分类： society

To mark this year’s Earth Day, Shanghai Disney Resort convened its annual nature conservation forum on Wednesday, bringing together environmental researchers, explorers, and young advocates to highlight progress in urban ecological restoration and boost public awareness of sustainable coexistence with nature.

A centerpiece of this year’s Earth Day celebration was the launch of a new research report focused on the ecological performance of the resort’s Wishing Star Park, titled *Creating an Urban Wetland Ecosystem: A Case Study of Shanghai Disney Resort’s Wishing Star Park*. The report offers a comprehensive, data-backed look at how intentional eco-friendly planning, construction, and long-term operational management have transformed an urban green space into a thriving habitat that supports rich biodiversity.

Drawing on 11 consecutive years of bird observation data collected since the project launched in 2015, the research documents clear ecological gains across the park’s wetland system. As of March 2026, official surveys have recorded more than 133 distinct bird species and over 62,000 individual birds within the park’s boundaries. Of these tracked populations, roughly 90 percent have maintained stable population sizes or recorded measurable growth over the study period, confirming the success of the resort’s long-term conservation strategy.

The annual conservation forum featured keynote talks from leading global environmental researchers and explorers. Among the speakers was Asha de Vos, a National Geographic explorer and marine biologist, who shared key insights from her ongoing work studying blue whales and sperm whales. De Vos’s research has uncovered unexpected complexity in the communication systems and social structures of these iconic marine mammals, shedding new light on the cognitive and social lives of ocean-dwelling megafauna.

Another featured speaker, National Geographic explorer Huang Qiaowen, presented findings from her 10-year study of human-wildlife coexistence. Huang emphasized the outsized ecological role of leopards as an “umbrella species,” explaining that targeted conservation efforts to protect these top predators generate cascading benefits that strengthen the health and resilience of entire regional ecosystems.

Beyond academic and expert discussions, this year’s Earth Day celebration prioritized engaging younger generations in environmental action. Student participants from the second iteration of the Youth Environmental Inspiration Program took part in the event, showcasing their original environmental projects selected from more than 100 nationwide submissions. The student projects covered a wide range of topics, from innovative energy-saving designs to hands-on local environmental observation initiatives. The event also included a public eco-market featuring more than 30 interactive booths designed to connect attendees with practical sustainable living practices.

As two major public holidays approach, Chinese food safety regulators have launched a nationwide campaign to tighten regulatory oversight and enforcement, moving proactively to mitigate potential food safety hazards and guarantee a secure dining experience for consumers across the country.

In an official notice released recently, the Food Safety Office of the State Council called on local regulatory bodies at all levels to make advance arrangements and ramp up inspections across every link of the national food supply chain, spanning from primary production and wholesale distribution to retail and food service, ahead of the peak holiday consumption surge that typically accompanies the May Day and Dragon Boat Festival breaks.

The notice directs regulators to prioritize high-priority categories of food products, including staple goods with mass consumption, seasonal specialty items tied to the holidays, viral food products trending on social media and e-commerce platforms, and commercial health foods. Alongside targeted product checks, supervisory efforts will also be intensified at key high-traffic locations, including agricultural product wholesale markets, national retail chain outlets, and the country’s largest online e-commerce platforms.

Under the new regulatory requirements, food producers and distributors are mandated to strictly uphold their primary legal responsibility for the safety of their products. For their part, regulators will increase the frequency and depth of on-site inspections, and launch a targeted crackdown on common violations. These prohibited activities include manufacturing and selling counterfeit or substandard food products, running deceptive false advertising campaigns for food items, and the unauthorized use of unapproved or illegal food additives.

Special supervisory focus will also be placed on the food service sector, particularly large chain restaurant brands, catering services provided to organized tourist groups, and high-traffic online restaurants that rely heavily on food delivery orders. One key area of scrutiny is the growing problem of unregulated “ghost kitchens” — delivery-only food operations that lack compliant physical dining facilities and proper operating permits, which have been linked to repeated food safety outbreaks in recent years.

