A widening probe into graft in China's powerful Railways Ministry is raising calls for the government to pull back on its multibillion U.S. dollar investment drive into costly high-speed railways.

Increasingly wealthy villagers in Taizhou of East China's Zhejiang province have built a huge wall around their village to ensure their safety.

Thousands gathered outside the charred frame of a 28-storey Shanghai apartment building on Sunday to mourn 58 people who died in Monday's fire, which has been blamed on lax oversight and illegal work practices.

Health authorities in eastern China said they had so far detected no human cases of bird flu after a woman in Hong Kong who had visited the region contracted the potentially fatal disease.

Investigators probing a fire that ravaged a downtown Shanghai high-rise apartment building, killing at least 53 people, said an energy-saving project that used illegal contracts, unsafe materials and unqualified workers was mainly to blame.

Police detained unlicensed welders Tuesday on suspicion of accidentally starting a fire that engulfed a high-rise apartment building under renovation in China's business capital, killing at least 53 people, as public anger grew over the government's handling of the disaster.

The Shanghai World Expo Culture Center, which attracted more than 8 million visitors over the past six months, will continue to serve the public, but in a different way. The 18,000-seat venue, re-branded as the Mercedes-Benz Arena after the Expo, is “going to be on a par with the O2 in London and Madison Square Garden in New York as a must-play venue for every artist that tours Asia,” according to Timothy J. Leiweke, president and CEO of the Los Angeles-based AEG (Anschutz Entertainment Group).

The Shanghai World Expo Culture Center, which attracted more than 8 million visitors over the past six months, will continue to serve the public, but in a different way. The 18,000-seat venue, re-branded as the Mercedes-Benz Arena after the Expo, is “going to be on a par with the O2 in London and Madison Square Garden in New York as a must-play venue for every artist that tours Asia,” according to Timothy J. Leiweke, president and CEO of the Los Angeles-based AEG (Anschutz Entertainment Group).

hina said it had licensed the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) to invest in the mainland's stock and bond markets in the latest move to give its currency a greater global role.

Highly coveted hairy crabs from the Yangcheng Lake, which are said to be the best in China, started going on sale on Friday as the new season got under way.