Temperatures to rise in most parts of China

Temperature will rise in most parts of China over the coming three days but no rain or snow will fall to alleviate the drought in northern parts of the country, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said Sunday.

Drought-hit north China and regions along the Yellow and Huaihe rivers will receive little rain or snow, though precipitation is predicted in southwest China over the coming three days, the NMC said.

As of Sunday, Beijing has received no precipitation for 98 days, marking the longest precipitation-free period since 1951.

North China wheat-growing regions, including provinces of Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Anhui, Shanxi and

Millions affected as drought continues to ravage north China

Drought continues to plague many parts of China, with tens of thousands suffering water shortages and millions of others affected.

Since October, little rain has fallen in several provinces including Shandong, Hebei, Henan, Anhui, Shanxi and Jiangsu.

In north China's Hebei Province, 370,000 residents are having difficulty getting drinking water while another 9 million are affected in other ways, the provincial Civil Affairs Department said.

Direct economic losses total 1.04 billion yuan (158 million U.S. dollars).

Only two millimeters of rain has fallen in the province since November, which is 80 percent less than normal.

In the wheat-growing province of

Ancient observatory offers look at early astronomical instruments

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The equatorial armilla was made in 1673 to determine the true solar time. [Photo:CRIENGLISH.com]

Tucked behind the southwest exit of the Jianguomen subway station, Beijing's Ancient Observatory is an unexpected break from the surrounding modern towers and hotels. The observatory was once a research center for some of the Ming and Qing dynasties' most important scholars.

Built in the year 1442 during the Ming Dynasty, the observatory offers unique insight into ancient scientific techniques. Research at the observatory ceased in 1929 but achieved a world record for 487 years of continuous astronomical observation.

But astronomical research in China

Adverse weather may disrupt price control

The dry spell has continued for months in the grain production regions in northern China, setting off concerns that it might threaten China's grain output and thus cause food price hikes, a major contributor of the country's inflation in recent months.

The bad weather may aggravate China's battle on price hikes, including higher interest rates and reserve ratios. The government also introduced price caps and promised increases in supplies to stabilize prices.

Meteorological and agricultural experts said it is still too soon to predict a decline in grain output. However, they worried that if the drought continues into the spring, grain output will fall and push up food prices.

Dry spell

Water shortages have been gripping nine provinces since October last year, including the six major wheat producing regions in China - Shanxi, Shandong, Hebei, Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu - which contribute more than 80 percent of the country's total wheat output.

Further, rainfall in the six provinces averaged only 40.2 millimeters since October last year, down 53 percent compared with previous years, according to the National Climate Center.

As of Monday, 60.39 million mu (4.02 million hectares) of crops throughout the nation were plagued by drought, according to the latest statistics from the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

"There have been no rains for four months.

2011 Spring Festival Gala to start at noon

The 2011 Spring Festival Gala begins at noon on Feb. 2, which is the final day of 2010 according to the Chinese calendar, and will go until 2011 arrives at midnight.

The large-scale live broadcast "Countdown to the Gala" features hosts and hostesses such as Bi Fujian, Zhang Lei, Guan Tong, Xiaoni and Li Sisi.

Popular comedian Zhao Benshan will again showcase his talents with his comedy drama "Meeting of the Stars," which will feature actress Shen Chunyang, the wife of comic Xiao Shenyang. Supposedly, Shen portray Halley's Comet and Zhao will play the Earth.

Contrary to last year's Gala,

Shrinking of conservation zone draws indignation

A proposal from the Ministry of Environmental Protection to redraw the boundaries of a crucial fish conservation zone in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River has met strong opposition from environmental organizations.

The ministry is seeking public opinions on the proposal, which would see the Upper Yangtze National Nature Reserve for Rare and Endangered Fish shrink by more than 1,400 hectares.

The reserve, stretching from Yibin in Sichuan province to Chongqing, is considered by conservationists to be the last haven for several endangered and endemic fish species, including Chinese paddlefish, Dabry's sturgeon and Chinese suckerfish. Areas both upstream and

Milan sign Emanuelson from Ajax

Serie A leaders AC Milan signed Ajax left wingback Urby Emanuelson on a permanent deal yesterday to increase their defensive and midfield options for the title run-in.

"AC Milan announce the purchase from Ajax of Urby Emanuelson, who has signed a contract until June 30, 2014," a club statement said without adding any financial details.

Dutch media reports said Ajax would receive 1.7 million euros (US$2.38 million) for the player.

