Western China - news and development

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Ningxia to build China's first Internet Plus Healthcare demo zone
Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-02 15:37:28|Editor: ZX


YINCHUAN, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region plans to establish the country's first "Internet Plus Healthcare" demonstration zone, the regional government announced Tuesday.

According to the plan approved by the National Health Commission, Ningxia will build a healthcare big data center in the city of Zhongwei and will set up an industrial park in Yinchuan, the regional capital, to attract healthcare enterprises.

Ningxia is committed to integrating Internet Plus with medical care to ensure more comprehensive coverage of high-quality medical resources and improve the efficiency of medical services, according to Huang Yong, deputy director of Health and Family Planning Commission of Ningxia.

Huang said that Ningxia has made significant progress in "Internet Plus Healthcare" over the past few years.

A telemedicine system has been put in place, connecting seven hospitals at the regional level, 22 hospitals at the municipal or county level, and 196 medical care institutions at township level.

China issued a guideline in April to enhance the role of Internet Plus in medical care, calling for the use of Internet technologies to improve the quality of public health services.

 

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Xinjiang Sets up Research Center to Better Protect Tarim River Basin
Aug 06, 2018

A research center dedicated to water resources study and management of the Tarim River was set up in Xinjiang on August 1 to provide better protection to the River Basin.

The center, named “Research Center for Ecological Protection and Water Resources Management of the Tarim River Basin”, will focus on key scientific problems in water resources and ecology protection of the river basin, as well as research on management and optimal allocation of water resources of Tarim River.

The Center was jointly established by the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Tarim River Basin Bureau. Both sides signed a cooperation agreement to work together on research and protection of the river.

"Establishment of the center will help find better solutions to problems such as water ecology, water environment, water pollution, and groundwater overdraft in the Tarim River basin,” said ZHANG Yuanming, vice director of XIEG.

Running over 1,321km across Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the Tarim River is China’s longest inland river. It is the principal river of the Tarim Basin, a desert region of Central Asia between the Tian Shan and Kunlun Mountains.

With a total area of 1.02 million km2, the Tarim River Basin is home to nearly 10 million Uyghur and other ethnic minorities. Water resources from the Tarim River mainstream and its tributaries are vital for both human development and the region’s ecosystems.

The Tarim River Basin sustains more than a third of China’s cotton production, however, 37% of the areas in the River Basin are under 'extremely high' water stress, according to the Aqueduct Global Water Risk Map of World Resources Institute in 2013.


Xinjiang Sets up Research Center to Better Protect Tarim River Basin---Chinese Academy of Sciences

 

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Teachers share their knowledge in Tibet
Yang Meiping 23:48 UTC+8, 2018-08-05

Fifty five teachers from Shanghai set off yesterday for Shigatse, in Tibet Autonomous Region, as part of an ongoing program to bolster education there.

The teachers include 40 involved in a Shanghai-based program launched in 2016 to send teachers annual to Tibet, where they will be based in the Shigatse-Shanghai Experimental School.

The other 15 are part of a national program announced in December to aid educational development in Tibet. These teachers will be based at the Shigatse No.2 Vocational School.

Peng Chunhui, a physics teacher at Shanghai New Bridge Middle School, said he served in a similar program in 2012 which sent him to Zepu County, Kashgar Prefecture, in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. There he shared his teaching experience with local educators through demonstration classes, lectures and research.

“It touches me that, even now, some of the Xinjiang teachers are grateful to us, saying they were inspired by a word, a class or even a homework-assessment demonstration from us; and that the program benefited local children,” he said. “So when I saw a recruitment notification to aid teachers in Tibet, I told myself I should do something for Tibetan children, too.”

But while the program offers the chance for Shanghai teachers to share their knowledge, it also means spending up to a year away from family and familiar surroundings.

Xu Xin, a chemistry teacher at Shanghai Songjiang No.2 High School, said he will miss seeing his 6-year-old daughter start primary school in September. Nevertheless, he says the chance to help Tibetan children is worth the sacrifice.

