Beijing Today (June 1, 2001)

Exploring the Wild Great Wall Page 16

FRIDAY JUNE 1 2001

NO. 4

eltsi ies t hi ese e i i e

He hopes to go sightseeing around China, something he had no time to do during previous state visits Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin said Monday that Russian-Chinese cooperation is developing successfully at the moment.

“I am glad to say that my friend, Chinese leader Jiang emin and I unfroze relations between our countries. This cooperation is now successfully developing under the guidance of Vladimir Putin and Jiang emin,” Yeltsin told the Russian ORT television channel arriving in Beijing for a holiday at the invitation of President Jiang.

He saw President Jiang on Monday in a governmental residence. Yeltsin, accompanied by wife aina and daughter Tatiana, were staying at the Diaoyutai State Guest house in Beijing.

Yeltsin said he hopes to go sightseeing around China, something he had no time to do during previous state visits. He planned to travel to Dalian.

Yeltsin, “Lao Ye” in Chinese, will also undergo a 12-day health regimen in China, using traditional Chinese medical methodologies.

Xinhua

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Ups and downs of life

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CN11-0109

B-Share Markets Set to Boom? lysts s y the o e i he lthie sh e ets

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Photo by hen Shuyi

Today, June 1, the countdown ends at China’s B-share markets. The ignition turns this morning as foreign currency savings deposited after Feb. 19 become available for B-share trading. Most analysts predict a B-share blast-off.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission had announced on Feb. 19 that domestic residents were allowed to open B-share accounts and engage in B-share trading with legally held foreign currencies. But that only applied to Chinese foreign-currency savings before Feb. 19.

The rest of China with foreign currency in their pockets would have to wait.

The B-share market had been previously reserved for foreign investors only.

Expectations of today’s soaring B-share markets have already fueled the markets, with lectures, seminars and consultations opening in the market and advertised in professional newspapers, magazines.

China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, has already cut the interest rates on foreign currencies five times this year. This is believed to be driving a total of $100 billion-plus private foreign currency of the country towards the simmering B-share market.

Analysts prefer to remain upbeat, taking a conservative but optimistic attitude towards Bshare market development after June 1. The opening up of the markets, they say, is a positive step for creating healthier B-share markets.

“B-share markets are the latest places where investors can hope to double their gains from investment,” said economist Xiao Zhuoji.

“But the expectation for a rapid soaring Bshare market is not realistic at all. In the foreseeable future, parallel links between the prices of the A-share markets and B-share markets are quite possible. But a merger of the two markets is unrealistic.”

Four basic factors, says Xiao, will determine the development of China’s B-share markets.

First, the further opening of the B-share markets is inevitable and will affect the growth of the markets from time to time.

Second, the familiar fluctuations between Ashare markets and B-share markets will continue in the near future.

Third, there are unpredictable factors influencing the B-share markets, including the volatile conversion rates and savings deposit interest rates for foreign currencies, different investment principals and investment mechanisms for foreign and domestic investors.

Fourth, the limited investment channels and resources for foreign currencies within the country will also constrain a rapid and soaring growth in the B-share markets.

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Forbidden City prepares for Three Tenors

By Su Nan

Photo by hen Shuyi

EDITOR: LIU FENG DESIGNER: PANG LEI

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By Zhao Hongyi

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Beijing Mayor Liu i said Monday that the city is expecting more multinationals to set up research and development centers in Beijing.

The mayor said this at a meeting with Okamura Tadashi, president of Japanese Toshiba and his party.

Liu said that international companies have set up their own research and development centers in the Chinese capital for further cooperation and business advancement.

Beijing is speeding up the development of its new and high-tech industries, which contributed to a large proportion of the city’s 11 percent economic growth rate last year.

Okamura said the company is planning to promote its Beijing lab, founded last April, to be one of the overseas technical centers following those in the nited ingdom and the nited States.

Toshiba has set up 20 joint ventures and wholly-owned enterprises in China since 1991, with a total investment of 6 billion yuan ( 2 million S dollars) and more than 10,000 employees.

Xinhua

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Tourists can still visit the Forbidden City even as China’s largest stage is constructed ready for the Three Tenors and a record of 0,000 concertgoers.

Chen Junqi, Forbidden City museum director assured reporters each and every brick of the World Heritage site will be protected when Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras perform at the Meridian Gate Square on Saturday, June 2 .

Twenty-four hours a day for one week, museum authorities will watch over the

entire process of construction to ensure the former imperial palace remains undamaged despite the throng.

Metal equipment will not be allowed to come into contact with the ground, meaning most of the auditorium will be paved with wooden tiles, although some carpeting will be rolled out for the various VIPs. The nearly 00 square-meter stage area, 8 meters wide, will be the largest in the country’s history so far, according to incomplete statistics. It includes a performance area, lighting, backstage makeup room, office and dining room.

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JUNE 1 2001

E-mail: liufeng@ynet.com

TRENDS 态

EDITOR: LIU FENG

China Ranks Top in World conomic Growth IMF World Economic Outlook for 2001 Forecasts 7% Growth

By Zhao Hongyi

The International Monetary Fund, the economic planning and advisory wing of the nited ations, released its annual World Economic Outlook for the year 2001 recently, placing China’s economic growth at .0 , the highest among the 180 plus economic entities it surveyed.

“With the slowdown of the .S. economy and other devel-

oped economies, as a result of the falling of the telecom and information technology industries, the overall global economy is on the brink of stagnation, but not a recession,” said Mr. Michael Mussa, the economic counselor and director of the research department of the IMF. Mr. Mussa is also the chief coordinator for the 2001 World Economic Outlook report.

In general, the forecast for

Deregulation to Boost Private Sector

The municipal government will gradually cancel limitations and restrictions on the development of private economy.

By Zhao Hongyi

“The Municipal Initiative for the Development of the Private Business and Economy in the Tenth Five-Year Plan” - a guideline document for the development of private business and economy in the capital will be promulgated in early June, according to sources from the Municipal Economic Planning Committee. It is believed to be the first of its kind nationwide. nder the new Initiative, the municipal government will gradually cancel limitations and restrictions on the development of private economy.

The new Initiative stipulates that private business and economy will share the same treatment in terms of market access, taxation, land use, financial credits, financing in the markets, as well as import export, with state owned enterprises (SOEs) and foreign invested enterprises. The municipal government will put emphasis on assisting the development of 50 plus private owned scientific and technological enterprise groups, encouraging private business and economy to form trans-industrial and trans-national enterprise groups in various geographic areas and with various types of ownerships, recommending at least ten private enterprises with excellent performances to be listed on stock markets, and assisting compara-

tively large scaled private enterprises to gain import export business rights.

The areas designated for entry and development by private business and economy are: 1. Cultural industry, market services, educational industry, financial and insurance industries 2. ew-high technology industry, e.g. electronic and information, bioengineering, energy saving and environment protection . Modern urbanized agricultural industry.

Trials of loan guarantee have been implementation in districts such as Chaoyang, icheng, and Shunyi. The Beijing Commercial Bank has formed a service center for small and medium sized enterprises in an effort to offer financial services to these enterprises. The Municipal Industrial and Commercial Federation and the Municipal Private Enterprises Association, together with the financial authorities, will design and grant credit grades to private enterprises. Those in line with national industrial development priorities will be allowed to issue their enterprise bonds and shares on the market.

Meanwhile, private funds will be introduced by the government into industries like information services, financing and insurance, communications and transportation, as well as others with greater market potentialities.

Beijing Regulates Pricing System for Real Estate Industry

Photo by hen Shuyi

By Zhao Hongyi

The Beijing Municipal Government released its new “Administrative Regulations for the Pricing Structure of Commercial Housing Properties” recently, aiming at countering the excessive prices for commercial real estate in the city. The new Regulations will go into effect from June 1, 2001.

It is believed that the new Regulations will enable house buyers to better understand the structure of the commercial houses pricing system and

restrain the excessive prices and profits of the real estate industry in the city. Meanwhile, the new Regulations also adjust the related administrative fees, which is expected to lead to the reduction of the construction costs for developers and cast a positive influence on future real estate development.

The Regulations outline the following five parts as the major factors affecting house prices: 1. The developing cost of the houses to be sold, including cost for land renting, cost for land use, compensation cost for former inhabitants moving out, cost for land planning, cost for project designing, cost for construction and installation, annexed construction cost and indirectly related costs 2. In process construction costs, including management cost, financial cost and cost for sales . Taxes, e.g.

VAT, tax for city maintenance and developing, tax for education . Other administrative fees designated under related laws and regulations 5. Reasonable profits.

It is promised by the municipal government that the pricing authority will formulate and promulgate the detailed items affecting the whole prices of commercial housing properties.

world economic growth has been cut a full percentage point to .2 percent. For the nited States, which has been the mainstay of global expansion in the past decade, growth is forecast to be only 1.5 percent, down from almost 5 percent last year and from an earlier forecast of over percent for this year.

Asked by journalists to comment on Chinas economic performance, Mr. Mussa said that China

By Su Nan

The world price of gold increased sharply on May 21, by a single daily increase rate of 11 . In the London market same day, it rose to 289.5 per ounce, the highest price for the past one year. By the end of May, the price slightly dropped down to around 2 .5 per ounce, but still a little bit higher compared to the price level it used to stand in the past 12 months.

In Beijing, the gold market seems to remain quiet, even though some professionals tend to expect that the market will fluctuate in line with the world market. It is expected that if the world price of gold rise slowly, no action will be taken by the business community involved in gold transaction here. But one thing is for sure. If the price of gold continues to rise in the world market, the price in Beijing will also increase accordingly.

“The price of gold here has not yet changed,” said Mr. Wang, General Manager of the famous Caishikou Department Store in downtown Beijing, which has been involved in gold business for decades and enjoy a high reputation in this regard.

“Even though the People’s Bank of China had increased the domestic purchasing price of gold by .5 yuan per gram in accordance with the world market, this indicates only a slight rise of the production cost of domestic corporations and can not influence the business here in a short term. However, on the other hand, the current bottom-low gold price in Beijing can either be maintained in the long run,” expressed Mr. Wang with frankness, “The price of gold in Beijing is quite unique in terms of cheapness and even lower than those in Shanghai, anjing and many other big

measure, is roughly half the size of the .S. economy, and Japan is less than a third.

“If we use instead market exchange rates, the situation is very different, said Mr. Mussa.

“At market exchange rates, the Chinese economy is 10 percent the size of the .S. economy, not half the size, and the Japanese economy is about half as big as the .S. economy, not a third as big.”

has the highest growth forecast of virtually any country, at percent, which is quite significant.

Based on the fact that all the economic indicators drafted and used by the IMF are based on a PPP, or Purchasing Power Paritybased exchange rate index, one of the consequences derived is that China’s weight in the global measure is about 11 percent of world GDP, and Japan’s weight is about 6.5 percent of GDP. China, by that

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The Market Stayed Quiet

DESIGNER: LI SHI

China Clones Scores of Plants, Pigs, Sheep, Rabbits, Cows China has already developed transgenic plant species, cloned goats and transplanted genes into pigs, rabbits, sheep and cows, according to an official report released Tuesday.

According to the report released by the Ministry of Science and Technology at a press conference in Beijing, that by the end of 1996, the transgenic plant species on which China had been researching reached , concerning 10 kinds of genes.

The report said that China has been successful to clone goats by adopting the fetus somatic cell of the transgenic goat and adult somatic cell.

“The rate of success is 10-20 times as many as Sheep Doly,” the report said. China has also bred pigs, rabbits and sheep of growth hormone ( GH) transfer. According to the report, the general rate of external source gene introduction into the animals was 2.1 percent, reaching the world’s advanced level.

“China has obtained remarkable achievement in animal cloning and transgenic animals,” said the report, entitled “Present Status of the Chinese Hi-Tech Agriculture and Its Goal during the Tenth Five-Year Plan (2001-2005).”

The report said that through efforts in the past decade, China has made remarkable achievements in pest and disease resistance, quality improvement, herbicide resistance and security control in genetic engineering of plants. ( inhua)

China Welcomes EU’s Lifting of Poultry Meat Ban

Photo by huang ian cities in the country. The fierce competition has led the price of gold touching the bottom line here. o one is able to significantly increase the price immediately.”

Prof. in Chijiang from the Central niversity of Finance and Economics analyzed that the People’s Bank of China is preparing to open the price of gold and will gradually link the domestic price

with that in the world market.

As the S Federal Reserve Board cuts the interest rate, investors have to preserve the value of gold in order to avoid the inflation. If the S economy cannot recover or S Federal Reserve Board cuts its rate once again, the world price of gold will surely continue to increase and, in turn, stimulate the domestic gold price to rise accordingly.

Western Teenagers Come to Class in China

By Yang Xiao/Ivy Zhang

On May 0, the first group of .S.-China Youth Exchange delegates from the nited States arrived in China. There are nine students and two teachers from Phoenix’s Central High School. They are on their way to Shude o. 9 Middle School in Chengdu, Sichuan Province to study with students and teachers there and live with Chinese families.

This exchange program has long been in the making. In 1998, President Jiang emin met with then .S. President Bill Clinton. They signed an agreement regarding civilian and educational exchanges. It was then that the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Exchanges Youth Programs Division of the .S. Department of State began looking for a partner to develop a meaningful and creative youth exchange program. IEAR (International Educational And Resource etwork) was chosen to be this partner. IEAR is the world’s largest non-profit educational network consisting

of students and teachers in 9 countries in over 5,000 schools.

There are a number of other student exchange programs currently operating in China. Like IEAR , AFS, or the American Field Service sponsors student exchanges. Founded in 19 , AFS is a non-profit volunteer-based educational organization offering exchanges in more than 50 countries around the world. In China, under the supervision and organization of CEAIE (China Education Association for International Exchange), AFS programs have been carried out for nearly 20 years.

