SPLENDID SIGHT: A visitor takes photos of Hukou Waterfall on the Yellow River in Jixian county, Shanxi province, on March 9. Bulging with extra water from rainfall and snow, the waterfall has become a popular subject for sightseers. Lyu Guiming / For China Daily

Cases of illegal GM crops 'under control'

Genetically modified crops have been planted illegally in China, but such cases are sporadic and under control, Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu said in Beijing on March 7. Only a few strains of GM crops have been planted in some areas, and the authorities have examined the situation, Han said. "Based on our assessment, such illegal planting is rare and controllable," he said.

Logging ban helps mountain forest to grow

Greater Hinggan Mountain forest zone, the largest in China, has seen an increase in tree stock after a ban on commercial logging. The total volume of timber, or growing stock, reached 571 million cubic meters last year, up 8 percent on 2010. About 6.84 million hectares of the region in Northeast China is forested, the authorities said on March 7. Forest coverage stood at 81.86 percent last year, up 0.91 percent over 2010. The central government plans to ban all commercial logging in virgin forests by 2017.

Sky burial sites to get investment

Tibet will spend 490 million yuan ($75.1 million; 68.2 million euros) over the next five years to improve and protect 156 sky burial sites, local authorities said on March 9. Sky burial is a Tibetan and Mongolian tradition in which the bodies of the dead are fed to predatory birds, so that their souls may ascend to heaven. Wild dogs, bumpy roads, trash and a lack of facilities for mourners are among the problems associated with the practice. Funding will cover road construction, fences, reception rooms, mortuaries and furnaces to burn trash.

Evergrande football club tops in market value

The market value of Chinese football club Guangzhou Evergrande was $3.35 billion after trading ended on March 8 on China's National Equities Exchange and Quotations. Evergrande surpassed Real Madrid's $3.26 billion value and Manchester United's $2.35 billion. Evergrande shares were valued at 55 yuan ($8.40; 7.60 euros).

Migrant workers expected to join unions

Some 15 million migrant workers are expected to join Chinese trade unions this year, Li Yufu, vice-chairman of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, said on March 9. The target would give unions 140 million migrant worker members - half of all migrant workers, a term that refers to rural residents who work in cities, often far away from their home villages.

Fast food giant KFC opens outlet in Tibet

KFC has become the first Western fast food giant to open a branch in the Tibet autonomous region. After its doors opened on March 8 in Lhasa, the capital, more than 1,000 customers came to eat, according to store manager Yu Zhengqing. It remained crowded on March 9, with locals forming long lines inside the restaurant and kids posing for photos in front.

Menstrual blood cells needed

A hospital in Zhejiang province is looking for 100 volunteers to donate menstrual blood to a research team studying stem cells. Professor Xiang Chunsheng at Zhejiang University International Hospital in Hangzhou, who heads the project, said stem cells in menstrual blood have similar regenerative properties to those found in umbilical cords and bone marrow, both of which are widely studied. His team is looking for women aged 18 to 40 who have regular menstrual cycles, are free from infectious diseases and have not terminated a pregnancy during the past six months.

PLA Navy buoyed by 3 new landing ships

The People's Liberation Army Navy has commissioned three new landing ships with designs that it says will improve amphibious capabilities. The vessels, Wuyishan, Culaishan and Wutaishan, were delivered to the East Sea Fleet at an unidentified naval port on March 7, the navy said. The ships have a displacement of 5,008 metric tons and a maximum speed of 20 knots (37 km/h). The ships will strengthen the navy's capabilities in joint landing operations and transportation.

Computer beats human Go master

Google's computer program AlphaGo defeated its human opponent, South Korean Go champion Lee Se-dol, on March 9 in the first game of a historic five-game match between human and computer. AlphaGo's victory in the ancient Chinese board game, also known as weiqi, is a breakthrough for artificial intelligence, showing the program developed by Google Deepmind has mastered one of the most creative and complex games ever devised. Commentators said the game was close. Lee's loss was a shock to many Go fans.

Loaned panda pair finds new home in Seoul

A pair of giant pandas loaned by China to South Korea for 15 years arrived in Seoul on March 3. Yuan Xin, a 3-year-old male, and Hua Ni, a 2-year-old female, were loaned after a meeting between President Xi Jinping and his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye in 2014. The pandas arrived at Incheon International Airport after a four-hour flight from Chengdu, Sichuan province.

Star hurdler calls for more sports on campus

Retired Olympic hurdler Liu Xiang has called for greater importance to be placed on physical education to improve student fitness. "The deterioration of child fitness levels has been a pressing issue, and has also drawn attention from the sports circle. Promoting the role of physical education in school needs to be given greater importance," Liu said on March 3.

