Wuhu News

Photo taken on July 25, 2021 shows tourists walk on East Nanjing Road in Shanghai, east China as Typhoon In-Fa lashes the city. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

Typhoon In-Fa made landfall in east China’s Zhejiang Province at noon on Sunday, packing winds of up to 38 meters per second at its center, according to the provincial flood control headquarters.

The typhoon — the sixth of this year — hit land in Putuo District, Zhoushan City, at approximately 12:30 p.m., the headquarters said.

Weather authorities have forecast the typhoon will make a second landfall in coastal areas between Zhejiang’s Jiaxing City and Jiangsu Province’s Qidong City on Sunday night.

It is expected to linger in east China after its second landfall and bring continued strong rainstorms to the Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, and Shanghai.

The typhoon started to wreak havoc in Zhejiang on Saturday, bringing heavy downpours, strong gales and floods. More than 6 km of roads in Zhoushan have been inundated by seawater.

The Zhejiang provincial flood control headquarters upgraded its emergency response for Typhoon In-Fa to the highest level, Level I, at Saturday noon. As of Sunday noon, about 17,000 fishing vessels had returned to ports for shelter, and over 1.5 million people across the province had been evacuated to safe places.

Zhejiang has opened more than 12,000 temporary shelter facilities to the public.

In the neighboring megacity of Shanghai, Typhoon In-Fa had felled over 1,000 trees and caused waterlogging in several places as of Sunday noon.

More than 2,000 rescue teams in the city are on stand-by.

The Shanghai metro at Sunday noon announced the suspension of services on several lines. As of 1:30 p.m. Sunday, a total of five metro lines, Line 3, Line 5, Line 16, Line 17, the Pujiang Line, and Shanghai’s Maglev Line, suspended operations.

All inbound and outbound flights at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport and Hongqiao International Airport were canceled on Sunday.

All inbound high-speed trains for Shanghai’s railway stations will be canceled starting from 7 p.m. Sunday, according to railway authorities.

As of 2 p.m. Sunday, nearly 130 tourists spots in Shanghai, including the Shanghai Disney Resort, the Oriental Pearl Tower, and the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, had closed over safety concerns.

About 360,000 people in Shanghai have been evacuated, and more than 1,700 vessels have returned to ports, the municipal flood control headquarters said. 

Recently, Henan province was hit by a natural disaster of continuous heavy rainfall rarely seen in history, which caused huge losses and pulled the heart strings of people all over the country. On July 22, Chery Holding Group decided to donate 35 million yuan to Henan province.

Of the 35 million yuan donated by Chery Holding Group, 20 million was used for post-disaster relief work through Kaifeng Red Cross. A special fund of 15 million will be used for rescue and repair services of damaged vehicles for customers of various brands of Chery Holding Group.

It is understood that the brands of Chery Holding Group, such as Chery, Exeed, Jetour, Cowin Auto and Karry are devoted to cooperating with the local government in Henan on flood control and relief work.

Translated by Yuan Mengwen from Foreign Affairs Office of Wuhu Municipal People’s Government

Carmakers are rushing to extend helping hands to residents and car owners suffering from the deluge caused by continuous heavy rainfall in Central China’s Henan province.

Donations from companies including Nio, Geely and Mercedes-Benz have totaled over 150 million yuan ($23.21 million), with the list of companies still growing.

Local companies including SAIC Maxus and Sino-foreign joint ventures including FAW-Volkswagen and Dongfeng Peugeot are not donating money but are offering rescue services to those in need.

Chinese startups Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto were the quickest to respond. The three made their announcements on Wednesday afternoon, with a combined donation of 40 million yuan.

“The heavy rainfall and its damage caused in Zhengzhou and other parts of Henan concern every one of us. We would like to send our sympathies to them,” said Nio CEO William Li.

Other Chinese companies soon followed. In the late afternoon of Wednesday, BYD, Geely and Great Wall Motors made public their donations of money and disaster relief goods including drones.

The three leading private carmakers’ combined donation totaled 70 million yuan. BYD is opening all its dealerships in Zhengzhou, capital city of Henan province, to local residents for urgency needs.

Also on Wednesday, Mercedes-Benz announced a donation of 10 million yuan to Henan. The German premium car brand said it has also coordinated vehicles in neighboring provinces and cities to offer rescue services for its dealers and car owners in Henan.

