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Special English You're listening to Special English Here is the news China's top market regulator has announced the implementation of a three year action plan to optimize the consumer environment, starting from the year 2025, as part of broader efforts to boost domestic consumption.
According to the State Administration for Market Regulation, administration, China is to upgrade its complaint and report processing system and address the pain points in the consumer field effectively.
Luo Wen, head of the administration, noted that they aim to foster a significant number of trustworthy brick -and -mortar stores, markets, online stores, as well as restaurants and tourist attractions in 2025.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in the first eleven months of 2024, the country's retail sales of consumer goods neared 44 .3 trillion yuan, about 6 .16 trillion U .S.
dollars, up 3 .5 percent year -on -year.
Online retail sales of consumer goods totaled approximately 14 trillion yuan, up 7 .4%.
You're listening to Special English The ancient capital Xi 'an in northwest China's Shanxi Province has launched two direct air routes to Fu Quoc Island in Vietnam and Japan's Nagoya, that is according to Xi 'an Xian Shenyang International Airport and the China Eastern Airlines branch in Xian.
The round -trip flights between Xi 'an and Fuquk Island, a tourist resort in Southeast Asia, operate three times a week on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
The round -trip flights between Xi 'an and Nogoya operate every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.
With the new route, China Eastern Airlines now operates two routes between Xi 'an Japan, linking the Chinese city with Tokyo and Nagoya.
Xi 'an is a renowned tourist destination in China that boasts a rich legacy, home to the famous terracotta warriors and numerous other historic sites, including the giant wild goose pagoda, and the bell tower.
The launch of the two new routes comes amid a broader growth trend in China's tourism sector.
China recorded nearly 29 .22 million inbound foreign visits between January and November, 2024, up 86 % year -on -year.
Of these, 17 .45 million entered the country visa -free, marking significant growth of 123 % year -on -year.
The country recently announced a significant relaxation of its visa -free transit policy, extending the permitted stay for eligible foreign travellers from the initial 72 hours hours, and subsequent 144 hours, to 240 hours or 10 days.
Meanwhile, the China Tourism Academy earlier forecast that the total number of outbound and Chinese tourists in 2024...
will exceed 130 million, marking a 49 percent surge from 87 million in 2023.
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An asteroid has been named after Liu Hui, a mathematician, who lived during China's Wei and Jin dynasties, over 1 ,600 years ago, to honour both Liu and the Chinese mathematics he represented.
A ceremony, recently held at the China Science and Technology Museum, announced the name, which has been approved by the International Astronomical Union.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences Purple Mountain Observatory.
Liu was a principle founder of China's classical mathematical theory and holds an important position in the global Scholars from China's Qinghua University have released three documents after sorting and deciphering bamboo slips dating back over 2 ,000 years.
These documents reflect the governance ideology of rulers in the early western Zhou dynasty over 2 ,700 years ago, and ancient legends and political thoughts in the Sha dynasty, dating back some 3 ,600 years.
she Shao Li, an associate professor at the Research and Conservation Centre for Unearthed Texts at Chinghua University, said these texts offer valuable insights into the study of ancient history and political ideology.
For example, one document advocates that policies should not be implemented too urgently or too slowly, but rather at an appropriate pace and scale, ensuring that people are not confused and can follow them.
Tsinghua houses almost 2 ,500 precious bamboo slips from the warring state period over 2 ,200 100 years ago, the University's research team has been collating and studying the ancient documents since 2008.
Since 2011, Tsinghua scholars have released their research findings annually, publishing 14 volumes of reports that cover a wide range of topics, including classics, history, politics, astronomy, and mathematics.
The latest outcomes on the translation of the original bamboo slip texts into modern Chinese and English have also been released, with the aim of making them more accessible accessible to readers and promoting their international dissemination and research.
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Inspired by the agility of elephant trunks and octopus tentacles, a team of scientists from a Chinese university has developed a highly dexterous spiral soft robots arm which is comparable to the human hand in multiple grabbing tasks demonstration videos have showcased the tentacle like robotic arms impressive capabilities it It can effortlessly grasp delicate objects, like eggs, strawberries, and USB cables, and swiftly punch a ping -pong ball with precision.
The researchers, led by Nikolaos Freris, from the University of Science and Technology of China, employed reverse engineering techniques to simulate the logarithmic spiral shaped flexible structures found in nature.
According to the study published in the journal through a series of movements, including reeling, extending, winding and grasping, with a near 95 percent success rate.
Actuated by two or three cables, the spiral gripper with a 15 -degree conical angle, can grasp objects with a diameter of more than two orders of magnitude, and support loads up to 260 times its own weight.
The team also used 3D printing with affordable materials, like resin and paper, to produce prototypes on various scales, from centimeters to meters, thus boosting their commercial potential.
In a field test, a drone -equipped robotic arm adeptly seized and hoisted a water bucket, It's showcasing potential for future use in the low -altitude economy sector.
A collaborative study by Chinese and US scientists has revealed how a massive carbon release 56 million years ago impacted ocean chemistry, offering critical insights into the effects of modern climate change.
