星期二 | 十月 09, 2007

Santa's Chinese elves

BEIJING - While Santa Claus lives it up with Rudolph at the North Pole, his elves have relocated to southern China's towns and villages.

Some 70% of the world's Christmas ornaments and other paraphernalia now originate in officially atheist mainland China. Tinsel, Santas, mistletoe and artificial trees of every shape and hue are churned out at a relentless pace by thousands of factory workers in Guangdong, Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces.

According to the China General Administration of customs, Guangdong on its own exported more than US$620 million worth
of Christmas products in 2004. For the country as a whole, the figure was over $1 billion.

Even the White House now celebrates a "Made in China" Christmas. In 2003, seven of the trees adorning the US president's residence were manufactured in China. In fact more than two-thirds of the world's artificial Christmas trees are made in the single city of Shenzhen.

As winter's icy tentacles lead into Christmas, Santa's Chinese elves are enjoying a bit of a quiet period after having toiled for the majority of the year. "Our busy period is really February to October," says He Li, assistant sales manager of Yiwu Festival Gifts Company. The company has annual sales of over $12 million and employs between 800-1,000 workers. It exports 90% of its products to the US, Russia and Chile and specializes in manufacturing hanging toys, trees and Christmas gifts.

The city of Yiwu in central Zhejiang province, where the company is located, is today one of the Christmas industry's global centers. The city's gargantuan Futian market, spread over 3.7 million square feet, is a primary source of the world's knickknacks. Last year, Yiwu posted sales of $2.5 billion, $1.5 billion of that in exports.

Like many places in China, it has abundant cheap labor. Two-thirds of the 316,000 farmers in the surrounding countryside have left the land to become part of Yiwu's mega-export machine. An additional 400,000 migrant workers have come from other provinces.

Yiwu's peasant-workers aren't the only ones thankful for Christmas. According to Xinhua, China's official news agency, more than 7,000 farmers living in Xiaoguanzhuang town in Jiangsu province collectively manufactured some 100 million Christmas decorations for export in 2004, earning close to $48.3 million. The town now has 45 large businesses and more than 400 processing workshops producing angels, trees and reindeer.

Many of the Pearl and Yangtze River delta Christmas product manufacturers have their own websites in English and Spanish, and some are starting to branch out into other holidays, such as Halloween. But competition is stiff. "We have begun to feel the heat a little in the last two years because there are so many small factories that have set up shop in our city, driving down prices," says Edith Yan, the sales representative of Decoart Design & Manufacturing Ltd, located in Huizhou, Guangdong.

Recent labor shortages in the Pearl River Delta have meant higher salaries. Both Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, and Shenzhen pushed up their minimum wages by a third earlier this year, to $83 per month. Combined with the rising costs of raw materials like plastic, profit margins are suffering.

A six-foot-high tree in Yiwu's Futian market for example, is priced at less than $4. A package of six sparkling ornaments costs about 25 cents to make, and sells for 36 cents.

Concerns regarding product quality and intellectual property rights have also begun to hinder the mainland's exports to Europe. According to Xinhua, Guangdong's Christmas exports actually fell by 19.6% last year, compared to 2003.

For the country as a whole, exports fell by 14.7%. Nonetheless, Yan says that large companies like Decoart are weathering the storm with relative ease. With annual sales of over $10 million, Decoart's customer base remains stable. But she says companies must constantly innovate to gain an edge.

According to a recent report on globalsources.com, a sourcing information website that specializes in China, the over 1,000 suppliers of Christmas lights in China are releasing "unique designs in diverse colors, styles and effects with greater frequency, to remain competitive amid an intense price war". Laser crystals and holograms are being pressed into use in the unrelenting quest for novelty.

And while exports may be slowing down, domestic demand is picking up. Two percent of Decoart's Christmas decorations are now sold domestically, according to Yan. China's Communist Party banned public Christmas celebrations at one point in 1993. But today, rather than being judged as a vehicle for insidious ideological pollution, Christmas is seen by Beijing as an opportunity for encouraging consumer spending. yiwu export agent

Hotels, restaurants and shop fronts across the flashier Chinese cities are thus bedecked in wreaths and glittering Christmas trees. Usually surly salespersons in supermarkets are transformed into sexy Santa's helpers in red and white. He of Yiwu Festival Gifts says that while 10 years ago, most people in Yiwu would have been hard pressed to even say what Christmas was, today's youngsters celebrate the festival by decorating their houses and exchanging presents. yiwu hotels

For the bulk of the toiling "elves" in southern China's factories, however, Santa Claus remains as alien as if he really were at the North Pole. Asked whether the company told its workers anything about the festival for which they spend their days and years producing baubles, Yan answers, "Christmas is not a big traditional festival here and we don't celebrate it. Our workers are mostly middle-aged women who don't need to know anything about it."

yiwu china
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Scaling a Great Wall: Top 5 Tips for Learning Chinese

As a non-Asian student in the 1980’s who graduated with a B.A. in Chinese language and history from Cornell, and an M.A. in East Asian Studies from Yale focused on classical Chinese literature, I became somewhat of a “curiosity”for family and friends. Back then, China was only just starting to emerge from its isolation in the international community, and my own interest in studying Chinese raised many eyebrows - as if I was pursuing a subject which was way out on the fringe, and had little practical career applications.

