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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Zheng Jie beat Dechy to 2nd round in Tennis Rome

China's Zheng Jie has advanced to the 2nd round in Rome after beating French opponent Natalie Dechy in straight sets. The victory came as a much needed boost of confidence for Zheng, who had earlier been knocked out in the first round last week in Stuttgart.

With Li Na and Peng Shuai already eliminated from the Rome competition, Zheng was the only remaining Chinese player to compete. This obviously gave the 14th seed added motivation against her opponent, 30-year-old Dechy from France. Zheng used her baseline skills and quick running steps to control the first set, also volleying whenever there was an opportunity.

As a result Zheng took the first set 6-1 with ease. Dechy fought back bravely in the second set. Zheng also made several errors in critical points, allowing the set to go to a tiebreak. But Zheng gained the upper hand, eventually winning it 7-4 and with it the match. She'll next meet Elena Vesnina of Russia.

On the doubles side, Peng Shuai and Chinese Taipei's Hsieh Shu-wei defeated a Ukrainian/Belarussian pair in 2 close sets to enter the last 16.

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Chinese grads get offers in teaching, business

BEIJING, May 4 -- Up to 16,000 graduates in Guangdong province will be selected this year to work as teachers in grassroots-level schools.

The move is one of a series of policies designed to help university students find jobs or start their own businesses.

Under the current financial crisis, university students about to graduate this summer will face a very tough challenge in employment, said Zheng Chaoyang, deputy director of the provincial labor and social security department.

Those working as teachers in villages will have their school fees paid back, Zheng said. Another 1,600 graduates will work as assistant secretaries in village Party committees.

In another initiative, start-up companies founded by graduates will be exempt from administrative fees for three years.

Small guaranteed loans will be increased to 50,000 yuan (7,300 U.S. dollars) for students who start their own businesses after graduation.

Zheng said as many as 5,000 companies, scientific and research institutes and industrial associations will be included in an internship program, providing work service for more than 60,000 graduates from 2009 to 2011.

Companies that hire more graduates than last year and sign employment contracts for more than one year will be given social insurance subsidies, Zheng said.

Students who still do not find jobs after graduation will be given temporary subsidies by the government for about six months. Song Hai, Guangdong's vice-governor, said last month that about only a quarter of graduates in the province had signed employment contracts by the end of March.

There are fewer job vacancies than last year, but there will be more students graduate this summer, said Li Xiaolu, deputy director of Guangdong provincial education department.

About 363,000 university students are set to graduate in Guangdong this year.

Fashion designer Luo Zheng

During a recession, people usually spend less on luxury goods such as trendy clothes. So the economic slowdown may be a catalyst for more and more Chinese people to set their sights on home grown fashion designers. In fact, some Chinese fashion designers have been busy *** their mark and building their reputations in the international fashion scene this year. Among them is designer Luo Zheng. She was the first Chinese artist to bring a Chinese dress to the stage during New York Fashion Week.

At the New York Fashion Week last autumn, Luo Zheng's latest collection entitled "Beauty Blossoms" struck a pose before fashion buyers and critics from around the world. The dresses impressed the viewers with their bright colors, and ethereal oriental flavor. The designer made bold use of images of flowers in bloom. She also employed other Chinese elements like Chinese silk, embroidery, ink and brushwork. The use of many different components gave her collection a unique, floral feel.

Luo Zheng said, "I like items which are lively, such as things from nature. I'm very sensitive to things that appear in sentimental writings such as wind, flowers, snow and the moon. Flowers are like the life cycle of a person, they bud, they bloom, and then wither. There's a saying; a flower is a world. It reminds me of youth, nice things, love, and courage. These things are fleeting. So I think we should cherish them just like we cherish a flower when it blossoms. I hope this collection can further my idea."

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Fashion designer Luo Zheng

During a recession, people usually spend less on luxury goods such as trendy clothes. So the economic slowdown may be a catalyst for more and more Chinese people to set their sights on home grown fashion designers.

FashiondesignerLuoZheng

In fact, some Chinese fashion designers have been busy *** their mark and building their reputations in the international fashion scene this year. Among them is designer Luo Zheng. She was the first Chinese artist to bring a Chinese dress to the stage during New York Fashion Week.

FashiondesignerLuoZheng

At the New York Fashion Week last autumn, Luo Zheng's latest collection entitled "Beauty Blossoms" struck a pose before fashion buyers and critics from around the world. The dresses impressed the viewers with their bright colors, and ethereal oriental flavor. The designer made bold use of images of flowers in bloom. She also employed other Chinese elements like Chinese silk, embroidery, ink and brushwork.

The use of many different components gave her collection a unique, floral feel.

Click for more news in Culture Express