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A major earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale jolted Wenchuan County of Southwest China’s Sichuan Province at 2:28 p.m. on May 12, 2008.

Wenchuan County, as the epicenter of the quake, is located 31.0 degrees north latitude and 103.4 degrees east longitude, which is about 159 kilometers to the northwest of Chengdu, provincial capital of Sichuan. With a population of 111,800 and an area of 4084 sq.km., Wenchuan lies in southeast part of the Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Aba, where there is the Wolong Panda Nature Reserve.

The earthquake has left the province in chaos. More than 3.46 million houses were wracked. Nearly all bridges and roads collapsed. Telecommunication connections and Electricity broke down. People were trapped in debris. As of 2 p.m. on May 18, it is reported that the confirmed national death toll rose to 32,477, and the toll from the disaster would possibly climb to more than 50,000 as many, still buried in rubbles, are feared dead.

Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Sichuan to oversee rescue work hours after the quake. More than 50,000 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops rushed into Wenchuan County and airdropped six tons of food, drinking water, tents and medicine. Rescuers are racing against time to find survivors from the earthquake rubble. At the same time, more and more enterprises and individuals are taking action to help the disaster-hit areas. They have joined a charity campaign, including blood and money donations, no benefit performance and all kinds of praying.

Remaining calm, confident and united, Made-in-China.com called on people all over the world to speed up efforts to fight the disaster and do our utmost to offer support and love for Sichuan quake victims!

How can I help?

Join with us today and give what you can to help disaster-hit families survive and rebuild their lives. If you can provide any of the following items, you could be responsible for saving lives.

• Tents
• Medical Supplies
• Clothing
• Food
• Clean Water

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堰塞湖定义
堰塞（sè）湖 (dammed lake)：堰塞湖是由火山熔岩流，冰碛物或由地震活动等原因引起山崩滑坡体等堵截山谷，河谷或河床后贮水而形成的湖泊。由火山溶岩流堵截而形成的湖泊又称为熔岩堰塞湖。

堰塞湖形成过程　
1、原有的水系。
2、原有水系被堵塞物堵住。堵塞物可能是火山熔岩流，可能是地震活动等原因引起的山崩滑坡体，可能是泥石流，亦可能是其他的物质。
3、河谷、河床被堵塞后，流水聚集并且往四周漫溢。
4、储水到一定程度便形成堰塞湖。

堰塞湖多见地区　　
由山崩滑坡所形成的堰塞湖多见于藏东南峡谷地区，且年代都很新近，如1819年在西姆拉西北，因山崩形成了长24-80km，深122米的湖泊。藏东南波密县的易贡错是在1990年由于地震影响暴发了特大泥石流堵截了乍龙湫河道而形成的，波密县的古乡错是1953年由冰川泥石流堵塞而成，（实则也属冰川湖）。八宿县的然乌错是1959年暴雨引起山崩堵塞河谷形成的。

台湾地震活动频繁，1941年12月，嘉义东北发生一次强烈地震，引起山崩，浊水溪东流被堵，在海拔高度580m处溪流中，形成一道高100m的堤坝，河流中断，10个月后，上游的溪水滞积起来，在天然堤坝以上形成一个面积达6.6km2，深160.0m的堰塞湖。

最新的堰塞湖是2008年5月12日汶川大地震导致的堰塞湖。

堰塞湖的危害
堰塞湖的堵塞物不是固定永远不变的，它们也会受冲刷、侵蚀、溶解、崩塌等等。一旦堵塞物被破坏，湖水便漫溢而出，倾泻而下，形成洪灾，极其危险。
灾区形成的堰塞湖（海子）一旦决口后果严重。
伴随次生灾害的不断,堰塞湖（海子）的水位可能会迅速上升,随时可发生重大洪灾。
堰塞湖（海子）一旦决口会对下游形成洪峰,破坏性不亚于灾害的破坏力。

熔岩堰塞湖举例　　
我国东北的五大连池旧33317称鸟得邻池，在五大连池市郊，地处纳诺尔河支流–白河上游，北距小兴安岭仅30.0km，系由老黑山和火烧山两座火山喷溢的玄武岩熔岩流堵塞白河，使水流受阻，形成彼此相连呈串珠状的5个小湖得名。

五大连池火山群的火山活动始于侏罗纪末至白垩纪初。据史料记载，最近的一次火山喷发，始于1719年（清康熙58年），而清《黑龙江外记》的记载则更详：“墨尔根东南，一日地中忽出火，石块飞腾，声震四野，约数日火熄，其地遂呈池沼，此康熙五十八年事”。这次火山喷发，堵塞了原纳漠河的支流–白河，迫其河床东移，河流受阻形成由石龙河贯穿成念珠状的5个湖泊。