Shu Yinji, a teacher at the School Affiliated to Jinyuan Senior High School, said his father was diagnosed with liver cancer last year and will be hospitalized later.

“But my family encouraged me to go to Tibet because it’s a meaningful experience,” he said. “They can endure the hardships, even though I am absent.”

Hu Xiaoguang, another teacher from Putuo District, said he had to ask his parents living in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, to help his wife look after their 18-month-old son while he is away in Tibet.

Over the past two years, 74 Shanghai teachers have worked in Shigatse; and their efforts seem to be paying off.

Last year, all high school students at the Shigatse Shanghai Experimental School obtained college-entrance exam scores that met the threshold for university admission.

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Source: SHINE Editor: Wang Xiang

 

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Tibetan children get free heart treatment at low altitude
By PALDEN NYIMA/QI XIN | China Daily | Updated: 2018-08-10 07:06

A nurse uses a mobile phone to translate and communicate with a Tibetan girl and her father at Zhengzhou Cardiovascular Hospital in Henan province on Thursday. QI XIN/CHINA DAILY

Forty-five Tibetan children with congenital heart disease began to receive free medical treatment in Henan province on Wednesday.

Due to factors in the Tibetan plateau's climate, such as low oxygen, the Tibet autonomous region has one of the highest rates of congenital heart disease in China.

Since 2012, the Chinese Red Cross Foundation has been organizing medical teams to conduct screening work and provide free medical treatment.

Since 2015, Zhengzhou Cardiovascular Hospital has rescued 165 congenital heart disease patients from the provinces of Qinghai, Guizhou and Yunnan, as well as Tibet.

Most of the 45 children this time were from Tibet's northern Nagqu city, where the average altitude is above 4,500 meters, and it was the first time they had been to a place with an elevation of only 200 meters.

These children－ranging in age from 10 months to 6 years, with one 20-year-old－are being treated at the Zhengzhou hospital in the provincial capital. The hospital has been working with the foundation since 2015 to provide free medical treatment for children from China's remote areas.

"This is the fourth time our team has offered free medical treatment in Qinghai, Guizhou, Yunnan and Tibet," said Yang Bin, director of the Third Cardiovascular Surgery Zone at the hospital.

"It will take three weeks for these children to complete their medical treatment. After that, another 40 children will receive the same treatment."

Yang said language has been a small barrier during the treatment so far; however, the children were strong and the treatment process was successful.

There is translation software in the ward, and they also use body language frequently, Yang said.

"There is still a big need for doctors and heart disease medicine in Tibet, which has a higher rate of heart disease," Yang said.

Bu Norbu, a 4-year-old Tibetan boy, received his surgery on Wednesday, and his father Shungmakyab was pleased.

"I found out my kid had congenital heart disease when he was 2. Whenever he got a cold, he had to be hospitalized for treatment," said Shungmakyab, who added that he had never dreamed of getting free medical treatment in Henan, and he said he and his son were lucky to get the help.

"We are fine here, only it is a bit hot. The food provided by the hospital is good," said Shungmakyab, adding that the hospital provided food according their customary diet.

Contact the writers at palden_nyima@chinadaily.com.cn

 

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In searing heat, retired doctors volunteer in China's northwest
Hu Min 01:44 UTC+8, 2018-08-13

Shanghai ophthalmologist Liu Hongdi bids farewell to Hasiyet Abilizi in Kashgar.

Editor's note:

A Shanghai Daily reporter was part of a journalists’ tour to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to see first-hand how the devotion and experience of senior Shanghai volunteers are making a difference in the lives of people there. This is her report.​

On Shanghai ophthalmologist Liu Hongdi’s seventh trip to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region as a volunteer this summer, a patient she treated six years earlier traveled more than 200 kilometers to greet her.

“She is my daughter in Xinjiang,” Liu, 67, said of Hasiyet Abilizi, “I was very touched that she came to see me because it’s such a long distance to travel.”

Liu is one of 20 retired professionals working in Xinjiang this summer under a “senior volunteer action” program that encourages professionals to put their talents to good use in China’s underdeveloped western regions.