When I subsequently began my career in business after completing an M.B.A at Columbia in the early 1990s, China was already starting to flex its commercial and political muscles on the international scene. However, even at that time, many of my acquaintances and business colleagues in the United States still viewed my fluency in Chinese as not much more than an unusual topic for social conversation, and an ability that would enable me to order the best, and most authentic food in Chinese restaurants.

That was then, this is now.

In 2006, China’s central and growing role in international political and business affairs is both universally recognized, and constantly making headlines across the world. As a result, the United States has now, finally, been bitten with Chinese language fever. In cities across our country, Chinese language programs are rapidly emerging to address the needs of busy business professionals who are looking to fast-track a working competency in Chinese.

At the same time, the recently enacted National Security Education Program’s Chinese K-16 Pipeline Project has injected new urgency to the development of Chinese language education at the primary and secondary school levels, and our media has already begun to broadcast images of elementary school students engaged in Chinese dialogues, and forming their first written Chinese characters.

According to Claudia Ross, my first Chinese teacher at Cornell, who is now Professor of Chinese at Holy Cross College and a twice past-president of the Chinese Language Teacher’s Association, the 2005 academic year witnessed an unprecedented spike in Chinese language enrollments at colleges and universities across the country. Our institutions of higher learning are now scrambling to keep up with this emerging demand, and Fall 2006 enrollments in Chinese courses are expected to reach record levels.

Against this backdrop, my own Chinese language fluency has suddenly placed me in the position of “trusted advisor”for colleagues and students who are increasingly seeking me out for advice on how to best learn this language. So, from one long-term student of Chinese, to all those who aspire to achieve a working knowledge of this fascinating language, here are my top five insights:

1. Understand that Chinese, while difficult, can also be very easy to learn.

Most people believe that Chinese is one of the most difficult languages in the world. In some senses, this is true. The Chinese writing system is non-alphabetic, comprising thousands of pictographs called “characters,” which need to be studied and internalized through rote memorization and constant reading and writing over a long period of time. Additionally, Chinese is a tonal language, meaning that changing the shape of one’s voice over a single syllable can actually generate multiple words with multiple meanings. The most famous example in Mandarin Chinese is the syllable “ma” which, depending on how it is pronounced, might mean “mother,” “hemp,” “horse,” or the verb “to scold.” This is a feature of the spoken language which does not exist in the same form in Western languages, and therefore can pose great challenges to many non-Asian students.

However, what most non-Chinese do not realize is that the language boasts one of the easiest grammars in the world. Sentence structure largely mirrors that of English (subject + verb + object). Verbs exist in a single form, with no conjugations whatsoever.

There is no gender, no plural nouns, and while mechanisms do exist to express tense (e.g. past/present/future), they are much simpler than those of any Western language. American students who are much more familiar with both Spanish and French would instantly find Chinese grammar refreshingly basic, and much more accessible than those languages.

2. Learn Mandarin, not Cantonese.

There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of regional and local spoken Chinese dialects which have developed over the long period of China’s classical history when transportation was rudimentary, broadcast media non-existent, and most people lived and died within a small radius of their birth places. Although speakers of all Chinese dialects share the same, non-phonetic written language, many of the dialects are mutually unintelligible when spoken, giving rise to the unique ability of Chinese speakers from different regions to write to each other, even when they cannot speak with each other. Among Chinese who have emigrated, the two most common spoken dialects are Mandarin and Cantonese. For example, within the largest Chinese communities in the United States, each of these dialects accounts for roughly half of all speakers.

For non-Chinese seeking to learn the language, though, Mandarin is the clear choice. Mandarin, the predominant dialect in Northern China, is the official language of politics, education, and media in both Mainland China and Taiwan, and it is one of the four official languages of Singapore. Even in Hong Kong, which historically has been a Cantonese-speaking area, Mandarin use is on the rise since the return of China’s sovereignty in 1997. In Mainland China, the Chinese word for “Mandarin” translates as the “common language,” and outside of the Mainland it is most often referred to as the “national language” both these terms are indicative of the broad reach which a competency in Mandarin can afford a speaker. Fortunately, for students of Chinese, Mandarin is also arguably the easiest of all the Chinese dialects to learn, owing to a tonal structure which is much simpler than that of Cantonese and most other dialects.

3. Speak first, then decide if you need to read and write.

Given the complexity of the Chinese written language, contrasted to the comparative simplicity of the grammar, prospective students of Chinese would do well to focus on learning to speak first, and only then tackle the written language if their studies or business require them to do so. While the tonal character of the spoken language is a challenge, this can be mastered fairly quickly, in contrast to the many years needed to achieve a working familiarity with the several thousand written characters that most educated Chinese adults have learned. Of course, most Chinese language programs simultaneously teach both the spoken and written language. It is up to the individual student to decide where to emphasize his or her needs.

