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CHINA PICTORIAL MAGAZINES

Snapshot

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June 6, 2009 – A dragon boat race in Guangzhou City. CFP

UNESCO Application

China submitted an application to UNESCO for designation of the nation’s Dragon Boat Festival as an intangible cultural heritage. The application was submitted by central China’s Hubei Province on behalf of the entire country.

The Dragon Boat Festival, or Duanwu, falls on the fifth day of the fifth month on the Chinese lunar calendar. This year’s Duanwu Festival fell on May 28.

A/H1N1 Vaccine

On June 8, after receiving specimens of the flu strain from WHO, Sinovac Biotech Company, a vaccine-focused biotech company based in China, commenced efforts to manufacture A/H1N1 influenza vaccine for human use.

In China, there are 11 drug companies capable of producing seasonal flu vaccines, but Sinovac Biotech Company is the only one able to formulate and produce pandemic flu vaccines.

June 8, 2009 - A researcher with Sinovac Biotech Company at work, attempting to produce an A/H1N1 influenza vaccine for human use. by Xing Guangli/Xinhua

May 31, 2009 – A press event at Ping’anli Subway Station, stopping place for the new Beijing Subway Line 4. Xinhua

Subway Test

Beijing Subway Line 4 began test operations on May 31.

A rapid transit rail line currently under construction in the capital, Line 4 is scheduled to go into operation at the end of September 2009, and will run from north to south, parallel and to the west of Line 5. The new line is approximately 28 kilometers long.

Soros Says

On June 7, George Soros, world-renowned investor and currency speculator, stated that he believes China will be the first nation to recover from the global financial crisis.

During a recent visit to China, he noted that China’s economy suffered a serious setback as a result of the contraction of international trade, but that the government moved quickly to mitigate and reverse the damage with the implementation of its aggressive stimulus package, as well as putting into motion plans to boost domestic spending and overseas investment.

June 8, 2009 - During a seminar in Hangzhou, U.S. billionaire George Soros (right) speaks along with Ma Yun, chairman of China-based Alibaba Group. by Xu Yu/Xinhua

June 8, 2009 - A student cheers up as the national college entrance exam concludes. CFP

Entrance Exams

Amid fears of flu and concerns about cheating, on June 7 more than 10 million Chinese high school students began their “battle to determine their fate,” as the national college entrance exam is commonly known in China.

Although the number of candidates was down 3.8 percent from last year, the first decline in seven years, China’s program of college entrance examinations remains the world’s largest.

TCM Tea

Amid flu concerns, the Beijing Puti Huibin Traditional Chinese Medicine Institute, free of charge, served local residents rohan cyrtonema health tea. A soothing beverage with a history of more than 1,000 years, the tea is thought to clear away heat and toxic material, moisten the lungs, and relieve coughing.

Preparing rohan cyrtonema tea. by Wang Dongmei