This is Beijing-Beijing English blog

From last weekend, the weather become very warm. And today the hightest temperature get to 29.2 degrees centigrade, this is the highest record temperature at this season from 1950.

People become to wear less cloths; Lots of cars open the window  and some even begin to use the AC.

But according to the weather forecast, there will be cool air at night of 20th, and the temperature will come down to its normal as 15 to 17 degrees centigrade.

[#3: Edit Options>MightyAdsense>Adsense Code]

China’s Ministry of Commerce announced on Wednesday that it has rejected a bid by Coca-Cola to acquire China’s top juice maker Huiyuan, saying the takeover could stifle competition and harm the growth of small juice makers in China.

In a statement posted on its website on Wednesday, the ministry says it rejected the $2.4 billion bid in accordance with China’s Anti-Monopoly Law. This is the first offer rejected since China’s Anti-Monopoly Law took effect last August.

The ministry says in its statement that if the takeover went ahead, Coca-cola could use its dominant position in the carbonated soft drinks market to promote its fruit juices through tied selling. Consumers may eventually have fewer choices and be forced to accept higher prices. The deal would also harm the growth of small and medium-sized fruit juice makers in the country.

The ministry said that Coca-cola submitted plans to reduce the deal’s unfavorable effect on competition but the ministry was not convinced by the plans. It rejected the bid in accordance with Article 28 of China’s Anti-Monopoly Law.

Shares of Huiyuan were suspended from trading at 10:13 Wednesday morning in Hong Kong after slumping 19 percent following reports Coca-Cola may scrap its bid for Huiyuan.

China Huiyuan Juice Group Ltd. requested the suspension pending the release of an announcement relating to price sensitive information, the company said in a statement.

Coca-Cola proposed to purchase Huiyuan for a steep premium on Sept 3, 2008, marking the largest foreign takeover of a Chinese company. It submitted an application for anti-monopoly approval to the Ministry of Commerce in December.

The offer price of HK$ 17.92 billion is the US beverage giant’s most aggressive move in China since the company started its operations in the country in 1979.

The transaction has been closely monitored in China as the acquisition may have become the first major test case since the country’s anti-monopoly law took effect on August 1, 2008.

According to ACNielsen, Huiyuan controls over 40 percent of China’s pure juice market. Analysts say that as a long-established juice brand in China, Huiyuan is highly complementary to the Coca-Cola China business. They believe that since Coca-Cola dominates the Chinese diluted-juice market, it hopes to make inroads into the pure-juice sector.

Eight pandas which moved to Bejing after an earthquake badly damaged the Wolong center last may will soon leave Beijing to reture home. Panda keepers from Wolong Giant Panda Protection and Research Center have arrived in Beijing to take the bears home.

The eight pandas have been in Beijing for almost a year and have attracted a lot of attention. Some panda fans rushed to take photos with the bears after finding out they will soon leave the zoo. They will go back to the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in Wolong on March the 22nd.

They are the first batch of pandas that were transferred from the quake-hit area to Beijing. The pandas’ keepers say their temporary home in the capital gave them an opportunity to recover from the trauma they suffered after the deadly earthquake.

-Sake
Located in an elegantly converted Buddhist temple, this restaurant serves tasteful, interesting dishes such as “Under the Bodhi Tree,” a veggie platter with a sweet bean paste dipping sauce; “Bitter Mouth, Grandmother’s Heart,” rings of bitter melon filled with pumpkin puree; and “Lingering Aftertaste,” a vegan version of mala beef jerky.
Daily 10am-10pm. 10-16 Heiyaochang Jie (inside Sansheng Nunnery), Xuanwu District (6354 2889/ 6155) 菩提缘, 宣武区黑窑厂街10-16号(三圣庵内)

Lily Vegetarian
Since Lily does not follow monastic traditions, diners are not forbidden the pungency of onion and garlic in these pleasant restaurants. Try the suchang “sausage”; baochao sanding, a stir-fry of diced carrots, “meat” and cashews; jiangxiang candou, a stir-fry of lima beans with minced “meat”; and qianceng bing, layered pancake with thyme. Don’t miss the hot plum tea.
Daily 10am-10pm. 1) 23A Caoyuan Hutong, Dongzhimennei Beixiaojie, Dongcheng District (6405 2082); 2) South gate of Yiheyuan (Xinjian Gongmen), Haidian District (6287 8726) 百合素食, 1) 东城区东直门内北小街 草园胡同甲23号; 2) 海淀区颐和园南门(新建宫门)

Still Thoughts Vegetarian Restaurant
A simple hutong restaurant that produces many creatively meatless dishes, including tofu on a hot iron plate; mixed vegetable pot; mini egg rolls, and tongzi baoxiao, a cold appetizer made from pressed tofu sheets served with a sesame dipping sauce. There’s also a vegetarian “Peking duck.”
Daily 10am-10pm. 18A Dafosi Dongjie (near the mouth of Yuqun Hutong, north of Qianliang Hutong), Dongcheng District (6400 8941) 静思素食坊, 东城区大佛寺东街甲18号(美术馆东街三联书店北,钱粮胡同北边小区)

