Snapshot
Historic Visit
The Chinese mainland’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) chief, Chen Yunlin, arrived in Taipei on November 3 to begin an historic five-day visit to Taiwan. Chen’s visit marks the first ever meeting in Taiwan between leaders of the ARATS and the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF). “The development of cross-strait relations is facing rare historic opportunities,” Chen said in a written speech after landing at the Taoyuan International Airport. He said further negotiations to improve cross-strait personnel and economic exchanges were the top priority.
November 4, 2008 - Chen Yunlin (left), president of Chinese mainland’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, and his island counterpart, Chiang Ping-kung, chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation, shake hands before their historic talks in Taipei. by Xing Guangli/Xinhua
Airshow China
The 7th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, also known as Airshow China, opened on November 4 featuring the aerobatic debut of China’s home-built J-10 fighter jet. China also showcased its FBC-1 fighter bomber for the first time during the show in Zhuhai, a port city in Guangdong Province.
Some 600 aviation businesses from 35 countries and regions attended the largest show of its kind in China, with more than 60 aircraft being exhibited
November 3, 2008 - Nine Kiran Mk II aircraft from the Indian Air Force SKAT rehearse the day before the opening of the 7th China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, or Airshow China 2008, in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai. by Li Xusheng/Xinhua

Farmer Olympics
The third largest sports event after the Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympics in the country this year, the Sixth National Farmers’ Games that opened on October 26 at Quanzhou, Fujian Province, is unique in its name and style. Around 3,500 rural residents from around the country competed in sports ranging from the more traditional basketball and athletics to more playful sorts, like tire-pushing and tug-of-war. The first such event was launched in 1988, 10 years after the start of the economic reforms, when the living standards of farmers were greatly improved.
November 1, 2008 - Athletes attend the closing ceremony of the Sixth Chinese National Farmers’ Games in Quanzhou, Fujian Province. by Shen Rufa/Xinhua
Food Inspections
China has carried out inspections on feed manufacturers nationwide to root out those using chemical melamine after tainted milk and eggs scandals.
The Ministry of Agriculture dispatched more than 369,000 inspectors to check out 250,000 feed producers. Inspectors clamped down 238 illegal feed makers and investigated 278 illegally-operating companies and farms, said Wang Zhicai, director of the ministry’s husbandry and livestock division. A ministry rule issued on June 1, 2007, banned the use of melamine in feed production, he said. The melamine-tainted eggs produced by Dalian Hanwei Enterprise Group and found in Hong Kong is an isolated case and using melamine in feed production is not an underlying industry rule, he added.
October 30, 2008 – Wang Jing, an inspector in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, inspects eggs. by Zhang Xinjun/CFP
Domestic Market
Chinese exporters, faced with dwindling foreign orders amid a global economic slowdown, are diverting their attention to domestic markets.
At this year’s Canton Fair, China’s leading annual trade fair, businesses that canvass foreign buyers were also focusing on the local market as their customers in the Western nations are dragged into recession by the global credit crisis.
October 15, 2008 – A lighting equipment exhibition hall at the 104th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) in Guangzhou. by Liu Dawei/Xinhua
China-ASEAN Cooperation
The 5th China-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Expo and the 5th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit opened on October 22. Participants shared views and proposed measures to further cooperation in this region and cope with the financial crisis sweeping the globe.
The Expo, namely “10+1”, was proposed by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao five years ago as a platform for participating nations to exchange views on accelerating economic development and create a better trade environment. The 10 ASEAN countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, collectively comprising a total area of 4.5 million square kilometers.
October 22, 2008 - The 5th China-ASEAN Expo is held in Nanning, capital of southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Topping the agenda: The global financial crisis. by Chen Shugen/Xinhua
Stock Decline
October 16 was the first anniversary of the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index hitting a historic high of 6124 - but there was nothing to celebrate. During the past year, the index fell nearly 70 percent, losing market value of 20 trillion yuan ($2.93 trillion). The average share price on the A-share market dropped nearly 60 percent, making almost every investor a loser.