Wildlife protection efforts stepped up

China has pledged to enhance its protection of wildlife species in the next five years, especially those endangered by threats of poaching and fragmented habitat, such as the giant panda, African elephant and Siberian tiger. "Protection of wildlife will be included in the 13th Five-Year-Plan (2016-20)," Meng Xianlin, director of the Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Import-Export Management Office, said on March 3, World Wildlife Day. "We will carry out protection for critically endangered animals such as the snow leopard curtail ivory smuggling and tighten regulations on wildlife imports and exports."

Xinjiang recruits 12,000 civil servants in six years

The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has recruited about 12,300 civil servants at the grassroots level in the past six years, local authorities said on March 9. According to Yang Yong, Party chief of the region's human resources and social security department, Xinjiang has lowered its threshold for civil servants recruitment since 2009, and set up posts in less-developed areas and the southern part of the region, employing more workers, farmers, community staff and village heads.

Women say success is happiness, independence

Women's priorities have shifted, with independence, positivity, respect and charisma all held in higher regard than finding a life partner, a survey by job website Zhaopin found. Female respondents gave the highest approval rating - 4.53 out of 5 - to independent life choices, followed by happiness. The survey was released to coincide with International Women's Day on March 8.

Pledge to boost express delivery service

China will improve the express delivery service in quality and efficiency in the next five years, Ma Junsheng, director of the State Post Bureau said on March 6. The country is expected to handle 50 billion express parcels annually by 2020, with the postal sector providing more than 1 million jobs in the next five years. Courier services now cover 70 percent of towns and villages, and China plans to build an efficient and safe delivery system with nationwide coverage, advanced technology and services, and international connections by 2020, Ma said.

College students allowed gap years

College students in China will be encouraged to take gap years to start their own businesses, Lin Huiqing, vice-minister of education, said on March 9. Universities should invite scientists, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists to lecture on innovation and entrepreneurship, he said.

Beijing promises more e-car charging stations

Beijing is planning to build thousands of charging stations for electric vehicles this year. Another 14 large facilities will be opened in expressway service stations and 5,880 smaller ones in urban areas, said Beijing Electric Power Co on March 8. The capital currently has only seven expressway service stations with charging stations, and three of them have not been put into use yet.

Chinese scientists find Jurassic plant fossil

Paleobotanists have found fossils of perhaps the world's earliest herbaceous angiosperm plant from the mid-Jurassic period (more than 164 million years ago) in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. The finding was published in Acta Geologica Sinica, an academic journal owned by the Geological Society of China. The plant - Juraherba bodae - was found near the southeast corner of Inner Mongolia by Han Gang, a professor of palaeontology at Bohai University in Liaoning Province.

China working on law to tackle soil pollution

China is working on a legislation to tackle a "grave situation in the soil environment" to add to existing air- and water-quality laws to fight pollution, Yuan Si, vice-chairman of the Environment Protection and Resources Conservation Committee, said on March 10. A draft of the law will be presented to the National People's Congress in 2017, he said.

Rare large sink hole found in South China

Scientists from China and France have discovered a rare and massive type of sink hole, known as a doline, in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, the local publicity department said on March 6. The 420-meter deep doline was among a number of smaller ones discovered by scientists during an eight-day expedition that began on Feb 26 in Donglan county. Dolines found in Guangxi are typically around 250 meters deep. Many species live in there, including bats and snakes. Scientists also found some as-yet unidentified vertebrates and plants.

Confucius cartoons appeal to the young

Tourists will vote on their favorite cartoon depictions of the thinker and educator Confucius during a campaign in Qufu City, the hometown of Confucius. The city launched its Confucius cartoon competition in October, to promote Confucius among the younger generation, according to the city's cultural heritage bureau. By the end of February, more than 200 images had been submitted. They are now being exhibited at the Temple of Confucius in Qufu, where visitors will vote for their favorites.

Beijing streamlines its visa procedures

A new online visa and permit application service for foreigners in Beijing was launched on March 8 by the city's Public Security Bureau. It simplifies procedures for obtaining documents and shorten approval time. Foreigners are allowed to apply for a visa, a stay permit or a residence permit through the public service section of the website, according to the bureau's Entry and Exit Department.

Focus on felines: Chongqing residents admire a contender at the World Cat Federation international cat show held on March 5 in the municipality. The cat pageant attracted the participation of more than 30 pedigree cats, which were valued at more than 1 million yuan ($153,000; 140,000 euros). Chen Yifei / For China Daily

(China Daily European Weekly 03/11/2016 page2)