Author: admin6

Among all the speculations, edited, filtered as well as “banned” information, what is known so far about the explosion that took place last wednesday in the morning at 10:10 am in an a plastic factory in the north of Nanjing city, is that the amount of fatal victims raised to at least 13 people and more than 300 hundred injured.

At first people speculated that it was a series of explosions of several gas stations around the area. Sinopec said that the explosions have nothing to do with the gas stations and that this ones are safe and have no risk of explosion.

Another reports said that the explosion happened in an old, abandoned plastic factory. Apparently the factory was sold to other companies, the explosion might have been set off by improper removal and demolition procedures, in which a buried pipe was perforated causing the accident.

“Nanjing authorities have detained four people they suspect are responsible for the incident.

The fact that housing prices are surging upwards in China is not news to anyone, as real estate in almost every major Chinese city continues to appreciate at an alarming rate. What is news is the fact that rent prices are also on the rise. Once considered the cheaper way to live in a big city, rents are now starting to look just like housing prices as they spiral further and further upward. Statistically, rent has risen at a rate between 15% and 40% in the first half of this year alone, making some consider simply renting a house at all to be a waste of money.

Since most people in Nanjing make an average salary of about 3,000 a month, many consider that simply buying a house is a more efficient use of money. Ms. Chen, a local resident, tells a story which reflects the rise of rent prices. When she graduated from university in 2006, she moved into an apartment which she shared with three room mates. The apartment was only 30 square meters, but the total rent was only 1,000 RMB per month for four people. As various room mates moved out, Ms. Chen was forced to find another apartment; this time in a building behind the Grand Ocean in Xinjiekou. She was able to share an apartment and pay 650 RMB per month, a comparatively large portion of her 2,000 RMB per month salary.

In 2007, Ms. Chen moved to an apartment on Zhujiang Road near 1912, and her rent rose to 700 per month. By 2009, Ms. Chen was living by herself on Jinxianghe Road, but now paying 1,200 RMB for her own place.

Ms. Chen

Nanjing Expat may have been slightly inaccurate when we predicted that hot weather would arrive early this year, but now that summer is actually here, there is no denying that it is already shaping up to be one of the hottest in a long time. Yesterday, the high temperature reached 37.5 C (99.5 F), breaking the historical record for

Today, tomorrow, and Wednesday are a mini-holiday to celebrate Dragon Boat Festival (???, Duanwu Jie), a traditional Chinese holiday which celebrates the self sacrifice of the poet and politician Qu Yuan. More information on the holiday itself can be found on Wikipedia, but many Nanjingers are wondering about how to actually celebrate. Traditionally, Chinese observed Dragon Boat Festival in many ways, including boat races and hanging

It is no secret that many bodies of water in and around Nanjing are polluted. In the past, Nanjing residents complained that the Qinhuai River smelled terrible, mostly due to the volume of waste dumped into it. In April of this year, Nanjingers began to notice that many parts of the river had not only become murky, but a black film had started to accumulate on top of the water. In some places, the water was even bubbling. In order to cleanup the damage, the government is undertaking massive cleanup program, but the results will not be immediately apparent.

Last month many places along the Qinhuai were filled with garbage, melon skins, plastic bags, and wood. Furthermore, unmaintained and neglected greenbelts along the sides of the river were producing runoff into the water. But one of the main causes of pollution was sewage. Numberous open drains released waste water into the river, producing a terrible smell and black slicks along the surface of the water. Starting in April, the Qinhuai River Water Management Department started a program to cleanup the muck.

In order to assess progress made in cleaning up the Qinhuai, the Oriental Guardian newspaper invited groups of university students who live near rivers in Nanjing to regularly monitor certain areas. Measurements were taken starting on 11 May, two weeks after the cleanup project started. What students and reporters found was that though some areas have shown improvement, other places still are far too polluted to meet people

In April of this year, police in Nanjing caught a thief as he was driving through Qinhuai District in his BMW. The thief, identified as Mr. Wang, had the habit of driving his expensive car to rich neighborhoods and stealing money, cell phones, and other goods. However, his BMW was not stolen or purchased using stolen assets; instead it was given to him by his family. Mr. Wang, it turns out, was from a rich background and had a Hong Kong ID card, but still had to steal to make ends meet. The reason? He wanted to buy luxury goods for his girlfriend.