五大连池湖水清澈，从附近火山峰顶望去，有如一画面明镜，映射着天光云影，美不胜收。

黑龙江省的镜泊湖就是由第四纪玄武岩流在吊水楼附近形成了宽40m，高12m的天然堰塞堤，拦截了牡丹江出口，提高了水位而形成的面积约90.3km2的一个典型熔岩堰塞湖。镜泊湖四周为群山环抱，森林茂密，风光秀丽，不仅有火山口森林，溶岩洞与唐代渤海的遗址，还有湖中的大弧山、小弧山、珍珠门、吊水楼瀑布与镜泊山庄等“八大名景”，从而成为我国著名的旅游湖泊。

汶川地震形成的“堰塞湖”　　
2008年5月12日四川汶川特大地震，造成北川部分地区被堰塞湖水淹没，地震形成了大面积堰塞湖泊。四川汶川特大地震造成34处堰塞湖危险地带。国家水利部和四川省水利厅组成了抗震救灾水利部，认为地震所形成的33座堰塞湖目前暂无危险。并组织了“敢死队”，对每一个堰塞湖实施24小时监测，一旦出现发生溃坝的征兆，将立即发出预警，并及时疏散群众。唐家山堰塞湖是汶川大地震后形成的最大堰塞湖，地震后山体滑坡，阻塞河道形成的唐家坝堰塞湖位于涧河上游距北川县城约6公里处，是北川灾区面积最大、危险最大的一个堰塞湖。库容为1亿立方米。体顺河长约803米，横河最大宽约611米，顶部面积约30万平方米，由石头和山坡风化土组成。截至21日17时，库内水位为716.01米，比20日上涨了2.55米，相应容积为0.977亿立方米，上下游水头差为52米。严重威胁下游居民。

灾区形成的堰塞湖，一旦决口后果严重。伴随次生灾害的不断发生，堰塞湖的水位可能会迅速上升,随时可发生重大洪灾。堰塞湖一旦决口会对下游形成洪峰，破坏性不亚于灾害的破坏力。

China’s economic showpiece never fails to surprise and rarely fails to delight. Walking Shanghai’s streets can give you glimpses into a unique and layered past that includes foreign settlements, jazz-age decadence, political intrigue and, more recently, an entrepreneurial spirit that’s returning this legendary port to the ranks of the world’s great metropolises.

Discover the Art Deco architecture of the Bund and former French Concession, take in Pudong’s futuristic skyline from a sophisticated Bund restaurant with a cool drink in hand, sample tasty local specialties, dance till dawn, shop till you drop and mingle with the intrepid and forward-thinking Shanghainese. The city’s energy is contagious and there’s something in Shanghai for everyone.
 
History
Established as a tiny fishing community in the Warring States Period (453-221 BC), Shanghai slowly grew into a regional trade center, taking advantage of its access to the Yangzi River and nearby canals. The city stepped onto the global stage in 1842 when the British established a settlement just outside the walled Old City after defeating the Qing in the First Opium War. Concessions to the French, American, and Japanese soon followed, and Shanghai’s economy began to boom as foreign investment poured in.

As the city grew in importance and wealth during the 1920s and ’30s, it gave rise to an often disreputable mix of gangs, corrupt concession cops, fat-cat factory owners, sailors and rich expatriate families. It was during this period that most of the Bund’s signature buildings were constructed and when Nanjing Lu, Huaihai Lu and the French Concession took the shapes that they largely retain today.

Political intrigue ran high, as the ruling Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) struggled to maintain control in a city full of Japanese spies, Western agents and Communist organizers. In 1922, the Chinese Communist Party held its first meeting in a French Concession lane house. It continued to organize in the city thereafter, briefly allying itself with the Nationalists against Japan, but the alliance was short lived. The Nationalists, working with Shanghai gangster Du Yuesheng and his Green Gang, massacred Communists and striking workers in 1927, driving opposition underground. Despite such turmoil, Shanghai continued to thrive economically, solidifying its reputation as one of the world’s most exciting, prosperous and decadent cities.

That all ended in 1937, when Japan seized the city, taking control of the foreign concessions in 1941 on the same day as the attack on Pearl Harbor. Following the end of World War II in 1945, Nationalist rule returned to Shanghai. It wasn’t long, however, before the Communists ousted the Kuomintang in 1949.

During the Mao years, Shanghai’s role as a center of global finance and trade was displaced by the need to serve as a source of industrial production and revenue in support of national revolutionary development schemes. Despite the sometimes violent tumult of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution (the latter saw many urban Shanghainese subjected to various reeducation and self-criticism programs), Shanghai remained a vital economic center, though the glamor was gone—for a while, at least.

