Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.

Coming up on the program this evening...

A large-scale rehearsal for the upcoming military parade in Beijing saw thousands of troops and hundreds of military vehicles in the capital...

an update on the progress being made in the effort to integrate Beijing with Tianjin and Hebei Province...

Typhoon Swan is expected to pick up strength before reaching the coast of eastern China...

In the 2nd half of the hour, we'll bring you some of the science & technology stories that have made headlines over the past week.

In Sports...the IAAF World Championships at the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing...

And in Entertainment...a Chinese author wins the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel...

All of that coming up in the next hour, but first, just a reminder there are several ways to reach out to us here on the Beijing Hour.

You can follow us on our weibo account at weibo.com/beijinghour.

We're also on WeChat. Type in "Beijing Hour" to find us.

Email us directly at [email protected].

You can also visit crienglish.com for the latest news and information from China Radio International.

Top NewsChina rehearses V-Day paradeAnchor:

A large-scale rehearsal for the Sept. 3 military parade was held from Saturday evening to Sunday morning in Beijing's Tian'anmen Square and along Chang'an Avenue.

CRI's Min Rui has more.

Reporter:

More than 10,000 soldiers from the Chinese armed forces, WWII veterans, 500 military vehicles and about 200 aircraft participated in the rehearsal that started on Saturday night.

The parade will commemorates the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the allied victory in World War II.

Liu Shixu, chief training coach of the parade, says the event marks China's increasing confidence to demonstrate its military modernization and its determination to safeguard the peace.

"We hope to send our message through the media on this parade: China will unswervingly pursue the road of peaceful development, and is determined to maintain world peace."It's been reported that governments from Asia, Europe, Africa, Oceania and the Americas will take part in the event.

Leaders of all member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization have confirmed their attendance.

Military delegations from more than ten countries, including Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, took part in the rehearsal Sunday morning.

It's the first time China has invited foreign troops to participate in a military parade.

Meanwhile, female soldiers participated in the honor guard formation --- also a first for China.

Femalea honor guard Zhao Ying says her group is fully prepared.

"Female soldiers can meet all the strict standards required for marching formations. Although our physical strength cannot compare with that of male soldiers, we, as honor guards, have fully adapted to the pace since we started training last year."All soldiers will march at a rate of precisely 112 steps per minute, with a length of 75 centimeter for each step.

The parade will be carried out with 11 foot phalanxes, 27 armament phalanxes, and ten echelon formations of aircraft.

Two teams of war veterans were also included in the lineup, consisting of members of both the Communist Party and of the Kuomintang, with the oldest soldier being 102 years old.

The rehearsal was held during the weekend in order to minimize the effects on people's lives in the capital.

Beijing maintained normal operations during the rehearsal, and residents showed enthusiastic support for it.

For CRI, I'm Min Rui.

Beijing decorated with flower beds to commemorate V-dayBeijing has been decorated with flower beds in many public locations for the V-day parade and other related celebrations.

At the Beijing Zoo, a themed flower bed called "depicting the future" shows a girl taking a brush to paint a rainbow, as an expression of hope for world peace.

Zhao Shiwei, director of the Beijing Zoo, says an array of Chinese rose flowers representing peace is being used as the main flower in this display.

"The Chinese rose flowers got its name of 'peace' on the day that the allied forces captured the city of Berlin during World War II. Meanwhile, the 'peace' rose got the gold award at the American Rose Society on the day when Japan surrendered, so it has a quite special significance to put the flower as the main flower of the display."A flower bed in shape of fire phoenix is being displayed at the gate of the Temple of Heaven park, symbolizing the strong will of the Chinese people in their fight against Japanese aggression and shows admiration to martyrs.

Similar themed flower beds can also be seen in other parks in Beijing.

Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei development to see marked progressThe integration of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei province continues to make progress.

A series of goals spanning the next 15 years aim to improve the economic structure across the mega-region, while at the same time improving the environment and improving public services.

In the time since the plan was first announced, that has meant transferring non-essential functions of Beijing, as the capital city, into neighbouring areas.

Tianjin municipality is to be turned into a national research and development base for advanced manufacturing, and a shipping hub for northern China.

Hebei province will be made into a national base for trade and logistics, and an experimental area for industrial transition and upgrading.

The medium-term goal of the project will see Beijing's population capped at 23 million people by 2020, and to relieve "urban illness" in the capital - issues like pollution and traffic congestion.

China releases organ donation guidelineThe first national guideline on organ donation in China has been published.

The guideline includes ethics, standards to judge death, and standards on extraction and distribution of organs.