The group, which ends its two-month stint later this month, is spread across 10 work units in the city of Karamay, the prefecture of Kashgar and the counties of Yecheng, Shache and Bachu. Liu is part of the medical contingent.

Liu’s bond with the Abilizi dates back to 2012, when the girl was 13 and suffering from tympanitis, an inflammation of the inner ear.

As a former doctor at the Shanghai Eye Disease Prevention Center, Liu was a volunteer at the Zepu County People’s Hospital when she came to know the girl on ward rounds.

“Unlike other doctors, she was smiling all the time and she made me feel very warm, just like mother,” said Abilizi, who helped Liu with some translations from the Uygur language and gave her a letter of gratitude. After Liu returned to Shanghai, they kept in touch by letter.

In 2015, when Liu was doing volunteer work in Yecheng County, Abilizi turned up unexpectedly to greet her.

“I was very touched because she had never been outside her home county,” said Liu.

Since then, the girl and Liu have reunited every time the doctor is working in Xinjiang. One time, that involved a five-hour bus ride for Abilizi. Liu bought her a train ticket for her return home. It was the first time the girl had ever taken a train.

“Because of Mother Liu, I know there is a city called Shanghai far away from here, and I want to apply to the Shanghai International Studies University if I do well on the national college entrance examination,” the girl said.

In Xinjiang, there is an increase in numbers of cataract and glaucoma patients due to strong ultraviolet rays and complications of diabetes and hypertension, said Liu.

In Yecheng and Shache counties, medical conditions are often poor, while demand for ophthalmologists is high. While there, Liu separated ophthalmology from the ENT (ear, nose and throat) department and started offering outpatient services.

As part of a cataract-screening project in Shache, she has visited more than 20 villages.

“My counterparts in Shache were very concerned about me, given my age, the remoteness of villages and the inclement environment, but I was determined to do my work because preventing and treating blindness is my duty as an ophthalmologist,” she said. “Screening is so important to early diagnosis and care.”

About 100 surgeries resulted from these screening.

This summer, Liu is working at the Second People’s Hospital in Kashgar, along with He Qinguo, 61, a dermatologist from Shanghai.

A photo shows Liu and Abilizi shortly after their first meeting in Zepu County in 2012.

“I was worried that there is a shortage of skin-disease specialists at the hospital, and screening and treatment programs are inadequate,” he said.

He is training doctors, holding classes and working out a plan for development of a dermatology department at the hospital. He also treats patients suffering from rare skin diseases.

“We are very grateful for these senior doctors from Shanghai because they introduce good medical treatment and help in training medical personal,” said Yao Chunhui, deputy director of the medical department at Kashgar hospital.

At the Karamay Municipal People’s Hospital this summer, Wei Chaosheng, a 69-year-old cardiovascular specialist, is doing volunteer work. It’s his third tour in Xinjiang as a volunteer, but his history with the region dates back to adolescence.

When he was 17, Wei was among the urban youth sent to Xinjiang, where he worked on a farm for 20 years. Conditions were harsh, but Wei developed a deep bond with the region. Every time he returns to Xinjiang, he visits the farm where he once worked.

At the hospital, he teaches young doctors how to use cardiograms to diagnose specific medical conditions and does a bit of outpatient treatment.

“I want to share my expertise and experience in the field with the people of Xinjiang,” he said.

His colleague at the hospital is 66-year-old ophthalmologist Chen Jianhua, who is on her fourth volunteer tour in Xinjiang.

She has introduced sutures to treat childhood entropion, a condition in which the eyelid is rolled inward against the eyeball. She has also promoted the use of lasers in eye treatment

There are three doctors from Shanghai currently working as volunteers at the hospital this summer. They have already treated 1,290 outpatients’ visits, according to the hospital.

“Despite their ages, they work harder than younger people and handle a big workload,” said Ling Lixing, director of the hospital. “They come here at the hottest time of the year and develop very good relationships with patients.”

