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July 15, 2011

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HomeCity specialsHangzhou

CPI climbs to high

HANGZHOU'S consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation, climbed to 5.1 percent last month, a record monthly high this year, the city's Bureau of Statistics said. The Hangzhou government says it will reinforce supervision over market prices to curb rising food costs.

The consumer price index saw a sharp jump in June over May's 3.9 percent after food costs, especially for pork, poultry, eggs and vegetables, soared 12.8 percent on a yearly basis and 2.4 percent from the month before.

Pork prices jumped 49 percent from a year ago while egg prices rose 26.7 percent. Vegetable prices, which had been falling in the previous three months, saw a 22.7 percent increase in May. Only fruit prices went down - by 8.5 percent - due to growing seasonal supply.

The price of industrial consumer goods remained stable in June, 1.8 percent higher than a year earlier.

Foreign trade lifts

The foreign trade volume of Zhejiang Province jumped 23.1 percent in the first half of this year from the same period last year to US$144.64 billion, Hangzhou Customs Office said on Tuesday. The increase is the highest in the Yangtze River Delta region.

Exports from Zhejiang in the first half reached US$100.48 billion, 22.3 percent higher than the same period last year, ranking third in China. Zhejiang's imports in the first half were US$44.16 billion, 25.1 percent higher than the same period last year, ranking sixth in China.

The foreign trade volume of the province's private-owned sector increased 26.6 percent in the first half, reaching US$77.78 billion.

Import of raw materials was US$23.15 billion, 25.6 percent higher than last year, accounting for 52.4 percent of the total imports in the first half. Experts say rising prices of raw materials will pose an obstacle to Zhejiang's exports.

Trash volunteers

Hangzhou Urban Management Commission will launch a volunteer team to reinforce garbage sorting efforts in the city.

"There is a big gap between current garbage sorting situation and our goal," said Chen Xiangrong, director of the commission.

The commission will start accepting applications from volunteers from today until July 31. Volunteers can register at the urban management office in their own communities. Those who are willing to contribute to the education and training of garbage sorting can directly register at the district urban management commission.

Hangzhou started its garbage sorting campaign in March 2010. Until the end of last month, 407,000 households, 63.8 percent of all households in Hangzhou, have started sorting their garbage.

Mobile tour guide

Tourists will soon be able to enjoy a tour guide on their mobile phones when visiting the West Lake, Hangzhou Gardening and Heritage Bureau said this week.

After downloading a tour guide application on their mobile phones, visitors can type in a code relating to a scenic spot to get information about the location by text or voicemail, said Bao Tinghua, an official with the bureau.

The city also plans to upgrade the audio guide and offer it in six languages. Currently it is available in English, Korean, Japanese and Chinese. The two additional languages will be decided according to market research.

The bureau expects the number of tourists from Europe and America will surge after the West Lake was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Currently, West Lake receives about 30 million visitors a year.

Cab fares may rise

Hangzhou's transport department is mulling over raising its taxi fares within the year as Shanghai's taxi fares were raised last Saturday to meet rising fuel prices.

The new taxi fare scheme in Hangzhou is now under further consideration after several rounds of discussions in recent months.

The city's transport authority intends to keep the current 10-yuan (US$1.54) flag-down fare and a fuel surcharge of 1 yuan per trip unchanged while considering a surcharge for traffic congestion and long-distance empty rides. The city government will hold hearings to elicit public opinion over the detailed scheme. The rise is aimed to increase the income of taxi drivers by 1,000 yuan a month.

At present, each cab makes an average of 48 trips each day with the driver earning an average monthly income of 3,000 yuan to 4,000 yuan.

Wildlife photos

The 83 winning pictures from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2010 competition held in Britain are being exhibited at the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History in Hangzhou until July 24.

The exhibition, part of the competition's global tour show, is open to visitors for free.

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year is an annual competition organized by the Natural History Museum in London and BBC Wildlife Magazine.


 

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