At 8 a.m., Here's the Latest News: A collapse accident occurred on the Yellow River Bridge; A university in Dalian has stopped paying salaries to all its staff and has been subject to enforcement for over 3.5 billion yuan; Express delivery fees have increased in many places.

Today's Hotspot Guide

Cha Yan Yue Se's co-branded notebook is accused of plagiarism

"Little Monsters in Langlang Mountain" ranks among the top four in the 2025 box office list

A company with a market value of 12.4 billion yuan plans to invest 13.8 billion yuan in stock trading and wealth management

Progress announcement of Fat Donglai's recruitment

Coca-Cola is reported to be considering selling its British coffee chain Costa

Top 3 Big News

China Railway Responds to the Collapse of Jianzha Yellow River Bridge in Qinghai, Resulting in 12 Deaths and 4 Missing

China Railway announced on August 24 that around 3:10 a.m. on August 22, at the Jianzha Yellow River Bridge on the Qinghai section of the Sichuan - Qinghai Railway under construction by its wholly - owned subsidiary, China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group Co., Ltd., the front end buckle cable of the sling tower assisting in the steel beam erection suddenly snapped. As of now, the accident has resulted in 12 deaths and 4 people missing. After the accident, the company and China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group Co., Ltd. immediately activated the emergency response plan. Relevant responsible persons rushed to the scene as soon as possible to cooperate with relevant government departments in carrying out emergency rescue, personnel search and relevant investigation work. Currently, on - site emergency and search operations are being carried out in an orderly manner, and the cause of the accident is under investigation.

The company expresses deep condolences to the victims of this accident and apologizes to the families of the deceased. The company will learn profound lessons from this incident, implement the main responsibilities of the enterprise, and properly handle relevant follow - up work. The Jianzha Yellow River Bridge has a total length of 1,596.2 meters, with a contract value of approximately 436 million yuan. This accident will not have a significant impact on the company's production, operation and performance. (China Newsweek)

Latest Response from a University After Reports of Salary Suspension for All Staff

Recently, a netizen posted a message claiming that "Dalian University of Science and Technology has halted salary disbursements to all employees, potentially jeopardizing the start of the new semester," which has garnered public attention. In the comment section, a letter titled "A Letter to All Faculty and Staff" signed by the "Trade Union Committee of Dalian University of Science and Technology" and dated August 5 was observed. The document stated that without receiving any legal documentation or prior notice, multiple institutional accounts had been frozen by the Dalian Intermediate People's Court, causing the failure to distribute July salaries as scheduled. The university's trade union pledged to provide temporary hardship allowances and condolence subsidies to all staff members.

On August 23, a reporter posing as a parent contacted Dalian University of Science and Technology for verification. An administrative office representative confirmed the authenticity of the online-circulated "A Letter to All Faculty and Staff," while asserting that "the institution is currently resolving this matter. Local authorities will not permit suspension of academic operations, and our faculty will resume duties shortly." The same day, attempts to contact the Liaoning Provincial Department of Education, the university's regulatory body, were unsuccessful.

Public records indicate Dalian University of Science and Technology has two active enforcement cases totaling over 230 million yuan in liabilities, along with 35 historical enforcement cases exceeding 3.5 billion yuan. Notably, a renewed enforcement action was registered on August 4 involving more than 130 million yuan, with the Dalian Intermediate People's Court overseeing implementation. (Yicai Global, The Paper)

Express delivery fees have increased in many places, and e-commerce customers in Guangdong and Zhejiang are the first to see price adjustments

Recently, express delivery fees have increased in many places. Many express delivery companies in Guangdong and Zhejiang, major e-commerce hubs, have currently raised prices for e-commerce customers. Among them, Guangdong is a key area for price adjustment, with the price adjustment range per piece between 0.3 yuan and 0.7 yuan, and a minimum price of 1.4 yuan per order is also set. Some industry insiders said that the Guangdong region contributes the largest volume of orders to express delivery companies, and at the same time, it also contributes extremely low prices. Previously, the price of 0.8 yuan for nationwide delivery originated from this area. It is understood that this express delivery price increase is an adjustment made against the background of anti-involution. In July this year, the State Post Bureau held a Party group meeting and a symposium for express delivery companies successively, clearly proposing to address the involutionary competition in the industry. (Red Star News)

Big Companies/Big Events

Yanyue Teas' Co-branded Notebook Accused of Plagiarism, Yanyue Teas Issues a Response

Recently, several bloggers have successively posted on social platforms, claiming that the notebook co-branded by Yanyue Teas and Rainbow Chorus is suspected of plagiarizing their works. In response, on the afternoon of August 24th, Yanyue Teas issued a statement saying that there were indeed some unauthorized appropriations. The team had oversight in the management review and failed to detect and stop the problem in time, allowing the design draft to pass the review and go into production. The company has immediately contacted the original author, sincerely explained the situation, and apologized. The team plans to set up a special investigation group to conduct a comprehensive self-review and self-correction, re-examine the ongoing content, and rectify any problems found in a timely manner. (Jiemian News)

The mobile phone number ending with 9999999 was put up for auction starting at 1 million yuan but failed to sell due to no bids.

