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Doctoral candidates run Chinese D&D store in Hangzhou

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Students from Garze Tibetan autonomous prefecture stage an ethnic singing and dancing performance at the launch ceremony on Aug 9. [Photo/hangzhou.com.cn]

Students from East China’s Zhejiang province and Southwest China’s Sichuan province gathered in Hangzhou on Aug 9 to celebrate the 19th Asian Games, local media outlets reported.

Over the next half month, nearly 200 children from the Garze Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Sichuan province will kick off a study trip revolving around the Asian Games in Hangzhou.

At the launch ceremony, students from Garze staged an ethnic singing and dancing show, express their excitement about visiting Hangzhou. Students from Hangzhou also sent gifts to welcome their friends from afar.

Tang Caibin, principal of the Qian Xuesen School in Hangzhou, shared Decoding 2022 – What to Know about the Asian Games at the launch ceremony. The book teaches about the Asian Games, reviewing the history of the Games and detailing the competition events.

A student from Garze said that before the launch ceremony, they visited the gymnasium and natatorium of the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center, which he was extremely impressed by and fully met his expectations.

The study trip, revolving around the mascots of the Asian Games, will combine modern technology with history and culture to thread together local cultural landmarks such as the Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City, West Lake, Gongchen Bridge on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, the Hangzhou branch of the National Archives of Publications and Culture, and China’s first robot town, Xiaoshan Robot Town.

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Participants take a group photo. [Photo/hangzhou.com.cn]

Hangzhou embracing ‘first-store’ economy

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Zhejiang’s first Costco store is under construction in Xiaoshan district, Hangzhou. The store is expected to open in July 2023. [Photo/Zheng Haiyun for Xiaoshan Daily]

Hangzhou in East China’s Zhejiang province has been stimulating consumption by attracting popular brands to set up their first stores in the city, local media reported on Aug 10.

Such stores can stimulate consumption, which has been affected by COVID-19 since 2020, said an official at the Hangzhou commerce bureau.

China’s top alcohol brand Kweichow Moutai opened its first ice cream store in Hangzhou on July 9. Many people queued up outside the store despite the heat.

“The ice cream has gone viral across the country. I just want to buy one and post the experience on social media,” said a local resident surnamed Li.

In 2021, 223 brands opened their first stores in Hangzhou. From January to June, this figure was 45, nine of which were also the first on the Chinese mainland.

Zhonghe Flyover witnessed the first evening rush hour

The vehicles were driven out of the elevated road as Zhonghe Flyover opened at 10:00 am

More and more vehicles were driven into the ramps of Zhonghe Flyover at 12:00 am

At 6:50 pm, the east-to-south on-ramp of Zhonghe Flyover was relatively congested

The 12-hour continuous observation of renovated Hangzhou Zhonghe Flyover after it was open to traffic at 10:00 am on August 10 showed that 4 off-ramps were clear, while the east-to-south on-ramp was congested sometimes.

Some ramps are open during designated hours in order to control the vehicle traffic. The east-to-south on-ramp is closed from 7:00 am to 10:00 am on working days. Orderly traffic control is conducted to ensure smooth transport and make more citizens enjoy the convenience of traffic facilities.

First business charter flight from India arrives in Zhejiang, in boost for trade resumption

More trips expected amid high demand for trade resumption: source

A charter flight carrying 107 Indian businessmen arrived in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang Province, on August 9,2022. Photo:Courtesy of China Southern Airlines

A charter flight carrying 107 Indian businessmen arrived in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang Province, on Tuesday evening, marking the second charter flight for international buyers organized by Zhejiang in 2022, and the first business charter flight from India to China.

Over the past two years, flights between China and India have been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors. Indian companies warmly welcomed the charter flights, with many hoping for normal business flights between the two countries, industry insiders said.

A charter flight carrying 107 Indian businessmen arrived in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang Province, on August 9,2022. Photo:Courtesy of China Southern Airlines

Photo:Courtesy of China Southern Airlines

After a “7+3” quarantine, which requires seven days of concentrated quarantine in a dedicated place and three days of self-quarantine at home, those Indian businessmen will head for Zhejiang’s Yiwu, the world capital of small commodities, a source at the Yiwu municipal government told the Global Times on Wednesday.

India is Yiwu’s second-largest export destination. The arrival of this charter flight marked the re-opening of the door for Indian merchants to return to Yiwu for procurement. More than 2,000 Indian merchants reside in Yiwu in the peak period, according to the source.

Hassan, a merchant from India who was on the charter flight, said in a video that he can finally go to Yiwu market and see the products in person, according to a post on the Yiwu government’s WeChat account on Tuesday.

“I set up a foreign trade company in Yiwu in 2003. Considering the needs of Indian customers, we usually place orders only after seeing the objects in person and asking for customization and improvement. As a result, it was difficult to place orders for new products during the outbreak, as we had to be online,” said Hassan.

