The Gongbo New Year is celebrated in Baji， a village in Nyingchi， Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China， on November 18.
　　According to the Tibetan calendar， the New Year’s Day fell on November 16 this year. On the first morning of the Gongbo New Year， Tibetan families worship the goddess of harvest with wine and other offerings.

Winter Sports on Land

　　Students learn how to curl on land at a primary school in Cangzhou， Hebei Province in north China on November 17. The city has been promoting ice and snow sports on dry land in schools in recent years.

Eradicating Poverty

　　Xihaigu， one of China’s most impoverished areas located in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwest China， saw its last impoverished county removed from the national poverty list on November 16.
　　The victory is another landmark in China’s campaign to eradicate absolute poverty by the end of 2020， as the area used to be plagued by grinding poverty.
　　The region had seven povertystricken counties and two districts in southern and central Ningxia， under the administration of three cities： Guyuan， Zhongwei and Wuzhong.
　　According to historical records， Xihaigu used to be an oasis along the ancient Silk Road， lush in forests and grasslands.
　　Since the Song Dynasty（960-1279）， however， Xihaigu has gradually deteriorated into a drought-ridden and barren area due to climate change， wars， excessive logging， and reclamation for farming. In the Qing Dynasty （1644-1911）， it was already known nationwide for its extreme poverty.
　　The Central Government continues to channel funds and other assistance into the region to boost animal husbandry and the farming of more lucrative crops such as mushrooms， daylilies and asparagus， as well as setting up over 300 workshops that employ mostly women.
　　Official data show that the population living in poverty in Ningxia， most of whom were from Xihaigu， decreased from 1.19 million in 1982 to 18，800 at the end of 2019.
　　Xihaigu’s natural environment is also in recovery， thanks to largescale afforestation. Statistics show that the forest coverage rate in Guyuan increased from 1.4 percent in the 1970s to 28.4 percent in 2019， and the vegetation coverage rate exceeded 70 percent.

Poverty Relief Alliance

　　An alliance for poverty relief and development along the Belt and Road was set up in Yunnan Province in southwest China on November 17 to promote the sharing of experiences.
　　The Alliance of Poverty Reduction and Development， approved by the Alliance of International Science Organizations（ANSO）， was jointly established by 14 international scientific institutions and government organizations in countries and regions including China， Poland， and Hungary.
　　With its secretariat based in the city of Lincang， the alliance will focus on common regional challenges and major demands from countries along the Belt and Road in the areas of poverty reduction and development.
　　ANSO， launched in late 2018 under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative， comprises scientific research organizations from countries participating in the initiative， as well as international organizations.

Sky Rail

　　A new container transport system featuring a sky rail is under construction at the Qingdao Port in Shandong Province in east China， which is expected to greatly cut logistics costs， reduce vehicular emissions and improve logistics efficiency.
　　Developed by the Qingdao Port in cooperation with CRRC Yangtze Co. Ltd.， the new system will be in the port’s automated container terminal and the entire line will be 9.5 km long.
　　The first of its kind in the global port industry， the unmanned container transport system will replace trucks for the transportation of containers at the port upon completion.
　　The cargo handling capacity of the new system can reach nearly four to five times that of road transport.
　　The first phase of the project will be put into operation in June of next year. Annual transportation capacity will reach 1.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units after the completion of the entire system.

New Sino-U.S. Book

　　Strategic planning and the ability to compete are vital to a country’s future， prominent economist Chen Wenling said.
　　“Despite changes in the international landscape， China’s long-term growth trend will remain unchanged，” Chen， chief economist with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges， said at the launch of her new book in Beijing on November 16.
　　The book， titled Change， is a collection of her essays on Sino-U.S. relations since 2016， including views expressed during discussions with leading U.S. scholars and analyses of the U.S. Government’s China policy adjustments during Donald Trump’s presidency. 　　Pondering on the future of Sino-U.S. relations with a sober mind is a shared mission of think tanks across both countries， former Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing stated， adding that Chen’s book introduces many new ideas that call for deeper contemplation.

Tying the Knot

　　A traditional Chinese group wedding is held in the Confucius Academy in Guiyang， Guizhou Province in southwest China on November 16.