Since the economic reforms initiated in the 1990s under Mao’s successor Deng Xiaoping, the city has reappeared on the world stage—in a big way. The government’s decision to open and develop Shanghai has helped fuel China’s recent breakneck growth and has brought streams of foreigners back—for both business and pleasure—to a city that once again commands global attention.
 
Climate
Shanghai’s most comfortable weather occurs from March to early June and September to November. Frequent rain interrupts the days from mid-June to early July. July and August bring hot and humid weather, with daily temperatures regularly soaring well above 30 ºC (86 ºF). The warm days continue through September as the nights begin to cool. Winter is damp and chill, with average temperatures lingering around 0 ºC (32 ºF), though it rarely snows or freezes. Spring and fall see a number of blue-sky days, but air pollution in Shanghai can be a problem. It’s not as bad as some other cities in China, but those with sensitive lungs should take appropriate precautions, especially in the summer when the smog gets its thickest.

Bars, restaurants and shops line the streets of the Sanlitun (also often referred to as the Sanlitun Entertainment Area, Sanlitun Embassy Area and, tellingly, the Sanlitun Bar Street). Long a favorite among expats, travelers and budget tourists, Sanlitun restaurants and bars stay open late, and a number of shops cater to international tastes. It’s not the cheapest Beijing neighborhood for a night out or a shopping spree, but there’s a little bit of everything on offer within the area on either side of the north-south Sanlitun Lu. The Liangma River and Liangmahe Lu form the northern boundary of the Sanlitun Embassy Area, which is home to some of the swankier eateries. Running south for about 1.5 km (1 miles), the bars cluster around Sanlitun Lu between east-west streets Dongzhimenwai Dajie and Gongrentiyuchang Beilu, with a lower-key set of bars and pubs on Sanlitun Nanlu, running parallel to Sanlitun Lu to the west, just east of Worker’s Stadium.

During the day, the shopping is excellent, with a range of choices from tiny alleyway bargain spots to upscale boutiques to the massive five-story Yashou Clothing Market (on Gongrentiyuchang Beilu between Sanlitun and Xin Donglu to the west), home to not only clothes but also bolts of silk and other fabrics, shoes and bags, watches, jade, pearls and almost anything else you’d expect to be able to haggle over in Beijing. Check out alleyways and side streets, where you’ll often find the best deals and most surprising finds. Most vendors and restaurant staff speak enough English to do basic business. Bargain vigorously and be wary of fakes.

How to get there:
No metro stops convenient as of now. Cabs and local bus routes. The intersections of Sanlitun Lu and Dongzhimenwai Dajie or Sanlitun and Nongzhanguan Lu will put you in a good spot to go from on foot. Some of the best bars are further south on Sanlitun Nan Lu, just east of Worker’s Stadium.

Located at Tiantan Donglu, Chongwen District, Hongqiao Market is just opposite Tiantan Park. It is a well known market dealing with pearls around the world. More than 1,000,000 visitors come to Hongqiao Market to buy pearls yearly. Even the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has been to Hongqiao Market three times as she was very impressed with the beautiful pearls. Apart from pearls, the market also offers seafood, digital products and silk.

Covering an area of 4,500 square meters (about 1.1 acres), the market has 8 floors as follows:

-1–3/F Seafood: Seafood has played an important role since the establishment of the market. There are many varieties of seafood being sold in the market, ranging from the common fish, shrimp and crab to the rare ones like shark fin, sea pumpkin and abalone. Most of the seafood are mainly supplied to big hotels and restaurants in and around Beijing.

1/F Digital Products & Watches: There are many internationally famous digital products sold here which makes this market of equal standing with Zhongguancun (the most famous digital market in Beijing). Apart from that, watches of different brands and different quality will certainly dazzle your eyes. They attracted merchants from Western Asia and as far as Africa.

2/F Silk & Clothes: Silk symbolizes China since the ancient time and those products found in this market are of high quality.

3-5/F Pearls: It is the largest pearl distribution centre in China and it is also the central part of the market. There are many varieties of pearls, such as colors, sizes or smoothness. With these comes the vast difference in their prices, ranging from just a few yuan to ten of thousands of yuan. There are seawater pearl, freshwater pearl, coral, emerald, gem and other precious stones.  One can be easily dazzled by the fashionable pearl necklaces, exquisite pearl rings and simple but elegant pearl pendants.  They are just absolutely fascinating.

Location: No.46, Tiantan Dong Lu, Chongwen District
Bus Route: 6, 34, 35, 36, 39, 41, 43, 60, 106, 116, 723, 743, 821 (get off at Fahuasi Stop)