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Here is the news. Some Chinese cities have launched animal -friendly public transportation services to invigorate pet -related markets.
In May, several eastern cities, including Shanghai, Hefei in Anhui province and Wuxi in Jiangsu province, launched dedicated pet -friendly bus routes, allowing citizens easier travel with their companion animals.
Shanghai's custom pet bus service has already provided rides to over 120 passengers since its launch. That is according to Liao Weihua, a representative from the transportation company that operates the service.
Liao said that the idea behind the pet -specific route was to support the creation of pet -friendly cities, stimulate the pet economy and meet the mobility needs of pet owners, which is also part of the company's broader transition strategy.
The Shanghai Bus Route stops at several pet -friendly commercial hubs taking around 100 minutes from start to finish.
Tickets cost 20 yuan, approximately US $2 .80 per person, including one pet, with service currently available only at weekends.
Passengers must book tickets online in advance.
Only pets with a shoulder height under 40 cm and with valid documentation such as dog licenses or cat vaccination certificates are allowed to ride.
Animals must remain on a leash at all times.
Safety staff are present, on board, to check documentation and monitor the animal's well -being.
In some cities, buses are also staffed with veterinarians and dog trainers.
On social media, videos documenting the pet bus experience have garnered tens of thousands of likes, with many users praising the initiative.
According to a 2025 report from Pet Data, China's urban cat and dog population surpassed 120 million in 2024, Up 2 .1 % year -on -year, while the pet -related consumer market reached 300 .2 billion yuan, a 7 .5 % increase.
The roll -out of pet buses reflects a growing recognition of pet ownership as a key driver of consumer spending.
Other cities that have experimented with policies to support pet mobility include the southern megacity of Shenzhen, which piloted its own pet bus line in April last year.
And, as of this spring, pets have, for the first time, been officially allowed aboard China's high -speed railway under new guidelines.
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The 7th China Xinjiang International Dance Festival has opened in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, featuring 52 performances running through until 5th August. The event brings together 24 art troupes, with groups from countries including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the United States, Italy and Cambodia, as well as 16 domestic teams from China.
Performances cover dance dramas, operas, ballet and modern dance.
Accompanying activities include the 2025 Xinjiang Silk Road Street Dance Show show, community performances of village dance, an international dance carnival and a traditional opera week.
Co -hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the State Council Information Information Office and the Regional Government of Xinjiang.
The festival has run since 2008, attracting 138 art groups from more than 70 countries and regions during its previous six sessions and providing a key platform for cultural exchange under the Belt and Road Initiative.
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Neon lights flash along the commercial street of Yangjiaping In southwest China's Chongqing municipality, the air is filled with the spicy scent of hot pot.
During the 2025 Chongqing Nightlife Festival, large crowds gathered in front of the central stage stage to enjoy live performances.
The nights in Chongqing are more vibrant than the days, as one online viewer commented during the live stream.
This consumer carnival, which runs until the end of September, represents just a glimpse into Chongqing's thriving night economy.
Across the city, themed sub -venues showcase local specialities while night -time events occur in districts and counties.
China's night economy is booming, rapidly expanding across various sectors, including retail, dining and entertainment.
Jiang Yongwu, director of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce, said that Chongqing has been ranked as China's most influential night economy city for four consecutive years, adding that night -time consumption has become a new growth driver for the city's goal of becoming an international consumption hub.
Last year Chongqing's total retail sales of consumer goods reached 1 .57 trillion yuan, around 219 .6 billion US dollars, with more than 60 % occurring at night.
In recent years, China has implemented various policies to promote the development of the night economy.
The Ministry of Commerce has proposed the establishment of night economy clusters, and several cities are rolling out specific plans.
For example, Beijing has extended operating hours for museums and libraries, while river cruises and evening performances have become great attractions in Guangzhou and Chengdu.
Data from Alipay shows that in June this year, 49 .3 % of consumer spending in China occurred between 6pm and midnight, up 6 percentage points year on year.
As the sun set behind the Yangtze River, a gentle glow illuminated the stone -paved lanes of Chongqing's Longmenhao Old Street.
By 9 p .m., tourists from around the world had secured seats at Riverside Diners, smartphones raised to capture the spectacular drone light show.
A formation of 5 ,000 drones danced in the sky, creating images of Sun Wukong, Nezha, pandas and lollipops.
Lai Chongjing, general manager of Longmenhao Cultural Industry Company, said that each drone show lasts about 20 minutes, but consumer activities extend late into the night.
The event has shifted local engagement from quick photos to immersive experiences.
Data from Chinese e -commerce platform Meituan shows that searches for drone show viewpoints surged 15 -fold since the drone dances were launched on April 19, while orders for photo route on the Old Street increased by 320 % over the past three months.
