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The Angara-A5 launch vehicle carrying the Orion booster and a test payload on a launch pad at Vostochny Cosmodrome, April 10, 2024. /CFP

The Angara-A5 launch vehicle carrying the Orion booster and a test payload on a launch pad at Vostochny Cosmodrome, April 10, 2024. /CFP

Russia canceled the launch of the Angara-A5 space rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome for a second time, Russia’s state space corporation Roscosmos said Wednesday.

The cancellation was due to a failure in the engine launch control system, the company noted, adding that another attempt to launch the space rocket will be on Thursday.

On Tuesday, an issue with the pressurizing system of the rocket’s oxidizer tank led to a cancellation of the launch minutes before the scheduled time.

The launch was set to be the first for this type of rocket at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, a Russian spaceport located in the Amur region of the Far East.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency

Parkinson disease impairs people’s motor function. /CFP

Parkinson disease impairs people’s motor function. /CFP

The 28th World Parkinson’s Day falls on Thursday. Commonly seen in the elderly, Parkinson disease (PD) is a prevalent degenerative disease of the nervous system, affecting approximately 4.5 million people worldwide.

The most typical symptoms of PD are motor symptoms, such as difficulty in walking, writing, swallowing and other movements. The patients’ hands, feet, head, and even lips and jaws will suffer tremors when they are still, and their body loses flexibility and becomes stiff.

Distressing non-motor symptoms

However, besides motor symptoms, PD also causes non-motor symptoms which often distress patients greatly.

The non-motor symptoms can include olfactory dysfunction, insomnia, constipation, mood disturbances and even cognitive changes, which are relatively early manifestations of PD, Hu Yongsheng, a chief physician at the functional neurosurgery department of Xuanwu Hospital Capital Medical University, told China Media Group (CMG).

Sleep disorders are one of the most common non-motor symptoms in PD patients, who may exhibit yelling or kicking movements during sleep, suddenly falling asleep during conversations for 10 to 20 minutes, as well as difficulty falling asleep, frequent awakenings and early waking.

Not normal aging

PD is a common neurodegenerative disorder with morbidity increasing with age. As the early symptoms can be subtle, they are often mistaken for normal aging process and ignored.

“Most PD cases begin with one side of the body, and then gradually worsening, eventually affecting both sides,” said Hu.

Hu warned that it is not a normal part of the aging process. “The fundamental cause of this disease is insufficient dopamine secretion in the brain. Over time, the patients are impaired in motor function. For example, they may have difficulty dressing, turning over, or cannot walk independently outside. In addition, they easily experience depression and are unwilling to engage in social interactions with others.”

Occurrence in young people

While the exact pathogenesis of PD remains unclear, the gradual degeneration and loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra is associated with the disease. Additionally,  genetic and environmental factors, along with drug use and chemicals, also play a role.

Studies have shown that the occurrence of PD in young people is closely related to genetic factors.

“More and more young people are also experiencing the disease … mostly related to genetic factors,” said Hu, adding that if there is PD occurrence in the family, the probability of getting PD is relatively greater, and the onset may be earlier.

Physical exercises fit for PD

While there’s no cure for the chronic progressive disorder currently, more evidences have shown that physical activities can reduce the risk of incidence, and also partially improve motor and non-motor symptoms during the course.

Three kinds of exercises are recommended for PD patients, namely aerobic exercises, resistance exercises or strength training, and stretch exercises, CMG reported on Thursday.

Aerobic exercises help to improve cardiorespiratory endurance in PD patients. Resistance exercises, which refer to exercises using equipment such as barbells, dumbbells and resistance bands, and those without equipment, including sit-ups, push-ups and pull-ups, can increase muscle strength. Stretching exercises can practice muscles and ligaments, improving one’s balance and coordination.

01:05

Jesse, an American who has just arrived in China, wrote a poem after seeing the whitewashed walls typical of Huizhou and its golden fields of rapeseed flowers. Let’s listen to his words accompanied by AI-generated music, as we explore the beauty of Huizhou across time and space.

The Chinese dove trees at the western foot of Mount Fanjing in Tongren, Guizhou Province are in full bloom, resembling white doves flying in the forest. /Photo provide to CGTN by Tongren Integrated Media Center of Guizhou

The Chinese dove trees at the western foot of Mount Fanjing in Tongren, Guizhou Province are in full bloom, resembling white doves flying in the forest. /Photo provide to CGTN by Tongren Integrated Media Center of Guizhou

The Chinese dove trees at the western foot of Mount Fanjing in Tongren, Guizhou Province are in full bloom, resembling white doves flying in the forest. /Photo provide to CGTN by Tongren Integrated Media Center of Guizhou

The Chinese dove trees at the western foot of Mount Fanjing in Tongren, Guizhou Province are in full bloom, resembling white doves flying in the forest. /Photo provide to CGTN by Tongren Integrated Media Center of Guizhou

