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Recent research has played a pivotal role in advancing our understanding of cloisonné enamel production in China during the 19th and 20th centuries. However, Christian workshops, whether operating under missionary subcontracting or owned by the Catholic Church, have yet to be accurately identified and contextualized. This article delves into three significant contexts. Firstly, it identifies and contextualizes the Christian connections and interactions of the Decheng private cloisonné workshop, involving the French Lazarist Bishop Alphonse Favier, in Beijing. Secondly, it identifies the cloisonné workshop stablished by the Lazarists in the Beitang complex in Beijing and elucidates the role it played. Finally, this paper presents new evidence concerning cloisonné Christian objects crafted by the Tushanwan Jesuit workshop in Shanghai. Some of the primary works of these three workshops are identified for the first time. Additionally, this paper shows that certain cloisonné crosses, some of them thought to be originally Japanese, including those referred to as Namban, were, in fact, crafted in Beijing during the 1920s. These preliminary results will contribute to placing Chinese Christian cloisonné within the history of Chinese Art and its interactions at a global level in the context of evangelization in China, the production of the so-called export art, and the processes of indigenization carried out by the Lazarists and the Jesuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• To solve the forecasting problems of time-lead and nonlinearity in a system, a novel grey multivariable model is proposed. • To reduce the morbidity of the model, the solution of the proposed model is deduced through a derivation method. • The grey prediction evolution algorithm is employed to find the optimal value of parameters. • The validity of the new model was verified by three examples and applied to house price forecasting. Time lags or leads and non-linearity of complex systems are critical to address in accurate scientific prediction. However, few studies have focused on time-lead and nonlinear models with limited information. Therefore, this paper aims to develop a novel grey multivariate model with time-lead operator τ and nonlinear factor r from the perspective of this problem. Next, the solution of the proposed model is deduced through a derivation method to reduce the morbidity of the model. Then, the parameter identification of the model is given on the basis of the least-squares method. The grey prediction evolution algorithm is employed to find the optimal value of parameters τ and r to meet the minimum errors. Finally, house prices of Wuhan, Beijing and Shanghai in China are performed to verify the validity and reliability of the new model. The results demonstrate the model we proposed has satisfactory prediction precision, demonstrating that time-lead and nonlinear factor in the model is reasonable. At the end of the paper, the house prices of these three cities from 2022 to 2028 are also predicted. The average annual growth rate in the three regions is 2.49%, 3.57% and 2.97%, respectively. These results are useful to policy analysis regarding house price correlations. They provide insights for market investors and policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on mobile positioning big data, this study analyzes the quantity of visitation changes of leisure tourism facilities under the impact of COVID-19, which is a direct way to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on the leisure tourism industry. The quantity of visitation to the four types of leisure facilities (scenic spots, shopping services, sports services, science and cultural education services) in the three Chinese cities (Beijing, Shanghai, and Qingdao) decreased by 63.06% and 44.74% respectively on the Tomb Sweeping Day and the Labor Day in 2020 compared with 2019. The biggest decreasing was in science and cultural education services, followed by scenic spots and sports services, and finally shopping services. The curve of hourly visitations to leisure facilities in 2020 shows a smooth feature, indicating that the public has reduced the risk of pandemic through peak shifting leisure. The analysis of influencing factors shows that the influence of the floor area on visitation is different in different phases. From Tomb Sweeping Day to Labour Day in 2020, the influence of area on leisure behaviour changes from negative to positive. This paper provides a technical framework for assessing the impact of crisis event, and expands the protection motivation theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traction load of electrified railways is a special user of the power system, which will have a significant impact on and pose a challenge to the power system after grid connection. Considering the impact and fluctuation of traction load connected to the power grid, this paper proposed a method to study the influence of traction load on the transient stability of the power grid based on parameter identification. Firstly, according to the operation characteristics of traction load, a comprehensive traction load model based on the measurement-based method of induction motor parallel power function model is selected, and the objective function of parameter identification is determined. Then, the specific steps of using the improved gray wolf optimizer (IGWO) algorithm to achieve the parameter identification of the traction comprehensive load model are introduced, including chaotic map, nonlinear convergence factor, and individual position update. Next, with the IEEE39 bus system as the network background, the load parameters identified by the measured data of a line of the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway are imported into the Power System Analysis Software Package (PSASP) 7.0 for transient simulation to analyze the impact of traction load on the transient stability of the power grid. Finally, three typical load models are compared with the traction load model to draw relevant conclusions, and it is verified that the traction load characteristics are different from the general load model, which provides reference for the connection of electrified railway traction load to the power grid and the economic and technical construction of the power system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous development of the Automatic Train Operation (ATO) system in high-speed railways, automatic driving is progressively supplanting manual operations, ushering in a new era of predictability and reliability for high-speed railway transport. Concurrently, the advent of the ATO system provides a notable impact on real-time rescheduling during disruptions, as it equips dispatchers with precise insights into train operation statuses. This paper is dedicated to a thorough analysis of how the transition to automatic driving in train operations influences the real-time rescheduling model. Based on the distinctive impact of the ATO system on real-time rescheduling, we have proposed a mixed-integer linear programming model that combines train re-timing, reordering, and the minimization of passenger delays. To validate the effectiveness of our model, we present several experiments conducted using data from the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway line. The results unequivocally demonstrate that our ATO-based model significantly mitigates train delay time, demonstrating its practical value in optimizing high-speed railway operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently the Chinese government has been actively collaborating with nonprofit nongovernmental organizations to provide social welfare services to older adults at the community level. The role played by NGOs in facilitating governance has only recently gained attention in the literature on Chinese NGOs and urban governance. Addressing this gap, the paper advances geographers' understanding of State–NGO collaborations in facilitating urban governance in the Chinese context using fieldwork in Beijing and Shanghai on the provision of community eldercare services as an example. It also explains the political control of these NGOs and their changing role in the eldercare market. We argue that collaborations between the state and NGOs in China have gradually transferred eldercare services to the NGOs, and led to a fragmented welfare system, which, as a consequence, has facilitated entrepreneurial urban governance. The paper sheds light on community-based organizations, their collaboration with local governments, and how they have become not only welfare providers but a significant site for social control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For large-scale 3D building reconstruction, there have been several approaches to utilizing multi-view satellite imagery to produce a digital surface model (DSM) for height information and extracting building footprints for contour information. However, limited by satellite resolutions and viewing angles, the corresponding DSM and building footprints are sometimes of a low accuracy, thus generating low-accuracy building models. Though some recent studies have added GIS data to refine the contour of the building footprints, the registration errors between the GIS data