Young Chinese breakdancer '671' looks to make mark at Paris Olympics

The experience of topping the podium at the 19th Asian Games has become a powerful motivator for Chinese breakdancer Liu Qingyi to strive for success at the upcoming Paris Olympic Games.

Breakdancing is set to make its debut as an Olympic sport at the 2024 Paris Games, which officially open on Friday, and Liu is tipped to be one of the breakout stars who will make their mark in the French capital.

The 18-year-old Liu made history at the Outbreak 2022 Street Dance Competition in Slovakia by becoming China's first medalist at an international breaking event, and later went on to win the inaugural title in her sport at the 19th Asian Games held last year in Hangzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province.

Liu, also known as B-Girl 671, a moniker she choose due to her full name sounding like the pronunciation of those numbers in Chinese, is eager to shine on the Olympic stage.

With a fierce drive to perform at her best, Liu is looking to combine new ideas from her coaches alongside the skills she has already mastered during training, as she looks to deliver at the upcoming Paris Olympics.

"For this period, I have so many things to do, because I have a lot of coaches, so they gave me a lot of advice. So, for me, I need to digest them, then to transfer them to use a way by myself. For now, I just want to use some new things and some old stuff together, then I can find new feelings. I can't only do the new things, because it's very difficult, and I feel maybe not stable. So, for now, [I'll] just try, if I crash, it's okay. But for the Olympics, I think that's the final stage," she said.

Liu automatically secured her spot at the Paris Olympics thanks to her gold medal at the Asian Games, and said she is honored to represent her nation while pledging to do her best as she searches for more glory.

"First, I think I'm lucky. I'm proud I can represent China to compete [in] this competition, so I will do my best, then [if] I get [to be] the champion, I'm really happy. I can go to the Olympics straight [after winning at the Asian Games in Hangzhou], so for the Olympics, I also will do my best," she said.

The Place de la Concorde in central Paris will host the first-ever breaking competition in Olympic history on August 9-10, with 32 dancers from 15 countries and regions competing for men's and women's gold medals.

Young Chinese breakdancer '671' looks to make mark at Paris Olympics

China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has unveiled its strategy for 2025 to stabilize the country's real estate market, which has faced downward pressure recently.

An announcement came at the close of the ministry's national work conference on housing and urban-rural development on Wednesday in Beijing.

According to the work conference, positive changes have been seen in the property market since the fourth quarter of this year thanks to a series of policy measures adopted.

Data of October and November from the ministry showed consecutive month-on-month and year-on-year increases in the transactions of areas for new commercial housing nationwide. Besides, significant progress has been made in ensuring the delivery of homes under construction, with 3.38 million housing units delivered.

In 2025, the ministry underlined approaches from three aspects to propel the market toward stabilization and recovery, which are releasing demand, improving supply, and promoting transformation.

On the demand side, the ministry said it will build upon previously-introduced credit and tax policies to unlock housing demand through the renovation of urban villages and dilapidated housing.

"More efforts will be made to renovate urban villages and dilapidated houses, and promote monetized resettlement. On the basis of building an additional 1 million units, the scale of urban village renovation will continue to expand, especially, on projects where residents have a strong desire for renovation. And for projects that are relatively favorable and ready to renovate, key supports will be given," said Ni Hong, minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

In regard to improving supply, the ministry said it will revitalize existing land and commercial housing, address the issue of unsold second-hand commercial housing, and increase the supply of affordable housing to help new urban residents, young people, and migrant workers secure homes.

To drive the transformation of the real estate sector, the ministry said it will prioritize optimizing and improving the housing supply system, advance the institutional reforms of the sales system for commercial housing, and accelerate the establishment of a comprehensive safety management system for buildings throughout their entire lifecycle.

China's housing ministry outlines plan to stabilize property market in 2025