It is meant to help eliminate the public's misunderstanding and bias of donating organs after death.

The country began a voluntary organ donation trial in 2010 and promoted the practice across the country in 2013.

China banned the use of prisoners' organs for the purpose of transplants at the beginning of the year, making citizen donations the only legitimate channel.

The country is now number-one in Asia in terms of the number of organ donations.

As of Aug. 19 this year, China has seen 4,737 voluntary organ donations, with 12,748 large organs acquired.

Chinese Embassy officials mourn Chinese victims in Bangkok blastToday marks one week since the deadly bombing that ripped through the Erawan Shrine in downtown Bangkok, Thailand.

Several officials of the Chinese Embassy gathered at the accident site this morning to pay tribute to the victims.

Among the twenty killed, seven were Chinese, with five of them from the mainland and two from Hong KongWu Zhiwu with the Chinese Embassy of Thailand says he wanted to show his appreciation for the help the embassy received after the tragedy.

"We come to express grief on the first seventh day following the deaths of the victims, according to our Chinese tradition. We also want to convey deep sympathies to the families of the victims all over the world. In the past seven days, we offered help to the victims, the injured and their families, in accordance with the unified arrangements of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We also received much support from the Thai government."Many Thai citizens and tourists also attended the ceremony.

The hunt is continuing for the bomber who carried out this act of terrorism.

China Unveils Top 500 Enterprises ListChinese oil giant Sinopec Group ranks first among Chinese enterprises this year.

China Enterprise Confederation has just released the 2015 edition of its Top 500 companies.

Following Sinopec is China National Petroleum Corporation. State Grid, China's largest electric utilities company, ranks third.

Li Mingxing, deputy director-general of the confederation, says though the number of state-owned enterprises is decreasing, their influence is still strong.

Their coverage, influence, dominance, risk-managing ability and their competitiveness are strengthening. So their status and role in the national economy have not been reduced."The report also shows a decline in both the number and profit of manufacturing companies, signifying that China is pushing forward in its economic restructuring.

Yang Du with Renmin University, explains.

"In the past, we focused on selling our products. But in the future, we can sell equipment and technology. In this way, we can push forward internationalization. I think it is a way out to raise the profits of the manufacturing industry,"207 private enterprises are on the list, up by seven over last year.

Experts say the gap between private and state-owned enterprises remains big, but private enterprises have become an important driving force of the national economy.

Lock-up shares worth 62 bln yuan to become tradableLock-up shares worth around 62 billion yuan, or 9.7 billion U.S. dollars, will become eligible for trade on China's two stock markets in the coming week.

Major shareholders in China must hold non-tradeable shares for one or two years, by law, before those stocks can begin trading in the markets.

According to Southwest Securities, Bank of Communications will see shares worth around 40 billion yuan become tradable on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Monday, the largest amount to hit the market next week.

China's stock markets have continued to decline, beset by shrinking turnover and greater volatility.

The key Shanghai composite index plunged 4.3 percent on Friday following the release of weak economic data.

It has declined more than 30 percent from its June peak, wiping out most of this year's gains.

Typhoon Swan approaches east China coasts with renewed strengthTyphoon Swan, the 15th of the year, weakened this morning, but is forecast to gain strength again and hit eastern China later today.

The Meteorological Station in Fujian Province issued a yellow alert this morning and warnings of heavy rainstorms.

It also says the typhoon is moving northward and is expected to land in northeast China in five days.

Zhejiang Province has also warned of strong wind and heaving rainfall, as some of the local water reservoirs have surpassed flood control level.

20,000 ships in Zhejiang, affected by the typhoon, have been ordered back to port.

The National Meteorological Center advises ships and boats in the affected regions to seek shelter in harbors.

New bridge built to help southwest China township to deal with deadly floods, landslidesA steel bridge has been built to replace the stone bridge that was destroyed by rain-triggered landslides in Baila Miao Township in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The bridge was built to make it easier for rescuers to access disaster zones and deliver relief supplies to victims.

Cao Zhen, deputy head of an engineer corps unit, described the damage made by the landslides.

"After four days and nights, the 12-kilometer-long road which was cut off has been cleared and repaired. Our equipment and relief supplies can now be sent to the severely damaged Gaofeng Village."260 households in the village have already had their electricity reconnected, with another 640 households expecting to have power within a week.

The landslide was caused by the heavy rain on Aug. 16 and 17. Flooding and landslides killed 14 people and 10 others are missing.

