China Chronicles August 26, 2012
- Incense
etherflyer has added a photo to the pool:
I decided to try to get some detail shots this time. This was one of the best — I really need to practice close-up and detail work.
Location: Yonghe Gong, Beijing, China - Divine Music Administration
etherflyer has added a photo to the pool:
Shenyueshu (Divine Music Administration) in Temple of Heaven is a royal organization for playing ancient music. The Divine Music Administration was housed in a group of buildings northwest of the West Heavenly Gate of the Circular Mound Altar and on the other side of the wall of the Fasting Palace. Its job was to play music and perform dance at the heaven-worshiping and other grand ceremonies. It was the top academy of ceremonial music during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
The building complex was first built in 1420 in the Ming Dynasty. They were typital government office building. The administration was under the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, the Ministry of Rites.
This High Dynamic Range 360° panorama was stitched from 114 bracketed photographs with PTGUI Pro, tone-mapped with Photomatix, and touched up in Aperture.
Original size: 18208 × 9104 (165.8 MP; 151.01 MB).
Location: Temple of Heaven, Beijing, China - 36 die in Yan'an road accident
THE death toll from an expressway accident in northwest China has risen to 36, local police said today.
The accident occurred at around 2am today in Yan'an, Shaanxi Province, when a bus and a methanol-loaded tanker collided and caught fire.
Only three out of the 39 people aboard the bus have survived the accident, but they all suffered injuries, police said.
Police are investigating the cause of the accident. - 36 die in Yan'an road accident
THE death toll from an expressway accident in northwest China has risen to 36, local police said today.
The accident occurred at around 2am today in Yan'an, Shaanxi Province, when a bus and a methanol-loaded tanker collided and caught fire.
Only three out of the 39 people aboard the bus have survived the accident, but they all suffered injuries, police said.
Police are investigating the cause of the accident. - A golden touch
Chinese swimming gold medallists Sun Yang and Ye Shiwen, along with other gold medalists from the London Olympics, meet the public yesterday at Hong Kong Stadium, wowing the crowd with warm greetings and great performances. More than 30,000 spectators attended the "Mainland Olympic Gold Medalists Extravaganza" at which Sun Yang and local pop star Leo Ku Kui Kei sang popular song "King of Love Songs." A 70-strong Chinese mainland delegation from the London Olympics arrived in Hong Kong on Friday on a three-day visit.
- Flood death toll 6
THE death toll from a flash flood in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region yesterday rose to six as the last missing person was found dead, authorities said. The flash flood, triggered by rains in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, washed away nine tourists at a ravine in the Dawukou District of Shizuishan City. The three injured have been sent to a hospital.
- 4 die in collapse
FOUR people died and five others were injured when a fire brigade office under construction collapsed yesterday in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province. Sixteen people were working at the site when the building toppled, in the Haizhu district at midday, officials said.
- Back from Syria
THE last four Chinese United Nations (UN) military observers finished their mission in Syria and returned to Beijing yesterday morning. They had been among the last UN military observers in the country after the UN Security Council ended its 120-day observer mission there on August 19.
- Philippine envoy condition stable
THE Philippine government assured the public yesterday that the country's envoy to China, Sonia Brady, is in a stable condition following a stroke last Wednesday.
"We are hoping for her full recovery," deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said. Valte said that the Philippine embassy in Beijing has capable workers who can keep the affairs going on a daily basis.
- Accident bridge builder known
HARBIN government yesterday denied reports that it could not trace contractors involved in building a bridge that collapsed on Friday, nine months after it opened, killing three people.
Details of the builder of ramps that gave way on the Yangmingtan Bridge have been submitted to the accident investigation team, Huang Yusheng, secretary general of the Harbin City government, told a press conference.
The company's name will be made public when results are announced, added Huang.
Earlier, it was reported that Harbin authorities in charge of urban construction claimed the constructor could not be traced because the team brought together for the bridge construction had been disbanded once the project was completed.
Huang said overloaded vehicles were a factor in the accident which saw four trucks hurtle 30 meters to the ground, when a 120-meter ramp tilted and fell.
Three of the four trucks were heavy-duty vehicles with cargoes of lime and together weighed more than 400 tons, said the official.
A seven-member team including bridge designers and other experts is in Harbin to investigate the cause of the accident, Huang said.
Five people were injured in the accident. One was in a serious condition yesterday while the remainder were in a stable condition, said officials.
Reports have raised suspicions that shoddy construction and poor supervision played a part in the accident.
The National Business Daily reported yesterday that analysis of photographs of the scene of the accident showed the broken pieces of the ramp were filled with pebbles, wood and even bits of sacking.
And a construction worker on the scene reportedly said the steel bars used in the project were too weak.
The newspaper also said the junctions between box girders and support arms of the ramp were uneven.
Design flaw
Some experts said they suspected a design flaw was to blame for the accident.
The four trucks were on the section about 3.5 kilometer! s from t he main body of the bridge when the accident happened. The main body of the Yangmingtan Bridge and other ramps have reopened.