and satellite images are not considered. Since OpenStreetMap (OSM) provides a high level of precision and complete building polygons in most cities worldwide, this paper proposes an automatic single building reconstruction method that utilizes a DSM from high-resolution satellite stereos, as well as building footprints from OSM. The core algorithm accurately registers the building polygons from OSM with the rasterized height information from the DSM. To achieve this goal, this paper proposes a two-step "coarse-to-fine registration" algorithm, with both steps being formulated into the optimization of energy functions. The coarse registration is optimized by separately moving the OSM polygons at fixed steps with the constraints of a boundary gradient, an interior elevation mean, and variance. Given the initial solution of the coarse registration, the fine registration is optimized by a genetic algorithm to compute the accurate translations and rotations between the DSM and OSM. Experiments performed in the Beijing/Shanghai region show that the proposed method can significantly improve the IoU (intersection over union) of the registration results by 69.8%/26.2%, the precision by 41.0%/15.5%, the recall by 41.0%/16.0%, and the F1-score by 42.7%/15.8%. For the registration, the method can reduce the translation errors by 4.656 m/2.815 m, as well as the rotation errors by 0.538°/0.228°, which indicates its great potential in smart 3D applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration or segmentation of regional carbon prices implies that barriers may hinder prices from adjusting efficiently and impede linkages between regional carbon markets. Past studies have found that crossregional carbon prices in China tend to diverge, indicating unbalanced regional markets and that carbon cap-and-trade policies may be insufficiently effective. China's carbon trading pilots opened in 2013. Is the integration efficient? This is the research question addressed in this study. This paper uses the carbon prices of four carbon-trading pilot regions in China (i.e. Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Guangdong) over the period of January 1, 2014, to March 23, 2021, to explore whether prices are correlated across three dimensions: long-term convergence, short-term correlation, and volatility transmission by adopting a vector error correction model with heterogeneous variances. And by using longer-term daily data and empirical tests that can account for the multiple-faceted correlations, this paper provides evidence showing that long-term convergence and risk transfer between the four regional carbon prices exist, which indicates significant regional integration. The results indicate that the price behavior of the Beijing pilot is efficient and that the Shanghai pilot has the lowest volatility. The paper also documents an information transfer pattern. For example, the Beijing pilot is shown to be the leading risk transfer market, whereas the Shanghai pilot is shown to be the market where most risk is transferred. Contrary to findings elsewhere, our main results demonstrate that China's carbon markets exhibit integration efficiency and no imbalance between regions. This may be because the efficiency of China's carbon markets has improved over time. The evidence also implies that if a multi-dimensional correlation has not been considered, it may underestimate the efficiency of regional carbon prices' integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, with the development of high-speed railway in China, the operating mileage and passenger transport capacity have increased rapidly in transportation industry. Due to the high density of trains in the daytime, we usually set up skylights at night (0:00–6:00 am) on high-speed railway for comprehensive maintenance. However, this arrangement contradicts with the operation demand of D-series overnight high-speed trains (overnight D-trains for short). In order to adjust the operation plan of overnight D-trains with skylights coordinately, it is necessary to predict the passenger demand of newly added overnight D-trains. Therefore, in this paper, a mixed logit model based on nonlinear random utility functions for different transport modes is proposed, in order to predict transfer passenger demand. According to Maximum Simulated Likelihood Method, the likelihood function of this mixed logit model is proposed to maximize the overall utility value of different passenger groups while Metropolis–Hastings algorithm is adopted to iteratively solve the probabilities of discrete random variables in utility functions. After that, the unknown distributions of parameters are estimated and the optimal solution of this model is provided by traditional algorithms, basic heuristic algorithms and improved heuristic algorithms including improved fireworks-simulated annealing algorithm proposed in this paper, respectively. Finally, a real-world instance with related data of Beijing–Shanghai corridor is implemented to demonstrate the performance and effectiveness of the proposed approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve carbon neutrality quickly and deal with urban greenhouse effect, it is necessary to study the energy consumption of urban buildings. Energy consumption prediction is an important step in planning and managing energy use in buildings. At present, few studies have comprehensively considered the relationship between geometric features, functional types, location and energy use of buildings in urban built-up areas. In this paper, a spatial data-driven framework is introduced for the analysis and assessment of building energy consumption. The framework is grounded in the building centroid and is combined with single photon radar and point of interest data through the utilization of the nearest neighbor classification algorithm. Two megacities, Beijing and Shanghai, are taken as examples to illustrate the method and to generate the regional building energy use database. The results show that: a) building physical feature (geometric form, functional type) have a significant impact on energy consumption, and energy consumption is correlated with the economic level of the region; b) Energy use in urban built-up areas has obvious spatial agglomeration characteristics, and the siphon effect is obvious in region with high energy consumption. The contribution of the framework is to provide insights into the feasibility of employing multiple spatial data fusion for the analysis of energy consumption within urban built-up areas. This can be employed to address energy planning concerns and help promote sustainable environmental practices in urban areas worldwide. • This paper attempts to provide a feasible framework for analyzing urban building energy use by utilizing real-time urban semantic perception information and building features. • The proposed framework have comprehensively considered the relationship between geometric features, functional types, location and energy use of buildings. • The proposed methodology can obtain regional energy consumption stocks and produce spatial distribution results, thus improving the interpretability of the data. • The results show that energy use in urban built-up areas has obvious spatial agglomeration characteristics, and the siphoning effect is obvious in regions with high energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study urban air quality, this paper proposes a novel categorical time series model, which is based on a linear combination of bounded Poisson distribution and discrete distribution to describe the dynamic and systemic features of air quality, respectively. Daily air quality level data of three major cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, are analyzed. It is concluded that the air quality in Beijing is the worst among the three cities but is gradually improving, and its dynamics is also the most pronounced. Theoretically, the design of our model increases the flexibility of the probabilistic structure while ensuring a dynamic feedback mechanism without high computational stress. We estimate the parameters through an adaptive Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling scheme and show the satisfactory finite sample performance of the model through simulation studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the rapidly changing multimodal transportation market, not only the obligation in providing train services but also the responsibility in helping other transportation modes to meet emergencies are instrumental for maximizing the generalized benefit of railway companies, leading to an increased utilization. This paper proposes an optimization framework, which includes multiple dispatching measures of arranging residual seats, modifying stopping plans, and inserting additional trains, to design a rescheduling operation plan on a high-speed rail corridor to meet the passenger demand of unexpected large passenger flow (ULPF), which is generated from the disruption of other transportation modes. Considering the revenues of shifting passengers and the costs of the three dispatching measures as two objectives, we formulate a linear integer programming (LIP) model by employing a time-space network to obtain an optimization rescheduling operation plan. Several experiments based on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway corridor are conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed model. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model can be used to obtain a reasonable rescheduling operation plan for serving the passengers from ULPF within an acceptable calculation timeframe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transportation industry has entered a new stage from quantity expanding to structure optimization, quality and efficiency improvement, and from respective governance to integrative development. This indicates that the traditional corridor mode allocation dominated by quantity equilibrium can no longer meet the requirements of the new stage. In this paper, we propose a multi-entity programming model based on the economic equilibrium between supply and demand. It not only ensures the economic equilibrium in the market, but also maximizes the social benefits of the whole system, thereby realizing the sustainable development of the transportation system. Also, the Globalsearch algorithm and intlinprog algorithm are designed to solve the problem. The actual case of Beijing-Shanghai corridor shows that the model and algorithms are effective, providing decision support for the optimal allocation of regional transport network resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the autonomous driving transportation systems are at the heart of both academic and industry research for the distinguished advantages including increased network capacity, enhanced punctuality, greater flexibility and improved overall safety level. With the responsibility of transporting passengers in a safe, comfortable and efficient way, the decision making method plays a critical position in the autonomous driving of high-speed trains. Focusing on solving the autonomous decision making problem, this paper proposes a novel learning based framework by combining the deep learning technology with the distributed tracking control approach. To cope with the data insufficiency problem in training the deep learning network, a generative adversarial network (GAN) based data argumentation scheme is proposed to generate data samples that have the same distribution with actual data samples, and a hybrid learning network is constructed to predict the speed trajectory from the multi-attribute data with both temporal sequences and static features. Then, based on the model predictive control (MPC) scheme, a distributed tracking control model is formulated to minimize the tracking deviations and balance the performance of punctuality, energy-efficiency and riding comfort. Further, the dual decomposition technique is adopted to deal with the coupling constraints for the safe distance headway such that the separation for the autonomous driving of high-speed trains is achieved. Finally, simulation experiments based on actual scenarios of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway are conducted to illustrate the effectiveness of our methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In rail transit systems, improving transportation efficiency has become a research hotspot. In recent years, a new method of train control system based on virtual coupling has attracted the attention of many scholars. Virtual coupled train is a typical nonlinear system. How to control the nonlinear system with high precision is the key to realize the safe and efficient operation of virtual coupled train. Therefore, this paper proposes a virtual coupling scheme based on local leader–follower method. On this basis, the controller based on artificial potential field with variable parameter mixed is applied to carry out the collaborative and anti-collision control for the virtual coupled train system with nonlinear dynamics. Finally, a section of the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway is taken as the background to verify the effectiveness of artificial potential field with variable parameter mixed controller. The results show that the variable parameter artificial potential field controller with changing the weight can reduce the average error of the stop by 0.4304 m compared with the traditional controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• CO 2 air conditioning systems driven by compressed air engines are designed innovatively. • CO 2 air conditioning system driven by compressed air engine can significantly reduce running costs. • Combination of air conditioning system and compressed air storage is promising. Traditional building air conditioning uses electricity or thermal energy to drive the refrigeration cycle. The energy released by the expansion of compressed air can also be used for driving the refrigeration cycle. Moreover, the expanded low-temperature air can be used in the air conditioning system too. In this paper, three forms of CO 2 air conditioning systems driven by novel reciprocating piston compressed air engines were designed, namely EAGC (Exhaust Air for Gas Cooler), EAS (Exhaust Air for Sub-cooler), and EASC (Exhaust Air for Space Cooling), to analyze the performance and economics of CO 2 air conditioning systems combined with compressed air energy storage technology. Twenty-seven typical cities were selected in different climate regions in China to evaluate the systems' performance and running cost under outdoor temperature changes and different electricity prices. The results show that compared with the electricity-driven CO 2 air conditioning system, the three systems can greatly improve the system COP (Coefficient of Performance) but still cannot reach the performance level of the conventional freon refrigeration systems. However, in cities like Beijing and Shanghai with the large peak-to-valley electricity price difference, EASC system compared to the electricity-driven R410A air conditioning system running costs are lower, the average running cost per hour can be saved 11.96% and 16.35%, respectively. This means that the CO 2 air conditioning system with compressed air energy storage technology has a certain economic application value and can be popularized on reasonable occasions. This innovative system design can help solve the contradiction between supply and demand of building energy, realize leisure energy consumption, and reduce the economic cost of energy consumption on the demand side. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land supply is an important factor affecting the price of commercial housing. Based on the relationship between supply and demand, this article takes seven cities including Beijing and Shanghai as the research objects. By using the Granger causality test model and the state space model, this paper uses the monthly data of commercial residential land supply and housing price of these seven cities from January of 2008 to January of 2017 to quantitatively analyze the relationship between the commercial residential land supply and housing price and the dynamic changes between the two. The results show that there is a significant causal relationship between the commercial residential land supply area and housing price in the seven cities from 2008 to early 2017; the commercial residential land supply has a relatively small impact on housing price elasticity, while the elasticity of the impact of housing price on the supply of commercial residential land remains relatively stable, and there is no significant increase or decrease. Affected by the relationship between supply and demand, policies, consumer expectations, etc., the relationship and the impact of commercial residential land supply and housing price in different cities are different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual Coupling (VC) is regarded as a breakthrough to the traditional train operation and control for improving the capability and flexibility in railways. It brings benefits as trains under VC are allowed to operate much closer to one another, forming a virtually coupled train set (VCTS). However, the safe and stable spacing between trains in the VCTS is a problem since there are no rigid couplers to connect them into a fixed formation, especially in high-speed scenarios. Due to the close spacing, the interference between trains becomes non-negligible as various maneuvers of the preceding train can significantly affect driving behaviors of the following train; this results in fluctuating spacing and therefore an unstable VCTS. Aiming at minimizing the interference and maintaining constantly safe spacing between trains in the VCTS, this paper presents a distributed model predictive control (DMPC) approach for solving the high-speed VCTS control problem. Particularly, the proposed control method focuses on the feasibility and stability of this problem, with considerations of the coupled constraint of safety braking distance and the individual constraints of speed limit variations and restricted traction/braking performance. To guarantee feasibility and stability, the terminal controller and invariant set of the DMPC are designed. For rigor, sufficient conditions of feasibility and stability are mathematically proved and derived. Based on the data of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway line, numerical experiments are conducted to verify the correctness of derived sufficient conditions and the effectiveness of the proposed control