Ten Western teenagers will start a new academic year this August at one of three schools -- Beijing Dongzhimen Middle School, Beijing Shiyi School and Tianjin o.1 Middle School. The six American and four German students, between 15-18 years old, will join their Chinese peers in class and stay with host Chinese families for 10 months as participants of the AFS Intercultural Program.

China on Monday welcomed a decision made by the Commission of the European nion to lift a ban on importing poultry meat from China.

“This will be favorable for the further development of economic and trade relations between China and Europe and is in the interests of both sides,” said Gao Yan, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC).

On May 25, the Commission of the European nion made an announcement officially lifting a ban on importing poultry meat from China, resuming imports of fresh frozen poultry meat from some areas of Shandong and Shanghai. It has also approved export registration of 1 poultry meat processing plants recommended by the Chinese side.

“The Chinese government welcomes the above-mentioned measures adopted by the Commission of the European nion,” Gao said in a statement. She said the Chinese government attaches great importance to trade relations with the European nion. And it is of great significance to strengthen Sino-European economic and trade cooperation under the current world economic situation.

The spokeswoman said agricultural products are in an important position in SinoEuropean trade and the Chinese side has always believed that raising hygienic standards for food are necessary for the sake of protecting the interests of consumers.

“The Chinese side is willing to strengthen cooperation with the European side in this area and create a favorable environment for the two sides to expand trade of agricultural products, so as to push the development of Sino-European economic and trade relations, “ she said. ( inhua)

DEVELOPMENT

E-mail: liufeng@ynet.com

JUNE 1 2001

3

EDITOR: LIU FENG YANG XIAO DESIGNER: PANG LEI

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By Yang Xiao

By Li Jingli Wanxiang America Corporation, the solely owned overseas unit of the famous Chinese township company “Wanxiang Group Corporation” set up a joint venture with American Horton Insurance Group. This marks the Chinese Township Company’s first appearance in the overseas finance and insurance industry.

Both sides set up Wanxiang Horton Insurance Brokerage in Chicago, with Wanxiang taking 51% controlling stake of the joint venture, the first step of the Wanxiang Group’s entry into the overseas finance and insurance industry.

The Wanxiang Group deals with automotive components in Zhejiang Province. Wanxiang America is the biggest Chinese company in Midwest of US. The group’s chairman Lu Guanqiu said, Wanxiang has always considered the insurance industry is yet to be developed and has great market potential. The decision to invest in the biggest US non-listed insurance company is an important move in

the Wanxiang Group’s industry wide expansion.

Lu said that through cooperation they can gain experience of foreign companies, master industry skills, and gather valuable experience for the insurance brokerage business in China. At present, both sides will exploit their edge in the marketing and insurance brokerage network to get into the market early.

This will result in a favorable position in the fierce competition.

Wanxiang will provide insurance consultation mainly to Chinese companies with business in US or American companies with operations in China.

People in the industry said, as China’s entrance into the World Trade Organization draws closer, China’s finance market will become more open, and more foreign insurance companies will enter the Chinese market.

However, special agencies, service systems and a good brokerage network have yet to be established in China.

Lu Guanqiu, one of New China’s 1st Generation entrepreneurs Photo by Fi es

Background Wanxiang Group Corporation is one of the top 500 companies in China. It is diversified in business while financially solid. With 6,500 employees and 2 million of operational assets, Wanxiang is emerging as one of the major players in .S.-China trade.

In 1990, it was authorized by Chinese government to operate in“Switzerland with heavenly views, is not far from you.” A vivid description is seen on a big poster next to the third ring road in Beijing. The picture features Mountains and skiers.

How far is Switzerland away from ordinary Chinese people?

“As China develops its economy and strengthens cooperation with Europe, we believe Switzerland will become a favorite tourist destination of Chinese people,” said hang wenjia, chief representative in China for Switzerland Tourism.

Having great interest in the populous and rapidly developing nation, the world’s tourism magnates have come to China one after the other to do promotions here. Switzerland is just one of the promoters.

“The battle has already begun for the world to attract Chinese tourists,” Francesco Frangialli, the secretary-general of the World Tourism Organization said when he visited China in March.

In 2000, the Gross ational Product surpassed 1,000 billion .S. dollars for the first time, with people’s bank deposit savings equaling 8 6 billion .S. dollars. Experts pointed out that the soaring economy contributed to China’s progress into a world leading tourism destination. Meanwhile, the Chinese government has adopted a more active attitude to encourage Chinese citizens to travel abroad. p to now, the China ational Tourism Administration (C TA) has signed agreements with 15 countries and regions, allowing Chinese people to travel there. Included in the fifteen destinations are Japan, South orea, Australia and ew ealand. Discussions with European and American countries are still in the pipeline.

Jorg Wuttke, chairman of German Chamber of Commerce, has devoted himself to Sino-German economic cooperation. He said

dependently at the provincial level when business and the economy were still controlled by the government at different levels in China.

Praised as one of the leading township enterprises in 1995 by the Ministry of Agriculture, Wanxiang enjoys freedom and preferential treatment not available to many other Chinese enterprises.

Wangxiang founder, Lu Guanqiu, born to a traditional Chinese peasant’s family, developed a small bicycle repairing township enterprise into the modern enterprise Wanxiang Group Corporation, winning both concrete benefits and nationwide recognition for his innovation.

Mr. Lu Guanqiu has also been

Fo ei o is e to s ooi hi ese et Over 10 million Chinese tourists went abroad last year. The great potential of the Chinese market has caught the attention of foreign countries.

that it is a long-term strategy for all countries to strive to attract the numerous Chinese people.

“We are working all out for a tourism agreement as soon as possible in order to ensure the legal rights of tourists and to seek cooperation between tourist agencies after China’s entry into the WTO,” said u Shengli, a representative in China for the German ational Tourism Office.

The Canadian Tourism Commission has set up an office in Beijing in early April. Richard Liu, the director of the commission said that the friendship between the two countries has witnessed a long period with a representative being Dr. orman Bethune. Last year, over 0,000 Chinese people visited Canada for various businesses while 2 ,000 Canadians traveled to China.

Compared with countries struggling for official approval to be Chinese tourist destinations, Australia and ew ealand are luckier. “Australia has become a popular destination for Chinese holiday-makers since 1999,” said Dengli Baoyin, chief representative of the Australian Tourist Commission.

France, Austria, and the State

of Hawaii in the nited States, have appointed people to be in charge of tourism cooperation.

The number of countries like these is on the rise.

Over 10 million Chinese tourists went abroad last year. The great potential of the Chinese market has caught the attention of foreign countries.

The world tourism organization forecasts indicate that by 2020, China will be the country with the largest number of tourists to go abroad. The world tourism industry will thus meet with a new wave. ( inhua)

interviewed by ewsweek magazine. The interview was reported as the cover feature story, in which he told his story of bringing Wanxiang from a small iron smith mill to a major producer of auto parts and a diversified multi-national company involved in a wide range of business activities.

Sino-French Travel Service Operational in Beijing Beijing Capital Tourism Group established over the weekend a joint venture with France’s ACCOR, the world’s third biggest tourism group.

This is the ninth Sino-foreign joint-venture travel services in China and also Beijing’s first travel service in cooperation with an European country. he newly established travel service will work to attract more tourists from Europe and other parts of the world by introducing advanced computerized tourism management system and improving training of staff. It is reported that European tourists accounted for 2 percent of foreign tourists to China in 2000.

ACCOR runs more than ,500 hotels in over 90 countries and has business contacts with over 2 0 countries and regions. ( i-

Photo by ia ing

On May 29, the Beijing Youth Daily held a “China broadband summit”. The meeting gathered together the managers of multinational and local communications companies to discuss the various problems they are facin B o n i ing.

Photo by Fan i en hao Ming, General Manager of Bluewave, one of the largest analyzed why there are so many broadband providers in Beijing firms concentrating on broadsaid the company was now ne- band. Broadband has three forgotiating with China Telecom, mats. The first is ADSL requiring and hopefully this would resolve telephone networks, which bean ongoing quarrel between the long to China Telecom. The second is cable modem, requiring two.

Many of Bluewave’s clients broadcasting systems, which beare real estate companies and long to broadcasting firms. The schools. One such real estate third is high speed fiber-optic cable, which doesn’t recompany, Jin Hui Jia quire a third party.

Yuan, on the northThese don’t require any west Second Ring inter-medium. The comRoad, ended co-operapetition in this new martion with Bluewave On ket requires fair play.

April 18. Jin needed Players on this field to set up telephones, don’t want a new mobut China Telecom told nopoly. them that if they wantAlso at the summit, the ed telephones they B participants discussed the must change the o ing rates for broadband serbroadband provider Photo by Fan i en vices. At present, one inBluewave to China Telecom. nder this pressure, dividual should pay 150 yuan ( 19) Jin had to break its ties with per month. This is equivalent to the Bluewave. hao Ming says, “We rates charged in the .S. It was will not give in to monopoly. e- forecast that rates would be cut by . or more, making the service gotiation is the only way.”

Participants in the summit affordable for ordinary people.

Will Travel Agents Get the Access to Share Markets?

By Li Jingli Tourism companies are gradually gaining access to the capital market, which has been closed to them for more than two years, according to the recently released State Council’s “ otice for Further Accelerating the Development of Tourism Industry”.

Stipulated by the otice, tourism companies meeting certain conditions will be allowed to issue shares and be listed on the share markets.

An official from the ational Administration on Tourism explained that the conditions to be met are the requirements for listing up on the share markets set up by China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). But he would not comment on whether the tourism companies with land property rights and franchise in cultural relics can go public.

Mr. Du Yili, chief of the State Administrative Bureau for Museums and Archaeological Date (SABMAD) expressed that the notice of the State Council made a new breakthrough for tourism companies to develop further.

Currently, the reflection and echo from the industry are comparatively calm, yet the real reaction is hot and persistent. According to those familiar with the case, many tourism companies are applying for listing, some of which have already submitted relevant documents to CSRC. Among these companies are the Three Gorges Tourism Corporation and Jinggangshan Tourism Development Co. Ltd., both applied for listing several years ago.

Shaanxi Tourism Corporation and Gansu Dunhuang Tourism Co. Ltd., which tried to enter into the capital markets two years ago, confirmed in interviews, that they are carrying out relevant reconstructions in order to do so

as early as possible.

Professor Li Geng, chief researcher of China’s biggest tourism company-Beijing Tourism Group and General Manager of Beijing Tourism Corporation comments that the main ideas and principals of the Central Government have already demonstrated clearly in the otice.

The obstacles faced by tourism companies on their way to capital markets are only technical ones.

Mr. Li was invited to a seminar hosted by the State Council two years ago, on which they tried to solve the controversial issue, together with representatives from the construction industry, SABMAD and tourism industry, of tourism companies with operations in cultural relics and land site to go public.

These companies include the West Lake in Hangzhou, the Stone Forest in Yunnan Lijiang, the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses in Shaanxi, and the Dunhuang Grotto.

Mr. Li is a supporter of the market operation for cultural relic and land site, especially for their listing. He said that in order to become a self-supporting industry, tourism needs development and regulation instead of inhibition. The public listing of tourism resources, including cultural relic and land site resources, will realize public value of those public assets in a socialist economy. Relevant tourism companies can raise funds by means of listing on the stock markets and building up a modern management mechanism of high efficiency and effectiveness. Only in this way can the national tourist resources be better protected and preserved while tourism companies be better managed and developed under the public supervision.

After closed for over 2 years, tourism companies are gradually gaining access to the capital market

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OPPORTUNITIES

JUNE 1 2001

E-mail: liufeng@ynet.com

EDITOR: LIU FENG DESIGNER: PANG LEI

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Reform on Property Rights of Small and Medium Sized SOEs Kicks off in Beijing

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By Zhao Hongyi The Economic Development Planning Committee of the Beijing Municipal Government released its “Policy Recommendations for Encouraging and Promoting the Development of Small and Medium Sized State Owned Enterprises (SOEs)” this week, clearly stating that individual employees in the SOEs, other legal persons and natural persons can buy parts of the properties of those enterprises under reform, and can further form share holding cooperative enterprises by themselves.

“First of all, the reform does not indicate the withdrawal of the state either from the

management or investment. The purpose is to diversify investment resources, adjust the management mechanism and establish a modernized enterprise framework,” said Mr. Liu Haiyan, Deputy Major of the Beijing Municipal Government. “We will make an effort to complete the diversification of investment resources of both the small and medium sized SOEs and collectively owned enterprises over the next two years.”

“Funds from sales of the properties and revenues from those adjusted enterprises will be used for reimbursing the debts of those enterprises. In the process of reform, we will first identify and clarify the current account deficits, capital losses and incomes

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unable to be collected of those enterprises over the past three years. After approval by respective financial authorities (towards SOEs) and confirmation by service institutes (towards collectively owned enterprises), as well as approval by taxation authorities, those deficits, losses and credits can be disposed according to related laws and regulations.

Shares of the enterprises can also be divided, formulated and granted to the employees compensating for the salaries owed to them,” said Mr. Liu. Meanwhile, the Recommendations also encourage individuals with innovative and managing capability to participate in the

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management of the enterprises under reform and set up new small and medium sized enterprises by investment of capital, productive factors like technologies and intellectual property rights. The maximum percentage of shares held by an individual can be as high as 5 percent.

Regarding to the problems like over evaluation of the price of properties and difficulties caused in the transactions of the small and medium sized enterprises, the Recommendations stipulate that evaluations can be made on the basis of property pricing or potential revenues, as long as the evaluations can be accepted by the market.

China to Perfect Merger and Acquisition Laws the MOFTEC said Tuesday that mergers in China faced many immature conditions besides laws.

