Rail services between Kunming and Chengdu resumed on Friday, two weeks after being severed by a 6.1-magnitude earthquake that killed 40 and damaged or destroyed more than 900,000 homes in southern Sichuan and northern Yunnan provinces.

A passenger train carrying more than 1,000 passengers departed Kunming on Friday afternoon, relaunching rail traffic between the two provincial capitals just in time for Mid-Autumn festival.

The 18- to 23-hour trip is one of the most tunnel-ridden sections of rail in China.

Related article: Earthquake rattles Sichuan, Yunnan provinces

Tags: Chengdu, disasters, earthquake, Mid-Autumn Festival, Panzhihua, rail, Sichuan, tourism, transport

China's Ministry of Commerce to participate in Kunming Fair

Wednesday, 28th May 2008 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)

The 16th annual Kunming International Import and Export Commodities Fair - aka the Kunming Fair (昆交会) - will take place again this year at the Kunming International Convention and Exhibition Center (昆明国际会展中心) from June 6 to June 10.

The Kunming Fair is a regional trade fair jointly sponsored by the governments of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Tibet, Chongqing and Chengdu. Last year's Kunming Fair saw 162 companies exhibit their products and more than US$158.5 million in completed deals over five days. The total reported value of contracts and agreements signed at the event exceeded 68.1 billion yuan (US$8.9 billion).

According to Kunming media reports, this year China's Ministry of Commerce will participate in hosting the fair for the first time with the stated goal of increasing the scale and quality of the fair.

Yunnan Commerce Bureau Director Sun Xiaohong (孙小虹) said this year the fair will feature 2,318 exhibits, adding that 2,148 exhibitors were already confirmed for the event. Sun said that exhibits by Burmese and Sichuanese enterprises will be slightly fewer in number than last year due to the recent Myanmar cyclone and Wenchuan earthquake, respectively.

Under orders from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, the Kunming Fair will include a "Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Corridor Forum" (GMS经济走廊论坛) for the first time. The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) includes Yunnan Province, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.

For the third consecutive year the fair will also feature a 'China-South Asia Commerce Forum',(中国-南亚商务论坛) as well as the clumsily named 'ASEAN Chinese Business Investment Southwest Promotion Meeting and Asia-Pacific Chinese Business Forum' (东盟华商投资西南项目推介会暨亚太华商论坛).

A preview of some of the products on offer can be found on the fair's official website. The website also features other information of less obvious value, including 'Britney Spears loses custody of children', 'Goal-driven achievers less prone to Alzheimers' and 'Abdul says she's straight up ready for a baby'.

The Kunming Fair runs from Friday, June 6 through Tuesday, June 10 from 8 am to 6 pm. GoKunming called the fair's office, which told us the admission fee had yet to be announced (last year tickets to the fair cost 30 yuan/day). For more information, call the fair at (0871) 6269886 or 3155519.

Image:

finance.sina.com

Related articles:

Yunnan-ASEAN trade continues to boom

Kunming hosting Asia-Pacific trade meeting

Kunming Fair breaks US$150 million mark

GMS agreement to facilitate regional transport

Tags: ASEAN, Britney Spears, business, Chengdu, Chongqing, foreign trade, GMS, Guangxi, Guizhou, Kunming Fair, Kunming International Convention and Exhibition Ce, Ministry of Commerce, Myanmar Cyclone, Paula Abdul, Sichuan, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Sun Xiaohong, Tibet, Wenchuan earthquake

Sichuan, Beijing earthquakes shake China

Monday, 12th May 2008 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (4)

An earthquake of magnitude 7.8 with its epicenter in northeast Sichuan province's Wenchuan County took place today just 90 km (55 miles) west-northwest of the provincial capital Chengdu, population 11 million. Tremors from the quake were felt throughout China.

Reports of damage or casualties have yet to emerge, but Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is now headed to Sichuan to survey the damage and the People's Liberation Army has been mobilized to assist in any aid and rescue efforts.

The earthquake took place at 2:28 pm Beijing time, with tremors being felt in Kunming around 2:35. Tremors were also felt in Beijing, 1,545 km (960 miles) northeast of Wenchuan, but their origin is still unclear. Xinhua is reporting that a second earthquake took place in Tongzhou, part of Beijing Municipality, at 2:35 pm today.

Chengdu's airport has been closed, with some flights being diverted to Kunming Wujiaba International Airport.

GoKunming has contacted friends in Chengdu who are reporting widespread building evacuations but no major damage due to the Wenchuan quake. Utilities and public transportation are also reportedly unaffected.

Update: At least 10,000 are dead, with that number expected to rise. The Chinese military is sending 27,000 troops - including 3,000 special forces - to assist affected areas.

Chengdu image: Xinhua

Related article: Pu'er hit by 6.4-magnitude earthquake

Tags: Beijing, Chengdu, earthquake, Kunming Wujiaba International Airport, Sichuan, Tongzhou, Wenchuan County

Kunming preparing for Chinese New Year

Monday, 14th January 2008 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)

Kunming Station last Friday at 6:00 am

With Chinese New Year just around the corner – this year it lands on February 7 – China is preparing for a major surge in domestic travel. At the beginning of next month, millions of students, soldiers, workers and businesspeople throughout the country will meet up with family and friends to celebrate the end of winter and the coming of spring.

More than 22 million air passengers are expected to fly China's skies this holiday - which is known in China as Spring Festival. The General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) has announced that it might add temporary domestic flight routes to handle the spike in air travel. CAAC said it will 'strictly control' air traffic in Kunming's Wujiaba International Airport plus other major airports in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu to ensure everything goes smoothly during the holiday.

Air travel may be increasingly popular with Chinese travelers, but the majority of people returning home will get where they're going via China's extensive rail network. China's Ministry of Railways is expecting nearly 179 million rail travelers – almost the population of Brazil – this holiday season. The ministry is adding 311 trains to the normal national rail schedule to absorb the increase in travelers.

Kunming's main rail station is anticipating a major influx in ticket buyers this month, to address the demand for train tickets it is building 40 temporary ticket windows in front of the station. The windows will sell tickets 24 hours a day beginning Wednesday of this week and lasting through the holiday.

Aside from increased travel, the Chinese New Year season is also a time for higher food and drink prices as a large percentage of China's billion-plus population spend the holidays focused on eating and drinking. This year rising food prices are putting more pressure on holiday budgets than usual. Even beer as well as baijiu and other traditional Chinese wines spirits are feeling the bite of inflation as alcohol prices in China are experiencing unprecedented price hikes, blamed on rising costs for grain, coal and transport.

Image: clzg.cn

Tags: Beijing, CAAC, Chengdu, Chinese New Year, Guangzhou, Shanghai, trains, travel