CHINA
CHINA DAILY Wednesday, August 7, 2019 | 5By CHENG SI
[email protected]The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous
region experienced a travel boom
from January to June, and the
growth is projected to continue
through the rest of 2019, according
to a recent report by the region’s
government.
The report said that in the first
half of 2019, the region received
about 76 million visits, up 46 per-
cent year-on-year. Revenue gener-
ated by tourism exceeded 115
billion yuan ($16 billion), register-
ing an increase of about 48 percent
over the same period last year.
Urumqi, Ili Kazak autonomous
prefecture and Changji Hui auton-
omous prefecture were the three
hottest destinations for travelers in
the past half year. Year-on-year,
Urumqi saw a 56 percent increase
in travelers, Ili Kazak saw 81 per-
cent, and Changji Hui 46 percent.
Domestic travelers accounted for
98 percent of those visiting the
region, while the top three sources
of overseas visitors were Kazakh-
stan, Russia and Mongolia.
According to the report, tourism
will maintain high-speed growth of
40 percent in the next half year
thanks to stable public security,
enhanced infrastructure construc-
tion and flourishing winter tourism.Zhang Xiaoyu, general secretary
of the Xinjiang Tourism Associa-
tion, said that winter used to be the
slack season for Xinjiang because
of the rather low temperatures and
heavy snow.
“Numerous scenic spots were
shut down when winter came, but
they grew to be new attractions to
travelers thanks to the popularity of
winter tourism,” he said.
In February, 351 attractions were
available to travelers, much more
than the 69 that opened around
that time last year, according to the
report.
Scenic spots also saw an
increase in travelers during the
winter. Zhang said that the region
offers diversified entertainment to
travelers during the season.
“In the southern part, people canjoin a desert exploration event in
winter that is hard to carry out in the
summer sun,” he said. “Skiing and
hot springs are popular choices for
travelers visiting the northern areas.”
The region, however, still faces
challenges because of insufficient
tour products, inconvenient trans-
portation, a shortage of talent and
insufficient planning and manage-
ment, according to the report.
“Talent is the main problem,”
Zhang said. “Tour guides and man-
agement staff are in high demand.
Also, there are few training courses
available to people in the tourism
industry. We need people to bring
new ideas to help promote the
region’s tourism development.”Mao Weihua contributed to this
story.Shanghai opens exhibit
on life, work of Einstein
By XING YI in Shanghai
[email protected]An exhibition on the life of
Albert Einstein has opened in
Shanghai, displaying many origi-
nal manuscripts of the late theo-
retical physicist to Chinese people
for the first time.
Running from Aug 2 to Oct 22 at
the Shanghai Expo Museum, the
exhibition features 133 items, such
as manuscripts, papers and letters
from the Albert Einstein Archives
Library of the Hebrew University
of Jerusalem, Israel.
Hanoch Gutfreund, director of
the library and former president of
the university, said the items were
selected from more than 83,
that are part of a comprehensive
collection at the university that
best present different aspects of
Einstein’s life.
“We brought some highlights of
Einstein’s broad activities to this
exhibition, more than we have
ever exhibited outside Jerusalem,”
he said.
The original manuscript where
Einstein noted the famous Equiva-
lence of Mass and Energy (E=mc2)
and his Nobel Prize medal are
being showcased at the exhibition,
along with his high school diplo-
ma, musical notes and last letters
with philosopher Bertrand Russell
discussing what came to be known
as the Russell–Einstein Manifesto,
which called on world leaders to
seek peaceful resolutions to inter-
national conflict against the back-
drop of the Cold War.
“The exhibition shares Ein-
stein’s scientific achievements as
well as his fascinating personality,”
Gutfreund said. “We want to cre-
ate a connection between Einstein
and the general public — students,
teachers, scientists and everyone
who has an interest in him.”
There is a special section on Ein-
stein’s connection with China. It
includes his correspondence with
Chinese scientists, a book on Laozi
and Taoism that he read, and a
photo from his visit to Shanghai.
Fang Zaiqing, a researcher at the
Institute for the History of Natural
Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sci-ences, said Shanghai is the only
Chinese mainland city that Ein-
stein visited.
“To hold the exhibition in
Shanghai is very meaningful as the
city sheltered many Jewish refu-
gees during World War II, and Ein-
stein is a peace lover with a Jewish
background,” he said.
“Einstein’s contributions to the
world are not limited to his scien-
tific theories, but also include his
fight against narrow-mindedness
and insular mentalities,” Fang
added. “His openness and inclu-
sive attitude is a good reminder for
today’s world where closed mind-
edness continues to surface in our
society.”
The exhibition also features
many interactive sections. In one
exhibit, people can ride a bicycle
and gradually pedal to simulate
accelerating to the speed of light to
see how galaxies and stars fly past,
leaving blurred, colored lines of
dazzling brightness.