State-owned Chery Automobile announced on Thursday morning that it will donate 35 million yuan to the rainfall-affected cities in Henan province.

Local Chinese companies including Changan, SAIC Maxus as well as joint ventures including FAW-Volkswagen and Dongfeng Peugeot are offering rescue services to local residents and car owners.

But Dongfeng Peugeot’s hotline staff said it was not aware of the move and had no rescue vehicles or food when it was contacted by locals on late Wednesday.

The Sino-French joint venture soon apologized on its Sina Weibo account for not being fully prepared. It said a contingent team and four dealerships in Zhengzhou are already in place, saving 106 vehicles stranded in water by the early morning of Thursday.

“All passengers, please hold the handlebars. The train is moving.” In the spacious and comfortable carriage, Phase I of Wuhu Rail Transit Line 1 is undergoing on-line debugging. As early as June this year, Wuhu rail transit Line 1 has successfully passed the project acceptance, which is qualified for trial operation. We will strive to open this trial operation by the end of September this year, and rail transit Line 2 is scheduled to open for initial operation before the end of this year.

In the heat of the summer, rail transit builders are working overtime to clean up overpasses, entrances and elevators in the station.”We have increased our construction staff to do as much work as possible in the same amount of time.”Wang Yulin, deputy general manager and chief engineer of Yunda Company, said that all the builders have overcome many difficulties, such as high temperature, bad weather and the impact of the epidemic, and the construction period of the project is progressing smoothly. At present, rail transit line 1 has started the whole line trial run.

“To ensure the safety of the initial operation, the rail transit will go through a trial run for at least three months.” Wang Yulin said that in addition to rail transit construction, there are currently other problems of road maintenance, sewage pipe network transformation, urban construction pipeline change, greening and other projects, which caused difficulties to the public travel objectively. With the acceleration of the project, the conditions will be gradually alleviated.

Translated by Yuan Mengwen from Foreign Affairs Office of Wuhu Municipal People’s Government

In order to help foreigners in Wuhu improve their Chinese level, better understand and adapt to Chinese society, Anhui Business College will launch a “Free Chinese Course for Foreigners in Wuhu” Program, which is sponsored by Foreign Affairs Office of Wuhu Municipal Government.                  

    The Program is mainly composed of two parts: Business Chinese and Introduction to Chinese Culture. 

To enrich the program, some other exchange activities, such as Chinese Gala Show, Cultural Salons, Chinese Food DIY and Ancient Huizhou Village Touring, will also be arranged.

The on-campus learning part of the Program in Anhui Business College will not be charged. As for the off-campus activities, expenses incurred will be charged accordingly to those who participate on a voluntary basis. The Program is scheduled to start on August 2^nd, 2021, and lasts for 12 weeks, with the specific time as follows:

The Program is open to all foreigners who work or live in Wuhu with legal residence permit. The application deadline is July 25^th, 2021. Welcome to join us. Please click the following link to submit information:

https://docs.qq.com/form/page/DQ2hZYmxHb2JUVUdE?_w_tencentdocx_form=1

Contacts: Mr. Ye, Ms Li；     

Contact & Wechat Number:13515533417；18356996096

In order to help foreigners in Wuhu improve their Chinese level, better understand and adapt to Chinese society, Anhui Business College will launch a “Free Chinese Course for Foreigners in Wuhu” Program, which is sponsored by Foreign Affairs Office of Wuhu Municipal Government.                  

    The Program is mainly composed of two parts: Business Chinese and Introduction to Chinese Culture. 

To enrich the program, some other exchange activities, such as Chinese Gala Show, Cultural Salons, Chinese Food DIY and Ancient Huizhou Village Touring, will also be arranged.

The on-campus learning part of the Program in Anhui Business College will not be charged. As for the off-campus activities, expenses incurred will be charged accordingly to those who participate on a voluntary basis. The Program is scheduled to start on August 2^nd, 2021, and lasts for 12 weeks, with the specific time as follows:

The Program is open to all foreigners who work or live in Wuhu with legal residence permit. The application deadline is July 25^th, 2021. Welcome to join us. Please click the following link to submit information:

https://docs.qq.com/form/page/DQ2hZYmxHb2JUVUdE?_w_tencentdocx_form=1

Contacts: Mr. Ye, Ms Li；     

Contact & Wechat Number:13515533417；18356996096

It is learned from the Provincial Education Department that Anhui opens a hotline for students with inquiries on financial aid at universities from now on, so as to effectively help students understand the national financial aid policy in time and accurately and apply for financial aid successfully.

