Chinese trains, ferries, education, part of Rio's daily life

Premier Li Keqiang boards the Sugar Loaf Mountain ferry in Rio de Janeiro on May 20, 2015. The ferry was made in China and is named after one of Rio's biggest tourist attractions and has a capacity of 2,000 passengers. The premier said it represented another achievement in cooperation between China and Brazil on production capacity and manufacturing. [Photo/english.gov.cn]

GO TO RIO BY CHINESE FERRY BOAT

Due to high living costs, many people working in Rio, the state capital and Brazil's second city, choose to live in the neighboring Niteroi town across the Guanabara Bay.

Many of the ferries that shuttle commuters back and forth were made in the 1960s and 1970s, but a single blue boat stands out among them. The Pao de Acucar, Sugar Loaf in Portuguese, named after the city's iconic peak, was manufactured in China.

"The new ferry arrived this year, and every day I hope I can catch it, because it is the most comfortable one," bank teller Marcio told Xinhua. "Taking this boat to work can put me in a good mood all day long!"

The Sugar Loaf provides passengers with drinking water, bathrooms, a bar, seats for the disabled, tactile paving and bike racks. Plus, it is the only air-conditioned boat plying the Rio-Niteroi route for now, but the state has purchased seven more.

Boat captain Jorge Oswaldo de Freitas said he feels "very good steering the boat. And this ship always requires two crew members in the cockpit, and that guarantees safety."

Peng Liang, a Chinese engineer at China Shipping Industry's Afai Shipyard, said that during the first year after delivery, Chinese engineers must stand by for day-to-day operations to solve any problems or concerns that might arise.