- Details
-
Category: Governmental News
-
Published: Tuesday, 10 April 2012 09:46
Since this January, ten coal-fired boilers in the National Hi-tech Zone in Ningbo have been shut down. More coal-fired boilers will be closed this year, sources from the environmental protection department said.
Ningbo plans to shut down all the coal-fired boilers in urban area in the next three years. The sale and use of high polluting fuels will be banned in the urban areas and downtown in county-level cities. Ningbo has closed 235 coal-fired boilers and industrial furnaces since the plan was issued last year.
In 2012, the municipal government pledges to take more effective measures. According to the plan, a total of 150 coal-fired boilers will be shut down or replaced. In response, local environment departments have taken immediate actions. Zhenhai District makes a specific instruction on each boiler to be closed. Beilun District introduces a series of rules over the high pollution fuel boilers and plans to give subsidies the companies that take initiatives in the program.
- Details
-
Category: Ningbo News
-
Published: Tuesday, 10 April 2012 09:45
The daily average of PM2.5 concentration in Ningbo was 56 micrograms per cubic meter, a slight increase over 48 micrograms per cubic meter on the previous day, according to data posted on the official website of the Ningbo Environmental Protection Bureau(NEPB) on Sunday.
PM2.5 refers to particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in size or about 1/30th the average width of a human hair. An expert from environmental monitoring station predicts that PM2.5 concentration may continue to rise in the coming days due to the fine weather during the Qingming festival.
According to a graph posted on the NEPB website, the daily average PM2.5 concentration remains changeable over the past week. The figure reached 72 micrograms per cubic meter last Monday, close to the upper limit of grade II air quality (75 micrograms / cubic meter). Later on, it reached another "small peak" to 61 micrograms per cubic meter, and fell to 36 micrograms / cubic meter, the lowest record during the past week. The data shows that PM2.5 in Ningbo didn't exceed the upper limit of 70 micrograms per cubic meter as regulated by the newly-enforced national air quality standard.
An expert from environmental monitoring station said: "In addition to the coal-burning, dust and vehicle exhaust emissions, weather condition can also influence PM2.5 concentration as well." The sunny and windy weather last week carried dust, resulting high PM 2.5 record on March 26.
- Details
-
Category: Tourist Ningbo
-
Published: Tuesday, 10 April 2012 09:39
Residents of ten additional Chinese mainland cities will be allowed to travel to Taiwan as independent tourists, according to a deal reached between organizations from both sides of the Strait on Sunday. So far, residents in the four municipalities, two special economic zones, and seven capital cities are permitted to visit Taiwan individually.
Mainland tourists have brought huge profits to Taiwan’s sightseeing sector. Statistics from Taiwan show mainland tourists have create a revenue of more than 167.3 billion yuan NT for Taiwan.
To further expand the market, the two sides cross the Strait held several round of talks and reached the agreement to allow residents from Tianjin, Chongqing, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Jinan, Xi'an, Fuzhou and Shenzhen to visit Taiwan as individual tourists.
Taiwan tourism industry warmly responded to the announcement. "This is a big gift to Taiwan," said the Xu Shuling, director of Taiwan Association of Travel Agency. Bai Zhongren, head of Taiwan Travel Industry Association, said: "we are looking forward to the policy, and it will definitely deepen the communication between people on both sides."
Wu Jinfeng, deputy director of the Beijing Office of Taiwan Strait Tourism Association, said on Sunday, the office would soon send delegates to the newly approved cities and co-organized activities with the local tourism authorities. They plan to publicize and promote information on the individual visit to Taiwan.
She added that mainland tourists to Taiwan on individual tours could visit their official website (www.tsta-bj.org) for more information on attractions, accommodation, transport, catering and procedures to get the permit.
China’s east Zhejiang province has the largest number of tourists to Taiwan in 2011. Xu Peng, Deputy Director of Zhejiang Tourism Bureau, said that the increase of the pilot cities showed individual tour is more and more popular among mainland tourists. It has a huge potential market in the future