Beijing authorities switched off the landscape lights and flood
lamps at Wangfujing, the busiest commercial street in the Chinese
capital, for 30 minutes Sunday night, in the hope of raising the
public awareness of saving energy.
The lamps along the 810-meter-long street and indoor lights were
not shut off during the blackout so people could shop as usual,
said Li Jun, an official with the construction and management
office of the Wangfujing area.
"The glamorously-lighted street has been a famous tourist
attraction for more than 20 years. I think a blackout here is
significant to promote energy conservation for sustainable
development," said Li.
In some communities of Beijing, residents also switched off
lights and unplugged appliances in the mean time to experience the
adverse effects caused by lack of energy.
Beijing is one of the eight Chinese cities, which also include
Shanghai, Harbin, Xi'an, Chongqing, Nanjing, Wuhan and Shenzhen,
that joined in this "nationwide energy saving activity" proposed by
the National Development and Reform Commission early this
month.
In Shanghai, the landscape lights on the Bund were off from 8 pm
till 8:30 pm while more than 300 guests from all walks of life, in
white T-shirts printed with "nationwide energy saving activity,"
were invited to perform a chorus on the Bund.
"The 30-minute blackout is surely exemplary but I hope the
government can take some concrete measures to adjust the lighting
system and promote the energy-saving lamps," said Long Weiding, a
professor at Tongji University.
(Xinhua News Agency September 24, 2007)