Source: SHINE Editor: Xu Qing

 

[JSCh]

Modern education comes to far-flung areas
Hu Min 00:18 UTC+8, 2018-08-15

Shanghai Volunteers In Xinjiang​

Editor's note:
A Shanghai Daily reporter was part of a journalists’ tour to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to see firsthand how the devotion and experience of senior Shanghai volunteers are making a difference in the lives of people there. This is her third report. To read the whole series, please go to shine.cn.​

Liang Ping (back row, right), a 61-year-old retiree and a specialist in teaching management, and Jin Nan (back row, left), 61, a former teacher from Shanghai Minli High School specializing in information technology and community education, pose with students of the Bachu County Third Primary School.

Liang ping, a 61-year-old retiree from Shanghai Jing’an Education College is doing a third tour of volunteer work in Xinjiang. A specialist in teaching management, she has designed family education programs and activities for people in local villages.

She is one of 20 retired professionals working in Xinjiang this summer under a senior volunteer action program that encourages professionals to contribute their talents and skills to hardship areas of China’s west.

They devote their passion and expertise to helping people in Xinjiang without any reward but the smiles and gratitude of those whose lives they brighten.

Since 2003, retired volunteers from Shanghai have made 351 trips to Xinjiang under a “senior volunteer action” program that encourages professionals to contribute their talents to China’s western regions.

The latest group of 20 volunteers from Shanghai have an average age of 63, and come from careers in medicine, education and psychology. Thirteen of them are on return visits to the region. The current contingent will return to Shanghai at the end of this month.

They are assigned to 10 work units in the city of Karamay, the prefecture of Kashgar and the counties of Yecheng, Shache and Bachu on a roughly two-month stint, during which they provide assistance in local hospitals, disease control and prevention centers, child welfare institutes and schools.

Liang is working in Bachu County this summer, more than 300 kilometers from Kashgar.

“Two months of services here are far from enough for me because I have so much to accomplish,” said Liang. “The divorce rate in some local villages is high, and children’s education is often neglected. Moreover, we see some cases of domestic violence.”

Sun Dan / SHINE
Ye Yin (left, standing), 60, a retired vocal music teacher, teaches at Kashgar College for Senior Citizens during her fourth volunteer tour in Xinjiang. She is organizing a female chorus at the college this summer.

She has spent seven days visiting more than 20 far-flung villages in Bachu to promote family education, which is a new concept to the locals. She uses translators since most villagers are ethnic Uygurs.

“Few people could withstand the strain of such an intense work schedule, not to mention the shabby conditions of these villages, where meals are basic and no air conditioning is available when temperatures soar to 38 degrees,” Wang Lin, an official in the Bachu County Community Education Office, said in praise of the volunteers.

Another volunteer is Jin Nan, 61, a former teacher from Shanghai Minli High School specializing in information technology and community education. He is helping promote 3D printing in the local villages. The 3D printed works of local children were sold at a charity bazaar in Shanghai.

Jin was severely bitten by an insect in the leg and couldn’t sleep because of the pain and itching. There was no ointment at the local hospital to relieve the condition. He ended up applying salt water as a salve. In such a remote environment, ingenuity is paramount.

“I am called a ‘senior expert’ by the locals,” Jin said. “That places a lot of responsibility on me and I strive to fulfill expectations.”

Huang Lixin, 55, a former professor of Shanghai University of Engineering Science specializing in mechanical and automotive engineering, has compiled textbooks for students and faculty at Bachu County Vocational High School.

Sun Dan
Huang Lixin, 55, a former professor at Shanghai University of Engineering Science and a specialist in mechanical and automotive engineering, teaches students at Bachu County Vocational High School.

“When I was young,” she said, “I had a long-term goal to go to the neediest places in China. Now my teaching experience accumulated over decades is given full play here.”

Another of the current Shanghai team of educators is Ye Yin, 60, a vocal music teacher working at Kashgar College for Senior Citizens on her fourth volunteer stint in Xinjiang.

“I formerly was in Xinjiang 10 times, giving musical performances and traveling,” she said. “I love Xinjiang for its beauty, customs and people.”

She is organizing a female chorus at the college this summer.

