Beijing in Pictures: Fake 100 kuai Notes, Railway Tickets and Ice Swimming

Fake 100s

An official from the Bank of China has contradicted earlier media reports that the fake RMB 100 notes circulating around the country, were of such good quality that even the official currency detecting machines at banks had difficulty distinguishing the fakes. The official clarified that these notes can be identified and that China’s central bank has begun an investigation into the source of the counterfeit bills.

Rail Tickets

Earlier this week at the Beijing West Railway Station, 120 temporary ticket windows were opened near the main ticketing hall. As of Jan 5, 240 ticket windows now serve the large crowds lining up to buy tickets home from Spring Festival. Tickets are sold around the clock.

Ice Swimming

As part of the National Ice Swimming Day, hundreds of brave swimmers dived into the bone-chilling waters of Houhai.

Ice Bike

For those who don't like the idea of getting wet, there's still plenty of fun still to be had on Beijing's frozen lakes.

3G

After years of delays, the Chinese government finally issued licenses for next-generation 3G wireless services. Three Chinese state-controlled wireless service companies China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom have obtained the licenses.

Panda Bite

A man was bitten by a 9-year old panda at the Panda Hall of Beijing Zoo on Wednesday. The panda named “Gu Gu” attacked the man who jumped over the barrier wall in order to take back his son’s toy.

Petrol Prices

Petrol prices in Beijing has eventually started to go down, the price of the regular #93 fuel in some CNPC (China National Petroleum Corp.) gas stations was lowered 3 jiao from the current RMB 5.44 to RMB 5.14 a liter. Sinopec stations are still to reduce their prices. The price of petrol failed to fall as world oil prices began to drop in the final months of 2008. The situation has also been complicated by the introduction of a controversial tax on petrol that was formally introduced on Jan 1, 2009.

New Building for Capital Library

The construction of the second phase of Capital Library began this week. It's estimated that the building will take 2 years to complete.

Ping Pong
A Ping-pong match marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the China-U.S. diplomatic relations was held at the State General Administration of Sport in Beijing earlier this week.

Over 65s Handback their Yikatongs

Lines grew at the few points where Beijingers can get a refund on their Yikatongs or Beijing Super Passes this week. The long lines were a result of the large number of over 65s who can now ride buses for free handing back their cards.

Links and Sources
Star Daily: Fake 100s
Star Daily: Railway Tickets
Legal Mirror: Ice Swimming
Metro.co.uk: Ice Bike
Star Daily: 3G
Beijing Times: Panda Bite
QQ: Petrol Prices
CLCN.net.cn: Image of Second Phase of Capital Library
Xinhua: Ping Pong