A tourist enjoys the autumn scenery of Taihang Mountains in north Chinas Hebei Province on October 19.

Power Projects

Chinas unit cost on wind and photovoltaic power projects is expected to drop until 2020 thanks to lower equipment prices and improved design.

The cost of thermal， wind and photovoltaic power generation projects dropped continuously from 2011 to 2015， according to Lu Shisen， Vice President of the Electric Power Planning and Engineering Institute.

During the period， the unit cost for thermal power projects declined from the previous fi ve-year period thanks to a 19-percent drop in bank loan rates， Lu said at a press conference.

Meanwhile， equipment costs dropped 12 percent， while engineering costs fell 8 percent.

Hydropower project costs， however， rose， as the locations of such projects moved upstream and to high altitude areas， where both the engineering diffi culties and environmental protection costs increased.

“There is still room to reduce costs on thermal， hydropower， wind and photovoltaic power projects as the nations equipment manufacturing and technology level is improving，” said Lu.

Amid the government campaign for greener growth， China has reduced the share of coal in its energy mix and built more renewable energy facilities.

By the end of 2020， renewable energy facilities will supply 1.9 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity， accounting for 27 percent of total power generation， according to the governments 2016-20 plan for renewable energy.

Historical Military Town

China will invest in the renovation of a historical military stronghold in Xiahe County， northwest Chinas Gansu Province， local authorities said on October 24.

The project， which is estimated to cost around 350 million yuan（$53 million）， aims to reinforce and renovate the entrances and exterior defense walls of Bajiao Town without altering their original appearance， according to the countys culture and sports bureau.

Located in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Gannan， Bajiao Town covers an area of more than 20 hectares. Historical records show that it was once an important military stronghold in western China.

“It is not known when Bajiao was established. Some historians claim that it was built in the Han Dynasty （202 B.C.-A.D. 220）， while others say it was during the Tang （618-907） or Song（960-1279） Dynasty，” said Sonam Je， Deputy Director of the bureau.endprint

More than 100 families of herders still live in the town and graze their animals on pastures surrounding it. Over the years， the weather has eroded the towns fortifi cations， and they are at risk of being completely destroyed within a few decades.

Repairs have started on the southern defense enclosure outside Bajiao Town gate， while renovation of the historical towns wall is set to begin next year.

The name Bajiao， which means“eight angles” in Chinese， comes from the unique arrangement of the towns exterior walls， which have eight corners.

The provincial government began researching the history of Bajiao in 1986. “Its defense system， with its unusual design， is rarely seen in historical towns in China. It has great historical research value，” said Sonam Je.

Police Robots

On October 23， Beijing traffi c police tested a highway patrol robot for handling traffi c violations such as illegal parking and driving in the emergency lane， local authorities said.

The device was tested on the citys Airport Expressway. The luggage-sized robot， weighing around 20 kg， operated along the highways side barrier at a speed of 5 km per hour， according to a spokesman with the science and technology branch of the Beijing traffi c police.

The robotic cop can capture images and video of illegal parking and driving in the highway emergency lane then send the evidence to offi cers， the spokesman said.

In addition to handling highway traffi c violations， the robot can assist traffi c police with other routine work.

Car accidents always cause traffi c congestion， but they cant stop the robot from arriving at the scene as soon as possible and transmitting pictures to help emergency services personnel handle the incident.

It can also broadcast verbal alerts to drivers in the event of congestion， accidents， road maintenance and bad weather.

Beijing traffi c police will use such robots on other highways in the city to strengthen crackdowns on traffi c violations and ensure road safety.

Quality Traceability System

China will complete its product quality traceability system by 2020.

A recent guideline， jointly issued by the Ministry of Commerce and nine other central departments， said the traceability system would target key products including farm produce， food， medicine， dangerous materials and rare earths.

By 2020， a standard and coordinated product quality traceability system will be implemented and social awareness of quality traceability will be increased， according to the guideline.endprint

The traceability system will provide information regarding sources， destinations and accountable persons to reinforce product quality and safety.

The product quality traceability system will raise quality management， encourage innovative quality supervision and ensure the safety of consumer goods， the guideline said.

In recent years， China has pushed the use of information technology， including the Internet of Things and cloud computing， to establish traceability systems for key products.

Online Security

Nearly 90 percent of Chinese Internet users are positive about Chinas cybersecurity， though 19 percent have no knowledge of recent cyber attacks， according to a survey by a Chinese Internet security platform.