Assistant to the Minister of Mergers in China require govMOFTEC Ma iuhong told report- ernment approval. Second, The ers that China was currently capital markets, including the working to perfect laws governing security market and property mergers and acquisitions. She said rights market, have no rules on that such work would improve mergers. As a result, companies the investment environment for have no market to complete mergmulti-national enterprises. ers. Third, we lack agencies such Ms. Ma pointed out that merg- as investment banks, law firms ers and acquisitions were an and accounting offices. important part of international Although there are many difinvestment. Multi-national invest- ficulties, Yu Weixiang, director of ment reached 1000 billion world- a WTO research center thought wide last year and 80 of the some improvements have been total was by mergers and acqui- seen in Beijing. Though direct sitions. China investment,such saw 0. bilas establishing lion in direct joint ventures investments accounts for over last year but 0 of total little by way of investment, in mergers. The recent years, gap was due to co-operation problems with Photo by huang ian between multithe current national compalaws. Perfecting nies and China has improved these laws is essential to increas- even further. For example, 150 ing multi-national investments. listed multinationals in Fortune China has already revised the 500 have invested in Beijing.

Laws on Foreign Equity Joint Ven- They have established up to tures. The new amendments make 11 regional headquarters, 20 R no prohibitions on mergers and D centers. To multinational acquisitions. There are some dif- firms such direct investments ferent opinions on the problem. will become the basis for future Ma Yu, a senior researcher with mergers and acquisitions.

By Yang Xiao

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ong n gion i i o n y Photo by uo Xiaoguang

West China to Allow Foreign Banks to Manage RMB Business

By Zhao Hongyi China is accelerating the opening of its western region to foreign investment.

More industries in the area are now open for foreign capital. Meanwhile, restrictions and prevention on foreign investment from certain industries and areas have been cancelled and more preferential treatment will be granted to potential investors.

“The Central Government will increase the use of direct foreign investment in the service trade sector in China’s western region and allow foreign banks to deal in Renminbi (RMB) business there,” Mr. Wang Chunzheng, vice-minister of the State Development Planning Commission (SDPC), said recently while introducing the policy for western region development to the Hong Kong Western Region Visiting

Delegation.

According to Mr. Wang, China lists resource exploitation, tourism development and banking industry as the industries in which foreign investment is encouraged.

The trial practice currently under implementation of allowing foreign investment in banking business, retail business and foreign trade business will be expanded to centrally administered municipality, capital cities of provinces and autonomous regions in China’s west. Foreign banks will also be allowed to deal in RMB business, telecommunications, insurance, tourism, as well as setting up Sino-foreign joint accountant offices, law offices, engineering designing companies, railway and highway freight enterprises, municipal public enterprises there. He also noted that China will relax the control over foreign investors’

P e e e ti l Poli ies o Fo ei est e t i the est 1. The trial practice of allowing foreign investment in the banks, retail business and foreign trade business will be extended to the centrally administered municipality, capital cities of provinces and autonomous regions in the west.

2. Foreign banks are allowed to manage RMB business in the west. . Foreign capital are allowed to be invested in telecommunications, insurance, tourism industries in the west. Sino-foreign JVs like accounting offices, law offices, engineering designing offices, railway and highway freight enterprises and municipal public enterprises can be set up in the west. . Trials of absorbing foreign investment by means of BOT and TOT in the west.

5. o limitation on fixed property investment credits by qualified domestic banks for foreign investors involved in projects in line with the industries encouraged by the state or

industries of national priorities.

6. o restriction constrain on labors to work in the west. Convenience to be offered towards foreign high-tech talents, high-level management talents and investors regarding to entry out of the country. . A reduction of 15 percent to the enterprise income tax in 10 years for those enterprises with foreign investment in the west and in line with the industries encouraged by the state.

8. A low to 15 percent enterprise income tax after the first ten years of preferential taxation for those enterprises with foreign investment and enterprises in the industries of national priorities in the middle and western region.

9. Tariff exemption and other VAT related exemption for imports within the total investment by foreign invested projects in the industries of national priorities.

By Zhao Hongyi

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A famous Chinese-American investor from Silicon Valley showed his confidence in China’s English Education Industry, revealing that he will establish the world’s biggest interactive English-learning corporation. Jim Sha, who is now the president of Live ABC Interactive Co., demonstrated the latest technology in interactive English-learning last Saturday. According to Jim, the technology provides a convenient

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English- learning method and creates a favorable study environment for learners through integrating various information resources and multi-media technology. Jim said with a large population of 1. billion, China will soon become the world’s largest market for teaching English, especially when the country is ready to enter the World Trade Organization and Beijing is bidding for the 2008 Olympic Games.

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By Li Jingli According to a report by CCTV, China Central Television Station, aside from the current A-share market and B-share market, the longawaited venture board will be opened for start-ups, for profitable new high tech enterprises in particular.

The new market under planning, the same type like ASDA in .S., is called

by Chinese investors “Venture Board” market. It was first proposed by experts and market players as early as two years ago. Things are changing now. According to Mr. Anthony eoh,Chief Adviser to the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), time is ready for the launching of this “Venture Board” market.

The Chief Adviser said, the bubble in the security market is at a lower level now, since the S ASDA market, Hong ong’s Growth Enterprise Market, and Japan and South orea’s stock markets are all showing some weakness. nder such circumstances, it is the appropriate moment to launch the venture board.

According to Mr. eoh, there are around 00 companies have applied to the Shenzhen stock exchange to list on the proposed second board, and their tutorship period has already started.

More than 1000 companies are under tutorship of over 0 qualified underwriters.

These companies all had profits two years ago, and are qualified for listing even in the global growth enterprise market.

Mr. eoh said, in such an environment, launching China’s venture board is a necessary and urgent need for high technology companies. The State Department will not neglect it, since it is an established policy. The key is to have the appropriate time, and he is optimistic about this. The rules will be released by the end of this year. After it comes out, trading could begin within six to eight months. He estimates that trading is not likely to start until early next year.

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CITY

E-mail: lixin@ynet.com

lish l sses to t t o hi e

By Yan JianLi / Su Wei Primary school students in Beijing will begin learning English in third grade from this autumn, according to the Beijing Education Committee. By autumn 200 , English classes will be given from the first year of primary school.

At present, primary school English teacher training programs are underway in all districts and counties in Beijing. According to officials from the local Education Committee, a survey conducted by the Committee at the end of last year shows there is not a big gap between the current demand for and availability of primary school English teachers. That is, the number of English teachers is basically sufficient to meet the demands of teaching English in the lower grades of the primary schools. However, some individual schools may need to make up their shortage of English teachers by employing or training their own teachers.

Since 199 , English classes have been given to students in Grade Four and above at primary schools in the city proper and the central primary schools in the suburbs. At that time, there were two different points of view held by education specialists. Some maintained that English classes should be offered to students in the lower grades of primary school, as younger children are generally better able to learn a second language. Others argued that teaching English too early could result in the children’s confusing Chinese pinyin and English.

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EDITOR: LI XIN DESIGNER: LI SHI

Clean and Green Chang’an Avenue

By Su Nan Chang’an Avenue is receiving another face-lift, gaining more trees, more green spaces, and losing several thousand advertising billboards. The clean up of Chang’an Avenue is scheduled for completion by the end of June. The municipal government is also installing unified facilities such as public-phones, newsstands, and mailboxes.

Director of the city’s Renovation Office, hao hijing says they have torn down some 600,000 square meters of squatter houses and temporary buildings in the past 12 months,

added or improved 2 6 hectares of greenbelt and demolished 2 00 billboards. He says all the buildings along Chang’an Avenue have been painted and lit with neon lighting, and in order to improve the traffic flow in the CBD, 20 public bus stations have been removed or relocated. hao says by the end of June, all the information boards and billboards along the avenue will have been removed, work to improve the road surface between idan and Fuxingmen will be completed, and special bicycle depositary areas will be installed around the 15 subway station exits.

Photo by ia ing

Marching to Protect the Environment Walking from Beijing to Taipei, by way of Shanghai and Hong Kong may not be the average person’s idea of environmental protection work, but Ding Zhaorui, is no average person! This young man is traveling independently through China, on foot, in order to raise people’s consciousness about environmental protection. The 3,000 km journey, which he calls “the Green Long March”, will probably take him 5 months to complete. This is his third long march since 1998. Starting from Beijing, he will pass through Tianjin, Jinan, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Shantou and Hong Kong, before finally arriving in Taipei.

Ding is a volunteer for environmental protection, and at every stop on his “Green Long March”, he advocates the protection of natural resources, a permanent halt to the practice of using valuable land resources to bury the dead, and encourages people to donate their organs after death. He points out that environmental degradation and the depletion of ground resources is increasing day by day. Despite this, people continue to use more land for burials and wantonly chop down precious forest.

Ding estimates that if people plant trees instead tombs, 2 million more trees will survive every year in our country.

Ding has spent almost all his savings on his Green Long Marches, despite the fact that numerous individuals and companies have made donations to support his activities. The first and second marches cost him 40,000 yuan. He says, “as long as my activity may raise people’s consciousness about environmental protection, the money is well spent”.

At the end of the interview, Ding said with confidence that he would do everything in his power to promote environmental protection. What a great man he is, and what a fine example he is setting for us all! Take care on your third long

By Su Nan march, Ding Zhaorui.

hi s liest lish e tboo Fo

By Duan Xiaodong An almost 100-year-old English textbook might be the earliest such book printed in China, its owner, Mr. Wang, told reporters last week in Beijing.

The 0-page textbook, titled “English with Chinese Phonetics” (Tangzi Diaoyin Yingyu), was possibly published in 190 or before, pre-dating another early textbook, “English Words at Entrance Level” (Ying i Ru Men), which was previously thought to be the earliest English textbook in China.

The book is a marvelous production in many ways. Though almost a century old, with pages yellow with age, the various letter types are still clearly recognizable, displaying the high standard of print quality at that time. According to the conventions then, the Chinese passages are printed vertically, while Chinese explanations are printed both vertically and horizontally.

As the book title suggests, the textbook uses Chinese characters to provide phonetic equivalents for English words, thus constituting a major drawback of this early school tutorial work.

Since there was no such thing as standardized Mandarin’ (Putonghua) at that time, the phonetics were arranged in line with the so-called orthodox’ Cantonese, resulting in a misleading and what today seems a quite funny effect. evertheless, the book has been praised as a “revolutionary guidebook inventing creative study methods for those aspirant people doing foreign businesses”, as it is described in the foreword. The book’s publication date can be traced through a letter from Hong ong contained in the book, dated Sep. 8, 190 .

The book was acquired by its present owner, Mr. Wang, quite by chance. In 1992, when he was living in Papua ew Guinea, an old local Chinese, originally from Guangdong Province gave Mr. Wang the book as a gift.

JUNE 1 2001

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in haorui is on his thir lon arch to pro ote environ ental protec tion.

Mini Bar Street Sculpting For The Last Time

By Lu Jia Sculpting in Time’, a popular cafe near the east gate of Beijing niversity, is to be pulled down in October or ovember. Both the owner and the customers will be sad to see it go. Along with several other nearby bars and bookstores, Sculpting in Time’ makes up a mini bar street’, which has become a popular hangout for both students and teachers at Beijing and Tsinghua niversities.

A notice that went up at the end of March, signaled the death-knell for the cafe. The blocks around the Bar Street will be torn down to make way for a new technology garden, belonging to Beijing niversity, according to the municipal authorities. Many old single-story houses in the vicinity have already been demolished and workers are busy clearing the rubble. Every resident family has been told to prepare to move.

Photo by ian ingge Sculpting in Time’ is going to move to a new location near the South Gate of the Beijing Institute of Technology. The new bar is planned to open soon.

“I often come here, almost everyday” said Baoyin Wenqing, a Mongolian student from the Central Ethnic niversity, “ Academic life is very tedious. I like to sit here to meditate, read books or look for some materials.” Miss Baoyin’s major is Fine Art. She thinks that this bar street has a quite special artistic atmosphere because of its proximity to Beijing and Tsin-

ghua niversities. “If it moves, I am afraid that I’ll loose contact with some old friends I often meet here, and the bar’s style will change. You know, the style is rooted in its location, location changes and style has to change. I am not sure if I’ll enjoy the new flavor or not.” “ It is the first time for us to come to a Chinese bar” said akata, a Japanese student there with two friends.

They are students at Tsinghua niversity. “It is quite hard to find a good cafe here. I am so sorry to hear that this cafe will be pulled down. I do not know where we will go in the future.”

“The whole bar street will be broken up. It is impossible to transfer the whole street with its special culture to another place. For the time being, this culture has to disappear. However, wherever they are, people who love culture and coffee will create a kind of new culture,” said Mr.Wang, an MBA at Beijing niversity.

Leasing a Car in Beijing

By Zhang Shixin We received a letter from Danny a couple of days ago. Danny is a foreigner who has lived in Beijing for years and plans on living and working here for many years to come. Recently, he ran into trouble when he tried to rent a car and asked us for help.

Question: Dear Beijing Youth Daily, My name is Danny, I am a foreigner, and I have lived in beautiful Beijing for 4 years. I have a Chinese “green card”, a work permit, and an official Beijing driver’s license. I plan on living and working in Beijing for many years to come.

I just got my driver’s license three weeks ago and I was excited because I wanted to rent a car during the May 1 holiday week. I have only been able to get around Beijing on bicycle, buses, or in taxis before, so a car was going to give me the freedom to go to the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, the Miyun Reservoir and other great places in beautiful Beijing.

Unfortunately nobody could give me a car because I was a foreigner! I called over 50 different locations in Beijing and nobody could help me. Some had already given out all their cars, and I understand this, but others said that because I had no “hukou ben”, I could not rent their car. I told every place that I had the exact equivalent, plus I could pay the 5000 RMB deposit, but they all still said that this was unacceptable. When I got my driver’s license, the nice people at the bureau told me that I could rent a car from any place in Beijing. Why did these car rental places treat me so poorly??

Please let me know of a place in Beijing that WILL rent to foreigners. I hope there is a car for me soon.

Danny Levinson So what are the requirements and how does one go about leasing a car in Beijing? To find out, we called the two largest auto-leasing companies in Beijing, and have good news for all you Dannys out there.

