According to the Ministry of Education， last year the number of Chinese going abroad for study set a new record of 608，400， marking a rise of 11.74 percent over 2016. China remains the world’s largest source of international students. Meanwhile the number of Chinese returning from their overseas educational programs registered a year-on-year growth of 11.19 percent to reach 480，900. Among them， 227，400 have obtained diplomas at the master’s level or above. Seen from data， most Chinese students still chose the U.S.， Europe， and other developed countries and regions in 2017. But countries along the Belt and Road are emerging destinations， attracting 66，100 Chinese students last year， up 15.7 percent from 2016. Among them 3，679 were funded by the government， and went to 37 countries along the routes.


　　Travel Ban for Train Smokers
　　Starting on May 1， passengers who smoke on high-speed trains or in smoke-free zones of other trains will be prevented from train travel for 180 days， according to a document jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission， the Supreme People’s Court， and other government departments.
　　Troublemakers， producers and sellers of counterfeit tickets， and those endangering railway transport safety will also be prevented from taking trains for 180 days. If passengers steal a ride， buy tickets with fake IDs， or board trains with invalid tickets， they will not be allowed to buy tickets again unless they pay a fee equal to the ticket’s cost.
　　If the same situation happens three times within the year after a previous fee payment， they will have to wait 90 days before buying tickets again， and only after paying all outstanding fees.
　　A roster of those banned from taking trains will be publicized on 12306.cn， a ticket booking website， and creditchina.gov.cn， a credit check website， for seven consecutive days from the first day of each month. Those listed can appeal during that period.
　　Sea Level on the Rise
　　A bulletin from the State Oceanic Administration says that last year the offshore sea level in China maintained the growing trend， and tallied the fourth highest since 1980.
　　From 1980 to 2017， the offshore sea level around China had been rising at the rate of 3.3 mm per year， higher than the global average of the same period. Last year the sea level was 58 mm above the usual reading， 24 mm below the 2016 peak since 1980. 　　Chen Zhi， an official of the administration， attributed the rise to global warming， which elevates the sea water level， and melts continental glaciers and polar ice sheets. Last year the temperatures in China’s coastal regions and the country’s sea temperature were respectively 0.90 degree centigrade and 0.77 degree centigrade higher than those of previous years.
　　The bulletin cautions that rising sea level requires China to beef up its disaster prevention and alleviation capabilities. It also says that China will increase its efforts to preserve and rehabilitate the eco-environment in coastal areas， and advance international marine exchanges and cooperation.


　　Xinjiang： A Major Power Supplier
　　Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has supplied electricity to 250 million people in 16 provinces and cities across the country. Xinjiang has supplied 150 billion kWh of electricity， including 34 billion kWh of new energy power， since the region began outbound power transmission in 2010， according to the Xinjiang branch of the State Grid Corporation of China.
　　In recent years， Xinjiang has invested heavily to improve the region’s power grid and guarantee power supplies. An extrahigh voltage power transmission project was launched in 2016. It is expected to be completed in 2018 with annual outbound power transmission capacity of 66 billion kWh.