With Gianluca Zambrotta injured and Luca Antonini inconsistent at left back, the 24-year-old Dutch international will provide competition in Milan's defence but could also be used further forward in Massimiliano

Federer reaches 27th quarter-final at Australian Open

Defending champion Roger Federer on Sunday claimed victory over Spanish Tommy Robredo in fourth round of Australian Open.

The second seed Swiss, beat Robredo 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals for 27 consecutive majors since his third-round exit at the 2004 French Open, equaling Connors Open era record.

Of his 26 previous quarter-final appearances, Federer has converted 24 into semifinals, gone on to reach 20 finals and won 14 of them.

Federer, a 16-time Grand Slam winner, had won the last nine of the 10 encounters with Robredo. On Sunday, Federer racked up 40 unforced errors and 50

Olympic winner Vonn wins World Cup super-G in Italy

American Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn triumphed in the women's World Cup super-G in Cortina D'ampezzo on Friday.

Vonn lifted the title here for the second consecutive year after pushing Sweden's Anja Paerson to the second place with Austrian Anna Fenninger third.

Vonn, celebrating her 38th World Cup success and her fifth of the season, moved up to within 128 points of Maria Riesch, only eighth here, in the overall World Cup standings.

And she is now only three wins away from drawing level with Paerson, who is the most successful World Cup racer still competing with a haul of 41.

31st edition of Int'l Tourism Trade Fair kicks off in Madrid

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A woman (L) shows the fruit carving skill at Thailand's exhibition area during the 31st edition of International Tourism Trade Fair (FITUR 2011) in Madrid, Spain, Jan. 20, 2011. The five-day fair kicked off here on Jan. 19. [Xinhua/Chen Haitong]

 People visit the 31st edition of International Tourism Trade Fair (FITUR 2011) in Madrid, Spain, Jan. 20, 2011. The five-day fair kicked off here on Jan. 19. [Xinhua/Chen Haitong]

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Source: China.org.cn - China news

Sun Li in The Lost Bladesman

Actress Sun Li says her character in the upcoming martial-arts film "The Lost Bladesman" ("Guan Yunchang") is like glue between the male leads in the film.

"The Lost Bladesman" is about general Guan Yu, also known as Yunchang, who tries to escape the wide ranging power of warlord Cao Cao to return to Liu Bei.

Historical documents show that around the 3rd century Guan Yu, Cao Cao and Liu Bei did exist. But Sun Li's role, named Qi Lan, is fictitious, according to Sina.com.cn.

"Qi Lan has an inexplicable relationship with Guan Yu," Sun Li told Sina.com.cn about her role.

China begins annual travel rush in freezing weather

China's annual Spring Festival travel rush began Wednesday in freezing weather, with some 700 million people, or half the nation's population, expected to travel within the country during the 40-day-long travel period.

China's Ministry of Transport (MOT) estimates that 2.85 billion passenger trips will be made during the period, 11.6 percent more than last year.

The Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New year, is the most important traditional festival of family reunions. This year, it falls on Feb. 3.

As usual, the peak travel season is pressuring China's transportation network, with passenger trips by railway up about 12.5 percent and

Dakar Rally could cover more of South America in 2012

The Dakar Rally, held in Argentina and Chile for the third time although with less spectators than in the previous two years, could expand into Brazil, Paraguay and Peru in 2012.

The world famous race, moved from west Africa to South America over security concerns, was won by Qatar's Nasser al-Attiyah on Saturday. The race ended officially in Buenos Aires on Sunday.

French race director Etienne Lavigne hinted the race could be opened to more countries in South America.

"Every year we try to build on a new idea. We're thinking it could be good to open the race to

Nicholas Tse, Jay Chou to collaborate in action movie

Nicholas Tse is spotted to go to meet director Dante Lam on new movie. [sohu.com] 

 

Emperor Motion Pictures will invest 200 million Hong Kong dollars (about US$25.7 million) into an action movie, which will see Hong Kong heartthrob Nicholas Tse together with Taiwan pop king Jay Chou, Sohu.com reports.

Local director Dante Lam will take helm of the movie, which is temporarily named "Ni Zhan". It will center on two young detectives, played by Nicholas Tse and Jay Chou, to investigate criminal cases worldwide. Filming will be made in Jordan, Middle East, Vietnam and Singapore. The film will recount

Ding, Fu set up Chinese derby in Snooker Masters final

Chinese talented cueman Ding Junhui saw off Jamie Cope 6-3 on Saturday to set up a Chinese derby with Marco Fu from Hong Kong in the final at the Snooker Masters.