Answer: To be eligible to lease a car, you, as a foreigner, should prepare four certificates, as Danny did passport, permanent residence certificate, work permit and Beijing driver’s license.

Also, some leasing companies might have additional requirements. For instance, Shou i (Capital Auto) Lease Company requires a Chinese warrantor a friend or colleague will do, to go with you when going through the lease process. The warrantor needs to show his or her ID card and driving license as any Chinese does when leasing a car. As for Beijing Yinjian Leasing Co., no warrantor is needed, but you should present a copy of your house lease or purchase agreement as a supplement to your permanent residence certificate. After all these requirements are met, you can proceed to fill in the forms, select a car, bargain over the price, make a payment, and eventually, hit the road hou i ease Co. Tel: 62 286 6 Website: www.sqzl.com.cn (Chinese version only). ei in in ian ease Co. Tel: 6 22 561, 6 261250 Website: www.carent.com.cn. (English version available)

Photo by Xiao Song y n i go n ing B i ing y i Bi g in on i n i n n ni ig o igin ing o B i ing n ng i o i ing ng i B i ing i o o

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VOICE

JUNE ! 2001

E-mail: lixin@ynet.com

EDITOR: LI XIN DESIGNER: LI SHI

Media

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Well-paid Job

By Ivy Zhang

Foreign companies surging into China have created impressive success stories through joint efforts of expatriates and local staff.

But to strengthen corporate security, some foreign companies have implemented a rule which requires local staff to have their bag checked in the lobby or doorway before leaving the office.

Other companies have the socalled “E-Eye mail” monitoring system to spy on employees’ incoming and outgoing E-mails. Many Chinese employees feel offended and embarrassed by such rules.

But after considering their good pay, most remain silent and remain in the company.

But what do Chinese staff really think about it? What is the legality of such behavior?

Mr. Lu, translator, China Aerospace Industrial Group In general, I don’t agree with

these security measures, but my reaction depends on how much I am offended and the compensation I receive. I understand the boss’s concerns: security of products, technologies and information. But the best protection is to always find faithful employees and retain their loyalty. It seems acceptable if an E-mail supervision system logs only data flow abnormality without spying on the detailed information of every E-mail. But the e-eye monitor is really offensive. I don’t like the feeling of always being watched over one’s shoulder. Anyway I’m not an ape at the zoo.

Mr. Zhang, senior engineer, a foreign telecom company About one or two years ago, everybody in my company who was leaving the office building had to open their bag to allow the security guard to take a look inside.

The reason was that many company-owned items like portable

PCs were found lost during work time, lunch time in particular. ow, such a rule has been abolished, but when you are carrying big cases or bags, you will probably be asked to go through examination, though such things never happen in our headquarters abroad.

It’s true that such a code of

SOUND BITES

Noel Forgeard

CEO of Europe Airbus “I am confident that Airbus will take 50 of the Chinese air market in the future with our advanced and complicated production line.” he said.

Since the first airbus was introduced in Chinese mainland in 1985 the Chinese market share for Airbus has increased steadily. At the moment there are 96 airbuses about 21 of the total compared with 2 ones about 8.9 in 1995. What’s more from 1996 to 2000, the confirmed orders from Chinese Mainland have been ( 9 of the total confirmed orders). If Hong ong and Macao are also included, the total number of the orders is 9 , namely 5 . of the market share.

security is humiliating and in violation of the law. But if you want this job, you can do nothing but accept it.

Mr. Yu, lawyer, Beijing Baoding Law Office The employee has every right to sue a company which searches his bag or E-mail. Only law enforce-

Henry McKinnell

Pfizer CEO

“The leading status of Pfizer will be continued and strengthened, and the shareholders value must be increased at a speed to satisfy the investors. A revolution in the discovery, development, production and promotion related to medicine must be carried out.” he announced. He promised that the annual profit rate after deducting some large projects and the cost in taking over would continually increase at 25 till 2002.

ment officials or authorized persons who hold a search permit can do that. Even when such security rules are included in the labor contract drafted by the company, they are illegal because the foreign companies are doing business in China and must do everything in accordance with Chinese laws.

Ms. Zhang Qi

Director of Electronic Information Products Management Bureau, Ministry of Information Industry “It is crucial for the Chinese software industry to attract highly experienced senior management. At the moment there is a shortage of high-level managers and decision makers. ” she said. She pointed out that the Ministry of Information Industry is working to strengthen the Chinese software industry, and that the software industry is one of the strategic pillar industries.

Next Bubble

By Wang Ran One bubble just broke and another has risen. The craze of investors today for China media faintly recalls the networks of yesterday.

China media market has risen rapidly since June last year. AOL-Time Warner, Viacom and ews Corporation, venture investors and A-share marketlisted companies are casting their nets far and wide. They hope to harvest a rich catch of newspapers, magazines, television channels, audio and video manufacture and distribution companies, book publishing and distribution companies and advertising companies.

But the potential for development of China’s media and recreation industry is quite different from making money in other industries. First it is necessary to make clear that media is not a trade everybody can engage in. It needs capital and talent. etwork stations entering the media industry resonates louder than directly entering electronic commerce or software development. They have reasons to enter the media industry.

Thus they let the public know they are entering all the media markets including newspaper, magazines, movie, television and music. They do not actually publish a solid newspaper, magazine or broadcast a television program of any significance or influence.

Such an operating mode is quite dangerous. In the end, they will win nothing for their efforts and lose the opportunity.

In this sense, it is not crazy to stress the importance of looking for the penetration places from which the big media breakthrough will erupt.

The author is chief executive officer of China eCapital Corporation.

PROBE

JUNE 1 2001

Paid Vacation, or

E-mail: survey@ynet.com

EDITOR: LI XIN DESIGNER: LI SHI

Drug abuse affects work performance of Hong Kong youth

According to a recent survey of 152 former drug abusers in Hong ong, 6 said their drug habit had affected their work, causing them to be late or unable to concentrate. Most of the young addicts resorted to drugs due to the lack of a goal in life and as an expression of discontent. The Church Organization, responsible for the survey, suggested that career training for youth should be strengthened in order to help young people establish a goal in life and effectively prevent drug abuses.

a Week off with the Masses?

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Singapore, Thailand

Although the seven-day May 1 Labor Day holiday is well and truly over and people are back into their usual routines, debate about the ‘prime week’, its pros and cons, is still running hot. However if everyone in the country has a week off, will it be more difficult for individuals to make their holiday arrangements? And would it make sense to try to stagger people’s holidays?

One way of solving the problem would be to implement the paid vacation system and let people choose when they take their holidays.

This system is very common abroad and allows people to regulate their pace of life, which in turn enhances their working efficiency.

In order to gain a clearer understanding of people’s attitude toward paid vacations and the implementation of such a system in Beijing, we recently conducted a survey of the locals in Beijing on this issue.

The overwhelming ma ority are in favor of paid vacations

Different people choose to spend their holidays in different ways, but when asked “what is your preferred vacation system’’? Over 80 responded that they wanted to enjoy a free and flexible vacation with pay.

During the week long holidays, about 25 of midand high-level managerial personnel traveled to other parts of the country, while less than 10 of the lower managerial personnel and ordinary workers and staff

The Taiwan based World Magazine has just released the results of a recent survey of the CEOs of 1000 large enterprises.

6 of those who responded said they have invested in the Chinese mainland and 20 plan to set up branches both in the Chinese mainland and overseas. What’s more, 18 had invested in the mainland in the last 12 months, compared with 9 prior to that, indicating that the number of new investments in the Chinese mainland is increasing.

members opted to travel. This marked difference is directly related to their income level.

Travel is a high-consumption activity. Only those with a fairly high income can enjoy such consumption.

accommodation put a damper on the enthusiasm of those who wish to travel. However, this year, the transportation situation saw a marked improvement.

The most frequent problems people meet with in their travels are overcrowding and high expenses. Over 2 said that the cost of travel was too high. See table 2 for details

Paid acations: 0 not clear how it works, 0 of units yet to implement the system

Transportation is not a major problem.

Last year’s May Day is

Overcrowding in scenic areas Too many servicerelated expenses Others

“Leisure travel”

Others

“Refreshing & recharging”

Overcrowded transportation Bad service by tour operators

“Visiting family & friends”

Unsatisfactor y accommodation

Most Frequently Cited Complaints “Health” /24%

Purposes of Travel for May Day Holiday Makers ab e by ian e

still fresh in people’s memory. Difficulties in buying air and train tickets, and securing

36% of large enterprises in Taiwan invest in the Chinese Mainland

Book now

“ Too many choices All I want to do is sleep ”

By Shao Hai

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The survey reveals that many people are not familiar with the concept of paid vacations. Only 1 said they understand the concept quite well, and over said they had only a slight understanding of the system.

About 8 of the units of those surveyed had not implement the paid vacation system, suggesting that the concept is new to the people and units in Beijing. Among those who have enjoyed paid vacations, more than 5 enjoyed a holiday period of -15 days, while only 15 had a holiday in excess of 15 days. The average period was 11.8 days.

The right to paid vacation far from being reali ed for all With regard to the attitude

toward paid vacation, about 90 of those surveyed agreed or agreed strongly with the

Managerial style of boss Supervision quality of related government agencies Administration quality of company Status of company

Workload in company

Factors Affecting the Implementation of the Paid Vacation System

formulation that the paid vacation system is a right for those who are on duty.’’

Although the law has clearly made stipulations in this regard, paid vacations have either not been implemented, changed into subsidies or pay rises, or have even been cancelled in many units. Over one-third of those surveyed agreed or strongly agreed with the formulation.

More than 5 of those surveyed are of the view that the implementation of the paid vacation system indicates the scale and degree

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of a company’s management and helps improve working efficiency about 66 are of the opinion that the advantages of implementing such a system outweigh the disadvantage. See table 8.

Vacation with pay is a right that should be enjoyed by the workers and staff members in accordance with the law of the state and is a sign of social progress universally recognized by the people.

Implementation of the vacation system with pay is beneficial for society, enterprises and individuals. However, the concept for implementing paid vacations has not been really fostered in our country and implementation of the system will meet with difficulties. We are convinced that the system will be quickly implemented in various units under joint efforts made by the state, enterprises and workers and staff members. Employees will enjoy their free and flexible holidays and constantly improve their quality of life.

Chinese people optimistic about Beijing’s 2008 Olympics bid

According to the recent survey conducted by AC ielson in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Chinese people are confident about winning the right to host the 2008 Olympic Games.

AC ielson questioned more than ,000 people aged between 15 and 5 in mid April. More than 60 felt that Beijing had a good chance of winning the games, while 1 in 10 were very confident’ of success.

More than 70% of the investigators are paying close attention to the open funds

A survey conducted by the Chinese Construction Bank among 105 individual customers and 22 business customers in 12 cities, shows that more than 0 of those questioned are paying close attention to open funds. 2 of business customers and of the individual customers are willing to purchase open funds, while 2 of business and 8 of individual customers are taking a wait and see attitude. What’s more, of businesses and 56 of individual customers used bank savings to purchase open funds and 20 the businesses and 28 of the individuals used funds from the stock market as capital resources.

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FOCUS

JUNE 1 2001

An Ancient “OverseasChinese” Returns Home

E-mail: lixin@ynet.com

By Duan Xiaodong

Beijing Capital International Airport, May 26, Air China cargo flight 9016 landed at 4:47pm, carrying a very special ‘guest’.

On board this giant Boeing 747 that had flown from the other side of the globe, was an ancient warrior, born 1,000 years ago in the Five-Dynasties Period.

This warrior slept for 10 centuries at the burial site of a patriotic lord named Wang Chuzhi in what is now Hebei Province, was unearthed by looters several years ago, shipped secretly to Hong Kong, then to the US, and almost auctioned off by Christie’s in New York, before intervention by the Chinese and US governments halted the sale and returned him to his homeland.

This elegant sculpture of Tang Dynasty warrior Qin Qiong, together with another sculpture returned by an American collector last year, form a perfect pair called Chinese Guardian Gods.

So how did this old countryman come to fly home to China after a journey to New York, by way of Hong Kong? Well, it started with a chance encounter, and a phone call.

A state treasure almost auctioned in the US At 9am on Feb. 2 , 2000, the Cultural Relics Bureau of Hebei Province received a phone call from the S. The caller was a Chinese scholar visiting the S on an academic tour and who had previous academic interests in Hebei’s cultural relics. He said on

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police force. Seeing those lavishly printed pages of the auction catalogue illustrated with pictures of age-old art masterpieces, everybody’s heart beat wildly. What an extraordinary collection of Chinese ancestral treasures, and what a shame that they were now to be sold in a faraway foreign land A Tang Dynasty warrior o. 209 in the auction catalogue was an embossed white marble sculpture depicting a lively warrior. Standing on an ox, topped by a phoenix, pointing his sword toward a lotus flower in the ox’s mouth, the warrior figure was painted with shades of red, brown and yellow. On the left of the picture, the caption read: “A rare 10th-century color sculpture...might be related to uyang Wang Chuzhi Tomb sculptures unearthed in 1995, full of the magnificent Tang Dynasty aura that lasted until the eleventh century...Estimated price: 00-500 thousand S dollars.”

From every perspective, this piece must be called a top-grade “state treasure.” With the help of the official excavation report of the Wang Chuzhi Tomb produced in 1998, and the siteinvestigation materials collected after the 199 looting of the Tomb, the experts unanimously agreed that the o.

