Many Spend 'Golden Week' Close to Home

While millions across the country were enthusiastic to travel a long way

to see renowned historic relics and scenic spots during the week-long May

Day holiday, more and more people have opted to spend the "golden week"

in a less strenuous way.

Zhou Jijun, a middle-aged resident of Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, spent

the holiday cooking, sleeping and meeting friends in teahouses. He only

drove out of town once with his family, and that was to enjoy the

sunshine, countryside and delicious food of a Yangtze River islet in the

suburbs.

"I'm usually very busy taking care of my business, and the holiday is so

important for me to relax and be with my wife and son," said Zhou.

Zhou said the flood of travellers during the week-long holiday put him

off taking his family further afield. "Didn't you see the crowds in

places like the Great Wall and the Huangshan Mountain on TV? You can see

nothing but a sea of tourists' hats and banners," he said.

Wang Qiyang, director of the Leisure Economy Research Institute of the

Renmin University of China, said time in the suburbs, playing sport and

participating in cultural activities have become more and more popular

ways for Chinese to spend their holidays.

Many urbanites are choosing to spend time off in a not-so-far-away

suburban or rural area enjoying the peace and quiet and local food. Wang

estimated there are at least 100,000 rural families offering food and

accommodation and other leisure services targeted at urbanites. The

National Tourism Administration has made rural tours a focus of the

tourism industry this year.

Most stadiums, gyms, community sporting venues and bookshops were also

full of people during the May Day holiday.

"The focus of 'golden weeks' is shifting from travelling and sightseeing

to leisure and relaxation, as people's options become more diverse," said

Wang.

But travelling and sightseeing remains a key holiday activity.

A joint office that co-ordinates holiday affairs under the State Council

estimated that a record 120 million trips were taken in the past "golden

week," and that travelers spent 40 billion yuan (US$5 billion) during the

holiday.

One Dutch Tourist Falls to Death in W. China

A Dutch tourist fell to death Saturday when making a tour in a

water-eroded cave in northwest China's Gansu Province, the National

Tourism Administration (CNTA) announced Sunday.

The deceased, one member of a tourism team composed of Dutch and

Norwegian tourists, accidentally fell to the bottom of the cave.

The accident took place during the May day holiday, which lasted seven

days and was known by the Chinese as "Golden Week" vacation.

Lu Xun's Former Residence, Shaoxing

The residence, a two-storied wooden structure in traditional style, is

found at 208 Lu Xun Road in Shaoxing. Lu Xun lived here until he went to

study abroad. He received revolutionary soldiers and young students here

from 1910 to 1912 when he returned home to teach in a local school, and

it was here that he wrote his first novel. To the east of the residence

is the Three Flavor Study (Sanweishuyu), a private school that Lu Xun

attended during his childhood. (Photo by Chu Daye)

Shanghai at Night Wuzhen, Back in Time West Lake in the Rain

Nanxun Water Town Suzhou: City of Gardens

Drizzly Wuzhen

Lu Xun's Former Residence, Shaoxing

The residence, a two-storied wooden structure in traditional style, is

found at 208 Lu Xun Road in Shaoxing. Lu Xun lived here until he went to

study abroad. He received revolutionary soldiers and young students here

from 1910 to 1912 when he returned home to teach in a local school, and

it was here that he wrote his first novel. To the east of the residence

is the Three Flavor Study (Sanweishuyu), a private school that Lu Xun

attended during his childhood. (Photo by Chu Daye)

Shanghai at Night Wuzhen, Back in Time West Lake in the Rain

Nanxun Water Town Suzhou: City of Gardens

Drizzly Wuzhen

Golden Week Provides Big Increase in Revenues

Statistics published by the National Tourism Administration (NTA) on

Sunday show that during this May Day holiday the number of tourists

visiting 116 Chinese scenic spots grew 12.9 percent year on year with

ticket income going up by 21.6 percent.

The overall tourism revenue in 38 major Chinese cities during the

seven-day holiday exceeded 20 billion yuan (US$2.5 billion), the NTA

said.

The seven-day holiday week has become a significant opportunity for the

development of China's tourism market despite disputes about the

rationality of the "Golden Week". The holiday puts great pressure on

transportation, catering outlets, hotels and tourism infrastructure,

according to experts.

