PROMINENT SCHOLAR DONATES TO PEKING UNIVERSITY

Archaeologist Fan Jinshi donated 10 million yuan （$1.45 million） to Peking University to promote its research of the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang， Gansu Province， on May 4.

Fan graduated from Peking University as an archaeology major in 1963 and has worked for the Dunhuang Academy for over four decades. The academy is a national institution for the conservation， management and research of the ancient grottoes. Fan is currently the academys honorary president.

The Mogao Caves， a UNESCO World Heritage Site along the ancient Silk Road， are renowned for their statues， murals and manuscripts in 492 grottoes. The site is a treasure trove of Buddhist art from the fourth to the 14th century.

Fans donation comes from the proceeds of awards she has won and from her personal savings.

Curbside Commerce

Shenzhen Special Zone Daily April 7

Once considered an embarrassing eyesore that betrays the citys humble beginnings， sidewalk stalls selling street food， cheap clothes， jewelry and all kinds of curious items are returning to Shenzhen， an ultramodern tech hub grown from a small town in Guangdong Province. The city has recently announced its plan to allow street vendors to operate in designated urban areas from the start of September.

Despite their constant associations with poverty and backwardness， street stands are in fact very responsive to the latest trends and capable of remaining current. The citys once modest food carts have now taken on many forms， which include night markets， curbside trunk sales， and online-offline hybrid fairs where young entrepreneurs sell coffee， bubble tea， perfume and artworks that showcase their own brands.

The citys new policy will also allow restaurants and stores to place picnic benches and street stands outside. However， the lifting of these curbs does not mean negligence. Local authorities and street vendors alike should make sure that these streetside sales are clean， safe and always within the regulatory limits.

A Treasure Trove of Plants

Oriental Outlook April 20

April 18 was the first anniversary of the China National Botanical Garden， a park located in the northwestern outskirts of Beijing. It is the countrys first state-level botanical garden. Three months after it opened， the South China National Botanical Garden opened in Guangzhou， capital of Guangdong Province. Together， the two gardens form a crucial step in Chinas endeavor to preserve its biodiversity.

China is home to more than 38，000 higher plant species， which account for 10 percent of the worlds total. To preserve these species， China has deployed two major conservation methods. The aforementioned botanical garden is a facility for ex-situ conservation， or off-site conservation， which is the process of removing a portion of a species from a threatened environment to protect it in a new location. The countrys vast network of nature reserves is built upon the concept of in-situ conservation， or on-site conservation， which is the preservation of wild species in their natural habitats.

These botanical gardens and nature reserves are also ideal sites for educational programs. In July 2022， the China National Botanical Garden live-streamed the flowering of its three titan arums， a gigantic， highly endangered plant species known for its corpselike odor and its extremely rare blooms that emerge once every seven to 10 years. On February 26， the South China National Botanical Garden showcased a play adapted from Duck Says Dont！， a picture book by British writer Alison Ritchie.

The continuous rise of ever more creative and fun ways to interact with plants has made more and more people come to appreciate their wonder and beauty.

Preventing Piracy

Ce.cn April 27

On April 20， the much-anticipated feature film The First Slam Dunk， had its first screening in China. The film is based on Slam Dunk， an iconic Japanese anime series that aired from 1993 to 1996， which， for many people born in the 1980s and 1990s， has become an integral part of their memories of youth.

However， the widely felt sense of nostalgia has been drowned in a heated online debate over whether viewers should be allowed to record the film from their seats in cinemas. The debate led to a public statement released by the films official account on Weibo， Chinas Twitter equivalent， asking the audience to stop these recording activities.

The Film Industry Promotion Law strictly forbids the sound or video recording in any form of a cinematographic work without the permission of the copyright owner. It also mandates that online posts about a film only use officially created or approved pictures and videos. However， the practice of illegal recording in cinemas has persisted despite the laws clearly stated legal boundaries.

Therefore， while the audience must refrain from recording films with their cellphones， more energy should go into educating the public on the importance of copyright protection.

SCIENTIST WINS GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY PRIZE

Gu Baojing， a professor of environmental and resource sciences at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou， Zhejiang Province， won the Frontiers Planet Prize on April 27.

Established by the Frontiers Research Foundation， a nonprofit organization based in Lausanne， Switzerland， the prize celebrates breakthroughs in sustainability science. Gu was awarded for a research article published in the academic journal Science in 2021. His research focused on global nitrogen management， which he said is not only a matter of food security but also one of the most vulnerable parts of Earths planetary biome.

Gu， who won the prize with three other scientists of different nationalities， said at the award ceremony in Montreux， Switzerland， that the Frontiers Planet Prize inspires scholars around the world to protect the health of Earths environmental system through scientific inquiry.

“There are certain sectors like healthcare or professional services that are going to grow faster than average， where foreign firms have a competitive advantage.”

Tomas Casas Klett， Director of the China Competence Center at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland， talking about investment opportunities from Chinas long-term growth in a recent interview with Xinhua News Agency

“Any cooperation that is truly beneficial to the African people will naturally prevail.”

Mao Ning， spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs， at a regular press briefing on May 5 in response to a U.S. House subcommittees accusations regarding Chinas economic activities in Africa

“I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency.”

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus， Director General of the World Health Organization， at a virtual press conference on May 5

“In addition to previously described ancestral sources in Siberia， Australo-Melanesia and Southeast Asia， we show that northern coastal China also contributed to the gene pool of Native Americans.”

Li Yuchun， a molecular anthropologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences， as his team published a new genetics study in the scientific journal Cell Reports in early May