A category 3.8 earthquake happened today April 25 at 4:07pm in Dongyuan County, City of Heyuan. The epicenter of the quake was 7,000 meter deep, and was strong enough that its tremors were felt in Guangzhou.

While we had earlier told you about the economic downturn suffered by hotel industry in Dongguan, it was reported that Dongguan’s contribution to the GDP has actually increased by 7.3 percent in the first quarter of this year to RMB 118.23 billion. I guess there’s nothing to do now but work?

The Guiyang-Guangzhou high-speed railway is scheduled to open at the end of this year. Expected to last a total time of six hours, trial runs on the Zhaoqing-Guangzhou section of the line is scheduled to begin on November 1.

A pilot program to introduce an immigration smart card will be available to Guangdong residents in May. The smart card will embedded with a microchip with the users personal information, and should cut down on processing times.

There’s a popular backlash going on against that one Chinese show that we had such high hopes for, A Bite of China. Netizens have been complaining that the tone of the show has shifted to contain more nationalistic sentiments, and has less to do with telling stories about cuisine than it does about propaganda. As well, this post helpfully points out that the first scene from the first show appears to be a shot-for-shot plagarism of a BBC documentary (see above).

Starting next week, 10 unmarked police cars will be joining the regular fleet of police cars in Shenzhen. Police will still be required to dress in police uniforms, though.

Guangzhou markets will be trying out a pilot program to sell frozen chicken meat. 82 markets and 894 stalls will be taking part in this flirtation with refrigeration.

On April 21, a man man blocked traffic on Baogang Boulevard in Zhuhai District, Guangzhou, and unsuccessfully tried to kidnap a child in broad daylight. Police say they think the suspect is “crazy”, and has scheduled him for testing.

7,301 Guangzhou children compete to win one of the 893 spots available for public kindergarten. And may the odds be ever in your favor.

As US fashion exports decrease by 4.1% in February, Dongguan textile makers are anticipating a slowdown in the oncoming year.

Four parcels of land with a total area of 74,300 square meters in the Qianhai Special Economic Zone in Guangzhou have been sold. The largest of these lots has been purchased by Tencent Holdings, who in turn are now accepting bidders to lease its future office space. Applicants must be listed internet companies that have made revenue of 40 billion yuan for the past year, so start counting your mao’s and fen’s.

Photo: Weibo, iFeng