Erinome: Hello dear listeners! Welcome to our daily news podcast. I'm Erinome, and sitting next to me is Enceladus. Let's dive into today's latest news, shall we?
Enceladus: Sure! Let's start with the first one. What's up?
Erinome: First news: Spring Festival consumption has a "triple gift"! The prize money for lottery tickets during the 9-day Spring Festival holiday will exceed 1 billion yuan. In pilot cities, receipts over 100 yuan from shopping or traveling can join the lottery. Wow, that's a lot of prizes!
Enceladus: Oh right! So people need to keep their receipts, huh? 1 billion yuan is a big number. Maybe I should save mine when I go shopping, haha.
Erinome: Next, the Statistics Bureau says: In January 2026, the consumer price index (CPI) went up 0.2% year-on-year. City areas up 0.2%, rural areas up 0.1%. Um, not a huge increase, right?
Enceladus: Yeah, pretty small. So prices are stable. That's good for our wallets!
Erinome: Then, the Ministry of Commerce reports: In 2025, China's rural online retail sales first broke 3 trillion yuan, up 6.7% from last year. That's a new record!
Enceladus: Wow! Rural areas are doing so well with online shopping now. More people in the countryside are buying things online, you know that?
Erinome: Civil Affairs Ministry: In 2025, national marriage registrations were 6.763 million pairs, up 657,000 from 2024. Divorce registrations were 2.743 million pairs, down 770,000. So marriages up, divorces down.
Enceladus: Oh, that's a nice change! Maybe more people are choosing to get married, and fewer are splitting up. Sad to see divorces, but this is better.
Erinome: Housing prices in China might be stopping falling! In January 2026, the property market is warming up. 13 key cities' second-hand houses are "picking up" first.
Enceladus: Oh, so the housing market is getting better? Maybe people are buying more second-hand houses now. That's good news for those wanting to move.
Erinome: Yu Donglai, the founder of Pang Donglai, announced he will retire after the Spring Festival. He will become a consultant, and the Pang Donglai Decision Committee will take charge of the work.
Enceladus: Pang Donglai is a famous store, right? It's sad he's retiring, but at least he'll still help as a consultant. Hope the store keeps doing well!
Erinome: China's manned lunar exploration mission made new progress! The Changzheng-10 carrier rocket and Mengzhou manned spaceship completed the first low-altitude flight test.
Enceladus: Wow! That's a big step for China's moon mission. I hope they can send people to the moon soon. So cool!
Erinome: Hunan Province banned motorcycles from highways. The China Motorcycle Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to "discourage", suggesting precise policies.
Enceladus: Oh no, some people might need motorcycles on highways for work or family. Maybe the ban should be more specific, not just all motorcycles.
Erinome: After two and a half years, Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, visited China again. He appeared at an event in Shanghai Zhangjiang.
Enceladus: Oh, Bill Gates is here! I wonder what he's here for. Maybe business or talking about technology?
Erinome: First week of Spring Festival travel: The number of passengers traveling between China and Japan dropped about 54% compared to the same period last year's Spring Festival.
Enceladus: That's a big drop. Maybe fewer people are traveling between the two countries this year. Hmm, wonder why.
Erinome: Last news: South Korean media: Two South Korean cross-country skiers had their Olympic results canceled because they used "technical doping" fluorinated wax.
Enceladus: Oh no, doping is not fair. They should play by the rules. It's sad for them, but rules are rules.
Erinome: Okay, that's it for today's news. Thanks for listening, everyone! We'll talk again next time. Bye!
Enceladus: Bye-bye!
