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Special English You're listening to Special English.
Here's the news. In cities across China, dredged canals and re -opened routes are drawing commuters, hobbyists and influencers back to the water.
Lee Way was half joking when he said he'd kayak to work until he tried it one day in the summer of 2023 and he hasn't stopped since.
The 39 -year -old business director now paddles six kilometers through Shanghai's Pudong New Area each morning.
Lee said that kayaking kickstarts his morning with energy and the evening returns turn rush hour into a journey of quiet, aerobic calm.
Paddle after paddle, the rhythm clears his mind.
He mapped the route himself, threading narrow creeks between office parks and residential blocks on waterways long unused for daily commutes.
With cleanup campaigns gaining momentum and long -blocked waterways reopening across China, an increasing number of local residents are beginning to use them again for commutes, exercise, or simply getting around.
In southern China's Guangzhou, stand -up paddleboarders enjoy Baiyun Lake and Haizhu Lake, with local clubs offering family -friendly programs. East China's Hangzhou opened 10 urban waterways for public use in 2023, sparking a wave of public interest in kayaking, paddleboarding, and rowing.
In nearby Suzhou, tour boats now move through canals originally carved for foot ferries and cargo haulers.
Social media has given the trend a name, City Boat.
Like CityWalk before it, the hashtag draws millions of views and encompasses everything from solo paddling routes to neon -lit cruise vlogs.
On the lifestyle app Xiaohongshu, known globally as RedNote, kayaking tutorials, paddleboard selfies, and canal view vlogs all circulate under the tag.
Shi Yuan Yuan, an associate professor at Fudan University's Department of Tourism, sees the city boat trend as a natural evolution of Chinese reclaiming public space.
She said that this phenomenon aligns with a growing desire for spiritual and cultural enrichment, adding that for locals, it satisfies the desire to rediscover their city from a fresh aquatic perspective.
Schur stressed that each city's water heritage is distinct because every route serves as a liquid thread weaving together boat culture, riverside architecture, and waterside lifestyles.
Schur noted that the challenge lies in keeping the experience rooted, avoiding copy -paste development, managing tensions between tourists and locals, and ensuring that quality, safety, and culture grow together.
This is Special English.
China's mutual visa exemption agreement with Malaysia has officially taken effect, further expanding the country's visa -free travel policy.
Under the policy, Chinese and Malaysian citizens holding valid ordinary passports can enter, exit or transit through the other country for travel without a visa.
Each stay should not exceed 30 days with a cumulative limit of 90 days within any 180 -day period.
The policy comes into effect after China and Malaysia signed a mutual visa -free agreement in April, marking another step forward in China's efforts to ease travel and boost international exchanges.
Since December 1, 2023, China and Malaysia have been implementing a trial visa -free policy for each other's ordinary passport -holding citizens.
In 2024, Chinese tourists made over 3 .8 million visits to Malaysia, making China the largest source of tourists to Malaysia from outside the ASEAN region.
According to Osman Ujang, chairman of the think tank Malaysia -China Research, the signing and implementation of the agreement indicate that the effectiveness of the previous visa -free entry policy has been recognized by both the governments and people of the two countries.
The policy has facilitated mutual communication between people of the two countries and strengthened their friendship and the exchanges between the peoples laid a solid foundation for the continued extension of the visa -free policy.
According to Lee Tai Hung, Deputy Director General of Tourism Malaysia, Malaysia, the agreement has reassured Malaysian tourism operators and boosted their confidence, and he believes the cooperation between the two countries' tourism industries will become more stable and robust. Lee said that Malaysia's tourism authorities and industry operators are also actively making plans to enrich the travel experience, add more tourism facilities and signage, and enhance safety measures, all in preparation to welcome more Chinese tourists.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang has signed a State Council decree that unveils regulations to boost the high -quality development development of the housing rental market and facilitate establishing a housing system that supports both housing rentals and purchases.
The new regulations, which will go into effect on September 15th, emphasize the integration of the market's leading role and government guidance in the sector's development.
It also encourages more supply of rental housing through multiple channels and fostering market -oriented professional housing rental enterprises.
The document specifies regulations on rental activities as well as the behaviors of housing rental enterprises and brokerage agencies.
Rental brokerage agencies must verify and record the information of the entrusting parties, conduct on -site inspections of the properties before listing, and clearly mark the prices of their services.
The regulations underline improved supervision and management of the housing rental sector.
Municipal governments and higher -level administrations with subsidiary districts should establish monitoring mechanisms on housing rents and publish rental price levels regularly.
It says that strict legal responsibilities are stipulated for the illegal actions of lessors, tenants, housing rental enterprises, brokerage agencies, and relevant government department staff.
This is Special English.
A new training ground dedicated to advancing embodied artificial intelligence robots has been launched in southwest China's Sichuan province, marking a step forward in the development of the country's high -end robotics industry.
Based in the city of Mianyang, the Embodied AI Robot Training Ground will operate as a comprehensive platform integrating research and development, validation testing, standard setting, and commercialization.
An official from the Sichuan Provincial Science and Technology Department said that the project is a cornerstone of Sichuan's strategy to build a globally competitive embodied AI robotics cluster in West China.
China. The industry is expected to see a market boom in the coming years.
According to the Chinese Institute of Electronics, China's humanoid robot market is projected to reach 870 billion yuan by 2030.
The training ground is expected to address critical bottlenecks facing embodied AI development globally, including scarce real -world training scenarios, insufficient high -quality data, and inadequate extreme environment testing capabilities.
