Six regions compete for yuan settlement in foreign trade
March 10, 2009
As many as six Chinese regions, including Guangdong, Shanghai, Guangxi, Yunnan, Hong Kong and Macao are competing to begin a pilot program that allows the yuan to be used as the settlement currency in some regional trade, local media reported.
The Shenzhen-based Security Times, citing Guangdong province Governor Huang Huahua, said the local government is seeking the central government’s approval to start the yuan settlement in its foreign goods trade. Huang made the statement in a press briefing during the second session of the annual parliament meeting.
In early February, Shanghai said it had submitted the application for renminbi settlement in foreign trade.
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China’s State Council, or the Cabinet, announced plans in December 2008 to begin yuan settlement trials with some economies. The program would permit Yunnan and Guangxi to use the yuan in trade settlement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The Pearl and Yangtze River delta regions would also be permitted to use yuan for settlement of trade with Hong Kong and Macao.
At a press conference Friday at the ongoing National People’s Congress, central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan confirmed the pilot program would start soon.
Most of the competing provinces are located in China’s southeastern seaside, where foreign trade is very active. The renminbi settlement is expected to bring more businessÂ
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Source: China Daily
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Car Park Maths Project
July 6, 2008
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Do you have problems setting an interesting and new maths project, that all the students in your class, whatever their level of ability is, can take part in? This project to plan a new car park layout, gained the interest of the students and provided many lines of investigation that stretched the more able, while allowing the others to utilise their basic maths. I used it with GCSE students but it can easily be adapted to other levels.
This idea was thought up when the college car park was being extended and changed and it certainly engaged the students and provided for some novel and interesting ideas from the students.
Drawing a Scale Plan
The students will need to measure the car park, paths and buildings. They will need to calculate the angles to ensure the lines meet up correctly. Encourage a legend to be added to the plan to show trees, bushes, paths, doors etc
Set a scale that the plan should be drawn to, this will enable you to easily check the results at the start against a master plan. This will involve the use of ratios to calculate the length of the lines of the paper.
Alternatively, this could be a combined exercise for the whole class, producing a single scale plan that can be copied and provided as the starting point of the project.
Data Gathering
The students will need to obtain data to decide how big to make their car park spaces. There are various types of data gathering and surveys that can be undertaken and used in the project. Some examples are given below, but don’t let this list limit your imagination.
- The size of spaces in a number of car parks in the local area.
- The size of various types of cars
- The popularity of the different size cars
- The room need to open car doors
Presenting Data
There are various standard ways to present the data, for the car park spaces and the car park sizes. Some examples are specified below for the car data, but there are many more possibilities. The students can take this as far as their capabilities allow.
- Group the car data in to a frequency table. Calculate the percentages to show the most popular sizing groups.
- Visually present the grouped data in bar charts
- Use a scatter plot to show the relationship between length and width. There should be a strong correlation.
- The popularity of cars sizes could be presented as a ratio.
Calculating Statistics
Everyone should be able to attempt to calculate the median, mode and mean averages for the length and width of the spaces and the cars. A good extension is to calculate further measures such as the standard deviation and percentiles.
Making Decisions from Data
The point of the data gathering is to determine what size the car park space needs to be. They are trying to fit in the maximum number of spaces, while still allowing the car park to be used effectively. This is the interesting part to see what the students will think of.
- do the students remember that you need to open and close the doors
- have they allowed room to drive in and out of spaces
- what inventive ideas have they come up with. One report handed in had three recommended car space sizes, one for large cars, one for small cars and one for disabled drivers who need to open their doors wide.
Extension Study
There are many further directions that this study can be taken to. A few ideas are below, but encourage your students use their imagination
- Usage Surveys: Surveying the car use in the area to determine the usage to ensure the car park has enough spaces.
- Financial: Would it be possible to charge for the use of the car park, how much you would expect to make, how much it would cost to operate, would people pay.
- Trigonometry: One student measured the turning circle of a few cars and use trigonometry to calculate the optimum turning space needed to get in and out of a car park space
Marking
You are really marking this project on the accuracy, applicability and the difficulty employed in the various techniques, but do allow a portion for the finished result.