209 auction object was indeed a piece looted from the tomb more specifically, it was i in B i ing i o one of the two missPhoto by ao Shan ing embossed sculpthe phone that the British auc- tures featuring the Hero in tion house Christie’s, was to hold iong. A collective request was an auction of “Important Chinese then made to return the stolen Lacquer, Ceramics and Works of treasure to China where it beArt” in ew York. Among the longed. pieces up for auction, o. 209 First task: preventing Chriswas an embossed panel sculpture tie’s sale of a Tang Dynasty warrior and Beijing Guoyi Hotel, 10: 0 am, seemed to be one of the missing Feb. 25. A national working contreasures from the famous Wang vention by the ational AdminisChuzhi Tomb in uyang County tration of Cultural Heritage was of Hebei Province. The scholar under way. An emergency call then faxed back a picture of the came from Hebei, reporting the sculpture. breaking auction news. At the The news came as something request of the Hebei Bureau, the of a bombshell. A looted cultural ational Administration of Culrelic on the list of an overseas tural Heritage formed a quick auction house It was more than a resolution to take immediate acmatter of missing antiques. After tion based on Chinese and inconsultation with his colleagues, ternational laws governing this Mr hang Lizhu, director of the kind of antique Bureau, decided to begin search- smuggling. A task ing for the critical materials as force was evidence for further study. If the established headauctioned piece was confirmed as ed by Mr hang the missing burial sculpture, the Wenbin, Director case must be reported to the a- of the ational tional Administration of Cultur- Administration of al Heritage immediately, and any Cultural Herimeasures should be taken to re- tage, and Mr Bai turn the national treasures as Jingfu, Vice Minsoon as possible. ister of Public On the morning of Feb. 25, a Security. host of experts gathered in the The ingenious Hebei Cultural Relics Bureau’s architecture of meeting room, including antiques Wang Chuzhi’s professors, classic Chinese paint- tomb had protecters and representatives from an- ed its fore-room ti-looting department of the local from looting un- n ing

til the 1990s. But in the spring of 199 , a gang from Shaanxi Province came to iyanchuan, Wang Chuzhi’s burial location. Armed with explosives, they entered the fore-room as well as the minor “ear rooms”, stealing burial art pieces including 10 embossed hong Xin sculptures from the underground walls. Later these precious antiques were sold to a Hong ong dealer, and then came the Christie’s auction.

As signatories of the Paris Convention denouncing the smuggling of cultural relics, the Chinese and S governments bear the responsibility of observing its internationally recognized principles. On March 2, the ational Administration of Cultural Heritage referred the case to the S embassy in Beijing, asking for friendly cooperation to prevent Christie’s from selling the stolen sculpture and helping return it to China. At the same time, the Public Security Ministry called on the S Section of Interpol for help. Diplomats of the Chinese embassy in .S. then met a senior official from the ew York Center of S Customs, presenting the Chinese government’s position on the case.

Concrete evidence to win first battle On March 8 and 11, the Customs Service of the S embassy in Beijing and the ew York Center of S Customs wrote to the ational Administration of Cultural Heritage and Chinese Embassy in Washington respectively.

The S side promised help under the relevant ESCO provisions, on condition that the Chinese side provided necessary legal documents and evidence.

At 11:00am on March 1 , all the required materials arrived in Beijing. At 5pm of the same day, the Public Security Ministry telegrammed the two Chinese missions in the S involved, and the materials were shipped via air to ew York. pon receipt of the material evidence, S Attorney for the Southern District of ew York Mary Jo White brought a civil forfeiture suit under the Cultural Properties Implementation Act that led to the seizure of the embossed sculpture. On March 28, S Customs officers went to the ew York Christie’s, concluding the first step of preventing the auction.

Desperate efforts by the sculpture’s “owner” After the sculpture’s seizure, the owner of M C Gallery in Hong ong, as the consignor of the looted sculpture, claimed the object as a “hereditary antique” that had belonged to his family for over 10 years.

But how could this 1,000-yearold masterpiece belong to a single family for 10 years without any knowledge by the general public?

There was only one possible answer: the object was acquired by tomb looting.

The District Attorney decided on an indictment of the Hong ong consignor, Photo by ia ing

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EDITOR:LI XIN DESIGNER:PANG LEI

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and China’s ational Administration of Cultural Heritage participated in the lawsuit on behalf of the Chinese government. At this stage, the Hong ong consignor was deeply worried, since the case had attracted the attention of the international media, who were widely condemning all such relics-smuggling activities.

The Hong ong dealer tried to maintain his insistence that the sculpture was not part of Wang’s Tomb wall panel. But then came the encouraging news that a renowned American collector had donated one sculpture of his collection back to China. This donated sculpture proved to be a sister piece by the same sculptor of the Christie’s piece, featuring another beloved Tang general, Weichi Gong (alias Weichi Jingde). At 6pm on June 26, 2000, Air China cargo flight 9016 arrived in Beijing Capital International Airport, bringing back the Wei Chigong sculpture, irrefutable evidence of the Hong ong dealer’s duplicity. The Hong ong “owner” even made a belated attempt to imitate the American collector by “donating” the sculpture to China.

Homeward Bound On May 2 in ew York, the S Customs officially handed the looted in iong sculpture back

n ay the returne guar ian scu ture as categori e as a ra e o ecte ationa u tura e ic by a state e e a raisa ane . o it has become art o the ermanent co ection at hina s ationa useum o istory.

Photo by ia ing

to the Chinese government. The Tang Warrior sculpture has returned home after more than one year abroad, but further tasks remain.

Many of China’s state treasures are still auctioned, exhibit-

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Photo by ia ing

ed or collected in foreign lands, and the tomb-looters who stole the 10 major antique pieces from Wang’s Tomb in Hebei in 199 are still at large.

The in iong sculpture case provided uselul experience for Chinese conservation authorities and lovers of Chinese history.

Ancient Chinese Treasures Drifting All over the World

According to an incomplete estimate, there are at least 1 million pieces of Chinese cultural relics scattered abroad in more than 200 museums in 47 countries, many of which are important art treasures. The following are some examples: Paintings: the Metropolitan Museum of New York houses the largest overseas collection of classic Chinese paintings, while the British Museum in London has a high quality collection.

Porcelain: the Guimet Museum of France has a collection of some of the best Chinese porcelain pieces from different periods.

Inscriptions on Bones and Tortoise Shells: among the 200,000 pieces unearthed from Anyang, Henan Province, 26,700 are now scattered in more than 12 countries, while Japan holds 12,443 pieces.

Of the relics recovered from Dunhuang’s Mogao Grottoes, only 20,000 volumes and pieces are retained in China. Overseas collections: British Museum, 13,700; National Library of France, 6,000; the Asian Studies Center of St. Petersburg in Russia, 12,000; there are also Dunhuang relics held

FACE

E-mail: zhangxiaoxia@ynet.com

By Zhao Xia As far as the Chinese see it, middle age is the toughest period of life with the heaviest burdens and greatest challenges. On top of this, the middle-aged generation of today is straddling a turning point in history. They experienced the tail end of the Cultural Revolution, later to face possibly losing their jobs, finding new ones and finally benefiting from housing reform. hang iuhua, is a middle-aged woman of , born and raised in Beijing. Her experiences are representative of those of her generation.

A Shattered Dream Like most students of today, hang iuhua spent her childhood attending school, all the while dreaming of a decent job and happy future.

The Culture Revolution shattered all her glorious dreams and peaceful life.

“1966 to 19 6 was the Cultural Revolution decade in China. In 19 , the revolution was almost over. At that time, I was a junior middle school student in grade two, just one year away from graduation. I had thought of working in a factory after graduation, helping my family and later marrying somebody. That would be my life if the Cultural Revolution hadn’t intervened.” At that time however, according to general regulations, if you were the eldest child in your family, you could stay at home. Otherwise, any youth born in a city should quit learning in school, to go to live and work in a production team in some remote village, to observe and learn real life from real people. hang was not the eldest in her family and so was sent to Daxing County, an obscure village not far from the city of Beijing. The

program of learning included harvesting straw in summer, transplanting rice seedlings in spring, dredging the stream in winter.

She was only 16 years old when she moved to the village.

Field Instead of Dance Floor owadays,teenagers have popcorn, fashionable clothes, loads of pocket money and all kinds of distractions to divert them. But hang’s mind was only occupied with straw, rice seedlings and the sweat of labour. hang’s home in Daxing County was a shabby clay structure consisting of just one room.

Ten girls had to snuggle in together on one huge kang bed. The harsh living conditions did not dampen the teenagers’ enthusiasm for learning about real life from real people. “Yes, I do regret wasting time, but at that time, I felt that was the only possible life for us, and we all happily accepted it.” hang recalled.

The days quickly fell into the routine of the countryside rhythms: the same sunset, the same landscape, the same blazing sun, and the same interminable flow of sweat. There was however one particular day that stuck in hang’s mind.

It was one of those days where

ahead. With the sun at its zenith, nothing dared move in the fields, apart from the odd crazed bird flying overhead. When they had finished eating they just sat motionless, as if recovering from the effort. Suddenly, one of them stood up, took off her overall and began to sing and dance.

The others just registered what surprise they could. She shut her senses to the outside world as if in a trance, and gradually her hilarity inspired the others to join in. They had the vast expanse of farmland as their stage, the scorching sun as their lighting, with the straw and blue sky as their audience. After all this time, their teenage innocence and beauty came shining through again.

It was a testimony to the power of the human spirit to find happiness even in the most desperate circumstances.

Defeated by Disease “Twenty months later,I went back to Beijing, and this agonizing period finally came to an end.” hang stared into space as if the emotions of that time had just passed through her again. Fortunately, hang entered a state-run food factory, named Yi Li

picture Photos by ia ing

the sun wouldn’t let up for a second.

The five girls had to harvest their straw as usual. After the girls had got through their morning of muscle-numbing labour, the sun climbed to its highest and most deadly point.

The girls decided to stop for lunch, and formed a circle amid the straw.

There was no shade whatsoever for them to enjoy their water and steamed buns. Five exhausted girls sat there in the usual silence replenishing themselves for the afternoon

Food Factory. It was an enviable occupation to others, because it was run by the state and had a steady salary.

With less than 0 yuan at the beginning, hang’s task was to assemble and pack up candy. Everyday, four workers had to pack up ,500 kilograms of candies. On average, everyone had a workload of almost 2,000 kilograms. Again, it was physically demanding for a woman. hang kept going this way

away, replacing it with heartache.

This common belief has been proved by the story of hang iuhua.

In the 1990s, some staff have to face being laid off. hang is one of them. She will leave her duties behind her in June, with 200 yuan compensation per month from the factory. She would however like to continue to serve at the bus station supervisor’s office where she may be offered some extra payment.

Frustrated in their efforts to raise the 1 5,000 yuan for their new house, hang’s husband was so vexed that he had a second stroke, leaving him half paralyzed. hang iuhua would not only have to obtain money, but also look after her husband. But hang is still as happy as anyone else, because she has an outstanding daughter who is due to sit the university entrance examination this year. The mother, father and daughter herself have confidence that she will pass the exam. At present, this family is living in a 12 sq.m. house, but are lucky enough to benefit from housing reform: they are eligible for a new

house with half the total price paid for by the state. The end result is they will move into a new apartment block next year.

“As middle-aged women, we really have more burdens than others: family, parents, children, work, and many other things to consider. But I manage to find hope from everyday life. Most importantly, my daughter will enroll in university, and we will move into a new house. Therefore, next year is full of hope for me.” hang iuhua longs for the future, while grateful to take every moment of happiness from the present. I can see that the spirit of the scantily clad teenager dancing in the fields is still alive and well.

in o ing o on o i o i i ing yo ny on i n o yo no o on o i n on

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EDITOR: ZHANG XIAOXIA DESIGNER: LI SHI

for 19 years until finally a disease defeated her.

One day in 199 , hang was pulling 11kg of candies from one workshop to another for the usual packing process. Suddenly, unbearable pain convulsed down her back and around her waist. As a loyal, proud worker, hang determined to persist, silently enduring the pain. When she reached home that evening, the pain in her back was so intense she could not lie down.

The next day’s medical examination shocked her: a bony growth on her backbone and osteoproliferation on her waist. Suddenly work involving heavy lifting and standing for a long time was out of the question. So she had to give up the job in the factory. It was the first time in years that hang was defeated by disease “With permission from our factory, they changed my position. I have been a bus station supervisor for seven years now.” hang said happily.

Everyday is Hopeful When the gods are jealous of your happiness, they will take it

1. Helping passengers get on buses and keeping order are hang’s duties.

2. Everyday, on her way home, hang will go to market for a day’s vegetable. . Though the house is small and shabby, hang iuhua and her husband are both hopeful for their future. . This is hang iuhua’s favorite action and expression. picture 2

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E-mail: zhangxiaoxia@ynet.com

LEGACY

EDITOR: ZHANG XIAOXIA DESIGNER: LI SHI

Photo by ui un

Western-style Laundry with a Chinese Look

By Huang Ying

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By Qi Shou A green tea, which was a tribute to the imperial court from the times of the Southern Song Dynasty (112 -12 9) to the ing Dynasty (16 -1911), will soon reappear on the market under the name of “Tian un” - literally “Divinity”. It was specially developed by the Palace Museum. “Tourists will be able to take home the former royal tea as a cultural consumption within weeks,” according to Mr. Deng Bide, manager of Yu hen Tang, who sells the tea at the Palace Museum. “ The Tian un tribute tea has disappeared from view for over a hundred years, and now it is making a fresh appearance with a fine quality, beautiful package. The tea, 1980 yuan per set including 100 grams of tea and an informative booklet, vaunts its imperial origin to the full.”

Leaving aside this piece of news, what might interest ordinary people, the tea lovers, is a quick review of the history of tea and tribute tea. Tea has a legendary history of over four thousand years.

Historical literature records that tea became popular in the Tang Dynasty (618-90 ) and was in vogue in the Song Dynasty (960-12 9). In

Photo by

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the Tang Dynasty, tea production was greatly promoted as a result of the development of the feudal economy and the increase in social productivity. A lot of famous teas and tribute teas appeared then.

The Tang dynasty saw the first comprehensive treatise on tea and its varieties, though shorter works had appeared earlier. This was ing known as The Classic of Tea by the man of letters Lu Yu ( 80 ). In his book, Lu Yu advocated a tea theory from cooking techniques to tasting, as well as the utensils and complete procedure. He wanted a tea drinker to have a realm of calm, to concentrate attention on the tea, to make the tea tasting activity become a medium of cultivating one’s behavior and moral character as well as molding one’s temperament. It created a precedent for the Chinese tea ceremony and set a model for the development of tea culture in later ages.