In judicial auctions, it is rare to see a mobile phone number with seven consecutive identical digits. Recently, on the Alibaba Asset Auction platform, a mobile phone number ending with "9999999" was listed for auction with a starting price of 1 million yuan. The mobile phone number up for auction is 13**9999999, and its number attribution is Karamay, Xinjiang. On August 23, during the 24 - hour bidding period, the auction failed due to no bids. Reporters learned that previously, a mobile phone number ending with "9999999" was sold for 445,500 yuan. (Modern Express)

Xiaomi Home's Automotive Flagship Store in Kunming Park 1903 Opens; Wang Xiaoyan: There Will Be Over 20,000 Xiaomi Home Stores This Year

36Kr learned that on August 23, the automotive flagship store of Xiaomi Home in Kunming Park 1903 opened. Wang Xiaoyan, the senior vice president of Xiaomi Group and the president of its China region, said at the opening ceremony that by the end of this year, the number of Xiaomi Home stores will exceed 20,000, the number of full - ecological integration stores for people, cars, and homes will exceed 200, and the number of sales - service integrated stores across the country will also exceed 2,000. It is understood that the automotive flagship store in Kunming Park 1903 is the largest Xiaomi Home in Yunnan.

"The Little Monster from Langlang Mountain" Enters the Top Four on the 2025 Box Office List

36Kr learned that according to data from Maoyan Professional Edition, the cumulative box office (including pre - sales) of the movie "The Little Monster from Langlang Mountain" has exceeded 1.239 billion yuan, surpassing the box - office performance of "Fengshen II: The Western March of War" and entering the top four on the 2025 box office list.

The first Lucky Coffee store under the Mixue Group in Malaysia opens

36Kr learned that on August 21st, the first overseas store of Lucky Coffee, a freshly ground coffee brand under the Mixue Group, officially opened in Malaysia, marking the official start of its globalization. Data shows that the store sold nearly 2,000 cups of products on the opening day. As of July, the number of Lucky Coffee's domestic signed stores has exceeded 7,000. Next, Lucky Coffee will continue to refine its overseas store model and deeply cultivate the Southeast Asian market.

Shanghai License Plate Auction Results for August Released: Minimum Winning Bid at 93,300 Yuan

The results of the Shanghai license plate auction in August are out. The total number of personal license plates up for auction is 4,044. The number of participants in the auction is 43,898, and the winning bid rate is 9.2%. The minimum winning bid is 93,300 yuan, and the average winning bid is 93,322 yuan, a decrease of 748 yuan compared to last month's 94,070 yuan. The cut - off time for the minimum winning bid is the 16th bid at 11:29:59. (Caixin Press)

Public Announcement of Fat Donglai's Recruitment Progress: 83,000 Resumes Successfully Submitted to Fat Donglai

On August 22nd, Xinxiang Fat Donglai released a public announcement of its recruitment progress. The announcement shows that for the recruitment application channel of Xinxiang Fat Donglai, 132,000 people registered information in the system. During the process of receiving application information, 83,000 people submitted basic information.

Fat Donglai stated that among the applicants who successfully submitted their basic information, the system conducted an initial screening based on the basic application conditions, and 8,027 people entered the answering stage of the cultural assessment. Finally, after comprehensive screening and evaluation by the system, 2,988 people entered the stage of complete information collection. After the information collection is completed, the complete information of the applicants will be carefully reviewed, and interview invitations will be sent to the applicants who pass the review. (Blue Whale News)

CCTV Exposes the Chaotic Sales of Fool's Gold Jewelry: Factory Price of 10 Yuan Sold for over 100 Yuan

It is reported that "spend a little money and wear jewelry that looks like high - end brands, with a visual effect comparable to that of gold." Since the beginning of this year, as the price of gold has continued to rise, a batch of "fool's gold jewelry" has emerged in the market. This kind of jewelry looks very similar to gold but is not expensive, so it has quickly become popular and is regarded by many consumers as an alternative to gold due to the high price of gold.