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The report also noted that internet penetration in China reached 79 .7 % by June, an increase of 1 .1 percentage points compared to December last year.
According to the report, China has made significant strides in Internet development during the 14th Five -Year Plan period from 2021 to 2025.
In particular, efforts to make the Internet more inclusive have allowed key groups such as the elderly and rural residents to share in the benefits of this progress.
As of June this year, China had 161 million internet users aged 60 and above, and 322 million living in rural areas.
Internet penetration among these groups reached 52 % and 69 .2 % respectively.
Meanwhile, the report said that the continued development of the Internet in China China has played a key role in promoting Chinese culture, both domestically and internationally, citing the rising export of Chinese online literature and games, along with the growing synergy between popular web series and related tourist destinations.
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A group of Chinese researchers and clinical neurologists have made a new breakthrough in brain -computer interface technology, enabling 10 individuals to communicate complex Chinese sentences through their thoughts alone.
The technology, now in clinical trials, promises new hope for patients with speech -impairing conditions like stroke.
Collaborating scientists from Shanghai -based start -up INSIDE and Hua Shan Hospital affiliated affiliated with Fudan University, implanted electrodes into participants with epilepsy in just 100 minutes of training on average.
Their custom -built intelligent system decoded brain activities associated with the intended speech of 54 Chinese characters in real time.
Training on those characters then enabled the system to interpret 1 ,951 common words correctly and generate complete Chinese sentences in under half a second with virtually no length limit.
Li Meng, Insight's chief scientist, explained that unlike English's basic phonemes, Mandarin involves over 400 nuanced syllables.
According to Li, the team trained on data from the human brainwave database built by Hua Shan Hospital and the AI identified phonetic components with over 83 % accuracy.
Further ahead, researchers envision the decoded text allowing users to control smart environments or even generate expressive artworks through generative AI systems. Hua Shan Hospital has been actively involved in brain -computer interface clinical trials.
This June, a Chinese man who lost all four limbs in a high -voltage accident 13 years ago, now plays chess and racing games using only his mind after a revolutionary procedure at Hua Shan, in which a brain -computer interface device designed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences was implanted in his brain.
Shanghai is working to build brain -computer interface incubators and cultivate an innovation ecosystem.
It aims to achieve high -quality brain control and ensure that products are fully integrated into clinical applications by 2030.
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That is the end of this edition of Special English.
To recap, I'm going to read two of the news items again at normal speed.
Please listen carefully.
in Jiangsu province, launched dedicated pet -friendly bus routes, allowing citizens easier travel with their companion animals.
Shanghai's custom pet bus service has already provided rides to over 120 passengers since its launch. That is according to Liao Weihua, a representative from the transportation company that operates the service.
Liao said that the idea behind the The pet -specific route was to support the creation of pet -friendly cities, stimulate the pet economy and meet the mobility needs of pet owners, which is also part of the company's broader transition strategy.
The Shanghai bus route stops at several pet -friendly commercial hubs, taking around 100 minutes from start to finish.
Tickets cost 20 yuan, approximately US $2 .80 per person, including one pet, with service currently available only at weekends.
Passengers must book tickets online in advance.
Only pets with a shoulder height under 40 cm and with valid documentation, such as dog licences or cat vaccination certificates, are allowed to ride.
Animals must remain on a leash at all times.
Safety staff are present on board to check documentation and monitor the animal's wellbeing.
In some cities, buses are also staffed with veterinarians and dog trainers.
On social media, videos documenting the pet bus experience have garnered tens of thousands of likes, with many users praising the initiative.
According to a 2025 report from PetData, China's urban cat and dog population surpassed 120 million in 2024, up 2 .1 % year -on -year, while the pet -related consumer market reached 300 .2 billion yuan, a 7 .5 % increase.
increase. The rollout of pet buses reflects a growing recognition of pet ownership as a key driver of consumer spending.
Other cities that have experimented with policies to support pet mobility include the southern megacity of Shenzhen, which piloted its own pet bus line in April last year.
As of this spring, pets have for the first time been officially allowed aboard China's high speed railway under new guidelines.
This is Special English.
The 7th China Xinjiang International Dance Festival has opened in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, featuring 52 performances through until August 5.
The event brings together 24 art groups, with groups from countries including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the United States, Italy and Cambodia, as well as 16 domestic teams from China.
Performances cover dance dramas, operas, ballet and modern dance.
Accompanying activities include the 2025 Xinjiang Silk Road Street Dance Show, community performances of village dance, an international dance carnival and a traditional opera week.
Co -hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the State Council Information Office and the Regional Government of Xinjiang, the festival has run since 2008, attracting 138 art groups from more than 70 countries and regions during its previous six sessions and providing a key platform for cultural exchange under the Belt and Road Initiative.
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