"Xiamen-made" vaccine secures UN agency orders

A shipment of over 1.4 million doses of the bivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine "Cecolin" recently arrived at Luanda International Airport in Angola. These vaccines, produced in Xiamen, will support Angola's nationwide immunization program for girls aged 9 to 12. This marks a successful collaboration between Xiamen Innovax Biotech Co., Ltd. and UN agencies.

Recently, Hitachi Energy celebrated the 25th anniversary of its manufacturing base in Xiamen, Hitachi Energy High Voltage Switchgear Co., Ltd. It was announced that Hitachi Energy will invest in a new production line at the Xiamen base and upgrade its production equipment to better meet market demands.

Recently, the "Adora Mediterranea" cruise ship arrived in Xiamen with 600 passengers and departed the same evening carrying 2,100 passengers to Naha, Japan, marking the start of the 2024 winter cruise season at Xiamen International Cruise Home Port.

Between November 15 and December 6, the "Adora Mediterranea" will operate seven routes from the port. On November 28, the port will also welcome the "Blue Dream Melody" cruise.

Cruise tourism is becoming an increasingly prominent cultural feature of Xiamen, the "Garden on the Sea." This year, Xiamen International Cruise Home Port focused on attracting cruise lines and diversifying routes, including traditional Japan and ROK routes, Maritime Silk Road routes, and long-haul international routes. Additionally, the port is leveraging visa-free entry policies for foreign tourist groups to enhance reception services and promote Xiamen's cultural and tourism resources domestically and internationally, injecting new momentum into the development of Xiamen and the broader cultural and tourism industry chain.

Recently, XiamenAir and its subsidiaries Hebei Airlines and Jiangxi Air officially initiated a recruitment drive for high school cadet pilots. The program is open to Chinese citizens who are either current or former high school students and who will participate in next year's national college entrance examination. Applicants must be between the ages of 16 and 20, with English as their foreign language. They must also take subjects such as physics and chemistry.

Fuzhou recently hosted the annual Fujian Arts Festival, with four plays from Xiamen receiving awards. Both the Gezi opera Swallows Return to the Nest and the Gaojia opera Loyalty in the Angry Sea won best drama awards in dramatic arts portion of the festival's awards program.

The Nanyin performance Eternal Rites and Music and the dance drama Flowers and the Sea also earned excellence awards in the portion of the program honoring music, dance, acrobatics and folk art.

Local authority last week announced its ranking of Xiamen's top 100 enterprises as ranked by annual revenue. C&D Group ranked first (783.4 billion yuan), followed by ITG Holding Group (607.5 billion yuan) and Xiangyu Group (490.50 billion yuan).

Recently, Xiamen University's college of continuing education announced that its night school will reopen to people both inside and outside the school, with no educational prerequisites required. Classes will be held in the evenings, although future weekend classes are possible.

The first session will serve as a pilot session. A number of night school courses launch early next year based on demand. Registration will be available through the 厦门大学继续教育学院 WeChat account.

Representatives of the Market Supervision Bureau in Tongan announced earlier this month that a workshop that makes seafood wraps, one of Xiamen's iconic snacks, earned an official registration certificate. Bureau officials said that the first-of-its-kind certificate marked a significant step towards the management of small-scale seafood wrap producers.

Bureau officials added that it is collaborating with the Xiamen Food Safety Federation to strengthen accountability for such operators. The bureau introduced new group standards for seafood wraps in August.

City officials recently announced the latest batch of 23 local firms to earn the Time-Honored Brands designation. New additions include Xiamen Hotel, Houcaller Steak and Gulong. The list also includes roughly 100 firms from previous designation rounds.

Local residents have snapped images of hundreds of cormorants soaring in V and straight-line formations over Xinglin bay in the past week. These black fishing birds migrate south each year, with many temporarily settling in the waters of Xiamen's Garden Expo Park.

Located along the east Asia-Australasia migratory flyway, Xiamen is a crucial stopover for numerous winter migratory birds, some of which stay and winter in the city.

The city of Xiamen recently began its large-scale bridge inspection initiative with a comprehensive examination of the Xianyue viaduct. A total of 123 local bridges will undergo inspections through mid-December. The oversight program will continue with a range of maintenance and management strategies to ensure structural integrity and bridge safety.

Xiamen earlier this month hosted the annual Xiamen International Cartoon and Animation Festival. The event included the Cyber Sousa awards ceremony, the culmination of a five-month competition that drew more than 3,300 entries from dozens of countries.

The awards celebrated a total of 66 winners in a wide range of categories. The best animated feature film award went to @Chaaerzhong, while the silver award in the same category went to the animated film Chang An and Boonie Bears: Time Twist.

Local officials announced recently that the city is now home to 78 outlets participating in the Charity Restaurants public welfare initiative. Authorities said that participating restaurants are subject to enhanced management and service standards. Officials added that the program is designed to enhance urban civility.