The Growth of China's Economic Strength

A: Hello and welcome to Listeners' Garden here on China Radio International. I'm ZW sitting in for LPC.

B: And I'm DS. Thanks for joining us again.

A: CRI held a listeners' knowledge contest on southwestern China's Sichuan province late last year. The ten listeners who won the top prizes have just been invited on a free trip to China as promised.

B: Do you want to know what their trip was like? On today's show we'll continue to talk with American prize winner Andrew Peterson to hear about his tour in China.

A: If you missed the quiz, don't worry. Starting this week, CRI will launch a new global listeners' knowledge contest to mark the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. The top prize winners will also get an opportunity to visit China for free.

B: So if you hope to win this trip, find time to take part in the '60 Years of New China' knowledge contest.

A: The contest consists of five sections. Today we'll bring you the first part. Please stay tuned.

B: You are listening to Listeners' Garden. At the invitation of CRI, the ten top prize winners of the Sichuan Knowledge Contest took a free trip to China at the end of last month. Andrew Peterson from the United States was one of the lucky winners.

A: Andrew has been an avid listener of CRI for several years. He is interested in Chinese history, culture, music and food, and is always eager to learn more about the country through CRI broadcasts and websites.

B: Andrew is a frequent participant of CRI's knowledge contests, but this was the first time he had won a top prize and visited China.

A: Beijing was the first leg of the winners' China tour. They visited some of the best-known tourist destinations, such as the Great Wall, Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City.

B: A popular Chinese saying goes that one who has never been to the Great Wall can not be considered a true man. The winners were all glad at the chance to visit this wonderful Chinese landmark.

A: The Forbidden City is another must-see for visitors to Beijing. Andrew said he had seen the Forbidden City in many pictures and movies, but he felt only by standing in the place himself could he gain a real understanding of the amazing place.

B: After a tour of Beijing, the winners headed for Sichuan province, a place full of scenic attractions.

A: The giant panda is a national treasure of China. As you may know, Sichuan is the home of the giant pandas. Of course, the winners wouldn't miss the opportunity to meet this splendid animal in its natural habitat. They visited the Bifengxia Panda Base, the largest panda reserve in China, where they were fascinated by the cute and lovable creature.

B: Sichuan boasts a rich Buddhist culture. Mount Emei is one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains in China, and the 71-meter-tall Giant Buddha in Leshan is the largest Buddha in the world. The winners spent a pleasant day visiting the two sites.

A: The Mengding Mountain in Sichuan is known as the cradle of Chinese tea culture. After a sightseeing tour of the mountain landscape, the winners enjoyed a unique tea ceremony while sampling a cup of the local tea, which Andrew said was as subtle and complex as a good wine.

B: One week seemed too short for a tour of China, which offers so much to see and explore. But Andrew says he enjoyed his tour a lot and will always remember his days in China.

A: Now let's take a short break. Listeners' Garden will continue right after this.

A: Welcome back to Listeners Garden. I'm ZW.

B: And I'm DS. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Over the past six decades, China has had outstanding achievements in many aspects.

A: To help our listeners gain a better understanding of China's progress, CRI is now launching a global knowledge contest for the celebration of the 60th Anniversary of new China.

B: Starting this week on our show, we'll bring you five reports on China's development and changes over the past 60 years.

A: We will ask two questions for each report. You're invited to submit all ten answers to us by September 1, which is the deadline for taking part in the quiz.

B: Ten top prize winners will be selected, and as usual, they will win a free trip to China in October.

A: We will also present three other types of awards to participants. Each winner will receive a special gift from CRI.

B: If you want to win a free trip to China, you are welcome to take part in the new contest. We look forward to receiving your entries.

A: Now it's time for the first part of the knowledge contest. Today we'll take a look at the growth of China's economic strength in the last six decades. Here are the two questions for today's report:

B: Question No.1: In terms of its economic aggregate, in which place does China rank in the world?

And question No.2: In which city will the 2010 World Expo be held?

On August 8, 2008, the 29th Olympic Games opened its curtain in Beijing. Within 16 days, athletes from 204 countries and regions gathered in China to demonstrate their superb athletic ability as billions of people worldwide indulged themselves in the celebration of international sportsmanship and friendship.

As the excitement finally died down at the Bird's Nest stadium, China received rave reviews from the international community for having staged one of the most successful Olympic Games in history.

