The design programmes for the construction of Beijing Municipal Vehicles Museum put forth by different architects from Japan, Germany, Canada, the United States and China have been carefully researched so experts can choose the best one , according to the Beijing Morning News.

The site of the large vehicles museum ?the first of its kind in China ?will be in Fengtai District in southwestern Beijing. The museum will occupy a total area of 520,000 square metres with an investment of 4 billion yuan (US$480 million).

Melodious music

Beijing's Chaoyang District Court of Justice recently become the first law court to provide a musical accompaniment for legal counsels and case participants, according to Beijing Youth Daily.

Every day, staff members broadcast famous Chinese and foreign tunes to create a pleasant ambience for those involved in lawsuits and reduce tempers.

Social crimes

An official with the Beijing Public Security Bureau announced on Monday the capital's police will crack down on social crimes including prostitution and gambling, which have reportedly become more frequent in recent months.

Statistics issued by the bureau showed that Beijing police have swooped on 21 prostitution or gambling venues as well as 18 entertainment venues which also run pornographic services since June 1. More than 190 suspected criminals were seized in the crackdown.

About 100,000 yuan (US$12,050) and 380,000 illegal publications were confiscated. The official said efforts to examine the city's entertainment venues will intensify this summer. He also appealed to the public to support and help the police's anti-crime endeavours.

Imperial seal

Lost for more than 100 years, a jade seal of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) Emperor Kangxi has been returned to China. It will be auctioned on July 12, according to the Beijing Daily.

The ancient seal was taken outside China after the Eight-power Allied Forces invaded China in 1900. A patriotic overseas Chinese businessman, who asked to remain anonymous, returned it to Beijing recently.

It is considered the largest seal used by the emperor and is valued by experts at 2 million yuan (US$240,000).

Drugs incinerated

Beijing destroyed 700 kilograms of narcotics on International Drug Control Day last Thursday, according to Beijing Daily.

By order of Ji Lin, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Drug Control Committee, anti-drug police put 700 kilograms of the drugs into an incinerator at a funeral home in rural Beijing.

Beijing solved 1,300 drug-related cases, seizing 17 kilograms of narcotics in the first five months of this year, said Ruan Zengyi, a municipal anti-drug official.

Officials in the city put up 120 booths to publicize drug control and distributed 500,000 pamphlets.

Bad habits

A recent survey of nearly 10,000 Chinese on the subject of personal hygiene and habits listed haphazard spitting as the most disgusting habit, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The survey was conducted by the Chinese Association for Science and Technology (CAST) from June 10 to 25 to encourage the public to abandon bad habits.

The CAST announced the results on Saturday during the opening ceremony of the June 29 National Science Popularization Day.

Following haphazard spitting on the list were haphazard use of public areas as toilets, littering, undermining public sanitation and preying on wild animals.

Wu Xiaolin, a CAST official in charge of science popularization, said the association has designated June 29 as Science Popularization Day in commemoration of the one-year anniversary of the law on science popularization that took effect in China on June 29, 2002.

Visiting rights

Beijing Municipal Haidian District People's Court announced it has decided to stop actively supporting a local man's rights to see his daughter, who has been in her mother's custody following the couple's divorce nearly 10 years ago.

According to the report in Beijing Youth Daily, the court made the decision following the urgings of the 10-year-old girl named Ying Ying, who stated explicitly that she never wanted to see her father, Zhou Guoqiang, again.

The judgment was a striking reversal for the 52-year-old father, who was the first person in this country to benefit from the visiting rights amendment added to the national Marriage Law in June 2001. According to the amendment, the parent not granted custody retains the right to visit his or her child after divorce.

However, Zhou's daughter said she did not want to see her father at all. As a result, the court decided to step back from enforcing the visiting rights in respect of the girl's will.

Resumption of lessons

The last of Beijing's public schools that were closed two months ago to combat the spread of SARS reopened on Monday, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The announcement came several days after Beijing was removed from a World Health Organization list of places with recent local transmissions of severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Beijing's public schools were closed on April 24 at the height of the outbreak, sending home some 1.7 million students.

The news agency said the Beijing Education Commission had planned to reopen other schools on July 14, but moved the date forward 搃n order to make up for lost time brought about by SARS.?Summer vacation will begin as normal on July 25, Xinhua said.