Medical workers from a hospital affiliated to Tsinghua University recite a poem about the battle against the novel coronavirus disease at an event to celebrate the Third Medical Workers’ Day in Beijing on August 17.
　　China began observing August 19 as Medical Workers’ Day since 2018. This year’s focus was calling for respect for health workers who have been at the forefront of fi ghting the epidemic.

Colorful Harvest

　　Villagers dry crops such as pepper and corn in Jinping， a county in Guizhou Province in southwest China， on August 15.

Flu Vaccination

　　A leading Chinese expert has urged the public to get a fl u shot before October， warning of the possibility that the novel coro navirus disease（COVID-19） may collide with the upcoming seasonal fl u.
　　Wang Chen， Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and President of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences， made the remarks at the annual meeting of the China Association for Science and Technology.
　　If a patient is infected by both the fl u and COVID-19， it will complicate diagnosis， increase the diffi culty and cost of isolation， and require more resources， Wang said， adding that the mortality rate may also rise notably.
　　He added that timely and large-scale fl u vaccination is the most effective way to prevent coinfection.
　　Wang said the best time to get a fl u shot is before the end of September and no later than October.

Tibet Festival

　　An investment promotion activity for this year’s traditional Shoton Festival was held on August 18 in Lhasa， capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China， with 41 projects signed.
　　The total investment in the projects， which involve key industries such as cultural tourism， modern services， and hi-tech digital industries， reached 17.56 billion yuan （$2.5 billion）.
　　Also known as the Yogurt Festival， the Shoton Festival is one of the most important festivals for Tibetans. It dates back to the 11th century when it began as a religious ceremony for residents to offer yogurt to monks fi nishing their meditation retreats.
　　This year’s festival kicked off on August 19， featuring activities such as art performances， sports competitions， business talks， and leisure tourism.

Satellite Progress

　　The China National Space Administration announced on August 20 that the Gaofen-7 Earth observation satellite has been put into service， representing signifi cant progress for the country’s surveying and mapping capabilities.
　　Launched on November 3， 2019， Gaofen-7 is China’s fi rst civil-use optical transmission 3D surveying and mapping satellite that reaches the sub-meter level. During in-orbit tests， satellite functions such as the monitoring of geographical conditions and agricultural surveys have been verifi ed， said Zhang Kejian， head of the administration.
　　In May， using data from Gaofen-7 and Ziyuan III satellites， scientists drew a 1：10，000 scale topographic map for surveyors to measure the height of Mount Qomolangma.
　　Since the Gaofen project began in 2010， China has had an increasingly clearer view of the planet. According to the administration， data from the Gaofen series of satellites have been used in more than 20 industries across the country. For instance， Gaofen-3 has contributed to the monitoring of the fl ood situation along Poyang Lake， China’s largest freshwater lake， in the eastern province of Jiangxi.

Medical Funding

　　Four major medical treatment crowdfunding platforms in China， including Aixinchou and Shuidichou， made a joint declaration on strengthening the verifi cation of crowdfunding initiators and benefi ciaries to ensure the authenticity of projects.
　　These online platforms， which focus on raising donations for lowincome patients seeking costly medical treatments， have met doubts and challenges about their operations in recent years.
　　Compared with a previous version in 2018， the new declaration features improved verifi cation of project information and strengthened transparency via the timely sharing of key information such as the progress of a project， the patient’s medical condition， and the use of remaining funds.
　　In addition to improving eff ciiency in handling complaints and reports， the platforms also promised not to employ nonprofessional staff to carry out promotion activities in hospitals.

Auto Show

　　As the 18th Central China International Auto Show closed on August 17 in Wuhan， Hubei Province in central China， orders worth 3.52 billion yuan （$507 million） were inked.
　　The auto show was the fi rst major business activity held in the city， once hard-hit by the COVID-19 epidemic， after a lockdown was removed in early April as the epidemic wanes. 　　The fi ve-day auto show attracted exhibitors of over 60 auto brands， including BMW and Mercedes-Benz， to showcase new models.
　　Many carmakers took the opportunity to pay tribute to medical workers and volunteers who put their own lives on the line to rescue others in the city’s anti-epidemic battle. They were given a maximum discount of 20，000 yuan （$2，890） in car purchases.
　　Organizers of the event took a slew of epidemic prevention measures such as using online ticket sales to regulate visitor fl ows and temperature checks at the entrance of the show.