Tianchu Miaoxiang
The extensive selection of Chinese dishes includes suzhong sanwei, a “three flavor” combination of sausage, fish and duck that typifies Buddhist mock meat cuisine. Another is heijiao niuliu, a “beef” fillet sauteed with green and red peppers in a black pepper sauce. Vegetarian pizza and pasta made from beancurd, gluten, and mushrooms also available.
Daily 11am-10pm. 1/F, Chuangye Dasha (East gate of Tsinghua University), Haidian District (6279 7078)天厨妙香素食, 海淀区创业大厦1层(清华大学东门)

Xu Xiang Zhai
Located near the Confucius and Lama Temples, Xu Xiang Zhai offers a broad-ranging vegetarian buffet featuring mock meats, tofu, vegetables, sushi, soups, porridge, fresh fruits and dessert. A la carte is available as well, but the buffet is great value at just RMB 58 per person.
Daily 10am-9pm. 26-1 Guozijian Dajie, Dongcheng District (6404 6566) 叙香斋素食, 东城区国子监大街26-1

China launched a website here Saturday to offer guidance on parenting and serve as a platform for parents across the country to share parenting experiences through blogs and online forums.

The Society said at the launch ceremony that it has hired 50 Chinese experts on education, psychology, nutritional health, juvenile delinquency prevention, to research into parenting and offer consultations online.

Mostly with only one child, Chinese parents now pay more attention to parenting guidance offered by professionals rather than holding on to experiences from older generations.

The website would also update parents on the latest events related to parenting, according to the Society.

The website, www.chinajtjy.org.cn, is affiliated to the China Family Education Society of the All-China Women’s Federation.

Consumers across China will soon need to dial just one number to have their grievances addressed, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) has said.

The new number, 12315, refers to March 15, World Consumer Rights Day.

Local authorities should also enable 12315 to publish text messages to consumers, leading to a shift of focus from mediation to prevention, he said.

The 12315 short messaging service was first launched by Hefei, Anhui province. The idea caught on across the nation, with different numbers being used in different cities.

The bureau said it was keen to build a video information platform in suitable venues such as supermarkets and department stores, so that 12315 center can provide real time legal advice.

Moreover, the bureau expects the new 12315 service to attempt more interactive co-operation with local government, public security bureau, quality control administration of commodity prices and health bureau, in a bid to share information, inter-transfer cases, and combine executive efforts.

In a joint poll by Sina.com and Beijing News, 2,437 people were asked what the biggest stumbling block was in the way of protecting consumers’ rights; to which 60.1 percent said the process was hideous and complex, 51.3 percent said the cost was too high.

“The future amendment of consumers’ rights protection should establish an adequate compensation system,” said Wu Gaohan, deputy secretary-general of the China Consumers’ Association (CCA), referring directly to the problem of legal costs overshooting the money received as compensation.

The poll also shows that 58.2 percent people are disappointed with the inadequate achievement of consumer rights protection agencies, 41.3 percent think there aren’t enough conduits to lodge a complaint.

Statistics from CCA showed that the consumer goods attracting the highest number of complaints last year were mobile phones (69,050 cases), garments (35,651 cases) and shoes (35,374 cases).

The first floor of the department store selling foreign trade products as part of the exhibition in Beijing was bustling with people on Friday looking for deals at the various counters selling textiles, porcelain, bags, photo frames etc.

And for those who did buy something it was worth it. Many like Zeng queued up for nearly half an hour to buy a yogurt maker.

Others like Gao and his wife bought electronic watches for 60 yuan last week and intended to buy another one this week. “The export goods are of good quality, and not that expensive,” said Gao. He commuted one and a half hours by bus from southern Beijing, to the Jinyuan New Yansha Mall, where the export fair is being held.

The fair is the second stage of the month-long foreign goods trade fair being organized by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce to introduce export-oriented producers to the domestic market. The first stage opened last week, and revenue on the first day itself was more than 100,000 yuan, said a report from Reference News.

A salesman who declined to be named said producers of export-oriented products should have a clear understanding of domestic sales channels, but some foreign trade companies still lack experience in this area, including after-sales service and logistics.

The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce is considering introducing more fairs like this, said Chen Zexing, deputy director of the bureau

Liu Xiang (R) attends a group discussion during the ongoing National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing on Wednesday.

Although he was elected as a member of the CPPCC last year, it is Liu’s debut at the conference – albeit one week late because he just flew back from Huston after three months because of surgery and rehabilitation in the United States due to a foot injury.

Surrounded by the expectant media outside the meeting hall where members of the sports field would join in a group discussion, the former Olympic champion and world record holder said he was a bit of nervous as a newcomer to the conference.