4. If you do decide to write Chinese, consider learning “simplified” characters.

There are two major Chinese writing systems currently in use in the world — “traditional” or “complicated” Chinese characters, and “simplified” Chinese characters. Traditional characters are the characters which evolved from ancient Chinese pictographs, and which have been used throughout most of Chinese history to modern times. Many of these characters are, at the same time, both beautiful and complex, requiring students of Chinese to spend many hours and nights practicing intricate “stroke orders” to properly form words. Beginning in the middle of last century, the government in Mainland China began to promulgate an alternate system of Chinese writing called “simplified” characters in an effort to dramatically increase written literacy throughout the country. For many characters, this system significantly reduces the number of brush or pen strokes required to form specific words, thereby enabling students to more quickly commit the characters to memory.

Today, simplified characters are the official script of both Mainland China and Singapore, while traditional characters are still the norm in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and within most Chinese immigrant communities throughout the world. While I would still encourage students of Chinese who intend to spend many years developing and refining their abilities to begin by learning traditional characters (and only then overlay a knowledge of simplified characters), anyone seeking to accelerate his acquisition of the written language would do well to begin with the simplified script.

5. Take your studies seriously.

Unlike many Western languages which share some common linguistic roots with English and which can often be learned fairly quickly with a large amount of self-study, acquiring a basic competency in a language as different from English as Chinese requires a high level of commitment and perseverance. Practically speaking, this means that:

Unless you have an unusual aptitude for learning foreign languages, you probably won’t learn Chinese in a once-a-week, one-hour private session. Rather, start by looking for an established Chinese language program or workshop. Universities and established language schools are a good place to start. Some colleges even offer intensive courses that cram a full year of basic Chinese into 4-8 weeks. Do your homework to find the best program. WOW Gold
If you still seek a tutorial, merely looking for a native speaker of Chinese to study with does not always mean you will obtain the best instruction. Chinese immigrants constitute the single largest Asian American population, representing 3+ million people nationwide, many of whom would be happy to teach new students of Chinese. However, teaching Western students to overcome the unique hurdles of the language is a skill. If you decide on private lessons, look for a native-speaker with proven professional or private teaching credentials, as well as a roster of former student references.
Finally, practice, practice, practice. The good news is that those 3+ million Chinese Americans are our neighbors. Once you have developed basic conversational skills, go into the top Chinese communities of our country and speak. Order a lunch, buy a book, chit-chat about the weather, or ask for directions — even if you don’t need any! Westerners who have mastered Chinese will also unanimously confirm that real fluency comes only when one has spent some time in a Chinese-speaking region of Asia. So, get ready for your next business trip, take advantage of the many short-term or long-term Chinese language courses available in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, or Singapore, or just plan a personal or family adventure to Asia.
One of those very famous Chinese sayings says, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”Well, it definitely does not need to take a “thousand miles” to learn Chinese, but the time is certainly now ripe for more Americans to take that first step

Great Wall
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Sans Digital Introduces AccuNAS 104LS

Santa Fe Springs, CA - September 21, 2007 - Sans Digital, a leading provider of high performance storage subsystems, today introduced AccuNAS AN104LS, a unified storage appliance that supports both NAS and iSCSI storage simultaneously in a 1U rack mount. While the original AN104L model is designed to utilize hardware based PCIe RAID engines, the new AN104LS is redesigned to support RAID 5 without additional hardware to provide businesses with an affordable IP storage solution.

The AN104LS series offers comprehensive IP storage in a feature-dense 1U server with Intel Celeron D Processor, with option to upgrade to Pentium Dual Core Processor. Utilizing the same concept in the AN104L model, the AN104LS is built with simple setup and maintenance features. Both the AN104LS and the AN104L include an installation wizard for easy implementation, convenience web-based management for local or remote configuration, dual 10/100/1000 network support for teaming or redundant networking, and RAID 5 support for data storage. In comparison to other NAS products in the market, both the AccuNAS AN104LS and AN104L are bundled with additional advanced and useful features at no additional cost. These features include iSCSI target support for server side iSCSI applications, iSCSI initiator support for easy future expansion, NAS to NAS folder replication, scheduled or on-demand volume snapshot, local tape backup support, and more.

"The trouble free AccuNAS series comes with enterprise-class features and stability," stated Grandy Chen, Sans Digital's Executive Vice President. "A performance tuned and security harden IP storage with unlimited clients, up to 4TB storage, PCI-X expansion for storage expansion with other AccuRAID storage subsystem, and dual Gigabit Ethernet are just some of the features that allow the AccuNAS series to satisfy any network storage need." More product details can be found on the Sans Digital

About Sans Digitalwelding wire

Sans Digital, located in Santa Fe Springs, CA is a provider of high capacity, multi-functional advanced storage solutions. These advanced storage solutions can be used for home offices, small and medium-sized businesses, video editing, data backup, surveillance systems, and other various industries. Our products provide suitable solutions for individuals and companies across the world that need effective and reliable data storage.

Fiberglass Window Screening
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星期一 | 十月 08, 2007

Are you sure your smoke alarm works?

