The turret of the Palace Museum in Beijing is seen in a clear day on Nov 22, 2017. [Photo/IC] BEIJING - After five years fighting air pollution, Beijing and neighbors are finally breathing noticeably cleaner air, with sales of anti-smog mask down markedly. The average density of PM2.5 in Beijing was 58 micrograms per cubic meter last year, meeting the target and 20.5 percent less than in 2016, Liu Baoxian, deputy director of Beijing environmental protection monitoring center, told a press conference. Densities of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and PM10 also dropped by 20 percent, 4.2 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively. The 226 good air days in 2017 were 28 more than in 2016, while the number of heavy pollution days fell from 39 to 23. An air pollution plan issued by the State Council in September 2013 ordered Beijing to reduce its PM 2.5 density from 90 in 2013 to around 60 micrograms per cubic meter by the end of last year. Among pollution controls were demolition of coal-fired boilers and the phasing out vehicles with high emissions, according to Li Xiang, of Beijing bureau of environmental protection. Li said small coal-fired boilers had almost vanished, replaced by gas or electricity, and all districts in the city proper had stopped coal use. Since 2013, Beijing has shut down six cement plants and closed or upgraded nearly 2,000 companies in printing, casting, furniture manufacture and other sectors, she said. team bride wristbandssilicone bracelet makerdebossed wristbandcool wristbandsrubber arm bandscustom printed wristbandssilicone rubber bandsmotivational bracelets for athletes
Shi Yigong, the Future Science Prize laureate in life science. [Photo/VCG] The awarding ceremony of the second edition of the Future Science Prize, hailed as the Nobel Prize of China, was held in Beijing on Saturday. The Life Science Prize was awarded to Shi Yigong for his research on the structure of spliceosome, a substance which is crucial in gene expression. The Physical Science Prize was then awarded to Pan Jianwei. Pan was the lead scientist of world's first quantum satellite launched by China last year, which marked a step closer to the country's goal of building an unhackable global communications network. The Mathematics and Computer Science Prize was presented to Xu Chenyang for his contributions to birational algebraic geometry. Each of the laureates won $1 million. The Future Science Prize was initiated in 2016 by a group of entrepreneurs and scientists, with a view to honor outstanding scientists who research on basic science and its application. The founding of the awards is aimed at encouraging more young scientists to work out of their curiosity and be dedicated to fields which require long-term efforts, said Li Kai, a computer science professor from Princeton University and a member of the Future Science Prize Committee. Li added the research of the winners, which can be from any country, must be original, have global influence and long-term significance, and be completed in Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan. Pan Jianwei, the Future Science Prize laureate in physical science. [Photo/VCG] Xu Chenyang, the Future Science Prize laureate in mathematics and computer science. [Photo/VCG]