About 56 percent of Chinese Internet users said the nations Internet environment was “very” or“pretty” secure， while about 32.8 percent of users said Internet security was “generally good，” according to the survey by Chinas 360 Security Center.

Some 40 percent of Internet users said they would “pay close attention” to major cyber attacks such as the recent WannaCry ransomware， while more than 26 percent of the respondents thought such attacks would not affect their lives.

About 19 percent of Internet users had no knowledge of recent cyber attacks and are more vulnerable to cyber attacks， according to the 360 Security Center.

To safeguard cybersecurity， the platform said nearly 90 percent of Internet users have installed antivirus software on their cellphones and computers.

Chinas online population reached 751 million this June， up 2.7 percent from the end of 2016， according to the China Internet Network Information Center. A total of 724 million Chinese now use mobile phones to go online， accounting for 96.3 percent of the online population.

Appreciating the Elderly

Children and senior citizens participate in a cooking activity on October 25 at a kindergarten in Shijiazhuang， Hebei Province， to celebrate the Double Ninth Festival， also known as Senior Citizens Day， which falls on October 28 this year.

Fewer Workplace Accidents

Chinas workplace safety record continued to improve， with the num- bers of accidents and fatalities both dropping， in the fi rst nine months of this year， the nations work safety watchdog said on October 23.

The number of accidents fell 26.3 percent year on year to around 36，000 during the JanuarySeptember period， while related fatalities went down 19 percent to 26，000， according to the State Administration of Work Safety（SAWS）.endprint

The improvements were mainly attributed to strengthened government supervision， including more on-site inspections and tougher punishments.

But the SAWS said there is still work to be done to reduce the number of severe accidents， including workplace fi res and those in coal mines， and promised more inspections during the rest of the year， which is usually the peak season for workplace accidents.

China plans to set 362 workplace standards to improve safety in 12 sectors， such as coal mining and hazardous chemicals， from 2016 to 2020.

Harvest Season

Farmers sort newly collected red dates in Ruoqiang County， Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture， in northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on October 23. More than 15，300 hectares of red dates in Ruoqiang produced a great harvest.

BMW Battery Factory

BMWs fi rst battery factory outside Europe went into operation on October 24 in Shenyang， capital of northeast Chinas Liaoning Province， to serve the electric vehicle market.

The Shenyang center， mainly supported by Chinese research teams， will develop， produce and test batteries for BMW Brilliance， a joint venture between the BMW Group and Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd.

BMW has three battery centers around the world.

Wei Lande， President and CEO of BMW Brilliance， said the company is building a new-energy vehicle ecosystem with partners， which will include charging poles.

BMW Brilliance was established in Shenyang in 2003.

Transborder Trade Zone

A new China-Viet Nam cross-border trade zone has been opened in south Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region， local authorities said on October 23.

The Longbang-Tra Linh Trade Zone in the border city of Jingxi covers an area of 50，000 square meters and has an investment of 60 billion yuan （$9 billion）.

Construction began in 2013； and trial operation， in September this year.

Residents living within 20 km of the border will be able to exchange commodities in the trade zone and enjoy a duty-free policy if spending less than 8，000 yuan （$1，205） per day.

Compared with other ChinaViet Nam trade zones， LongbangTra Linh will offer better customs clearance service， Tran Dai Nghia， Chairman of Vietnamese VCI Logistics Joint Stock Co.， said.

China is a huge market. Commodities from Viet Nam will reach Chinese consumers faster through the trade zone， company offi cials said.endprint

The trade zone will create about 100，000 jobs and help lift 350，000 people out of poverty in the border area.

Coastal Railway Conduit

The main arch of the Shanghai-Nantong Yangtze River Bridge is completed on October 22.

Tepid Housing Market

Chinas property market continued to cool as home prices faltered or posted slower growth in major cities amid tough control policies， offi cial data showed on October 23.

On a yearly basis， new residential housing prices saw slower growth in 15 major cities in September， compared with the same month last year， the National Bureau of Statistics said. On a monthly basis， new residential housing prices fell or remained fl at in those cities.

Both new and second-hand residential housing prices in fi rsttier cities tumbled 0.2 percent， compared with a month earlier， while new home prices in secondtier cities climbed 0.2 percent month on month， on par with the growth in August.

In smaller third-tier cities， new and second-hand home prices went up 0.2 and 0.3 percent respectively， lower than the growth last month. It marked the 12th consecutive month that both new and second-hand home prices in fi rst-tier cities showed slowed growth from a year earlier.

