Rush hour subway fares to rise in Beijing. Want to make a high salary after university? Don't major in the liberal arts. And two types of vaccines for babies have been suspended following two deaths in Hunan province - it's all trending across China.

PM 2.5 – culprit for health problems

PM 2.5, a key indicator of air pollution, is the main cause for the sharp increase of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in metropolitan cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, a survey covering 20 cities across the nation and involving 680,000 participants has revealed.

The survey, conducted by Beijing Health Care Association, has also shown the PM 2.5 can also affect people’s minds and cut their outdoor activities.

Beijing has taken various measures to address its air problems. The latest move includes a ban on fireworks during the up-coming Spring Festival when air pollution is serious. (Jinghua Times)

Related:

Beijing to ban fireworks on heavily polluted days

Subway fare hike

Beijing is going to raise its subway ticket price during rush hours to relieve the passenger flow, Beijing Morning Post reported.

The move is going to bring an end to the current 2-yuan (32 cents) fare from every metro station to any destination in the capital. The new fare hasn’t been announced.

Related:

Beijing to install shield screens for subway

New iPhone5s blast

A man from Shenzhen, Guangdong province says his brand new iphone5s exploded few minutes after turned on and its battery burned into ashes.

The Apple Inc has received the complaint and rates it as “the highest-level safety issue.” (Southern Metropolis Daily)

Related:

Apple to probe workers' deaths

Kind-hearted landlord

A kind-landlord has gone viral on the Internet after a woman surnamed Yang in Wuhan, Hubei province told a moving story of the landlord who always treated her like a family and never asked for a rent raise in the past ten years.

The rent has been always 100 yuan ($16.47 dollars) per month in the past decade.

The landlord also helped babysit Yang’s child and made a match between Yang and her ex-husband. (Wuhan Evening News)

Poor liberal arts majors

Liberal arts majors occupy the last ten spots in an income survey list for university graduates, chinanews.com reported.

The survey shows that seven science majors make the top ten highest-earning entries, with architecture graduates earning the most, at 4,453 yuan ($733) per month. History majors on average earn the least, at 2,835 yuan per month.

Related:

Postgraduates get hard lessons at job fair

Vaccine blunder

Two types of vaccines for babies have been suspended from medical use, following two deaths after inoculation in Hunan province, chinanews reported.

The two types are numbered C201207088 and C201207090 for hepatitis B vaccine, produced by BioKangtai, a Shenzhen-based biological products company. They have been sold to Hunan, Guangdong and Guizhou provinces, where local authorities have promptly issued a ban.

Related:

Two babies dead after hepatitis B vaccination

Holiday debate

A Tsinghua University professor said Chinese workersannually have 125 days off, about one thirdof a year, which means if one worked for two days, the next day could be a day off, sparking heated discussions online.

Cai Jiming, an economics professor, said on CCTV program Topics in Focus that working people enjoy legal holidays for 11 days, paid vacations for 10 days, and 104 days in weekends. But many web users complained that they can’t rest on many weekends.

Related:

Holiday schedule angers public

Free breakfast

Nanjing University of Aerospace Science is offering free breakfasts to encourage its students to get up early on cold winter days, the Nanjing Morning Post reported.

The free breakfast, which consists of an egg and a bowl of porridge, is offered to the first 20 students who arrive at the school’s canteen each morning. Students who are among the first 20 for two straight weeks will get an 8-yuan breakfast coupon.