Overseas summer camps become increasingly popular among young Chinese studentsAnchor:

More and more young Chinese students are now spending their summer vacation abroad, living and learning at prestigious universities like Cambridge in the United Kingdom, to get some experience of the outside world.

CRI's Victor Ning has more.

Reporter:

According to data from the UK government, Chinese students have become the UK's top source of international students over the past six years, accounting for 15 percent of the total. Moreover, Chinese students tend to go to the UK at a younger age than other international students.

Chen Jing, a staffer with the Cambridge Center for Language, says she has noticed how demographics at the school have changed over the last decade.

"it's normal for her to receive 400 to 500 students every year now despite the high cost for the study tour, while the first group of Chinese students that she received in 1997 only had 70 members."Alan Macfarlane, a fellow of the British Academy, says the trend is related to the growth of Chinese economy and also to what Chinese parents want for their child.

"Well, I think the summer course is a reflection of several things. One is that many Chinese parents are in competition with each other, so if there is one Chinese child going abroad for this and they'll send their children too. The second thing is that they are aware that they live in a global world so they know that their children should get some experience of the outside world if they are going to compete with people from other countries. And thirdly they love their children and they want them to have fun."But Macfarlane says the difference between Chinese and Western perceptions on education can make for a tough adjustment for Chinese students when they are first involved in Western education.

"Education means something typically different in China than it does in the West. In the West, it means going away from home, becoming a member of society, becoming independent and becoming an individual. Whereas in China, it means learning facts, remaining close to your family and never breaking so it is totally psychologically a different experience. So it is very important that Chinese parents should learn about is what western education involves before they make that choice"According to official data, there are over ten thousands Chinese students going to Britain and studying for periods of around 2 weeks to a month. The expense is about 10,000 yuan per week for each student.

However, parents should be cautious about the school's qualification.

Chen Jing says parents should check with the list recognized by the British Council when they choose schools.

"I think it is important to check with the school list that is recognized by British Council for parents who want to send their kids to Britain for studying. And they can complain to the court if they find problems with the school on the British Council list. Otherwise, they got nowhere to complain if the school itself is illegal.

According to the data from Higher Education Statistics Agency, the number of Chinese oversea students in Britain reached 88,000, a gain of 5% over 2013.

For CRI, I'm Victor NingGuardian of Wildlife in Northern TibetAnchor:

The Tibetan antelope, or chiru, is well-known for its exceptionally fine fur. The species was driven to the brink of extinction years ago, but the animals are now making a comeback thanks to people who have dedicated their lives to safeguarding the breed.

CRI's Liu Xiangwei has more.

Reporter:

Changtang, which means "northern wilderness" in Tibetan, is a vast, desolate highland stretching across Tibet Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province. Due to its high elevation, even in the summer, the weather here is harsh and windy.

Once a veterinarian, Gagya Darma has been a mountain patrol for the past 15 years. A motorcycle, a telescope, a bedding roll, plus a bag of rations for one-day journey, are his daily outfits.

"The size of my patrol area is around four hundred square kilometers, which equals with two Tibetan counties. Since many people live nearby, I need to remain vigilant all the time. "The area that Gagya Darma cruises around belongs to Changtang National Nature Reserve. Established in 1990s, it is the world's second largest nature reserve as well as the habitat for many endangered species. Thus keeping an eye on local fauna is a patrol's priority.

"Chirus could be found quite frequently. Particularly in October and November, I could walk a little bit closer without disturbing them. But around this time of the year, female chirus just have their calves. If we go any further, it would be really dangerous for the young cubs, since mother chirus will lead them to run without stop. "Since Changtang is one of the five major pastoral regions in China, pastures overlap with the reserve. Here, human, livestock and wildlife are drawn together in close-knit ways. How to balance their relationship has become Gagya Darma's biggest concern.

"Herdsmen prefer to fence their pastures by wire, which may result in the imprisonment of wild animals. If that occurs, I need to teach herders how to release them. In normal circumstance, the grassland is a mix of livestock and wildlife. But coming to the mating and breeding seasons, chirus will require larger meadows to survive. I have to restrict grazing."In Gagya Darma's Tibetan-styled house, three posters on the wall are most eye-catching. Each of them is painted with the pictures of different wild animals and their names. Although the head of this household is not very talkative, he is willing to show his fervent love towards wildlife through actions.

"I can't leave those animals behind. As long as I am fit, I won't retire. I have a son. Hopefully, he could become a patrol one day."According to Nukhyung, head of Nyima County Forestry Police Bureau, the local government has recruited over 130 patrols from local herdsmen so far. This year, the quota will increase to over 200 and more conservation stations will be built.

