Doctors needed in quake region

Special Report:One Year after 5.12 Quake

Many hospitals in Dujiangyan city were destroyed by last year's massive earthquake.

The city's People's Hospital, the only comprehensive one still standing is overcrowded.

Everydaysincetheearthquakehasbeenexhausting
forDoctorLiuHui. (CCTV.com)

Every day since the earthquake has been exhausting for Doctor Liu Hui.

As the best ear-nose-throat doctor in Dujiangyan city, she sees 70 patients a day, sometimes more than a hundred. Her office is always packed with patients from all over the area.

She doesn't have time for lunch, or even a drink of water. We came here early in the morning, but she was busy. And when we managed a quick interview at dusk, there were still 10 patients waiting.

Dr. Liu Hui, Dujiangyan People's Hospital, said, "I feel that people care more about their health after the earthquake experience. They feel the vulnerability of human in front of the force of the nature. Now, they come to me with any ailments. In the past, they usually came when the illness got really serious."

No major building of this hospital collapsed in the earthquake. So it's the only one in the city with all medical departments still operating. That makes it patients' first choice.

The People's Hospital has treated 120 thousand patients after the quake. But it wasn't prepared for the sudden pressure. There are only 7 out-patient doctors, and all of them have to see patients from various departments.

Chinas Zhuhai speeds up transport plans

BEIJING, May 8 -- Zhuhai is speeding up its construction of highways in a bid to become a traffic center in the western Pearl River Delta (PRD) area, the local transportation authority said yesterday.

The city will invest more than 14 billion yuan ($2 billion) in 10 highway projects. The work will start this year and continue until 2012, said Zheng Chaolong, director of the Zhuhai transportation bureau.

The highways will link harbors, airports and checkpoints between Zhuhai and Macao, helping develop the city into an important transportation hub in the western PRD region, Zheng said.

This year alone, the city has earmarked 3.7 billion yuan for urban provincial highway projects, Zheng said.

The work is part of the provincial government's plan to accelerate domestic consumption by speeding up infrastructure development amid the global economic downturn, Zheng said.

By next year, about 152 km of new highways will be added to the city's current traffic network, Zheng said.

He highlighted the importance of the proposed Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, which will be started at the end of the year.

The 29.6-km bridge, which will be the world's longest sea link, will attract 37.4 billion yuan in government investment and more than 21 billion yuan in bank loans. The city will also push on with renovations of the Gongbei checkpoints linking Zhuhai and Macao.

The renovation is to meet increasing traffic demand after the bridge linking Hong Kong, Macao and Guangdong is completed, Zheng said.

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Beijingers opt for suburban travel in shortened May Day holiday

BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Tourism promotion has resulted in a travel boom in Beijing over the just-concluded Labor Day holiday, as the city recorded 3.7 million visitors from May 1 to 3, a rise of 22.7 percent year on year, according to local tourism authority Monday.

The municipal tourism bureau figures showed that tourism revenue totaled 1.24 billion yuan, up 32 percent from the year-earlier level.

The bureau said that the number of Beijingers traveling within the city rose by 24.5 percent year on year to 1.67 million in the three-day holiday. They spent 420 million yuan (62 million U.S. dollars) for travel.

The bureau said it launched a program to promote the city's new scenic spots, travels to its suburban areas and other tourism activities in neighboring regions during the holiday period, which attracted increasing tourists. Beijing's suburban areas received 1.14 million local tourists during the holiday, according to the bureau.

People only had three days off, and concerns over Influenza A/H1N1 and of savings amid the financial crisis made many people cautious to choose long travels, said Tian Ling, a manager of China Youth Travel Services.

She said that the agency mapped its recommended routes to suburban scenic spots and self-driving tours.

Chinese workers had seven days off, instead of the current three days, during the May Day holiday, before a new holiday system kicked last year.

Beijing was also one of the most popular tourist destinations for tourists from other parts of the country in the holiday, when more than 890,000 tourists from elsewhere of China visited the city, according to the tourist bureau.

The bureau said the per-capita tourist spending increased by 12.5 percent year on year even for Beijing local tourists during the holiday because of increased travel cost.

Junlinshengshi, a tourist agency, said the price of the city travel surged by about 30 percent for group tours.

“City of Life and Death”: a movie on courage and uprightness

It was the investors’ suggestion to castsuper stars to perform in this film. After all, this is a really big production, but I tried to cast some not-so-famous actors and actresses. And the further we progressed with the production, the more I discovered that theywere more than capable of fulfilling their jobs. They all performed very well in such a creative project.--- Lu Chuan

[Two Men]

Unyielding courage and uprightness

LuJianxiong(playedbyLiuYe)embodiestheunyielding courage and
uprightnessofthe Chinese people

Character: Lu Jianxiong

Background: A Kuomintang officer staying in Nanjing to fight street battles during the “Nanjing Massacre”

Implication: Resistance

Actor: Liu Ye

Character’s story: He graduated from Whampoa Military Academy and received a good education. He takes an oath to fight to the death and defends Nanjing when he learns that the senior officers have decided to surrender the city and flee. He chooses to stay and resist the attack, and ultimately dies a heroic death.