- Are there a reasonable number of spaces?
- Is it possible to get in and out of you space and car without scraping the car next to it.
This study was very popular with the students and the reports varied from fairly basic to some advanced maths according to the ability of the student. While they had some guidance and ideas, they were encouraged to think up more for themselves and they certainly did this.
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Driving into China’s parking mess
June 28, 2008
Eager for some fine food, Colin Lee, a public relations (PR) executive, recently went to a Vietnamese restaurant with friends. Their experience, however, got off to a horrible start when they could not find a place to park. “It always happens, no matter what I am doing! It is quite different from the situation abroad!” said Lee, who worked in numerous countries over the past decade. “Addressing the parking situation is crucial for the development of cities. I cannot bear the mess any more.” The problem of which Lee speaks is becoming a daily occurrance for virtually every motorist in China’s large and medium-sized cities. The conflict — the increasing number of cars versus the lack of parking places — is severe. But what can be done? Experts suggest parking in China must be industrialized; in other words, parking facilities must be constructed and operated by businesses. Due to improved living standards, falling vehicle prices and China’s bulging, “new white-collar” segment of the population, an increasing number of urban Chinese now own personal vehicles. National Bureau of Statistics figures indicate China’s output of automobiles will rank No 3 — behind the United States and Japan — in the world by next year. Output of automobiles in China is expected to exceed 10 million units by 2010. Many of China’s large cities are coping with parking-related issues. Statistics indicate there are nearly 2.02 million motor vehicles registered in Beijing, and that figure is expected to reach 5 million by 2008. Those figures do not take into account the number of vehicles in Beijing from other provinces, cities and counties. However, there are only public 600,000 parking places in downtown Beijing, indicates www.people.com.cn. The parking lot at Cuiwei shopping mall, for example, can accommodate a mere 100 vehicles. But during an average day, up to 1,000 vehicles might park in the lot, a manager of the mall said. In Southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality, there are more than 500,000 vehicles. The municipality, meanwhile, has a meager public 528 parking lots in sowntown, with a combined 38,000 parking spaces. In China’s developed cities, such as Beijing, Shenzhen and Shanghai, public parking places are sorely needed. The ratio of vehicles to the number of parking places is about 5:1, indicate China Heavy Machinery Association’s data. “City parking is an industry, not an administrative task of the government,” said Jia Xinguang, a senior analyst with the Beijing-based Automobile Industry Research Centre. As part of the public facilities in a city, parking should be combined with the city’s development and regulation, the expert said. “If a city wants to operate smoothly, it needs necessary facilities, which include parking facilities,” Jia added. At present, however, parking lot construction in China is managed by local governments’ communications departments. Every transportation department has its own administrative area, and that is preventing the industrialization of parking in China. However, the local governments still don’t pay enough attention to the issue. “The government often focuses on the dynamic transportation, or traffic rules, but ignore the static transportation, or parking” said Ren Bomiao, director of the China Heavy Machinery Association’s Parking Facility Committee. Many parking lots belong to certain property developments. That is not the case in developed countries, which have flourish, and systematic, parking industries. Experts note the problem will be compounded in future, especially as the population grows and the number of vehicles increases. If that happens, space will become limited in cities, but parking lots should not occupy residential areas and streets. Industrialization of parking is one possible solution, Jia said. “Developed countries and regions provide some very good examples.” Japan, which has one-tenth of China’s population, but only 4 per cent of China’s land area, has successfully dealt with its parking problem. “First, Japan included parking in city planning; second, parking has been industrialized; third, Japan has developed its own parking facility equipment,” Jia said. To achieve industrialization in parking, experts suggest three solutions: Improving relevant legislation, tougher administration and development of multiple-level, above ground parking facilities. In fact, municipal governments in China are taking steps to combine parking with their city infrastructure programmes. At