Needy Freshmen to Get Loans
The Guangdong Education Department revealed this morning (Aug 10th) that for the past few years universities in Guangdong have approved of over 500 million Yuan worth of national student loans to students with financial difficulties. This year, 131 university freshmen have applied for the loan and the education department has asked universities to continue to help needy students apply for loans.

China to Have Female Astronauts
The China Astronaut Research and Training Center has revealed that at the moment China is recruiting her second batch of astronauts and there is expected to be female astronauts. According to Yang Liwei, China's first astronaut to travel in space, there have been changes to the recruiting standards and now the maximum height limit is 1.75 meters instead of 1.72 meters.

photo from zhiyin.cn

House Prices Increase in July Across China
Statistics issued this morning (Aug 10th) by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Bureau of Statistics indicated that in July, the average price of houses in 70 large and middle-sized cities throughout the nation went up by 1% year-on-year and 0.9% compared to June. The increase in July was at a faster pace than in June, by 0.8%.

GZ Grand World Scenic Park Shut Down
The Guangzhou Grand World Scenic Park has been closed for "an indefinite period of time", after operating for almost 15 years, according to Guangzhou Daily. Statistics have shown that around 70% of all 2500 theme parks throughout China are not profiting and some nevertheless shut down. The Grand World Scenic Park in Tianhe takes up 480,000 square meters and used to showcase replica statues, terrains and gardens from different countries in the world.