China now has three "Golden Week" holidays in the year -- Spring

Festival, International Labor Day and National Day. The new holiday

system was set up by the Chinese government in 1999 to boost domestic

demand, stimulate consumption and assist in restructuring the economy.

As the holidays turned out to be "golden" for the economy they became

known as the "Golden Weeks".

With imbalances in the development of China's economy these "Golden

Weeks" offer significant opportunities for economic restructuring and

employment expansion in popular tourist destinations.

During this May Day holiday period, 19 people were killed in 11 accidents

across the country including a Dutch tourist.

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Gao Ling(F) and Zheng Bo(M)

At Sudirman Cup in Glasgow, Scotland, China beat Malaysia 4-1 on

aggregate to reach the semi-finals. The Chinese have moved another step

toward their title defense.

So, China's semi-finals opponents will be South Korea. Meanwhile, England

have reached the Sudirman Cup semifinals for the first time, they will

face powerhouses Indonesia in the last four.

Defending champions China took on arch-rivals Malaysia in their final

group encounter on Thursday.

It was quite unusual that the mixed doubles and women's singles were put

on display first.

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A 40 point gap is unusual in a top-level game at the CBA finals. But

Tuesday's second game saw defending champions Guangdong overpower

arch-rivals Bayi for an amazing 97-57 victory to level the finals at

one-all.

The first half of the game was a copy of their first encounter two days

ago where Guangdong led Bayi by double digits for most of the time.

Teenage prodigy Yi Jianlian -- popular with NBA scouts--had nine points

in the first two periods. He and his teammates allowed their opponents

only a 25 percent two-point accuracy and 23 points at halftime.

Guangdong widened the lead to 19 points in the third and the defending

champions continued to run away with the game. A 23-point deficit at the

end of the quarter meant the game was almost over for seven-time league

champions Bayi.

Bayi's bench-warmers played the final period and the game turned into

show-time for the hosts, eventually whitewashing their opponents 97-57 to

level the best-of-seven finals at one game apiece.

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Chief quality supervisor Li Changjiang says the government is serious

about ensuring product quality and safety. He also warned that failure to

improve quality could undermine the country's trading power.

Li Changjiang, the director of the General Administration of Quality

Supervision, Inspection and Quarantines, says the government has taken

six measures over a month to ensure food safety and reliability of

Chinese products. One measure was the release of the first bulletin on

food quality.

Authorities say they are determined to severely punish manufacturers of

sub-standard goods. Once found, their licenses will be revoked.

Quality supervisors say the recent recall by American toy company Mattel

is not the result of poor Chinese manufacturing, but rather a flawed

American design.

Li Changjiang said, "Some of the toys were manufactured based on the

designs of American imports. Chinese manufacturers have already suffered

big losses, but what responsibilities do the US designer and importer

bear?"

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At the Montreux Volley Masters, 2004 Olympic champions China have

defeated arch-rivals Cuba 3-0, winning the Masters'crown for the third

time.

Having lost a group match to Cuba going into the final, China made a some

change only to their secondary attacking line-up. Yang Hao and Li Juan's

outstanding performance propelled China cruising through the first set

25-14.

China went on to lead starting the second set, and after a technical

time-out at 16-9, China came storming back to win the set 25-17.

It's the same story for the third set, as China easily won the set 25-18.

In spite of the win, Cuba will still be a tough cooky for the Chinese

women to tackle coming 2008 in the Beijing Olympic Games.

Netherlands take 3rd spot by beating Serbia 3-1

The fight for the third spot took place between the Netherlands and

Serbia. Netherlands went two sets up, with both sets ending at 26-24.

A cornered Serbia went all out to save the third set 25-16. But the

Dutches made full use of thier attcking skills in the fourth set, before

winning it 25-22, to take the third spot of the Masters.

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China

President Hu: China-Australia ties maintain sound development momentum

WATCH VIDEO

Source: CCTV.com | 09-05-2007 08:34

Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) meets with Australian Governor-General

Michael Jeffery in Canberra, Australia, Sept. 4, 2007. (Xinhua Photo/Fan

Rujun)

Chinese President Hu Jintao is in Canberra as he continues his Australian

visit. He met with the Governor General in a bid to help improve

bilateral ties. Hu will also attend the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in

Sydney this weekend.

