The decline in the prices of commercial residential homes in China's 70 large and medium-sized cities stabilized on a month-on-month basis in September, according to official data released on Friday.
In the country's first-tier cities, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, new home prices edged down by 0.5 percent, compared with a 0.3-percent drop in the previous month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Second- and third-tier cities both registered declines of 0.7 percent month on month, with the former matching the decline from the previous month, while the latter improved from a 0.8-percent drop in August.
In September, prices of resale homes in first-tier cities fell by 1.2 percent month on month, with the decline widening by 0.3 percentage point compared to the previous month, the NBS said.
In the second- and the third-tier cities, resale home prices both fell by 0.9 percent month on month. In second-tier cities, the decline narrowed by 0.1 percentage point compared to the previous month, while in third-tier cities, the decline remained unchanged from the prior month.
China's home price decline stabilizes month on month in September: official data
China's home price decline stabilizes month on month in September: official data
The operational efficiency of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in south China's Guangdong Province has greatly improved following the launch of a new terminal and a new runway one month ago.
The airport officially put into operation its Terminal 3 and fifth runway on October 30, making it China's first civil airport to operate five commercial runways.
Terminal 3 features a range of self-service facilities, including check-in kiosks, automated baggage drop systems, and smart security screening equipment, which have greatly streamlined passenger processing.
Since its opening, five airlines have shifted their domestic operations to Terminal 3, which now handles an average of 158 flights and about 26,000 passengers daily.
"Compared with Terminal 1, both the number of staffed counters and self-service kiosks of Terminal 3 have increased significantly, greatly reducing the average check-in time for passengers. For domestic direct flights, the entire check-in process can be completed in a minimum of one minute," said Shi Mengyao, a staffer with the ground service department of the Guangdong branch of China Eastern Airlines.
Beyond efficiency improvements, the terminal also includes an observation deck that offers travelers panoramic views of the airfield.
"Since its opening, the observation deck attracts over 3,000 visitors per day on average, with total visits exceeding 100,000 to date," said Luo Li, deputy general manager of a terminal management company at Baiyun International Airport.
The airport's expansion also marks another step toward building a world-class airport cluster in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
"The airport's expansion not only consolidates the Greater Bay Area as an aviation hub connecting China with the world, but also helps lower logistics costs within the area, promote the free flow and efficient allocation of economic resources, and enhances the area's capacity for global resource allocation," said Li Jing, chief planner with the Guangdong Provincial Department of Transport.
New terminal, runway boost operational efficiency of airport in Guangzhou