Actor’s account: Everyone dies, but it is important to be courageous.

In the original script I was a survivor. I was seriously wounded but had escaped. However in the process of filming, I realized that this would not work because historical facts show that the Japanese military killed anyone who looked like they were part of the Chinese military. I am 1.86 meters tall with big eyes and bushy eyebrows, so it would have been difficult for me to escape from their slaughter. The original script was unrealistically perfect, as my character was even able to engage in a romance with "Gao Yuanyuan".

But in reality, love and survival were impossible under such merciless circumstances. I told Lu Chuan that we could not use the original script, so what we shot in the first three months was discarded, and in the new scenario I die when the massacre happens. I understood that this would reduce my role but it didn’t matter. I preferred to die an honorable death rather than to live. It can be very cruel to face the past, particularly when it was the most painful event in our five thousand years of history.

All of us found it difficult to face the truth. We grieved during and after filming the production. I remember while filming a TV program, a clip was played in which we were shot by machine guns along the moat and I could not helpcrying, at which point the program had to be paused. Previously in other entertainment films, I acted quite freely, but this time I did not dare and performed honestly to present the situation as it was.

Lu Chuan’s remarks: Not just I, but most people think that this is the most outstanding performance of his career. What he showed us was not only a man who was masculine but also one who had a sense of responsibility. The expression in his eyes after the tragic failure is exceptionally masculine— not that of a stereotyped man but that of a man filled with emotion.

Cartoon and animation festival opens in E Chinas city

CartoonpandastarsareseeninascenicspotofNantongHorticulture
ExpoParkinNantong,acityofeastChina'sJiangsuProvince,April27,
2009.BringingmanyprevailingcartoonstarslikepandaPaul,GrayWolf
andHappySheeptomeetvisitors,2009NantongCartoonandAnimation
FestivalwasopenedinNantongHorticultureExpoParkonMonday.Activities
focusingoneightthemeswouldbeheldindifferentscenicspotsofthe
park.[Photo:Xinhua/DingXiaochun]

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City of life or death? Nanjing Massacre through young filmmakers eyes

BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua) -- With an average age of 35, Chinese filmmakers, led by talented director Lu Chuan, have shown their own understanding of the Nanjing Massacre more than 70 years ago as City of Life and Death premieres here Thursday -- one week ahead of its global release.

We don't want that when people think of that period of history, only some dry figures come up to their mind. We hope people will see some particular faces and their expressions and characteristics, said Lu at the premiere ceremony.

City of Life and Death focuses on Chinese soldiers and civilians' fight against invaders before and after the Nanjing Massacre in 1937.

It took four years and cost 80 million yuan (about 11.7 million U.S. dollars) to finish the work, whose original Chinese title is Nanjing! Nanjing! More than 20,000 college students volunteered in the film.

Cinematographer Cao Yu had a solid working relationship with Luback in Kekexili: Mountain Patrol (2004). The 34-year-old Cao shot the entire film in black-and-white to achieve a documentary-like style.

During the four years after *** 'Kekexili', we were trying to find a more powerful and massive subject. ... We chose black and white because we want to revive that particular time of history as best as we can and bring out the solid atmosphere.

When he visited a museum for project research, Cao said he was overwhelmed by the steadiness and strength that showed through the eyes of the Chinese people before death in some rare pictures taken by Japanese journalists.

I can see the fortitude and strength in their eyes. That's what we wanted to convey through a film, said Cao.

Director Lu also stressed that the theme of the film was the resilient spirits of Chinese people in danger -- unlike many massacre films that focus on the weakness and hopelessness of victims.

The 38-year-old Lu is considered one of the most talented young directors in the country and won global acclaim for Kekexili: Mountain Patrol.

The film, based on a true story of volunteers who patrolled in the Qinghai-Tibetan highland and fought against killers of rare Tibetan antelopes, won Best Film and Special Jury Prize at the Tokyo Film Festivals and a Special Mention award in Berlin.

To present a realistic Nanjing city in 1937, it is said that the crew at the makeup department had to do more than 2,000 figurants in one day, not ignoring details such as a loose button or the mud inside their fingernails.

On Dec. 13, 1937, the invading Japanese army occupied Nanjing and launched a six-week massacre. Chinese records show more than 300,000 people, not only disarmed soldiers but also civilians, were murdered.

I had no idea at all when I first did this film. During shooting, I began to think about why I chose to be an actress and why I had to expose myself to the darkness and cruelty of the history. ... But when it was all done, I realized that it was nirvana for me, said leading actress Gao Yuanyuan.

The 30-year-old beauty, portraying a strong-minded teacher who helped fight against invaders, has shaken off the innocent image from Shanghai Dreams (2005), which was directed by acclaimed Wang Xiaoshuai.

Director Lu Chuan is the one that led us through a journey in hell. ... Now I've gone through this, and I feel I become stronger, said Gao.

We young filmmakers chose to shoot such a big project from a fresh angle. ... We hope filmgoers across the world can understand the generosity, confidence and justness of Chinese people, said Lu.