The hotline mainly accepts the consultation on financial aid policies at universities and relevant complaints and suggestions, and the telephone number is 0551-62831830. The routine hotline this year will run from June 29th to September 15th (including Weekends), and the daily acceptance time is from 8:00 a.m. to 20:00 p.m. In order to better serve students and their parents from poor households, the hotline will run all the year round from 8:00 to 11:30 a.m. and 14:30 to 17:30 p.m. every weekday from September 16th.

According to the requirements of Anhui Provincial Center for Student Financial Aid, higher education institutions and universities across the province are also required to open hotlines to provide information on financial aid. The centralized acceptance period of hotlines in colleges and universities should be basically synchronized with that at the provincial level. For colleges and universities that finish enrollment later than September 15th, the centralized acceptance of hotlines should be extended to the end date of freshmen enrollment.

Colleges and universities should appoint responsible personnel for hotline acceptance, ensure smooth hotline, patiently answer questions concerning policy consultation, and properly handle issues and complaints. “Dead number” is strictly prohibited, and the phone call should be answered timely. During the opening period, the Provincial Center for Student Financial Aid will conduct random spot checks on the opening of hotlines at colleges and universities.

Translated by Wang Mengxiao from Foreign Affairs Office of Wuhu Municipal People’s Government

A flag-raising ceremony is held at the Golden Bauhinia Square by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government to celebrate the 24th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland in Hong Kong, south China, July 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Lui Siu Wai)

Hong Kong’s smooth return to the motherland is an important part of the CPC’s great achievements over the last 100 years, Acting Chief Executive of the HKSAR John Lee said during the events held in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 24th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland.

HONG KONG, July 1 (Xinhua) — Hong Kong on Thursday held various events to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 24th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland.

PROSPERITY SINCE RETURN

China’s national flag and the flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) were hoisted and the national anthem was played at the Golden Bauhinia Square in a flag-raising ceremony held by the HKSAR government on Thursday morning.

Helicopters flew over Victoria Harbor and a fireboat sprayed a water salute.

Hong Kong’s smooth return to the motherland is an important part of the CPC’s great achievements over the last 100 years, Acting Chief Executive of the HKSAR John Lee said on Thursday morning during the events held in celebration at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.

Lee vowed continued efforts to safeguard national security, improve the implementation of “one country, two systems” and forge ahead with a pragmatic approach and the spirit of rising to the challenge.

With the leadership of the CPC, the strong support of the nation and the success in implementing “one country, two systems,” Hong Kong compatriots will be able to share the glory of a prosperous and strong nation, said Chen Dong, deputy director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR.

Chuang Tze-cheung with the Hong Kong Celebrations Association said Hong Kong will continue to give full play to its unique advantages under “one country, two systems” and make greater achievements with the effective administration of the HKSAR government and concerted efforts of the society.

GRAND CELEBRATIONS

A series of celebrations were organized across Hong Kong, including parades of buses and fishing vessels, and festive decorations could be found in many places from stores along the streets to landmark buildings.

In Victoria Harbor, fishing vessels sailed in a procession and were greeted by joyful Hong Kong residents on the bank.

A torch relay race was also held to mark the centenary of the CPC and the 24th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return. A participant born in 1997 said this year’s July 1 is a meaningful day and he felt the responsibility on him and also the young generation at large to carry on the success of Hong Kong.

A reception is held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government in celebration of the 24th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland in Hong Kong, south China, July 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Lui Siu Wai)

Hongkong Post started on Thursday issuing commemorative stamps for the big day, its first release on the theme of the CPC. Long queues were spotted outside post offices in the morning even before the opening hour.

A commemorative movie named “1921” is on the big screens in multiple cinemas.

Fishing boats flying China’s national flags and the flags of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) cruise at Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong, south China, July 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Lo Ping Fai)

It is particularly meaningful to watch this film on this special day, Chuang Tze-cheung said, adding that he hopes more young people will watch this movie.

BEIJING, July 1 (Xinhua) — The Communist Party of China (CPC), the world’s largest governing party, celebrated its centenary on Thursday with a solemn ceremony and the grand accomplishment of “building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.”

