BEIJING, April 3 (Xinhua) -- On a recent weekday in Shanghai, a small boy walked through a subway gate without ducking or squeezing. The turnstile, redesigned as a rounded arch at a child's height, allowed him to pass through upright smoothly.It's a really thoughtful touch, very convenient, said his parents.The small adjustment reflects a broader shift across China toward reimagining facilities, services and policies from a child's height.After years of building more playgrounds and family amenities, China is now expanding the scope and upgrading the quality of its child-friendly development, highlighting a one-meter perspective principle, roughly the eye level of a young child.The call was made by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's top economic planner, and the State Council's working body on women and children in recently released policy guidelines.The concept of child-friendly cities emerged during China's 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) when cities were encouraged to support children's safe and healthy development. By the end of 2025, a total of 116 cities had launched pilot programs, benefiting over 110 million children.Now, the effort is entering a new phase: from scattered urban pilots to a nationwide, institutionalized framework spanning both urban and rural areas at a higher level.It is not just a physical upgrade of public spaces, said Zhang Jing, former chief planner of the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design. It represents a deeper reshaping of how cities are planned and governed.In earlier years, the task was to build more playgrounds and activity centers. Today, the focus has shifted to whether those facilities actually work for children.Consider a familiar scene for many parents: lifting a toddler to an adult-height sink in a public restroom, which can be both cumbersome and a little risky. The new guidelines call for more child-accessible facilities in malls, transit hubs and tourist sites....

BEIJING, April 3 (Xinhua) -- The narcotic control authorities from China, Thailand and Vietnam on Thursday jointly cracked a transnational drug manufacturing case, arresting 41 suspects, China's Ministry of Public Security said Friday.

China is likely to see 90.5 million railway passenger trips from Friday to next Tuesday during the upcoming Qingming Festival holiday travel rush, according to the national railway operator.

Ma Xingrui, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has been placed under disciplinary and supervisory investigation, an official statement said Friday.

BEIJING, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities have launched a new campaign to crack down on illicit intermediaries involved in illegal and borderline-legal activities in the financial sector, as part of a drive to maintain regulatory order and protect consumers.The campaign, coordinated by the Ministry of Public Security and the National Financial Regulatory Administration, will target illegal deposit and loan intermediaries, unapproved online lending services, and illicit insurance agents, among others, according to a meeting held on Thursday.Authorities vowed to deepen investigations into criminal networks and pursue those behind the operations. They also called for improved financial services alongside stronger law enforcement to root out illegal activities in the sector.In a previous round of crackdowns from June to November 2025, police investigated more than 1,500 cases and broke up over 200 criminal gangs, with nearly 30 billion yuan (4.35 billion U.S. dollars) involved.

JIUQUAN, April 3 (Xinhua) -- A flight test of China's Tianlong-3 Y1 private commercial carrier rocket failed on Friday after the rocket's launch from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone in northwest China.Having blasted off at 12:17 p.m. (Beijing Time), the commercial rocket experienced an anomaly during flight, resulting in the failure of the mission.The specific cause is currently under analysis and investigation.