Female life expectancy exceeds 85 years

The life expectancy of a female in Shanghai hit 85.09 years for the first time last year, according to a survey by Labor Daily. The survey findings also showed that the mortality rate of pregnant women, newborn babies and children aged below five are declining.

Meanwhile, according to an annual survey focused on women and children, 85.7 percent of women in Shanghai say they are happy with their lives. Shanghai's women and children committee has also pledged to do more to champion gender equality.

Record high bids for license plates

More than 190,000 people bidded for car licenses during February's auction, the highest number in history, according to China National Radio. There were 8,363 license plates available this month, 1,046 less than the previous month, and the lowest bid was 83,200 yuan ($12,762).

A total of 100,000 car license plates are expected to be issued in 2016, an average of about 8,000 per month. Shanghai was the first city in China to launch an auction for car licenses as part of measures to curb the number of automobiles on its roads.

US hotels out to woo Chinese tourists

Hotel chains in the United States are starting to tweak their room service offerings and equipment to better serve Chinese tourists, according to Reuters.

For example, Hilton Hotels have since March 2015 provided their Chinese customers in the United States with slippers, electric kettles and Chinese television channels.

Similarly, the InterContinental Hotels Group has been rolling out Union Pay services and hiring Chinese-speaking employees. Some 1.8 million Chinese tourists in the US spent $21.2 billion in 2014, and this expenditure is expected to grow to $80 billion in 2021.

More than 40,000 homes sold in two months

Shanghai's property market has started to heat up again over the past months, with more than 40,000 apartments being traded in December and January, reported National Business Daily.

The increase in demand has led to a price hike of more than 5 percent in the home trade and some homeowners have even raised their asking prices by 10 percent, said a manager from property agent Lianjia.

Nurse kills fiance after wedding postponement

A nurse from the Shanghai No 6th People's Hospital is suspected to have murdered her fiance due to disputes over their impending marriage, reported the Beijing Times.

The nurse Wang Lin first got to know her fiance, Li Ming, when they were colleagues. Three years into the relationship, the couple decided that they would get married in January 2015.

However, the man's family had asked for a postponement of the wedding due to minor disputes between the two families. Believing that her fiance's family was introducing new girlfriends to their son, Wang gave Li an insulin injection which killed him.

China Daily