The data provide fresh evidence that Chinas property market boom is running out of steam as the government continues cooling measures to squeeze out asset bubbles.

Since late last year， dozens of local governments have passed or expanded restrictions on house purchases and increased the minimum down payment required for a mortgage.

The market was also cooled by relatively tightened liquidity conditions as the government moved to contain leverage and risk in the fi nancial system.

JD.com as Realtor

JD.com， Chinas second biggest Internet retailer， is launching a new site in association with leading developers targeting property buyers， even as the red-hot housing market appears to be cooling on the back of curbs.

The company said it would integrate online and offl ine real estate businesses by creating a one-stop service platform that would merge its capacities in marketing， services and supply chains.

JD.com will also establish a specialized team to work with property companies in fi elds such as commercial real estate， tourism real estate， real estate for senior citizens and overseas real estate， as well as develop tailor-made properties for consumers.endprint

The company inked a strategic partnership with Country Garden Group， a property development fi rm based in Guangdong Province， to launch a batch of houses and offer discounts to boost property sales during the upcoming Singles Day shopping spree on November 11.

“We want to position ourselves as a service provider for property de-velopers and will jointly explore new business models with our partners in the future，” Zeng Fuhu， General Manager of JD.coms real estate business unit， said.

Currently， there are 82 property sellers and 35 service providers on the platform， covering 2，027 projects in more than 20 cities， according to JD.com.

Sweet Harvest

Farmers pick grapes to make wine in Xiaojin County， Sichuan Province， on October 25.

Xiaojin is seeking to transform its traditional agriculture with its planting area for eco-agricultural products reaching over 9，000 hectares.

9 IPOs Approved

Chinas securities regulator approved IPO applications from nine companies on October 20， which will raise up to 4 billion yuan （$605 million） in the A-share market.

Five companies will be listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange， one on the Shenzhen small and medium enterprise board， and three on ChiNext， a NASDAQ-style board， according to China Securities Regulatory Commission （CSRC）.

The fi rms and their underwriters will confi rm dates and publish prospectuses following discussions with the exchanges.

Under the current IPO system， new shares are subject to approval from the CSRC. Chinas IPOs are gradually switching from an approval-based system to a more market-oriented system.

Since suspending IPOs between July and November 2015， China has sought to normalize them by giving approval at a faster pace to raise fi nancing effi ciency and direct more money into the economy.

BYD in Egypt

Chinas leading new-energy carmaker BYD announced on October 24 that it would build a monorail transit system in Egypt， the companys second overseas monorail order.

The Shenzhen-based company has signed an agreement with the government of Alexandria， a coastal city in Egypt， to build a 128-km monorail， the company said.

The cost and other details of the project were not revealed immediately.

BYD has spent around fi ve years and 5 billion yuan （$750 million） to develop the system named Yungui（Skyrail）. Monorail trains can run at a maximum speed of 80 km per hour.endprint

Compared with subway systems， a monorail requires only one fi fth of the building cost and one third of the construction time， according to BYD.

In August， the company announced it would build a monorail in the Philippine city of Iloilo. The fi rst phase of the 20-km monorail is expected to be put into operation in 2019.

Sovereign Bonds

The Ministry of Finance （MOF） kickstarted its plans to issue U.S. dollardenominated sovereign bonds worth $2 billion by holding investment and fi nancing discussions with potential investors in Hong Kong on October 25.

Half of the $2 billion in debt will consist of 5-year bonds， and the other half will be 10-year bonds. It will mean reopening the fi nancing channel connecting the international capital markets by adding an important investment and risk hedging instrument， a statement released on the MOFs website on October 24 said.

The offering will support a much more balanced structure of Chinas sovereign bonds.

It would also be the fi rst time in the last 13 years that the Chinese Government has issued U.S. dollardenominated sovereign bonds.

The last offering of similar bonds was for $1.7 billion.

“The priority is not to raise capital， as there is no strong need for the Chinese Government to borrow from overseas， based on its current stable economic growth and supplementary foreign exchange reserves，”the MOF said.

“So this time， the total issuance amount is not large. The funds raised will be used for general government expenditure.”

Mechanization and Automation

Technicians work on the assembly line of an electronics company in Cixi， Zhejiang Province， on October 25.

The local government this year unveiled guidelines and an action plan to provide enterprises with customized services. Under the plan， dispensable labor in 1，167 companies will be replaced with robots and mechanical equipment within three years.endprint