method under interference and disturbances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper examines the integrated optimization of train stopping plan and seat allocation. • The integrated optimization problem is formulated as a mixed-integer mathematical model. • The integrated optimization approach improves efficiency against separate optimization of stopping plan and seat allocation. • Numerical studies were conducted on Zhengzhou-Xi'an and Shanghai-Beijing high-speed railway corridors. This paper examines the integrated optimization of train stopping plan and seat allocation scheme in railway systems, where equilibrium passenger travel choice under elastic demand is considered. The integrated optimization problem is formulated as a non-concave and non-linear mixed-integer mathematical model, where the objective is to maximize the system net benefit considering ticket revenue, consumer surplus, and cost associated with train stoppings. The integrated optimization model can be reformulated into a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model based on a series of linearization, relaxation, and outer-approximation techniques, which can then be solved by commercial MILP solvers (e.g., GUROBI). We also compare the integrated optimization approach with that when the train stopping plan and seat allocation are optimized separately and identify the potential benefits. Numerical studies have been conducted on a small-scale example, the Zhengzhou-Xi'an and Shanghai-Beijing high-speed railway corridors to illustrate the proposed model and solution approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on train stop deployment planning for high-speed railway lines during a major disruption, when a segment is completely blocked for a relatively long period of time. Due to this disruption, trains approaching the disrupted area must be stopped at appropriate stations based on their types for safety and operational reasons. Stopped trains should not hinder other trains that can continue to run during the disruption. Train stop deployment planning is applied to handle this problem. A mixed integer linear programing (MILP) model is formulated to minimize the number of canceled trains and the total weighted train deviations. The model is tested on a real-world instance, the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, and related lines are implicitly taken into account because of cross-line trains. The results show that our model can obtain good solutions within a relatively short computation time for disruptions lasting no more than 90 minutes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latecomer technology imitation and learning is an important driving force to enhance their competitiveness and total factor productivity (TFP). This paper constructs green TFP (GTFP) based on the SBM–Global–Luenberger index, using Chinese provincial panel data from 2003 to 2017. The marginal effects of foreign direct investment (FDI), outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), import and export, and intangible and total international technology spillovers (ITS) on GTFP were assessed. These effects were analysed under the influence of absorption capabilities such as research and development intensity, economic and financial, and openness. A spatial diffusion model based on three diffusion sources in China's first-tier cities, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, was constructed to describe the heterogeneous impacts of ITS on GTFP under the marketisation of diffusion sources. We found: (1) ITS based on exports and OFDI promote economic, imports and FDI are relatively small, independent technological innovation is the dominant source of economic growth. (2) Considering spatial diffusion, the contribution of Beijing's ITS is relatively weak, and Shanghai's contribution is stronger. Coastal areas have the largest marginal effect of ITS on GTFP, and ITS do not attenuate as geographic distances increase. (3) The market has a multiplier effect, modifying the relationship between ITS and GTFP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metro system plays a very important role in the urban multimodal transportation system, yet it is susceptible to accidents. A well-designed metro system needs to provide alternative routes to travellers both in the disruptive events and the normal operating conditions for providing rerouting opportunities and balancing crowded lines. This paper provides a new dimension of assessing metro network performance—travellers' route redundancy (or route diversity), which is defined as the number of behaviourally effective routes between each origin-destination (O-D) pair in the network. The route redundancy of metro network is evaluated by statistical indicators of the distribution of the O-D-level number of effective routes. Compared with the existing connectivity and accessibility measures of topology network performance, route redundancy is also based on the topology network, but it takes the travellers' route choice into consideration. Specifically, the effective routes between each O-D pair would provide disaggregated information from the travellers' perspective. Case studies in four metropolises in the world, i.e., Shanghai, Beijing, London, and Tokyo, are conducted to examine the predisaster preparedness of the four metro networks explicitly from the perspective of route redundancy. The results indicate that the London metro network has the best route redundancy performance in terms of the statistical indicators of the distribution of the O-D level number of effective routes. Furthermore, the results of route redundancy are compared with typical measures of topology network performance in terms of measuring connectivity and accessibility of metro networks. Their differences are attributed to the fact that the route redundancy measure considers the travellers' O-D-level route choice beyond the pure network topology and the shortest path considerations of the existing measures. The route redundancy proposed in this paper could assist in evaluating the predisaster preparedness of current or planning metro networks from O-D level to network level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With economic expansion having moderated to a "new normal" pace, supply structure of goods and competition state of logistics market has undergone major changes. In order to respond to these changes actively, China Railway Corporation has launched railway express freight block trains to meet with customers' demands. However, traditional operation conditions require every freight block train fully loaded to make best of transportation capacity. This has caused a series of problems to freight block trains, such as uncertain departure time, unstable running frequency and so on, which cannot meet with the customers' basic requirements for goods transport and logistics. So it is an urgent task to study the suitable cars' number and running frequency of railway express freight block trains so as to reduce customers' costs and increase China Railway Corporation's profits. Therefore, this paper analyzes the calculation method of customers' generalized transportation cost and profits of running a railway express freight block train. Then, an optimization model for cars' number and running frequency of freight block trains is proposed. The objective functions of this model are the minimum general transportation costs of customers and the maximum profits of China Railway Corporation. The model constraints are about transportation capacity, railway freight stations' operating capacity and so on. Taking railway express freight block trains operated between Beijing and Shanghai as an example, the cars' number and running frequency are calculated which can effectively reduce customers' cost and increase China Railway Corporation's profits. The results can prove the feasibility of the model proposed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of damping plates on structural vibration, noise and the contribution of the box girder bridge panels was analysed using the model test and numerical calculation methods. In this paper, a 1/10 scale box girder model test system was designed and constructed using a simply supported 32 m box girder from the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway as a prototype, and damping plates were laid on the box girder web side after the model was verified as being similar to the prototype by means of a series of model tests. The effects of the damping plates on the reduction of the structural vibration and noise were evaluated according to scaled model acoustic tests. In addition, the influence of the damping plates on the sound contribution of the panel was analysed based on the transient boundary element method. The study shows that the damping plates had an obvious vibration reducing effect on the concrete box girder, though their noise reduction properties were less than ideal. The vibration level reduction and time–history noise level reduction were kept within 10.2–29.5 dB and around 1.0 dB (A), respectively. The noise would decrease to its lowest value at 250 Hz – down to 4.0 dB. The damping plates were helpful in effectively reducing the sound power contribution and the sound pressure contribution of the concrete panel. At the peak