The Chinese dove trees at the western foot of Mount Fanjing in Tongren, Guizhou Province are in full bloom, resembling white doves flying in the forest. /Photo provide to CGTN by Tongren Integrated Media Center of Guizhou

The Chinese dove trees at the western foot of Mount Fanjing in Tongren, Guizhou Province are in full bloom, resembling white doves flying in the forest. /Photo provide to CGTN by Tongren Integrated Media Center of Guizhou

The Chinese dove trees at the western foot of Mount Fanjing in Tongren, Guizhou Province are in full bloom, resembling white doves flying in the forest. /Photo provide to CGTN by Tongren Integrated Media Center of Guizhou

The Chinese dove trees at the western foot of Mount Fanjing in Tongren, Guizhou Province are in full bloom, resembling white doves flying in the forest. /Photo provide to CGTN by Tongren Integrated Media Center of Guizhou

The Chinese dove trees at the western foot of Mount Fanjing in Tongren, Guizhou Province are in full bloom, resembling white doves flying in the forest. /Photo provide to CGTN by Tongren Integrated Media Center of Guizhou

The Chinese dove trees at the western foot of Mount Fanjing in Tongren, Guizhou Province are in full bloom, resembling white doves flying in the forest. /Photo provide to CGTN by Tongren Integrated Media Center of Guizhou

The Chinese dove trees at the western foot of Mount Fanjing in Tongren, Guizhou Province are in full bloom, resembling white doves flying in the forest. /Photo provide to CGTN by Tongren Integrated Media Center of Guizhou

The Chinese dove trees at the western foot of Mount Fanjing in Tongren, Guizhou Province are in full bloom, resembling white doves flying in the forest. /Photo provide to CGTN by Tongren Integrated Media Center of Guizhou

The Chinese dove trees at the western foot of Mount Fanjing in Tongren, Guizhou Province are in full bloom, resembling white doves flying in the forest. /Photo provide to CGTN by Tongren Integrated Media Center of Guizhou

The Chinese dove trees at the western foot of Mount Fanjing in Tongren, Guizhou Province are in full bloom, resembling white doves flying in the forest. /Photo provide to CGTN by Tongren Integrated Media Center of Guizhou

The Chinese dove trees at the western foot of Mount Fanjing in Tongren, Guizhou Province are in full bloom, resembling white doves flying in the forest. /Photo provide to CGTN by Tongren Integrated Media Center of Guizhou

The Chinese dove trees at the western foot of Mount Fanjing in Tongren, Guizhou Province are in full bloom, resembling white doves flying in the forest. /Photo provide to CGTN by Tongren Integrated Media Center of Guizhou

The Chinese dove trees at the western foot of Mount Fanjing in Tongren, southwest China’s Guizhou Province are in full bloom, creating beautiful views in spring.

The plant is named for the white bracts that surround the base of each flower head, resembling a flying dove.

During the blooming season each year, it feels as if tens of thousands of white doves were dancing in the forest.

Thanks to the protection efforts of locals, the rare trees thrive in the area, with their number increasing gradually.

00:15

At Elephant Valley in Xishuangbanna, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, travelers can indulge in a spectacular “Elephant Feast.” Did you know that elephants thrive on an herbivorous diet of lush greens and ripe fruits? Come and enjoy a vibrant spectrum of local delicacies. The symphony of sweet, sour and savory sensations is a visual and gastronomic masterpiece for adventurous souls!

People shopping in a supermarket in Huai’an, Jiangsu Province, China, April 6, 2024. /CFP

People shopping in a supermarket in Huai’an, Jiangsu Province, China, April 6, 2024. /CFP

China’s consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, edged up 0.1 percent year on year in March, official data showed Thursday.

On a monthly basis, the CPI went down 1 percent in March. Core CPI, deducting food and energy prices, went up 0.6 percent year on year last month, maintaining a moderate increase, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

The slowing of CPI’s yearly and monthly growth rates can be mainly attributed to the seasonal decrease in demand for food and travel service prices after the recent Spring Festival holidays, said Bruce Pang, chief economist of JLL Greater China.

For the whole year, Pang expects CPI to gradually return to normal levels amid short-term fluctuations given improving economic conditions and effective macro policy measures.

A factory worker transferring a batch of new energy auto parts in Kunshan City, Jiangsu Province, China, April 10, 2024. /CFP

A factory worker transferring a batch of new energy auto parts in Kunshan City, Jiangsu Province, China, April 10, 2024. /CFP

Meanwhile, the country’s producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, went down 2.8 percent year on year in March. 

The carry-over effect of last year’s price movements dragged down the year-on-year PPI decline by 2.3 percentage points last month, according to NBS statistician Dong Lijuan.

On a monthly basis, the PPI edged down 0.1 percent, narrowing from a 0.2-percent decrease a month earlier, NBS data showed.

Dong explained that industrial production resumed after the recent holidays and the supply of industrial products was relatively sufficient last month.