The greatest development and contribution of the Song people to tea culture was reflected in the harmony with tea and related arts, carrying tea tasting toward the perfection of scholar tea. For scholars, monks and priests of the past dynasties, tea was a precious and noble drink and tea tasting was an intellectual enjoyment. Thus

they were inspired to write a lot of poems and prose about tea tasting while advocating tea banquets, tea ceremonies and tea parties.

In 1 91, Emperor hu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty (1 68-16 ), issued an imperial edict that tribute tea should be paid in loose leaf form instead of the conventional ball tea.

Only tender tea buds were picked for paying tribute because the real tea flavor was lost when tea was ground and compressed into small cakes.

The tasting method of grinding and cooking tea was changed into the boiling water and infusing method. These were to be epochmaking changes. Some scholars of the Ming Dynasty, whose names were frequently repeated by the Chinese, such as Wen hengming, Tang Yin, u Wei all had the hobby of tea tasting. They created a new field in “Scholar tea” of the Ming Dynasty.

During the ing Dynasty, tea culture penetrated into city people’s daily life and became part of established customs as well as a noble national sentiment, since it was integrated with traditional etiquette and order of importance and seniority in human relationships. The tribute tea system gradually vanished in the mid-18th century with society undergoing dramatic changes and development.

From the Ming, ing and beyond, tea was brewed in small clay teapots, a tradition that continues to this day.

Although cola-type drinks of various kinds are booming everywhere, tea, an essential part of Chinese culture, does mean something to some modern people.

“Tea is my inspiration.” Said hang Jie, hostess of the Purple Vine, one of the most distinctive tea houses quietly located in a long, narrow lane shaded by leafy trees in Sanlitun Bar Street. At a cosy table, with a pot of aromatic tea at hand, Ms. hang says “I love tea. Purple Vine would lose its soul without tea, moreover, tea offers the perfect friendly environment with a strong Chinese flavour for my customers and myself.”

Can a modern laundry have a traditional Chinese facade?

“Yes, it can” says Yang Aijun, the manager, standing in the Fornet flagship laundry at o. 219 Fuchengmennei Street. “It’s an imposing facade. We are very satisfied with it.”

Opened on May 18, the laundry has a beautiful shop front, the upper part of which is like a huge ancient Chinese archway, made of wood and glass and decorated with hanging red cloth.

According to Yang, the facade is different from that of other chain laundries. “Our other chain laundries have a uniform appearance in blue and green. This looks

pure and clear. As for this laundry, Mr. Bai Pinzhou, our general manager, adopted a dark brown tone when designing the facade so that it could be in harmony with the environment.”

It is reported that Fuchengmennei Street is going to be reconstructed as the second cultural street after Ping’an Avenue in icheng district this year. The shops along the street will be rebuilt or redecorated in the styles of Ming and ing dynasties.

A modern laundry, installed with Italian equipment and operated in a French style, has a traditional Chinese facade. “I’m happy to see such an interesting combination,” said Mr. He Hao, a customer of Fornet Laundry.

Old Taste Still Hot Among Beijingers

By Huang Ying “I’ve been drinking douzhier for more than 0 years. I’m absolutely hooked.” Says Tong ian, a regular at Dongwai douzhier shop. The shop has recently moved to o.5 Beixinqiao 2 Tiao. One hot morning, Tong, 80 years old, and her sister make their way to the Shop to buy douzhier along with other regulars, undeterred by the hour’s bus ride from Wangjing Garden in the northeastern part of Beijing.

Douzhier, a fermented drink

Photo by ui un

made from ground beans, has been part of Beijingers’ diet for a long time. It is usually served with spicy pickles and Jiaoquan, a kind of fried food made from flour. In the past, boiled with ground corn, douzhier was the staple diet for lowincomed Beijingers.

The only time-honored, stateowned douzhier shop in Beijing, Dongwai has been producing and selling douzhier for dozens of years. As a result, the shop is an attraction to many Beijingers, especially among the middle-aged and elderly.

According to hang Liming, the shop manager, douzhier is very good for your health. It can help reduce blood pressure. Douzhier lovers come from all over the city, including some old overseas Chinese. On weekends customers fill the alley and douzhier is always sold out quickly. owadays, a majority of young Beijingers are not interested in douzhier due to its unique smell.

But for others, they have a deep affection for douzhier. “The more you drink it, the more you love it,” said Shao Shuben, 1 years old, living in the neighbourhood of the shop.

Her view is echoed by Tong ian. “ My sons and grandsons have got into the habit of drinking it now.”

CHAPTER

E-mail: zhangxiaoxia@ynet.com

Part of First Chapter

By Hong Ying I never tell others about my birthday on my own initiative, even my relatives and best friends.

First I tried to forget it and later I really forgot it. Before I was 18 years old, none remembered my birthday. After I was 18 years old, I am unwilling to mention it. It is right it is the year when I was 18 years old.

The narrow road outside the school is full of bumps and hollows and stilts to one side. Across the road, I feel cold on my back. I believe I be tailed by someone.

I dare not to turn around. I have to sweep my eyes over both sides but find nothing abnormal.

I keep going forward and come to an old woman who is welling ice sticks. Suddenly, I turn around and see a Jiefang-brand truck passing through and splashing the mud on the edge of the road. Two youngsters who are buying ice sticks stamp their feet and curse the truck which splash the mud over their shorts and legs. The old woman pulls her ice sticks case to the wall and talks, “Driving a ghost truck. The crematory will refuse you, a god of plague and death.”

After this confusion, the road returns to its original.

I stand blankly on this mixed and disorderly road. Do too many talks with others make me nervous? After one year in my childhood, I time and again feel cold on my back and believe I be tailed by somebody. On several occasions, I almost find this person but each time this person flashes pass.

That man, with tangled hair, enters my eyes without any gaudy colors. He never be close to me. Intentionally, he doesn’t let me see him. He appears on my way to and back from the school, close to the school. He doesn’t follow me and hides in a place to wait for me.

The most terrible thing the girls hear about is rape. But I am not afraid he will rape me.

I never tell my parents about it and do not know what I can tell them. Possibly, they may say I do something bad and curse me. I bear it by myself for several years.

Gradually, I have no fear at all and think it is not mysterious. After he stared me each every 10 or 15 days, I will feel cold on my back.

I do not fear and hate such thing.

Maybe it occurs with life. Every-

The slope my house stands will be the last to be submerged and appear persistently as an islet.

Such an idea comforts me since my childhood.

From the Chaotianmen Dock across the river, there are two ferries close to my house: Yemaoxi and Danzishi. From each of them, it takes 20 minutes to climb up the slope before reaching my house on

body will meet such thing. In your whole life, somebody deliberately makes things difficult for you. To it, I can act to not care about it. In fact, only few people want to have a look of me.

Each time I take opportunity and try to see him clearly because I want to be sure it is him, like catching a green dragonfly carefully. Each time, he can avoid my eyesight. Maybe it is not good for me to search for such a delusive thing. If I see it clearly, does it bring me disaster?

I dare not to think it more.

That year my world glitters. Many things mix together and become a string of knots. It seems the mosses on the rock walls on the side of the road I walk on hang down like the hair of ghosts.

My family lives on the southern bank of the Yangtze River.

On the southern bank of the Yangtze River there is a hilly area.

The undulating hills leave many gullies and ridges. If the river had the worst flood in the history, the whole city would be submerged.

the half way to the top of a hill.

Standing on a rock in front of my house, I can see the Chaotianmen Dock on the other side of the river, the gate of this mountainous city at the juncture of the Yangtze River and Jialing River. The peninsular surround by these two rivers is the center of Chongqing. The buildings of various styles stand against the hills like toy bricks of different heights.

Various kinds of steamboats stop along the river. A cable car with rusty spots climbs up the slope. At dawn, the clouds above the water surface look like red fish scales under the early morning sun. The set sun in the valley on the northern bank of the Yangtze River shoots out some lights behind mist. At this moment, on the river, on the top and at the foot of the mountain, lamps are glittering, welcoming the dim light of night. Particularly in the rainy day, steamboats in the river horn like women crying for their dead husbands. This city surrounded by two galloping rivers day and night changes all the time but is always desolate.

Hong Ying, a Dual Daughter of Hunger Liu Liu (I), the leading character of the novel, was born in Chongqing in 1962, one of the famine years. She is an outcome of dual hunger (hunger for food and sex). She is an illegitimate child of her hungry and tired mother who supports the family with a shoulder pole and two ropes and a young man with a pair of poor shoulders. Owing to this she does not receive any love from her father. Without grain and love, she enriches her body and fills up the terrible, nihilistic and despair abyss of hunger with the love from her “history teacher.”

Hong Ying’s description about the hungry years makes people shiver all over though not cold. Those astonish me and make the book success are: First, the writer remains calm while

portraying the hard life, quite different with other works by her. This daughter who survives hardships lives on other side of the ocean. She is far away from the event in terms of time and space. All things are clear, without any impetuousness. What she wrote leisurely are soul-stirring things. Secondly, the writer portrays not only the hardships but also the psychological change of the people under the pressure of hardship. The extremely hungry people take no care of dishonor and even insensitively receive “rape” The abnormal love between the leading character Liu Liu and her history teacher illustrates the deep sorrow. All these sorrows take a deep root in the despairing psychology.

June 1. 2001 EDITOR: ZHANG XIAOXIA

Shanyanghu@ynet.com

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DESIGNER: LI SHI

Pictures by Xie Feng

Dialogue with Hong Ying

Q: What kind of work is Hungry Daughter?

A: Hungry Daughter tells a history of how I become a writer and also a certain period of history of our country. It is beyond my expectation that it has caused such a big reaction in the West and is welcomed by the people from all walks of life in China too.

Q: You say Hungry Daughter is an autobiography because you have a profound and unique memory and experience of hunger.

Do you fear miserable life when you were writing about it?

A: I fear to look at myself in the mirror because from it I can see some remains of my expression when I knew my own experience at 18.

The hunger I tell in my book is not only the mental hunger but also the hunger in the depth of the heart and the hunger of the

whole nation. The hunger in my book is my hunger for survival, for a certain kind of spirit and even for sex. Such a hunger is also a hunger for a national memory. The miserable sense changes into hunger because the memory has lost. As a nation, I feel we have lost our memory. In this sense, Hungry Daughter is written for the 1960s. But in fact we are in debt to the 1970s, 1980s and even the 1990s, the next generation and the generations followed. We should wipe it off and resume our memory we are forced to lose. I write this book to link the memory with hunger forever. In my dream, I see some things that happened in my book and have talks with the dead. I can remember what happened in my dreams. In the dream and on the eve of death, people are honest. I believe on the eve of my death I can see again what I should not forget.

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E-mail: zhangxiaoxia@ynet.com

SPOTLIGHT

EDITOR: ZHANG XIAOXIA

DESIGNER: LI SHI

By Zhu Lin On the night of May 2 at the Beijing Workers’ Stadium, the mixture of music and ecstatic cries permeated through the air as far as several blocks away. This was the three-hour pop concert given by six influential Chinese singers: Lo Tayu, Chow Wah- in, Su Huilun, Li ongsheng, Li Huizhen and Tao he.

Among the six, it was Lo who caused the biggest sensation. Around 10p.m., the concert reached its climax. Before his jubilant fans, Lo presented eight of his old songs, tugging at the strings of the audience’s emotional memory.

Like Paul Simon to American youth of the 1980’s, Lo Tayu, one of the most influential Chinese pop songwriters from Taiwan, has had a profound effect on thousands of young people born around the 1960’s and 19 0’s. In 19 9, with his first well-known release “Childhood”, Lo started his successful journey in song writing, leaving almost all the other singers far behind. His role came to be more than just a singer, but a father offering spiritual guidance through every stage of adolescence. On university campuses especially, his melodies and lyrics were on the students’ lips when they fell in love for the first time, drank with their buddies for the first time, and waved good-bye to school for the last time. His fans, who are now in their early thirties, call Lo’s songs “our own songs”.

Asked what feelings Lo inspires in him, the music critic Jin haojun said, “Lo is a cultural phenomenon, rather than a musician.” Lo has given a whole generation an emotional sense apparatus and repertory of responses, embodying the proof of their young life style. At the concert, most of his hysterical fans were in their thirties or late twenties, but as excited as teenagers. o wonder Lo called it a “coming together of sound memory and passion”.

At the end of the concert, when Lo’s last note was drowned out by cheers, all the audience jumped to their feet. They were calling out to the idol of their youth time and time again, as if they had just retrieved their young passion of ten years ago, and wanted to keep it alive longer through their calling.

Photos by u ei eng

Photos by ui un

Modern Dance, Eternal Change

By Yi He At this year’s China International Modern Dance Festival held at the Theatre of Chinese Traditional Opera School from May 18 to June 2, audiences can catch a glimpse of the development of international modern dance.

There were eight dancing troupes meeting in Beijing on this occasion.The programme of Beijing Modern Dance Theatre treated historical themes, while Cloud Gate 2 from Taiwan province sensitively expressed modern people’s psychology. The Ludus Dance Company was searching for the educational meaning of dance, not merely entertainment. On 2 and 2 May, the Overseas Chinese dancer Peng Gang interpreted the new relationship between people and objects in his silent composition “Paper Dance” without musical accompaniment.

Cao Chengyuan, the artistic supervisor of Beijing Modern Dance Theatre, sponsor of the festival, was excited to see such a variety of dances presented on stage, “Different theatres bring different inclinations of development. In dancing circles, we compare too much, arguing who is the best or the most genuine. But this time, I realize that we should appreciate each

other rather than compare.”