The Yangmingtan Bridge opened to traffic in November last year. Spanning the Songhua River in Harbin, the eight-lane bridge is said to be the longest, at 15.42 kilometers, in northeast China.
Local media said it cost 1.88 billion yuan (US$296 million) to build. Construction took just 18 months, a record for the province.
Some reports had said that the China Railway No. 1 Group Co Ltd was the company that built the bridge.
- Populations bracing for arrival of 2 typhoons
TYPHOON Bolaven is expected to enter the East China Sea today, bringing gales to eastern coastal areas, the meteorological authority forecast yesterday.
Bolaven, the 15th tropical storm of the year, was located over the northwest Pacific Ocean at 5am yesterday, 1,250 kilometers southeast of coastal Zhejiang Province. It was heading northwest at a speed of 15 to 20km per hour, the National Meteorological Center said.
It is expected to upgrade further to a super typhoon and enter the East China Sea tonight, according to the meteorological center of Zhejiang Province.
The typhoon is expected to bring strong gales and heavy downpours to Zhejiang's central and northern coast and Zhoushan islands from today to Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the year's 14th typhoon, Tembin, which stayed 200 km southeast of the coastal juncture between Guangdong and Fujian provinces early yesterday, will move southwest and linger in northeastern areas of the South China Sea over today and tomorrow, the center said.
At 6am yesterday it was packing winds of up to 36.9 meters per second at its center and moving southwest at 8km per hour.
Recalled to port
Authorities in southeast China's Fujian and Zhejiang provinces have ordered fishing boats to take shelter as they brace themselves for the typhoons.
Officials in Fujian Province have recalled to port 39,649 fishing boats. These are banned from going to sea before the typhoon alert is lifted, said the provincial flood control office yesterday.
And 23,659 aquatic farm workers have been relocated to take shelter, the office said. Authorities are also sending out inspectors to reservoirs and dykes.
Direct passenger ferry services from Fujian's Pingtan and Mawei to Taiwan have been suspended.
Authorities in Zhejiang have ordered fishing boats to take shelter and told horticulture businesses, aquatic farms and construction sites to brace for strong gales.
Tembin struck southern Taiwan Friday, toppling trees, overturnin! g vehicl es and dumping rains that swelled rivers and flooded homes and farmlands.
Earlier this month, dual-typhoons Damrey and Saola left eight people dead and forced the evacuation of 1.3 million residents in coastal regions.
Today and tomorrow, moderate and heavy rains are likely to hit central and western parts of regions along the Yellow and Huaihe rivers, as well as southeastern part of north China, with some rainstorms, the National Meteorological Center said.
- 37 extradited from Angola in gangster crackdown
CHINESE police yesterday brought back 37 Chinese nationals from the southwestern African country Angola, where they had been arrested for organized crimes against other Chinese citizens, including kidnapping, armed robberies, extortions and forcing women into prostitution.
Such crimes are a major concern for China, which has emerged as Africa's main trading partner and a major source of investment for infrastructure.
As a result, a large number of Chinese are working and living on the African continent, but their presence has brought problems such as violent crimes among Chinese nationals, especially in politically volatile countries that provide fresh, fertile ground for Chinese criminals.
The Ministry of Public Security said Beijing sent a special police force to Angola, which worked with local police in the operation that destroyed 12 Chinese gangs, resolved 48 criminal cases and rescued 14 Chinese victims. At home, domestic police arrested another 24 suspects involved in the cases, the ministry said.
Following a request from Chinese authorities, the 37 suspects yesterday were extradited to China, where they will face trial on charges including kidnapping, armed robbery and extortion. They arrived in Beijing on a charter plane, the ministry said.
Such crimes hurt Chinese businesses overseas and tarnish the country's image.
The Chinese government also wants to be seen as being capable of protecting its citizens in foreign countries.
China Police, an online news site managed by the ministry, yesterday ran three articles on crime fighting in Angola. In one article, Chinese detective Liu Feng said many poorly-educated, low-income Chinese became gangsters in Angola, and kidnapped Chinese businessmen in broad daylight for ransom.
To protect themselves, Chinese businessmen in Angola hired bodyguards, purchased bullet-proof vehicles, built homes that were difficult to access and disguised themselves when they went out, the article said.
The news ! site sai d there were 14 kidnapping cases in 2011 and five people died. Out of fear, many Chinese businesses closed down in the country's capital of Luanda and elsewhere. In addition to government projects, private Chinese businessmen are involved in trade, construction and food service in Angola.
Another article described the experience of two Chinese women lured to Angola with the promise of well-paying jobs in a Chinese restaurant there.
Once in Angola, they were forced into prostitution, the article said.
- Jingshan guard, napping
etherflyer has added a photo to the pool:
I liked the peaceful look of the guard, enjoying a quiet nap on a hot day.
This image was tone-mapped from five hand-held bracketed photographs with Photomatix and touched up in Aperture.
Location: Jingshan Park, Beijing, China - Day 3
ShangHeinz has added a photo to the pool:
Somewhere in China...
Beautiful River and Nature, lovely people, friendly and warmhearted. Relaxed way of Living - Bama
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