Archive for February 18th, 2008
Beijing Olympic – China sets pollution reduction targets for 2008
Monday, February 18th, 2008
China will aim this year to reduce its emissions of sulphur dioxide by 6 percent from their 2005 levels as it steps up efforts to fight pollution, its top environmental official said in remarks published on Tuesday.
The official Xinhua news agency cited Zhou Shengxian, head of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), as saying that the government would close many small coal-fired power plants, as well as steel mills and cement plants, to cut emissions of the acid rain-causing pollutant.
Zhou also said the government aimed to reduce COD, or chemical oxygen demand, a measure of water pollution, by 5 percent from its 2005 level this year.
Zhou said that Beijing would work with five other provinces and municipalities surrounding it to control air pollution during the Olympics, including by limiting traffic and shutting down polluting factories.
“We will make full use of the Olympic air quality coordinating teams this year to improve regional cooperation and implement relevant measures,” Zhou said, according to Xinhua.
Authorities will step up the country’s waste water treatment capacity by 12 million tonnes this year, with the aim of making sure all waste water in 36 major cities is treated by the end of next year, he said.
Sulphur dioxide and COD are primitive indicators of overall environmental health.
China has promised to cut the two pollution measures by 10 percent between 2006 and 2010.
(Source: ebeijing.gov.cn)
China Travel – Datong
Monday, February 18th, 2008 |
| Yungang Grottoes |
Datong, situated in the far north of Shanxi Province, covers a total area of 14,112.56 square kilometers, and averages at 700 to 1,400 meters in altitude. The city has a population of 2.848 million, about 60% of which is in rural areas. Datong has ethnic minority groups like Mongolian, Manchu, Tibetan, Hui, Miao, Korean, etc., and the Han people make up 99.6%.
Datong, with a long history and located at a strategic place, was once a capital of the country in ancient times, the capital city of two non-Han Chinese dynasties and a town of military importance in four dynasties. Datong enjoys convenient transportation and communications, and boasts rich mineral resources and solid industrial foundation. It is now an energy and heavy chemical base in China, and is especially famous for coal production, which wins it the name of the capital of coal.
The finest of the city’s marvelous natural sites is a magnificent series of Yungang Grottoes built in the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534), just west of the city. Yungang Grottoes, Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes and Luoyang Grottoes are called China’s three major grottoes, which are of very high artistic value.
The most beautiful landscape in Datong is Hengshan, one of the five holy mountains of Taoism. At the foot of Hengshan Mountain, there is the almost unbelievable Midair Temple, which lies against cliffs and stays high up in the air, and is acclaimed as the peak of perfection.
(Source: chinaculture.org)