Happy Birthday

　　Xinxing， the world’s oldest giant panda living in captivity， celebrates her 38th birthday on August 16 at Chongqing Zoo. She is the equivalent of about 110-130 in human years. The “granny” is expected to break the Guinness World Record for the longest living giant panda set by Jia Jia， who passed away on October 16， 2016 in Ocean Park， Hong Kong， about two months after she turned 38.

Music Festival

　　The Midi Music Festival， one of the biggest outdoor music festivals in China， kicked off on August 15 in Chongli District of Zhangjiakou， a city in Hebei Province in north China.
　　Among the fi rst original music festival brands in China， Midi took the lead in restarting outdoor rock music performances.
　　“What stands out about this year’s event is that even though we have been through so many struggles and pain due to the epidemic， we still have a passion for the music，” 28-year-old Li Ze， a participant， said.
　　With a batch of popular Chinese bands， including CMCB， Bloody Woods， and Life Awaits， this year’s two-day music feast drew nearly 4，600 fans per day， according to the Beijing Midi Music School， the organizer.

Charter Flights

　　Fresh fruits and vegetables are being transported despite the COVID-19 epidemic in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region as local authorities step up efforts to reduce the epidemic’s impact on agriculture.
　　COVID-19 hit Xinjiang in midJuly， the harvest season for fruits and vegetables， raising concerns over potential losses due to disruptions in production and sales.
　　Local governments across Xinjiang， a major agricultural region in northwest China， have unveiled targeted steps such as using charter fl ights to ensure that fresh produce is transported in time. 　　A charter fl ight route has been launched to bring fresh prunes grown in south Xinjiang’s Kashgar Prefecture to the northwestern city of Xi’an， which will then be distributed to other cities. Some 900 tons of prunes will be delivered via 60 such fl ights.
　　Pumpkins from south Xinjiang’s Yanqi Hui Autonomous County also made their way into the eastern coastal city of Qingdao via a charter fl ight. Similar air channels will be developed for other fresh fruits like jujubes and pears.

Typhoon Landing

　　A resident stands in front of a tree which was blown down by typhoon Higos in Macao on August 19. The typhoon wreaked havoc in major cities in the western part of the Pearl River Delta.

E-Tourism

　　Trip.com Group， China’s largest online travel agency， inked a strategic cooperation agreement on August 16 with JD.com， China’s e-commerce giant， to expand cooperation in tourism and e-commerce.
　　According to the agreement， the two giants projected fi ve visions of cooperation consisting of reaching a wider range of users， sharing channels and resources， covering online and offl ine transaction scenarios， cross-industry marketing and expanding cooperation on the business travel market.
　　Trip.com Group promised to offer real-time tourism product inventory with competitive prices to JD.com. The tourism products are expected to be launched on JD.com within eight months.
　　Trip.com Group Chief Marketing Offi cer Sun Bo said that through the strategic cooperation， the company will not only bring JD.com highly competitive tourism products and services but also， with JD.com’s support， further extend the tourismrelated business， providing more diversifi ed products and services to more than 400 million Trip.com users worldwide.
　　During the novel coronavirus disease （COVID-19） in the fi rst half of this year， tens of millions of trips booked on Trip.com were canceled or rescheduled， with orders worth more than 31 billion yuan （$4.46 billion）.
　　China’s domestic tourism has started to rebound. Trip.com said it will open a fl agship store on JD.com to seize the opportunities during the tourist market recovery period.
　　Trip.com Group and JD.com each have over 400 million active users. Trip.com Group has sustained its role as a leader in China’s business travel market， while JD.com has 8 million corporate clients and tens of thousands of select merchants.

Yuan Transactions

　　More cross-border payments were made and received in the Chinese yuan last year as the currency becomes an increasingly popular option among foreign trade fi rms， a report by the People’s Bank of China（PBC） said on August 14.
　　The amount of payments made and received in yuan by banks across China stood at 19.67 trillion yuan （$2.83 trillion） in 2019， up 24.1 percent year on year.
　　The 2019 fi gure， a record high， showed the yuan’s stronger presence in the global market as the country deepens fi nancial reforms and opening up， Ju Jiandong， Director of the Center for International Finance and Economics Research of Tsinghua University， said.
　　Foreign trade fi rms are willing to use the yuan in cross-border transactions because it can help them avoid exchange rate risks， lower costs in settlements， and make accounting and fund management easier.
　　The PBC report said more foreign entities， especially those in neighboring economies and countries along the Belt and Road， will accept the yuan for payments.