“My ‘students’ are a mixed lot,” she said. “Some gave up their dreams of music when they were young because of throat problems. Now they want to fulfill their dreams. Some just want to make friends.”

She added, “Seniors sometimes behave like children, but I encourage them even if they don’t perform well.”

Her students love their teacher.

“I am very happy to be here,” said senior Zhao Yanqin. “I never expected to learn so many things after retirement. I am very interested in music and don’t miss any of Ye’s classes.”

Another student said Ye was always patient, even if rehearsals don’t go well.

“I have learned how to sing beautifully from here,” said He Yuxia, another student. Ye said there is a surplus of music teachers in Shanghai, but too few in areas like this that needs them. “I hope to return to Xinjiang next year and am even considering moving here to live,” she said.

Source: SHINE Editor: Zhang Shunyi

 

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Tibet builds world’s highest 500-kilovolt substation
By Liu Xuanzun Source:Global Times Published: 2018/8/14 22:28:41

The world's highest 500-kilovolt transformer substation has begun to provide electricity to Tibet, with experts predicting the Southwest China region can supply other provinces in the future.

The 500-kilovolt substation in Markam county went operational Saturday, according to a statement released Tuesday by the State Grid Corporation of China on its official website.

The grid upgrade from 220 to 500 kilovolts will guarantee more stable electricity, said Han Xiaoping, chief analyst at energy industry website china5e.com on Tuesday.

"In the past, energy supply in Tibet was relatively insufficient," Han told the Global Times. "People sometimes needed to transport fuel to Tibet to ensure usage. But with better power grids, the problem will be solved."

Built at an altitude of 4,300 meters, the Markam substation is "the highest 500-kilovolt transformer substation in the world," according to the statement.

Construction took "more than 700 days," the statement said. Workers had to cope with the high altitude, low temperatures, lack of oxygen and intense ultraviolet rays.

The Markam substation is a part of the Central Tibet Grid Interconnection Project, which aims to meet the electricity needs of central Tibet and promote development.

When it is completed, the project will break world records. It is not only the world's highest power grid with an average altitude of 4,000 meters, but also has the biggest altitude difference of 3,100 meters, Tibet-based news website xzxw.com reported.

"Tibet doesn't need too much electricity itself, but it has huge potential for generating hydroelectricity," Han said.

"In the future, the project will allow Tibet to output extra electricity to other Chinese provinces, which could help with economic development in Tibet."

 

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Xinjiang's tourism booms in first seven months
Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-18 13:44:19|Editor: Li Xia


URUMQI, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region saw more than 78 million tourists in the first seven months, up 38.72 percent year-on-year, according to regional statistics.

Tourists have spent more than 121 billion yuan (around 17.6 billion U.S. dollars) in the region during the period, up 40.72 percent from last year.

Emerging tourist attractions in the region and a more developed traffic network are the primary reasons for the strong growth, according to the regional tourism development commission.

Xinjiang saw an increase of 32.4 percent in the number of tourists in 2017, receiving a total of 107 million. Tourists spent over 182 billion yuan in the region, 30 percent more than in 2016.

 

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Xinjiang’s Alashankou plays key role on busy intercontinental trade route, bringing jobs and security
By Shan Jie Source:Global Times Published: 2018/8/22 18:53:40

Wang Ying and her granddaughter Mengmeng, tourists from Central China's Hubei Province, view the national gate at Alashankou, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, on August 2. China-Europe freight trains pass beside the gate every day. Photo: Shan Jie/GT

Alashankou city used to have China's most remote railway station. Now, the young city in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region has become an important border hub. More than 6,000 trains carrying goods between China and Europe pass through here.

As a western gate for China on the Belt and Road, Alashankou draws on its strength to boost the initiative and drive the development of other parts in Xinjiang.

On the rise

Alashankou, also known as Alataw Pass, is the largest entrepôt in northwestern China, located in Bortala Mongolian Prefecture of Xinjiang. It saw a steep increase in the number of China-Europe freight trains and freight volume in the first seven months of 2018, according to local authorities.