The young choreographers were the leaders of this multiple development. Wu Guozhu from Cloud Gate 2, still a dancing student, combined his ideas with Meredith Monk’s postmodern music in his composition “Tantalus”. In business dress, and appearing in formation, a group of dancers gasped and ran about desperately as if they were hypotized. The audience showed their impressive capacity in accepting this new expressional form. Yun ing, an art student from Shandong Province said after watching “Tantalus”, “I want to laugh and cry at the same time, but sometimes, people laugh in order to hide their tears.”

Obviously, China International Modern Dance Festival is not only a meeting of modern dances, but also a unique chance for more and more people to examine their changing life. Just like the artistic director Lo Manfei said after the rehearsal on May 26, “What does modern dance mean? It just means eternal change.”

E-mail: jianrong@ynet.com

Beautify Yourself: Body Painting

By Jiao Pei owadays, beautiful clothes alone are not enough for the truly fashionable. If you want to be really hip, you’ve got to start with your skin. I found a small shop around Dongsi recently, called “Body Art” that offers body painting services, as well as a whole set of image designs, make-up, and so on.

It is at present the only shop specializing in body painting in Beijing.

Around China there are 18 branches, owned

by Edlucky Art Studio. The process is easy and painless. They first apply a base on the target area, then add the color. When the skin has absorbed the first layer of color, a second layer is applied. It will vanish without a trace in to days. The vegetable based color is not poisonous and totally harmless. They offer a variety of patterns, you can choose from designs such as totems, script, flowers, animals, whatever takes your fancy. Prices range from 0 to 200 yuan.

They also offer a paint you in the comfort of your own home’ service. A 0-50 service fee applies. ame: Body Art Add: 66 Dongsi Beidajie (东四北大 街),Dongcheng District, the west end of Dongsi Santiao(东四三条) Hours: 11am to 9pm Tel fax: 8 0 558

SHOPPING

JUNE 1. 2001

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EDITOR: JIAN RONG DESIGNER: PANG LEI

Photo by hen Shuyi

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Book Store

Movie Poster Collecting

Dongfanghong

By Li Dan If you are looking to stock up your bookshelves with the writings of the Great Helmsman, Dongfanghong, or the East is Red Cultural Book Store, is a pretty good place to start, or add to, your collection. Dongfanghong sells copies of just about every book and article penned by Mao edong, as well as a selection of biographical works by various

By Jiao Pei

scholars and people who knew him.

Other revolutionary figures, such as hou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi and of course Deng iaoping, are also accorded a generous amount of shelf space. You will also find a variety of Mao statues and busts, just the thing to decorate your mantelpiece with, and cassette tapes of songs from the Cultural Revolution.

Most of the books here are in Chinese, but they do have a number of works printed in English, Japanese and Russian.

Add: About 200 meters east of the east gate of the Summer Palace, on the left side of the road, Haidian.

Take bus 801, 808, 18, or 2, to Summer Palace.

Open: 9am-8pm daily

Attention movie buffs and music fans This is a way cool shop that boasts a really impressive selection of imported movie and rock’n roll posters. Located near the south gate of Chaoyang Park, Whisper opened for business at the end of last year. The posters are mostly imported from Britain, as well as America, Switzerland, Holland and elsewhere. They have a selection of some 500 to 600 movie posters, blockbusters and art house, many of which have never been screened in China. Foreign bands, such as irvana, Bon Jovi, the Beatles, Janet Jackson and Michael Jackson are also featured. Prices range from 5 to 80 yuan, depending on the size, framing is extra.

Add: Tianshuiyuan Road(甜 水园路), 50m south of Rolling

Stone Bar Open: 10am - 1-2am Tel fax: 6591 2 1

Music Friend another poster shop In the north west of Beijing, opposite Renmin niversity, there is another shop specializing in movie posters and art and photographic prints. They have a selection of over 2000 posters, which are imported mostly from the S., France, Britain, and Switzerland. Prices range from 12 to over 1,000 yuan. Subjects include movie and sports stars, landscapes, animals, and cartoons. According to the staff, Brave Heart and Gladiator are the most popular of the movie posters, while Brad Pitt is the top selling movie star.

Add: 58 Haidian Road, just south of Dangdai Department Store(当代商城), Haidian District Open: 10am - 10pm Tel: 6256 8 2

Hairy Monkeys and Opera Masks

By Wen Long What sort of handicrafts can be made from cicada shells? - Hairy monkeys, of course A traditional Beijing folk art.

This kind of mimic mini-show of the daily life of locals can only be found these days in the workshop of Mr. Ma Fuli - a world full of hairy monkeys’ and opera masks.

The bodies of these delicate ten-byfive millimeter dolls are made from white Magnolia buds and the head and limbs, from cicada shells. Mr. Ma creates tableaus featuring hairy monkeys’ acting out all kinds of common scenes. Some are making icecream, some are acting or watching Beijing opera and others are flying kites.

“The most difficult part of making these scenes is building the monkeys’ props, such mini stools, tables, and even bowls. A scene with just four hairy monkeys takes me a whole day.”

Apart from hairy monkeys, Ma is also an expert in making opera masks. Besides making the traditional masks of Beijing opera, he can also make masks

of Chuanju (Sichuan local opera) and Shehuo (Shaanxi local opera). Though foreigners usually have difficulty in understanding the various forms of Chinese opera, they are still fascinated by these exotic masks and rush to buy them as souvenirs. Here Mr. Ma remarks, “The market is flooded with Beijing opera masks and their collection value is lessened.” To some degree, of the masks he made by hand, the Beijing Opera masks are not as intricate as the masks of Chuan Opera and Shehuo, both of which have a longer history and have more varieties in color. “ nfortunately, foreigners seldom read the difference

among them. Just keep it in mind, when you come across a mask which is more colorful and bizarre, it is absolutely my work,” says Ma proudly.

Hairy monkey: 150 yuan each Opera mask: 50 yuan each, cash only Add: 2-1 , Building 2, 8 Longtan Beili(龙潭北里), Chongwen District Bus: 6, or 60 to Youleyuan(游乐园), or 8, 5, 1 to Guangminglou(光明楼) Tel: 6 1 152

Photo by Fan Xue ong

14

HOUSING

JUNE 1 2001

New Apartments E-mail: jianrong@ynet.com

at the 2nd Ring Roads

By Xu Yan

T

here are ring roads circling urban Beijing, the Second Ring Road, the Third Ring Road and the almost complete Forth Ring Road. As to the First Ring Road, well that is something of a mystery, and another story altogether. Living near any of the three ring roads might be noisy, if your apartment faces the wrong direction, but can be very convenient, in terms of getting from one side of the city to the other.

In the coming weeks, this section will introduce some new, foreignerapproved apartments now on sale, situated in convenient proximity to the ring roads.

This week, we feature apartments on the Second Ring Road.

West: ★Graceful Garden, (国 兴家园 Guoxing Jiayuan), ready for living, at the intersection of Capital Stadium South Road and Chegongzhuang West Road, developed by Beijing engyuan Real Estate Development Co. The current price is 8,900 - 110,000 yuan m2. Phone 68 00606 0808. ★Rongfeng 2008 (荣丰2008), available for living on 12 2001, 05 Guanganmenwai Dajie, developed

by Beijing Rongfeng Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. The current price is 6,900 yuan m2. Phone 6 88822 6 26112 .

South: ★ ew World Villa (新世 界家园 inshijie Jiayuan), available for living on 10 2001, west of Chongwenmenwai Dajie, developed

by China ew World Real Estate

Co. and Beijing Chongyu Real Estate Development Co. The current price is 9,680 yuan m2.

Phone 6 089506 8 9. ★ ew World Taihua Plaza (新世界太华公寓 inshijie Taihua Gongyu), ready for living, west of Chongwenmenwai Dajie, developed

by China ew World Real Estate Co. and Beijing Chongyu Real Estate Development Co. The current price is 1 ,000 yuan m2.

Phone 6 081 08 09.

East: ★Palatial Crest (雍景台 Yongjingtai), available for living on 06 2002, Dongzhimenwai Dajie, developed by Beijing Jiyuan Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. The current price is 2, 00 m2. Phone 6 689065 9066 911 6 66 112. ★Central Park (新城国际 incheng Guoji), available for living on 06 200 , at Chaoyangmenwai Dajie, developed by Vantone Real Estate Co. The current price is 9, 00 yuan m2. Phone 65919999 2 5. ★Establish Apartment (建国公 寓 Jianguo Gongyu), available for living on 05 2002, south of Jianguomenwai Dajie, developed

by Beijing Jinyu Real Estate Development Co. The current price is 11,800 yuan m2. Phone 656 5551. ★Fair View Garden (怡景园 公寓 Yijingyuan Gongyu), ready for living, north of Ritan Park, developed by Beijing Glory Real Estate Development Co. The current price is 1 ,000 yuan m2.

Phone 650 69 .

The above data is the latest available. Provided in part by C.B. Consulting. o on in

test e lysis

A

ccording to the data provided by Jones Lang LaSalle, we can see that there was a slight decline in the number of transactions in the Beijing Grade A office market during the first quarter largely duet to the holiday season. There were an increased number of enquiries towards the end of the quarter.

The majority of recent transactions were from existing companies expanding office space.

Compared to last year, the IT sector was less active in the first quarter with some companies closing and others delaying or canceling expansion plans.

The Beijing Exchange Tower was the only Grade A office building completed during the first quarter of 2001. This contributed to an increase in the average Grade A market vacancy rate from 1 . in the previous quarter to 16.6 .

The average Grade A rent continued to strengthen, although at a reduced rate compared to last year. Indeed the higher rents in some higher quality Grade A buildings were counter-balanced by the low initial asking prices of the new supply. The highest rate of Picture by iu ang rental increase during the first quarter was in the rd Embassy Area at .5 . Elsewhere rents were broadly stable, up 0. in the CBD and 0. in the East Chang An Area. otable leasing transactions included: Lang Chao software leased 1,100 m2 in Eaglerun Plaza erox leased 1,000 m2 in Full Link Plaza between the advertisement and the real thing. okia expanded in Pacific Century Place, . The description of necessary facilities and the leasing a further 1,000 m2 and surrounding area. The facilities will invariably be EC expanded in Sinotrans Plaza, leasing of the “highest quality,” and the project “very near” a further 1,900 m2. to a certain supermarket, school or hospital. Take There was little change in the Grade the time to explore the neighborhood for yourself, A office sales market in the first quarter. to be sure that these descriptions are accurate.

Recently there was an increase in the num. Check the developer or agent’s qualification ber of enquiries for international standard and certificate number for selling the apartments Grade A office buildings from overseas inor houses. The advertisement should display a vestors, however the purchasers in the series number, such as “Jing Fang Wai heng i majority of transactions remained local como.12 ” for all officially approved projects, which panies. Recent transactions have occurred can be confirmed by the municipal housing at Cyber Tower with local companies comadministration. monly purchasing around 500 m2.

Reading through the ads is only the first step in “HOUSING” welcome your feedback: What finding a house. You should investigate the project kind of difficulties do you encounter when looking for by yourself. eep copies of the ads and take them housing in Beijing? What kind of information do you as a reference when signing the purchasing conneed? What can we help you with? tract. If legal problems arise someday, they may Our E-mail: jianrong@ynet.com Tel: 65902522 Fax: 65902525 also become necessary as evidence.

What do they really tell you?

1. The location and price of the project. Real estate advertisements often feature a schematic map showing the location of the project, which are rarely to scale and can be quite deceptive. The price stated in ads is always the lowest or average level of the whole project. In fact prices vary depending on which floor the apartment is on, which direction it faces, how it is furnished, and the expected completion date.

2. The outer and inner appearance of the apartment or house. If construction is complete, there may be a photo of the actual scene while if it is being sold prior to completion, you will see a computer-generated image. Either way, the property will appear very attractive. You still need to conduct an on-the-spot investigation. If you are lucky, you may find there is not too big a difference

et

Data from Jones Lang LaSalle

Property Advertisements

By Xu Yan

EDITOR: JIAN RONG DESIGNER: PANG LEI

INFO

E-mail: jianrong@ynet.com

ND Saturday, 2, June Clear cloudy Max: C. Min: 22C.

Sunday, , June Clear cloudy Max: 8C. Min: 2 C.

N

T Monday, , June Clear to overcast Showers in parts of area Max: C. Min: 20C. Tuesday, 5, June Clear cloudy Max: C. Min: 20C.

Musics & Performances Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra One of the world’s most renowned Symphony Orchestras, founded in 1900 Where: The Great Hall of the People, west side of Tian’anmen Square When: June 1, : 0 Admission: 80-800 yuan Tel: 66081188,6 0 2 02 Happy Children’s Day Concert List: Peter and the Wolf, and Carnival of the Animals Conductor: ynan Johns arrators: iao iong and Pu Cun in (famous actress and actor) 肖雄 濮存昕 Where: Forbidden City Concert Hall, hongshan Park When: Friday, June 1, 2:00pm Admission: 0 - 200 yuan Tel: 6559829 Folk Songs of Western China

Wednesday, 6, June Clear cloudy .

Max: 5C. Min:22C.

Thursday, , June Clear Max: C. Min: 2 C.

Friday, 8, June Clear to cloudy Max: 2 C. Min: 18C.

Air uality Forecast

Saturday, June 2 o much influence on dispersion of suspended particles.

Sunday, June Difficult for dispersion of suspended particles.

15

EDITOR: JIAN RONG DESIGNER: PANG LEI

Movie

Performed by the Central ationality chorus Where:Concert Hall, hongshan Park When: June , : 0pm Admission: 0 - 200 yuan Tel: 65598285 The Dancing of Wild Bees Concert of American clarinet and piano duet, Berkely Price and Deon Price Where: Beijing Concert Hall, 1 Beixinhuajie Liubukou W. Chang’an Avenue Take bus to Liubukou北新华街六部口 When: Thursday, June , : 0pm Admission: 0 - 200 yuan Tel: 6605 006 Zhengyici Beijing Opera Theatre 正乙祠大戏楼 Chinese Peking Opera Classics Add: 220 iheyan Jie (西河 沿街) Hepingmenwai uanwu

Sanlitun Bar Street 4th Anniversary Party at Shiller’s 2 Special offer: B.B. , Beijing draft beer and lucky draw all for just 68 yuan. For German passport and diplomatic card holders, free Beijing draft beer.

