TWENTY-SIX museums in Beijing will be open free to the public on May 18 to celebrate International Museum Day, Beijing Morning Post reported today.

Exhibitions in museums like the Beijing Ancient Numismatic Museum, the Baita Temple and Beijing Museum of Ancient Architectures will all be open free to visitors on Friday week, the report said.

International Museum Day, designated by the International Council of Museums in 1978, is meant to heighten public awareness of the important role that museums play in communities.

Emirates, the Dubai-based global airline, launched its double daily services to Beijing from 1st May, four months prior to celebrating the anniversary of its first flight to the city last year.
Initially the airline has increased its services from the current daily to 12 flights every week, and from 1st July the busy Dubai-Beijing route will feature a double-daily non-stop service.

China is expected to cut a digitalized Beijing-Hangzhou canal during the "11th five-year plan" period (2006 to 2010).

Chinese experts employ the Global Positioning System (GPS) and other relevant technical means to set up an overall information network for the ancient historical and cultural heritage of the Beijing-Hangzhou canal.

More than 50 people were fined over the past week for spitting in the streets of Beijing and refusing to correct the bad habit, Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.

Beijing has outlawed spitting, queue-jumping, littering and other conduct likely to tarnish the city's image when it hosts next year's Olympics.

According to Xinhua, 56 people were fined for spitting during the week-long May Day holiday by five inspection teams patrolling the city.

The city government said earlier this year that spitters and litterers would face fines of up to 50 yuan (6.5 dollars).