In another, visitors can wander
into a cube of the universe with a
grid under their feet illustrating
the gravitational field and observe
how their mass distorts the field as
they walk, jump and bounce
around the space.
Three lectures on Einstein’s
humanism, scientific and artistic
creativity, along with his theory of
relativity, are being held in the
museum from Tuesday to Thursday.Pastoral life
in Anhui
brings bliss
for retired
Dutchman
HEFEI — For Koelnam Wim, a
68-year-old Dutchman, nothing
compares with the idyllic life in his
village in eastern China’s Anhui
province.
In a small cottage, Koelnam
Wim and his Chinese wife Gu Yan
switch off the internet and live in
tune with the seasons.
Spring, a time for growth, is
when they get up early to pick tea
leaves and sow seeds. The arrival
of the hot summer marks a slower
pace of life for the couple.
Autumn’s cool weather brings
with it the harvest season, and
chilly winter days are a time to rest
and read by the fireplace.
Such a peaceful pastoral life
for the couple began eight years
ago when Wim retired after
working for 12 years in Nanjing,
capital of eastern China’s Jiangsu
province.
“The city is so noisy that we
wanted to find a quiet house near a
hillside. A big yard was also a must
so we could grow vegetables and
be self-sufficient,” Wim said.
On a friend’s recommendation,
they came to Zhaji ancient village,
which has a history of over 1,
years in Anhui.
Encircled by mountains, the
quaint yet lively village and the
enthusiastic and simple villagers
here impressed them. Exploring
the village for about three
months, they finally decided to
settle down in a secluded old cot-
tage on a hill.
They began to renovate the
house, build up the yard and
reclaim a garden. With the help of
locals, the once rundown house
became clean and bright, and the
garden gradually took shape over
the course of a year.
For the couple who had lived in
the city for many years, farming,
growing vegetables and raising
chickens were all new experiences
that required a long learning proc-
ess and dedication.
Wim recalled that in the begin-
ning tulips were the only plant
that he knew, and he would acci-
dentally mix up grass and vegeta-
bles when hoeing.
Continuously learning from
books, neighbors and constant
practice have turned Wim into a
qualified farmer. Instead of
spraying pesticide, they insist on
growing organic vegetables and
sometimes catch insects by
hand.
After years of effort, their field
has increased from one plot to
more than 10, where they grow
over 20 kinds of vegetables and
flowers thrive. They also have doz-
ens of chickens and ducks.
Long-term labor and farming
have left their hands callused, but
it has also brought them great
pleasure.
“I love living in nature. In cities,
people keep burying themselves in
work whether it’s rainy or hailing
outside. But here, you can feel the
slightest changes in nature and
enjoy the pleasure of labor,” Wim
said.
“It seems we have returned to
the original state of humans to cre-
ate things with our hands,” Gu
said.
Villagers here have also gradual-
ly accepted the outsiders as their
own. Zha Qianjin, 49, has already
grown accustomed to the foreign
neighbors.
“He speaks Chinese very well
and is very friendly,” Zha said.
Wim loves to ride around the vil-
lage in his leisure time. “People
greet me with smiles along the
way, and I will stop to chat with
them. Everyone is so passionate,
which makes me feel warm,” Wim
said, adding that this is what adds
to the charm of this small village.
The couple always sends flow-
ers, vegetables and seeds to other
villagers, who also give small gifts
in return.
Today, the galsang flowers intro-
duced by Wim and his wife are
blooming in Zhaji village, and
Wim always tells others that this is
just the life that he has always
longed for.
XINHUAFormer Shaolin monk, 15 associates
arrested on suspicion of gang activity
By CAO YIN
[email protected]A group of 16 people, including
their leader, a former monk from
Shaolin Temple, were arrested
recently on suspicion of gang-relat-
ed crimes in Central China’s Henan
province amid an ongoing crack-
down against organized offenses
nationwide.
Police in Yanshi, Henan, issued a
statement recently that they had
busted the gang, led by Shi Yongxu,
on allegations of fighting, illegal
detention, blackmail and disturb-
ing public order.
Details about the case, including
specifics of the gang’s crimes, have
not been revealed by police.
The statement quickly aroused
public attention, and information
about Shi — that he was among the
33rd generation of monks studying
the Shaolin discipline and in
charge of the kung fu monks at the
Shaolin Temple — hit Chinese
media headlines.
Some media also said Shi attend-
ed events as vice-president of the
Buddhist Association of Yanshiand member of the Yanshi commit-
tee of Chinese People’s Political
Consultative Conference.
Late on July 30, the Shaolin Tem-
ple — located at the foot of the
province’s Songshan Mountain
and regarded as the cradle of Chi-
nese kung fu — issued a declara-
tion on its website, clarifying Shi as
a monk in the 1980s who had left
the temple on his own in 2003.