From January to July this year, 1,328 China-Europe freight trains passed through Alashankou, carrying 577,600 tons of goods, according to Alashankou customs, people.cn reported.

To increase efficiency, around 63 percent of the trains passed through at night time. In this way, the time to pass customs has been reduced from more than 23 hours to less than 15 hours.

According to the local customs office, over 6,000 China-Europe freight trains had traveled through Alataw Pass since 2011, when the first China-Europe line was launched between Chongqing and Duisburg, Germany, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

About 70 percent of China-Europe trains pass through Alashankou before arriving in 36 cities of 13 European countries through 10 routes.

Zhu Chao, a trade official in Alashankou, told the Global Times that in 2017, a total of 1,755 China-Europe freight trains passed through the city, a 75.4 percent year-on-year increase, carrying 894,800 tons of goods.

"Currently, the rising trend is still very obvious," Zhu said.

Alashankou is at the middle point of the Second Eurasian Continental Bridge, a railway that passes more than 40 countries with Rotterdam, the Netherlands and Lianyungang, East China's Jiangsu Province on either end. The route crosses countries with a combined population of 2.2 billion.

The line goes through major cities in China. A train from Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality to Duisburg of Germany takes two weeks.

Zhu said that Alashankou has a proud record of efficiency in customs clearance services, nearly two hours faster than the average time national-wide, thanks to its advanced facilities and workers' experience.

This line is also the shortest way to Europe among all the China-European railways, Zhu noted. "It has great potential."

More than an entrepôt

The Alashankou Integrated Free Trade Zone was approved in May 2011 by the State Council. It is the first of its kind in Xinjiang, and the 16th across China.

The zone has been taking advantages of policies and its location to promote the development of production and processing in the area.

Alashankou is the main land route for importing energy resources, and ensures China imports good-quality resources, said Zhang Xuehai, head of the economic development bureau under the management committee of the Alashankou Integrated Free Trade Zone.

By the end of 2017, 20 billion yuan ($2.92 billion) was invested into the Alashankou Integrated Free Trade Zone, Zhang told the Global Times.

The region attracted 465 companies by 2017, generating an income of 44 million yuan, he said.

SF Express, China's logistics giant, built a subsidiary in Alashankou this year that provides fast train transportation services.

Leo Zheng, a manager of the SF Express subsidiary, told the Global Times that the company receives goods by train from different areas of China or Europe at Alashankou, and sends the goods to different destinations.

Chemical materials, electronic devices, tomato sauce and textiles are the main products the company exports from China for now, while clothes, raw materials and luxuries are being imported.

The company aims to operate 100 trains between China and Europe in 2018, delivering 100,000 tons of goods, according to Zheng.

Meanwhile, the Aiju Qinjiang food company from Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, has been producing flour and oil in its newly opened factory in the Alashankou Integrated Free Trade Zone since 2017.

The company processes wheat and sunflowers imported from Kazakhstan in Alashankou, and sells the products in supermarkets back in Shaanxi, Li Ping, an office chief of the company, told the Global Times.

"The transportation cost is much lower than processing in Xi'an. Also, the Kazakh products have a better taste and are more organic," Li said.

The company has invested 80 million yuan in building factories and storage facilities in Alashankou, and will pay 140 million yuan for more storage and production lines, Li said.

Helping to maintain stability

Alashankou has also been using its advantage to lead the development of other regions in Xinjiang.

The Integrated Free Trade Zone is making a contribution to regional stability by creating a large number of jobs, which is considered part of targeted poverty relief.

The zone has attracted more than 1,800 workers from all around Xinjiang. At the end of 2018, there will be more than 3,000, including many ethnic minorities, according to Zhang.

For example, Alashankou has accepted 300 Uyghur workers from Pishan and Shache counties in southern Xinjiang.

"Xinjiang's efforts in maintaining stability aim to make an environment for economic development and people's peaceful life," Zhang noted. "The benefits of stability will bloom within five years."

Zhang said that to make the Belt and Road initiative more energetic, people-to-people communication is a key.

"Therefore, we are studying how to upgrade Alashankou into a free trade region in order to clear up barriers to people's communication and promote development all along the railway," he said.

