World heritage sites The 41st session of the World Heritage Committee on Saturday decided to put China’s Gulangyu historic international settlement on the prestigious World Heritage List as a cultural site. One day earlier, Qinghai Hoh Xil was put on the list as a natural site, becoming the 51st Chinese site inscribed* on the list. Big spenders Chinese mainland travelers are a major driving force for global tourism, according to a report released by China’s leading online travel agency Ctrip and a Chinese think tank, the Center for China and Globalization. As the world’s biggest spenders, Chinese mainland tourists spent US$261 billion in 2016, accounting for nearly 21 percent of the world’s tourist consumption. The report also said that the Chinese mainland’s outbound* tourism has enjoyed double-digit growth for 12 consecutive years. Countries, including the United States, Canada and Singapore, now issue 10-year visas to mainland tourists, helping China’s tourism market. Combustible ice China on Sunday completed a 60-day trial of mining gas hydrates*, commonly known as combustible ice, in the South China Sea, marking breakthroughs in the search for alternative clean energy sources. Initiated on May 10, the mining operation in waters near the Pearl River estuary has beaten previous expectations and set world records in both the length and total amount of extraction, according to the China Geological Survey Bureau. Fugitive Guo Fugitive Guo Wengui is suspected of collusion* with air traffic control and Hainan Airlines staff to obtain passengers’ personal information, according to Chinese police. Guo, who is listed on the Interpol “red notice” of wanted fugitives, is also suspected of fabricating and distorting information to mislead the public, police said, citing a case on personal information infringement involving Guo. Song Jun, 47, who had been working for civil aviation air traffic control for more than 20 years, and Ma Cong, from Hainan Airlines, were arrested by police this June for suspected personal information infringements in this case. (SD-Agencies) ? | 