With the PPI growth decline narrowing from the previous month, Pang believed that the path for PPI to turn from negative to positive is relatively clear.

(With input from Xinhua)

China’s efforts to protect the natural environment have come a long way in recent decades. In 1998, the country introduced the Natural Forest Protection Program to restore fragile ecosystems and drive afforestation. CGTN travels to northeast China’s Liaoning Province and discovers why trees are more valuable alive than dead as the legacy of the ban lives on.

Zhang Chunyou, a former lumberjack turned forest ranger. /CGTN

Zhang Chunyou, a former lumberjack turned forest ranger. /CGTN

For 40 years, Zhang Chunyou, who started working as a lumberjack in his 20s, has never left the forest. It was people like him who helped feed the timber hunger driven by economic and population growth in China.

“After a tree was cut down, it was sold for just a few hundred yuan. Everyone in the forest farm earned low wages,” said Zhang, a former lumberjack of the Fenglin Forest Farm in Liaoning Province.

Zhang Chunyou, a former lumberjack turned forest ranger. /CGTN

Zhang Chunyou, a former lumberjack turned forest ranger. /CGTN

For lumberjacks like Zhang, the introduction of a complete ban on commercial logging put his family’s livelihood at stake, threatening their ability to put food on the table. It was also a life-changing event as the lumberjack became a forest ranger.

The country’s extensive logging since the early 20th century has led to forest loss and degradation, with spiraling effects on the environment. /Photo provided by Fenglin Forest Farm

The country’s extensive logging since the early 20th century has led to forest loss and degradation, with spiraling effects on the environment. /Photo provided by Fenglin Forest Farm

The country’s extensive logging since the early 20th century has led to forest loss and degradation, with spiraling effects on the environment. Research shows that nearly 40 percent of China’s forests were impacted during the 1980s and 1990s. For Zhang, the logging ban 20 years ago was a challenge.

“Me and my wife had to borrow money from friends and relatives to send our daughter to school. Both of us worked on the forest farm, and no more logging meant no money coming in,” Zhang told CGTN.

Following the ban, tens of thousands of workers in the state-owned forest farms put down their axes to work on forest farms or become forest rangers. Thanks to the forest’s beautiful autumn maple leaves, the farm’s management decided to try tourism.

Research shows that nearly 40 percent of China’s forests were impacted during the 1980s and 1990s. /Photo provided by Fenglin Forest Farm

Research shows that nearly 40 percent of China’s forests were impacted during the 1980s and 1990s. /Photo provided by Fenglin Forest Farm

Wang Guochun, the manager of Fenglin Forest Farm, said, “The scenic valley was finally opened in 2013. It took a lot of courage to make the decision since it was an investment made by us and the nearby farms. In the first month, we were surprised to see ticket revenue exceeding 2 million yuan (about $276,460) – the kind of money we normally made from logging in a year!” 

This scenic valley was opened in 2013. In the first month after opening, ticket revenue exceeded 2 million yuan. It would normally take the farm a year of logging to make that kind of money. /CGTN

This scenic valley was opened in 2013. In the first month after opening, ticket revenue exceeded 2 million yuan. It would normally take the farm a year of logging to make that kind of money. /CGTN

When introduced in 1998, China’s Natural Forest Protection Program’s mission was to transform the country’s timber-intensive forestry industry into one highlighting environmental sustainability. 

Today, China’s total afforestation accounts for nearly 5 percent of global net growth in green areas, and the forest coverage in China has soared from 12 percent in the 1980s to 24 percent last year, according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

“From selling trees to selling scenery, this made us realize that trees are more valuable alive than dead and down,” said Zhang.

Edouard Rebilly from Belgium tries decorative art at a museum in Beijing in April. YANG FEIYUE/CHINA DAILY

Maximilian Klaus Puechler from Germany crammed in as much sightseeing as he could during his short trip to Beijing in late March.

In one day, Puechler, in his 20s, visited the Juyongguan section of the Great Wall and the royal gardens at the Summer Palace as well as viewed the ancient architecture at the Temple of Heaven.

He was especially impressed by a culturally immersive experience at the temple, where he learned about traditional Chinese architectural oil painting, and tried techniques such as the gilding and decorative application of gold powder to the surface of a painting.

At the end of the tour, he was given a dragon-shaped hat by a staff member at the temple as a gift.

“As a tourist, I felt everyone’s hospitality. People would come up to me and strike up a conversation, and that’s really nice,” Puechler said.

Talina Hotz from Switzerland took a special shine to the exhibitions at the Temple of Heaven. She said they helped her gain a better appreciation of the temple’s history and structure as well as cultural aspects, such as the Hall of Prayer for a Good Harvest, a magnificent triple-gabled circular building.

“I’m really interested in Chinese cultural heritage, and I really enjoyed it,” she said. Hotz said she was also impressed that so many people on her tour had enjoyed the experience.

The two Europeans are among a growing number of international travelers who have benefited from China’s recent visa-free entry policy.