That is CRI's Liu Xiangwei reporting.

Americans Hailed as Heroes as Investigations Identify Gunman on French TrainThree Americans who helped to subdue a gunman on a Paris-bound train on Friday have been celebrated as heroes while investigators have verified the identity of the attacker.

On Saturday, Spencer Stone, an Air Force serviceman, Alek Skarlatos, a US National Guard, and Anthony Sadler, a college student, all received a call from US President Barack Obama, who praised their courage.

Stone, who suffered injuries during his confrontations with the attacker, was released from hospital on Saturday.

When asked about the episode, Brian Stone, father of Spencer Stone, said he was glad his son made a difference.

"I think it's consistent with my older son and Spencer's attitude towards life, so I am just glad that they quickly took action and I think that probably made the difference. I think this person was probably startled, that he had the 6 foot 4, 220 pound kid running into you and running after you so he was probably startled even though he was doing something very evil, Spencer probably caught him off guard and was able to tackle him and helped getting the guns away from him. "Meanwhile, investigators have identified the gunman as 26-year-old Moroccan Ayoub El-Khazzani. He had previously been watched by European authorities as a suspected Islamist militant. He has been transferred to the Paris region by French authorities.

British passenger Chris Norman was also among those who helped to subdue the gunman.

E-cigarettes 95% Less Harmful Than Tobacco: UK StudyAnchor:

A UK study says electronic cigarettes are around 95 percent less harmful than tobacco and should be promoted as a tool to help smokers quit.

CRI's Wang Jing reports.

Reporter:

E-cigarettes, tobacco-free devices people use to inhale nicotine-laced vapor, have surged in popularity around the world.

But health organizations have so far been wary of advocating them as a safer alternative to tobacco and some governments have tried to introduce bills to regulate use of the devices more strictly.

Professor Kevin Fenton from Public Health England, which carried out the study, says e-cigarettes carry only a 'fraction' of the harm associated with conventional smoking.

He also says experts will continue to gather evidence in order to understand the longer term impact of e-cigarette use.

"Now, as time progresses we're going to accumulate more evidence and more data both on the use of e-cigarettes and their impacts. So we'll be able to update our estimates in terms of the long term use. But for the short and medium term as an aid to help people to quit, we certainly want to see more people embarking on that journey."Passive inhalation from an e-cigarette was also found to be much less harmful.

The publicly-funded study goes against a 2014 report by the World Health Organization that called for stiff regulation of e-cigarettes and bans on their indoor use and sales to minors.

Professor Ann McNeil, who helped author the study, advocates the use of e-cigarettes as a means of quitting smoking.

"We haven't seen any health risks yet, there are some possible ones if they use them for long term, so what we're encouraging cigarette smokers to do is if they've tried other things to stop and haven't succeeded, try e-cigarettes."E-cigarettes have already become the most popular quitting aids in Britain and the United States.

The Public Health England study says the vaporizers could provide a cheap way to reduce smoking in deprived areas where there remains a high proportion of smokers.

However, on the streets of London, not all smokers were keen on the idea of switching to e-cigarettes.

"You know, I prefer the real thing and I'm happy with it. I know I ought to give up, but it's one thing knowing and another thing doing."Almost all of the 2.6 million adults using e-cigarettes in Britain are current or ex-smokers who are using the devices to help them quit and only 2 percent of young people are regular users.

A number of tobacco companies have viewed e-cigarettes as a solution to declining sales in Britain and the United States and have bought makers of the metal devices.

For CRI, I'm Wang JingMahmoud Abbas Resigns as Head of Palestine Liberation OrganizationPalestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has resigned as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

An official with the party says nine other executive committee members of the organization also tendered resignations on Saturday.

The resignations came as a measure to force the Palestinian National Council to convene. The Palestinian Liberation Organization is the highest decision-making body of the Palestinian National Council, which serves as the Palestinian parliament with 740 members.

The parliament held its last meeting in 1996.

Mahmoud Ismail, one of the resigned members, told Xinhua that according to law, the PNC speaker has been notified of the resignations and now must call for the parliament to convene within 30 days.

Before his resignation, Abbas removed Yasser Abed Rabbo, a key PLO member, as secretary general and replaced him with Saeb Erekat.

Erekat says a series of issues "including the internal Palestinian situation" will be debated at the upcoming meeting.

It was not immediately clear why Abed Rabbo, a veteran PLO figure, had been sidelined.

Giant Panda Gives Birth to Cubs at US National ZooGiant panda Mei Xiang at the US National Zoo in Washington DC gave birth to a pair of cubs on Saturday.