present, many big cities in China have their own plans focusing on parking lot construction. In Guangzhou, capital of South China’s Guangdong Province, the city planning bureau of the local government has worked out a blueprint to set up 95 public parking lots next year. Those lots will have a combined 20,265 parking spaces. By 2010, Guangzhou will have built an additional 118 parking lots, with a combined 16,680 parking spaces. The three-dimensional equipment, or multiple-level, above parking garages, is supposed to be the first choice. Hangzhou’s planning bureau has planned its overall arrangement of parking lots in the city’s centre. According to the regulation, in Hangzhou, capital of East China’s Zhejiang Province, there will be 37 parking lots in the city’s centre by 2010. Beijing, by 2010, plans to solve its parking lot crisis. All legally registered motor vehicles will be required to have their own parking spaces. Market behaviour has freedom to operate, but it still requires government regulation, especially support from legislation, industry experts said. In Beijing, there are several existing rules regarding parking, such as the Regulations on the Administration of Motor Vehicles Parking on Streets, Regulations on the Administration of Public Parking of Vehicles in Beijing, Regulations on the Administration of Public Parking of Non-motor Vehicles in Beijing. Liu Xiaoming, deputy director of Beijing’s municipal committee of communications, was recently quoted by Beijing Times as saying to carry out the spirit of the Beijing Transportation Development Programme, the capital will enact the Beijing parking regulation this year. Moreover, projects that Beijing’s municipal government scheduled to amend this year include the provision on standards of construction of vehicles parking facilities, which was drafted by the municipal road administration. Experts suggest there is another problem: Parking fees. Beijing enacted a parking-fee standard in May. However, many parking lots still follow the former standard. Under the new standard, people must pay 1 yuan (12 US cents) per half hour to park — small vehicles only — within the Fourth Ring Road. “But, when I drive into many parking lots, they charge me 2 yuan (24 US cents) according to the old standard,” said Wang Xin, who bought his Chery last month. Said Jia: “Fixing such issues will take time.” New equipment Many experts insist the development of multiple-level and above ground parking garage is a must. Such facilities are commonly used in developed countries, and they are applicable in China. They have one big advantage: They save space. Generally, such facilities require about one-25th the amount of space for a ground parking lot. Moreover, multiple-level and above ground parking equipment is cost-effective, and convenient. Such facilities are highly secure, and improve cities’ living conditions. The parking industries in some developed countries and regions have become profitable, and are earning hundreds of thousands, or more, US dollars a year. In Japan, the parking industry began in 1991. Many businesses paid great attention and began investing in the sector. Statistics indicate Japan’s parking sector is worth about US$7.7 billion (115 billion yen). The intelligent parking system developed by CARTEC and SPK in Japan not only generates fat sales in Japan, but also has become involved in some parking projects in Shanghai. In the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the price of a parking space is much more than that of a sedan. Taking Huijing Huayuan for example, a parking place is priced at HK$600,000 (US$76,923). In the United States, the parking industry is worth about US$26 billion per year, and the sector creates about 1 million jobs. When Thailand was suffering from the region’s financial crisis in 1998, investors transformed surplus apartments into parking garages. They recovered their investments very quickly, and the stagnant real estate market eventually reignited. Parking facilities in China are still a fairly new concept. The first multiple-level and above ground garage didn’t appear until 1989. In the past 10 years, China’s parking facility industry has developed at an astonishing rate. Before 1997, not many people had heard about a mechanical parking house. But in 1997-99, the device became more commonplace. As more people own and drive personal vehicles, it is crucial that China regulate, construct, manage and develop adequate parking facilities, experts said.
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Exports & Import Peaked at Shanghai Port
June 21, 2008
Imports and exports continued to surge at Shanghai port, with the volume totaling 245.5 billion U.S. dollars in the first five months of 2008.
Shanghai Customs statistics showed the trade volume was 26.6 percent up year on year, 7.4 percentage points higher than that of same period of last year.
With this volume, Shanghai port did about one-quarter of the country’s foreign trade.