“I have been doing foreign trade business in Yiwu since 2011 and Yiwu has become my second home. I am really excited to return to Yiwu. I am especially grateful to the Yiwu municipal government for its efforts,” said Mohammed Tabrez Akhtar, who also arrived in Hangzhou on the charter flight.

In 2021, Yiwu’s trade with India reached 17.58 billion yuan ($2.6 billion), with year-on-year growth of 38.5 percent, with exports reaching 16.76 billion yuan, up 33.8 percent, according to statistics from the Commerce Bureau of Yiwu.

Du Yuegang, CEO of Zhejiang Tony Supply Chain Co (Tony International), told the Global Times on Wednesday that preparations for the charter flight were warmly welcomed by the Indian market, and such flights are important for business communication during special periods and can provide an effective path for trade recovery.

Tony International was the leading company in organizing the charter flight. The Yiwu-based supply chain company focusing on China-India trade has provided cross-border shipping service for more than 400 Indian companies in the past 10 years.

“The preparation for the charter flight started in June, and it was initiated by multiple economic administrators in Zhejiang Province. The Yiwu government entrusted us to launch a market survey before the program started. Nearly 400 Indian companies said they were willing to join the program,” said Du.

The CEO is still busy answering phone calls from Indian companies asking about charter flights, as the first one arrived in China on Tuesday.

In view of the high popularity of the first China-India charter flight, the second may be scheduled in early September, and will be open to Chinese businessmen in India, said Du.

According to Du, some Indian clients used to come to Yiwu for business every two or three months before the pandemic.

“Some of the Indian merchants who arrived on the charter flight already have long-stay permits. Some of them got their new business visas valid for three months,” a staffer at the Yiwu Commerce Bureau told the Global Times on Wednesday.

It takes about one month to prepare a charter flight. Since there are COVID-19 flare-ups in Yiwu, foreign businessmen are doing their concentrated quarantine in Hangzhou, according to the staffer.

Sources said that there will be more charter flights in the near future.

The staffer of the Yiwu Commerce Bureau said that a charter flight for South Korean merchants is currently under discussion.

The charter flight from India was operated by China Southern Airlines. The airline efficiently completed preparations for the flight from New Delhi to Hangzhou with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Civil Aviation Administration of China, Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce and Yiwu municipal Bureau of Commerce, according to a statement the company sent to the Global Times on Wednesday.

Recently, China Southern Airlines resumed international routes to 27 countries and regions, with the number of international flights rising to 57 per week.

Before the charter flight from India, the first charter flight, which took 163 Pakistani businessmen to Yiwu, landed at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport on July 30.

It was the first charter flight carrying foreign traders to China in 2022, opening a new channel for foreign investors to purchase goods in China amid the epidemic.

Zhejiang Province in early July released an action plan to accelerate the implementation of business charter flights and scheduled flights, in a bid to support and stabilize foreign trade and investment.

Before the pandemic, more than 560,000 foreign businessmen visited Yiwu every year, and more than 15,000 foreign businessmen from more than 100 countries and regions were living in Yiwu, according to official statistics.

Hangzhou will implement the new basic public service standard next month

Hangzhou Basic Public Service Standard (2022) (hereinafter referred to as Hangzhou Standard) has been issued recently and is expected to be implemented from September 1, 2022. It is the first time that Hangzhou defines the contents and scopes of basic public services of the city in form of standards.

Hangzhou Standard sets out the standard for subsistence allowance for people in difficulty and proposes the specific service contents and standards in respects of social assistance, assistance to people with disabilities, welfare for the elderly and children, and funerals for residents.

In term of social assistance service, subsidies will be offered to people with minimum living allowance, destitute individuals and people entitled to temporary aid. In term of the disabled assistance services, a subsidy of 30% of local standard for the subsistence allowance will be provided for impaired citizens in difficulty. In addition, a nursing subsidy or a subsistence allowance will be given to the severely disabled based on the levels of disability.

Besides, various types of aids and protections will be provided for children in need. Qualified seniors may enjoy a series of home-based elderly care services as well as medical treatment and health care integrated services. Senior citizens of 80 years old are entitled to old-age allowance. Moreover, basic funeral services, including remains transportation and cremation services, are provided free of charge after death of urban and rural residents. A subsidy will be provided for ecological burial at the cemetery, and a reward of 2,000 yuan will be granted to those who do not retain their ashes.

Bumpy Liuhe Road is upgraded to the smooth and broad one in Hangzhou

The once bumpy and crammed Liuhe Road, which is the only main east-west road running through Xiaoheshan Higher Education Park in West Hangzhou, has been rebuilt into the two-way six-lane road to facilitate citizens’ smooth travel.