The cubs arrived 4 and a half hours apart and appear to be healthy.

The zoo says it is being very cautious, as a six-day-old cub passed away at the facility back in 2012.

Mei Xiang has two surviving offspring already - Tai Shan, born in 2005, and Bao Bao, born in 2013.

Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated in April with frozen sperm from Hui Hui, a panda in China, and fresh sperm from the National Zoo's Tian Tian.

The National Zoo says the gender of the cubs will be determined later. No decision had been made about naming the cubs.

With a very low reproductive rate, particularly in captivity, the giant pandas' natural habitat consists of a few mountain ranges in central China.

There are about 1,600 giant pandas known to be living in the wild and around 300 in captivity, mostly in China.

Washington State Enlists Volunteers in FirefightingAs wildfires rage on in Washington State on the US west coast, state officials have begun enlisting volunteers to fight the blazes.

Joe Smillie, spokesman for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, says the measure is unprecedented.

"This is the first time in state history we've ever made this call for volunteers and it's because we've got fires burning in every corner of the state. We've had crews out all over for a couple of months now fighting wildfires as they start. We've had more starts than we've ever seen, and we just need that extra help."Smillie adds the volunteers will not be fighting the flames directly; instead, they will help to build contingency lines to help contain the fires.

About 50 people were being trained on Saturday in the city of Omak.

The state will pay the volunteers, who are mostly loggers and farmers, and who have their own equipment.

Jack Cutchie, a logger who is volunteering, says he can use the money because the fires have put him out of work.

"Get my butt back to work, help out, get my equipment back working, my employees back working. I've got seven, eight guys out of work, so yeah, we've got to get back to work."Wildfires in the western US this year have collectively charred more than 405,000 hectares of landscape. More than 30,000 firefighters and support personnel are attacking these blazes.

WeatherBeijing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 20, tomorrow will be overcast with a high of 29.

Shanghai will rainy tonight with a low of 23, also rainy tomorrow, high of 26.

Chongqing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 24, also cloudy tomorrow with a high of 31.

Lhasa will have slight rain tonight with a low of 9, tomorrow will have shower with a high of 20.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad will have slight rain tomorrow with a high of 34.

Kabul, rainy, 27.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, rainy, high of 17,Brisbane, cloudy,24,Perth, sunny, 17,And finally Auckland, New Zealand will be overcast with a high of 17 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsChina rehearses V-Day paradeChina has held a large-scale rehearsal for the Sept. 3 military parade in Tian'anmen Square and along the Chang'an Avenue in downtown Beijing.

More than 10,000 servicemen and servicewomen, about 500 military vehicles and nearly 200 aircraft attended the rehearsal.

All formations, including foreign troops and World War II veterans, were present while about 35,000 guests observed the parade.

The upcoming parade will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and the victory of the war of China's resistance against the Japanese invasion.

Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei development to see marked progressThe integration of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei province continues to make progress.

A series of goals spanning the next 15 years aim to improve the economic structure across the mega-region, while at the same time improving the environment and improving public services.

In the time since the plan was first announced, that has meant transferring non-essential functions of Beijing, as the capital city, into neighbouring areas.

Tianjin municipality is to be turned into a national research and development base for advanced manufacturing, and a shipping hub for northern China.

Hebei province will be made into a national base for trade and logistics, and an experimental area for industrial transition and upgrading.

The medium-term goal of the project will see Beijing's population capped at 23 million people by 2020, and to relieve "urban illness" in the capital - issues like pollution and traffic congestion.

Tianjin Blast Death Toll Rises to 123There are now 123 deaths linked to the warehouse explosion in Tianjin.

Two more sets of remains have been recovered. All of the victims have been identified thanks to DNA profiling.

Seventy firefighters are among the dead, along with seven policemen.

Fifty people are missing. That includes another 34 firefighters and four more police officers.

Six-hundred- and- 24 people remain in hospital being treated for injuries, including 44 who suffered serious or critical injuries. 169 people have been discharged from hospital so far.

Britain reopens embassy in TehranBritain has officially reopened its embassy in Iran's capital of Tehran, four years after it was closed.

A reopening ceremony was conducted by British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, who arrived in Tehran on Sunday.

Iran is also set to reopen its embassy in the UK, on Sunday in London.

In November 2011, a group of angry Iranian students stormed the British embassy in Tehran over Britain's nuclear-related sanctions against the country. Britain shut down its embassy in Tehran and asked Iran to close its embassy in London.

Giant Panda Gives Birth to Cubs at US National ZooGiant panda Mei Xiang at the US National Zoo in Washington DC gave birth to a pair of cubs on Saturday.