Institutions that provide group meal services to large numbers of people, including primary and secondary schools and other public organizations, are required to reinforce internal food safety management protocols and conduct comprehensive proactive risk assessments to address potential hazards before they cause harm. Local authorities have also been assigned the task of tightening oversight over large group banquets commonly held in rural areas during holiday seasons, a measure designed to prevent large-scale foodborne illness outbreaks that have occurred in past holiday periods.

In addition to routine on-site supervision, the campaign will expand the scope and frequency of random food safety sampling inspections throughout the holiday period. Targeted laboratory testing will be carried out on high-risk food products and seasonal holiday staples, most notably zongzi — the traditional glutinous rice dumplings that are the centerpiece of Dragon Boat Festival celebrations across the country.

To further strengthen public protection, the notice also calls for the optimization and expansion of accessible consumer complaint and incident reporting channels, ensuring that members of the public can quickly report suspected food safety issues and have their legitimate rights and interests effectively protected throughout the holiday season.

Tucked between the steep, forested slopes of Southwest China’s Guizhou Huajiang Grand Canyon, a record-breaking engineering marvel has redefined extreme leisure travel in the region: the 625-meter-high Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, the tallest bridge on the planet. Since welcoming its first visitors last September, this innovative infrastructure project has rapidly evolved from a technical achievement to one of Guizhou’s most popular travel landmarks, drawing thousands of adventure enthusiasts and casual sightseers alike every month.

What sets this bridge apart from other tourist-focused infrastructure is its range of experiences tailored to different comfort levels. For hardcore thrill-seekers, the bridge caters to adrenaline cravings with one-of-a-kind bungee jumping opportunities and a unique, rail-free edge walkway that lets visitors step right to the edge of the 625-meter drop for unobstructed, heart-pounding views of the roaring river and jagged canyon cliffs thousands of meters below. For casual travelers who prefer a more relaxed visit, the bridge offers gentle walking paths along its main steel frame, where visitors can feel the mountain breeze drift up from the canyon while enjoying a cup of coffee against the backdrop of sweeping panoramic views of Guizhou’s dramatic karst landscape.

The bridge’s rapid rise to fame underscores Guizhou’s ongoing strategy to turn its unique mountainous geography into a competitive advantage for tourism development. What began as a groundbreaking infrastructure project has become a major economic driver for local communities, creating new jobs in hospitality, guiding, and tourism services while putting the remote Huajiang Grand Canyon on the global adventure tourism map.

Along a busy Anhui expressway, a unique local agricultural delicacy has become an unexpected highlight for international visitors. At Fengle Service Station, a group of foreign content creators, led by UK national Joe Burns, got a first-hand taste of Jinsi Jiaogua, better known as Golden Silk Squash, the eye-catching Anhui specialty that has recently risen to national fame.

Bred and cultivated locally in Sixian County, Anhui, Golden Silk Squash has a surprising trait that sets it apart from common produce: when cooked, its flesh naturally unravels into thin, noodle-like strands that look strikingly similar to spaghetti, despite being a variety of squash. This unusual characteristic, combined with its fresh, mild flavor, has made it a standout regional food product.

The vegetable catapulted to broader national attention earlier this year, when it was featured as a highlighted local specialty during both the 2026 Spring Festival and Lantern Festival galas, two of China’s most-watched annual cultural events. The service station tasting, organized to showcase Anhui’s local agricultural and cultural treasures to international guests, gave the creators a chance to experience the viral specialty directly and share their impressions with global audiences.

For visitors traveling through Anhui, stops at highway service stations have increasingly become opportunities to engage with local culture rather than just brief rest breaks. This event reflects a growing trend of integrating regional food promotion into roadside travel infrastructure, helping lesser-known local specialties gain exposure both domestically and internationally.