According to the merchants, this fool's gold is mainly produced in places such as Vietnam and Myanmar. It has the same color inside and outside and will never fade. Some merchants also claim that these products are similar to gold and are not afraid of fire, but the price of a piece of jewelry is much lower than that of gold. Merchants in the Yiwu Small Commodity City in Zhejiang said that these jewelry are mainly made of brass as raw materials, and the surface is electroplated with 0.05 - micron yellow gold to simulate the texture of gold. However, due to the thin electroplated layer, it will gradually wear out during long - term wearing and use. Brass - gold - plated jewelry with a factory price of about 10 yuan is packaged by live - stream hosts in online live - streaming rooms as so - called refined fool's gold from Vietnam and sold for over 100 yuan per piece. (CCTV Finance)

Hangzhou's primary and secondary schools to fully offer AI general courses, with no less than 10 class hours per academic year

36Kr learned that on August 22, a press conference on the implementation of artificial intelligence education in primary and secondary schools in Hangzhou and a training activity on AI-powered education reform were held. Two documents were released on site, namely the "Outline of Local Curriculum for Artificial Intelligence Education in Primary and Secondary Schools in Hangzhou (Trial)" and the "Framework for Artificial Intelligence Literacy of Primary and Secondary School Teachers in Hangzhou (Trial)". In the new semester starting in September, Hangzhou will fully offer general courses on artificial intelligence in all grades of primary and secondary schools, with no less than 10 class hours per academic year.

A company with a market value of 12.4 billion yuan plans to use 13.8 billion yuan for stock trading and wealth management. Approximately 60 listed companies plan to use idle funds for stock trading.

Recently, the A-share market has been booming, and the enthusiasm for listed companies to engage in stock trading has resurfaced. After Leo Group planned to use no more than 3 billion yuan of its own funds for securities investment, Jiangsu Guotai has also put forward a new "investment + wealth management" plan. On the evening of August 22, Jiangsu Guotai (002091) announced that it plans to use no more than 12 billion yuan for entrusted wealth management and no more than 1.83 billion yuan for securities investment, with the total exceeding 13.8 billion yuan.

According to incomplete statistics, since the beginning of this year, approximately 60 listed companies have announced plans to use their own idle funds for securities investment. In addition to Jiangsu Guotai, at least 7 other companies plan to invest more than 1 billion yuan in securities, namely Leo Group, Fangda Carbon, Septwolves, Tapai Group, Lianfa Co., Ltd., Xiantan Co., Ltd., and Zhejiang Yongqiang. Among them, Leo Group's maximum investment reaches 3 billion yuan, and the maximum investments of Fangda Carbon and Septwolves reach 2 billion yuan. (National Business Daily)

Beijing: The Maximum Operating Speed of Rail Transit Trains Increased to 120 Kilometers per Hour

36Kr learned that according to the official WeChat account of "Beijing Release", on August 22, according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources, the Beijing local standard "Design Standard for Urban Rail Transit Engineering" (hereinafter referred to as the "Standard") has been revised and released, and will be implemented on January 1, 2026. The revised "Standard" has increased the maximum operating speed of trains from 100 kilometers per hour to 120 kilometers per hour, providing technical support for the construction of an express line network in the next stage. At the same time, it has added relevant content such as express and local train operations, flexible train formation, fully automatic operation, transportation connections, and flood prevention.

Foreign capital net - bought Chinese stocks at the fastest pace in seven weeks, with both long - buying and short - covering

The attitude of international capital towards Chinese assets is undergoing a major transformation. According to the latest data released by Goldman Sachs, hedge funds net - bought Chinese stocks at the fastest pace in seven weeks, with both long - buying and short - covering. According to a report from Nomura Securities, emerging market fund institutions significantly reduced their position allocation weight for the Indian stock market in July, while significantly increasing their allocation weight for the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, China. Looking ahead, many foreign institutions believe that the profit - making effect is attracting off - market funds into the market, and the Chinese stock market will see stronger capital inflows. The momentum of this round of rise remains strong, and the valuations of Chinese stocks are still highly attractive. Goldman Sachs analysts believe that since a large amount of idle capital has not yet entered the market, the momentum of this round of rise in Chinese assets remains strong. It is estimated that Chinese households hold 55 trillion yuan in "excess deposits", and currently only 22% of household financial assets are allocated to funds and stocks, meaning that the potential capital inflow scale exceeds 10 trillion yuan. (Cailian Press)