The cubs arrived 4 and a half hours apart and appear to be healthy.

The zoo says it is being very cautious, as a six-day-old cub passed away at the facility back in 2012.

Sci&Tech (Sunday)Anchor:

It's time now to check some of the week's headlines from the science and technology sector.

China has tested the power system for its new Long March-5 carrier rocket;A third Generator Unit a Nuclear Power Plant in northeast China is set to go into commercial operation ;A bionic lens made in Canada could eliminate the need for laser eye surgery, contact lenses, or eyeglasses.

Here's CRI's Wen Jie.

Reporter:

Chinese scientists on Monday successfully tested the power system of the Long March-5 carrier rocket, which is scheduled to launch the Chang'e-5 lunar mission around 2017.

Using non-toxic and non-polluting liquefied propellant, the engines of the rocket were fired during a ground test. The successful firing marks the conclusion of research work on the new rocket.

Lou Luliang is the deputy chief designer of Long March-5, at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.

"The next step is going to the launch site. The production will be carried out in such process, making sure the maiden flight next year."Lou adds that the rocket is significant for China's future space exploration projects.

"Long March-5 is the country's new generation of carrier rocket. The aim of its design is heavy thrust, zero toxins and pollutants. It will serve the country's follow-up space projects, such as the Lunar Exploration program, the manned space station, as well as the survey of deep space in the future."With a payload capacity of 14 tonnes to geostationary transfer orbit, Long March-5 has the largest carrying capacity under development in China.

The third generator unit at the Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Station in Liaoning province will start commercial operation soon following its 168-hour model operation.

Yu Jianfeng, deputy general manager of the State Power Investment Cooperation, says the operation of the unit is of great significance for the country's clean energy.

"The operation of the unit proves that the technology of the million-kilowatt nuclear power unit along with its capacity and construction are gradually mature. The operation index is pretty good as well."The third generator unit, using self-designed pressurized water reactor technology, can satisfy a quarter of the annual electricity consumption in the port city of Dalian.

The other two generators at the Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Station were put into operation in 2013.

Three more power generator units are currently under construction at the plant.

China now has 26 power generator units currently in operation that greatly cut the emission of sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide.

A Canadian optometrist and inventor has said he is on the brink of producing and marketing a bionic lens that could eliminate the need for laser eye surgery, contact lenses, and eyeglasses.

The device invented by Dr. Garth Webb could boost a person's sight to three times better than the standard 20/20 vision "even at age of 100".

It will only be available to people over 25, since eye structures aren't fully formed until that age.

Once approved and in production, the bionic lens surgery would cost roughly the same as laser eye surgery of today.

Webb noted that the bionic lens would last for life and never decay like our natural lenses and would never require surgical upgrades.

The lens could be available in Canada, U.S., Asia and Europe within a few years.

A high-speed train service started operating on Monday linking some of the northernmost cities in China.

The new line links Harbin, the capital of northeast Heilongjiang province, with Qiqihaer, Heilongjiang's second largest city.

The service will have 28 trains designed to endure severe cold - up to minus 40 degrees Celsius.

Huang Lei is a senior official with the Harbin Railway Administration High Speed Train Department and says the new trains are prepared for the low temperatures.

"We used such materials as low temperature valves and grease to resist the low temperatures, so that we can resolve and fix any breakdown caused by cold weather and ensure the security of the trains."Average temperatures for Qiqihaer and Harbin in January are around minus 18- or-19 degrees.

The trains run at speeds of up to 250 kilometers per hour.

It will cut the traveling time between the two cities from 3 hours down to 85 minutes.

The high-speed train service is expected to transport 8 million passengers per year.

American scientists are developing DNA kits to detect bacteria that causes food poisoning.

A pilot program is being rolled out across ten US states, aiming to tackle poisoning outbreaks by decoding the DNA of harmful bacteria.

Robert Tauxe, head of the pilot 'genome sequencing' program, believes a success is looming.

"With this new test, the DNA sequencing, we are finding three times as many outbreaks as we found before and we're finding them when they're smaller, an average size of four, almost half the size that they were before."Tauxe says the final aim is to stop contamination before it spreads to a large group of people.

"Testing foods and testing the environments in food production facilities which our colleagues at FDA (Food and Drug Administration) are doing, means we can tie up these outbreaks with more precision than ever. So we're finding more, and we're finding them when they're smaller and stopping them."Food-borne illnesses are often costly and potentially deadly. No retailers are immune.

It's estimated about 50 million Americans get sick every year from food poisoning and about three thousand die.