Non-motor vehicle parking lots, bus stations and temporary parking spaces are offered near the metro stations along Liuhe Road to facilitate seamless connection of metro lines and buses or other supporting transportation. In addition to the renovation and upgrading of the main driveway, the greenway along the Liuhe Road has also been open to the public.

Zhejiang releases first National Fitness Development Index

On the occasion of the National Fitness Day on August 8, the Provincial Sports Bureau released the “2020 Zhejiang National Fitness Development Index Report” on August 5. This is the first time our province has released the NFDI to the society.

The index evaluation system consists of 3 first-level indicators, including “basic conditions for national fitness”, “participation degree” and “comprehensive effect”, 9 second-level indicators, including “fitness venues” and “fitness funds”, and 30 three-level indicators such as “per capita sports ground area” and “comprehensive satisfaction”. The survey covers 48 counties (cities, districts) in the province, and the big data comes from 33,768 valid questionnaires.

In 2020, Zhejiang scored 80.69 points out of 100 in NFDI, indicating a good overall development status. There is not much difference in the overall NFDI among cities across the province. Among them, Huzhou has the highest score of 85.54 points.

The report shows that the province’s national physique pass rate, the proportion of people who regularly participate in physical exercise, and the per capita sports ground area are among the top in the country. Specifically, the per capita sports ground area has grown rapidly. In 2020, the total area of sports venues in the province reached 149.5652 million square meters, an increase of 9.15% compared to 2019. The service level of public sports venues has been greatly improved. Zhejiang was included in the first batch of comprehensive pilot provinces for the opening of public sports venues by the State Sports General Administration. As of the end of 2020, the completion rate of public sports venues’ service improvement reached 49.4%. The scientific fitness guidance ability has been enhanced. In 2020, the number of registered social instructors per 1,000 people in Zhejiang reached 2.52.

However, the contradiction between the increasingly diversified and multi-level sports demands of the people and the insufficient effective supply of public sports services still exists. A number of key indicators such as “area of sports venues per capita” are still unevenly developed between cities across the province and between urban and rural areas. Li Qidi, deputy dean of the School of Physical Education and Health Sciences of Zhejiang Normal University, participated in the investigation. He said that in the next step, in the overall promotion of the rural revitalization of the 26 counties in the mountainous area, more attention will be paid to the construction of sports facilities in rural venues and to carry out diversified sports activities.

It is learned that starting from this year, Zhejiang will release the NFDI every year.

Zhejiang releases first white paper on digital economy development

Can you imagine the huge space of Zhejiang’s digital economy? The reporter learned from the press conference on Tuesday on “Zhejiang Province Digital Economy Development White Paper (2022)” that Zhejiang aims to build a high ground for digital transformation and plans to achieve a new round of “double growth”. That is, by 2027, the added value of Zhejiang’s digital economy and core industries will exceed 7 trillion yuan and 1.6 trillion yuan respectively.

Today, the digital economy has become the main engine of Zhejiang’s economy. Data shows that in 2021, the province’s digital economy added value reached 3.57 trillion yuan, ranking fourth in the country, doubling from the initial stage of the “13th Five-Year Plan”; accounting for 48.6% of GDP, ranking first in all provinces (autonomous regions) across the country.

2022 is the final year of Zhejiang’s five-year digital economy doubling plan, and the first year of the upgraded version of Zhejiang’s digital economy “Project No. 1”. During this critical period, Zhejiang compiled and released the “White Paper on Zhejiang Province Digital Economy Development” for the first time, summarizing the results of “Project No. 1” and looking forward to future trends in about 70,000 words.

Technological innovation is the primary driving force in creating a high ground for digital transformation. Next, Zhejiang will build a high-level digital technology innovation center with global influence. Specifically, following the “315” major innovation system, it will launch 200 scientific projects in the digital economy every year, and form more than 150 major innovation achievements.

Digital industrialization and industrial digitization are the two major paths for the development of Zhejiang’s digital economy. To this end, Zhejiang will build a high-level national leading area of digital industrialization and a national demonstration area of industrial digital transformation.

On the one hand, through the cultivation of advanced manufacturing clusters, it will strengthen and expand the six 100 billion-level characteristic industrial clusters such as digital security and integrated circuits, so as to build a world-class new generation of information technology industry clusters; On the other hand, it will accelerates the new paradigm of “industrial brain + future factory” integrated development. By 2027, it will build 50 industry brains, and cultivate 100 future factories and 1,200 smart factories, so as to realize full coverage of digital transformation of industrial enterprises above designated size and small and medium-sized enterprises in key sub-sectors, and full coverage of industrial Internet platforms for industrial clusters of more than 10 billion yuan.

To develop the digital economy, institutional change is crucial. Zhejiang will build a high-level national pilot zone in digital economy mechanism innovation to amplify the effect of digital reform and improve the governance capacity of the digital economy.

