NEWS

Roller Coaster Wedding

August 20， Shanghai： Fifteen couples from various places around China celebrate their group wedding on a roller coaster in an amusement park. Chinas Double Seventh Festival， the seventh day of the seventh lunar month， fell on August 20 this year. The roller coaster group wedding accepted online applications and attracted nearly 1，000 couples.

Chinas Double Seventh Festival， considered Chinese Valentines Day， is also traditionally a festival at which girls pray for ingenuity. Originating in China， the festival is now observed in the entire Chinese-speaking community and some Southeast Asian countries that tend to absorb a great deal of Chinese culture. Traditionally， on the evening of this day， girls gaze at the stars and pray to Vega for skillful hands. In 2006， the festival was included in the first list of Chinas intangible cultural heritage by Chinas State Council. Shanghai Daily/ IC

Times Square Kiss Replicated

August 15， Luoyang City， Henan Province： A couple on an excavator mimics the iconic Times Square Kiss photo taken 70 years ago. On this day， at Luoyangs Laojunshan Square， nearly 1，000 people gathered to celebrate the 70th anniversary of victory in the Chinese Peoples War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. At the same time， various activities and celebrations were held across China.

On August 15， 1945， after eight years of war of resistance against Japanese aggression， China witnessed the unconditional surrender of Japan， which also marked the end of World War II. “Kiss in Times Square” is a photograph taken by renowned American photographer and photojournalist Alfred Eisenstaedt on that day. In it， an American sailor dips a nurse as he kisses her in celebration of the end of the war in Times Square， New York City. IC

Science vs. Art

August 12， Shanghai： A visitor at the 2015 Shanghai International Science and Art Exhibition. An exhibition themed “Integration·Creation” opened that day at the China Art Museum. The 6，000-square-meter exhibition hall was divided into five zones displaying more than 100 works combining science and art from a dozen countries and regions.

Launched by Tsung-Dao Lee， a famous physicist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics， and late master artist Wu Guanzhong， the exhibition has been held for 11 consecutive years. In cooperation with the Shanghai-based China Maritime Museum， Shanghai Natural History Museum， Shanghai Museum of Glass， Shanghai Film Museum， and Shanghai Culture Square， this years exhibition showcases cutting-edge technology and art from around the world， human wisdom and folk art while providing a fantastically relaxing experience for science and art enthusiasts. IC

Public Meets Panda Cubs

August 21， Yaan City， Sichuan Province： Ten panda cubs make their first public appearance at Yaan Bifengxia Giant Panda Breeding and Research Center. All ten giant panda cubs were born in 2015 – the oldest two months ago and the youngest a week ago. A total of 21 giant pandas were born at the center so far this year， placing it on pace to set a record output of newborns.

A branch of the China Conservation & Research Center for the Giant Panda， Bifengxia center opened in 2003 and covers nearly 400 hectares. Giant pandas are one of the most endangered species in the world. Despite tremendous efforts， according to Chinas State Forestry Administration， by the end of 2013， less than 1，900 giant pandas were living in the wild in China. As a result， conservationists across the country are doing their best to motivate captive pandas to reproduce， a difficult task given the animals biology. IC

Eco-friendly Highway

August 10， Xingshan County， Hubei Province： Vehicles traverse the Gufu-Zhaojun Bridge Highway. With a total length of 10.9 kilometers， the eco-friendly highway opened on August 9 in mountainous Hubei Province.

To avoid cutting down forest or tunneling through earth during construction， a more expensive design plan was adopted： Two stretches of the highway， totaling 4.4 kilometers in length， were built above rivers running through the mountains. With breathtaking scenery along the way， the highway is expected to enhance logistics and boost tourism in neighboring areas. IC

Tianjin Explosion

August 18， Tianjin： On the seventh day after the Tianjin explosion， local residents mourn the passing of those killed in the incident. On August 12， an explosion at a container terminal in Tianjin Binhai New Area caused a fire and mushroom clouds around 11：30 p.m. Strong tremors were felt in neighboring areas. As of 3：00 p.m. on August 22， 121 people were confirmed dead from the explosion and 119 of them had been identified.

Soon after the explosion， Chinas State Council organized a special investigation team and dispatched it to Tianjin for a field investigation to collect evidence and other information， trace the movement of affected objects， and interview witnesses and survivors. The final investigation results will be reported to the State Council and be available to the public. CFP

Intelligent Manager

August 19， Luoyang City， Henan Province： A robot and its human coworker in a bank lounge. Recently purchased by a local bank， the robot is expected to act as the hall manager. It is presently undergoing final debugging before taking its post. With its presence in the bank， many customers have already shown great curiosity.

The one-meter-tall robot can identify human faces and voiceprints. With such abilities， it can talk with customers after finding them in the lounge and identify whether they have spoken previously. If it recognizes an “acquaintance，” it will come forward and say hello. As a more pragmatic function， a directional light on the robots head guides customers to the places they want. CFP

Chinas July CPI Rise

August 9， Huaibei City， Anhui Province： Customers at a supermarket. Chinas consumer price index （CPI）， the primary gauge for inflation， rose to 1.6 percent in July， its highest level in 2015. On a monthly basis， consumer prices crept up 0.3 percent in July， according to an August 9 National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） report.

For the first seven months， the CPI increased 1.3 percent year on year. NBS statistician Yu Qiumei attributed the CPI hike mainly to higher pork prices. Costs for medical care， vegetables， housekeeping， tobacco， education were also on the rise. The Chinese government aims to keep consumer inflation at around 3 percent in 2015. CFP