Program to overhaul infrastructure in cities

The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development will launch a national program later this year to overhaul vital urban infrastructure like bridges, gas pipelines and water supply lines.

The decision was announced by ministry authorities at a meeting in Hefei, capital of Anhui province, on May 11. The ministry has asked cities to learn from pilot programs now running in cities including Hefei and Shanghai, and replicate them.

According to the ministry, the program is an inevitable requirement for building smart, livable and resilient cities. A city's resilience depends on its capacity to ensure the smooth and safe operation of infrastructure in the face of extreme weather and natural disasters.

Teens can get mental help on WeChat now

A psychological helpline set up by the Communist Youth League of China officially launched an online platform on May 12 to provide young people with free mental health counseling services.

The "12355" helpline has developed a WeChat mini-program that allows teenagers to communicate with mental health counselors via video link or text. The platform currently has more than 2,000 counselors ready to help those in need.

The CYLC opened the "12355" helpline in 2006. It provides more than 400,000 psychological and legal consultations to teenagers across the country every year.

National cereal grain self-sufficiency achieved

China has achieved basic self-sufficiency in cereal grains as it maintains steady development of grain production, after a series of bumper harvests for 19 years in a row.

Speaking at a news conference on May 11, Cong Liang, head of the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, said the country's staple food self-sufficiency rate is above 100 percent, and the cereal self-sufficiency rate stands above 95 percent.

China has consistently maintained its farmland area in excess of the red line of 120 million hectares, Cong said.

According to Cong, the per capita share of grain stands at about 480 kilograms, higher than the internationally recognized security standard of 400 kg.

Number of registered nurses continues to rise

The total number of registered nurses in China exceeded 5.2 million by the end of last year, with roughly 3.7 registered nurses for per 1,000 people, according to the National Health Commission.

Speaking at a news conference on May 11 before International Nurses Day, which fell on May 12, Xing Ruoqi, deputy head of the department of medical administration at the NHC, said that about 300,000 new nurses have joined the workforce each year over the past decade.

By 2025, China aims to have 5.5 million nurses, and the number of registered nurses per 1,000 people is expected to increase to 3.8. In addition, China wants to increase the number of nurses at primary-level health institutions to 1.2 million by then.