China, Germany Sign Big Deals

October 10， Berlin： Chinese Premier Li Keqiang （L） and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend a joint press conference after the third round of bilateral governmental consultations. Premier Li Keqiang， accompanied by various government officials and an entourage of 130 business executives， set off for Germany on October 9， aiming to enhance Sino-German ties. On the day he arrived， Li joined German Chancellor Angela Merkel in cochairing the third round of ChinaGermany governmental consultations and witnessed the signing of deals worth more than US$ 18 billion. Aiming to boost trade and investment， while deepening innovation partnership， the two nations also signed a Platform for Action covering 110 cooperative agreements over the next five to 10 years， the largest such agreement between China and another country. Analysts say this indicates that the two driving forces of Europe and Asia are focusing less on low-end manufacturing and more on high-tech fields. Li’s trip to Germany followed Merkel’s July visit to China， her seventh official trip to the country. President Xi Jinping visited Berlin in March. Xinhua

Beijing Scenic Spots Packed with Tourists

October 2， Beijing： A sea of tourists streams through the northern gate of the Palace Museum（Forbidden City）. Almost every scenic spot in Beijing was besieged by tourists on the second day of the National Day holiday， which ran from October 1 to 7. The 26 most intensively monitored scenic spots in the capital received 542，000 visitors on October 1， up 32.8 percent over the same day last year. Jin Liangkuai/Xinhua

Vintage London Cabs Hit Shanghai Streets

October 11， Shanghai： Drivers stand at attention next to 50 gold-painted taxis， the Chinamade Geely Englon TX4， before they are released onto Shanghai streets. The first 50 of 200 vintage-UK-styled taxis are operated by Shanghai Qiangsheng Taxi， with a base fare of US$ 2.9 and per-kilometer rate of $0.42. These special cars feature barrier-free designs with more space than standard cabs， especially suitable for those with special needs， such as the disabled and seniors. Qiangsheng says it will release another 150 Englon cabs by early next year. IC

iSlave

September 19， Hong Kong： Protesters from the Students and Scholars against Corporate Misbehavior （SACOM） hang a banner outside an Apple store reading，“iSlave， Harsher than harsher， Still made in sweatshops，” to oppose labor practices of some Apple component suppliers. The day was big for iPhone fans around the world： Apple’s latest offerings， the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6+ smartphones， went on sale globally. But the models’release at the Hong Kong Apple store didn’t go quite as smooth as elsewhere. To accompany the protest， SACOM also published a new report titled “The Lives of iSlaves” showing recent findings from a year-long investigation of three factories operated by Apple manufacturing partner Pegatron， which took half of iPhone 6 production orders. SACOM says its key findings include various labor law infractions at the facilities. However， the protest didn’t appear to interfere with customers attempting to purchase the device. Police were instead called to deal with angry line sitters unaware that they needed to pre-order. REUTERS

Li Na Bids Tearful Goodbye

September 30， Beijing： Tennis star Li Na tearfully waves goodbye to fans during her retirement ceremony at the China Open at the National Tennis Center. Li， 32， announced her retirement on her microblog on September 19， revealing she would end her competitive career due to knee injuries. At 7：15 pm， the ceremony started with a highlight reel of Li’s greatest performances. Many top WTA players， including Petra Kvitova， Jelena Jankovic and Caroline Wozniacki attended the ceremony. WTA Chairman CEO Stacey Allaster spoke highly of Li. The tennis star aroused shouts from the crowds of “Don’t leave us， Sister Na！” The most successful Chinese tennis player ever， Li captured nine WTA titles， two of them Grand Slams. Her other feats include becoming the first Chinese player to win a WTA title， the first to win a Premier-level title， the first to compete in singles at the WTA Finals， and the first to reach the top 20， top 10， and top 5 in the WTA Rankings. IC

Painted Terracotta Warriors

September 28， Xi’an： An exhibition of terracotta warriors with original paint kicked off in the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi’an， the capital of Shaanxi Province. As part of a celebration marking not only the 40th anniversary of the discovery of the warriors， but also the 35th anniversary of the opening of the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum Site Museum， 37 exhibits of rare cultural relics are on display， including colored pottery figurines and figurine heads， most of which are being shown to the public for the first time. When the original terracotta warriors and horses were first unearthed in 1974， they were all gray because their paint faded during the 2，000 years they were buried. In 1998， eight kneeling warriors were found with the paint preserved. The painted warriors became stars as soon as they were displayed to the public. After further excavation， more painted statues were discovered. CFP

CowParade through Shanghai

September 29， Shanghai： A decorated sculpture of a cow celebrates 2014 CowParade Shanghai. CowParade is an international public art exhibition that has visited various major world cities to showcase the talents of local artists. Fiberglass sculptures of cows are decorated by local artists， and displayed around public places such as train stations， major streets， and parks. The bovines often feature designs specific to local culture， as well as each city’s lifestyles and iconic imagery. After visiting 79 cities around the world over the past 15 years， the CowParade event finally reached Shanghai on September 25， 2014. It will stay for about a year， during which time more than 500 cow artworks will be created and displayed in public spaces， such as the Bund， Lujiazui and People’s Square. IC

Mountain Daredevils

October 14， Zhangjiajie： A wingsuit pilot jumps from Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie， Hunan Province， for the third Wingsuit World Flying Contest. The fiveday world wingsuit championship kicked off on October 14 and attracted 26 of the world’s top fly- ing squirrels. Unlike the first two events， the third featured participation from three female fliers， the most in the history of the sport. Or- ganizers arranged a special female qualifying round before the final to determine the “fastest birdwomen in the world”.

Quotes

“My father asked that all the children in our family go abroad to study at sixteen， but none of us sought foreign passports， so our family is all Chinese.”

- Deng Rong， Deng Xiaoping’s daughter， refuting a rumor that Deng Zhuodi， Deng Xiaoping’s grandson， is a US citizen.

“What do 70 to 80 percent of Tsinghua University’s top scorers on college entrance examinations study？ They all go to the Economics and Management School. Even my best students and those I hope to focus on training want to work at financial firms.”

-Shi Yigong， academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and dean of life sciences at Tsinghua University， opining that when all of a country’s elite minds want to get into finance， there must be something wrong.

Buzzwords

橙領

Orange-Collar >>>

The term “orange-collar” derives from the major color of China’s largest online shopping website， Taobao.com， and now more generally refers to anyone employed in e-commerce. Many orange-collar workers are tasked with posting blogs or in forums to lure potential shoppers. They first pinpoint customers’ trending needs， then determine which products will sell well by analyzing data， and finally write a promotional blog and communicate with customers.

冰書挑戰

Book Bucket Challenge >>>

Inspired by the hugely successful Ice Bucket Challenge， another challenge is making rounds on social media： The Book Bucket Challenge. Friends are nominated to tell the world about 10 books that mean the most to them， and like the Ice Bucket Challenge， it also requires charitable action. In this case， participants are urging donations to libraries or organizations providing books for the needy. The challenge started on Chinese microblogging sites by Hong Kong writer Liao Weitang.