Chinese Kung Fu charms Silicon Valley
Tranquil Yankou ancient town
Lake Geneva: A show of swans
Beautiful sunset over the Irtysh River
Qingjing Mosque: Witness of the ancient Maritime Silk Road
Neiliansheng – more than 100 years of fashion
Golden retriever feeds baby African lions
Strange rocks in Lama Mountain
First overseas "China-standard" electric railway laid
College graduate launches organic agricultural cooperative in hometownChina's building materials sector recorded slower growth in the first four months of this year as a cooling housing market has dashed hopes for lasting rapid expansion, according to the latest statistics from the country's top economic planner.
Cement output grew a mere 4.3 percent from a year ago to 672 million tonnes in the January-April period, slowing 4.2 percentage points from last year's growth, according to industrial reports by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on its website.
While China's housing market, a major consumer of the country's cement, flat glass and aluminum, showed more signs of cooling, the cement industry managed to lock in a 269-percent upsurge in profits totaling 9.9 billion yuan (1.6 billion U.S. dollars) in the first four months.
Investment in the cement sector followed a weakening real estate market with a year-on-year decline of 2.4 percent to 24.73 billion yuan in the January-April period.
The output of flat glass, another sector closely linked with the property market and fraught with overcapacity problems, also rose 4.3 percent year on year to 268 million weight boxes from January to April, according to the NDRC data.
Flat glass producers increased their profits by 54 percent to 1.33 billion yuan even though they cut investment by 6 percent year on year to 6.64 billion yuan.
Aluminum smelting factories, which rely heavily on the real estate sector for growth, saw their losses widen to 5.26 billion yuan in the January-April period, with a combined output of 7.69 million tonnes.
Of a statistical pool of 70 major Chinese cities, eight cities reported month-on-month declines in new home prices in April while fewer cities reported price gains, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Opening ceremony of 67th Cannes Film Festival
Pulse of Xiamen - Int'l Yoga art festival in May
Photo story: Life of a scrap metal recycle worker
Training of the PLA's first female honor guard
China's 10 must-see animations
Female bodybuilders show their beauty of fitness
A taste of Harbin cuisine
A bite of Jiang Nan
Who is China's campus beauty queen?
8 great movies to watch with your mom
China's most luminous celebrities
Newly recruited police in Hetian hold drill
Bird-men compete flying in Hong Kong
The 'Chinese Dad'
Shanghai locals bid farewell to childhood memoriesDay|Week|Month