Unmanned Farm

　　Shanghai has piloted the city’s first unmanned farm in an effort to raise farming efficiency and cut labor costs， Xinhua reported on November 17.
　　So far， autonomous agricultural machinery has been used in the entire farming process of over 13.33 hectares of rice fields in Waigang Township of Shanghai.
　　Currently， experts in Waigang are modifying more agricultural machinery， such as rice transplanters， pesticide sprayers and harvesters， into unmanned ones.
　　Compared with the traditional way of agriculture， unmanned farming can save more than 2 kg of seeds and increase the yield by 150 kg per hectare.
　　Fuel and labor costs will be reduced by over 50 percent and 65 percent respectively， while the land use rate will go up by 0.5 to 1 percent.
　　Local authorities in Waigang will further promote automated farming by using technologies such as the Internet of Things， 5G and artificial intelligence.
　　The demonstration area of unmanned farming in Waigang is expected to be expanded to 107 hectares by the end of 2022.
　　Over the next five years， Shanghai plans to build 13 pilot farming areas where high-quality agriculture will be promoted.

Online Charity

　　China will designate more online platforms to promote programs and raise funds for charity organizations， the Ministry of Civil Affairs said in a statement on November 16.
　　The platforms will be picked from those which are influential and enjoy credibility on the Internet and in the charity sector. Operators of these platforms should qualify for Internet information services.
　　Applicants have been asked to submit their applications before December 10 and the finalists will be announced by the ministry after review and evaluation.
　　Online philanthropy has become popular in China as many believe it offers more convenience and transparency compared to traditional methods of donating. 　　China has 7，169 registered charity organizations with 172 million volunteers across the country. Information on over 3.9 million volunteer projects has been made public and volunteers have rendered more than 2.19 billion hours of service.

Police Training

　　Policemen from the Jinan Public Security Bureau in Jinan， capital of Shandong Province in east China， carry out a comprehensive drill on November 17.

Uygur Population

　　The population of the ethnic Uygurs in China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region rose by 25 percent from 10.17 million in 2010 to 12.72 million in 2018， or an increase of 2.55 million over eight years， Zhao Lijian， a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on November 16.
　　The growth rate is about twice the 14-percent growth rate of the overall Xinjiang population， and is significantly higher than the 2-percent growth rate of the Han population， Zhao stated during a press briefing.

Grain Production

　　The General Office of the State Council released a guideline on preventing non-grain use of arable land and stabilizing grain production on November 17.
　　Underscoring food security as the top priority in agricultural development， the document urged related departments to optimize the grain production structure， implement strict farmland protection policies， and use arable land properly.
　　It also imposed strict restrictions on converting arable land into other types of agricultural land， such as forests and gardens.
　　Efforts should also go into preventing the disorderly production of inedible produces with a surplus in the market， it said.
　　The guideline stressed fulfilling the target of protecting permanent basic farmland， calling for efforts to regulate production and business activities， and prohibit the destructive use of the land.
　　The government will implement incentive policies and improve the economic compensation mechanism in major grain-producing regions while rolling out measures to encourage local governments and farmers in grain production， it said.

Investment Recovery

　　The growth of fixed assets investment in China is likely to accelerate in the fourth quarter of the year， leading to a mild increase for 2020， Fitch Ratings said in a recent report， adding that such a trend suggests stable growth in 2021.
　　The country’s fixed assets investment went up by 0.8 percent year on year in the first three quarters， the first gain in 2020， official data showed. 　　During that period， infrastructure investment recovery was weaker than expected， the report said. The rating agency attributed the slower growth partly to the longer-thanexpected approval process and project commencement delays due to a prolonged rainy season in July.
　　“This may imply some investments will be carried over into the fourth quarter and early 2021，” the report said.
　　The full-year investment growth in 2021 may be constrained by the special bond quota， which has yet to be announced， it added.

Fruitful Life

　　A villager picks tangerines in Furong Town， Hunan Province in central China， on November 14. With favorable natural conditions， the town has focused on tangerine planting， improving the income of over 600 households in 2019.

