The world is changing fast, but you can learn it at a slower pace.
Special English You're listening to Special English.
Here is the news. China has launched a month long online shopping event for festive goods, ahead of the forthcoming Spring Festival which falls on January 29th this year.
The event, initiated by the Ministry of Commerce and organised under the guidance of several government departments and the the Ministry this event marks the first nation -wide online sales promotion following the inscription of the Spring Festival social practices of the Chinese people in celebration of traditional New Year on the UNESCO representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity in December 2024.
The event aims to meet people's consumption needs during the festive season, promote traditional Chinese culture and boost e -commerce sales.
According to the ministry, various Chinese regions and e -commerce platforms will host events to celebrate the Spring festival, including local product promotions, as well as exhibitions and performances, themed on intangible cultural heritage.
For instance, starting from January 22nd, Shanghai will host an e -commerce event to promote tourism products for visitors travelling to China for the Spring Festival.
During this event, festive goods will also be made available on the global versions of various e -commerce platforms to meet the needs of overseas Chinese and international customers.
You're listening to Special English Official data shows that in 2024, the number of foreign tourists that entered South China's island province of Hainan visa -free surged by 283 % compared to the previous year.
According to the Haiko General Station of immigration inspection, Hainan handled 2 .14 million inbound and outbound trips across the border in 2024, with foreign travellers accounting for 47 .5 % of the total.
Hainan has long enjoyed favorable visa -free entry policies in China.
The majority of foreigners who enter Hainan do so under the visa -free entry policy.
In recent years, China has introduced numerous measures to facilitate travel for foreign tourists.
At the end of last year, the country announced a significant relaxation of its visa -free transit policy, extending the permitted stay for eligible foreign travellers from the initial 72 hours and subsequent 144 hours to 240 hours or 10 days.
According to Rao Jun at the inspection station, the number of border inspection channels in Hainan has grown from 39 to 98, which helped ensure faster, smoother customs clearance.
Hainan's three main airports—Haiko Meilan International Airport, Sanyaa Phoenix Airport, and Tiong Hai Bohau International Airport—currently operate 70 international routes, connecting almost 40 cities worldwide.
China aims to complete building the main structure of a national data infrastructure system by 2029 according to a guideline issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and two other authorities, this is part of the country's broader push to build a unified national data market and develop the digital economy.
Developing the national data infrastructure, a new type of infrastructure that supports data collection, aggregation, transmission, processing as well as circulation, utilization, operation and security came amid the fast development of digital technologies and infrastructure worldwide.
According to the guideline.
China's data infrastructure development is still in the early stages.
The country plans to finish the top -level design of a national data infrastructure system between 2024 and 2026 and, later, build an infrastructure that supports large -scale data circulation and interconnectivity while fully integrating data networks and computing power facilities between 2027 and 2028.
The country also vowed to upgrade the 5G network to 5GA level and promote 6G related research, development and innovation.
Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have already started offering 5 GA network services in some districts.
You're listening to Special English As the cultivation of crops capable of adapting to climate change is becoming increasingly important, Chinese scientists have identified a novel approach that markedly enhances crop crop productivity in the face of high -temperature adversity.
According to the study published in the journal CEL, a 2 degrees Celsius increase in global temperatures is projected to significantly simply amplify average crop losses by 3 to 13%, highlighting the urgent need for more heat resistant varieties to address future food security challenges.
The researchers from the Institute of Genetics & Developmental Biology, under the Chinese Academy of Sciences have employed an innovative gene editing tool to insert a heat shock element into a tomato gene.
This modification enhances the gene's expression under heat stress and reduces sugar deficiency in fruit at high temperatures.
Tests across different seasons and locations, including greenhouses and open fields, have revealed that the strategy boosted tomato yields by 14 to 47 percent in normal conditions and 26 to 33 percent under heat stress preventing 56 to 100 percent of heat -induced yield losses.
Furthermore, the team's experiment on rice indicated that this genetic engineering method can boost rice production by 7 % to 13 % under normal conditions and by 25 % under heat stress mitigating 41 % of the yield losses due to high temperatures.
According to the researchers, these experiments have effectively boosted crop climate resilience and ushered in a new era of climate smart, high yield and stable crop design.
The Paris Agreement, released in 2015, has set temperature targets limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, above the pre -industrial level, with efforts to limit it to 1 .5 degrees Celsius by the end of this century.
This is Special English.
Beijing will accelerate work to protect and utilise cultural relics in its core functional regional areas and promote public access to more heritage sites along the Beijing central axis, which was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2024.
According to the site's Office for Cultural Heritage Application and Protection, Beijing will take advantage of its unique World Heritage Resources to enhance its role as an international exchange centre, developing the central axis into a space for international events and diplomatic activities under the guidance of the convention concerning the protection of world cultural and natural heritage.