China’s top weather forecasting body has renewed a blue-level alert for heavy rainfall, as a major active rain band is projected to shift southward to southern Chinese regions between Thursday night and Friday. The blue alert marks the lowest severity warning in China’s four-tier national weather warning system, issued by the National Meteorological Center on Thursday.

According to the center’s forecast, portions of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guangdong Province and Fujian Province will see heavy downpours, and some local areas may even experience extreme torrential rain between Thursday and Friday morning. Throughout this forecasting window, the core rain and convective weather system will track east and south, positioning South China as the central zone for precipitation accumulation. Specifically, parts of eastern and southern Guangxi, along with central and northern Guangdong, are projected to see heavy to torrential rainfall through the period.

Long before this incoming weather event, many regions located south of the Yangtze River have already faced weeks of persistent, above-average rainfall over the past 30 days. Data from Weather China, an official public weather website operated under the China Meteorological Administration, shows that multiple areas in Jiangxi Province and Hunan Province have recorded total precipitation exceeding 400 millimeters over the past month — twice the long-term average precipitation for the same calendar period in typical years.

For residents and local authorities navigating the prolonged wet weather, a brief reprieve is on the horizon. Starting Friday and extending through midday Sunday, the affected southern and Yangtze River basin regions are expected to see a temporary dry spell that will provide a window to carry out flood prevention inspections and post-rain damage assessments.

However, the dry conditions will not last long. Starting Sunday afternoon or evening, an entirely new round of rainfall is set to develop, bringing new wet weather to Chongqing Municipality, Guizhou Province, Hunan Province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. By Monday and Tuesday of the following week, widespread rainfall will return to most areas south of the Yangtze River and across South China, the official weather website confirmed.

As the world prepares to mark World Book Day on Thursday, young pupils at No 1 Experimental Primary School in Guangping county, Handan City, Hebei Province have already turned specially designed campus reading corners into their favorite gathering spots during break periods.

This grassroots reading initiative is not a one-off event for the annual celebration, but the newest addition to the region’s long-running “Bookish Campus” campaign, a multi-year effort that aims to embed a love of reading into daily school life across Guangping county.

Local education authorities have noted that the steady push to upgrade campus reading spaces, paired with consistent, engaging literacy-focused activities over the years, has delivered tangible positive outcomes for students. Beyond just sparking greater curiosity and enthusiasm for reading among young learners, the campaign has also lifted overall academic performance across participating schools. More importantly, educators and officials emphasize that fostering a consistent reading habit from an early age builds a strong foundational cultural awareness that supports the holistic growth of students, preparing them for long-term learning and personal development.

In a moving tribute that blends literary commemoration with national remembrance, multiple primary and secondary schools across Shenyang, Liaoning Province, have organized coordinated read-aloud events to honor the recently returned remains of Chinese martyrs who fell during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953). The events were carefully scheduled to align with both the 31st iteration of World Book and Copyright Day, observed annually on April 23, and the official burial ceremony for the 13th batch of fallen soldiers’ remains being laid to rest in Chinese soil.

Students taking part in the activities centered their recitations on *The Most Lovable People*, a well-known textbook article that chronicles the bravery, sacrifice, and unwavering dedication of Chinese volunteer soldiers who fought in the 1950-1953 conflict. One of the participating institutions, Northeast Yucai School, documented the event with photos showing students gathered to share the text, their voices carrying tributes to the generations of servicemembers who gave their lives for national security and peace.

The dual-purpose event organizers designed the gathering to achieve two meaningful goals: to encourage young people to engage with meaningful literary works as part of World Book Day celebrations, and to instill a deeper sense of national memory and respect for the sacrifices made by early-generation national heroes. By connecting classroom learning to a real national moment of commemoration, the activities helped turn a routine literary celebration into a profound lesson on patriotism for participating students. The event, updated on April 23 2026, marks one of many annual tributes held as China continues to repatriate the remains of fallen Korean War servicemembers from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, holding formal burial ceremonies to honor their service decades after the end of the conflict.