On May 2, 2004 a tragic house fire in Montreal took the lives of three children. Fire officials believe the deaths could have been prevented if there had been a working smoke alarm in the house.
“Almost all Canadian homes have at least one smoke alarm,” says Canada Safety Council president Emile Therien. “Smoke alarms go off at the first sign of a fire, so people can get out.”
According to Therien, the kitchen is the most dangerous room for fires, and deep frying is the most common cause. A burning pot of oil which was being used to cook french fries was apparently the cause of the Montreal fire.
Smoke Alarms Save Lives
Investigations into home fire deaths very often find that a smoke alarm did not sound. It may have been disconnected or not in working order. The batteries may have been dead, or someone may have taken them out.
Most fatal fires start at night, says Therien. Smoke alone won't necessarily wake you up. In fact, the fumes could put you into an even deeper sleep. Often, victims never wake up. Only a working smoke alarm can save your life.
The Canada Safety Council advises all Canadians to make sure their smoke alarms are working. A dead unit is worse than none at all — it can give you a false sense of security.
Smoke Alarm Basics
You need a smoke alarm on every level of your home. Single level homes and apartments should have smoke alarms near the kitchen and all sleeping areas.
Test your alarm monthly by pushing the test button. Once a year, use a smouldering cotton string, cigarette or incense until the smoke makes the alarm sound. If the alarm is battery-powered and doesn't sound, replace it with a new battery and try again. If it's electrically connected to household circuits and doesn't sound, check the fuse and try again. In either case, if the alarm still isn't working, replace the entire unit.
Replace the batteries twice a year, or when you hear intermittent beeping. Don't use rechargeable batteries. Unlike regular batteries, they lose their charge without emitting any warning signal.
Smoke alarms can be electrically powered, battery powered or a combination of both. Whatever kind you have, remember they don't last forever. Err on the side of safety - replace them every five years with new ones. smoke alarm smoke detector
Make sure everyone in your home recognizes the sound of the alarm and knows what to do in case of a fire. Know two ways out of every room and have a prearranged meeting place outside. Practise your home fire escape plan regularly. Once out, stay out, and call the fire department from the nearest phone. Never go back into your home until the fire department says it is safe.
Types of Smoke Alarms
A flaming fire burns combustibles quickly, spreads rapidly and generates a lot of heat but only a little smoke. Cooking fat or grease, flammable liquids, newspapers, paint, and cleaning solutions all burn quickly and create more flames than smoke. Ionization type smoke alarms typically respond first to fast flaming fires. They are best suited for rooms which contain highly combustible materials. emergency button gas leakage detector
A smouldering fire produces a lot of smoke but little heat. Careless smoking, for example, may lead to fires which can smoulder for hours before bursting into flame. Photoelectric type smoke alarms typically respond first to slow smouldering fires and are less prone to nuisance alarms near the kitchen area. These models are best suited for living rooms, bedrooms and near kitchens. motion detector gas detector
For maximum protection, install at least one ionization and one photoelectric type smoke alarm on each level of your home.
For more information on smoke alarms contact your local fire department.PIR detector

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The 15th China International Stone Processing Machinery Equipment and Products Exhibition

STONETECH2007 kept its increasing momentum!
STONETECH 2007 BEIJING rendered another big surprise to both exhibitors and trade visitors. STONETECH 2007 BEIJING took up the whole CIEC fairground with a total size of 65,000 sqm. 816 exhibitors from China, Turkey, Italy, Brazil, Spain, Morocco, Egypt, Greece, North America etc took part in the grand event. Pavilion organizers increased their budgets for STONETECH, and the tremendous booth buildings have proved on this.
Up to 87.4% of the exhibitors rated STONETECH as the most important event in year.
Chinese companies have kept their enthusiasm on displaying their latest products including new stone colors and top stone processing technology because they firmly believe Beijing and Shanghai have been and will be the largest stone consuming areas in the north and south China respectively, and they are right.
For 13 years already, the exhibitors from all over the world have been considering STONETECH as an important international event for global communication among the stone producers and dealers. For most of the international participants, showing up in STONETECH once every year is the key part of their promotional plan. People seldom find a previous exhibitor missing in the current edition of STONETECH. That means the number of the overseas exhibitors never falls, but constantly increases. Take a look at the grand booth they’ve built for themselves will convince you of the opinion.
National Pavilions continued expanding their exhibiting space.
Relevant associations and governmental bodies from different countries brought collective participations from Turkey, Italy, Brazil, Morocco, Egypt, Spain and Greece. There's also a regional participation from Chinese Taiwan in STONETECH 2007 BEIJING. The companies from the above countries were located together, under ONE booth decoration that makes a gigantic view to attract the passers-by.
Among the national pavilions, Turkey gave a surprise by an occupation of 1,500 sqm net exhibiting space, and the hall 2 of CIEC belonged to this country with huge natural stone resources for the 4 days of the exhibition. yiwu Translation Service
Egypt is also planning on a collective participation of up to 30 companies in the next edition in Shanghai; the same for Morocco who finally managed to be present at the grand event despite of all the difficulties, they will bring to Shanghai more companies than ever partially because their beautiful stone with sea shells fossils got them quite a dozen of orders during the show.
94.5% of visitors were involved in purchasing decision in their company.
Government officials, realtors and other stone purchasers from hotels building companies, city infrastructure constructors make up the majority of STONETECH's trade visitors. Stone end products' producers from Egypt, Italy, and Morocco and so on are selling well to those direct buyers at STONETECH 2007 BEIJING. And most of the companies have established good relation with the officials from the capital city of China and the most prosperous city of Shanghai. 500 realtors in Beijing received the invitation to attend STONETECH 2007 BEIJING and 72 percent of them showed up for the sake of the easy approach to the fair ground in the same city where their companies are located. In addition, 94.5% of visitors are involving in purchasing decision in their company. export agent in yiwu yiwu export agent