China's first indigenously developed breast cancer PET scanner has been approved by the State Food and Drug Administration for clinical use.

The high resolution device can be used to detect breast cancer at a very early stage, even if patients have not shown clinical symptoms.

Li Lin, an associate research fellow at Institute of High Energy Physics under Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) explains:

"Structure imaging is the traditional method in clinical application. But in the process of developing cancer, functional change happens before structural change. Our breast PET system allows us to detect abnormalities of functional metabolism, which appear at a much earlier stage of cancer development."The institute embarked on the research and development of the scanner in 2007, and ever since has achieved major breakthroughs on key technologies. The intellectual property rights of the core technology and system integration of the scanner have been registered in China.

The device is expected to help break the monopoly of foreign companies in China's high-end medical device market.

The 30th China Adolescents Science and Technology Innovation Contest kicked off Thursday at Asia World-Expo in Hong Kong.

More than 500 young talents from China's 31 provincial-level regions, and 12 other countries including Germany, Sweden, and Brazil, compete and exchange ideas over a four-day period.

In addressing the opening ceremony, Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said Hong Kong has the unique advantage of "one country, two systems" and plays the role of "super connector" between the mainland and the world in science and technology fields.

Leung also said he hoped participants would deepen friendship and common efforts in technological innovation to make contributions for the country and the human society.

And that brings us to the end of this edition of our weekly science and technology report.

I'm Wenjie. See you next week.

SportsIAAF worlds recap, call inBeginning with action from the IAAF world championships here in Beijing,China's Wang Zhen won a silver medal in men's 20 kilometer race walk this morning.

Wang established an early lead but had to slow down near the end to avoid more fouls.

Spain's Miguel Angel Lopez caught up and overtook Wang in the last kilometer to win the event.

Cai Zelin finished 5th, and the silver medalist at the last world championships, Chen Ding, was 9th.

In earlier action,Gong Lijiao came away with the shot put silver behind world number one Christina Schwanitz.

Gong was aiming for gold and was somewhat disappointed with the result.

"The process has been really tough. I feel this finish is a real pity. I should be able to get the gold medal, but I took silver. Anyway, this is an experience that I will remember. I hope in the Olympic Games next year I can overcome my weakness."The men's 100 meter heats will be run tonight. For more on this, we are joined on the line by our reporter Luo Bin.

CSL recapIn football,Henan Jianye avenged its loss in the CFA Cup earlier this week, beating Shandong Luneng 1-0 in the Chinese Super League.

Jianye reversed the result on the exact same field where Luneng ousted them on penalties four days ago.

Luneng fell further behind in the fight for the title after the defeat.

Five games are coming up tonight followed by a three-week lull. Beijing Guo'an and Changchun Yatai will wrap up this round of play on September 16.

Football recapIn the Bundesliga,Bayern Munich recovered from the shock of conceding the fastest goal in Bundesliga history to beat Hoffenheim 2-1.

It was bound to be an action packed game right from the beginning.

Kevin Volland stunned the champions with a goal just nine seconds into the game.

The bar and side posts denied Bayern on many chances before Thomas Mueller equalized at the end of the first half.

Jerome Boateng was sent off with two yellow cards in just two minutes with a quarter of the second half left to go. Hoffenheim earned a penalty from Boateng's handball but the attempt was saved.

Robert Lewandowski scored the winner for 10-man Bayern at the last minute of regular play.

Three games ended in 1-1 draws; Leverkusen beat Hannover 1-0 to come up to second on the table, level with Bayern on six points but down on goal differential.

Over in Spain,Rayo Vallecano and Valencia finished 0-0. Zhang Chengdong was not selected for this game.

Atletico Madrid beat newly-promoted Las Palmas 1-0.

Roma held Verona 1-1 in the Serie A opener. Lazio beat Bologna 2-1 in the game that followed.

EntertainmentChinese sci-fi novel-"The Three-body Problem" Wins Hugo Award for Best NovelChinese writer Liu Cixin's sci-fi novel-"The Three-body Problem" has won the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel.

Liu Cixin became the first Asian writer to win the award.

"The Three-body Problem" is a trilogy consisting of "Three Body", "The Dark Forest" and "Death's End".

The novel series centers on governments and scientists on earth as they react to the invasion of an alien species.

It was published in China from 2006 to 2010, and its English version was published in 2014.

Acclaimed as the best Chinese sci-fi novel,"The Three-body Problem" received the Chinese Science Fiction Galaxy Award in 2006 and 2010.

It was nominated for the 2014 Nebula Award for Best Novel.

