This is NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Yun Feng in Beijing. Here is the news.

China will mark its first Martyrs' Day with events across the country on September 30th.

China has designated September 30th every year as a national holiday to commemorate the country's martyrs.

The move is aimed at publicizing martyrs' achievements and spirits, and cultivating patriotism and socialist moralities so as to consolidate the Chinese nation's cohesiveness.

This is the third national memorial day in China, following the "Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression" on September 3rd and "National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims" on December 13th.

The "martyrs" refer to people who sacrificed their lives for national independence, prosperity, and the welfare of the people in modern times.

China has around 20 million martyrs and around 300 people have been identified as martyrs annually in recent years.

The authorities say that the setting on September 30th, one day before China's National Day on October 1st, has great significance, as people will take time for a more somber occasion before celebration.

In addition, September 30th was also the day on which the foundations were laid for the Monument to the People's Heroes, which stands at the heart of Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

This is NEWS Plus Special English.

The world's largest duty-free shop has opened its doors in the coastal city of Sanya in China's southernmost Hainan Province.

The "Haitang Bay" duty-free shopping center has attracted almost 300 international brands. For several of them, including Prada and Rolex, it is the first time they have appeared in a duty-free shop on the Chinese mainland.

With an area of 72,000 square meters, the center replaces an existing duty-free shop which is just one seventh of the new store's size in downtown Sanya.

China International Travel Service Group, CITS, has invested 5 billion yuan, or around 814 million U.S. dollars, in the center, which is run by China Duty Free Group under CITS.

Officials say the new store excels any others in the world in space, functions and the number of brands; and its opening is a milestone for China's duty-free market.

China grants Hainan permission to run a trial duty-free program in a bid to make the island province a world-class tourist destination by 2020.

You are listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Yun Feng in Beijing.

China has set up a special fund in a bid to better finance the protection of the Great Wall.

The Cultural Relics Protection Foundation has raised more than 18 million yuan, or almost 3 million U.S. dollars, from donations; and a committee was set up to manage the fund.

The Great Wall has a total length of more than 21,000 kilometers and is one of the most iconic landmarks of China.

The aging world heritage site is confronted with pressing challenges including a lack of protection and most notably a shortage of renovation fund in some undeveloped regions.

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The renowned Mogao Grottoes in northwest China's Gansu Province have been well-protected from sand erosion and encroaching desert following 70 years of continuous effort.

A combined system consisting of barriers and plant belts have been installed to ward off erosion of the Grottoes, a World Heritage Site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

The accumulated sand in the grottoes has mostly been removed thanks to sand control projects, greatly minimized the damage to murals and sculptures.

Since the 1940s, various measures have been taken to stop the drifting sand, and in the late 1980s, the Dunhuang Academy started cooperating with international organizations to protect the grottoes. A project launched in 2008 has also strengthened the sand control system around the grottoes.

The Mogao Grottoes have gained global recognition for their huge collection of Buddhist artwork, boasting more than 2,000 colored sculptures and 45,000 square meters of frescoes in almost 740 caves carved along a cliff. It became China's first UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

You are listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Yun Feng in Beijing.

Net users say the teenage students who were prevented from attending classes in Beijing for not meeting their school's hairstyle requirements were going a hair too far.

The No. 1 Middle School of Huairou District blocked three male students from their first day of classes after claiming they did not comply with the school's dress and style code.

All male students must sport a crew cut, while females must wear their hair in a braid or tied up.

According to the regulation, students are also forbidden from wearing nail polish or having long finger nails. Violators will be suspended on the spot.

Though the school argued the code aims at helping students focus on their studies, many feel the policy is too rigid.

Some net users said the rules are ridiculous because there is no such scientific study that shows a hairstyle has any link with one's academic performance in school; and that the education system kills personality.

Others, however, support the move by the school, saying it can prevent students from spending too much time comparing each other's hairstyle.