frequencies of 17 Hz and 251 Hz, the sound power contributions of the panel on the damper side were reduced by 3.4 dB and 3.7 dB, respectively, compared with the normal side, while the sound pressure contributions on the panel decreased by 4.9 dB and 4.2 dB, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Railway transport becomes a more popular transportation in many countries due to its large transport capacity, low energy consumption, and benign environment. The passenger train service planning is the key of the rail operations system to balance the transport service and the passenger demand. In this paper, we propose a mixed binary linear programming formulation for the passenger train service planning to optimize the train route, frequency, stop schedule, and passenger assignment simultaneously. In addition, we analyze the computational complexities of the model and develop a Benders decomposition algorithm with valid inequalities to solve this problem. Finally, our model and algorithm are tested on a real-world instance of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway line. The computational results show that our approach can solve these problems within reasonable solution time and small optimality gaps (less than 2.5%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A solar energy system with hydrogen energy storage and alkaline fuel cell is proposed. • An optimization model base minimum life cycle cost is developed by Getopt. • The performance of solar energy system without and with electrical storage device are compared. In this paper, a novel solar energy system with hydrogen energy storage and alkaline fuel cell is developed in TRNSYS. The solar energy system without electrical energy storage and solar energy system with battery energy storage are established as the reference systems. The life cycle cost is chosen as the optimal objective, and different operating strategies are developed for the proposed system and the reference systems. The optimal variables and dynamic analysis can be obtained after optimization. Various evaluation criteria, including electricity coverage ratio, annual carbon dioxide emission and levelized cost of energy, are used to comprehensively assess the overall performance of the proposed system and the reference systems. Beijing and Shanghai, which belong to cold region and hot-summer and cold-winter region respectively, are chosen as the study sites for case study. The results show that the proposed system has the lowest life cycle cost, which is 186,484.36 USD and 261,467.43 USD in Shanghai and Beijing, respectively. The proposed system has the highest electricity coverage ratio (which is more than 0.5 for most time of the year), the lowest annual carbon dioxide emission (which is 19,099.34 m3 in Shanghai and 31,525.96 m3 in Beijing) and the lowest levelized cost of energy (which is 0.12 USD/kWh in Shanghai and 0.08 USD/kWh in Beijing). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate change detection of built-up areas (BAs) fosters a comprehensive understanding of urban development. The post-classification comparison (PCC) is a widely-used change detection method by classification and temporal comparison. For classification, image-level labeling is an efficient alternative to pixel-level one for pixel-wise weakly supervised segmentation, which frequently applies pixel-level pseudo labels generated from class activation map (CAM) to train semantic segmentation networks. CAM can be obtained from classification networks trained with image-level labels and can indicate the spatial location of objects. The existing studies are subject to the following issues: 1) They only rely on the single-scale and low-resolution CAM, but ignore the multi-scale property of BAs; 2) Pixel-level pseudo labels usually contain noises (e.g., omissions and false alarms); 3) The temporal correlation between multi-temporal images is less considered in PCC. To address these limitations, this paper proposed a multi-scale weakly supervised learning method, which utilized a large number of single-temporal high-resolution images and image-level labels to detect BA changes. This method consisted of three modules: 1) multi-scale CAM for BA pseudo label generation; 2) adaptive online noise correction for BA detection; and 3) generation of reliable pseudo labels for BA change detection. Based on ZY-3 images (2.5 m), we constructed the first multi-view datasets for both BA detection and change detection. Each ZY-3 image includes a multi-spectral image with red, green, blue, and near-infrared bands and a multi-view image with nadir-, forward-, and backward-views. The BA detection dataset contained 86,166 image-level samples (256 × 256 pixels for each sample), covering 48 major cities in China, while the BA change detection dataset consisted of ZY-3 bi-temporal images at rapidly urbanizing areas (i.e., Beijing and Shanghai). Experiments showed that the proposed method can detect BA changes and suppress pseudo changes effectively, yielding 88.2% F1-score in BA detection and 79.3% for Shanghai and 78.5% for Beijing in change detection. Further analysis demonstrated the proposed method to be advantageous in the following two fronts: 1) the image-level weak labels can achieve pixel-wise BA change detection at low cost; and 2) the multi-scale CAM and temporal correlation are effective in the scenarios with limited labels. Datasets and codes will be accessed at https://github.com/lauraset/MSWS. • A multi-scale weakly supervised method for built-up area change detection. • The first multi-view built-up area detection and change detection datasets. • Multi-scale class activation maps for generating pixel-level pseudo labels. • Adaptive online noise correction for obtaining reliable built-up areas. • Reliable change pseudo labels for training a change detection network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends existing Bourdieusian theorisations of the educational involvement of working-class parents by adding the less-examined axes of rural origin and migration status with an intersectional approach. It focusses on the 'labourer' families involved in internal rural–urban migration in China. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in Beijing and Shanghai with 32 migrant parents, teachers and head teachers. It examines how the intersection of rural origin, migration status and working-class identities shapes the parents' habitus and their exertion of capital in the urban education field. The findings show that the intersection of two aspects of their habitus—one, resulting from their rural background, leads them not to treat themselves as academic educators, and a second, arising from their migrant working-class status, the necessity to 'strive for survival'. Since the parents' actions do not match with the teachers' expectations of home-school cooperation, they are identified as 'incompetent'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to predict more accurately the structural vibration and noise of elevated tracks induced by moving trains, a new prediction method based on the scaled model test is proposed in this paper. A 32-m simply supported box girder bridge used in the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway is selected as the prototype for designing and constructing a scaled model test with 10:1 geometric similarity ratio. Both experimental tests and finite element analyses were carried out to verify the similarity relationship between the model and prototype. The test result shows that the scaled model can predict the structural vibration and noise of the prototype, as long as the similarity constants between the prototype and scaled model are correctively determined. Furthermore, a standard finite element analysis model for the scaled model is built. Based on the sensitivity analysis, the model parameters for finite element analysis are updated by minimizing the errors between the measured and calculated modes. The computational results show that the updated model based on the local parameters partitioning works best, and the precision of the modal frequency calculated is noticeably improved after updating, with the average relative error reduced from 5.46% to 3.09%, and the difference of the peak values reduced from 0. 3 5 8 × 1 0 3 m/s2 to 0. 