China's Xining steps up efforts to ensure rights, interests of people

Xining City in northwest China's Qinghai Province has stepped up efforts to advance institutional reform by adopting various measures to ensure the rights and interests of the people and improve their wellbeing.

As part of the efforts, local government and relevant departments have opened service hotline 12345 among other channels to make timely feedback and responses to suggestions and demand made by local people concerning problems directly impacting their personal interests and daily life.

For example, in order to solve the problems of the dirty environment and poor vendor management in Jianxin alley, the city's Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau has established a working group jointly with sub-district offices, municipal, industry and commerce departments to improve booth regulation, while enhancing sanitation work of the alley.

"The urban management commission takes the lead, joined by local district- and county-level governments, to take turns to carry out management work annually," said Fang Yibo, director of Xining Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau.

Since last year, local government has integrated multiple channels of functional departments for public feedback, and sorted out a number of "long-standing problems" to address.

Regarding the prominent problem of lack of bus stops, many local departments have worked together to adopt the "cruise bus" service, through which citizens are able to book buses online, and the background system will analyze the order database to produce new bus routes intelligently.

"The daily volume of orders for the 'cruise bus' service reaches more than 7,000. Some community complexes that are not covered by regular bus lines can be reached by the 'cruise buses'. Even residents living in alleys are also able to access the special buses." said Zhang Xiting, deputy Party secretary of the operation and command center with Xining Bus Group. In the first half of the year, the local government of Xining City accepted over 160,000 appeals from the public and solved 99.02 percent of them properly.

"In oder to eliminate bottlenecks and tackle difficulties in grassroots governance, we will act on people's needs, take more steps to deliver real benefits to the people to their satisfaction, and do everything within our capacity to resolve their most practical problems that are of the greatest and most direct concern," said Jiang Xiaodong, vice mayor of Xining City.

China's Xining steps up efforts to ensure rights, interests of people

The large number of tourists flocking to Urumqi City of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region during the ongoing Qingming Festival holiday have found themselves fascinated by creative local delicacies at a local grand bazaar.

Catering to the needs of increasing numbers of tourists visiting the region, vendors and shop owners at the Urumqi Grand Bazaar have developed creative specialty foods for tourists to savor the local delicacy over recent years.

It is a tradition for the Chinese people to return to their hometowns and pay respect to their ancestors and deceased family members on the Qingming Festival, a day for tomb sweeping which falls on April 4 this year.

During the three-day holiday that began on Friday, the Grand Bazaar was crowded with visitors eager to sample local delicacies including naan, a type of leavened flatbread and a staple food mainly for people of ethnic minority groups in the region. Various creative dishes featuring naan have emerged as must-try offerings for tourists.

One stall serves freshly brewed coffee into a "cup" made of naan, infusing the drink with a rich wheat flavor.

"The cup is edible, so I was intrigued and decided to give it a try. Both the coffee and the cup are surprisingly delicious," said a tourist.

The naan "cups" are also filled with sesame seeds and rose petals, then topped with local treats like milk tea, yogurt and ice cream.

Naan is also served fried with an array of seasonings and paired with Coke, capturing the attention of many tourists.

"The naan should have been fried and then added with seasonings. It is very delicious," said another tourist.

The creative ways of serving naan not only provides tourists with a fresh experience but also boosts consumption. On the first day of the holiday, the Grand Bazaar's pedestrian street received over 70,000 visits.

"As the most inclusive food in Xinjiang, naan can be paired with any of our delicacies. We are also exploring the idea of integrating naan with various specialty food of Xinjiang, such as dried and fresh fruits, to launch a series of products centered around naan," said Wang Fei, director of a naan theme pavilion at the Grand Bazaar.

Tourists fascinated by creative local delicacies at bazaar during holiday