China Remembers Nanjing Massacre

December 13， Nanjing： The state ceremony for China’s first National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims is held at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders. Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the ceremony and gave the keynote speech. Other Communist Party of China （CPC） and state leaders also participated. The ceremony was broadcasted live on radio and TV as well as news websites. Japanese troops captured Nanjing， then China’s capital， on December 13， 1937， and launched a bloody campaign which lasted more than 40 days. More than 300，000 Chinese soldiers， who had laid down their arms in surrender， and civilians， were killed. In February 2014， China’s top legislature decided to officially mark December 13 as National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims. Xinhua

Silk Road Plan Boosted

December 14， Astana： Chinese Premier Li Keqiang （left） meets Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Premier Li arrived in Kazakhstan to pay an official visit and attend a second regular meeting with his Kazakh counterpart. During his visit， Premier Li witnessed the signing of a slew of cooperative documents worth more than US$14 billion to enhance connectivity with Kazakhstan， Central Asia’s largest economy， in what is another step forward in efforts to revive the ancient transcontinental Silk Road， covering the Silk Road Economic Belt， a currency swap， nuclear energy， electricity， water resources and infrastructure construction， which “illustrates the deep and broad engagement of China and Kazakhstan，”according to the premier. Xinhua

Water Flows from South

December 15， Zhengzhou， Henan Province： Water from the South-to-North Water Diversion Project is pumped into Liuwan water purification plant. China is one step closer to completing its South-to-North Water Diversion Project as the first stage of the middle route， a 1，277-kilometer waterway， started supplying water to Beijing on December 12. After decades of planning and construction， clear water from Danjiangkou Reservoir in central Hubei Province flows through Henan and Hebei provinces and cross the Yellow River along a journey leading to Beijing and Tianjin. The first stage of the middle route， started in 2003， aims to pump almost 9.5 billion cubic meters of water – one sixth the volume of the Yellow River –every year to over 20 major cities in the parched north， including Beijing. The capital city maintains per capita water resources of less than 100 cubic meters， far below the 500 cubic meters which marks acute water shortage by international standards. CFP

Macao Marks “Return”Anniversary with Colorful Parade

December 14， Macao： Some 2，000 performers join a parade through Macao Special Administrative Region to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the city’s return to the motherland. Officially named “Parade through Macao， Latin City，” the annual event brought bands of brightly-dressed musicians， dancers and troupe members from around the world. It started from the iconic Ruins of St. Paul’s， traveled through the region’s Latin quarters with lively performances， and culminated two hours later in Tap Seac Square. This year， the city’s Cultural Affairs Bureau also introduced an official mascot， VIVA， to promote the concept of ‘Peace， Love and Cultural Integration’. China resumed sovereignty over Macao on December 20， 1999. Chinese President Xi Jinping attended a celebration in Macao from December 19 to 20 to mark the 15th anniversary of Macao’s return to China. IC

Beijing Cultural Expo

December 11， Beijing： A group of sculptures depicting old Beijing Hutong life are on display at the 9th China International Cultural Creative Industry Expo. Themed “Driving Cultural Innovation and Promoting Industrial Integration，” the Expo featured the latest products， cutting edge technology and new creations in the cultural field at its major venue， China International Exhibition Center. Nearly 50 delegations from 32 countries and regions participated in the exhibition， and 1，800 cultural and creative enterprises brought products. The national gifts offered by President Xi Jinping to his counterparts at the Beijing APEC meeting – a cloisonné bottle， an exquisite handbag and a fruit plate with a silver silk scarf – were also on display at the expo. IC

Chinese Spending Big on Art

December 6， Hong Kong： Wang Zhongjun， chairman of Huaiyi Brothers Media， one of China’s largest home-grown entertainment companies， speaks next to Vincent van Gogh’s Still Life， Vase with Daisies and Poppies at Sotheby’s. Sotheby’s New York Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on November 4 sold the 1890 Van Gogh to Wang for US$61.76 million. It set a new auction record for any still life by the artist and the highest auction price for Van Gogh since 1998， according to Sotheby’s. Painted one month before the artist’s death， the vibrant work is considered both a rare masterpiece and likely a savvy investment. According to many experts， China’s high-profile art buying spree has only just begun. REUTERS

Hello Kitty Park

November 28， Anji， Zhejiang Province： Aerial view of China’s first Hello Kitty amusement park. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Hello Kitty， the new US$325 million theme park devoted to the iconic character opened its doors for a special inauguration ceremony. The 9.5-hectare theme park will be China’s first large scale amusement park and is scheduled to open to the public on New Year’s Day of 2015. Over 40 of Sanrio’s best-loved cartoon characters will be featured at the park， which is expected to attract over a million visitors each year. Japanese company Sanrio， who created Hello Kitty in 1974， joined entertainment design firm Hettema Group from California to bring their new park to life. Xinhua

Claus Car

December 18， Changsha， Hunan Province： Teens dressed as Santa cram into a car. Santa Claus is known to travel in a sleigh pulled by reindeer， but in a competition held at Window of the World， a large theme park in Changsha， these 19 “Santa Clauses”attempted to carpool in a single sedan. The competition challenged people to fit the maximum number of people into a car to celebrate Christmas. CFP