Shanghai Daily

‘Blue network’

- Zhang Long

By 2025, Putuo will have 70 waterways and 30 lakes and ponds. The water area of the district will be increased to 2.5 square kilometers from the current 2 square kilometers.

CHINA’S first floating major hotel has been suspended by authoritie­s over illegal occupation of maritime space.

Located 500 meters off the coast of Dongshan Island in southeast China’s Fujian Province, Hi Sea Floating Hotel has attracted a robust following on social media for its unique design and unrivaled views.

With rooms going for up to 7,800 yuan (US$1,207) a night, it has been fully booked until April.

The Maritime Safety Bureau in Zhangzhou began

investigat­ing the hotel’s legality last November.

The bureau ordered the hotel to suspend operations, which the owner surnamed Lin ignored.

In 2018, Lin posted an article on the hotel’s WeChat account saying he wanted to build a cabin on the sea to get away from the crowds.

The hotel has gone through several design and constructi­on updates to ensure it is strong enough to withstand tidal currents and even hurricanes.

Constructi­on took 17 months, and the hotel was divided into three rooms that can accommodat­e up to 8 adults.

The Maritime Safety Bureau fined the owner 10,000 yuan and ordered him to vacate the occupied sea space.

Lin is applying for approval to reopen in March next year.

GERMAN sportswear company Puma expects the financial impact from coronaviru­s lockdowns to last well into the second quarter, but believes global growth in running should help to support a strong improvemen­t after that.

“We clearly see a running boom in the whole world,” Chief Executive Bjorn Gulden told journalist­s, noting that yoga and other outdoor activities are also doing well. He expects the healthy living trend to continue even after the pandemic.

Gulden said his optimism is underlined by the fact that orders for 2021 are up almost 30 percent compared with a year ago, with bookings for running products particular­ly high.

However, there is still uncertaint­y about when lockdowns in Europe will end, with about half of the stores selling its products currently closed in its home region.

For the full year, Puma expects at least a moderate increase in sales in constant currency, with an upside potential, and a significan­t improvemen­t for both its operating and net profit compared with 2020.

“The wording on outlook looks softer than we had anticipate­d, even by Puma’s cautious standards,” said Jefferies analyst James Grzinic.

Gulden noted that a shortage of shipping containers bringing products made in Asia would impact margins, with freight rates likely to double in the next 12 months.

Puma will put a stronger focus on the women’s market in future, Gulden said, creating shoes better modelled to female feet for running and soccer and capitalizi­ng on partnershi­ps with celebritie­s like singer Dua Lipa and model Cara Delevingne.

Gulden admitted Puma had been slow in creating its own app, but it plans to launch one toward the end of the year, further supporting online sales, which grew by 63 percent in 2020.

Rival Nike in December raised its fullyear sales forecast after demand for outdoor sportswear drove an 84 percent surge in online sales.

Gulden said he is hopeful that the Olympics will go ahead in Japan and the European soccer championsh­ip will also take place after both were postponed from 2020.

DIGITAL upgrade has begun on Nanjing Road E. and technologi­es like cloud, big data, artificial intelligen­ce, edge computing and 5G have been adopted, according to officials from the Huangpu District government and Huawei, a major partner in the upgrade.

Upgraded digital services include pedestrian traffic monitoring, security checks and automatic warnings, parking management and fire prevention.

Shanghai will upgrade digital management systems in “every street and every building” in the city to improve urban management and boost its digital transforma­tion, according to the city’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025).

Similar systems, which are considered pillars of urban management, will be adopted throughout the city.

 ??  ?? The Hi Sea Floating Hotel
The Hi Sea Floating Hotel
 ??  ?? A Puma outlet in Shanghai is seen in this file photo. The German sportswear company believes global growth in running should help to support a strong improvemen­t after the second quarter. — IC
A Puma outlet in Shanghai is seen in this file photo. The German sportswear company believes global growth in running should help to support a strong improvemen­t after the second quarter. — IC

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