07/05/2020
Chinese surveyors hike toward a higher spot after setting out from a base camp at an altitude of 5,200 meters in southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region on May 7, 2020. The Chinese measurement team of over 30 surveyors Thursday arrived at a base camp at an altitude of 6,500 meters, as they endeavor to accomplish a mission to remeasure the height of the world’s highest mountain. (Photo by Lhagba/Xinhua)
MOUNT QOMOLANGMA BASE CAMP, May 7 (Xinhua) — A team of over 30 Chinese surveyors Thursday arrived at a base camp at an altitude of 6,500 meters, as they endeavor to accomplish a mission to remeasure the height of the world’s highest mountain.
The team arrived at the advance camp at around 5 p.m. safe and sound, after they set out from their base camp at an altitude of 5,200 meters, located in Tingri County of Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China, on Wednesday.
The team will take a rest and continue to debug height measuring equipment at the base camp for at least one day before moving on.
They arrived at a transition camp at a height of 5,800 meters at around 6 p.m. Wednesday and spent the night there. They began climbing at around 11 a.m., passed nearby the East Rongbuk glacier and arrived at the advance camp after six hours’ walk.
The advance camp sits on a slope next to the end of the glacier, and is the last camp before the snow line and the ice and snow road. After about an hour’s walk up from the camp, the surveyor will arrive at the shoe-changing point, where climbers need to wear crampons to continue climbing on the icy road.
Known as the “devil camp,” many professional mountain guides who have reached the peak of Mount Qomolangma many times also suffer from altitude sickness here due to its geographical location surrounded by mountains and poor air circulation.
Source: Xinhua
Posted in "devil camp,", accomplish, air circulation, altitude sickness, arrive, base camp, East Rongbuk glacier, endeavor, geographical location, height, height measuring equipment, mission, mountains, Mt. Qomolangma, professional mountain guides, remeasuring, shoe-changing point, Southwest China, surveyors, Tibet Autonomous Region, Tingri County, Uncategorized, world's highest mountain |
Leave a Comment »
30/04/2020
- Outbound flights from Beijing were 15 times higher on one travel site within half an hour of Beijing relaxing quarantine requirements on the city
- The rebound in bookings spells some hope for online travel providers in China as the country emerges from a pandemic which saw widespread travel restrictions
Passengers arrive from a domestic flight at Beijing Capital Airport on March 27, 2020. Photo: AFP
Within an hour of Beijing
downgrading its emergency response level, relaxing quarantine requirements for some arrivals to the Chinese capital city, travel bookings on some sites surged up to 15 times.
Thirty minutes after the announcement on Wednesday, bookings for outbound flights from Beijing were 15 times higher than before the announcement on Qunar, one of the biggest online travel service providers in China. Searches for travel packages and hotel bookings on the platform also increased three-fold, according to a Qunar report.
On Alibaba Group Holding‘s Fliggy travel platform, bookings for flight and trains heading in and out of Beijing increased 500 per cent and 300 per cent respectively one hour after the announcement, compared to the same time a day ago, according to a Fliggy report. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
Bookings for flight and train tickets in Beijing for the upcoming Labour Day long weekend also increased more than 300 per cent and 160 per cent respectively on Chinese group buying site Meituan Dianping on Wednesday after the announcement compared to the day before, while searches for the attractions in the Beijing area on the platform increased almost three times from a week ago, according to Meituan.
“The surge in searches for travel in Beijing was because the lockdown measures in the city were the strictest in the country after work resumed,” said Jiang Xinwei, senior analyst with Analysys. “Consumption among residents was suppressed [during the lockdowns], so there is now a rebound in bookings.”
China’s online travel sites prepare for surge in domestic tourism
The rebound in bookings spells some hope for online travel providers in China as the country gradually emerges from a pandemic which the Chinese government responded to by implementing strict quarantine measures, shutting down tourist attractions and suspending group tours.
Beijing-based consultancy Analysys
estimates that China’s national tourism economy lost at least 10 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion) a day on average during the outbreak, with travel service providers like Qunar and Ctrip overloaded with millions of booking changes as well as cancellation and refund requests.
The relaxation of travel restrictions in and out of Beijing also comes ahead of a
, which starts on Friday and is the first extended public holiday after Lunar New Year in late January.
In November, the Chinese government lengthened the holiday from the original three days to five to stimulate consumption and encourage travelling amid a slowing economy weighed down by the US-China trade war.
