XM hosts inaugural CEIE Cat Expo

The Xiamen International Convention and Exhibition Center last week hosted the inaugural CEIE Cat Economic Industrial Innovation Expo. The event included cat competitions as well as displays for feline-related products and businesses. Products on display included cat food, supplies and health care items. A survey conducted last year by event organizers estimated that Xiamen is home to more than 200,000 housecats. The high rate of local cat ownership was a factor in choosing Xiamen as the host city of the inaugural cat expo.

The Emperor Qianlong Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition opened last Sunday at the Kulangsu Gallery of Foreign Artefacts from the Palace Museum Collection. The Palace Museum and the Gulangyu Management Committee sponsored the exhibition.

Qianlong was the longest-ruling and longest-living Chinese emperor. Qianlong is also the emperor credited with the most calligraphy and painting creations.

The current exhibition includes 18 paintings and 28 calligraphy works, many on display for the first time. The exhibition runs through June 25.

Officials from the Management Committee of the Xiamen Area of China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone last week reported steady growth for the area's foreign trade volume in the year to date. In the first two months of this year, the area's total import and export value topped 36.8 billion yuan, up year-on-year by 47.2 percent. Imports hit 15.6 billion yuan (up 19 percent) while exports came in at 21.2 billion yuan (up 78.3 percent). Among major exported commodities, storage batteries reached 8.3 billion yuan. Among imported goods, mineral products surged, with imported coal topping 3.9 billion yuan, up year-on-year by 282.7 percent.

Xiamen ranked eighth among 100 Chinese cities in a consumer satisfaction survey released last week by the China Consumers Association. The average consumer satisfaction score in the survey topped 78.8 in 2022, surpassing pre-pandemic levels.

The Jimei Dragon Boat Cultural Season kicked off last Saturday at Jimei's Dragon Boat Pool. The season is hosted by the Jimei District Dragon Boat Association. Guests can paddle dragon boats and learn about dragon boat culture from a host of on-site experts. The event runs through November.

City officials announced last week that Xiamen now boasts more than 11,000 certified social workers, a 10-fold increase in ten years. The totals account for nearly one third of the province’s total. Xiamen has 21.22 licensed workers per 10,000 residents, among the highest ratios in the country.

Xiamen includes a total of 119 social work service institutions that provide assistance in the fields of social welfare, social assistance, community governance, marriage and family, mental health, rehabilitation of the disabled, crime prevention and drug control and rehabilitation.

Xiamen Port authorities last week announced the debut of a new direct shipping route to Sihanoukville in Cambodia. Xiamen Port currently services 95 shipping routes to ports in Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) countries. Sihanoukville is situated on the southwestern coast of Cambodia and is the country's largest port.

Tunneling for the Xiamen subway's Line Six extension to Zhangzhou (Jiaomei) wrapped up last week after 15 months of work. Double-track shield tunneling between Xiamen and Zhangzhou is now complete. Track laying will begin in June, with test runs slated for September.

The extension project runs between the Jiaomei Longjiang Mingzhu Station at the Zhangzhou Taiwan Business Investment Zone and Lindai West, the starting point of the first phase of Line Six. The entirety of the 9.8-kilometer route runs underground.

Local Customs officials announced recently that the total value of Xiamen's imports and exports reached 148.2 billion yuan in the first two months of the year, up 9.2 percent year-on-year. Private enterprises constitute Xiamen's largest foreign trade entities. The region's primary exports include mechanical and electrical products and labor-intensive products. Primary imported products include metal ore, mechanical and electrical products and agricultural products. Xiamen's top three trading blocs include Asean, the European Union and the United States.

Local officials last week announced the commencement of work on interior decorations for the upcoming Jimei New City North Station Integrated Service Center. The 124-million-yuan project features a total construction area of more than 21,00 square meters. Construction is expected to wrap up in October.

When the center debuts, it will become the largest comprehensive community public service facility in Xiamen. The center will offer a comprehensive cultural station, a community integrated service center, a children's care center, an elderly day care center, a senior citizen service center and a community health service center.