1 8 9 × 1 0 3 m/s2. The calculated dynamic response of the finite element model after updating is basically in line with experimental results, indicating that the updated model can better reflect the dynamic properties of the scaled box girder model. The updated finite element model is useful both for verification with the model test result and for reliable prediction of the dynamic characteristics of the prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Timetable optimization techniques offer opportunity for saving energy and hence reducing operational costs for high-speed rail services. The existing energy-saving timetable optimization is mainly concentrated on the train running state adjustment and the running time redistribution between two stations. Not only the adjustment space of timetables is limited, but also it is hard for the train to reach the optimized running state in reality, and it is difficult to get feasible timetable with running time redistribution between two stations for energy-saving. This paper presents a high-speed railway energy-saving timetable based on stop schedule optimization. Under the constraints of safety interval and stop rate, with the objective of minimizing the increasing energy consumption of train stops and the shortest travel time of trains, the high-speed railway energy-saving timetable optimization model is established. The fuzzy mathematics programming method is used to design an efficient algorithm. The proposed model and algorithm are demonstrated in the actual operation data of Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway. The results show that the total operating energy consumption of the train is reduced by 3.7%, and the total travel time of the train is reduced by 11 minutes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Present a new cyclic train timetabling model based on extended time-space network. • Decompose the cyclic train timetabling model through Lagrangian relaxation and ADMM. • Solve each train-specific sub-problem efficiently with forward dynamic programming. • Compare with the PESP-based model on a set of real-world instances. The cyclic train timetabling problem aims to synchronize limited operational resources toward a master periodic schedule of transport services. By introducing an extended time-space network construct, this paper proposes a new type of integer programming model reformulation for the cyclic train timetabling problem on a double-track railway corridor at the macroscopic level. This reformulation method also holds the promises to be applied in a broader set of routing and scheduling problems with periodic activity requirements. We also hope that this space-time network extension technique, as a special version of variable splitting methods in the dual decomposition literature, could potentially bridge the modeling gaps between cyclic and non-cyclic timetables. Specifically, the existing mathematical programming model for the periodic event scheduling problem (PESP) is transformed into a multi-commodity network flow model with two coupled schedule networks and side track capacity constraints. In addition, two dual decomposition methods including Lagrangian relaxation and Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM), are adopted to dualize the side track capacity constraints. For each train-specific sub-problem in an iterative primal and dual optimization framework, we develop an enhanced version of forward dynamic programming to find the time-dependent least cost master schedule across the time-space network over multiple periods. ADMM-motivated heuristic methods with adjusted penalty parameters are also developed to obtain good upper bound solutions. Based on real-world instances from the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway corridor, we compare the numerical performance between the proposed reformulation and the PESP model that involves the standard optimization solver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• City-centric global multi-region input-output models for Beijing and Shanghai are developed. • Factor contribution and critical path analysis are adopted. • Sector aggregation effect varies across sectoral datasets. Sector aggregation under the input-output framework may lead to deviation in results and the lack of detailed sectoral information, which hinder the targeted implementation of accurate sectoral adjustment policies. This paper explores the effects of sector aggregation on the embodied carbon emission of the residential consumptions of Beijing and Shanghai based on the city-centric global multi-region input-output (CCG-MRIO) model. Integrating with structural path analysis and structural decomposition analysis, the impacts of sector aggregation on the identifying of critical emission transmission paths and driving forces are also revealed. Three sector aggregation datasets are discussed to track the sector aggregation effect in 2012 and 2017. The findings show that the carbon emission results at 8 sector level better align with the results at the 22 sector level than those at 32 sector level. Moreover, sector aggregation will lead to the absence of some critical carbon transmission paths, some factor contributions on carbon emission also changed their directions at different sector levels. On the basis of clarifying the sector aggregation effect on embodied carbon emission, the research results provide a reference for similar studies to select the appropriate level of sector aggregation, to realize the goal of simplifying the calculation or gaining more detailed sectoral emission information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Portals are the transition spaces between paths and places in an urban environment such as the entrance to a square from a connecting street. This paper aims to explore different forms of portals by considering their relationship with places. In doing so, a people-generated image analysis was adopted for two case studies conducted in popular Chinese recreational venues: Sanlitun Village, Beijing; and Xintiandi, Shanghai. Through an analysis of nearly 53,000 Instagram photographs, three different roles that a portal can fulfil are identified and defined as the 'doorway', the 'showroom', and the 'place'. These typologies are derived from a deeper understanding of urban space through the 'eyes of the users', and this knowledge can in turn influence the design process for the public realm and urban spaces. Permissions from joannahiew and chulheepark are shown below (my Instagram ID is joomoly). Unlabelled Image • Portals are transition spaces providing an interactive preview of adjacent places. • There are three types of portals identified: the 'doorway', the 'showroom', and the 'place'. • The 'doorway' allows active and passive participation to coexist; it can be connected with any place. • The 'showroom' enables passive participators to collect information; it suits the place with a thematic expression. • The 'place' encourages people to attend events and build relations with surroundings; it suits the place of participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Propose variational mode decomposition optimized by capuchin search algorithm. • Propose a prediction model of optimized LSTM by pelican optimization algorithm. • Consider error sequence, and propose the error correction module CVMD-POA-LSTM. • Propose a new hybrid prediction model for PM2.5 concentration, named CEEMDAN-ApEn-CVMD-POA-LSTM-EC. • In this paper, all data and code links are shared on GitHub. With the acceleration of urbanization leading to a general decrease in air quality, accurate PM2.5 concentration prediction is of the utmost practical meaning for the control and prevention of air pollution in the region. Therefore, a new hybrid prediction model for PM2.5 concentration based on complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise (CEEMDAN), approximate entropy (ApEn), variational mode decomposition optimized by capuchin search algorithm (CVMD), long short-term memory optimized by pelican optimization algorithm (POA-LSTM) and error correction (EC), named CEEMDAN-ApEn-CVMD-POA-LSTM-EC, is proposed. First, CEEMDAN is used to acquire a limited amount of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). Second, calculate ApEn value for each IMF component, and divide each IMF component into high-complexity and low-complexity components by the size of ApEn values. Third, variational mode decomposition optimized by capuchin search algorithm (CVMD), named CVMD, is proposed. CVMD is used as a secondary decomposition method to further decompose high-complexity components adaptively into a finite number of IMFs. Fourth, long short-term memory optimized by pelican optimization algorithm, named POA-LSTM, is proposed. POA-LSTM predicts all IMF components, and the results of their predictions are combined to generate the original prediction results. Final, error sequence is decomposed and predicted again by the EC module CVMD-POA-LSTM to obtain prediction results of error sequence, and final prediction results are acquired by combining original prediction results and prediction results of error sequence. The datasets in Beijing, Shanghai, and Xi'an were selected for simulation experiments to demonstrate the superiority of the proposed model. Taking Beijing as an example, RMSE, MAE, MAPE and R2 values are 1.9947, 1.5577, 0.1157 and 0.9947, which are superior to other comparison models and have the best performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using real-time correction technology for typhoons, this paper discusses real-time correction for forecasting the track of four typhoons during 2009 and 2010 in Japan, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai. It was determined that the short-time forecast effect was better than the original objective mode. By selecting four types of integration schemes after multiple mode path integration for those four objective modes, the forecast effect of the multi-mode path integration is better, on average, than any single model. Moreover, multi-mode ensemble forecasting has obvious advantages during the initial 36h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, we first analyze the 5 most cited papers with the title containing “Urban ecosystem health” in Chinese academic journals, and 5 newer papers retrieved from the CSSCI (Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index). The results show that the number of indicators to be used together in more than three papers is 28, and then we select 27 of them to assess Beijing and Shanghai's urban ecosystem health from 2000 to 2011. Secondly, when we standardize the original data, the worst value adjustment coefficient is introduced innovatively. Thirdly, using the entropy method, the weights of concrete indicators of Beijing and Shanghai in the different adjustment coefficients are calculated respectively. Fourthly, based on the fuzzy matter-element method, using the Hamming approach degree, the two cities' ecosystem health index and the contribution value to overall health index from each component are calculated. Lastly, using gray prediction model, the evolutionary time response sequence function of Beijing and Shanghai's urban ecosystem health index is identified, and thus both cities' urban ecosystem health is predicted. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Although urban land leasing is supposedly a local government matter, local leaderships' proactive pursual of economic growth for their career advancements can sometimes be at odds with national policies. Yet, how land conveyance decisions are made in midst of the implementation of national policies and land financing has been a rather overlooked aspect in the studies of China's land market. Hence, this paper explores this issue through a study of land conveyance decisions in Beijing and Shanghai's residential and commercial land markets from 2007 to 2018, and their subsequent land price effects. Deploying endogenous treatment effect models, it is revealed that land conveyance decisions in Beijing were highly subject to national policies and the status of its City Party Secretary, but not in Shanghai. Also, the use of Guapai resulted in higher residential and commercial land prices in Shanghai, but lower prices for Beijing's commercial land parcels. The findings indicate that Beijing, due to its closer proximity to the Central Government, appears to have stringently followed the national policy directions, whereas land officials in Shanghai seem to have had a higher degree of autonomy in their decisions. Additionally, the contrasting price effect of Guapai on land prices for residential and commercial land parcels enabled Beijing's government to compensate for the latent losses in land revenue when leasing residential land parcels, due to Nation #10, by leasing commercial parcels at higher prices via tender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes the urban water management framework that China's central government has adopted to manage the supply of water to the country's urban areas. These laws, policies and institutional arrangements cover water resources management, urban planning and environmental management issues. This paper considers the application of this framework in three urban areas: Beijing, Shanghai and Shaoxing Prefecture in Zhejiang Province. These case studies are used as the basis of a discussion on the ways that the framework could be enhanced, both structurally and in terms of its implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Knowledge and technologies produced in Chinese cities has increasingly taken a greater share of total output of global cities. • The quality of this output has increased over time Chinese cities improve the quality of their knowledge output before increasing the quality of technology. • Only Beijing, Shanghai & Shenzhen compete globally in terms of quality of output – other Chinese cities do not. • This can be a mechanism for increasing regional inequality within China. Are Chinese cities becoming smarter in terms of the knowledge and technologies they produce? For decades, the widely held believe in the global North is that China merely copies, imitates and only incrementally improves ideas. Recently, this believe is increasingly being challenged. In this paper I quantify this process. Using data from about 6,1 million patents and 60 million academic publications I examine the complexity of technologies and knowledge developed in major Chinese cities and compare these to those produced in other global cities. The results show that (1) knowledge and technologies produced in Chinese cities has increasingly taken a greater share of total output of global cities; (2) the quality of this output has increased over time; (3) Chinese cities improve the quality of their knowledge output before increasing the quality of technology; and (4) only Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen compete with other global cities in terms of the quality of output, suggesting emerging regional inequality within China linked to knowledge and technology production. Not only is the size of the Chinese economy increasing, so is the quantity and quality of its knowledge and technology output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the boom of big data, the Internet contains more and more personal behavior information, but it is difficult to extract effectively. A model involving multivariate processing capability must be constructed to deal with these time series with complex characteristics. In this paper, a novel hybrid model embedding Baidu Search Index is therefore proposed to implement multi-step ahead subway passenger flow forecasting. Firstly, we collect data from informative Baidu Search Index, reduce dimensionality, and screen out the powerful predictors by statistical analysis. Secondly, we extract matching common modes at similar time scales between the subway passenger flow and screened Baidu Search Index via multivariate mode decomposition being optimized by multi-objective algorithm. Furthermore, to eliminate pseudo statistical causality, we select the optimal combination of modal components between subway passenger flow and its corresponding Baidu Search Index at each time scale by an innovative multi–modal analysis strategy. Thirdly, we reconstruct the forecasting values of each selected optimal combination as the final results. The empirical results of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou show that the proposed model can significantly outperform six benchmark models in both the level and directional accuracy. So introducing Baidu Search Index creates a sound opportunity to enhance the subway passenger flow forecasting ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to look into the transformation of local innovation systems in the high-tech parks of Shanghai and Beijing and their technological learning and upgrading. The areas that we have chosen to investigate are Beijing's Zhongguancun and Shanghai's Yangpu District. The main reason that we selected these two areas for study is because they are home to most of the top universities and R&D institutes in these two cities. Our main focus will be on how institutions—the local state, inter-firm relations and the relationship between R&D institutions and firms—are co-evolving to shape and constrain a local system of innovation. Our research finds that the capacities and autonomy of the Zhongguancun of Beijing's Haidian District and Yangpu District of Shanghai differ in various aspects, but both regions are struggling to upgrade innovation and enhance economic development. The ‘high-tech cluster’ provides a useful instrument or label to achieve goals other than innovation and R&D. Elite universities are regarded as engines for network formation, but visible and invisible walls of Chinese universities discount efforts to foster a university-centered innovation hub which especially shows in the Yangpu case. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: External wall insulation plays an important role in building energy consumption through affecting cooling and heating energy uses. In this paper, a study on the effects of external wall insulation thickness on annual cooling and heating energy uses under different Chinese climates is reported. Firstly, two indexes: Energy Gain Ratio (EGR) and Relative Variation Ratio (RVR) of the sum of annual cooling and heating energy uses, to assess the effects of external wall insulation thickness on energy saving potential are introduced. Secondly, a model space having four different exterior zones facing four different orientations in an office building is presented and the settings of the model space described. Lastly, the simulated annual cooling and heating energy uses for the four different exterior zones at different external wall insulation thicknesses under three different climates in China, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing, are reported. The results suggested that energy saving was significant by increasing the external wall insulation thickness in exterior zones facing all orientations under Beijing’s climate, since the heating energy use was dominant and can be reduced remarkably with the increase in insulation thickness. Under Shanghai’s climate, increasing external wall insulation thickness to over 26mm would not reduce the sum of annual heating and cooling energy uses in the south-facing exterior zone, but would help save energy in exterior zones facing the other three orientations. For all exterior zones under Guangzhou’s climate, it was, however, hardly possible to reduce the sum of annual heating and cooling energy uses by increasing the external wall insulation thickness. