Well's spiritual tale bubbles over
ONCE upon a time, Shanghai Star British copy editor, Sophie Gale, met an elderly Shanghai lady. The bespectacled, quaint woman, in her 80s, speaking in English, told Sophie she was from Bubbling Well.
'365' project for better housing
IT is now very hard for Wang Jilin to pick out the exact location of his old house on the expanse of green land now covered with flowers he once lived on for over 40 years.
Pimp kills wife's client
A MAN who had been acting as a pimp for his wife and helped bludgeon one of her clients to death, was recently prosecuted at Zhabei District Procuratorate.
Waiting for your ship to come in
A LIFE-size cardboard cut-out of a blonde air stewardess with "WELCOME" written across her midriff greets customers of China Travel Service (CTS) shipping department, inside the Jingmen (Golden Gate) Hotel on Nanjing Road West. A notice on the wall at reception reads in Chinese "Whatever your needs, we will promptly meet them."
Internet helps in fight against crime
WHILE computer hackers are a headache for the police, the web is also a useful weapon for the police in investigating crimes.
2 husbands face court hearing
YANGPU District Court recently prosecuted a man who tried to gas his wife, his lover and himself after his wife refused to agree to a divorce.
Tianyuan signs court pact
AN agreement to prevent possible cases of corruption during the relocation of Tianyuan Chemical Plant (Tianyuan) was recently signed by Changning District Procuratorate with the plant.
Winds, rain freshens urban air
STRONGER winds and more rain helped disperse air pollutants in Shanghai last week, making the city's air cleaner.
Seeking solutions to pollution on-line
DO you dream about sleeping without being woken by noisy trucks in the middle of the night or power drills in the morning? Touring the Bund and being able to breathe fresh air? Or walking along the brilliant Nanjing Road pedestrian mall without getting your nose assaulted with cigarette smoke?
Tourists can stay 2 days visa-free
ALL overseas tourists who come to Shanghai via Pudong International Airport or Hongqiao International Airport may now stay for up to 48 hours without having to obtain a visa beforehand.
Banks on y2k alert for leap year change
DESPITE the smooth global transference into the third millennium virtually Y2K bug-free, local banks said they are still on the alert for millennium bug glitches today and yesterday - also considered high risk days.
Hongqiao airport ranks top in China
HONGQIAO Airport ranked top among China's airports, handling 752,300 tons of cargo and mail last year, according to statistics released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China yesterday.
Shanghai to have 11 metro lines
A NETWORK of rail track including a total of 11 metro lines, seven light rail lines and three rail tracks is to be constructed in the city, according to Shanghai Urban Planning and Administration Bureau.
Move to Pudong
By Huo Yongzhe
AS the 10th anniversary of the opening up of Pudong New Area draws close, major domestic financial institutions are shifting their Shanghai business headquarters to the Lujiazui Financial and Trade Zone, billed as Shanghai's new financial centre. Financial institutions planning to make the move from current Puxi bases to Lujiazui mainly include the Shanghai branches of the State-owned big four commercial banks with the exception of the Agriculture Bank of China, also the headquarters of the Shanghai-based Bank of Communications, the Pacific Insurance Company, and the Shanghai-based Pudong Development Bank Shanghai Branch. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Shanghai Branch is likely to accomplish its relocation before April 18, said one official with the bank. "In fact, some departments of the branch have already begun operating in the Pudong office building," said an ICBC official who declined to be identified. And the Construction Bank Shanghai Branch is also set to begin the move around early April. The Bank of China confirmed it too will head to the Pudong Lujiazui Area before the year's end. But no exact date for the relocation has been released. The local Bank of Shanghai will also shift its headquarters from the Bund area to Lujiazui, and its office building is now under construction in the Pudong New Area. The relocation of so many major players will help to establish Pudong as the country's primary financial hub. "The influx of domestic financial institutions will lure more foreign finance groups," Ma Jia'nan, deputy director of the Economic Adjustment Division under the Pudong Comprehensive Planning Commission told Shanghai Star yesterday. According to the central bank, the People's Bank of China, over 60 foreign financial institutions had set up offices in the Lujiazui area by the end of 1999. "There will be more and more of these foreign banking operations in the area as China enters the World Trade Organization," said Ma. Ma said the influx can also be explained by improvements in the investment environment of the area. She said infrastructure such as roads and telecommunications facilities as well as software services have all been greatly improved during the past 10 years. "And the Bund area - traditionally the city's financial hub - is beginning to take a back seat in financial operations as its facilities age and are less able to cater to modern needs," said Ma.
Copyright 2000 by Shanghai Star. All rights reserved.