And there seems no end to the freefall. Weighed down by fears over a global recession, the Shanghai bourse and the Shenzhen Component Index continue their decline
October 16, 2008 – A bad year for Chinese stocks. October 16 was the first anniversary of the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index hitting a historic high of 6124 - but there was nothing to celebrate. by Li Gang/Xinhua
Director Memorial
A funeral for Xie Jin, the well-known Chinese director whose films were popular with generations of Chinese, was held on October 26 in Shanghai. Xie, born in 1923, died of an illness in the early hours on October 18. Xie made his film directing debut in 1957 with the acclaimed “Woman Basketball Player No. 5,” and went on to create other popular features. Three times his films won the Golden Rooster, a top award in the Chinese film industry.
More than 10,000 people, including film stars and ordinary citizens from across the country, visited the Longhua Funeral Home to mourn for the filmmaker. Chinese President Hu Jintao and other top Chinese leaders also expressed their mourning for Xie in different ways.
October 26, 2008 – Film fans and local residents attend a mourning ceremony to pay homage to famous Chinese film director Xie Jin at the Longhua Funeral Home in Shanghai. by Niu Yixin/Xinhua
Confucian Culture
The 3rd Xunzi Cultural Festival was held in Anze County, Shanxi Province. A ceremony honoring Xunzi was first held in Xunzi Cultural Garden in Anze County, the birthplace of Xunzi.
Xunzi, a great philosopher, writer and politician, was one of the representatives of Confucian school in the Warring States Period (475-221B.C.), who greatly contributed to the development of Confucianism.
October 14, 2008 - A memorial ceremony held in Xunzi Cultural Garden in Anze County, the birthplace of Xunzi. by Wang Lei
Yunnan Landslide
At least 35 people were killed and 47 remained missing following landslides in Yunnan, the provincial civil affairs department said on November 3. Ren Xuli, an official from the department, said: “We are still waiting for updates from our rescue teams in some small towns that have been cut off by the mud-rock flows.”
Heavy rainfall hit the area and caused torrents of mud and rock, which affected nearly 1 million people in 13 counties of the Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Lincang County and the provincial capital, Kunming.
November 3, 2008 - A firefighter crosses a river by rope to rescue villagers in Lufeng County. by Ma Chong/CFP
Tomb Found
On November 2, archeologists unearthed an ancient tomb at a construction site in Xiangfan, a city in central China’s Hubei Province. Dozens of precious articles, including jade, bronze burners and bronze horses were excavated from the tomb of the Wei (220-265) or Jin (265-420) Dynasty, dating back about 1,700 years.
November 2, 2008 - A jade piece unearthed from an ancient tomb on a construction site in Xiangfan, Hubei Province. by An Fubin/Xinhua
Food Fest
On November 3, at a five-day-long food festival began at Shiziqiao Food Street in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, traditional and contemporary Chinese foods were featured. Various performances and activities were also held to promote the event.
November 3, 2008 – During a five-day food festival at Shiziqiao Food Street in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, a woman admires a candy dragon made of sweet potato sugar. by Wang Xin/Xinhua
Halloween Happening
A ghoulish cast of characters prowled China’s streets on October 31, celebrating Halloween, a holiday growing in popularity in the country. Organizers of Beijing’s biggest bash, the Yen Fetish Halloween Party, said they expected more than 2,200 people to descend on Star Live for fright night festivities. “When we started doing this five years ago, it was like 40 percent Chinese people, but last year it was like half and half,” Wang Xiaoding, who becomes DJ Dio behind the turntables, said.
October 31, 2008 - Revelers in costume celebrate Halloween in the nightclub district of Houhai Lake, Beijing. by Huang Shang/CFP
Fashion Week
China Fashion Week (Collections S/S 2009) opened in Beijing on November 5. More than 30 famous fashion brands from China and beyond and almost 40 fashion designers and over 150 new talents exhibited more than 60 fashion collections and conducted professional seminars at Beijing Hotel and D·PARK Beijing House. Many famous brands and top international fashion designers participated in the event. For the past 11 years, China Fashion Week has remained a preeminent stage for fashion designers and brands to hold fashion trends, new design and building brand image.
November 4, 2008 - A model displays a creation during Aimer lingerie trends release S/S 2009 at China Fashion Week in Beijing. by Guo Lei/Xinhua