Alcatel Asia moves head office here
ALCATEL yesterday announced the setting up of its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Shanghai, reflecting its confidence in the economic growth of the Asia Pacific region.
Friendship stores offer best of Britain
A RANGE of British luxury and consumer products made by 20 renowned manufacturers, ranging from confectionery and biscuits, knitwear and arts products, will be on offer in Shanghai's four Friendship stores from tomorrow, according to sources from the British Consulate General.
Three women drug dealers face jail
THREE young women have been sentenced to criminal detention in Pudong for drug trafficking after they became addicted to drug abuse.
Street corners, goldfish go with the feng shui flow
AS everyone knows we are about to enter a dragon year, regarded as the most auspicious by the Chinese. The dragon is also an important aspect of feng shui, or wind and water, an ancient Chinese geomantic practice and buzz word in the West in recent years. Having co-written a book on the subject, coming to China has given me the opportunity to see for myself how feng shui works in its country of origin, particularly in Shanghai.
Hearing opens in Huahai case
COURT hearings started yesterday into a major case of embezzlement in which company board chairman, Gui Aizhen, is suspected of channelling 12 million yuan ($1.4 million) of public funds into private companies, according to the municipal No 1 Intermediate People's Court.
New perks to hook high-tech expertise
THE local job market just got more attractive for job-seekers in the high-tech industry.
Sowing seeds of conservation
THE future is in the hands of the younger generation. That's why Shanghai Changning International School (SCIS) tries hard to impart to its students a strong sense of environmental protection.
Woman knifed in Pudong after fight with boss
ONLY a few weeks after reports that a security officer chopped off four of a woman's fingers in South China's Guangdong Province sparked outrage, another report has surfaced that a migrant woman in Pudong suffered a similar injury when a disagreement with her boss turned nasty.
IPR review positive
CHINA has honoured the US-China bilateral agreement on the protection of intellectual property rights signed in 1995, according to Joseph Papovich, assistant US trade representative for services, investment and intellectual property.
German companies build business and friendships
THE Delegation of German Industry and Commerce Shanghai, established in 1994, has helped more than 360 representative offices and firms funded by German enterprises to set up, most of which are based in Shanghai and the rest in other provinces such as Jiangsu, Sichuan, Zhejiang and Shandong.
Woman raped, murdered for $21 and phone
AN unemployed migrant from Anhui Province was arrested last week for robbing, raping, and murdering a young woman, according to sources from Zhabei Procuratorate.
Hounded robber gives himself up to the police
A MAN who robbed a karaoke bar gave himself up to police last week hoping for protection after being hounded for money by other members of the criminal underworld.
Eyesores on way out; filthy shacks to raze
DEMOLITION of some ugly shacks built on grassland has pleased residents in Jintang Residential Area, Xuhui District. Green grass has been replanted on the ground.
Campus river has a story
PEOPLE visiting East China Normal University often ask: why is the river which traverses its campus called Li Wa He, or Beautiful Woman River? To Chinese ears, Liwa River sounds quite exotic. But few people realize the origin of the river can be traced back to Shanghai's first country holiday resort on what is now the site of East China Normal University. When Shanghai was opened to the outside world in the mid-19th century, there was an influx of tens of thousands of Westerners who brought the city their lifestyles. Various clubs mushroomed across the city but there was no country holiday resort where people could have outdoor fun, play games and picnic, until the early 20th century. In the early 1920s, a Spanish man bought a large tract of wasteland to the north of Suzhou Creek at a very low price. Lawns, flowers and trees were planted on the levelled wasteland; rockeries were built and houses and villas constructed. The former wasteland was turned into a beautiful country holiday resort. Later on, tourist boats, horse racecourses and picnic spots and skating rinks appeared. The hit attraction was the spectacle of young Caucasian women singing and dancing day in and day out at the resort. Cars and horse carriages could be transported to the resort on large wood rafts across the Suzhou Creek, and the number of tourists increased. The resort was called Rio Rita. Rio is the Spanish word which means river while Rita is a woman's name. So the river inside the resort was called Li Wa He in Chinese, which means Beautiful Woman River. Unlike exclusive foreigners-only parks in the concessions that denied the admission of Chinese people, Rio Rita was built to earn money from people regardless of their origins. The fact was that more than 80 per cent of tourists were Europeans and Americans because the majority of the Chinese people couldn't afford the prices. While on the other hand, the rich Chinese preferred comfort and entertainment, and few were interested in going to the countryside to run wild, perspire and tan their skin in the hot sun. So Rio Rita remained a fun-making place for the foreigners. Today, the only thing reminiscent of the past former site of the resort is the Liwa River. (By Joshua Shi)
Copyright 2000 by Shanghai Star. All rights reserved.