In a breakdown,
exports : 155.73 billion U.S. dollars, (up 28.2 percent)
imports : 89.77 billion U.S. dollars, (up 23.9 percent) of which, imports under general trade accounted for 35.2 billion U.S. dollars, up 28.2 percent from a year ago but 3.2 percentage points faster.
Foreign trade peaked in May at Shanghai port to hit 51.86 billion U.S. dollars, up 35.6 percent from the same month a year ago.
The lion’s share of the foreign trade at Shanghai port was done by overseas financed ventures, followed by state-owned companies and private Chinese businesses.
The European Union (EU) remained the port’s top trading partner, followed by the United States, Japan, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Africa.
Source: China Daily
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Automated Parking System T5 Multi-Storey Car Park, Heathrow, London, United Kingdom
June 16, 2008
ParkingNewsIndia: Heathrow’s Terminal 5 began passenger operations on 27th March 2008 and suffered one of the most disastrous openings in airport history. Despite costing a total of £4.3bn, the terminal was forced to cancel over 500 flights and lost around 28,000 bags within the first few weeks of opening. T5 was unable to resume its full schedule until 8 April 2008.
However, evidence of the terminal’s potential, particularly in regards to technology, is found at its multi-storey car park, which has a new intelligent parking system.
Upon arrival at the car park, the car has its registration plate recorded by a number plate recognition system and printed on a ticket for the driver. Once through the barrier the driver isdirected to an empty parking space.
HOW DOES THE SYSTEM WORK?
This system works by using an information screen at the barrier, a bay monitoring system and further intelligent signage at a number of strategic positions throughout the car park, which indicate where to find an empty space and how many spaces there are. This information is updated in real time as the sensors are all networked to a central system, which ‘polls’ them every few seconds for an update on status.
“Once the car is parked a sensor will mark the bay as occupied. “
Empty parking bays in the T5 multi-storey are indicated by the green light of a sensor placed over the space; in this case, because there were no pillars the sensor and light were combined into one unit. Once parked the sensor will mark the bay as occupied and the green light will go off.
Other colours are available and T5 disabled spaces are marked with a blue light. The driver can then simply go to the terminal and conduct his or her business.
ON THE WAY HOME
Currently, when returning to your vehicle, however hard you try you may still forget the details of the zone you’re parked in. The new car park has a solution – by inserting your ticket into a car-locator terminal at the car park (one of 16 such machines at the entrances and on each floor) the driver will get a 3D map image on a 32 inch LCD screen indicating a region where the car is parked.
Each floor is divided into four regions of around 200 cars, with each floor holding around 800 cars. When parking the car is tracked with a number of cameras assigned to every region, at the start and end of each.
“The system saves the driver roaming round and round the car park looking for a space and so can reduce carbon emissions.”
This means that the system knows only which floor and region the car is parked in and the location cannot be pinpointed to a particular space. Systems are being developed to do this but they are not in use at T5.
This system uses only around 35 infrared cameras which can recognise number plates; a more accurate system would require more cameras or different technology. To pinpoint a car to a particular space the spaces would have to be numbered and this is not the case at the 3,800-space Heathrow T5 multi-storey car park (MSCP).
CAR PARK AND SYSTEM
The entire MSCP is networked and space details are displayed throughout the car park on electronic signs and updated in real time via the sophisticated sensor system provided by Highlight Parking Systems Ltd.
David Harrison, the managing director of Highlight Parking Systems, commented: “The system saves the driver roaming round and round the car park looking for a space and so can reduce carbon emissions. In the T5 car park this could save 397t a year (BAA research figure).”
Highlight Parking Systems also installed a similar system in the Terminal One MSCP (short term) as a trial prior to the T5 contract. In this case, the sensors and indicator lights were in separate units. Siemens developed and installed the car location system.
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Heathrow T5 opened on 27th March 2008. |
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Highlight Parking Systems has installed an innovative sensor and indicator system at the T5 MSCP. |
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The green light indicates a free parking space; the blue light indicates a free disabled space. |
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Each of the 3,800 spaces has a sensor and light. |
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The system has been hailed by BAA as one which will contribute to reducing carbon emissions. |
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