“Shi’s activities have nothing to
do with the temple, and we have
never had a title called kung fu
monk,” the declaration added.
On July 31, the Buddhist Associa-
tion of Yanshi also issued a state-
ment via the city’s website, saying
they have removed Shi from posi-
tions at the association and dis-
missed him as abbot of Hongjiang
Temple in the province, consider-
ing his suspected offenses.
A staff member of the Shaolin
Temple also told Beijing News that
Shi used to run a shop in the tem-
ple after becoming a monk, but he
was not a master.
Huaxi Metropolis Daily, a news-
paper based in Sichuan province,
reported Shi was involved in sever-al major cases. For example, it said
Shi blackmailed a house owner and
urged him to pay fees for what he
claimed were house repairs.
A senior monk in the Shaolin
Temple also told the newspaper that
Shi still occupied four main halls,
even though he left the temple.
“He asked the temple to give him 3
million yuan ($427,000) as compen-
sation for moving out of the halls, but
the temple refused to do that,” the
paper quoted the monk as saying.
The halls were cleaned up when
newspaper staff went to the temple
on Saturday.
All the information reported by
the paper has not been verified by
the police.
China launched a three-year
campaign in early 2018 against
organized crime, which also target-
ed officials who shelter criminal
organizations.
Beijing courts released a state-
ment saying they convicted 271
people for their involvement in 65
organized crime cases from Janu-
ary last year to the end of June, 46
of whom were sentenced to more
than five years’ imprisonment.Shenzhen’s mass drill
shows off police force
By ZHOU MO
in Shenzhen, Guangdong
[email protected]Shenzhen police force carried
out a mass drill on Tuesday as the
city in South China’s Guangdong
province ramps up efforts to
ensure public security for the 70th
anniversary of the founding of the
People’s Republic of China.
A total of 12,000 policemen,
along with 50 armored vehicles,
200 emergency unit vehicles,
1,200 motorcycles, five helicop-
ters, eight vessels and two amphi-
cars, participated in the exercise.
The drill was meant to promote
the police force’s combat capabili-
ty to maintain social stability and
security, creating a sound envi-
ronment for the 70th anniversary
of the founding of the PRC.
The operation, which began at
10:30 am in Shenzhen’s Bao’an
District, covered anti-terrorism
exercises, joint air and sea patrols
and anti-riot exercises.
Chen Bin, deputy head of the
security and patrol unit at Shen-
zhen Public Security Bureau, said
ensuring social order and public
security in Shenzhen is of great
importance for Guangdong prov-ince and also for the whole country.
“Shenzhen plays an important
role in the country’s reform and
opening up,” he said. “The city is
also adjacent to Hong Kong.
Therefore, it is highly important
to maintain Shenzhen’s social
order and public security.”
The police force began to pre-
pare for the exercise four days
ago.
Liu Liu, a traffic police officer
who took part in the drill, said
despite persistent scorching
weather in Shenzhen over the
past several days, he had main-
tained high spirits.
“I feel so proud to be a member
of Shenzhen police. The drill shows
the spirit of our team,” he said.
Such large-scale drills help
enhance the capabilities of the
Shenzhen police, Liu said, adding
that he has the determination and
confidence to protect the city and
its residents.
“It is my first time seeing such a
massive drill with my own eyes,”
said a Shenzhen resident who
only gave her surname as Yan. “I
was so excited when I saw five hel-
icopters flying through the air. It
gives me a strong sense of security
and deepens my love for the city.”A young visitor examines a sculpture of a restored mural depicting the ancient sport chuiwan — much
like modern day golf — in Taiyuan Art Museum in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, on Tuesday. The mural
was found in a temple in the province’s Hongtong county and dates to the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).
The museum hosted an exhibition featuring various sports elements in ancient artwork in the province.
WEI LIANG / CHINA NEWS SERVICEGolf from long ago
A visitor examines exhibits of Albert Einstein’s works at the
Shanghai Expo Museum earlier this month.
GAO ERQIANG / CHINA DAILYEinstein’s
contributions to the
world are not limited
to his scientific
theories, but also
include his fight
against narrow-
mindedness and
insular mentalities.”Fang Zaiqing, researcher at the
Institute for the History of
Natural Sciences, Chinese
Academy of SciencesXinjiang Uygur sees
big influx of visitors
Stable security,
booming winter
tourism get
credit for boom
Travelers Xinjiang received in the first half of 20190510152025306190.56.41.41.36.January February March April May June6.03 6.8.13.15.26.Visits received (million) Year-on-year increase (percent)Total visits received: 75.9 million
Total year-on-year increase: 46 percentSource: Government of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region CHINA DAILY