The numbers making news around China during the week of Dec 10, 2012

700
Number of mountains that Lanzhou plans to flatten for a price of roughly 22 billion yuan in order to build a new development zone. The Guardian

10,000 
Number of unattended children with foreign nationalities left by parents in Fuzhou. China Radio International

0.61
China’s Gini Co-efficient (measuring wealth inequality) in 2010, according to China Household Finance Survey Center. This would make it among the highest in the world. Bloomberg

0.5 percent
Proportion of China’s income that goes to the poorest 20 percent of its population, according to the same China Household Finance Survey Center poll. Wall Street Journal

232
Number of journalists imprisoned around the world in 2012 – the highest number ever recorded. The Guardian

474
Number of “cloned” scam taxis seized in Shanghai so far this year. Shanghaiist

22^nd and 26^th
Ranks of Beijing and Shanghai respectively in ECA International world ranking of cities with the highest cost of living for expats. This is up from 35^th and 41^st respectively last year. Wall Street Journal