For the Chinese people, the 16 days of the Beijing Olympic Games were some of the most memorable moments in Chinese history. He Zhenliang, honorary president of the Chinese Olympic Committee, says that the 16 days realized a long cherished dream of the Chinese people.

"Holding the Olympic Games used to be a strong wish of the Chinese people, but it required great economic power to host such a grand international event. A few decades ago, when China was not as economically strong as today, the desire to host the Olympics was just a pipedream and was not realistic."

As He Zhenliang says, a strong economy is the basis for any nation to hold an Olympic Games. To prepare for the Beijing Olympics, China poured 310 billion yuan, or some 45 billion US dollars, to upgrade infrastructure and construct Olympic venues. Six decades ago, it would have been completely impossible for China to allocate such a huge amount of money for such an event.

In 1949, when the People's Republic of China was founded, the Chinese economy was on the verge of collapse as the result of long-time war. The per capita GDP was only 50 US dollars.

In the 1950s and 60s, China carried out many large-scale heavy-industry infrastructure construction projects, which laid a sound foundation for the economic growth of New China. But due to a low level of productivity in agriculture and light industry, the market supply of consumer goods was far from enough to meet the needs of the Chinese people. So the government had to issue ration coupons to balance supply and demand, and curb the shortages of food, clothing and other daily necessities.

Former Palestinian ambassador to China, Moustapha Saphariny, came to China for the first time in 1968. He recalled life in the country at that time. "When I first came to China, I was not accustomed to the winter here because it was bitterly cold. Today we can buy all kinds of warm winter clothes to keep the coldness away; but back in the 1960s and 70s, people in China had to use ration coupons to buy clothes. And in fact, they had to buy most of their every day goods with those coupons. "

Following the reform and opening up drive in the late 1970s, China achieved fast economic and social development. The market flourished, with an increasing quantity and diversity of commodities. During his many years living in China Moustapha Saphariny witnessed the tremendous changes that the Chinese people have experienced.

"Nowadays, all types of commodities from home and abroad are available in the Chinese market. When I go shopping, I'm often overwhelmed by the tremendous variety of goods to choose from. "

Statistics show that China's GDP has increased by more than 400 times compared with six decades ago, and the per capital GDP has exceeded 3000 US dollars. China now ranks fourth in the world in terms of aggregate economic volume.

As the Chinese market grows increasingly prosperous, so too do the lives of the Chinese people. Household electric appliances like TVs, refrigerators, washing machines and computers used to be regarded as the most luxurious assets a Chinese family could have, but today, they have become ordinary articles for the average Chinese household.

And with the improvement in living standards, an increasing number of people have realized their dream of owning a private car. But just a decade ago, having a car of one's own was still considered something unimaginable for the average person. 27-year-old Ma Yunliang bought a car a few weeks ago and is enjoying his new life of mobility. "It's so common to buy a car these days. My life has become easier with a car. I like driving with the family or friends for an outing on weekends and holidays."

With their bulging pockets, more and more people in China now enjoy traveling abroad in their spare time. Hao Xin is one of the travel fans. "I enjoy traveling abroad very much. I have toured many countries. In the past, I had no extra money for travel. Now I don't need to worry about money, the only problem is time. If I have time, I prefer to travel abroad every year."

China's growing national strength has enabled the country to host an increasing number of prestigious international events. Following the success of the Beijing Olympic Games, China will hold the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai from next May to October.

Yu Zhengsheng, director of the Shanghai World Expo Executive Committee, says that Shanghai has earmarked 20 billion yuan, or some three billion US dollars, for the construction of urban infrastructure and expo facilities. "Shanghai has invested heavily in upgrading its public transport infrastructure. Last year, the city had 200 kilometers of subway track opened to traffic, and the figure will increase to 400 kilometers by March next year. The city's urban infrastructure upgrades will not only improve the lives of the local people, but also act as a driving force to the economic growth of the Yangtze River Delta."

The official says preparations for the Shanghai World Expo are well underway, and China is determined to stage one of the best fairs in world expo history.

A: That was the first part of the knowledge contest marking the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China . We'll repeat the two questions one more time:

Question No.1: In terms of its economic aggregate, in which place does China rank in the world?

And question No.2: Which city will hold the 2010 World Expo?

B: You can send us your answers via email at crieng@cri.com.cn, or to the following postal address: English Service, China Radio International, Beijing, China. The post code is 100040.

A: And with that we end this edition of Listeners' Garden. I'm ZW, thanks for being with us.

B: And I'm DS. Bye for now.