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.
Move to Pudong
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.
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.
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.
Banks on y2k alert for leap year change
By Ada King
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. The last two days of February are believed to be another volatile period for computer systems due to the possible inability to recognize the 29th day of the month. The central bank, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) Shanghai Branch, said their staff supervising the operations of each commercial bank's computer networks and their own networks will be on 24-hour-duty over the period. "All the important databases have backup copies for possible troubles," said Shao Zhenhao, director of the technology division of POBC's Shanghai Branch. Shao also noted the bank has headed several conferences with officials of all the major commercial banks to deal with Y2K troubles. After the smooth transfer on the first day of 2000, which was regarded as the most dangerous day for the Y2K bug, Shao said they are completely confident about the date change as we go into March. "But we are not going to say we've accomplished anything until we have actually done it due to the fact that the date February 28 is more dangerous, compared with January 1, 2000," said Shao. Shao believes the holiday period around the millennium date change helped financial firms get ready to deal with that risk more effectively. The risk in February is increased, he said, by the fact that there is no holiday. "People have to work on February 29," said Shao. The Bank of China (BOC), one of the four biggest State-owned commercial banks, has also said it is set to welcome in a bug-free March. A BOC source said the bank had held several conferences on Y2K bugs. BOC's Y2K working group, which was launched late last year, will continue its efforts to supervise all the business operations of the bank. "We are very confident. We will not allow the Y2K bug to bite," the official said.
Copyright 2000 by Shanghai Star. All rights reserved.