Imports and exports to US increase

Statistics provided by Shanghai Customs show that the city's total import and export value with the US amounted to 602 billion yuan ($90 billion) during the first seven months of 2017, up 17 percent year-on-year. This meant that the US retained its position as Shanghai's second largest trading partner after EU. Export value to the US reached 448 billion yuan, up 13.9 percent from a year earlier, while import value surged 27.1 percent year-on-year to 153 billion yuan.

Origins of the sweet potato revealed

The Shanghai Chenshan Plant Science Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Plant Physiology & Ecology and the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology from Germany on Aug 21 released a paper on the famous academic journal Nature Plants about the origins of the sweet potato. The paper stated that the plant was created about 500,000 years ago by diploid ancestors and tetraploid ancestors. This finding has created a precedent for analysis of the polyploid complex genome.

Famous artist's works to go on auction

Christie's 2017 Shanghai Autumn Auction will feature a collection of Zao Wou-ki's works, including oil paintings, that were created between 1950 and 2008. The auction will be held at the Peninsula Shanghai on Sept 24. During the recent Christie's Spring Auction in Hong Kong, one of Zao's works which was created in 1964 sold for a personal record of 152 million HKD ($19 million).

City in urgent need of more parking spaces

Shanghai is facing a shortage of 849,000 parking lots in residential areas and 158,000 in non-residential locations, according to the Shanghai Municipal Transportation Commission. Although the city presently has about 1.2 million parking lots, there is still an inadequate supply around schools, hospitals and commercial blocks during late hours. City administrators are studying the possibility of setting up more roadside parking areas along busy streets.

Shared strollers debut around Century Park

About 500 communal strollers were introduced to the area around the city's Century Park in mid-August. The move is aimed at making life more convenient for parents with children aged between 2 and 7. Similar to shared bicycles, users have to scan a QR code before the strollers can be used. About 1,000 people have registered for the service. The strollers were developed by Shanghai-based company DeeMeng.

A lights and music galore in tourist zone

The Shanghai International Tourism and Resorts Zone where Shanghai Disneyland is located will host a lighting show from Sept 9 to Oct 15. A dry run of the show will be held between Aug 20 and Sept 8. During the seven-day National Day holiday starting on Oct 1, organizers of the show will also hold two pop music parties on Oct 2 and 4. Artists in attendance include Singaporean singer Tanya Chua and rock bands Shin and Zero.

(China Daily USA?08/25/2017 page7)