News

40th Anniversary of the Tangshan Earthquake

July 28， Tangshan， Hebei Province： Chinese President Xi Jinping （center） visits Tangshan Earthquake Memorial Park to leave flowers and pay his respect to those who died in the devastating 1976 earthquake and heroes sacrificed in the relief work. On the 40th anniversary of the Tangshan earthquake， Chinese President Xi Jinping said the country’s disaster prevention， reduction and relief capabilities should be improved. Xi made the remarks on July 28 during an inspection tour of Tangshan in North China.

The 7.8-magnitude quake struck the city of Tangshan in Hebei Province on July 28， 1976， killing more than 240，000 people and destroying virtually all buildings. China has suffered some of the world’s worst natural disasters， which are diverse， frequent， hit many parts of the country and cause severe damage. Despite notable improvements to China’s disaster relief system， there is still room for improvement， Xi said. At present， the Chinese government is shifting priority from relief to prevention， from divided efforts to comprehensive preparation， and from reducing damages to addressing risks.

Largest Amphibious Aircraft

July 23， Zhuhai， Guangdong Province： People wave Chinese national flags during the release ceremony for the Chinese-made amphibious aircraft AG600.China has completed production of a massive amphibious aircraft that it plans to use to fight forest fires and perform marine rescue missions. On July 23， the AG600 rolled off a production line in Zhuhai， in what aviation observers see as a milestone for the country.

The 37-meter-long AG600 with a wingspan of 38.8 meters is by far the world’s largest amphibian aircraft. It is the result of nearly seven years of work by a group of 70 aircraft component manufacturers and research teams spread across 150 institutes from 20 provinces and municipalities in China. The unveiling of the AG600 came shortly after the Chinese heavy transport aircraft， Y-20， officially entered military service on July 7 and China’s first large passenger aircraft， the C919， rolled off the final assembly line in November 2015.

416 Chinese Athletes in Rio

July 18， Beijing： After a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People for Chinese athletes participating in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games， some athletes from Chinese rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline teams pose for a photo. China will send 416 athletes， including 35 Olympic champions， to the upcoming Rio Olympic Games， and the list of the Chinese delegation was announced on July 18. The delegation includes 160 men and 256 women competing in 210 events across 26 sports at the Games opening August 5 in Rio de Janeiro. Among the Chinese delegation are 35 Olympic champions including 27 from the London Olympics.

According to China’s General Administration of Sport， this is the country’s largest ever overseas Olympic delegation， and it includes a total of 711 members including 29 foreign coaches. China is expecting a haul of gold medals from traditionally strong sports such as table tennis， badminton， gymnastics， weightlifting， shooting and diving. At the 2012 London Olympics， China won 38 gold medals and 88 silver medals， ranking second on both medal tables.

Southern China Drenched

July 6： Two people battle the water during a storm in Wuhan， Hubei Province. Heavy rain has caused huge losses along China’s Yangtze River drainage area in recent days. According to China’s State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters， by early July， about 33 million people were affected by the rain and rain-triggered floods， and 1.48 million people had been relocated across 1，192 counties in 26 provinces. The rain and flooding have destroyed 56，000 homes.

Compared to the same period in 2000， the number of areas and people affected was down， the number of people killed and homes destroyed dropped dramatically， but direct losses increased significantly， by 51 percent. Of all the disasteraffected areas， Hubei and Anhui provinces were hit worst. China’s National Commission for Disaster Reduction and the Ministry of Civil Affairs has launched a level-IV emergency response in these provinces.