At 100, the CPC is loaded with vigor and all set for tests ahead as China continues the journey to “build a great modern socialist country in all respects.”

Speaking at the ceremony on Tian’anmen Square at the heart of Beijing, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said that over the past century, the CPC has secured extraordinary historical achievements on behalf of the people.

“Today, it is rallying and leading the Chinese people on a new journey toward realizing the second centenary goal,” proclaimed Xi, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission.

Over 70,000 people cheering with exhilaration thronged the public square, festooned with red flags and a large Party emblem installation. It was a celebratory aura — golden figures of “1921” and “2021” represented the 100-year timeline, aircraft flew past in echelons overhead and a 100-gun salute roared through the sky.

The Chinese civilization has lasted five millennia, but the country plunged into a century of humiliation due to the corrupt feudal rule and invasion by Western powers. Many attempts were made to salvage the nation and all ended in failure.

In 1921, the CPC was founded, taking up the mission of “seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation.”

Through a century of endeavors, the CPC led the people to overthrow the “three big mountains” of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat-capitalism, founded a new China, pioneered the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and built a poor state into the world’s second-largest economy.

With merely over 50 members at the time of its founding, the CPC today is the world’s largest governing party with more than 95 million members, leading a country of more than 1.4 billion people. It also enjoys tremendous international influence.

The Tian’anmen Rostrum, where Xi made his speech, stands witness to history. This was where Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of New China in 1949. It also saw people in festive parades paying respect to Deng Xiaoping, the architect of reform and opening-up in 1978 that has led China to moderate prosperity.

Martin Albrow, a renowned British sociologist, said the CPC’s promoting the building of a human community with a shared future and the development of the Belt and Road Initiative through joint efforts are benefiting the world.

The Party’s 100th anniversary is marked across China and congratulatory messages were also sent from space station core module Tianhe about 400 km away from Earth.

The profound changes that the CPC has brought to China and its deep impact on the world have led many to decode the formula to the Party’s success.

The firm leadership of the Party, its people-centered philosophy of development and upholding socialism with Chinese characteristics are considered to be among the most important factors and hallmarks that distinguish it from other political parties.

In a joint congratulatory message, the non-CPC political parties, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and personages without party affiliation said they have kept in mind the original aspiration of cooperation, and will continue to stand and work together with the CPC.

Faced with changes unseen in a century, the journey ahead is bound to be challenging.

In his remarks, Xi called on the Party to continue its great founding spirit. It is comprised of the principles of upholding truth and ideals, staying true to the original aspiration and founding mission, fighting bravely without fear of sacrifice, and remaining loyal to the Party and faithful to the people.

“Looking back on the path we have traveled and forward to the journey that lies ahead, it is certain that with the firm leadership of the Party and the great unity of the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, we will achieve the goal of building a great modern socialist country in all respects and fulfill the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation,” Xi said.

On June 30^th, it was learned from Wuhu Municipal Health Commission that as of 22:00 p.m. on June 29^th, a total of 1,368,461 people finished the first shot and 1,298,993 people finished the second shot of COVID-19 vaccine, exceeding the vaccination target assigned by Anhui Provincial Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters.

According to the relevant deployment and requirements of vaccination at the national and provincial level, the first injection will be resumed in an orderly manner on July 1^st under the premise of guaranteeing the second injection. People aged 3 to 18 and those over 60 years old can get vaccinated following the principle of being informed, consent, and voluntary. The vaccination for these two groups of people will be carried out in a safe and orderly manner. People under the age of 18 will be vaccinated in batches according to requirements of the Provincial Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters, and those over 60 will be vaccinated successively under the premise of strict health assessment and good medical security. All counties and districts in Wuhu will focus on fulfilling the vaccination target in the second half of the year. The city will continue to fight against the COVID-19 and overcome difficulties, protecting all people from being infected as soon as possible.

Vaccines are the most powerful weapon to prevent the spread of the pandemic. Wuhu Municipal Health Commission calls on the public that those who are physically fit for injection should be vaccinated actively. Citizens are reminded that they should not ignore personal daily protection even though they are vaccinated. Remember to wear masks, wash hands and ventilate frequently, and keep one-meter social distancing, so as to make contributions to the epidemic prevention and control while protecting themselves.

Translated by Wang Mengxiao from Foreign Affairs Office of Wuhu Municipal People’s Government