The beer garden is open now.

Add: Across the river from the Capital Mansion When: Saturday, June 9 11am - close Tel: 6 6 9016 Velvet Room Every Friday: 1st floor: mix the vibe China pump Factory DJs: Yang Bing and Weng Weng upstairs: live jazz Moreno Bonald jazz trio Have dinner at Triumphal Arch Restaurant and get in

June 1 2001

District When: Saturday, June 2, 2: 00pm Admission: 10 yuan, 8 yuan for monthly ticket holders, 5 yuan for college students, yuan for high school and elementary school students Tel: 6 0 10 Beijing Opera at Huguang Guild Hall (Huiguan) Add: Hufanglu Huguang Huiguan, When: now - June 10, : 0pm Bus 1 , 15, 25, 66, and 2 to Hufangqiao Admission: 100 - 280 yuan Tel: 6 5291 0 Turbulence A play about the life and art of play write, Tian Han Where: Capital Theatre, 22 Wangfujing Dajie When: June 1 - 10 Admission: 60 - 200 yuan Tel: 65250996

Antiques for free Add: 2 Beixiaojie Sanlitun, opposite Capital Mansion Admission: 50 yuan Tel: 6 609 66 Hidden Tree This is a cozy bar and restaurant.

Add: 12 Sanlitun South Bar Street, Chaoyang District Hours: 6pm-2am Tel: 6509 6 2 Rainbow Cafe This is a small but cozy cafe.

It can only hold a handful of people, but the atmosphere is quite relaxing.

Add: Sanlitun South Bar Street, Chaoyang District Hours: 1pm-2am Tel: 65915811

Beijing Curio City Yabaolu Market 北京古玩城雅宝路市场 It is opened from April 19, and from June 1, the business time will last till 8: 0pm It is specialized in furnitures, clothes, paintings, calligraphies, china, carpets watches and jewellery.

Add: Ritanlu Chaoyang District Tel: 010-650891 5

Sport Shaping Exercise, get into shape, loose weight at the Shaping General Office in China Add: 2nd floor, Huarun Mansion, 8 Jianguomen Beidajie Tel: 851919 0 fax: 851919 E-mail: shaping shaping.com.cn

All the Way- Zou Dao Di 走到底 (English Subtitles) Director: Wu i iu, Starring: He heng Jun, Chen un China’s first “road film” is set in wild and beautiful Guangxi Province. A girl, her gangster boyfriend and an ordinary truck driver get caught up in an escape in the aftermath of a spectacular robbery.

Where: Sino-Japanese Youth Center, Conference Hall, 0 Liangmaqiao Lu, approx. 1 km east of empinski Hotel When: Friday, June 8, 8: 00pm Admission: 50 yuan Tel: 6 615 18 9 German movie - Querelle Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder (雾都水手 ) 1982

There are only 0 seats, so get there early Where: Box Cafe, 5 iwangzhuang iaoqu, opposite Tsinghua Tongfang Mansion Bus 5 to east gate of Tsinghua niversity, Admission: 5 yuan, including one beverage When: Saturday, June 2, : 0pm Tel: 62 91280 Double Feature Lunar Eclipse (Yue Shi) (2000, China) 月蚀 and The change of the family (Jia Bian)家变 (Denmark) Where: Central Island Club, Tuanjiehu Park East Third Ring Road, opposite TGI Fridays When: Sunday, June , pm Tel: 859 8 91

Exhibitions Digital art Exhibition Where: The Loft ew Media Art Space, 1 Gongtibeilu, take the alley beside the Pacific Century Plaza main gate and follow the signs, Chaoyang District When: now - June 8 Tel: 650656 Japan Poster Game-The form of Japanese Poster Design More than 200 works by over 0 designers on show here for the first time.

Where: Yan Huang Art Museum, 9 Huizhongli Yayuncun Chaoyang District. 亚运村慧忠里 Bus 28,108 or 1 to Yayuncun When: June 1 - 10, 9am - 6pm Tel: 6 9 5 Exhibition of Old Chinese Cartoons (Xiao Ren Shu) Over 2000 cartoon series and 50 thousand books, mostly from the 1950s and 60s and the Cultural Revolution. They are presented to exhibition and purchasing.

Where: Data Department, hongguo Baokan (China ewspaper) 2, Hengertiao, idan西单横二 条 中国报刊资料部 Bus 22, 105 or subway to idan When: till June , 9: 0am-6pm Admission: Free Tel: 66020 5

If you have any questions or new future information, please contact us at bjtodayinfo ynet.com. iao ei

16

PLAN

JUNE 1 2001

E-mail: jianrong@ynet.com

Great Wall(Ming) Great Wall(Qin)

S

司马台

imatai Great Wall, known for its precipitous and spectacular location, passes

by Gubeikou Town in the northeast of Miyun County. Built

by General i Jiguang, it is the only part of the Great Wall that retains the original Ming Dynasty features. It not only incorporates the different characteristics of every section of the Great Wall, but also features some styles that are unique to this particular part. Simatai Great Wall is separated into two parts by a valley, across which runs a chain bridge. The hills on the western

side slope gently and there are 20 watchtowers along the wall.

On the eastern side are another 15 watchtowers perched on the thousand meters high peaks.

Perhaps the prettiest named of these is the marvelous Fairy Tower. Beside the Fairy Tower, you will find Heaven Bridge. The bridge is nearly one hundred meters long, but only one meter wide, and there is a steep drop of some 500 meters on both sides. Definitely not for the faint hearted. Beyond this is Wangjing Tower, which is said to be one of Beijing’s highest cultural relics, at 986 meters above sea level.

This is the summit of the Simatai Great Wall and also the most dangerous place to reach, as visitors must traverse unrestored paths, including Heaven Bridge, and the “Scaling Ladder” to reach it. The “scaling ladder” is a slope at an angle of 60- 0 degrees, which needs to be negotiated with caution, on all fours. Because of the dangers involved in reaching Wangjinglou, only a few people have set foot on the tower in modern times.

In the valley, there are two springs, called Mandarin Duck Springs. The east spring is cold, and the west one is warm. Both springs flow into a lake, and guess what? The eastern half is cold and the western half is warm Simatai Great Wall is quite different from other parts of the Great Wall, and if you are considering camping, it’s a great spot for spectacular sunrises.

How to get there: Take traveling bus 12 from Dongsishitiao(东四十条), to Simatai, or take a bus from the long-distance bus station near the north east exit of Dongzhimen subway station, take bus(东密专 线) to Miyun(密云), and hire a microbus, a kind of local taxi, for around 60- 0 Yuan. It’s around

60- 0 km to Simatai.

If you are driving, start from Airport expressway and take the airport exit, go through Jingshunlu(京顺路), Miyun(密 云), Songshuyu(松树峪), and turn right at Sangyuan(桑 园). When you reach Guomachang(过马场), if you turn left, you come to the public area of Simatai, where you will be charged 20 yuan per person and the scenery is not as good.

It’s better to go straight on to Bagezhuangcun(巴格庄村) where you can stay in local houses and will be directed to the real’ Simatai. Accommodation and dining: Simatai Great Wall is one of the best sections of the wall in terms of living and dining. You can stay either in small inns or local houses.

J

金山岭

inshanling Great Wall is named after the Jinshanling Mountain on which it is built. With a total length of over 20 km, this section was built by the famous Ming dynasty generals i Jiguang and Tan Lun in 156 . The Jinshanling section is more mountainous than Badaling, and features more delicate architectural work. Standing on Jinshanling great wall, you have a wonderful panorama of northern China. The wall here really does look like a dragon, coiled over the wavy ridges, with its head on Laohushan peak in the east and its tail in the Hanhe River in the west.

There are beautiful views in all directions.

Looking to the east, you can see the first peak of Yanshan, Wulingshan, while on the western side, Wohuling(卧虎岭) crouches like a tiger, guarding the gate of Beijing. To the south, Miyun reservoir reflects the mountains, while lines of trees wave in the wind to the north.

Along this 20 km section are over 100 watchtowers built in various styles and numerous hidden gateways. All these towers are hollow inside and could hold 60- 0 guards as well as their supplies.

The ancient architects gave these marvelous towers beautiful names, such as Wangjinglou, (Watching Beijing tower), iannulou (Fairy tower), and Jiangjunlou (General’s tower). This really is a beautiful spot and there is no admission charge Just park in a field, walk up to the wall and start climbing. You’ll meet shepherds and local children, but no one will try to sell you anything.

It’s a long section of wall, just be very careful when climbing on those parts that are crumbling. On the steep parts, kicking loose rocks can be prove hazardous to those walking behind you.

Where: On the Beijing-Chengde expressway. You’ll see the Jinshanling Great Wall as you approach the boundary between Luanping and Miyun county.

Accommodation and food: A tent is the best option for accommodation around this part of the wall, however you may be bothered by squirrels searching for leftovers. Take a supply of food with you, the local restaurants, though cheap, aren’t great.

Recommended route: You have to go through a mountain path before climbing the great wall and remember, do not take the rope way. Go to east to see the famous Fairy Tower, Heaven Bridge and Wangjinglou Tower, which are all so marvelous. Go along the great wall to the north, probably it may take you a whole day, you will reach Jinshanling great wall. It is more than good to see the sunrise in Simatai and sunset in Jinshanling.

EDITOR: JIAN RONG DESIGNER: PANG LEI

Tianxianpu Baihemingzhu

T

箭扣

he steepest section of the Great Wall is Jingdudiyipu usually thought to be Yunfengshan Simatai.

However, Jiankou, a Yunwushan section often seen in pictures Heilongtan Taoyuanxiangu and postcards, is in some Yunmengxia places, even steeper than Simatai. Jiankou is located 10 km west of Mutianyu, the section visited by former .S. president Bill Clinton when he was here a couple of years ago. You can walk along the wall from Mutianyu to Jiankou, it should only take a day, but you will be exhausted when you get there The easiest way to get there is to walk up from henzhuquan (珍珠 泉村) Village, past Longtandaba(龙潭大坝), you can reach Jiankou and Yingfeidaoyang (even eagles must look up when passing), as well as stop for a look at Longtan, which is said to be home to a dragon. There is a mineral spring at the foot of the hill that runs into a small lake. It is rather a precipitous to climb on Longtandaba, so carry as little as possible, just water and camera. From Jiankou, turn left at the wall, walk along the one sided’ wall and turn left again at Yingfeidaoyang. In this way, you can experience the essence of Jiankou great wall and avoid the dangerous right hand side. As you look at the seemingly endless wall extending along the mountains into the distance, you can really feel the power of the Great Wall.

And far from the noise of other tourists, the silence of the mountain and the wall speaks of countless ancient stories. People come and go the wall and the mountain remain. nfortunately, when I turned to come back down, my breath was taken away for quite a different reason. What had seemed like a steep climb on the way up, looked almost vertical going down. I desperately wanted to come down backwards, clinging to the handrail, but my fear of the descent was slightly less than my fear of looking

by Wang Dandan like a complete idiot, so I compromised and sat down every few steps “to admire the view”. If the ancient Chinese soldiers who manned the wall climbed up and down these steps every day, they must have been truly formidable. And how they actually built this section is a complete mystery to me. The great engineering marvels of the late 20th century somehow seem less marvelous after my visit to Jiankou.

Worrying slightly about how my legs would feel the next day, I returned to henzhuquan Village for a much needed rest.

Where: Go out the Airport Expressway and take the airport exit. Drive north along Jingshun road (京顺路) to Huairou, then take Yanqihuxice road (雁栖湖西侧路) to Badaohe(八道河), then go west.

Accommodation and meals: You can stay in local houses for 10 Yuan per person. If you don’t mind the local food, your hosts will include meals for an extra 5 Yuan per person. Fresh rainbow trout are also available you can catch them yourself in the nearby artificial lake.

Note: The temperature there is around 5 degrees lower than in downtown Beijing. You will also have to bring your own drinking water with you.

Recommended route: Go to west in Jiankou to experience Beijingjie and Yingfeidaoyang, which will only take you for about half a day. Take your lunch either on the wall or in the village. Go to east to reach hengbeilou, a famous tower in the great wall for a nice camping. Or you can just go directly from Jiankou to Mutianyu.

Beyond Badaling The Wild Great Wall

古北口 With a total length of 21 kilometers, the Gubeikou Great Wall section is located 128 kilometers northeast of Beijing. nlike other sections, it varies in width, with the widest part able to accommodate five horses walking abreast, while the narrowest spot is wide enough for only a single person to pass.

Note: It is possible to walk from Gubeikou, through Jinshanling to Simatai. It is quite a challenging trek, if you are reasonably fit, it should take about days, sleeping in the towers at night.

Where: See directions for Jinshanling. Gubeikou is at the foot of Jinshanling Mountain.

北京结 The Ming Great Wall comes from Shanhaiguan Pass and divides into two at Huairou, one branch goes southwest to ijingguan Pass, in Hebei province and iangziguan Pass, in Shanxi province while the other goes northwest to hangjiakou, Datong and eventually, Jiayuguan. The spot where the two branches diverge is called Beijingjie (Beijing knot).

Where: Drive to izhazi village, Jiankou. Take the northern road to idui village, you can see a mountain road from the western side of the village.

四海冶 West from Huoyaoshan, you can see that the Great Wall extends in parallel for layers.

If you check carefully on the map, you will see that these layers enclose Sihaiye city.

Sihaiye city was of great strategic importance during the Ming Dynasty, and was the center of the northern defense of Beijing city.

Where: Go out the Airport Expressway and take the airport exit, go north along Jingshun road (京顺路) to Huairou, then go from Huanghuacheng(黄花城), through Haizikou(海子口) to Sihaiye(四海冶).

Photo by Fan Jiwen