BEIJING, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) — On summer weekends, Beijing’s Liangma River buzzes with life. Stand-up paddle boards glide past gleaming skyscrapers, their bright-colored hulls decorating the water in a scene local residents are comparing to the Seine. Along shaded riverbanks, families and friends gather to escape sweltering temperatures, watching a flotilla of paddle boards so dense it sometimes rivals busy traffic on Beijing’s main streets. Such riverside revelry would have been unthinkable along the Liangma about a decade ago. For…

Non-player character (NPC) interactions are wildly popular among young visitors across China. Step away from routine check-in tourism and act alongside these performers — you’ll enjoy a deeply immersive travel experience. African Times has published this article in partnership with Xinhua News Agency

BEIJING, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) — On a crisp autumn day in Beijing, a clear blue sky stretched above the Chinese capital as world leaders gathered for the 2014 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting. The azure skies of Beijing soon became known as “APEC blue,” though some viewed the phenomenon as a fleeting moment confined to the summit period. At the welcoming banquet, Chinese President Xi Jinping directly addressed such doubts, expressing his hope and determination that “with persistent…

* China is accelerating the integration of fitness and healthcare, with community health centers, smart exercise services and professional guidance helping people pursue safer and more scientifically grounded lifestyles. * Driven by national strategies such as Healthy China 2030 and nationwide fitness initiatives, China is expanding public sports facilities, building “15-minute fitness circles” and bringing exercise opportunities closer to communities. * From grassroots leagues and school activities to winter sports and mass-participation events, a nationwide fitness movement is reshaping China’s sporting culture…

BEIJING, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) — “Friendship stands by a meaningful thing — a world of peace must be a world of friendship.” Chinese President Xi Jinping once quoted a foreign friend to illustrate the preciousness of friendship. In his view, people-to-people friendship is the foundation for stable and sustained international relations, an inexhaustible driving force for promoting world peace and development and a basic prerequisite for win-win cooperation. This Spring Festival, Xi replied to friends in the U.S. state of…

BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) — China’s steady first-half growth in 2026 underscored the resilience of the world’s second-largest economy and the growing role of new growth drivers as it embarked on a new five-year development period, Chinese officials said. Despite mounting external uncertainties, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.7 percent year on year to 69.6 trillion yuan (about 10.25 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2026, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). “These hard-won…

BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) — China is set to focus on six key areas to advance high-quality development as the country embarks on its new journey of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), said an official with the country’s top economic planner during the latest episode of China Economic Roundtable, an all-media talk show hosted by Xinhua News Agency. Yang Te, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission, said that for the next stage, coordinated efforts should be…

BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) — Consumption remains a key driver of China’s economic growth, guest speakers said during the latest episode of China Economic Roundtable, an all-media talk show hosted by Xinhua News Agency. In the first half of the year, the consumer market stayed generally stable, service consumption expanded fairly fast, the consumption structure continued to upgrade, and new drivers in this sector gathered pace, said Huang Hanquan, head of the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research under the National…

BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) — The accelerated shift from old to new growth drivers has become one of the most defining features of China’s current economic performance, a guest speaker said during the latest episode of China Economic Roundtable, an all-media talk show hosted by Xinhua News Agency. “The rapid growth of new industries and new business models is no fleeting windfall. It reflects years of sustained effort to achieve breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields, deepen the integration…

This file photo taken on Jan. 17, 2025 shows a view of the Taoyangli Historical and Cultural Block in Jingdezhen, east China’s Jiangxi Province. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) added China’s Jingdezhen Handicraft Porcelain Industry Sites to the World Heritage List on Saturday during the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Busan, South Korea. The inscription brings the total number of World Heritage sites in China to 61. (Xinhua) This photo taken on…