Risk Control

　　The government will tighten supervision and strengthen crossdepartment coordination to mitigate risks of corporate bond defaults， the National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC） said on November 17.
　　Local governments will be required to carry out stricter supervision through measures such as project screening and inspection， Meng Wei， a spokesperson for the NDRC， told a press conference.
　　Efforts will be made to establish a cross-department coordination mechanism， improve information disclosure and further unify disclosure rules of the bond market. A prevention and control system will also be put in place to help identify， discover and handle cases as early as possible， while plans to reduce market risks shall be formulated， Meng said.
　　Amid efforts to better leverage corporate bonds to support the real economy， China began implementing a registration-based system for the public issuance of corporate bonds starting from March， and unveiled regulations on processing and approving bond issuance applications.
　　Despite new challenges at home and abroad， there have been no corporate bond defaults this year， Meng said.
　　Official data showed that the issuance of corporate bonds in China reached 476.78 billion yuan （$72.69 billion） as of November 10， a positive growth compared with the same period last year.

Cultural Investment

　　A fund of funds （FOF） for cultural industry investment was launched on November 18 with a target size of 50 billion yuan （$7.62 billion）， of which 31.7 billion yuan （$4.8 billion） has already been raised. 　　The FOF will focus on supporting the restructuring， mergers and acquisitions of cultural enterprises， facilitating the integration of cultural resources and industrial structure adjustment， and promoting the high-quality development of the cultural industry， Xinhua News Agency reported.
　　It will mainly invest in news and information services， integrated media development， and new forms of cultural business， as well as tourism， sports and film industry.
　　The establishment of the fund， co-initiated by the Ministry of Finance， is a significant move in forging a modern cultural industry and developing a great socialist culture， Xinhua said.

5G Deployment

　　China has built nearly 700，000 5G base stations， more than twice the total installation in the rest of the world， according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
　　The number of terminal devices connected to the network has exceeded 180 million， as welldeveloped infrastructure facilitates more 5G-based applications， Vice Minister Liu Liehong said at the China Development Forum. The forum was held in Beijing on November 11-13.
　　In the next three years， the country is expected to be at the introduction stage of 5G development， so industry insiders say it is necessary to make proactive moves in construction.
　　5G is playing an important role， especially in stabilizing investment， promoting consumption and fostering new drivers of economic development.
　　During the first 10 months of the year， 5G mobile phone shipments reached 124 million units with a total of 183 new models hitting the market.

Smart Construction

　　Engineers of a subsidiary of the China Construction Third Engineering Bureau operate a smart robot to disseminate safety information at a construction site in Nanjing， Jiangsu Province in east China， on November 17. The constructors have adopted a smart system that integrates computing technologies and the Internet of Things to ensure safety and enhance work efficiency.

Hydropower Record

　　The Three Gorges Dam， the world’s largest hydroelectric project on the Yangtze River， has set a new record for annual power output， the China Three Gorges Corp. said on November 18.
　　Power generation reached 103.1-billion-kWh at 8：20 a.m. on November 15， surpassing the 103.098-billion-kWh record set by the Itaipu Dam in South America in 2016， it said. 　　The clean electricity， which otherwise would be generated through burning 31.71 million tons of standard coal equivalent， has helped reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 86.71 million tons， sulfur dioxide by 20，600 tons， and nitrogen oxides by 19，600 tons.
　　Featuring efficient water resource utilization， the Three Gorges project controls and prevents floodwater along the Yangtze River basin and generates electricity.
　　The project， which became operational in 2003， has 34 turbo-generators with a combined generating capacity of 22.5 million kw.

Coffee Park

　　The construction of the Starbucks China Coffee Innovation Park in Kunshan， Jiangsu Province in east China， started on November 16.
　　Located in the Kunshan Economic and Technological Development Zone， the park covers 80，000 square meters. It will likely be one of Starbucks’ greenest coffee roasting factories globally.
　　According to the management of the zone， the introduction of new technologies in roasting production in the park can reduce carbon emissions by more than 30 percent compared with traditional methods.
　　The park will also use more intelligent baking production and logistics distribution systems to improve coffee roasting capacity and energy efficiency.
　　The project was signed in March， becoming the first industrial project funded by one of the top 500 U.S. enterprises in China this year.
　　The zone is home to 2，497 projects from 51 countries and regions worth nearly $40 billion. It has become a hub for global capital， technologies and talents with industries such as photoelectric semiconductors， new-energy vehicles and coffee.

Engagement for Fun

　　Visitors interact with animals in a farm in Gucheng Village， Huzhou City in Zhejiang Province in east China， on November 17. The farm has attracted a large number of tourists since its opening in May through integrating camping and pet-viewing activities， boosting local industrial upgrade.