Visiting delegations from Iran, Singapore, USA and India also arrived as scheduled with the organizer. They've reported that STONETECH 2007 BEIJING is the best opportunity for them to meet with different suppliers so as to make a compare for their purchasing. What's more, Since STONETECH is an international trade show, the buyer could meet not only with the Chinese local suppliers, they are also doing perfect business with the international participants.
Exhibits Profile: china daily use articles yiwu market
1. Raw Blocks
2. Slab
3. Irregular Crafts
4. Stone Carvings
5. Graves and Memorials
6. Landscaping
7. Machinery, Plant and Tools
8. Industrial Safety, Environmental Protection
9. Maintenance and Accessories
10. Association and Publication
Contact us:
Mr. Jones Lu & Mr. Leo Wang
 export from yiwu

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China Gifts, Chinese Gift Etiquette, Gift Ideas in China, Gift Giving in China, Gift Taboos

It is important to know that gifts are a major part of the Chinese culture. For example, the Chinese would much rather reciprocate a gift with another gift than to send a ‘thank you’ card. When visiting someone in China, especially if you are a guest in their house, it is imperative that you bring a gift (whatever the monetary value) to show respect to the host.
In this article, you will learn about gifts, gift giving, and gift ideas that are appropriate in China, and which gifts are not appropriate (and should be avoided). yiwu china gifts
Gifts / Gift Etiquette in ChinaBringing a gift for your friend, relative, business partner, or host is a good idea. Depending on the nature of your visit, your gift may vary. Gifts are an important way to build relationships in China. Chinese are fond of items that are not accessible in China. For example, items that are hand-made, from your country, or both, are highly valued. The Chinese do not usually open gifts when they receive them. You should not open a gift given to you unless they insist. The Chinese will decline a gift two or three times (sometimes even more) before accepting. Do not give up on the first try, but be sensitive to genuine refusals. A proper way to show appreciation for a gift is another gift in return, as opposed to thank you cards. Chinese Gift Symbolism, Gift-Giving, Gift Advice, Taboos Do not give knives, scissors as they symbolize breaking a relationship. Also avoid clocks, or anything in sets of four (four is an unlucky number as it sounds like “death”). import from yiwu Six, eight and nine are a lucky numbers. For business relations, foreign cigarettes, cognac, fine whiskey, and quality wines are great gift ideas. Insider Tip: If you know that your contact likes chocolate, consider bringing some high-end chocolate, as Chinese chocolate is waxy and lacks flavor. Anything you can get at a Western market or grocery story will suffice, but specialty chocolate will be sure to leave a lasting impression. Chinese avoid giving each other clocks as gifts are because the phrase “give a clock as a gift” is “song zhong”, which in Chinese sounds like you are “wishing someone death.” This does not apply to watches, just clocks. Never slice a pear in two and offer a half to someone (especially if you like them). This is symbolic of breaking up, because the phrase is “li kai”, which has the double meaning of “cut a pear” and “break up”.
If you love someone, you can buy them a belt. It means that you want to “hold them” forever! Watches and wallets are also good gifts for lovebirds. Traditional western “love” gifts (like chocolate and roses) are becoming more common. Insider Tip: For the Mid-Autumn Festival, or “Zhong Qiu Jie”, (roughly falls in September) you should give a box of moon cake and give walnuts. yiwu china yiwu hotels
A flower arrangement is an acceptable gift, but never give white chrysanthemums, or any white flowers for that matter, as they are traditionally used for funerals. Giving an apple basket is nice because apple, or “ping guo”, sounds like peace. If someone has just moved into a new house, it would be appropriate to give a vase, or “hua ping”, as it also sounds like peace. Insider Tip: If someone opens a store or starts a business, give the bamboo flower or “shui zhu” as a gift. By giving this gift, as represented by the many rings in the bamboo stem, you are wishing them continual growth and income. Gifts can be wrapped or presented in a gift bag, but do not choose the color white. Red and gold are the best colors for gift paper, bags, or boxes.china arts and crafts