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper examines the roles of Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong as financial centres by utilising interview and secondary data to analyse the decision-making of financial and regulatory actors, and the different functional roles of foreign banks in those cities. Their intercity relations demonstrate a complex mix of competition and collaboration that embeds them in evolving networks of interdependence. Empirical findings indicate differentiated markets leading to the distinctive development of Shanghai as a commercial centre, Beijing as a political centre and Hong Kong as an offshore financial centre, with all three financial centres performing distinctive and complementary roles within the regional banking strategies of foreign banks. The analysis first explains Hong Kong’s continued dominance in the region and, secondly, reveals insights into changing intercity relationships between these prominent Chinese cities that contribute to their distinctive development as financial centres. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Previous studies have understood urban competitiveness mainly from an economic perspective. Drawing on insights from recent debates on urban governance that argue for sustainable development, this study employs a more balanced view that takes into account the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of urban competitiveness. A four-level hierarchical indicator system is used to examine the competitiveness of 253 Chinese cities at the prefecture level or above in the year 2000. The results show that most of the top 20 cities are in the eastern part of China and have populations over 0.5 million. The bottom 20 cities are located primarily in the western part of China and have smaller populations that range from 0.2 to 0.5 million. In 2000 the city with the top economic competitiveness was Shanghai, the top social competitiveness was Beijing, and the top environmental competitiveness was Zhuhai. A given city does not necessarily rank the same in economic, social, and environmental competitiveness, but may perform well in different ways. The paper argues that, in order to sustain urban competitiveness, a city should achieve not only good economic performance, but also satisfactory social and environmental development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first part of this paper describes, for China, province-level variation in the year in which below-replacement fertility was achieved. The second part, also based on province-level data, is a multivariate analysis of the effects of (1) fertility policy, and (2) economic and social development on fertility in the year 2000. In 1975, only two provinces—Beijing and Shanghai—had below-replacement fertility, but by 2000, 29 out of 31 provinces had below-replacement fertility. Among these 29 provinces, 22 had a total fertility rate (TFR) below 1.7, and 20 provinces had a TFR below 1.5. The main findings from the cross-sectional multivariate analysis of province-level variation in the TFR are that (1) depending on the measure of economic and social development used, between 33 and 42 percent of the effect of the one-child policy on the TFR, as measured by policy TFR, is actually due to development, and (2) the effect of policy TFR on TFR, after development is controlled for, is 38 to 50 percent less than the effect of development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural sector is the basic industry supporting the construction and development of national economy. With the continuous deterioration of agricultural pollution, measuring and understanding agricultural total factor productivity (AGTFP) is the important premise to achieve agricultural green development and clean production. Regarding carbon emissions and agricultural non-point source pollution (ANSP) as undesired outputs, this paper applies a three-stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method combined with the Slack-Based Measure (SBM) model to eliminate the influences of environmental factors and random errors and explore the real AGTFP of 30 provinces in China from 2000 to 2017.On this basis, the spatial distribution and dynamic changes of AGTFP before and after adjustment are further discussed to seek the underlying reasons. The empirical results demonstrate that AGTFP is lower when carbon emissions and ANSP are both considered, and it decreases from east to west in StageⅠbut the Northeast region surpasses the East to achieve the highest productivity after removing the interferences. Moreover, China's AGTFP has been restricted by the external environment, and superior external environment disguises the poor management efficiency of Beijing and Shanghai. Therefore, some policy implications to balance agricultural environment and economic development are proposed. [Display omitted] • Non-point source pollution and CO 2 are integrated to measure agricultural green efficiency. • A three-stage SBM-DEA approach is employed to calculate the real agricultural green total factor productivity. • Different environmental factors have different effects on the slack of agricultural inputs. • China's agricultural green total factor productivity is restricted by the external environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The net CO2 emissions of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail are assessed. • The framework incorporates modal substitution and traffic generation effects. • Avoided infrastructure expansion and vehicle manufacturing are considered. • Large share of traffic diverted from ordinary-speed trains may raise emissions. This paper provides an ex-post assessment of net carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail (HSR) by including both mode substitution and traffic generation effects with a life-cycle approach. We are among the first authors to examine the emissions effects of a long-haul HSR and to consider the effects of avoided infrastructure expansion and vehicle manufacturing due to traffic diversion. We find that avoided infrastructure expansion plays a limited role in offsetting CO2 emissions from the construction of an HSR infrastructure, but the reduced demand for passenger vehicles can offset a larger share of emissions from the manufacturing of HSR rolling stock. Initially, too much traffic was diverted from ordinary-speed rail (OSR) to HSR, increasing emissions at the operation stage. As traffic diverted from road and air increased, the net emissions at the operation stage turned negative, offsetting emissions from infrastructure construction and vehicle manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Based on the generic dynamic building energy simulation environment, EnergyPlus, the simulation model of energy recovery ventilator (ERV) is developed in this paper. With different indoor temperature set-points, the energy performance of ERV along with the availability of ERV is investigated both for Beijing and Shanghai weathers in China in terms of the ratio of heat recovery to energy supply by HVAC devices and ERV. Simulation results show that the seasonal average of the ratio is linear with indoor temperature set-points. The availability of ERV in Shanghai is better than that in Beijing during the winter. In summer, the utilization of ERV is uneconomical if the indoor temperature set-point is higher than 24°C for the Beijing climate. The indoor temperature set-points have the reverse effects to the availability of ERV in the mid-season and to that in the hottest months. Meanwhile, the heating amount recovery in summer and the cooling amount recovery in winter, both of which impair the strong points of the energy recovery, are analyzed quantitatively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper examines the role of ‘information hinterland’ as a determinant to financial agglomeration and financial centre development. The concept is then applied to investigate the potentials of Beijing and Shanghai in becoming financial centres in China. Specifically, the information hinterlands of the two cities are identified in two steps: first, the boundaries of the hinterlands are demarcated on the basis of distance, intensity of transport connection and interactions in terms of migration. Second, the intensity of information from the hinterland is assessed in terms of business information, policy information and the seats of multinational headquarters. Results of the analysis and their implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional wisdom holds that the high competitiveness of the newspapers in Beijing and Shanghai is due to fast economic development in these cities. This research, however, finds that the degrees of newspaper competitiveness in Beijing and Shanghai do not relate positively to their GDP growth rates. While Shanghai's GDP outranks Beijing, the newspaper business in Beijing outgrows Shanghai. This paper argues that under the current Chinese management system, economic impact upon newspapers' development is limited. Only after the government management over media is reformed, can economic factors become a decisive force behind newspapers' innovation and advertising competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]