Record bids for CCTV airtime

The annual advertising auction of China Central Television, a barometer of the country's economy, drew a record number of bids on Sunday despite the country's slowing economic growth. The auction of airtime on China's only national television network drew bids totaling 15.8 billion yuan ($2.5 billion) for 2013, up 11.4 percent from the previous year. Jiannanchun, a famous liquor producer, was the top bidder with an expenditure of 608 million yuan.

Priority on fighting chronic disease

The Seventh China Health Communication Conference was held on Saturday in Beijing and had the prevention of chronic diseases as its theme. According to official data, one in every five Chinese is eventually diagnosed with having a chronic disease. The World Health Organization estimated that chronic diseases will cause China $558 billion in economic losses from 2005 to 2015.

Home appliance sales pick up

Buoyed by government subsidies on energy-saving products and favorable policies for rural consumers, China saw home appliance sales pick up in September after a month-long slump, according to the latest data. Sales of washing machines increased by 6.5 percent, sales of air conditioners by 0.5 percent and of refrigerators by 22 percent year-on-year in September, according to data from the research center of Shanghai Securities News.

Cold front persists in northern regions

Cold fronts will continue to affect northern China over the next few days, bringing heavy snows, strong winds and decreases in the temperature, the country's meteorological authority said on Sunday. On Sunday and Monday, a weak cold front will lower temperatures by 3 to 8 C and bring gales across northern regions, the National Meteorological Center said. During that time, snow is expected to fall on eastern parts of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and some regions of Northeast China.

Xinjiang

Heavy fog leaves flights delayed

The heavy fog seen in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, on Sunday morning caused 20 flights to be delayed at its airport or diverted to other airports. By 2 pm, five inbound flights had been diverted to nearby airports, and 15 outbound flights had been delayed as heavy fog began to disrupt air traffic at the Urumqi Diwobao International Airport at 11:45 am, according to the airport's operation control center.

Tianjin

20 rare birds dead in tainted wetlands

Police in Tianjin confirmed that 20 rare birds were found dead and another 13 poisoned in city wetlands that had been tainted by a highly toxic pesticide. The birds, Oriental white storks, stopped on their migratory route at the city's Beidagang Wetland Nature Reserve and were poisoned there, media reports said Sunday.

Jilin

Farmers reluctant to sell their corn

Farmers in some important corn-growing regions have shown reluctance to sell corn at prices lower than what they had expected at a time when they are contending with higher production costs and grain losses from natural disasters. Corn prices began to fall after September, and their average prices have remained at around 2,170 yuan ($348) a metric ton since Oct 18, down by more than 6 percent from late August. In Northeast China's Jilin province, corn production has dropped by up to 30 percent in some important growing regions.

Hunan

Guard killed in store robbery

A security guard was shot dead during a robbery in a jewelry store in Loudi, Hunan province, on Friday. The security guard Wu Heqian, 67, died after being taken to hospital. A masked robber ran into the jewelry store in Louxing district around 7:20 pm on Friday, shot the guard with a pistol, smashed the glass counter and made off with jewelry worth about 1 million yuan ($160,000). Police are investigating.

Shandong

Confucian knowledge test

The first international knowledge competition for Lunyu, or The Analects of Confucius, ended on Saturday in Shandong province. More than 500 people, including elderly people, children from home and abroad and foreign students in China, participated in the competition. The contestants showcased their knowledge about the life story of Confucius and his Analects.

Singapore

Chinese film festival held

The first Chinese Film Festival in Singapore kicked off on Saturday, featuring five movies produced by Chinese filmmakers and artists, including those based in Hong Kong. The selection included It's Love, a film directed by Ching Siu-tung; Love is Not Blind, directed by Teng Hua-tao; A Simple Life, the award-winning work of Ann Hui; Sophie's Revenge, a work of Jin Yimeng; and Hero, the first commercial blockbuster directed by Zhang Yimou.

Britain

Gallery exhibits Beijing artist

An exhibition of Chinese contemporary artist Zeng Fanzhi's painting is scheduled to be open in the Gagosian Gallery in London on Tuesday. On display will be nine paintings, in an expressionist style that focuses attention on the material nuance of the painted surface.

China Daily - Xinhua