BEIJING

Vaccine tracking system's deadline set

China has required the completion of a national vaccine tracking system before March 31 to make all vaccines on the market traceable, according to a recent circular. The circular, issued by the National Medical Products Administration and the National Health Commission, specified the responsibilities of the NMPA, provincial drug regulators, provincial health authorities and authorized manufacturers in building such a system. The NMPA is working to launch a collaborative platform to integrate information about vaccine production, circulation and inoculation, the circular said.

JIANGSU

New rail lines to aid less-developed area

Two rail lines entered operation in Jiangsu province on Monday, bringing relatively underdeveloped northern Jiangsu into the country's fast-developing high-speed rail network for the first time. The Xuzhou-Yancheng High-Speed Railway, with a length of 313 kilometers, has a designed speed of 250 kilometers per hour. A section of the 108-km Lianyungang-Zhenjiang High-Speed Railway, which connects Lianyungang with Huai'an, also went into operation on Monday. The opening of the new railroads marks the interconnection of five prefecture-level cities in northern Jiangsu by high-speed railway. With more sections to be launched next year, the new rail services will help ease the transportation pressure of the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway and aid people in relatively less-developed northern Jiangsu in shaking off poverty.

GUANGDONG

Rare crane spotted in S. China for first time

The Siberian crane was spotted for the first time in Guangdong province, according to local researchers. Locals in Xinhui district in the city of Jiangmen recently reported nine birds that have not been seen before in a local pond. Researchers later confirmed that the birds－eight adults and one baby－are Siberian cranes, or Grus leucogeranus, a first-class nationally protected animal. There are only around 4,000 Siberian cranes worldwide, and the species is listed as "critically endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Zhang Min, an assistant researcher with the Guangdong Institute of Applied Biological Resources, said the birds usually migrate during winter to Poyang Lake in Jiangxi province. It is rare for these nine birds to fly south for another 800 kilometers to Xinhui district, he said.