Kids compete in cross-Straits drawing
SIX-year-old Wu Ye, who has a pencil behind her right ear, is attentively drawing the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Pudong's riverside park along the east bank of Huangpu River.
Diamond plan
DIAMONDS, which have graced the necklaces of the late Princess Diana, US First Lady Hillary Clinton and Kate Winslet in blockbuster film "Titanic," are proving increasingly popular with China's consumers as earnings rise, especially in Shanghai.
Shipping soup in Shanghai
LAST week was a tough week to get through any year. You must, like Caesar, beware the Ides of March (15) and either proclaim your ethnic origins or become honourary Irish for a day on St Patrick's Day (17). In Shanghai, you also have to cope with the fickle March weather.
Chess master makes first move on-line
JOINTLY sponsored by Shanghai Chess Association and Shanghai Lotof Network Information Technology Co Ltd, a long-running chess match at www.lotof.com on the web was kicked off on Saturday.
Campaign to prevent polio comeback
AN incidence of polio (also known as infantile paralysis) in October in Northwest China's Qinghai Province has prompted a warning from experts that children from abroad must be vaccinated against the disease either before or soon after they come to Shanghai.
Women seek access to legal consultation
A 50-YEAR-OLD woman says tearfully she has sued for divorce four times over the past nine years, but she has been denied each time over property disputes.
Controversy over keeping city wall
SHANGHAI city wall was built in a matter of months in 1553 to repel Japanese pirates, but it took more than 10 years to demolish it.
Students broaden horizons overseas
PHOTOGRAPHS of Chinese high-fliers who studied in Britain adorned the entrance to the British Education Exhibition 2000, held two weeks ago in Shanghai.
Rush to wed breeds crime
THE proverb "marry in haste repent at leisure" took on a whole new meaning for two Shanghai residents recently.
Robbers ring up call-girls
A BOOK described as a "goldmine" by a debtor, because it listed the telephone numbers of call-girls, brought two men suspected of robbing four prostitutes before the Yangpu District Procuratorate recently.
Court fines nose biter $348
HONGKOU District Court has ordered a 38-year-old man named Liu who bit a bus driver's nose with such force that it required seven stitches to close the wound to pay 2,884 yuan ($348) in medical expenses and damages.
Tourism development at top of agenda
By Shi Hua
SHANGHAI plans to transform itself into an international tourist metropolis by 2015, according to Zhou Muyao, vice-mayor of Shanghai. Zhou was speaking at the city's first tourism working conference which closed on Sunday. "By then, Shanghai will develop into an international centre for tourism, with large conventions and exhibitions, cultural and sports exchanges and events," Zhou said. "Tourism has a great role to play in Shanghai's present and future development," said Zhou. "That's why we have been developing it as the pillar of tertiary industry in recent years." "We will make unremitting efforts to attract people, from home and abroad, to visit Shanghai," Zhou said. In 1999, the city earned $1.365 billion from a total of 1.657 million overseas tourists from outside the mainland. Domestic tourists to the city totalled 75 million last year, spending 71.93 billion yuan ($8.7 billion). Tourism revenues accounted for 4.9 per cent of the city's total GDP. By the end of 1999, the city had built up 10 special tourist bus lines that linked all the city's major tourist attractions. Traffic between Shanghai and neighbouring tourist cities is now faster and easier. Ten tourist information centres have also been built up across the city, providing all kinds of services for Chinese and foreign tourists. Another 10 will be built this year. However, Zhou pointed out, Shanghai attracted fewer tourists than Beijing and Hong Kong. "The charm of Shanghai lies in the intermingling of Chinese and Western cultures and we should fully exploit it," Zhou said. "We must always put people first and improve our service and cultivate good and distinct tourist programmes," said Zhou. To attract more foreign tourists, Shanghai will take full advantage of its own tourist resources and of neighbouring Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. "Shanghai can serve as a modern sitting room while Jiangsu and Zhejiang can work as back gardens," Zhou said. Zhou also pointed out, Shanghai's modern city landscape is an irresistible magnet for better-off farmers in these two provinces. "There is a large market in the farmers out there," said Zhou. "We must be quick to learn and digest other's experiences, have a good understanding of ourselves and liberalize our minds," Zhou said.
Copyright 2000 by Shanghai Star. All rights reserved.