 |
|
 |
|
| |
|
Shanghai was enveloped with
a layer of thick fog on the night of December 30.
Flights at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport
had to be canceled. Three express ways connecting
Shanghai also were sealed off. This kind of weather
is expected to last for a few days.
"Net-craze" has been spreading
among the residents. More and more individuals and
businesses have access to the information superhighway.
It is suggested by some IT experts that it is high
time to speed up the development of information
resources in Shanghai.
The enthusiasm of Shanghai
residents for the Christmas has dwindled compared
with that of previous years. Get-together diners
have decreased in number. However, many students
begin to take a liking to this foreign festival
and sending greeting cards is the order of the day.
Shanghai University, one
of the key local universities, is aspiring to pass
the primary test of the "211" project---which means
by the year 2000 there are 100 universities under
the direct leadership of the State Education Commission.
The city's export volume
is expected to chalk up a 10.56 to 12.29 percent
increase to top $12.8 billion to $13 billion this
year, according to the Shanghai Foreign Trade and
Economic Co-operation Commission.
Supermarket thefts are rising
as the New Year shopping season is drawing near.
Superstores such as the Sino-French Carrefour have
been plagued by petty theft.
A new social security network
has come into being in Shanghai, laying a solid
foundation for the city's switch from a planned
economy to a market economy.
Shanghai is fostering a
rich cultural atmosphere as it is turning into an
international economic and trade center. The goal
is to cultivate a "first-rate cultural life" to
match its status as a "first-rate city" in the world.
A new appearance emerged
as dilapidated houses have been razed to the ground
in Lujiazui Finance & Trade Zone. The zone is expected
to be the landmark part of the Pudong New Area.
More than 40 cities in neighboring
provinces such as Zhejiang and Jiangsu have been
come to Shanghai this year to secure investment
and partners for collaborative projects.
Pudong New Area has been
developing its tourism with 50 projects being completed
or underway. As a result, the number of tourists
this year has reached 2 million.
Shanghai's population growth
may now be negative, but the age group with the
strongest purchasing power is still increasing and
will continue to do so for at least the next four
years.
Public transportation in
Shanghai has been a big headache to the municipality.
Now as coin boxes (into which 50-cent fare is thrown)
replace ticket sellers, local residents and tourists
alike are still hope that more buses will be on
the road.
The technology development
zone in Caohejin, one of the earliest zones in Shanghai,
has been making efforts in developing its western
section. Up till now, there are more than 50 Chinese
of foreign enterprises wishing to co-operate with
them in business ventures.
Shanghai's economy is continuing
to grow in a fast pace, according to an authoritative
department from the municipality. The gross domestic
product(GDP) is expected to reach 289 billion yuan
and the GDP per person will be around US$ 2,700.
A grand ceremony for the
new Shanghai Library was held for on December 20.
Top leaders attached much importance to the event.
President Jiang Zeming and Premier Li Peng wrote
inscriptions for the library.
The new library of The Shanghai
Library will be open to welcome its first group
of readers on December 20. The 83,000-square-meter
knowledge bonanza will house about 13 million books
and is expected to be a high-tech navigator for
those seeking information nationwide and worldwide
as well.
China Domestic Tourism Trade
Fair '96 opened on December 19 in the Shanghai Exhibition
Center. About 30 provinces and cities sent their
delegations. It is the largest promotional event
for the country's travel resources.
Tourism is expected to be
the fastest growing industry in China. Last year,
the total number of domestic tourists reached 629
million and its revenue amounted to 13.76 billion
yuan.
The water quality in the
upper reaches of the Huangpu River will be improved
as a World Bank-funded project for waste-water treatment
is under way.
Lujiazui Finance and Trade
Zone is making preparations for the entry of more
foreign banks and financial institutions into the
only finance and trade zone in China.
Banks continue to be the
favored destination for local citizens' surplus
money, but their appeal has been tarnished due to
the low interest rates.
China's first stored-value
card system for taxis has recently been put into
use in Shanghai. The holders of the so-called East
Card can use the plastic to pay for their taxi fare
when they take a Dazhong taxi.
More than 280 pollution-control
devices have passed quality tests conducted by the
National Environmental Protection Agency. It is
the first time the agency issued quality certificates
for such products.
The design proposal for
Pudong International Airport has been officially
chosen. It is designed by two French companies.
"Newbies", the newly-recruited
soldiers, will leave their hometown and their families
for their respective military bases throughout the
countries.
The first ten months of
the year witnessed the gradual increase in the numbers
of theft taken place in supermarkets throughout
the city. Last year, 14 serious cases were reported,
which has risen to 53 by the end of October.
Shanghai Commodity Exchange
will be moved to Pudong Orient Building in Pudong
New Area. Earlier this year, Shanghai Cereals &
Oils Commodity Exchange and Shanghai Metal Commodity
Exchange moved there.