Authorities plan to intensify efforts to preserve and display the history and culture of the Beijing Central Axis, including efforts to promote relevant literary and artistic creation, launch more tailored tourist routes and enhance urban renewal projects in surrounding areas.
Stretching 7 .8 kilometres, from Yongding Gate in the south, to the Drum and Bell Towers in the north, the Beijing Central Axis was constructed based on ancient architectural philosophies to create an ideal layout for a capital city.
The central axis can be traced back to the Yuan dynasty in the 13th century, while its length was extended in the Ming and and Qing dynasties, stretching from the 14th century until 1911.
UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site in July 2024.
Following its inclusion on the World Heritage List, visits to scenic areas along the central axis have surged significantly, a report from Tongchung Travel showed that cultural and historical sites remain the cornerstone of Beijing's cultural tourism consumption, with the Beijing Central axis emerging as a must -visit destination for both domestic and international tourists.
The Ching -Chung Palace complex, located within the altar of the god of agriculture and the Jung -Yang men archery tower, both built in the 15th century, have recently opened to the public.
You're listening to Special English.
If someone tells you that he or she saw Mr. Joe Gong last night, you might wonder, who is Mr. Joe Gong?
anyone to be worried about, and why does he have anything to do with falling asleep?
Zhou Gong literally means the Duke of Zhou.
In Chinese history he was a member of the royal family of the early Zhou dynasty, also known as the Western In Zhou dynasty, he was from about 3 ,000 years ago, Zhou Gong was best known for helping his elder brother, King Wu, found and consolidate his kingdom.
After King Wu died, Zhou Gong acted as a regent to his young, inexperienced nephew, King Cheng, and supervised government affairs for several years.
Zhou Gong was a loyal, capable, and ambitious leader.
He was renowned for his strategic vision.
he launched an enfiefment system during the Western Zhou dynasty, which means distributing feasts to loyal relatives and trustworthy officials, and requiring them to pay tributes in return.
This system helped consolidate the ruling of the Zhou dynasty across all of its territory at that time.
And it collapsed about 800 years later when Emperor Qin Shi Huang unified China.
It is believed that Zhou Gong also devised an efficient governing system with rites, or li in Chinese, you can understand it as a code of conduct under which all social classes have their own set of rules and rituals to refer to.
The rites covered almost every aspect of people's daily lives, as well as national events, big and small.
Another highlight of the governing principles of Zhou Gong was something that might be a performed in conjunction with rituals.
It played an essential role in helping people seek common ground and bringing them together despite the hierarchical systems.
With all these strategies and practices, Zhou Gong helped build an administrative framework with solid it and well organised political and social orders, which later served as a model during many Chinese dynasties and Zhou Gong was also deemed as a politician paragon by many, including a number of subsequent Emperors.
So, now we know, Zhou Gong is a well -known political figure from ancient China and about his achievements.
But still, how is he related to the act of sleeping?
Let me share the rest of the story and you will see.
Among Zhou Gong's admirers, there was a man you might have heard of before, Confucius.
That's right, the well -known Chinese philosopher, and founder of Confucianism.
Confucius himself lived in a time of chaos, when political and social orders tended toward disintegration, the spring and autumn period, some 2 ,500 years ago, and Confucius had been working to advocate and revive the practices of the Joe rights to help restore order to society.
In the eyes of Confucius, Zhou Gong was a perfect model for politicians.
He admired Zhou Gong's political and social wisdom so much that he would often dream of Zhou Gong.
He once said, I must have grown feeble and old since I have not dreamed of Zhou Gong for a long time.
That's why Chinese people use the phrase, To see Zhou Gong.
To refer to the state of being asleep and dreaming.
Next time if your Chinese friend tells you that he or she is about to go to see Zhou gong.
That's just another way of telling you goodnight.
This is Special English That is the end of this edition of Special English.
To recap, I'm going to read one of the news items again at normal speed.
Please listen carefully.
China has launched a month -long online shopping event for Festive Goods ahead of the forthcoming Spring Festival, which falls on January 29th this year.
The event, initiated by the Ministry of Commerce and organised under the guidance of several government departments and the China Consumers Association, runs until February 5th.
According to the Ministry, this event marks the first nationwide online sales promotion following the inscription of the Spring Festival, Social Practices of the Chinese People in Celebration of Traditional New Year, here, on the UNESCO representative list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2024.
The event aims to meet people's consumption needs during the festive season, promote traditional Chinese culture, and boost e -commerce sales.
According to the Ministry, various Chinese regions and e -commerce platforms will host events to celebrate the Spring Festival, including local product promotions, as well as exhibitions and performances themed on intangible cultural heritage.
For instance, starting from January 22, Shanghai will host an e -commerce event to promote tourism products for visitors travelling to China for the Spring Festival.
During this event, festive goods will also be made available on the global versions of various e -commerce platforms to meet the needs of overseas Chinese and international customers.
That is the end of today's programme.
I hope you'll join us every day to learn English at a slower pace.