In addition, Zhejiang will build an emerging financial center with global influence, a global digital trade center, a pilot area for data infrastructure systems, a pilot area for digital empowerment and common prosperity, and a new computing center in the Yangtze River Delta.

Hangzhou National Archives of Publications and Culture put into use

On the morning of July 23, Hangzhou National Archives of Publications and Culture (Hangzhou Branch of China National Archives of Publications and Culture) was officially put into use.

Numerous guests attended the ceremony to witness the addition of another cultural landmark to the construction of Cultural Highland in Zhejiang in a new era.

The collection and inheritance system for Chinese publications and culture of China National Archives of Publications and Culture includes the main central archives in Beijing and three branch archives in Hangzhou, Guangzhou, and Xi’an. The four archives jointly undertake the important tasks of the seed gene bank of Chinese civilization and the center for the reserve of national publication and culture resources in response to disasters.

On July 23, the central archives and the other two branch archives were also officially announced to be put into use.

Chinese publications and culture are a carrier that bears the imprint of Chinese civilization at home and abroad in ancient and present China. Based on the construction of National Archives of Publications and Culture, the project of handing down Chinese publications and culture is a major cultural project deployed by the state from the strategic height of cultural security and cultural revival. It is designed to hand down generation after generation Chinese publication and culture boutiques that feature “the inheritance of Chinese culture, the affirmation of cultural confidence, the display of China’s image as a great power, and the promotion of cultural dialogue.” This project has been included in the central “14th Five-Year Plan” proposal.

The core functions of Hangzhou National Archives of Publications and culture are preservation, display, research, and exchange. It is a comprehensive venue integrating the functions of libraries, museums, art galleries, archives, and exhibition halls. It is also a reserve bank for the central archives in response to disasters, a bank characteristic of publications and culture south of the Yangtze River, and a gathering center for publications and culture resources in East China.

Hangzhou National Archives of Publications and Culture is also known as “Wenrun Pavilion.” The architectural features the “contemporary book collection building with the charm of gardens in the Song dynasty,” with a total construction area of 103,100 square meters, including 13 units in total, such as the main study room, the south study room, the Wenrun Pavilion, the mountain warehouse, and the auxiliary buildings.

Hangzhou National Archives of Publications and Culture “focuses on collection and combines collection and exhibition.” It is carrying out publication and culture collection through the “double channels” of unit submission and social collection, based on the local conditions of Zhejiang, targeted at the Yangtze River Delta, and intended to cover the Yangtze River Basin. While accepting donations, the archives also provides storage and escrow services for rare publications.

Up to now, Hangzhou National Archives of Publications and Culture has received a total of 1 million copies (pieces) of various publications submitted and donated by units and the society, including the “Communist Manifesto” in various languages, the bronze sword in the Yue Wang State of the Warring States Period, the first line of codes of Alipay and Health Code, and many other precious versions. The collection of various publications is still in progress.

The Hangzhou National Archives of Publications and Culture will be open for exhibition in the near future, and the four major themed exhibitions and the digital exhibition hall will also be open to the public.

Zhejiang accelerates construction of affordable rental housing

The reporter recently learned from the Provincial Construction Department that in the first half of the year, our province has raised 319,000 sets (rooms) of affordable rental housing, and completed the annual target of 300,000 sets (rooms) ahead of schedule.

Among the 319,000 sets (rooms) of affordable rental housing, there are about 146,000 sets (rooms) of newly-built projects and about 173,000 sets (rooms) of conversion and renovation projects. According to reports, there are three main channels for affordable rental housing: new construction, reconstruction and transformation. The state encourages and supports local use of existing land for new construction, renovation of existing housing, and conversion of market housing.

From a regional perspective, Hangzhou has the largest amount of construction, about 62,000 units (rooms), Ningbo and Jinhua have raised more than 50,000 units (rooms), and Wenzhou and Jiaxing exceed 40,000 units (rooms). It is worth noting that the housing construction in Ningbo, Wenzhou, Jinhua and Zhoushan has exceeded the annual plan.

In June last year, the State Council proposed to accelerate the development of affordable rental housing. With the concept of “Everyone has a place to live in”, Zhejiang takes the construction of affordable rental housing as a key part of people’s wellbeing, aiming to gradually solve the housing problem of groups with difficulties, and offering great support for affordable rental housing construction. “We must make good use of the land policy, and plan give priority to the land use for affordable rental housing,” the head of the Housing Security Department of the Provincial Construction Department said. In 2022, the province plans to supply 3,768 mu of land for affordable rental housing. At present, the province’s affordable rental housing projects have obtained a total of 53 financing credits and 15.3 billion yuan in loan credits.

The early completion of annual tasks does not imply that construction will slow down. The goal of our province is to provide 1.2 million sets (rooms) of affordable rental housing during the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, which means that the construction will continue to accelerate in the future.