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1997--- December




  • Starting from January 1, a new rate will be adopted for international calls nationwide. Calls will be charged differently at different time of the day.

  • Shanghai's Seventh Communist Party Congress successfully concluded on December 25. It has elected a new governing committee for the city.

  • December 25 is Christmas in Western countries. A recent survey showed that 81.42% of Shanghai residents know this foreign festival and yet 84.96% think that they will not observe it.

  • More and more people are sending each other greeting cards without stamps which, to be more exact, cyber-cards. Many people, especially young white-collars are using online card- delivering services.

  • Experts are working on a general proposal to build a large reservoir at the Yangtze estuary to provide quality drinking water for Shanghai residents.

  • Pudong Customs reported steady growth in New Area's imports and exports from January through November. The growth rate reached almost 24%.

  • China's personal computer market saw exponential growth in 1997 as PC makers cut prices to compete for market shares.

  • Local residents began getting better quality water from the Huangpu River as the second-phase of a water diversion project began its operation.

  • The development program for the city is announced at the Shanghai Communist Party Congress. The next three years will be important because it leads to long-range program, Party Secretary Huang Ju told the congress deputies.

  • Over the past five years, Shanghai has made economic breakthroughs with the gross domestic product increasing by 13.8 percent annually.

  • China's first DVD (for digital videodisk) production line will be installed in Shanghai. The World Bank provided loan for it.

  • Shanghai has completed 21 major projects planned for the year. These projects include Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai Stock Building, etc.

  • During the past few years, there have been more than 1 million workers laid off because of enterprise reform. At the same time, the city's re-careering efforts have so far provided job opportunities for more than 1 million workers.

  • Changshou Road, the US$150 million-project, was opened to public on December 17. This 3.14- kilometer road is one of the most important road in Shanghai's northwestern region.

  • Distance learning, made possible by computer networks, is benefiting college students. Students at Jiaotong University can attend "virtual lectures" given by professors at Medical University. This trend is expected to grow as Fudan University, Shanghai University and several others will get connected next year.

  • More children aged from 4 to 6 are becoming fat. A survey conducted in a local nursery found that half of the fat children have contracted with hypertension.

  • More than 140 architects and urban planners attending the annual meeting of China Architecture Association are calling on the society to attach more importance to the design of public space.

  • A survey released by Shanghai Statistics Bureau shows that Shanghai residents are investing more either in bonds and stocks.

  • 587 enterprises were recently recognized by the government as "high-tech" enterprises. Among them, almost one third are private enterprises.

  • The memorial hall for the First Meeting of the Communist Party of China will be expanded to include a 2,500-square-meter exhibition hall for educational purpose.

  • Starting from December 16, there will be no ferry boats on Suzhou Creek. The decision is made partly on the diminishing number of passengers and partly because of the increasing new bridges built across the creek.

  • Shanghai has successfully seized 41 illegal production line of CDs and VCDs since 1995. And legal businesses ware allowed to make full use of those equipment.

  • The per capita living space in Shanghai has grown by about 30 percent to 8.7 square meters over the past six years.

  • Shanghai uncovered 923 economic corruption cases involving officials between January and October, the municipal Supervision Commission reported.

  • A new pension plan will be implemented next year. Under the plan, 11 percent of an employee's salary will go to a personal pension account-5 percent paid by the employee and 6 percent by the employer.

  • The Shanghai Commerce Commission has announced four "breakthrough" measures regarding ownership system reform of the city's state-run commercial enterprises.

  • Shanghai Social Science Academy recently released a survey showing that two-thirds of the couples surveyed are satisfied with their marital life.

  • School-run industries are one of the strongest supporters of Shanghai's education. Last year, factories and companies run by high schools, colleges and universities achieved an output of US$1.4 billion.

  • Cultural activities held at squares might not be a rare phenomenon in Shanghai. During the past few years there have appeared 70 such squares in Shanghai. And every year more than 25,000 local residents participate.

  • Shanghai Online has recently been connected to the China Public Multimedia Network, which links the networks of several provinces such as Heilongjiang and Guangdong.

  • "Paperless" trade is gradually taking form in Shanghai. EDI (electronic data interchange) system, one of the five major projects of Info-port, has been successfully established.

  • The municipality held a meeting on December 4 to discuss ways to clean up the Suzhou Creak, which runs through the city from west to east.

  • Up till now, Shanghai has received more than 1.5 million overseas tourists. The total revenue has reached $1.11billion, up 13.79% over the same period last year.

  • Shanghai's civil servants raised a donation of more than RMB150,000 which will help the re-careering of laid-off workers.

  • Electric vehicles are dinosaurs in some respect, but they may come back as the pollution caused by gas-burning vehicles worsens.

  • Tamagotchis's days have gone. The "virtual pets" seem to run out of steam. They no longer become the favorite toy of high school kids.

  • A prospering port is essential for Shanghai to build itself into a world metropolitan city, Shanghai Mayor Xu Kuangdi told senior maritime officials and experts from 20 countries and regions at an international maritime forum.

  • Shanghai people are spending more money on food and eating better than before, according to the Shanghai Commercial Information Center.

  • The city's northeastern Baoshan District has become a magnet in attracting overseas investors. During the first 10 months this year, the district attracted $380 million worth of overseas capital.

  • Overseas fund has accounted for about 25 percent of Shanghai's investment in urban construction.

  • A project to divert water from the upper reaches of the Huangpu River to Shanghai will be completed this month.

  • The city's suburbs will have $2 billion worth of foreign capital at disposal next year to boost the economy in the rural areas, a local agricultural official said.

  • A plan conceived by city leaders will increase the green coverage of the city from 2.3 square meters per person to 3.5 square meters by the year 2000.

  • This year's campaign to encourage adoption of disabled orphan wound up with 10 children finding new homes.

  • About 630,000 people in Shanghai now have their own mobile phones, up from 300,000 earlier this way.

  • Part of Nanjing Road, the most bustling and prosperous commercial street in China, was closed for the construction of a subway station for the city's Metro Line 2 project.

  • Pudong New Area is preparing for the central government to reintroduce a favorable tax policy for foreign investors who need to import equipment and materials.

  • Golden Star, the locally-produced color TV set, once again is shining. During the first 10 months this year, its sales exceeded those of Changhong, another brand-name TV.

  • Shanghai's trade unions are exploring ways to seek better protection for workers of all levels. Shanghai General Trade Union has been offering free legal services to needy workers.

  • The first day in December is the world's "AIDS Day". But the survey released recently showed that only 30% know something about AIDS and the danger it imposes on one's life.

  • The city's Culture Education administration recently stepped up its efforts in cracking down illegal videogame arcades. Although high school students are prohibited to play such games, many players in the arcades are still these underage students.

  • Starting from December 1, Shanghai Road Traffic Regulations went into effect. More than one hundred thousand residents took part in an all-mass publicity program.
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