Beijing-Shanghai Railway The Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, designed to run up to speeds of 350 kilometers per hour, began construction on April 18. The 1,318-km-long railway line, upon its completion in five years, will cut the journey time between China’s capital of Beijing and its eastern financial hub of Shanghai in half, to five hours.
April 18, 2008 - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao participates in the ground-breaking ceremony for the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway in Beijing. by Gao Jie/Xinhua

BOCOG Media Hub Preparation for the Beijing Olympic Games media operation was in the final phase, said the organizers on April 27, while journalists were invited to visit their work place in north Beijing. 150 journalists from all over the world toured around the newly-finished Main Press Center (MPC) and International Broadcast Center (IBC).
	April 27, 2008 - Journalists visit the Main Press Center for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing. by Luo Xiaoguang/Xinhua.

	Longest Sea Bridge China inaugurated the world’s longest cross-sea bridge on May 1 as part of its effort to boost economic integration and development in the Yangtze River Delta. Known as the Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea Bridge, the bridge links Haiyan, Jiaxing City, to Cixi, Ningbo City, in Zhejiang Province. It cuts the length of the road trip from Shanghai to Ningbo, a busy port, by 120 kilometers.
April 29, 2008 - Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea Bridge. by Tan Jin/Xinhua

Smoking Ban Beijing banned smoking in most public places beginning May 1 – a big step in a nation of 350 million smokers. The move will also meet China’s pledge of a smoke-free Olympics. Chinese health experts estimated that passive smoking has affected about 540 million people out of the country’s 1.3-billion population.
	May 1, 2008 - Two servers by a “Non-Smoking Area” sign in a Beijing restaurant. by Luo Xiaoguang/Xinhua

	30-Year T-bonds The Chinese Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced on May 7 that it would issue 28 billion yuan (4.009 billion U.S. dollars) worth of book-entry treasury bonds this week, with a fixed annual interest rate of 4.5 percent. It is China’s first long-term T-bond issued this year and the second in the past six years.
T-bonds sold at a bank. by Zhao Yingquan/Xinhua

Olympic Torch on Mainland The 2008 Beijing Olympic torch relay kicked off in Sanya, Hainan Province, on May 4, the first leg on Chinese mainland. At the Fire Phoenix Square of the Phoenix Island, China’s short track speed skating Olympic champion Yang Yang was the first torchbearer.  A total of 208 torchbearers ran through the 30.09-kilometer route that ended at the scenic spot of Tianya Haijiao (The End of the Earth).

May 4, 2008 - Torchbearer Jackie Chan runs with the torch during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games torch relay in Sanya, Hainan Province. by Zhao Yingquan/Xinhua

Shortened May Day Chinese had their fervor for holiday sightseeing cooled by a shortened vacation as tourist volume slumped nearly a quarter in the past three-day May Day holiday. A total of 8.94 million people visited 119 monitored tourist spots around the country from May 1 to May 3, 2008, 24.45 percent down from the same period last year. China cut the length of the May Day holiday from a week to three days from this year as part of its scheme of restructuring national holidays to avoid overcrowding during the spring travel season.

May 1, 2008 - Tourists enjoy the azalea in the Longquan Mountain in Danzhai County, Guizhou Province. by Qin Gang/Xinhua

Local Folk Art From this year, the Zhenbeibu China West Film Studio located in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, will not only serve as a shooting location for films, but also a scenic spot. The film studio has invited local folk artists to perform their skills, which have boosted development of the local tourism.
	May 5, 2008 - Folk artist Fu Zhao’e exhibits one of her paper-cuttings in the Zhenbeibu China West Film Studio. by Wang Peng/Xinhua

	Exhibition on Tibet An exhibition on Tibet history opened in Beijing on April 30, aiming to present visitors with a full landscape of the autonomous region’s past and present through pictures and exhibits. The exhibition, “Tibet of China: Past and Present,” features two parts: the History of Tibet and Feudal Serfdom in Old Tibet, and New Tibet Changing with Each Passing Day
April 30, 2008 - A man of the Tibetan ethnic group visits the exhibition. by Gao Xueyu/Xinhua

Trading Tax Cut Chinese shares opened nearly 8 percent higher on the morning of April 24, boosted by an overnight stock trading tax cut. On April 23 the Chinese government announced plans to cut the share trading stamp tax from 0.3 percent to 0.1 percent as of April 24 in an effort to boost the equities market. The Shanghai Index rose 4.15 percent to 3,278.33 before the tax cut announcement. Despite the rise, it had dropped 37.7 percent this yea

April 24, 2008 - An investor at a brokerage house in Dalian, Liaoning Province. by Wang Xizeng/Xinhua

	Environmentally Friendly Bags The Chinese central government has ordered a ban on the production, sale and use of ultra-thin bags (defined as less than 0.025 mm thick) as of June 1, 2008. Further, supermarkets and shops are banned from providing free plastic bags to customers as of that date. This move to protect the environment and save resources, has won praise worldwide.
April 16, 2008 - Environmentally-friendly shopping bags are seen in a supermarket in Shanghai. by Liu Ying/Xinhua

Olympic Cuisine As one of the food providers for the Beijing Olympics, South Beauty Restaurant introduced a new series of “Healthy Olympics” cuisine. Taking the Olympic torch relay as the main concept, South Beauty combines culture and delicacy.
	Torch Silver Fish. Courtesy of South Beauty.

	NE •TIGER On April 9, China’s luxurious brand NE•TIGER issued its haute couture series in Hong Kong. Using the color of black, red, blue, green and yellow, this series is made of figured brocade, an ancient Chinese tribute to the imperial family. NE•TIGER hopes to create a brand of Chinese people’s own haute couture.
Models with NE•TIGER costumes

CANGO The China Association for NGO Cooperation (CANGO) hosted a media salon in Beijing on April 21, during which journalists were invited to discuss environmental protection issues. Importance has also been attached to questions in the course of NGO’s development and a communication platform for NGO and media was provided. CANGO is a nonprofit, voluntary, membership organization operating nationwide.

April 21, 2008 - Participants exchange views during the discussion. by Tan Xingyu

Olympic Poetry and Calligraphy On April 26, the Wu Zhenqi Olympic Poetry and Calligraphy Exhibition and the first launch as well as an academic symposium of Wu Zhenqi Poetry Album were held in the National Art Museum of China. A renowned poet and calligrapher, Wu’s exhibition consisted of two parts: A Century Dream Realized and The Brilliance. Fifty-two pieces of Wu’s work were exhibited, attracting crowds of audiences

April 26, 2008 – Wu’s exhibition at the National Art Museum of China. by Tan Xingyu

Seal Carvings From April 6 to 16, Long-lasting Metals and Stones – the First China Agalmatolite Seal Carving Exhibition, sponsored by Chinese National Academy of Arts, was held at the China Millennium Monument, Beijing. It was the first exhibition to take agalmatolite, known as China’s national stone, as the exclusive carrier of seal carvings in China. Perfectly combining stone culture and carving art, the exhibition also invited about 100 seal carving artists to carve celebrated dictums from ancient Chinese classics on agalmatolites.

April 6, 2008 – A work of art displayed at the First China Agalmatolite Seal Carving Exhibition.