Multiple countries announce suspension of sending packages to the United States

The US government announced on July 30 that it will suspend the tax - exemption treatment for imported packages worth $800 or less starting from August 29. Affected by this, multiple countries have recently announced the suspension of sending packages to the United States one after another. (CCTV World News)

Coca-Cola Reportedly Considering Selling Its UK Coffee Chain Costa

According to people familiar with the matter, Coca-Cola has hired an investment bank to help evaluate the possibility of selling its UK coffee chain Costa Coffee. The Atlanta-based soft drink giant has asked investment bank Lazard to assess options and gauge interest in the business it acquired for £3.9 billion ($5.3 billion) in 2018. It is reported that Coca-Cola has had preliminary discussions with a small number of potential bidders, including private equity firms. Sources said that there is no guarantee of a deal at present, and Coca-Cola may ultimately decide not to proceed with the sale. (Sina Finance)

SpaceX's Starship to Conduct Its Tenth Flight Test

On August 24 local time, SpaceX, the space exploration technology company owned by Elon Musk, announced that it plans to conduct the tenth flight test of its next - generation heavy - lift launch vehicle, the Starship, in the evening of the 24th local time. SpaceX stated that the Starship will have a test - flight window at 18:30 Central Time on the 24th (07:30 Beijing Time on the 25th), and SpaceX will start live - streaming the flight test about 30 minutes before the launch.

SpaceX said that after completing an investigation into the abnormal static fire test during the ninth flight test, the company made changes to its hardware facilities and operations to improve reliability. On the evening of June 18 local time, SpaceX's Starship S36 spacecraft malfunctioned and exploded during a static fire test. The accident severely damaged the launch pad, but no casualties were reported, nor was there any harm to the surrounding community. (Jiemian News)

Spotify Hints at Further Price Hikes

Spotify is reported to have launched a new service, hinting at further price hikes. (Cailian Press)

Going Public

GEM Co., Ltd.

36Kr learned that GEM Co., Ltd. issued an announcement. After full research and demonstration, the board of directors agreed that the company would issue H-shares and be listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (referred to as the "Hong Kong Stock Exchange"). The company will fully consider the interests of existing shareholders and the situation of domestic and overseas capital markets, and choose an appropriate timing and issuance window to complete this issuance and listing within the validity period of the shareholders' meeting resolution (i.e., 24 months from the date of approval by the company's shareholders' meeting or other extended periods agreed upon). As of now, the company is actively discussing relevant work for this issuance and listing with relevant intermediary institutions. Except for the relevant proposals approved by the board of directors and the board of supervisors, other specific details regarding this issuance and listing have not been finally determined.

The forefront of AI

OpenAI Holds Consultations with the UK on ChatGPT Plus - Related Agreement

It is reported that Sam Altman, co - founder of OpenAI, discussed a potential agreement with Peter Kyle. The agreement intends to grant UK residents access to its premium products. According to two sources directly familiar with the meeting, this idea was put forward during the talks held in San Francisco when the two sides were having broader discussions on cooperation opportunities between OpenAI and the UK. (Sina Finance) 

Elon Musk: xAI's Grok 2.5 model is now open - source, and Grok 3 will be open - sourced in about six months

Elon Musk just posted on his social media platform X that xAI, his artificial intelligence (AI) startup, has open - sourced its Grok 2.5 model and plans to open - source the Grok 3 model in about six months. (Sina Finance)

Financial Reports of Big Companies

Tin Industry Co., Ltd.: Net profit in the first half of the year was 1.062 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 32.76%

36Kr learned that Tin Industry Co., Ltd. disclosed its semi-annual report for 2025. In the first half of the year, it achieved an operating income of 21.093 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.35%; the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 1.062 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 32.76%; the basic earnings per share was 0.626 yuan.

Asia Vision Optoelectronics: Net profit in the first half of the year was 5.3804 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 36.21%

36Kr learned that Asia Vision Optoelectronics disclosed its semi - annual report for 2025. In the first half of the year, it achieved an operating income of 432 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 30.01%; the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 5.3804 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 36.21%; the basic earnings per share was 0.0331 yuan.

Gold Mantis: Net profit in the first half of the year was 358 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.95%

36Kr learned that Gold Mantis disclosed its semi - annual report for 2025. In the first half of the year, it achieved an operating income of 9.528 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.49%; the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 358 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.95%; the basic earnings per share was 0.1348 yuan.

Compiled | Baby Chinese Cabbage