Ding, 23, kept his sharpness all along just as he did when he won over veterans Mark Williams and Graeme Dott earlier this week. The two-time UK Championships winner led 3-1 before the interval, then reached the final for the second time at the most prestigious invitation event with a convincing 6-3 victory.

"I played ok," said a delighted but still calm Ding after the match. "At some points,

Germany announces anti-dioxin action plan

German Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner displays the action plan of her ministry before addressing a news conference in Berlin January 14, 2011. [China Daily/Agencies]

Germany on Friday announced an action plan to enforce higher standards in animal feed production after a health alert following the discovery of the highly toxic chemical dioxin in feed.

German and European Union authorities are struggling to contain a health alert which began on January 3 when German officials said dioxin-tainted feed had been fed to hens and pigs, contaminating eggs and poultry meat at the affected farms.

There will be a new

Natural disasters leave 7,844 dead or missing

Natural disasters left 7,844 people dead or missing in China in 2010, a Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) statement said Friday.

The natural disasters affected 430 million people, according to figures from the MCA, the National Bureau of Statistics, the China Earthquake Administration and the Red Cross Society of China.

They caused direct economic losses of 534 billion yuan (81 billion U.S. dollars), 1.2 times higher than the average of the previous 20 years.

Over the past 20 years, the severity of the disasters of 2010 was second only to that of 2008, when severe snowstorms and a 8.0-magnitude earthquake

China sets 2011 pollution control goal

The Chinese government has set its 2011 target to reduce the emission of four major pollutants, cutting them by 1.5 percent year on year.

These main pollutants are Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), sulfur dioxide, ammonia nitrogen, and nitrogen oxide. Ammonia nitrogen and nitrogen oxide were newly added to the country's major pollutants monitoring list in accordance with its environmental protection plan from 2011 to 2015.

Zhou Shengxian, minister of environmental protection, said Thursday at a national meeting on 2010 environmental protection that while experiencing quick economic development, the country is also facing increasing energy consumption and rising heavy metal, soil,

Frogs also communicate by smell rather than vocal

Frogs have long been known as great vocal communicators, but Australian biologists on Wednesday found evidence that they also communicate by smell.

The researchers from the University of New South Wales in Sydney of Australia examined two species of large, ground-dwelling frogs, the great barred frog (Myxophyes fasciolatus) and the striped marsh frog (Lymnodynastes peronii).

The researchers used a series of choice trials to determine whether individuals were attracted to the odors or to other frogs, and if individuals were sensitive to the predation risks associated with these odor accumulations.

In a controlled arena, the frogs were given a choice

Ding beats Williams to reach Snooker Masters second round

 Ding Junhui of China plays a shot during his first-round match against Mark Williams of Wales in 2011's Snooker Masters held at the Wembley Arena in London, Britain, Jan. 10, 2011. Ding won by 6:4 to enter the quarter-finals. (Xinhua/Zeng Yi)

 

China's ace Ding Junhui suppressed Mark Williams's fightback to past the first round at the Snooker Masters 6-4 on Monday.

Ding, 23, was longing for a win over Williams, who beat him several times this season. He said he was quite relaxed in the opening stage but got a little bit nervous when his left-handed opponent chased

King dethrones Selby at Snooker Masters

 Defending champion Mark Selby (L) of England and Mark King of England watch the balls during their match on the first day of 2011's Snooker Masters held at the Wembley Arena in London, Britain, Jan. 9, 2011. (Xinhua/Zeng Yi)

 

Mark King knocked out defending champion Mark Selby in the opening match at the Masters on Sunday, advancing into the quarterfinals of the most prestigious snooker invitation event.

Selby, 27, started the match at the Wembley Arena comfortably by winning the first two frames, but King hit back with a 139 total clearance in the third frame before taking the

South China's Hainan to host many sport events in 2011

Many sport events including the 2nd Tour of Hainan Island International Sailing Race and the 6th Tour of Hainan Island International Cycling Race will be held in South China's Hainan Province, a tropical island in the year of 2011.

The 2nd Tour of Hainan Island International Sailing Race will be held on March 22 and about 20 sailing teams from the United States, Britain, Australia and other countries/regions in the world will take part in the race.

The Provincial Youth Track and Field Championships, the National Dragon Boat Invitational Tournament and Hainan Provincial Football Championships will take place in April,

Film industry wants Hollywood ending

China's movie industry is failing to take full advantage of the country's growing love of the silver screen, leaving the door open to Hollywood, according to a senior film industry insider.

