Society

Tibet Gets Greener

Tibet Autonomous Region in southwestern China plans to implement a number of forestation projects over the next few years， according to a recent announcement by the Regional Department of Forestry.

Tibets average annual expansion of forest cover is scheduled to surpass 60，000 hectares by 2020. A total of 55，000 hectares of forest were planted in 2016， more than 3，000 hectares of which were planted under a program to re-wild farmland， according to Tsultrim Gyatso， secretary of the departments Party committee. The region also created 93，000 hectares of forest in 2016 to combat desertification.

Tibet is striving to attain 15 square meters of urban green area per capita by 2020. The region spent close to RMB 4 billion （US $580 million） creating around 350，000 hectares of new forests from 2011 to 2015.

Innovative Companies on the Rise

There are now over 4，200 maker spaces and 2，000 gazelle companies in China， according to Zhang Zhihong， chief of Torch High Technology Industry Development Center at the Ministry of Science and Technology. He credited the national policy of encouraging mass entrepreneurship and innovation for this rapid growth.

“Most of these maker spaces are seated in national new technology and hi-tech zones. A 2016 survey of 4，298 maker spaces by my center showed that they provide services to more than 120，000 companies with the fund pooled more than RMB 5.5 billion，” Zhang told the media. There are 2，084 gazelle companies in Chinas national new technology and hi-tech zones， more than that of Silicon Valley in the United States. A gazelle company is an extremely fast-growing company， which maintains consistent growth of at least 20 percent over more than four years.

Falling Ticket Sales Prompts More Mergers

According to Maoyan.com， Chinas film box office revenue for January and February stood at about RMB 11 billion， an increase of RMB 300 million over the same period last year. However， if online booking fees are deducted （which were counted as part of box office revenue for the first time this year） the figure is actually three percent below that of 2016. This rate of decline went into double figures in March.

The golden age of Chinas film industry was from 2004 to 2015， when its annual box office skyrocketed from RMB 1.5 billion to 44 billion and it maintained a compound annual growth rate of 35.9 percent. It peaked last year， when growth dipped to 3.7 percent. The industry is predicted to see negative growth for the first quarter of 2017 and this news has prompted a large number of mergers between cinema companies.

E-commerce Encouraged to Boost Rural Economy

This year China plans to further develop e-commerce in rural areas to boost local economies， extending its reach to build public service capacity， facilitate rural sales of agricultural and industrial products， promote tourism and implement targeted poverty alleviation in rural areas.

Meanwhile the country will continue to combat Internet fraud and increase cooperation between regional law enforcement agencies. There will also be an increase in the sharing of big data between supervision departments and e-commerce corporations. This will enable easier identification of legal infringements， such as the production of fake goods， and tougher measures can then be taken against them.

According to the Ministry of Commerce spokesperson， Sun Jiwen， online retail revenue for rural China hit RMB 894.54 billion last year. Though it accounted for only 17.4 percent of the countrys total online revenue， rural quarterly growth was higher than that of urban areas. E-commerce is more prevalent in the rural parts of eastern China， with an online retail revenue of RMB 566 billion for the year. But central and western provinces reported a higher quarterly growth of 16.6 percent.

Activity

American Boychoir Concert

Date： May 1， 2017

Place： Suzhou Culture and Arts Center

Price： RMB 100/180/280/380/480/580

The American Boychoir has long been recognized as one of the finest musical ensembles in the U.S. The choir performs regularly with world-class orchestras including the New York Philharmonic， the Philadelphia Orchestra， and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. As an icon of American musical excellence， the Boychoir has been invited to sing for every U.S. president since John F. Kennedy.

Hélène Grimaud Piano Recital

Date： May 11， 2017

Place： National Center for Performing Arts

Price： RMB 80/160/240/300/360/480

Hélène Grimaud is a deeply passionate artist whose pianistic accomplishments play a central role in her life. She boasts talents that extend far beyond the instrument she plays with such poetic expression and peerless technical control. The French artist has also established herself as a writer and a committed wildlife conservationist.