Local authorities along the coast in east China's Zhejiang Province are getting prepared for the approaching Typhoon Bebinca.
The National Meteorological Center (NMC) has upgraded its typhoon warning to the yellow or third class, saying that the eye of Bebinca, classified as a strong tropical storm, was located in the northwest Pacific Ocean about 1,090 kilometers southeast of Zhoushan City of Zhejiang, at 05:00 on Saturday.
Bebinca will move northwest at around 30 to 35 kilometers per hour, gradually intensifying, and is expected to make landfall from Taizhou of Zhejiang to Qidong of Jiangsu Province in the early morning of Monday, the NMC said.
The authority warned that affected by the typhoon, there will be heavy rains in southeast Zhejiang, east Fujian, and some areas of Taiwan island from 08:00 Saturday until 08:00 Sunday.
As a precaution against typhoon Bebinca, fishery officers in Fenghua District of Zhejiang's Ningbo City checked the safety of boats parked at docks on Friday.
"We are to patrol the anchorages and dissuade fishermen from working at sea. We are also to check if there are any risks such as dragging anchor. In case there's something wrong, we will contact special operators to handle it in advance," said Lin Haoyong, a staff member at the fishing vessel management service station of Tongzhao Village.
Many fishing boats that were originally moored along the pier have left the dock and anchored at designated anchorages.
In Wenling, a county-level city administered by Taizhou, a number of construction projects have taken measures to cope with the possible rains and winds brought by the typhoon.
At a seaside resort construction site, the contractor said they will remove some protective nets with large wind surfaces, transfer them to safe areas and bundle them together, and take measures to protect the tower crane.
More than ten of the 259 construction sites in Wenling City are by the sea. Their contractors are closely following the track of the typhoon and get prepared for it.
Authorities in Taizhou City have also suspended the operation of some island resorts and passenger ships since Friday afternoon, with tourists being moved to safe places.
Zhejiang prepares for typhoon Bebinca
China's top housing authority has noted "overall positive changes" in the real estate market, as homebuyer confidence was revived by a series of beneficial measures announced by major Chinese cities since September to boost the country's property markets.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said most cities have seen a rise in visits to property projects by over 50 percent from a year ago.
Thanks to new policy adjustments on Sept 30, both transaction volume and inquiries for second-hand homes in Beijing increased notably during the week-long National Day holiday, which runs from Oct 1 to 7.
"On Oct 1, four orders were signed at our store and on Oct 2, one order was signed, bringing the total number to five. This marks a historical peak in our transaction records," said Liu Qiujing, a house agent at Huilongguan sub-branch of Lianjia Real Estate Brokerage in Beijing.
She also reported that property viewings at her store stood at 39 groups during the holiday, an increase of 15 groups over the previous week.
According to a circular jointly issued by six municipal departments on Sept 30, non-Beijing residents are allowed to purchase homes inside the city's fifth ring road if they have a record of paying social insurance or individual income tax in the city for at least three years - down from five years as was previously required.
The new policies which took effect on Oct 1 also lift the housing purchase restrictions in Tongzhou District, where the Beijing Municipal Administrative Center is located, to allow the district's homebuying rules to comply with the city's unified property market policy.
Under the new rules, homebuyers face less financial pressure, as the minimum down payment ratio for individual commercial mortgages are reduced from 20 percent to 15 percent for first-home purchases, and from 30 percent to 20 percent for second homes.
"Following the introduction of the new regulations, buyers have shown a stronger willingness to purchase properties, acquiring them more swiftly. Clients with rigid demand for residential housing are swiftly entering the market. From the perspective of homebuyers, their confidence has significantly increased," said Liu.
Between Oct 1 and noon of Oct 3, on-site inquiries for second-hand homes in Beijing jumped by 104.1 percent year on year, according to a report on the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.
China's housing market sees positive changes following eased homebuying rules
