Songzhuang artist town seen through a lens

13:30, November 29, 2020

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  Exhibition shows peking opera through the lens of contemporary arts

  Ink paintings portraying classic Peking Opera roles by artist Li Wenpei. [Photo/China Daily] An exhibition, at downtown Beijing's Star Theater, presents Peking Opera through contemporary arts. Bringing together about 40 works from 9 Chinese artists focusing on the old art form, the exh

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  Airbnb to crash through pandemic

  A family on vacation leaves an apartment of Airbnb. (Photo: VCG)Airbnb Inc said on Tuesday it is aiming for a valuation of up to $34.8 billion in its initial public offering (IPO), in what would cap a stunning recovery in its fortunes after the US home rental firms business was heavily damaged by the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year.In a regulatory filing, Airbnb set a target price range of between $44 and $50 a piece to sell 51.9 million shares, which would pull in $2.6 billion. Airbnb could end up selling $2.85 billion at the upper end of the range.Of the shares being sold, Airbnb founders Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk will together sell nearly $100 million worth of shares during the IPO launch.Airbnb struggled in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic as travel came to a grinding halt. It had to lay off a quarter of its workforce and seek $2 billion in emergency funding from investors, including private equity firms Silver Lake and Sixth Street Partners.But as lockdowns eased, more travelers opted to book homes instead of hotels, helping Airbnb post a surprise profit for the third quarter. The San Francisco-based firm also gained from increased interest in renting homes away from major cities."Looking at Airbnb theres a lot to like. The companys third quarter has shown theyve bounced back better than a lot of their travel rivals," said Matthew Kennedy, senior strategist at IPO research firm Renaissance Capital.At the top of Airbnbs target range, the IPO will give Airbnb a fully diluted valuation, which includes securities such as options and restricted stock units, of $34.8 billion. This is nearly double the $18 billion Airbnb was worth in an April private fundraising round and above the $31 billion in its last pre-COVID-19 private fundraising in 2017.Airbnbs market capitalization at $50 per share would total $29.8 billion. Cheskys stake would be valued at about $3.8 billion, while those of Gebbia...

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  Innovation seen as crucial in nation's modernization

  A visitor experiences artificial intelligence equipment at an exhibition in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, on April 28. (Photo: China Daily)Chinas blueprint to become a self-reliant scientific power is about bolstering the nations ability to solve key strategic issues through its own efforts and to achieve quality, sustainable development through innovation and ingenuity, experts and officials said.The communique of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which was released last month, stated that China will uphold the central role that innovation plays in modernizing the country and turn self-reliance in science and technology into a strategic pillar for national development.More details were disclosed in the proposals for the countrys 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035, which were adopted at the plenary session.The proposals state that China will launch major research projects in artificial intelligence, quantum information technology, integrated circuits, life science and health, brain science, aerospace technology, and deep earth and ocean exploration, as well as other cutting-edge fields.The nation will also enhance basic and interdisciplinary research, launch new science initiatives, enhance international cooperation, and encourage the sharing and improved allocation of resources between research institutions, universities and companies.It will reorganize its State key laboratories, create new comprehensive national science centers, and support Beijing, Shanghai and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area becoming global science and technology innovation centers.Bai Chunli, president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said in a commentary in Peoples Daily that the strong emphasis of science and technology in the national agenda signals a sincere and urgent need to use innovation to meet the nation...