and a gong player. Each paddler holds a short paddle, and follows the rhythm of the drum to row the boat forward." The drums on the boat roared, and the shouts on the shore roared. After the dragon boat race is over, there is also a swimming and duck-catching session, and the audience on the shore also goes down to the river and becomes participants. "The competition between boats and boats, the competition between people and ducks, will not end until late at night." It is truly an unspeakable joy and happiness.
Of all the festivals, children are always the happiest. How many innocent children of their early years, like Liang Shiqiu's (梁实秋) children, "don't know what day it is today, and say they should eat zongzi!" ("Zongzi Festival") The same zongzi also has different appearances. The zongzi in Liang Shiqiu's writing are "small and delicate, some with dates, some without dates, arranged neatly and lovely on a plate." ("Snack Vendors in Beiping") The zongzi in Chi Zijian's (迟子建) writing are rhombus-shaped, tied with colorful threads, "looking like a flower purse." ("Hometown Food") The zongzi in Su Tong's (苏童) writing are "small-footed zongzi" tied with thread, which not only have to be eaten, but also have to be hung around the necks of the children to "parade through the streets." ("Grandmother's Season")
The food of the Dragon Boat Festival is not only zongzi. Wang Zengqi (汪曾祺) was good at writing about food, and the salted duck eggs in his writings are also very interesting. His hometown, Gaoyou (高邮), Jiangsu (江苏), is famous for its salted duck eggs. Early in the morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, the children have to pick duck eggs. Choose the green-skinned ones, not the white-skinned ones, and even the duck eggs have appearances - "some look stupid, some look delicate." ("Duck Eggs for the Dragon Boat Festival") After picking the duck eggs, put them in the colorful net bags that have been made early, and hang them on the buttons of the front of the clothes. "The duck egg net bag is hung for most of the day, and whenever the child is happy, he takes out the duck egg from the net bag and eats it." When eating, be careful - only knock off the empty head, and do not break the eggshell. When you catch fireflies in the evening and put them in the eggshell, it is another small night light that flickers. An ordinary duck egg can be worn, eaten, and played with, contracting the children's happiness for the whole day.
In the south on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, it is already the climate of midsummer. There are many mosquitoes in summer, and many Dragon Boat Festival customs are related to expelling insects and warding off evil spirits. In Feng Zikai's (丰子恺) hometown of Jiaxing (嘉兴), Zhejiang (浙江), children have to wear tiger-head hats, and adults have to make cattail swords: "Go to the wild pond to collect many cattail leaves, choose the leaves that look most like swords, add a hilt, and prepare to hang them with peach leaves on everyone's bed at noon." ("Dragon Boat Festival Memories") In addition, mosquito smoke should be lit, spider stewed eggs should be made, and realgar wine should be sprayed. The remaining thick realgar is dipped with a finger and written as the character "王" on each door, which is a good medicine for expelling insects for the family in the coming year. Therefore, in Feng Zikai's comics depicting folk life, there is often a "王" character on the door. Many readers do not understand its meaning. As a result, someone reordered a painting of this kind at an exhibition and specially instructed: "Please ask him to rewrite a Li character on the door when painting, because my surname is Li."
Now, every Dragon Boat Festival, there is always a discussion on the Internet about whether you can only say "Dragon Boat Festival Peace" instead of "Happy Dragon Boat Festival," whether sweet zongzi or salty zongzi are delicious, and so on. In fact, the most delicious zongzi is always the one made by family members; whether it is peace or happiness, it is a heartfelt blessing from relatives and friends. Those Dragon Boat Festival memories scattered in literary chapters will eventually condense into our common nostalgia for midsummer life in the fragrance of mugwort leaves.
Return to TopBy: 沈 念
On the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival in my childhood, I lived at my grandmother's house, eagerly awaiting the dawn. Starting from the post and telecommunications office at the east end of the town, passing the wind turbine factory, the intersection, the bridge, and crossing the empty cement floor of the rice mill, I would arrive at my grandmother's house. Her house was nestled at the foot of a dike, and climbing up the long river embankment, I could see the Ouchi River (藕池河) flowing by the town. The bustling ships on the river, the town's prosperity, and the festival's liveliness were all related to this small river that flows into Dongting Lake (洞庭湖).