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Great Wall blocks gene flow

The Great Wall of China, built to hinder marauding tribes, hampers the flow of plant genes too. Members of the same species growing on either side are genetically different, a new study of the Juyong Guan region has found.
Plant populations are known to diverge like this when their habitat is divided by a natural barrier, such as a mountain range or glacier. The changes in genetic make-up seen along the Great Wall are likely to have occurred over the past 600 years, since the time of the Ming Dynasty, which built this section of wall.
The differences "show how rapidly changes in [plant] populations can occur", comments Peter Raven of the Missouri Botanical Gardens in St Louis. Great Wall WOW Gold
Hongya Gu and her team from Peking University in Bejing studied plants from three sites 70 kilometres north of Beijing. At two of the sites, the terrain is separated by the wall, which is six metres high and just as wide. At the third control site, a narrow mountain path runs through the vegetation. The team analysed 416 DNA samples from six species with different habitats, pollination styles and reproductive systems.
Plants isolated by the Great Wall are genetically more diverse than their unconfined counterparts, the team found1. The habitats on separate sides of the wall can be subtly different, so "one would presume that these differences are adaptive", says Raven.Insects seem to do a better job of delivering pollen and shuffling genes between neighbouring plants than the wind. On the same side of the wall, insect-pollinated plants such as the woody shrub Vitex negundo are genetically more varied than wind-pollinated plants, such as the Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila) the study found. Fiberglass Window Screening welding wire
"Honeybees can cross the wall easily," says Gu, so compared with wind-pollinated plants, insect-pollinated species are more likely to share genes across the wall.
The earliest record of the Great Wall is from 656 BC. Since then, many Emperors in successive dynasties have extended or renovated it. The Ming section of the wall was built between 1368 and 1644. It is over 5,000 kilometres long, incorporating watchtowers and cannon, and snaking across some of China's most forbidding terrain.

 名人名言

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星期日 | 十月 07, 2007

Padlockable emergency stop button

This invention relates to a padlockable emergency stop button set on a mounting wall and including an actuation head, which is capable of acting upon electrical contacts, on the one hand by moving in translation along a determined axis from a go position to an interlocked stop position and, on the other hand, of turning about this axis in order to be unlocked so as to return to the go position.
There are already numerous devices that allow levers and buttons for actuating electrical apparatus to be padlocked into a position which restricts them to remaining in the stop position (see for example document EP-202 991). These devices operate either by clamping an actuating button that controls both the stopping and the starting of an apparatus in the stop position or by clamping a button that only controls the starting of the apparatus in the inactive position. The application of known devices to an emergency stop button is not easy however since the head of the button is recessed in its stop position.
The invention aims to permit very simply and in a manner that takes up little space, the padlocking of an emergency stop button of the type described, that can be unlocked by rotation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, a lug is made integral with the actuation head, preferably with a tubular skirt of it, projecting radially towards the outside and a sliding plate is provided for blocking the actuation head, this sliding plate being able to be pulled and displaced in translation in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the emergency stop button, from a blocking position to an unblocking position and having an element for stopping the rotation of the lug and at least one orifice for a padlock to pass through. Furthermore, the sliding plate can be advantageously fitted with an overhang provided to work with the lug via an abutment so that, in the go position it prevents the sliding plate coming out, and/or in the stop position it prevents the actuation head coming back up in an untimely way.
Preferably, the element stopping rotation of the lug is an abutment face provided on a longitudinal bar of the sliding plate in order to block the rotation of the lug close to a window made in the bar to allow the lug to pass through it in rotation. Furthermore, it is advantageous that the padlocking orifice be concealed in the unblocking position by the guide surfaces for the sliding plate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The description that will be made of an embodiment of the invention, with reference to appended drawings, clarifies the advantages and effects of it.
FIG. 1 shows an elevation of an emergency stop button in the go position.
FIG. 2 shows the emergency stop button in the stop position, interlocked and blocked.
FIGS. 3 and 4 show, in section along plane P of FIGS. 1 and 2, the emergency stop button in the corresponding positions.
