China intensifies disaster control efforts as torrential rain leads more floods
暴雨引发频繁洪灾，我国加强灾害控制工作
China's flood control efforts have entered a critical phase, with 33 rivers nationwide exceeding warning levels by Monday, according to the Ministry of Water Resources.
Triggered by persistent heavy downpours, 22 rivers in Jiangxi, Hubei, Anhui, Zhejiang and Guizhou have reported floods exceeding alert marks. Meanwhile, 11 rivers in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province saw above warning-line floods.
China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on Monday raised the emergency responses to flooding to Level III in the provinces of Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi and Hunan, following the decision by the national observatory to issue red alerts for rainstorms in these areas.
China has a four-tier flood-control emergency response system, with Level I being the most urgent response, and a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow, and blue.
The flood prevention situation of the Yangtze River basin becomes rather stern, as water levels in the tributaries of the Poyang Lake basin have exceeded warning levels, and the water level in the main stream of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River continued to rise, according to the Changjiang Water Resources Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources.
Over the following 10 days, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River will experience extreme heavy rainfall, potentially causing flooding in both tributaries and the main stream, according to the commission's forecast.
China is sparing no efforts in combating the flooding. The local governments have decided to increase the outflow of the Three Gorges Reservoir, starting from Tuesday, in preparation for subsequent floods.
One more work team will be sent to Zhejiang to assist in local flood prevention efforts, said the State's Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, adding that work teams dispatched to Anhui, Jiangxi and Hunan will continue their work there.
China's National Meteorological Center on Monday morning renewed a red alert for rainstorms as heavy rainfall is expected in several regions of the country.
From Monday to Sunday, continuous torrential rain is expected to lash parts of the regions south of the Yangtze River, the Jianghan Plain, and regions along the Yangtze River and Huaihe River.
Transportation sector sees fixed-asset investment rise to $539b
我国交通运输业固定资产投资增至 5,390 亿美元
China's transportation sector maintained a steady progress last year by completing 3.91 trillion yuan ($539 billion) in fixed-asset investment, a year-on-year increase of 1.5 percent, according to a newly released report by the Ministry of Transport on Tuesday.
The report has summarized the country's transportation development in 2023. According to the report, China's transport sector has seen a rapid development and has provided robust transportation services to support the country's development.
By the end of last year, China's railway network has reached 159,000 kilometers, with 45,000 high-speed railways, ranking top in the world.
The country has a road network of 5.44 million km, with 183,600 km of freeways.
The country has 259 commercial airports, an addition of 5 from 2022.
In addition to the development of transportation infrastructures, people and cargo movement also saw growth last year. In 2023, China achieved a total volume of commercial freight transportation of 54.75 billion metric tons, marking an 8.1 percent year-on-year increase.
Additionally, the volume of cross-regional passenger trips reached 61.29 billion, showing a significant 30.7 percent rise from the previous year.
More tourism destinations earn China National Tourist Resort title
更多旅游目的地获得中国国家旅游度假区称号
Another 22 tourism destinations have been listed as a China National Tourist Resort — China's highest level for resorts evaluation, by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Wednesday.
The 22 tourism destinations include Gubei Water Town in Beijing, Changbaishan Beautiful China Resort in northeastern province of Jilin and Yixian International Rural Tourism Resort in Huangshan city, eastern province of Anhui.
China started to rate the national tourist resort in 2015 and so far has 85 resorts nationwide earned the title.
According to a notice by the culture and tourism ministry, the resorts applying for the title should have sound and well-operated leisure facilities, who also have good reputations and brand images at the domestic level. The resorts should not have records of serious violation of laws and regulations in the most recent three years or have caused severe accidents damaging the environment or people's safety in the recent three years.
The applicant should be rated as a provincial-level tourist resort for at least one year, before applying for the State-level title, according to the ministry.
From: Chinadaily.com.cn
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