At the same time, a movie adaptation of the novel is in production and the first installment of the movie is set to release next July.

Established in 1953, the Hugo Awards are seen as the highest honors bestowed in science fiction and fantasy writing", along with the Nebula Awards.

Chicago Chinese hold concert to mark 70th anniversary of victory of China's War of Resistance against JapanA concert was held in the Chicago Symphony Hall, celebrating the 70th anniversary of China's victory in the War of Resistance against Japan.

The concert started with a medley of China's finest patriotic songs of the World War II era, including On Taihang Mountain, Graduation, Flowers of May, Guerrilla's Song and On Songhua River.

Theme from Schindler's List was performed by South Shore Orchestra.

Music of the Yellow River Cantata – an influential symphonic music work composed by Chinese composer Xian Xinghai brought the concert to the climax.

The 600-person choir was believed to be the largest of its kind ever organized in the U.S.

Members were from 16 musical groups in the greater Chicago area and nine states in the U.S. Midwest.

The concert was organized by Dongfang Chinese Performing Arts Association and the Asian Culture Center.

Taylor Swift Kicks off a Star-studded '1989' Tour Stop in L.A.

Taylor Swift's 1989 World Tour has hit Hollywood.

The singer rocked the first show of her five-night tour stop at L.A.'s Staples Center, performing hits from her chart-topping albums.

She also excited fans with some big-name special guests.

OneRepublic singer Ryan Tedder, who co-wrote "Welcome to New York" and "I Know Places" on Swift's 1989 album, teamed up with her to performed his band's hit single "Counting Stars."And during her now famous "Style" catwalk, Taylor brought down the house, introducing L.A. Lakers star Kobe Bryant.

The singer also performed older favorites as well as some special songs for the Los Angeles crowd.

Joe Jonas, Mariska Hargitay, Debby Ryan, and Mark Wahlberg also attended the show.

Turkish movie-"Mustang" wins best film at Sarajevo Film FestivalTurkish movie "Mustang" was named the Best Film at the 21st Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF).

"Mustang" received the award at the closing ceremony at the National Theater in Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

It is directed by Deniz Gamze Erguven.

The ensemble of five actresses from "Mustang" also won the best actress title.

Meanwhile, the special jury prize went to "Son of Paul" from Hungary.

A total of 259 movies from over 50 countries were shown at this year's Sarajevo Film Festival.

Founded in 1995, the film festival has become the top film festival in Southeast Europe.

Apple Responds After Dr. Dre's Apology to Women He's 'Hurt'

Tech giant Apple says it supports Dr. Dre after the rapper apologized to the women he's hurt via a statement to The New York Times.

Dre's statement came after criticism erupted that the hit biopic "Straight Outta Compton" — about his former rap group N.W.A. —skips over allegations of abuse by Dr.Dre.

After the film's release, music journalist Dee Barnes and former R&B singer Michel'le, who was once Dr. Dre's fiancée, claimed the hip hop singer had assaulted them before.

The 50-year-old music mogul, who co-produced the movie says, : "I was a young man drinking too much and in over my head with no real structure."And he apologized to those he once hurt.

Apple, which bought Dre's Beats Electronics and made him an executive, offer their support to the headphone and music streaming service's co-founder after the statement.

Apple says in a statement that after working with him for a year and a half, they have every reason to believe that he has changed.

WeatherBeijing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 20, tomorrow will be overcast with a high of 29.

Shanghai will rainy tonight with a low of 23, also rainy tomorrow, high of 26.

Chongqing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 24, also cloudy tomorrow with a high of 31.

Lhasa will have slight rain tonight with a low of 9, tomorrow will have shower with a high of 20.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad will have slight rain tomorrow with a high of 34.

Kabul, rainy, 27.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, rainy, high of 17,Brisbane, cloudy,24,Perth, sunny, 17,And finally Auckland, New Zealand will be overcast with a high of 17 degrees Celsius.

That's it for this weekend edition of the Beijing Hour.

A quick look at the headlines before we go...

A large-scale rehearsal for the upcoming military parade in Beijing saw thousands of troops and hundreds of military vehicles in the capital...

an update on the progress being made in the effort to integrate Beijing with Tianjin and Hebei Province...

Typhoon Swan is expected to pick up strength before reaching the coast of eastern China...

In the 2nd half of the hour, we'll bring you some of the science & technology stories that have made headlines over the past week.

In Sports...the IAAF World Championships at the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing...

On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, this is Shane Bigham in Beijing hoping you'll join us for the next edition of the Beijing Hour, and open a window to the world together.