Tong Gang, director of the State Film Bureau affiliated to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, said China's film industry simply cannot yet compete with Hollywood blockbusters like Avatar and Inception.

"China still lacks good films," said Tong on Friday in Beijing.

He said the nation's box office takings had soared to a record 10.17 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in 2010 - a year-on-year rise of 63.9

Sea ice interrupts offshore drilling in N. China

Rapidly expanding sea ice has interrupted offshore drilling, fishing and other economic activities on the Bohai and Yellow seas.

The Meteorological Bureau in China's northeast Liaoning Province said Friday 9,795 square km of ice had developed on the two seas.

Ice extending out from Liaodong Bay -- in the north of the Bohai Sea -- was 3,191 square km larger than on Jan. 1, and ice in the Yellow Sea expanded by 406.6 square km during the same period, according to the bureau's figures.

The average temperature of minus 12.5 degrees Celsius from Monday to Wednesday for the Bohai Sea

Chinese tennis player gets wildcard for Australian Open

Cheng Kei-Chang from Chinese Taipei and Somdev Devvarman from India will not have to go through the qualifiers to play in the singles main draw of the Australian Open, as Tennis Australia (TA) on Thursday awarded them a wildcard entry into the first Grand Slam of the season.

According to the statement released by Tennis Australia on Thursday, the duo was handed wildcards "as part of the Australian Open's profile as the Grand Slam of Asia Pacific."

At just 19-year-old, Cheng is ranked No.117, and this will be her second Australian Open main draw appearance.

In 2010, Cheng reached a

Chinese striker Li Jinyu retires

Former Chinese international striker Li Jinyu, 33, has decide to hang up his boots, his club Shandong Luneng confirmed late on Tuesday.

"The club management had tried to persuade Li out of his decision but failed. We respect his decision," Luneng said in a statement.

One of the best strikers in China, Li made his fame early when he was the star of the Chinese youth team that studied in Brazil for a training program sponsored by Jianlibao, a renowned Chinese soft drink company.

He played in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, which attracted the interest of French team

Spaniard Sainz wins 2nd stage on cars of Dakar Rally

Argentine car pilot Carlos Sainz of the Volkswagen team on Monday won the second stage at the car category of the Dakar Argentina-Chile, which was hosted between Cordoba and San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina.

Sainz timed 3 hours, 11 minutes and 28 seconds, in a trail of 324 kilometers special and 440 kilometers of link. With this Sainz continues being the leader of the general board.

The second place was for Qatari car pilot Al-Attiyah ( Volkswagen) who arrived 1 minutes and 3 seconds after Sainz and the third place was for French Stephane Peterhansel (BMW) who arrived 1 minute

Chelsea suffer bitter draw against Villa

} {title=Chelsea's John Terry (C) celebrates with team mates their third goal against Aston Villa during their English Premier League soccer match at Stamford Bridge in London January 2, 2011. [Xinhua/Reuters]}] Chelsea's John Terry (C) celebrates with team mates their third goal against Aston Villa during their English Premier League soccer match at Stamford Bridge in London January 2, 2011. [Xinhua/Reuters]

Chelsea were held by Aston Villa 3-3 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday as Ciaran Clark snatched a stoppage time goal for the visitors, leaving the defending champions to struggle in the fifth place at the Premier League.

Chelsea, grabbing their

Liaoning defeats Bayi in WCBA

Defending champions Liaoning had a good start for the 2011 new year by beating Bayi 72-67 in Saturday's match of Chinese Women's Basketball League (WCBA).

National team player Ma Zengyu contributed 24 points, three assists, four rebounds and two steals to help Liaoning seize their fourth straight victory. Teammate Zhang Wei added 21 points, six rebounds and four steals.

Bayi had 17 turnovers while Liaoning only had eight. Liaoning also had 13 steals while Bayi had only two.

The defending champions are 6-3 and improved themselves to the fourth place in the standings.

In other games, Jiangsu beat Heana 88-81,

Bulls beat Nets in NBA

Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 15 rebounds to help the Chicago Bulls beat the New Jersey Nets 90-81 on Friday for their 12th victory in 14 NBA games.

Briton Luol Deng and Derrick Rose each added 19 points for the Bulls as Chicago improved to 21-10, third in the Eastern Conference and best in the Central division.

Brook Lopez led the Nets with 19 points while Stephen Graham and Travis Outlaw each added 16 points for New Jersey, which fell to 9-24 with a fourth consecutive loss.

Boozer, who missed the first month of the NBA season with a