China has allocated 27 million yuan (3.95 million dollars) in relief funds for the areas of southern Sichuan and northern Yunnan hit by a 6.1 magnitude quake on Saturday that affected nearly a million people and whose death toll currently stands at forty.

The areas of Huili County and Panzhihua in Sichuan plus Chuxiong prefecture in Yunnan were hit hardest by Saturday's tremor, which destroyed or damaged more than 392,000 homes and led to the evacuation of around 181,000, according to Xinhua reports. At least 675 have been reported injured.

Saturday's quake was located on the southern end of the fault line involved in the devastating May 12 earthquake centered around Wenchuan county that left nearly 88,000 people dead or missing.

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24 hours later, aftershock hits Sichuan, Yunnan

Earthquake rattles Sichuan, Yunnan provinces

Tags: Chuxiong, disasters, earthquake, Huili, Panzhihua, Sichuan, Wenchuan earthquake

Yesterday at 4:31 pm, a strong aftershock registering 5.6 in magnitude hit southern Sichuan near Panzhihua 24 hours and one minute after Saturday's 6.1-magnitude earthquake in the same location. Once again, the tremor was able to be felt in buildings as far south as Kunming.

According to the most recent Xinhua reports, 32 people died in Saturday's quake, more than 400 were injured and over 100,000 homes were destroyed or damaged.

No information has been made available regarding casualties or damage from Sunday's aftershock. More than 800,000 people have been affected by the quakes.

According to Chinese media reports, the areas most affected by the quakes include Panzhihua, Huili and Liangshan in Sichuan and Zhaotong, Chuxiong and Dali.

UPDATE: As of 6:30 pm Beijing time on Monday, Xinhua is reporting that 38 people have been confirmed dead from the quake.

Related article: Earthquake rattles Sichuan, Yunnan provinces

Tags: Chuxiong, Dali, disasters, earthquake, Panzhihua, Sichuan, Zhaotong

Yesterday at the Yunnan Provincial Tourism Industry Development Conference in Chuxiong it was announced that 11 mainland and Hong Kong companies will invest more than 90 billion yuan (US$13.1 billion) in Yunnan's tourism industry.

The group of eleven is led by HK-listed Shui On Land (瑞安房地产), best known for being developers of the Xintiandi and Corporate Avenue project in Shanghai. Total investment by Shui On Land in Yunnan this year is expected to reach 48 billion, more than the other 10 companies combined.

In December 2007, Shui On signed a cooperation agreement with the provincial government – today it is working on four major projects in Kunming, Dali, Lijiang and Diqing.

Smart Hero Group (骏豪集团), another Hong Kong developer, will invest more than 25 billion yuan in the city of Chengjiang, 70 kilometers southeast of Kunming. The project, located at the Sun Mountain International Ecological Tourism and Leisure Holdiday Area, will commence construction in September. Smart Hero has existing tourism and hospitality projects in the cities of Xiamen, Sanya and Chongqing.

Smart Hero's investment in Chengjiang is indicative of a larger trend in Yunnan – in addition to established tourist cities such as Kunming, Lijiang, Dali and Shangri-la, smaller cities and lesser-known areas in Yunnan are beginning to attract larger amounts of investment. Other examples include Pu'er and Yangzonghai.

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Property giant Shui On moving into Yunnan

Tags: Chengjiang, Chuxiong, Dali, Diqing, Lijiang, Shangri-la, Shui On Land, Smart Hero Group, tourism, travel, Xintiandi

The Yunnan Provincial Hygiene Department announced that as of noon on Monday, 113 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) had been diagnosed in Yunnan, apparently caused by intestinal virus Enterovirus 71 (EV71). The announcement comes one day after Kunming announced that all Kindergarten students would be checked for the disease.

59 of the reported cases, more than half of the provincial total, were diagnosed in Kunming. Other affected areas include Chuxiong (19 cases), Yuxi (13), Baoshan (12), Dali (5), Honghe (3) and Zhaotong and Lincang, which reported one case each. No deaths have been reported.

Although highly contagious among children, HFMD has a low fatality rate and is expected to be contained well before the Olympics. With SARS still in people's minds and the Olympics around the corner, the Chinese government has shown a greater degree of openness and transparency at both the central and local levels than with previous outbreaks.

As Jeremy Goldkorn at Danwei puts it:

"Despite foreign cable news reports screaming about a 'deadly' virus, the virus is treatable and not that deadly. On the other hand, Xinhua and CCTV have not shied away from reporting about the disease, a welcome change from the days of SARS in 2003, when a disease outbreak was treated as something to be ashamed of and covered up."

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Kindergartens to check for hand, foot and mouth disease

Tags: Baoshan, children, Chuxiong, Dali, EV71, health, HFMD, Honghe, Lincang, Zhaotong

This Thursday the Expo Garden Hotel will host a six-fight professional boxing event beginning at 2pm. The event is organized by Zovi Promotions and will feature a mostly Chinese lineup, with the exception of Filipina boxer Gretchen Abaniel, who will be fighting in a minimumweight bout. The Expo Garden Hotel is located on Bailong Lu across from the International Horticultural Exposition Gardens in northeast Kunming.

ABCO Champ Wu Zhiyu

Speaking of boxing, we recently met with Wu Zhiyu, Chuxiong, Yunnan native and WBC/ABCO cruiserweight champion since April of this year. This year Wu, who has been a competitive boxer for the last 12 years, has begun offering boxing classes focused on fitness and self-defense. Wu teaches beginner, intermediate and advanced classes for individuals and groups. Rates for 90 minutes of one-on-one training range from 50 yuan (beginner) to 100 yuan (advanced). Lessons are held at the 24-hour gym in the ground floor of the People's Cinema at 111 Zhengyi Lu, just north of Renmin Zhong Lu.

Wu Zhiyu
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Tags: boxing, Chuxiong, sports, Wu Zhiyu, Zovi Promotions