FIG. 5 shows, in perspective, the blocking sliding plate associated with the emergency stop button.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The emergency stop button 10 illustrated in the Figures includes an actuation head 11 fitted with a tubular skirt 12 and a push button actuated by this head to act upon an electrical apparatus which is not shown and which is housed behind a hood, a partition or another mounting wall such as the wall of a casing 14. The emergency stop button 10 is, for example, fixed to the wall 14 by means of a nut 15.
It is the type which is punched and which is unlocked by rotation, that is to say it can pass from a "go" position in which the head is out (FIG. 1) to a "stop" position in which the head is in (FIG. 2), passage between these position having taken place under the effect of a push exerted manually by the operator along an axis X. The emergency stop button remains held in the stop position by interlocking means not shown until the operator exerts a rotating movement in a clockwise direction about the axis X, the head then returning to its "go" position.
The tubular skirt of the emergency stop button has a lug 16 projecting radially towards the outside provided to work with a blocking sliding plate 20. The sliding plate can be pulled and displaced in translation along a direction Y normal to X and can take up an unblocking position (see FIGS. 1 and 3) and a blocking position (see FIGS. 2 and 4) for the emergency stop button.
As may be better seen in FIG. 3, the sliding plate 20 is arranged on the side of the emergency stop button where the lug is and includes a longitudinal bar 21 equipped, close to a gripping end 22, with a padlocking orifice 23, which can receive at least one padlock; of course, several orifices (23) could be provided. On the other hand, the bar 21 has a window 24 made in it through which the lug 16 can pass and, close to this window an abutment face 25 for the lug. In place of this window one can of course provide any other space for free passage of the lug. When one wishes to turn the head 11 in a clockwise direction, as far as its unlocking position, the window 24 allows, with the sliding plate in the unblocking position, passage of the lug 16 through it (as shown in FIG. 3 in dashed lines), while with the sliding plate in the blocking position, the abutment face 25 prevents the lug 16 from passing (as shown in dashed lines in FIG. 4).
At the end 26 opposite to the gripping end 22, the sliding plate 20 has guide faces 27a, 27b and 28a, 28b which work with the corresponding guide walls 31a, 31b and 32a, 32b provided in a housing 30; this housing is integral with the mounting wall 14 and is, for example moulded with it. The housing 30 then has a shoulder or an overhang 33 which extends parallel to plane P and perpendicular to direction X; the overhang, when the head 11 is out, prevents the sliding plate from coming out, thanks to its abutment against the lug 16 and when the head 11 is in, in the stop position, and the sliding plate has been put into a blocking position, the overhang prevents the lug from moving upwards, thereby contributing to the safety of the device. motion detector gas detector
Close to the gripping end 22, the mounting wall 14 includes in addition guide walls 34,35 which are used to guide the sliding plate and to conceal the padlocking orifice 23 of the sliding plate when it is in its blocking position.
It will be observed that the bar 21 has a ratchet element 36 such as a pin, a lug, a hard point or resilient tab to work with a complementary ratchet element 37 provided in an adjacent wall, for example, in the guide wall 34 or 35 so as to hold the sliding plate in a blocking position. Holding the sliding plate in an unblocking position is provided by friction of the various guide surfaces and possibly by the presence of a hard point. A resilient return element can be associated with the sliding plate. smoke alarm smoke detector
The described emergency stop button operates in the following way.
If initially the electrical apparatus is running, the head of the emergency stop button is out (FIG. 1). It should be noted that in this operating condition the sliding plate cannot be brought from its position in FIG. 1 to that in FIG. 2 since its overhang 33 abuts against one side of the lug 16. If the operator wants to stop the apparatus, he presses the head 11 (FIG. 2), the lug 16 staying in the nominal angular position shown in full lines in FIGS. 1 and 3. The head then stays interlocked in this position by its interlocking means which are not shown.
If he does not wish to block the button, the operator leaves the sliding plate in the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 3; he can unlock the head by turning it in a clockwise direction since the lug, being able to pass freely through the window 24 is then brought to the position shown in dashed lines in FIG. 3. The head is again pushed upwards and returns to its initial angular position under the effect of its own resilient means and the emergency stop button thereby returns to the go position. emergency button gas leakage detector
If he wishes to block the button, the operator pulls the sliding plate to cause it to pass from the position in FIG. 3 to that in FIG. 4. He can then introduce a padlock through the orifice 23 then made available, which blocks the head in the stop position: in effect, any attempt to turn the head in a clockwise direction is bound to be unsuccessful since the lug 16 abuts against face 25 of the sliding plate (in dashed lines in FIG. 4). The sliding plate is held in the blocking position by the ratchet elements 36,37. In order to unblock the button, it is advisable to remove the padlock, push the sliding plate to the position in FIG. 3 and to turn the head in a clockwise direction as previously indicatedPIR detector


