Beijing News You Might Have Missed This Week, Jul 23

Beijing is a happening city! Don't miss a thing with our weekend roundup of the latest news.

Fences, Barriers Removed at Two Beijing Parks: Fences and gates at two popular city parks, Yuan Dadu Relics Park and Qingfeng Park, were recently removed, reports Beijing Daily. The report says the removal of fences was carried out to “better integrate the parks” with the city around them, and is part of a greater pilot program to create more recreational spaces in Beijing. The decision to remove fences at these first two parks will certainly be a welcome one: seeing as both are popular spots for walking and jogging, it’ll make life easier for those looking to get a bit of exercise in without having to go through so many gates.

Two Beijing Pizza Hut shops reprimanded for food safety issues: Well-known pizza chain Pizza Hut was involved in a food scandal due to poor sanitation. According to a report from the Global Times, a series of food safety problems were found in two Beijing store, including selling expired items and not replacing cooking oil for a long time. This is not the first time that Pizza Hut was involved in food safety problems, as one of the branches was already found to be using expired ingredients as recently as March of this year.

In response to the news, Pizza Hut said it had suspended the operation of these two branches and was also carrying out an investigation.

Didi fined over RMB 8 billion for violating data laws: The ride-hailing app Didi was hit with penalties mounting to more than RMB 8 billion for breaching the country's data security laws. According to the Cyberspace Administration of China, the company had evaded supervision and maliciously breached three separate laws related to data security. In a social media post Didi said that it took full responsibility and accepted the regulator's penalties.

Beijing has launched China's first commercial trial of automated driving: The Beijing High-level Automated Driving Demonstration Area recently opened its first unmanned commercial pilot travel service, with Baidu and Pony.ai becoming the first licensed enterprises to operate within that zone. According to a report by China Daily, a total of 30 driverless vehicles will be deployed within 60 square kilometers of the core area of Beijing Economic Technological Development Zone for testing.

Hainan Airlines resumes direct flights: On Jul 16, Hainan Airlines officially resumed direct flights from Belgrade to Beijing. The air carrier said in a statement that they will offer nonstop flights every Saturday. At the first flight meeting held between Beijing and Belgrade, which took place on Jul 15, Chen Ming, vice chairman of Hainan Airlines, said that the operation of the flights will facilitate cultural exchanges between the Chinese and Serbian peoples.

Read: Beijing News You Might Have Missed This Week, Jul 2 

Images: Beijing Daily, Dianping, Weibo