Some cities, such as Huzhou in eastern China’s Zhejiang province and Kunming in southwestern province Yunnan, have issued travel vouchers to stimulate consumption for the tourist industry, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Ctrip estimated that there would be more than 86 million domestic tourists during the long weekend – more than double the number of travellers seen during the Ching Ming Festival in April, which recorded 43 million tourists, according to the China Tourism Academy.
However, Jiang said the rebound this week does not mean the Chinese travel industry is out of the red. “The travel industry will recover partially during the public holiday, but this will not be more than 60 per cent [of levels before the pandemic],” he said. “The government needs to do more to signal that travelling is safe and encourage residents to do so.”
Source: SCMP
Posted in 1,500, 15, 2020, according, after, alert, Alibaba, Alibaba Group Holding’s, Analysys, April, arrive, “mini golden week”, Beijing Capital Airport, Beijing, bookings, China, China Tourism Academy, chinese government, Ching Ming Festival, City, Country, Ctrip, domestic flight, downgrades, emergency, emerges, extended, Fliggy, Friday, half an hour, higher, Holiday, hope, Huzhou, January, Kunming, Labour Day, lengthened, level, lockdown measures, lockdowns, long weekend, lunar new year, March, Meituan Dianping, million, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, November, one, online travel providers, original, outbound flights, pandemic, passengers, per cent, public holiday, quarantine requirements, rebound, recorded, relaxing, residents, slowing economy, some sites, south china morning post, southwestern province, spells, stimulate, suppressed, surge, Times, tourists, Travel bookings, travel restrictions, travel site, travel vouchers, Uncategorized, up to, US-China trade war, weighed down, widespread, within, Yunnan, zhejiang province |
Leave a Comment »
30/03/2020
KATHMANDU, March 29 (Xinhua) — The emergency epidemic prevention materials donated by the Chinese side arrived here on Sunday to help Nepal fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The supplies that arrived at Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepali capital city Kathmandu in the wee hours of Sunday were formally handed over to the Nepali Health Minister Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal by the Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi.
Dhakal welcomed the Chinese support and expressed gratitude to the northern neighbor for helping the Himalayan country overcome the epidemic.
“I would like to thank the Chinese people and the Chinese government for supporting Nepal in this difficult time to fight the COVID-19,” the minister said during the handover ceremony.
At a time when many countries are fighting against this battle, China keeping Nepal in the priority list and sending supplies immediately is really commendable, the minister expressed, adding that Nepal expects China’s support in the coming days as well.
The donations from China’s Sichuan Province and the Chinese Embassy include different kinds of masks, thermometers, Chloroquine phosphate tablets, protective clothing and portable ventilators weighing 1.1 tons.
Similarly, the donation from Alibaba Foundation, Jack Ma Foundation includes 100,200 N95 masks and 20,064 PCR test kits weighing 1.4 tons.
“We will try our best to send other necessary supplies as soon as possible. In case of any emergency, we can send a medical expert team or arrange a video conference meeting as well to help the health workers here,” the Chinese ambassador said.
She also welcomed the national lockdown enforced by the Nepal government, stating that it has received encouraging support from the general public.
Nepal is reportedly in dire need for medical supplies as the entire situation escalates in the country. Nepal, facing the shortage of test kits and personal protective equipment for health workers, has recorded five confirmed cases of the COVID-19 so far.
But there is a growing concern over a possible spike in the cases due to the relatively low number of tests. Nepal has enforced a week-long nationwide lockdown since March 24 to prevent the spread of infection.
The health ministry said that the received support materials will be distributed to federal and provincial levels hospitals immediately and will be useful for the prevention and management of the COVID-19 in Nepal.
Mahendra Shrestha, director general at the Department of Health Services under the Health Ministry, told Xinhua on Saturday, “The procured test kits from China will help us in the situation of spike in positive cases of the COVID-19.”
Source: Xinhua
Posted in arrive, China, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, Chinese embassy, combat, COVID-19, Department of Health Services, donated, Donation, emergency, health ministry, Himalayan country, Jack Ma Foundation, Kathmandu, masks, medical supplies, N95 masks, national lockdown, Nepal, Nepal government, Nepali capital city, Nepali Health Minister, PCR test kits, portable ventilators, protective clothing, sichuan province, thermometers, Tribhuvan International Airport, Uncategorized, Xinhua |
Leave a Comment »
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 