Shanghai's stock market
took an almost nose-dive yesterday as the government's
market- rectifying measures combined with newly
imposed price limits to trigger panic selling.
Shanghai plans to draw regulations
on Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone in Pudong New Area
in a bid to give legal definition to the policies
in the zone. The draft, examined yesterday's Standing
Committee session of the city's People's Congress,
defines the zone as a special economic trade area
concerning imports and exports, entrepot trade,
processing trade, bonded warehousing and other services.
This winter is expected
to be warm, according to Shanghai Central Meteorological
Observatory. According to the director, the average
temperature in November was 13.7 degrees Centigrade,
two degrees higher than average.
Annual direct overseas investment
in Shanghai has surpassed $10 billion for three
successive years. By the end of November, the city
had signed 1,966 contracts with foreign investors.
The city uncovered 1,122
cases of embezzlement and bribery between January
and November in its campaign against corruption.
After decades of living
in state-allocated low-rent apartments, Shanghai
citizens are now adapting to paying for their housing.
By the first half of this year, some 609,000 local
households had become the "masters" of their houses.
Japan continues to be the
largest source of tourists for Shanghai, according
to the Municipal Tourism Administration Bureau.
During the first 10 months, Shanghai received 466,000
Japanese visitors, a 25-percent increase from that
of last year.
The relocation of residents
living on the site of Jing'anshi subway station,
part of the city Metro Line 2 now under construction,
has been completed in only seven months.
Archaeological discoveries
indicate the history of Shanghai may date 6,000
years. Since the founding of New China in 1949,
Chinese archaeologists have discovered 27 sites
of ancient relics within the city.
China has announced its
criteria for allowing some chosen foreign banks
to conduct the much-coveted renminbi deals on a
trial basis, and Pudong New Area has been chosen
as the sole pilot area.
The Shanghai branch of the
China Construction Bank had issued 162,000 Dragon
credit cards in Shanghai by the end of November,
with a transaction volume of 3.56 billion yuan.
The total import and export
volume in Pudong New Area in the first 11 months
have reached about $7 billion, a ten-percent increase
from that of last year.
Growth in Shanghai's retail
trade continues undwindled, accelerated by stable
prices and the reform of state-owned commercial
enterprises.
Health insurance reform
is expected to extend into private enterprises and
more individuals next year, a local health official
said.
Shanghai plans to set up
five more re-employment centers next year to help
find jobs for the 750,000 workers expected to be
laid off between 1996 and 2000.
American computer software
writer Lotus Development recently organized a users'
conference in town to showcase application programs
developed on Notes, the company's flagship communications
and office automation software.
Shanghai's machinery industry
has recovered from a continuous downtown. Despite
the nationwide slump, the city's machinery sector
reported total sales of 20 billion yuan during the
first 10 months of this year.
Shanghai Automotive Industrial
Corp. said output of Santanas at its joint venture
with Volkswagen AG during the January-October period
was 164,500 units, up 31 percent from the same period
last year.
A more sophisticated postal
service will be implemented during the Ninth Five
-Year Plan (1995-2000). By the year 2000, the city
will have 254 additional post offices.
The policy of issuing "blue
cards"---the practice of giving temporary Shanghai
residence permits to professionals and investors
from other provinces who buy housing here---has
successful since it was introduced in July.
Pudong New Area achieved
a gross domestic product of 5.3 billion yuan in
November, a 22-percent rise from the same month
last year.
Pudong New Area approved
61 foreign-invested projects last month, 13 percent
more than that of the same period last year.
The former office of Hong
Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp.(also the former
city hall) on Shanghai's historic Bund has finally
found a new tenant after 18-month vacancy---Shanghai
Pudong Development Bank.
Shanghai's computer industry
is expected to generate sales of 6 billion yuan
this year, a 50-percent rise from last year.
New Volvo buses imported
from Sweden have been put into service on the city's
No. 49 Bus Route. The buses, 18 meters long, 3.3
meters high and 2.8 meters wide, are bought to help
improve the local transportation service.
Shanghai Hongqiao International
Airport handled 11.42 million passengers and 372,400
tons of cargo and mail from January to November,
a 15-percent rise from last year.
Shanghai Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) is expected to reach 280 billion yuan
this year, according to a report in the local Liberation
Daily.
Dutch electronic giant Philips'
wholly owned compact disc components manufacturing
plant went into operation in Pudong New Area on
December 7.
Shanghai's nine suburban
industrial zones are making solid progress, with
an area of 35 square kilometers now developed for
overseas-funded ventures. By October, 892 projects
had been launched in the zones with a combined investment
of 32.9 billion yuan.
Kangqiao Industrial Zone
in southern Pudong New Area is stepping up efforts
to attract investors. To date, 825 investment projects
have been approved there with a total investment
volume of 11.4 billion yuan.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
Contact Us 
