China Customs. [Photo/VCG] Entry-exit inspection and quarantine authorities across the nation have intercepted an increasing number of alien species and exotic pets that can pose serious risks to safety and environmental integrity, China's top authority for entry-exit inspection and quarantine said. Authorities are remaining alert for illegal entry of such animals as spiders, tortoises and snakes, which are sent to China mostly through mailed parcels. They said they will take more measures to tighten supervision and hold law violators accountable, according to the General Administration of Customs. Banned animals, plants and their products were found in more than 42,000 mail and parcel deliveries at ports last year, and harmful species were spotted in 5,147 of them, the administration said. Although most banned products intercepted were meat, dairy, seeds and sprouts, illegal mailing of live animals became more rampant, spurred by the booming popularity of exotic pets in China, the administration said. The variety of such animals intercepted at ports increased last year compared with 2016. Most alien species were bought by individuals or pet business owners from sources in other countries, or through exchanges, the administration said. Major alien species intercepted by quarantine authorities last year included tortoises, spiders, scorpions, snakes, frogs and various types of insects, it said. The creatures came from almost all of China's major trading partners, and were found at all major ports on the Chinese mainland, the administration said. In general, alien species have strong reproductive abilities, and are strongly adaptable to different environments, it said. They may have no natural enemies in China, so they are likely to reproduce in great numbers and pose serious threats to indigenous species and will damage China's ecology, biodiversity and agricultural production if they are not properly taken care of and are set free. Many of these animals are also carriers of diseases that could cause outbreaks among plants and animals in China, it said. In addition, some species, such as the Brazilian killer scorpion, poison dart frogs and other poisonous frogs can be dangerous to the public and may even be used by terrorists, the administration said. All live animals except dogs and cats are banned from being carried by passengers or sent via mail services to the mainland, unless approved by authorities and accompanied by official quarantine certificates from their country, according to Chinese regulations. Among pets, only dogs and cats can be carried to China, and each passenger can only carry one cat or one dog each time. The dog or cat must be quarantined after arrival, according to the regulations. Keeping track of the flow of exotic pets has been a challenge for authorities as most are light and are mailed from abroad in small amounts, the administration said. Tricks to evade supervision are constantly being refined, and in most cases the parcels containing the pets are disguised as other items in various forms, posing great difficulties in inspections, it said. To make the situation worse, booming cross-border e-commerce has resulted in a rapidly increasing amount of mail and parcels each year, forcing inspection and quarantine authorities in many places to work 24 hours a day, the administration said. Zhu Shuifang, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine, said with intensified globalization and more frequent international exchanges, cargo and mailed parcels have increased rapidly, posing great challenges in ensuring biosafety while allowing swift entry of goods. With so many goods, it is not possible to inspect every parcel, he said. Advanced technologies can play a more important role in improving efficiency in inspection of harmful species to prevent loss in trade, agriculture, health and ecology. The rapidly developing big data technology can be better applied in this regard, he said. For example, big data analysis can help single out passengers, cargo and mailed items that are more likely to bring in or contain banned items, Zhu said. More government investment is needed to spur technological research and utilization in entry-exit inspection and quarantine. The administration has taken a series of measures to improve supervision and law enforcement, including installing 37 advanced computerized tomography machines at key inspection sites for mail and express parcels, it said. The administration will also improve cooperation with other government departments such as border control, tourism, agriculture and forestry to establish a mechanism for joint prevention and control of illegal entry of banned items to ensure biosafety and national security, it said. Individuals who have carried or mailed banned animals, plants or their products to the mainland and tried to evade quarantine two or more times within a year will face criminal investigations by police or prosecution authorities in China, according to an amended regulation adopted in April 2017 by the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security in an effort to check violations. Violators face penalties of up to three years in prison and fines in serious cases, such as when violations result in widespread disease outbreaks, according to China's Criminal Law. paper wristbandscustomise fidget spinner24 hour wristbands coupon codecool wristbandsflash drive wristbandwristbands online
A high-speed train heads to Ulanqab from Hohhot in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region in August, marking the openning of the region's first high-speed railway. [Tang Zhe/For China Daily] At major transfer hubs, passengers no longer need to exit, re-enter gate Passengers can now reach most of China's major cities by bullet train, thanks to a network that includes linkages of a number of rail routes, as well as efficient major transfer hubs. According to China Railway Corp, the national rail operator, direct high-speed train services have been arranged between cities with a large number of passengers, including Beijing-Kunming, Harbin-Shanghai and Chengdu-Guangzhou. Those direct services link big cities in different regions by taking more than one rail route. Service between Dalian, Liaoning province, and Xi'an, Shaanxi province, involves eight high-speed rail routes that link 18 medium-size and large cities. Running the network is no easy task. A high-speed rail route must not only carry out bullet train services running only on a single line but also on multiple lines. Source: China Railway Corp The major transfer hub design allows easy transfers to other bullet trains. Passengers can make travel plans and buy connected tickets in advance. When they arrive at the transfer station, they can use a transfer gateway to board the next service, with no need to exit the gate and enter again. The major transfer hub design offsets the lack of direct service in some areas, providing more convenient travel choices. Lanzhou West station, the major transfer hub linking the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region with the rest of China, is expected to receive more than 5,000 transfer passengers a day, said Wang Jian, the deputy head of the station. The Baoji-Lanzhou rail route opened in July, and Wang estimates daily passengers will reach 25,000. The route links Lanzhou with the high-speed rail network. No direct service links Xinjiang with most cities beyond Lanzhou. A passenger from Beijing can take a direct service to Lanzhou and then transfer at Lanzhou West station to Xinjiang. China's high-speed rail network has surpassed 20,000 kilometers, spanning all provincial level regions except Tibet and the Ningxia Hui autonomous region. Hub cities are scattered around the country and linked by the high-speed network. The world's longest high-speed rail service in operation is the 2,760-kilometer Beijing-Kunming service, according to China Railway Corp. Beijing has a distinct spring, summer, fall and winter, whereas Kunming has been called the spring city because the weather never gets very cold. Like the Beijing-Kunming service, departure and arrival cities are different, requiring a different model of bullet train to adjust to diverse local environment. In the northeastern region's winter, when the lowest temperature can hit -40 C, bullet trains need to adjust. In the northwest region's deserts, featuring strong winds and sandstorms, such as along the Lanzhou-Xinjiang line, bullet trains have stormproof designs. According to a plan released by the National Development and Reform Commission in July 2016, China will expand the high-speed rail network to 30,000 km by 2020, linking 80 percent of major cities. By 2030, the network will link all cities with populations of more than 500,000. Riding China's rails China's high-speed rail network stretched 22,000 kilometers as of 2016, accounting for 65 percent of the world's total high-speed railway. The world's longest bullet train service reaches 2,760 kilometers from Beijing to Kunming, Yunnan province. The world's longest continuous high-speed rail track reaches 2,298 kilometers between Beijing and Guangzhou, Guangdong province. China is the only country with trains running at 350 km/h. Service on several Chinese lines have reached that speed, including Beijing-Tianjin, Beijing-Shanghai and Shanghai-Ningbo.