Before his arrest, Mr. Wang had gone on quite the crime spree. Police in Jianye District had reports of four consecutive burglaries in March, with losses amounting to almost 100,000 RMB. Luxury items, cell phones, and cash were all stolen from first floor rooms in high end areas. Fingerprints taken from the scenes revealed just one man was responsible. On the same night as the robberies, a man speaking Cantonese was allowed into the very same neighborhoods, claiming he was there to discuss business with a partner.

This man was Mr. Wang, who is only twenty six years old. Though born in Nanjing, he became a Hong Kong citizen at three years old when his family moved there. He returned to Nanjing to study in university, but his paretns moved to Shanghai. Mr. Wang spent his time bouncing between the three cities. His upbringing allowed him to be fluent in both Mandarin and Cantonese, which he used much to his advantage in his crimes.

Though he was questioned by the police right after the incidents, he provided no confession and played it cool enough to be released. However, samples and prints were taken, and these later tied him back to the crime scenes. Eventually, Mr. Wang confessed that he used his businessman persona as a way to get past security, since they were easily intimidated by his Cantonese and expensive car. Once inside, his height (1.90 meters, 6

In the new Chinese society, being a stewardess is one of the most sought after positions available, and competition is intense. Over the last two days, Lucky Air (吉祥航空) and Sichuan Airlines (川航空) have held a job fair in Nanjing, and the turn out was amazing. Recent high school graduates, university students (including one who studied abroad in California), and former white collar workers all attended. Though having no related experience, but most said the same thing: jobs are increasingly hard to find, and they are just going to give this a try.

Zhang Ting, a 20 year old girl from Shanghai, was lucky enough to have her entire family come to support her. With her father dragging a suitcase, her mother holding a make-up kit, and her grandfather leisurely sipping tea, Ms. Zhang was ready for anything. Her father, though, was less confident. “We are here because this place is hard to find, and we would not be comfortable with letting her come alone. So we all got in the car and came. But can people who have been pampered since childhood provide good customer service?”

Ms. Zhang’s father may have a point, hence a rigorous selection process. But what do these try outs actually involve? Aside from judging physical aspects of applicants (with height being most important), women had to line up in groups of ten to answer several questions. One woman was asked, “if you have a boyfriend, but find a better man on board the airplane, would you dump your present boyfriend and get with your new love?” She responded, “Umm…well, I don’t have a boyfriend.”

Not all answers fell in this range. When asked how to respond if a customer accused her of being un-filial to her parents, one applicant said she goes home every night to cook hot, steaming food for her mother. The judge pressed the point, insisting that this applicant did not respect her parents. “Okay then” she responded. Judges commented that this is the sort of answer they like most, as being non-confrontational but quick witted with customers is one of their most sought after virtues.

Of the women who attended, many were anxious to show off their foriegn language credentials. A number of applicants claimed they could speak English, Japanese, Korean and even French. However, when asked to simply introduce themselves, many fell short. Excuses ranged from not practicing introductions to only knowing a few words of a foreign language, certainly not enough to string a sentence together.

From this event, Lucky Air and Sichuan Airlines were able to pick out the best applicants. But why is being a stewardess so appealing? Whatever the draw, it is not related to a high salary. Though stewardess salaries were as high as 10,000 RMB a month in 1997, changes to labor laws have caused that number to drop sharply. As pay is calculated by hours flown and stewardesses can only legally be in the air for 120 hours a month, the average salary is now around 5,000 RMB.

Maybe the spirit of adventure is what draws these women to this job, or the romantic nature of traveling the world. Whatever it is, it continues to draw large numbers of women to try out.

Why did the toad cross the road? That is the question asked by increasing numbers of people in Jiangning