TRAFFIC BOOM: Travelers wait in line for trains at the Nanjing Railway Station on October 7. In the first three quarters of 2011, China's railway passenger traffic volume increased 11.6 percent from a year ago to reach 14.2579 trillion people (WANG QIMING)

178.9 billion yen

China bought a net 178.9 billion yen ($23 billion) of Japanese government debt in August, marking the first net purchase since October 2010, said Japan's Ministry of Finance.

12.5 billion yuan

China Vanke, the country's largest listed property developer, said its sales in September fell 12 percent year on year to 12.5 billion yuan ($1.96 billion).