Posted by xo123 at 16:55:24 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Yiwu, China: Sourcing Mecca or Commodity Hell?

Even in this country of economic miracles and overnight success stories, the city is an anomaly. What was 20 years ago an isolated farming village encircled at a distance by jagged green mountains, is today a key center for vast global trade networks. But this city is not Shenzhen, whose proximity to Hong Kong, access to the sea and status as China's first special economic zone make its 'miraculous' growth appear somewhat less divinely influenced. Nor is it Shanghai or some other coastal metropolis with long-standing ties to the international business community. Rather, we are talking about Yiwu, a small town a few hours from the Pacific coast in East China's Zhejiang province that now boasts the world's largest wholesale markets. Today this sourcing 'Mecca' attracts thousands of businessmen from all points on the compass, each drawn by the world's lowest prices on generic goods.
But how and why did the markets develop here? In a period of just two decades, how did this isolated farming town with no port, without a large (by China's standards) or skilled (by any standards) population base, nor access to any noteworthy raw materials, develop into a major player in the global supply chain?
To answer these questions, I spoke with Haresh Ahuja, an Indian sourcing agent, raised in Hong Kong, who has been coming to Yiwu for more than a decade. At that time, Yiwu didn't have the factories, epic wholesale shopping centers or the accompanying luxury hotels. Yiwu started out as a 'stock market,' he says. If a manufacturer's client rejected items for quality control or some other reason, the stock was shipped here. Sometimes the goods were completely defective, so they would be sold for well below the cost of production (and often below the cost of raw materials). A guy from Africa might come and buy 10,000 TV remote controls, none of which actually work, but maybe he knows that he can strip out some of the components and resell them for more than he has to pay here. Other times there were minor problems that might not affect a less distinguishing customer.
By the mid-nineties Yiwu was already known as "the place where you could buy shit for the price of shit." Recognizing the smell of a good deal, customers arrived in droves, especially from developing countries where price took precedence over quality. We are talking about the cheapest place on Earth to buy generic, commoditified products: buttons, Christmas lights, nail clippers, hammers, coat hangers, inflatable balls, zippers, whatever you can think of. But if you think of something new, don't tell anybody here, because they will start copying your idea within 5 minutes. According to Wikipedia, "Yiwu is also known as sock town" as it produces over three billion pairs of socks for Wal-Mart, Pringle and Disney annually. " This is Jack Welch's 'Commodity Hell.' It's a real place, and to everybody's suprise gorgeous green peaks surround the place.
Well, eventually as more and more buyers came to Yiwu, Chinese businessmen recognized the opportunity. Instead of just sending unwanted stock, why not set up production specifically for the demands of the Yiwu market. Even better, let's build the factories right in Yiwu to save on shipping costs and reduce delivery times. And so the boom began in earnest, continuing to where today Yiwu is not just a final resting place for unwanted 'shit' (though plenty of that is mixed in with the good stuff) but rather is one of the best places to find exceptional prices on a huge range of interesting, marketable products. export from yiwu yiwu
Demand for display space in Yiwu soon far outstripped supply in the city's dilapidated wholesale markets. Local government cadres, always eager to encourage economic growth, quickly put together a plan to build an enormous, ultra-modern wholesale market where manufacturers from around China could display their goods to the growing masses of foreign buyers. In 2003, the Fu Tian (Rich Fields) Market opened. With double the square footage of an international mega-airport, the market quickly became the place to source your low-cost commodities. Last year they doubled the market's size again, adding Phase II. In all the market now stretches for 3 kilometers north to south, three to five stories high and 6-10 aisles wide. And every booth is rented out, brimming with dirt-cheap products ready for immediate sale to points around the globe. To meet the demand for more display space, the city is now building Phase III of the market, which will open in 2008. yiwu market yiwu china
Clearly Yiwu is a phenomenon that could only happen in post-reforms China. Seven series BMWs vie with rickshaw bicycles for manuevering space on the city's crowded streets. New Arabian restaurants and American fast food chains pop up around nearly every corner. Specactular, verdant green mountains are left forgotten in the smoggy distance as the people in the valley below rush about in search of the next big deal. yiwu hotels yiwu Translation Service
On the surface, Yiwu's culture is all-business. There are no weekends at the wholesale markets. Sales staff rest only on national holidays, working 7-day weeks the rest of year. As a result, they approach work in a surly state characterized by utter exhaustion and a complete lack of enthusiasm. Many lay their heads on their desks in defeat. Others curl up on a cardboard mat in a vain attempt to recharge their batteries. Still more fade in and out of a half-numb trance while playing online computer games, refusing even to look up from the screen to answer a customer's questions. Smiles are rare. Any unusual requests are unceremoniously denied before any real thought is given to the idea's feasibility. Even simple things, like asking that each product be packaged in its own box, instead of in a box of 4, is quickly written off as "too much trouble."
In sum, Yiwu has sacrificed everything--quality, creativity, customer service, health and happiness--in the name of cheap prices. In that sense, the city is but a lense to provide a deeper look into China's economic 'miracle' itself, the future of which must be cast into doubt if these underlying principles of sound economies are not revisited.


Posted by xo123 at 16:26:07 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

yiwu export agent

Yiwu market is the largest commodities market in China.Each day 800 container are loaded and shipped from Yiwu City. more detail abt Yiwu Market pls visit:http://www.cvc-source.com Our company is located in Yiwu City as one of the leading import and export companies in Yiwu City. We cover all the government requirements to assist you in your foreign trade affairs. Therefore, your business is protected and you will not take any risk. Once you give us a chance, we will prove that we are your best choice as an export agent. Your satisfaction is always our best wish. We are your purchasing department in Yiwu City. yiwu export agent china daily use articlesThe only thing you have to do is to tell us what kind product you want. We will take care of the rest. Our services are as follows: 1) Manufacturers search, quotation, price negotiation, orders following and quality control 2) Guide tour to factories, showrooms, wholesale markets in Yiwu and cities nearby 3) Custom clearance and all necessary documentation 4) Booking container, sea, air inland transportation 5) English, Spanish, French,Arabic translation 6) Domestic and local transportation service 7) Hotel reservation and picking clients up from the airport and markets Free warehouse and office for temporary use 9) Lowest commission for 5% of total amount The translation services from our company are as follows: 1) We provide professional guide in Yiwu market, make sure that the supplier know what kind of product you want 2) We write down the details that you enquire and take pictures of the items you are interested in with a piece of white cloth as background 3) export agent in yiwu china gifts We pick you up from the markets 4) We make an excel sheet about every detail of the product With our help, you will make business very easily. We will offer new products. So you will have more advantage on your competitors. Permit us to be your commercial allied in China. We guarantee an honest, long term and commercial affair. You can find the following goods in Yiwu wholesale market with a competitive price: 1) Imitation jewelry and fashion accessories 2) Artificial plants and flowers 3) Oil painting and frame 4) Arts and crafts 5) Handy tools and hardware 6) Daily use items 7) Kitchenware and house ware Toys 9) Undergarments and socks 10) Glasses and optical equipments 11) Stationery and sports items 12) Scarf and shawl 13) Electrical and electronic items 14) Clock and watches 15) Bags and suitcase 16) Miscellaneous We provide export agent service, purchase service for clients who would like to purchase commodity directly from commodity market.
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Posted by xo123 at 15:52:09 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |