胡锦涛主席开始访美之旅

Chinese President Hu Jintao (C) attends a welcome banquet hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama (R) at the White House in Washington, the United States, Jan. 19, 2011.

据新华社电，国家主席胡锦涛当地时间周二抵达美国首都华盛顿，开始对美国进行为期四天的国事访问，以促进双边关系。此行是胡锦涛作为中国元首第二次到访美国。中方官员表示，胡锦涛将和美国总统奥巴马共同绘制两国在新时期合作的蓝图。两国领导人将于周三在白宫就共同关注的问题展开广泛而深入的讨论。

杭州图书馆对乞丐开放

《青年时报》报道，2003年起，杭州市图书馆开始实行对所有读者免费开放，包括乞丐。图书馆对读者的唯一要求是把手洗干净再阅读。杭图办公室主任刘丽东说，所有人都可以在这里看书、休息或者听音乐，只要行为举止不出格，不大声喧哗。对于乞丐和无家可归的人来说，杭图给他们提供了一个不必流落街头的避难所。

整容行业成事故重灾区

中国新闻网报道，卫生部周三推出医疗美容业新规定，从本月起对全国医疗美容服务机构进行清查整顿。规定的具体内容尚未公布。中国每年约有300万人次接受整形整容手术，而因毁容毁形引起的投诉达两万起。卫生部副部长马晓伟称，中国医疗整形美容手术例数每年翻倍，但仅有小部分的机构有合格资质。

烟草行业利税超6千亿元

新华社消息，2010年我国烟草行业实现工商利税6050亿元，比去年增长17%。国家烟草专卖局局长姜成康说，2010年烟草系统上缴国家财政4990亿元，比2009年增长21%。

President Hu Jinto begins U.S. visit

Chinese President Hu Jintao landed in Washington D.C. Tuesday to begin a four-day state visit to the United States in which he hopes to strengthen the bilateral relationship, Xinhua reports. This marks Hu's second visit to the US as president. Chinese officials say he and Obama will map out a blueprint for China-US cooperation for a new era. The two leaders are expected to have in-depth discussions on major topics of mutual interest when they meet Wednesday at the White House.

Hangzhou library allows beggars in

Hangzhou Library has permitted full and free access to the public -- including beggars -- since 2003, the Youth Times reports. The only rule is to have clean hands before reading. Library office director Liu Lidong said all are welcome to read, rest, or listen to music as long as visitors act respectfully and adhere to the quiet decorum. For beggars and homeless individuals, the library offers a sanctuary from the streets.

New rules for cosmetic surgery

The Ministry of Health Wednesday issued new regulations for the cosmetic surgery industry and will begin examining cosmetic surgery institutions beginning this month, Chinanews.com reports. It is unknown what those regulations are. Every year, 3 million Chinese go under the knife, while complaints have risen to 20,000. Vice Minister of Health Ma Xiaowei said cosmetic surgeries double every year, though only a small number of institutions are qualified to perform operations.

Tobacco paid 605 bln yuan in taxes in 2010

China's tobacco industry paid 605 billion yuan in taxes last year, up 17 percent from 2009, Xinhua reports. Also, the industry handed more than 499 billion yuan in profits to the government in 2010, up 21 percent from the year before, said the head of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration Jiang Chengkang.

(China.org.cn January 21, 2011)