Before dawn, my grandmother would carry a bamboo basket to the riverbank. In the morning mist, there was a damp fragrance of reed leaves. She wore her faded indigo cloth jacket, like a green fish swimming into an ink painting. The Dragon Boat Festival customs in the lake area retained the traditions of the Chu region. People used locally sourced materials, using common reed leaves instead of bamboo leaves to wrap zongzi (粽子, glutinous rice dumplings). Fresh reed leaves were wide and flexible, turning jade green after blanching. They were wrapped with glutinous rice, cured meat, salted egg yolks, and mung beans. The rice grains absorbed the fragrance of the reed leaves and the grease of the cured meat, creating a wonderful illusion of "gold inlaid with jade."
The reason my grandmother got up early was to pick new leaves with dew still on them. I heard the noise and got up to chase after her, but she was long gone. I ran to the bottom of the dike to wait for her return, and soon my attention was drawn to the grasshoppers in the grass. Suddenly, I felt a coolness on my forehead. I looked up and saw my grandmother sticking a reed leaf, still covered with dew, on my forehead. The cool, refreshing scent of grass and trees went straight into my nose. When I grew up, I learned about the customs of people living by the water: leaves with dew can remove toxins, and the rice dumplings must be tied with rice straw, a specialty of the lake area.
The kitchen had long been prepared with soaked glutinous rice, which looked like碎玉 (碎玉 - suì yù - "broken jade," describing the appearance of the glutinous rice). My grandmother cut the winter cured meat into square pieces, the dark red meat covered with shiny oil. She folded two leaves into a funnel shape, her fingers flying, and the glutinous rice wrapped with meat pieces fell in with a rustling sound. Finally, she pulled a rice straw and wrapped it around and around, and the zongzi became angular. I was curious and tried to learn the craft, but the reed leaves were disobedient in my hands, either leaking rice or falling apart. My grandmother held my hand to teach me, her calluses were very hard, like a fish mouth "biting" my skin. I avoided her hand, and she smiled and said, "When calluses grow on your hands, you will be able to wrap zongzi." As she spoke, the firewood in the stove crackled, and the fragrance of reed leaves gradually filled the large iron pot, making me swallow my saliva. My grandmother said that the longer it simmered, the more translucent the center of the zongzi would be. When cooking the zongzi, she added mugwort root soaked in ash water from the stove. The alkaline fragrance of the grass and wood ash has always lingered in my Dragon Boat Festival memories.
Several dragon boats cut through the water, and the splashes of water stirred up by the oars shattered into rainbows in the sunlight. I was greedy for the liveliness of the riverbank, and only ran to my grandmother's house after the race was over and the crowd had dispersed. My grandmother had already hung the mugwort bundles upside down and sprinkled realgar wine on the threshold. The bitter fragrance mixed with the smell of alcohol permeated the bluestone steps, not knowing where it would drift. The mugwort of the fishermen's families by the water was not hung on the lintel, but tied into small boats, tied with calamus and snail shells with fishing net lines, and hung under the eaves, letting the lake wind blow. The floating mugwort boat symbolizes "sending away the plague god," and the snail shell is believed to absorb evil spirits and protect the family's peace.
It often rains in the lake area on the Dragon Boat Festival, often a burst of heavy rain in the afternoon. Bean-sized raindrops hit the tiles, flowed down the eaves to the grooves on the ground, and converged into streams. I folded paper boats out of my grandfather's old accounting paper, and drew boats with different symbols swirling in the ditch, and I vaguely felt that this was another dragon boat race.
The rain stopped, and the western sky burned with petals of sunset glow. I remembered that the mugwort sachet from last year's Dragon Boat Festival was lost by the river. My grandmother said that the mugwort had already taken root and sprouted new shoots.
Return to TopThe Chinese painting "A Beautiful Scene of the Sky's Center" (天中佳景图), by Fang Shishu (方士庶), is in the collection of the Shanghai Museum (上海博物馆).
Return to TopBy: 四 平
Under the May sunshine, the river valleys of Bhutan are filled with vibrant greenery, with endless plants and trees laying out a lush and lively seasonal backdrop for the mountains and valleys.
One morning, on a hillside by the riverbank, I unexpectedly saw a patch of mugwort. Their stems were straight and their figures slender, swaying in the warm sunlight. Approaching them and breathing in the pungent aroma of the mugwort, I couldn't help but feel a warmth like meeting an old friend in a foreign land, along with many memories of mugwort.
