Fuel Surcharge Reestablished
Beginning tomorrow (November 14), travelers will need to pay a fuel surcharge on all domestic flights. According to an announcement made by the National Development and Reform Commission, the surcharge will be reestablished and the fee shall be of 20 yuan for routes under 800 kilometers and 50 yuan for all journeys above that. The NDRC also announced they are thinking of a mechanism that would link fuel prices and fuel surcharges and which would later replace the current unified fees. Domestic airlines would be able to collect a surcharge when fuel prices reach 4,140 yuan per ton.

Foreign exchange Shops to debut in Guangdong
It will soon be much easier for people in Chinese Mainland to exchange currencies as the PRC will soon start to allow in some cities currency exchange businesses. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange announced that individuals will soon find exchanging money much easier than previously. 17 provinces and cities including Guangdong and Shenzhen have been chosen to test run this policy. Experts predict that foreign exchange counters will soon appear in Guangdong in the same way as they do in most of the cities across the globe.

China not to let yuan gain in short term: experts
China shall not let the yuan gain against the US dollar in the short term, that¡¯s what experts in Beijing said on Thursday when commenting on the latest quarterly report by China's central bank, that¡¯s the People's Bank of China. The PBOC said Wednesday in its quarterly report on monetary policies that for the first time, that the bank would improve the mechanism determining exchange rates "based on the flow of international capital and movements in major currencies". Tan Yaling, an expert from the China Institute for Financial Derivatives at Peking University, said ¡°The new wording shows that China will reduce speculation and strengthen risk control in the future, but it did not necessarily suggest a change in the Yuan¡¯s exchange rate policy."

13 killed as bus falls into sea in E. China
Thirteen Guangdong tourists died Thursday after the tour bus they were on plunged into the sea in east China's Shandong Province. Further information now informs us that no elderly people or children were amongst the dead. The victims, in their forties, are all employees of the same company. Our journalist, Liang Chunmei, has the details:
The deputy-director of the travel agency that organized the tour, Guangzhou Phoenix Travel Company, Yuan Jingling, said the tour set out on Tuesday, so the accident had happened on the 3rd day of their journey. The bus they were on was operated by their long-term partner in Shandong. Yuan reveal that:
[record] this morning at about 10, our managers, as well as the directors of the government tourism authorities and the families of the victims boarded the earliest flight to Weihai
Phoenix Travel Company has 11 years experience, mainly organizing corporate travel tour. For now, Yuan has refused to reveal the name of the company involved.

Large Concert Opens 2009 Tourism Festival
Tonight (November 13), a huge concert will mark the opening of the 2009 Guangdong International Tourism and Culture Festival. Featuring a number of surprise celebrities, the show shall be staged in the big stadium in University City. The festival will last from November 13th to 19th, during which the Pan-PRD Tourism Promotion Convention will also be held in which attendants will be able to find a great number of cheap tour packages.

Vice-President Attends UCLG & Sister Cities Conference
Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping, addressed the attendants of the 2009 United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) world council meetings and the International Sister Cities Conference, during the grand opening ceremony this morning (November 13). He said the two conferences, which main theme is ¡°Cities: Approach to global financial crises¡± correctly appraises the situation. He also recommended three important steps cities and local government from around the world should take to face the global economic downturn.

New Cold Front Hits Guangdong Next Monday
The cold weather we are currently experiencing in Guangdong will cease over the weekend, but only to return much stronger on Monday bringing with it more rain.