Xiongan Plan

　　An aerial photo taken on August 13 shows the Beijing-Xiongan intercity railway’s Xiongan Station in Xiongan New Area， Hebei Province in north China. By the end of July， construction of major structures and ancillary facilities of around 70 projects planned had started in the new area.

Bright Prospects

　　Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on August 13 that China will continue to expand its opening up and optimize the business environment with an aim to provide more opportunities for companies around the world.
　　Zhao made the remarks at a press briefi ng when asked to comment on a survey released by the U.S.-China Business Council（USCBC）.
　　Nearly 70 percent of the surveyed U.S. companies were optimistic about the commercial prospects of the Chinese market， and 87 percent of the companies reported no plans to shift production out of China.
　　Noting that China’s economic growth turned to positive in the second quarter， Zhao said the Chinese economy has withstood the impact of the epidemic and demonstrated strong resilience and development potential.
　　Zhao said China has a huge market of 1.4 billion people and a complete industrial support system， and many authoritative international organizations believe that China injects conf dience and momentum into the world economic recovery. 　　At the same time， China has continued to actively promote foreign economic and trade cooperation， which effectively boosted the total world demand and promoted the development of international trade， Zhao said.
　　USCBC is a trade group representing more than 200 U.S. companies that do business with China.

Hooked！

　　A boy is mesmerized by a parrotfi sh at the 19th International Agriculture and Food Fair Expo in Changchun， Jilin Province in northeast China， on August 15.

Promising Market

　　Chinese consumers’ intention to purchase diamond jewelry during the upcoming festive season was ahead of other key markets， De Beers Group said in a statement on August 11.
　　Bruce Cleaver， the diamond group’s chief executive offi cer， said about 80 percent of both male and female respondents in India and China were very or quite likely to purchase diamond jewelry for a signifi cant other or for themselves， when sharing insights for diamond jewelry retailers ahead of the 2020 holiday season.
　　“Chinese consumer sentiment was ahead of other key markets， with 85 percent feeling settled into a new and familiar routine and 24 percent feeling fully reconnected to their life and previous routine，” Cleaver said.
　　The global diamond conglomerate recently undertook a comprehensive consumer research in China， India and the U.S. to gain an insight into the diamond trade ahead of the upcoming holiday gifting season and in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
　　“Only 8 percent of consumers in the U.S. and 4 percent in China felt their situation was deteriorating，”Cleaver said， adding that De Beers has got an unusual opportunity to build even more lasting and meaningful connections with consumers in China despite an uncertain external environment.
　　The research， which surveyed 2，800 men and women aged 20 to 65 with household incomes of at least $75，000 in the U.S. and a similar demographic in China and India， looked at a range of consumer indicators on how they were feeling in the current environment， gifting intentions for the holiday season and preferences for engaging with brands and retailers over the coming months.

Digital Future

　　The Global Blockchain Innovation and Development Conference kicked off in Ganzhou， Jiangxi Province in east China， on August 13 as the country embraces the nascent technology to empower its digital future. 　　Over 360 offi cials， economists and experts on the blockchain frontier from home and abroad attended the two-day meeting， sharing their views on policy support， technology application and latest industrial trends.
　　“The blockchain industry in China has developed many exciting digital fi nance solutions，” Zhang Xiaochen， a member of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacifi c Digital Economy Task Force， said.
　　“Through international dialogue， people from other countries could benefi t from China’s solutions，”Zhang said.
　　The conference also included three parallel forums on the application of blockchain in industrial Internet， fi ntech， and social governance.
　　The China BlockChain Think Tank was established at the conference to promote international exchange in blockchain technology， popularize knowledge and cultivate talent in the domain.
　　China is one of the fi rst major countries to acknowledge the potential of blockchain technology. Starting in 2014， the central bank has been doing research on digital currency.

From Old to New

　　A photo taken on August 11 shows a company offi ce in an innovative industrial park in Tianjin， north China. The park， with a total area of 16，000 square meters， was converted from old buildings of the Tianjin Flying Pigeon bicycle factory. It now provides offi ce space for technological and cultural companies.