Zhang said that Xinjiang needs more medium- and high-end talent who can practically understand and apply the policies.

 

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China, Xinjiang, Urumqi latest street views

People's cinema and surroundings

 

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Across China: Highland barley a plant of fortune for Tibetans
Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 21:56:30|Editor: Liangyu


LHASA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Growing 1,000 meters above sea level on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, highland barley has been filling the bellies of Tibetans for generations. Now the plant is also bringing them wealth.

Tsering Yangzom, 30, was busy gathering in highland barley over the weekend. She expects to harvest 1,200 kg this year. Besides the portion she keeps for her family, she intends to sell the rest to a local processing factory, which will bring nearly 1,000 yuan (145 U.S. dollars) of extra income.

Lhorong in Tibet's Chamdo City is known for its quality highland barley. With nearly 4,000 hectares of highland barley, the county is called "the granary of east Tibet." About 55,000 people are engaged in the production and processing of the grain.

After harvest, the highland barley will be washed, dried, roasted and ground into flour-like tsamba -- the most popular staple food in Tibet. Since last year, Lhorong tsamba has been granted a geographic indication and is thus protected.

Farmers used to keep most of the yield as the staple food for the next year. However, as new breeds of high-yield barley were introduced, farmers are able to sell their surplus to a local tsamba company, where the grain is processed into flour, noodles and biscuits.

Tsering Dhondup, the general manager, said the company purchased 800,000 kg of highland barley from local farmers last year, and is expected to purchase 1.5 million kg this year, thanks to a booming market and expanded production.

More than 1,000 households sold their barley to the company at 30 to 40 percent higher than the street price. The selling price of registered impoverished households was even higher, according to the local government.

"Highland barley processing helps to expedite local economic development and increase people's incomes," Tsering Dhondup said.

Among the 30 employees of the company, 28 were from registered impoverished families. Due to the stable income of the job, 18 of them have been successfully lifted out of poverty. The expanded recruitment is expected to help another 50 to 80 low-income residents shake off poverty next year.

Lhosong used to be a farmer before joining the company as a driver in 2011. His monthly income was instantly boosted to 2,500 yuan from less than 500 yuan previously. This year, he introduced his fiancee, also from a poor family, to work in the company.

After years of work, he used his savings to build a two-storey house for the whole family, and buy a second-hand car for himself and a tilting cart for his father to do part-time contracts.

"Even though I don't make direct contact with highland barley nowadays, my job and a relatively well-off life only exist because of the plant," the man said.

Like Lhosong, many families in Lhorong have bid goodbye to poverty thanks to highland barley. According to the local government's work plan, the whole county will overcome poverty by the year-end.

"In addition to other parts in Chamdo, our barley seeds are sold to the neighboring provinces of Sichuan and Qinghai. Our tsamba biscuits even board the planes of Tibet Airlines and fly across China as inflight snacks," said Soinam Tsering, head of Lhorong's agriculture and animal husbandry bureau.

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World's largest textile mill for colored yarns opens in Xinjiang
Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 18:50:48|Editor: Liangyu


URUMQI, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The world's largest textile mill for spinning colored yarn was launched on Saturday in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Built with an investment of 5 billion yuan (735 million U.S. dollars), the mill in Aksu, southern Xinjiang, will see 1 million spindles installed by the end of the year.

The textile mill is owned by Huafu Fashion Co. Ltd., the world's largest supplier of melange yarn, which is based in east China's Zhejiang Province.

The company has also invested 2.5 billion yuan to build a dyeing industrial park in Aksu, which is designed with a capacity for dyeing and printing 100,000 tonnes of cotton yarn a year.

Sun Weiting, chairman of the company, said the factories were not only textile producing facilities, but also boasted a fashion designing, developing platform and intelligent and digital machines for developing environmentally-friendly textiles.

As the largest cotton grower in China, Xinjiang has attracted major textile companies from east and south China to set up branches and factories. Aksu, Kashgar and Hotan in southern Xinjiang are major producers of cotton. Aksu's long-staple cotton output accounts for 93 percent of the country's total.

