July

1
The Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the world's most elevated railroad, opens to traffic.

6
China and India restart border trade through the Nathu La Pass, a major trading hub wedged between Yadong County of Tibet's Xigaze Prefecture and India's Sikkim State that had been closed for 44 years.

6
The First Confucius Institute Conference is held in Beijing.

8-9
China and Japan hold the sixth round of East China Sea talks in Beijing. Both sides agree in principle to set up a communication mechanism to cope with accidents in the disputed sea area.

11
Chinese Olympic champion Liu Xiang sets a world record of 12.88 seconds in the men's 110-meter hurdles at a super grand prix meet in Lausanne, Switzerland.

12
The giant panda sanctuaries in southwest China's Sichuan Province are included on the World Heritage List at the 30th Session of the World Heritage Committee.

13
The 30th Session of the World Heritage Committee decides to put Yin Xu, the ruins of an ancient capital city of the late Shang Dynasty (1300-1046 B.C.) in Anyang in central China's Henan Province, on the World Heritage List.

24
Proposals to regulate foreign investment in China's real estate sector are jointly issued by the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission, the People's Bank of China, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. The new regulatory measures included an increase in the ratio of registered capital in property developers' overall investment and restrictions on residential property purchases by foreign institutions and individuals.

August 

10
Typhoon Saomai, the strongest storm to hit the Chinese mainland in 50 years, lashes east China's Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, leaving 411 people dead and 85 missing.

12
Shih Ming-teh, former Chairman of Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party, launches an anti-graft campaign to oust Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian over a string of scandals.

September

1
The new Compulsory Education Law takes effect. According to the law, the state would not charge tuition or other fees during nine years of compulsory education.

4
Post management bureaus and postal service companies are established in Zhejiang, Shandong, Sichuan, Shaanxi and Tianjin on the basis of a restructuring scheme of the former state-owned post bureaus, marking the first step to separate government functions from postal business in the country.

8
China Financial Futures Exchange, the country's first futures exchange dealing in financial derivatives trade, is incorporated in Shanghai.

24
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) decides to remove Chen Liangyu from the post of secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the CPC for his involvement in a social security fund scandal. Chen was also suspended from the posts of member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and member of the CPC Central Committee.