In the depths of my memory, there are always images and the pungent fragrance of mugwort from the land of southern Jiangxi (赣南). Ganzhou (赣州), an ancient city surrounded by water on three sides, always welcomes spring rain on time. As late spring arrives, the temperature gradually rises, the humidity increases, and the plants with bright and moist leaves grow vigorously. On the riverbanks, under the city walls, by the moats, and along the paths, one can always see lush mugwort. Their fragrance can not only penetrate the humid air but also seep into the lungs, producing a refreshing effect on the mind. At this time, people will gather the fresh and tender mugwort leaves and process them into green mugwort rice cakes and other seasonal foods, enjoying the generous gifts of nature while also welcoming the arrival of the Dragon Boat Festival.
On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, mugwort is still an indispensable and important element. I remember that early in the morning on this day, my mother would always follow the custom of first bundling mugwort and calamus together, then carefully hanging them on the door before starting other tasks. Wrapping zongzi (粽子, glutinous rice dumplings) was always a collaboration between my mother and grandmother. My mother was responsible for wrapping the zongzi, while my grandmother cooked them in the kitchen. When the fragrance of the bamboo leaves and the mellow aroma of the glutinous rice wafted from the pot, watching my grandmother busy in the misty heat, I felt that the "Zongzi Festival" was just around the corner.
Mugwort can not only dispel dampness and toxins and ward off snakes and insects but is also a good medicine to soothe the hearts of those who have left their hometowns. When I was in junior high school, my family moved to the north. My mother, who was originally weak, became emotionally depressed due to acclimatization and worrying about her relatives in her hometown. One afternoon, I brought back a few sprigs of mugwort from the riverbank. When I handed them to my mother, a light appeared in her eyes, and she smelled the mugwort and said, "What a familiar smell, just like the mugwort in my old home!" At that moment, my mother, who was in a foreign land, seemed to see her relatives from her mother's family. While her heart was comforted, she also seemed to gain the inspiration to settle down here.
Thereafter, every Dragon Boat Festival, my mother would still hang mugwort and wrap zongzi according to the old habits. At that time, it was not possible to buy large zongzi leaves in the north, so my mother tried to adapt to the environment and carefully wrapped zongzi with narrow reed leaves. It seemed that only with the taste of mugwort and zongzi did the Dragon Boat Festival have meaning, and her heart would be at peace.
Because of the Dragon Boat Festival, my fondness and understanding of mugwort also increased. When my child was not yet a month old, their abdomen was chilled, causing diarrhea. I rushed the child to the health station, but the doctor said: We can't do anything for such a small baby. Taking the child home, I collected some mugwort from the nearby mountains and forests, dried them, put them in a bag, and applied it to the child's navel. The originally restless child quickly fell asleep peacefully, and the even breathing seemed to tell us—no more discomfort! A single dose of mugwort cured the child's diarrhea.
The Dragon Boat Festival allowed me to recognize mugwort, so that when I travel around, I can accurately identify them, just like recognizing an old friend in the crowd in a foreign land.
Return to TopBy: 陈先发
The silkworms are old, new silk is about to emerge.
The loquats are yellow, the hard pits hidden in the children's cheeks.
The pond has been dredged, and crucian carp are spawning on the duckweed.
Mugwort and calamus carry dewdrops,
Inserted into the doorframes of every household...
I have a memory that only in this mildly stimulating
Herbal scent will slowly permeate.
On the fish-scale-like small blue tiles, the smoke from the cooking fires remains still.
The tranquility of dawn seems to be melting my body away.
When I was a child, I held my breath,
In every corner of the town,
Waiting for my hide-and-seek partners to come and find me.
Now, the new generation on the street no longer recognizes me.
I have an open body,
Waiting for the larva that has never been discovered by others, growing alone under the starlight,
To return to this body at this moment.
A boy with green birch seeds stuck on his forehead,
A boy rolling up his trouser legs and catching shrimp in the river,
A boy staring blankly at the sky after the kite string breaks...
So many old selves, all returning to this body.
The fragrance of new wheat on the ridge, ah, Dragon Boat Festival,
The floating clouds in the river are far away, ah, the years.
Seventeen years ago, my father sat in a wheelchair
To the old bridge to pick me up to go home for the festival.
Today at the bridge, stand other people's fathers.
I have an empty seat
On the dining table where my mother eats a bowl of millet porridge every day.
At this moment, she has steamed the zongzi and peeled the salted duck eggs,
Just waiting for me to fill that missing place.
Return to TopThis edition's email: dadi@peopledaily.cn
Layout design: Zhao Siru (赵偲汝)
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