My local haunt By Jon Sims-Nngbo

Please find another lively story of the long time Ningbo citizen and entrepreneur Mr Jon Sims.

please find more stories on his blog; http://www.simplesite.com/JonSims/132729929

A date etched indelibly in my memory is 18th December 1995. It was the day I stepped off an aeroplane into the world that is China. 

It was cold, it was damp, it was grey, it was confusing, it was messy, it was noisy! If I had been able to speak Chinese then I would most probably have bought a ticket at the aiport and gone home, with no regrets. 

As it was I couldn't and so I didn't and because of that I am still here. The rest is history as they say. In this case mine! 

There were no roads to speak of. Just rutted lanes which may or may not have been sealed at some time in the past or future. Vehicles of all descriptions and sizes appeared out of the misty dampness with nary a though for laws, life or limb. There were accidents everywhere, queues of vehicles caused by people going gung ho for the closest gap to plug and the incessant blare of horns noisy enough to drown out an entire fleet of 747 becoming airborne at the same time. 

In 10 years I rode that machine over most of the roads of Zhejiang Province and most of those roads now, no longer exist. They have real ones now with tar seal, or concrete and are really nice. What surprises me is although people here have to pass driving tests the majority of them have scant regard still for the rules of the roads, leaving it to the police and insurance companies to sort out should anything happen.

In those days there were no digital cameras, no internet (here) and no gps. The maps were scant and sometimes almost accurate. The only way to get around was to follow your nose. Being a "bignose" I had something to follow. The Chinese call us bignoses as we have conks somewhat larger than theirs and I guess if you're going to follow your nose a big one will be easier to follow and prevent you getting lost. 

But then, in those days, being lost was simply a point of view. Everyone knew where they were then because nobody traveled. The problem started when the trip did.

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Cyclists training around Dongqian Lake

A group of cyclists were cycling around Dongqian Lake on Wednesday morning, warming up for the coming 12-day race held in Taiwan.

Newly recruited soldiers of PLA start off

China's People's Liberation Army started the yearly winter recruitment in Ningbo this Monday. A total of 545 new recruits from Ningbo will set off this weekend to join their army units in Sichun, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, and Hainan provinces.

The city to remove more coal-fired boilers next year

Ningbo has so far removed all coal-fired boilers in the National High-tech Zones as the last two were permanently shut down on Wednesday. The Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau said Ningbo has accomplished the second phase of its smoke-fee zone project.

Ningbo plans to start the third phase of the smoke-free zone construction by removing more coal-fired boilers in suburbs and counties next year.

The peak season for heating comes around mid-November to March in Ningbo. According to Sun Shiwei, deputy director of the heating network department of Ningbo Kefeng Heating Equipment Co., Ltd., the company's two fire boilers were used for heating National High-tech Zone and the eastern part of Jiangdong District. Currently, the two old-style coal-fired boiler were shut down and replaced by two 40-ton-capacity steam gas boilers. "We can save 12,507 tons of coals and reduce 100.056 tons of sulfur dioxide emissions, 36.77 tons of nitrogen oxide emissions, 33 tons of soot emissions in a year." Sun Shiwei said.

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Ningbo's Smart Logistics Services Platform listed China's top ten

Ningbo's Smart Logistics Services Platform was elected into the "top ten smart city cases", according to a report released by the China Smart City Forum recently held in Peking.

Based on Internet of Things (IOT)，artificial intelligence, and information technology, Ningbo's Smart Logistics Services Platform serves as an overall supply logistics network service platform. It is one of the key projects on smart logistics system during the 12th Five-Year" period. The platform includes two parts, namely, the Ningbo E-port and fourth party logistics. It distinguished others in three aspects. Firstly, it is the first to propose the construction of the fourth party logistics market based on the logistics information service and online transaction in china. It integrates e-commerce and logistics and optimizes the resources of the buyer, the seller, the logistics provider. Secondly, the platform reforms the logistics service mode by promoting “green” logistics and reducing logistics costs. Thirdly, the platform makes wide use of GPS, IOT, and electronic sealed lead technology to ensure the real-time supervision of logistics and transport, and thus improve the efficiency of customs clearance.

Ninghai fruit growers move to processing industry

White loquat, a widely known fruit grown in Ningbo's Ninghai County, is expected to bring more profit to local farmers. In Yishi Township, a major loquat plantation, the loquat processing industry begins to take shape.

As the annual blossom season sets in, the loquat trees are creating one of the most stunning scenes. To ensure a good harvest, the farmers are picking up unnecessary flowers. Numerous petals are falling down. The clever farmers will collect them and make flower tea and wine with it.

After ten years of painstaking efforts, Yishi Township boasts 1.2 million acres of the white loquat trees, which brings an output value of 150 million yuan. Loquat planting has become one of the leading farming industries in the town. However, the local farmers were not content to be fruit growers or sellers. They learned through experiments and innovations and started their fruit processing industry to enlarge their income.

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Ningbo player elected the world's best rower a disability

According to a mail recently sent by the International Rowing Association (FISA), Huang Cheng, a Ningbo-native rower, was elected the world's best rower with disabilities (2012).

Due to time conflict, Huang Cheng was unable to attend the awards ceremony held on November 2 in Limerick, Ireland, but he produced a five-minute video of acceptance speech to express his excitement and inspiration with this award.

Huang won the championship of AS-level Men's Single Sculls Final with a score of 4 minutes 52 seconds 36 in London Paralympics Rowing. This is also the first rowing gold medal in the Paralympics.

Ningbo imports new Dutch-grown flower bulbs

Ningbo has recently imported Netherlands cultivated hippeastrum for the first time through Ningbo Port. The flowers have passed the safety test carried by Ningbo Inspection and Quarantine Bureau. Currently, its sample has been cultivated separately from other seedlings in a local seedling nursery.

The import includes 15,256 mature hippeastrum bulbs and 52 species. This is Ningbo's first import of hippeastrum bulbs from the Netherlands. With the development of national economy, florists have to import flowers to meet the rising demand of customers. China has seen a rising flower imports for both indoor and outdoor decoration. Ningbo Port imported 6.5 million or 14 batches of Dutch bulbs (mainly lily bulbs and tulip bulbs), worth US$1.8 million.

Hippeastrum is a bulbous plant in the family of Amaryllidaceae. Most Hippeastrum bulbs are between 5 to10 cm in diameter. It has more species and colors than tulips and hyacinth. Depending on the species, it bears large flowers even better than Lily and is thus loved by local consumers.

Ningbo Textile Industry Chamber of Commerce established

Ningbo Textile Industry Chamber of Commerce was recently established in Keqiao of Shaoxing, the center of the Chinese textile industry. The newly founded chamber of commerce is a new home for Ningbo-native businesspeople in Shaoxing and another professional trade association next to Ningbo Chamber of Commerce established in Yiwu.

Currently, Ningbo Textile Industry Chamber of Commerce has attracted more than 100 member companies in the textile and service industries, an estimated worth of 1,000 million yuan. It is reported that over 10,000 Ningbo entrepreneurs are running around 600 companies in Shaoxing.