As of 2017, there are more than 2,700 registered textile companies in Xinjiang, which have provided jobs for more than 350,000 local residents.

Huafu has 5,333 hectares of cotton growing fields in Xinjiang. Its annual cotton trade and logistic volume has reached 500,000 tonnes.

 

[JSCh]

Top-level planning on western development to be released
Xinhua Finance in CNSTOCK
2018-08-31 16:28

It will be the 30th year since China carried out the grand western development program, and new top-level planning is expected to be released soon. Xiao Weiming, an official from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), yesterday disclosed that the NDRC is taking the lead in drafting instruction on pushing the western development drive in the upcoming era.​

Draw the roadmap for China’s western development drive in next 10-15 years

The NDRC held a news conference discussing the progress of development boost in China’s western area yesterday. Xiao said that the NDRC initially considered driving the coordinated development in western region by measures in six aspects.

Deepening state-owned enterprise (SOEs) reform is one of the measures. Xiao remarked that the country will reinforce SOEs reform, particularly SOEs mixed-ownership reform, adjust SOEs deployment, and enhance development of civilian-military integration. Supports should be given to promote system innovation and reform pilot in western region.

In addition, Xiao mentioned that the country should support western areas to take part in and integrate in the Belt and Road initiative development, improve open infrastructure construction, and establish some open platforms such as free trade experiment zone, inland economic experimental zone, national-level new area and cross-border economic cooperation zone.

It is learnt by Shanghai Securities News that earlier in July, several ministries and commissions including the NDRC, Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the Ministry of Commerce had joint investigation in China’s western areas, aiming to lay foundation for drafting guidance on strengthening measures of boosting western development in the upcoming new era.

It is reported that the to-be-released new planning will guide the western development word for the next 10 years or till 2035.

Transportation infrastructure is still key task of western development

152 major projects about the western development drive with total investment worth of 3.75 trillion yuan have been newly started since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, according to the NDRC data.

Lately, the central government and ministries frequently said that they would continue to develop the weak links in western areas and advance significant project constriction.

Xiao also added that the NDRC will start construction of a batch of major projects related to transportation, water conservation, energy infrastructure and ecological and environmental protection, and livelihood guaranty by centering on development of the Belt and Road initiative, poverty alleviation program and rural revitalization. This will ensure the growing economic and social development momentum in the western areas.

He also stressed that transportation infrastructure is still the key mission of western development. The government will speed up the transportation network construction which is mainly composed of freeway, railway and highway. It should quicken construction of Chengdu-Guiyang high-speed railway, and start construction of other railway and high-speed railways in western regions as soon as possible. It should build a batch of freeway to expand regional connection, and continue to strengthen highway development in rural areas and airport construction.

“The western regions boast huge investment demand in the future due to lack of transportation infrastructure,” said Huang Yong from Guizhou Academy of Social Sciences.

The planned transportation infrastructure investment in 12 western provinces is over 1.2 trillion yuan in 2018, according to SSN.

Translated by Vanessa Chan

 

[JSCh]

China's first independently-developed atmosphere observation system installed in Tibet
Xinhua | Updated: 2018-09-05 21:18

LHASA -- China has installed its first independently-developed atmosphere observation system known as APSOS in Tibet Autonomous Region in the southwest of the country.

APSOS, or Atmosphere Profiling Synthetic Observation System, is a ground-based facility for profiling atmospheric variables and multiple constituents in the atmosphere.

The system, installed in Yangbajing International Cosmic Ray Observatory, is capable of monitoring atmospheric compositions such as temperature, wind speed, and ozone and carbon dioxide levels, according to Lyu Daren, head of the APSOS project and academician in the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"It can continuously gather atmospheric data from the ground up to 110 km in the air," said Lyu, adding that it supplements current methods of atmosphere observation.

"The system is installed in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau because the region plays an important role in affecting climate and environmental changes globally," Lyu explained.

The APSOS program was launched in 2012 with an investment of 93 million yuan ($14 million) from the National Natural Science Foundation of China.