Hu jintao was welcomed in Canberra by Australian Governor General Michael

Jeffery and other Australian leaders and officials. His visit comes as

the two countries mark the 35th anniversary of the establishment of

diplomatic ties this year.

During talks with Jeffery, Hu said China-Australia relations have

maintained sound development over recent years.

The Chinese president notes that political trust has been enhanced and

there has been good cooperation in trade and other economic spheres.

The two sides have worked closely in international and regional affairs.

Hu says comprehensive cooperation benefits both countries in the long

run. China is confident about the future relationship and will work with

Australia to boost various exchanges and mutual trust and improve

bilateral relations to a new high level.

Jeffery says frequent exchanges of high-level visits provides a strong

impetus for developing Australia-China relations.

The two countries are enjoying rapid growth in bilateral trade, ever

closer energy cooperation and increased educational cooperation.

Jeffery hopes the two sides will strengthen research and cooperation in

agriculture and clean energy.

He says both countries advocate maintaining world peace and opposing war,

and agree to strengthen coordination in international affairs.

Before arriving in Canberra, President Hu visited Perth, capital of

Western Australia, and held talks with state Premier Alan Carpenter.

Hu says China has become Western Australia's largest export market and

second largest trading partner. In recent years, China and resource-rich

Western Australia had carried out a series of large cooperative projects

in the fields of energy and natural resources.

The leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in trade, infrastructure,

science and technology, as well as personnel exchanges.

Hu also visited a scientific research center. The center focuses on

mineral exploitation and has cooperative arrangements with relevant

Chinese organizations. The President then visited an iron refining

company which is jointly run by companies from Australia, China, Japan,

and the US. Its refining technique is among the best in the world.

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Chinese snooker prodigy Ding Junhui has won his opening match at the

World Snooker China Open. He beat Adrian Gunnell of Britain 5-3 on Monday

in Beijing University Students' gymnasium.

Wang Qishan, the mayor of Beijing, and Xiao Tian, vice president of the

Chinese Olympic Committee stepped up to the table to play a few shots,

marking the official opening of the 2007 World Snooker China Open.

Then, cheered on by home supporters, Ding Junhui played his first match

of the competition against Adrian Gunnell of Britain. The 19-year-old

played a patient game and waited for chances to win the first and second

frames breaks of 82 and 97. He lost the third frame, but claimed the

fourth with a break of 130.

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Li Yongbo (L), main coach of China's badminton team, Cai Yun (C) and Fu

Haifeng pose for photos after the awarding ceremony for Sudirman Cup

World Team Badminton Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, June 17, 2007.

China claimed the Sudirman Cup for a record sixth time after beating

Indonesia 3-0.(Xinhua Photo)

China went into the Sudirman Cup final as overwhelming favorites. The

defending champions took on Indonesia in Sunday's clash in Glasgow in

their bid for a sixth World Mixed Team title.

First on court at the Scotstoun Arena were the mixed doubles pairing of

Zheng Bo and Gao Ling, versus Flandy Limpele and Vita Marissa.

The Indonesians took the opener, much to the delight of their followers.

But with the muscular Zheng starting to play with increased hostility,

the Chinese battled back in what was a titanic tussle in the second game.

Zheng and Olympic champion Gao were made to fight for every point, and

the third was another fantastic struggle. But their superior strength

gave them the edge and after 66 enthralling minutes, they came through

19-21, 21-17, 21-19.

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Christopher Hill, US Assistant Secretary of State(File photo)

US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill says the DPRK is

agreeing to declare and disable all of its nuclear programs by the end of

this year.

This follows meetings between Washington and Pyongyang in Geneva.

US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill calls the two days of

talks with the DPRK substantive. He says they will help improve the

chances of success at the six-party talks later this month in Beijing.

Hill says they agreed the DPRK will provide a full declaration of all

nuclear programs and will disable those programs by the end of this year.

Hill said, "I think this is very important. Of course we will have to

work out some of the details of this in the six party process because, as

I have stressed many times, this is not a bilateral process at all. It's

a multilateral six party process but we had a very good understanding of

this today and an understanding that we need to pick up the pace and get

through this phase in 2007."