It aims to overcome these challenges by creating simulated environments for deep interaction and vast data acquisition, thereby accelerating robotic learning, algorithmic improvements and capability upgrades, crucial for applications spanning manufacturing, healthcare, urban management and emergency response.
The provincial government will allocate a special fund to develop the training ground, which, according to its plan, will help complete the infrastructure and operational framework while attracting over seven robotics enterprises by the end of 2025.
By 2027, the target is to bring together over 30 enterprises, facilitate the application of more than 30 new technologies, and launch over 10 new robot products, establishing the training ground as a nationally leading platform.
This is Special English.
Chinese researchers have found that the chemical energy released by crustal activities like earthquakes can serve as an alternative fuel to sunlight for subterranean microorganisms. This latest finding reveals an important energy source for deep earth ecosystems and also aids in the search for potential subterranean life on planets like Mars and Europa.
The study, led by researchers from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has recently been published in the journal Science Advances.
In the dark depths beyond human sight, 95 % of the Earth's prokaryotic organisms reside, accounting for about 19 % of the total biomass on Earth.
According to the researchers, these life forms cannot obtain organic matter synthesized through photosynthesis, and how they obtain energy has long been a mystery in the scientific community.
After conducting simulations of faulting activities several kilometers underground, the team discovered that when rocks fracture and create fresh surfaces, the newly broken chemical bonds come into immediate contact with water.
This interaction generates a substantial amount of hydrogen and hydrogen peroxide.
This leads to the oxidation and reduction cycles of iron, continuously releasing electrons in the process.
These electrons further flow between essential elements for life, such as carbon and nitrogen, forming an invisible subterranean power grid that provides readily available energy for microorganisms. This is Special English.
That's 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 cities across China, dredged canals and reopening routes are drawing commuters, hobbyists and influencers back to the water.
Li Wei was half -joking when he said he'd kayak to work, until he tried it one day in the summer of 2023 and he hasn't stopped since.
The 39 -year -old business director now paddles six kilometers through Shanghai's Pudongnu area each morning.
Li said that kayaking kickstarts his morning with energy and the evening returns turn rush hour into a journey of quiet aerobic calm.
Paddle after paddle, the rhythm clears his mind.
He mapped the route himself, threading narrow creeks between office parks and residential blocks on waterways long unused for daily commutes.
With cleanup campaigns gaining momentum and long -blocked waterways reopening across China, an increasing number of local residents are beginning to use them again for commutes, exercise, or simply getting around.
In southern China's Guangzhou, stand -up paddleboarders enjoy Baiyun Lake and Haiju Lake, with local clubs offering family -friendly programs. East China's Hangzhou opened 10 urban waterways for public use in 2023, sparking a wave of public interest in kayaking, paddleboarding, and rowing.
In nearby Suzhou, tourboats now move through canals originally carved for foot ferries and cargo haulers.
Social media has given the trend a name—City Boat.
Like City Walk before it, the hashtag draws millions of views and encompasses everything from solo paddling routes to neon -lit cruise vlogs.
On the lifestyle app Xiao Hong Xu, known globally as Red Note, kayaking tutorials, paddleboard selfies, and canal view vlogs all circulate under the tag.
Shi Yuen Yuen, an associate professor at Fudan University's Department of Tourism, sees the city boat trend as a natural evolution of Chinese reclaiming public space.
She said that this phenomenon aligns with a growing desire for spiritual and cultural enrichment, adding that for locals, it satisfies the desire to rediscover their city from a fresh aquatic perspective.
Shear stressed that each city's water heritage is distinct because every route serves as a liquid thread, weaving together bulk culture, riverside architecture, and waterside lifestyles.
Shear noted that the challenge lies in keeping the experience rooted, avoiding copy -paste development, managing tensions between tourists and locals, and ensuring that quality, safety, and culture grow together.
You're listening to Special English.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang has signed a State Council decree that unveils regulations to boost the high -quality development of the housing rental market and facilitate establishing establishing a housing system that supports both housing rentals and purchases.
The new regulations, which will go into effect on September 15, emphasize the integration of the market's leading role and government guidance in the sector's development.
It also encourages more supply of rental housing through multiple channels and fostering market -oriented professional housing rental enterprises.
The document specifies regulations on rental activities as well as the behaviors of housing rental enterprises and brokerage agencies.
Rental brokerage agencies must verify and record the information of the entrusting parties, conduct on -site inspections of the property before listing, and clearly mark the prices of their services.
The regulations underline improved supervision and management of the housing rental sector.
Municipal governments and higher -level administrations with subsidiary districts should establish monitoring mechanisms on housing rents and publish rental price levels regularly.
It says that strict legal responsibilities are stipulated for the illegal actions of lessors, tenants, housing rental enterprises, brokerage agencies, and relevant government department staff.
This is the end of today's program.
I hope you'll join us every day to learn English at a slower pace.
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He can't live without the Yellow River in his eyes.
The Yellow River is so noble and elegant.
Both my grandpa and dad made the living from the river.
would you like to move away from the yellow river i don't think i will i love it so much the yellow river the second longest river in china is regarded as a shaping force in the history economy and culture of northern china today about 100 million people live within its water basin making up nearly nine percent of the the country's population?
How is climate change felt at its headwaters?
And what are the locals doing to cope with it?
What are the descendants of the boatmen doing?
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Could the fading fishing community revive in a time of digital transformation?
information. From 2021 to 2024, our reporters visited the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, talked to the herders, farmers, boatmen, fishermen and eco -activists who share a close bond with the river, and present their stories in pictures, podcasts and videos, all in our 12 -part series, The Yellow River Mosaic, available only on CGTN Radio.
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