Heads-up! As ever in China, things are on the move. Nanjing Expat presents 10 of the biggest movers and shakers that are to change our lives in next year in Nanjing.
1. Check out a salted duck’s birth certificate.
Every deli store in Nanjing that sells the ever popular local delicacy salted duck will be required to release information on service providers as to when and where the food has been produced. The move is part of the implementation of China’s new food safety law, which took effect on 1st October with netizens proclaiming it to be the toughest food safety law of all time.
2. Shanghai Metro to become a piece of cake for Nanjingers.
You won’t be stuck in a terrifyingly long queue for metro tickets when you visit Shanghai as next year Jiangsu Transportion Cards shall be able to be used in Shanghai for public transportation and taxi services. Note that you will need to get a new IC card registration first and that student cards and senior citizen cards will not be included.
3. You will no longer have this kind of conversation with your doctor:
Doctor: “I think you need an intravenous drip”.
You: “Really? Is that necessary?”
Doctor: “It will help you recover faster”.
You: “I hate injections. Is it OK if I just take medicine?”
Doctor: “Well if you really insist.”
Intravenous transfusions in outpatient departments will terminated by all major hospitals at provincial level by the end of 2016 on account that health experts believe it is neither appropriate nor professional.
4. Adopt a healthier lifestyle and save the earth at the same time.
10,000 more public bikes shall be put on the streets of Nanjing next year and riders shall be able to use the “ 一卡通” for renting bikes all over Nanjing, putting an end to the irritating present system that can see people needing four separate cards. It is estimated by the end of 2016, there will be 800 places to rent public bikes while the total number of public bikes is set to reach 80,000 over the next three years.
5. Animals to run wild in Nanjing as if on a giant safari.
Nanjing is to open the largest wild-life zoo in east China. By the end of 2016, Nanjing Ziqing Lake Resort will be open to the public as a multi-functional theme park that will include a wild-life zoo, an international circus town and a hot spring spa resort.
6. Cultural heritage protection.
According to the 2016 Goals, Nanjing will continue to implement the planning and protection of the Nanjing city wall and historic sites of the Maritime Silk Road throughout the city. It will promote the construction of cultural venues and museums, while also renovating existing structures, such as the Nanjing City Wall Museum. Nanjing will also push forward a series of key cultural tourism projects, such as the Qixia Cultural Tourism Resort, Ming Dynasty Cultural Tourism Resort plus the Changing Lu historical and cultural block.
7. Five new national water parks in Jiangsu.
Five water parks in Jiangsu, namely Jiangyin Furong Lake, Xuzhou Dingwan Lake, Jinhu Hehuadang, Funing Jinsha Lake and Suqian Liutang Lake, listed among the 15th batch of national water parks, are set to open across the province in the coming year. The scenic spots that Jiangsu submitted applications for in 2015 feature high-quality water, rich natural resources, beautiful ecology landscapes, good environmental protection and profound humanistic accumulation. Investment in culture development and science popularization in these five national water parks totals ¥26 million, according to sources.
8. Google: “I’ll Be Back”.
After what must have been very lengthy negotiations, with success no doubt on account of the number of government officials with Android operating systems, Google is due to make a comeback to China in February with the launch the Chinese version of the Google Play app store. However, mainstream access (i.e. without a VPN) to the overseas Google Play app store will continue to be blocked.
9. Metro Line 4 to go into operation.
This far out, it is still very difficult to accurately predict an opening time, but October is a front runner. Line 4 of the Nanjing metro, from Longjiang to Xianlin Lake, runs in an eastwest direction, roughly barrel to and north of, the existing line 2.
10. Have another child, for free. Sort of.
Next year is a good time to consider having a second child as the the two-child policy finally comes into force on 1st January. China will allow all couples to have two children, abandoning its decades’ long one child policy. Under the new policy, couples who have two children can enjoy longer maternity leave and they could have more than two children if eligible. However, there is not so good news for those who marry late (male 25+, female 23+) in so far as the current policy of longer marriage and maternity leave (usually 10~30 days) enjoyed by citizens who marry late and delay having children will be discontinued.