The study, recently published in the journal Nature Geoscience, was jointly conducted by researchers from Peking University, Pennsylvania State University, the University of California, Riverside, and other institutes.
The team reconstructed the state of ocean acidification during the Paleocene -Eocene Thermal Maximum, a climate event marked by a significant rise in global temperatures and a major disruption to ecosystems.
systems. The study found striking parallels between ocean acidification during the historical time and current trends caused by rising atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Some 56 million years ago a surge in carbon emissions caused the ocean pH value to decline sharply.
reducing the availability of carbonate ions needed by marine organisms to form shells, a critical component of carbon storage in oceans.
The researchers reconstructed changes in ocean carbonate chemistry.
They estimated that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels rose from 890 to 1 ,980 parts per million at that time, accompanied by an average ocean pH decline of 0 .46 units.
Li Mingseong, a professor at Peking University, said that But these findings offer a clear warning for the future, since the decline in ocean pH at that time closely resembles modern projections under high emissions scenarios.
Lee noted that the current carbon emission rate is much faster than during the climate event 56 million years ago, posing a severe threat to marine ecosystems and biodiversity.
Lee added that the accelerated emissions nowadays present an even greater long -term threat to marine life, particularly in vulnerable regions like the Arctic.
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As the minor cold descends, a crisp chill can be felt in the air in the northern hemisphere.
But not so in market squares, where the hustle and bustle of life heats up the wintery air.
Minor cold or xENDN in Chinese falls on January 5, 2025.
It is the 23rd of the 24 solar terms on the traditional Chinese calendar.
The character xENDN means small or minor, while xNDN means cold.
old. For most areas of China, Shaohan marks the beginning of the coldest period of the year.
Yet, rather than staying indoors, ancient Chinese people would venture out to shop for New Year goods, in preparation for the forthcoming coming Spring Festival.
So what exactly would they purchase?
One highly sought after item was cured meat.
People would string up a variety of meat and seafood to dry in the winter wind and sun.
The traditional flavoured meat is still popular in the provinces of Sichuan, Hunan, Guangdong, and some other regions of China, with a history of over two thousand years.
This traditional delicacy embodies folk culinary wisdom.
Another one was by Shūji, a fruit platter filled with persimmons, oranges, and cypress branches.
In Chinese, when the names of Cyprus, Persimmons, and oranges are read in order, they sound like the Chinese blessing, Bai Shi Zhi, symbolizing auspiciousness in every aspect of life.
By putting out this fruit platter at home, Chinese people hope for an auspicious and prosperous year ahead, with good fortune and wellbeing in all their endeavours.
During the Qing Dynasty over a hundred years ago, amid the fervent enthusiasm for purchasing new year goods, a distinctive market place known as Nianji or New Year Market emerged.
influenced, these vibrant markets or fairs were designed to meet the specific needs of the spring festival, selling essentials, from food to decorations.
The bustling ambiance and lively atmosphere permitted these marketplaces to weave themselves into the cultural tapestry of Chinese New Year celebrations.
Now you might wonder why would ancient Chinese people start preparing for the New Year on Shau Hanh, a full month ahead of the Spring Festival?
One reason was the chilly weather.
Schauhan, heralding the onset of the coldest phase across numerous regions, prompted a practical need to initiate preparations ahead of time, which allowed people to ensure that the necessities were in place for the forthcoming festivities.
Moreover, the Spring Festival holds unparalleled significance in Chinese culture, signifying not just an auspicious, new beginning, but also family reunions and prosperity.
Thus, initiating preparations well in advance, showed the profound reverence and emphasis ancient different Chinese people placed upon this important celebration.
Even today, Chinese peoples' fervour for purchasing New Year goods remains high and unremitting.
They enthusiastically participate in both online and offline New Year shopping sprees.
— amidst the vibrant hustle and bustle of selecting and acquiring new year goods, Chinese people express their anticipation and joy for the forthcoming Spring Festival.
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That is the end of this edition of Special English.
To recap, I am going to read one of the news items again at normal speed.
Please listen carefully.
Scholars from China's Tsinghua University have released three documents after sorting and deciphering bamboo slips dating back over 2 ,000 years.
These documents reflect the government's ideology of rulers of the early Western Zhou Dynasty, over 2 ,700 years ago and ancient legends and political thoughts in the Xia Dynasty, dating back some 3 ,600 years.
Shi Xiaoli, an associate professor at the Research and Conservation Centre for Unearthed Texts at Tsinghua University, said these texts offer valuable insights into the study of history and political ideology.
For example, one document advocates that policies should not be implemented too urgently or too slowly but rather at an appropriate pace and scale, ensuring that people are not confused and can follow them.
Tsinghua houses almost 2 ,500 precious bamboo slips from the warring state period over 2 ,200 years ago.
The University's research team has been collating and studying the ancient documents since 2008.
Since 2011, Tsinghua scholars have released their research findings annually, publishing 14 volumes of reports that cover a wide range of topics including classics, history, politics, astronomy and mathematics.
The latest outcomes on the translation of the original bamboo -slip texts into modern Chinese and English have also been released, with the aim of making them more accessible to readers and promoting their international dissemination and research.
That is the end of today's programme.
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