Nigeria Times

By Su Bin, Chen Junyi, People’s Daily

The final competition of China’s Village Super League (VSL), an amateur football tournament dubbed “Cun Chao” by Chinese netizens, for this year was held in Rongjiang county, southwest China’s Guizhou province on July 20, following a pre-game show that demonstrated the rich cultural heritage of local ethnic minorities.

When the game started, players skillfully passed the ball, with spectators’ cheers growing louder as it neared the goal. The excitement was further amplified by the rhythmic beating of drums.

In the stands, local residents offered free delicacies such as pickled fish and rice noodle rolls. During halftime, the audience appreciated the traditional singing and dance performances of the Dong ethnic group.

Finally, the Dangxiang village team defeated the Dongmen village team 5-0 to win the championship.

“I initially planned to watch for just one evening, but now I just can’t get enough,” said a tourist surnamed Wu from east China’s Jiangsu province, who was very much captivated by the enchanting atmosphere.

The VSL has become a sensation in China over the recent years, with its name drawing inspiration from the Premier League and Chinese Super League. Over the past year, VSL-related topics garnered more than 10 billion views on the internet, leading to a significant increase in tourist visits and tourism revenue in Rongjiang county.

Innovation is what drives the football tournament from making its mark to becoming a perpetual sensation. This summer, Rongjiang county hosted a football competition for middle school and primary school students across China, to facilitate football exchanges between professional teams and school students, and unleash the vitality of summer tourism.

As Wu stepped out of the stadium after the game, she was soon captured by food stalls emanating an enticing aroma. At a stall selling rice noodle rolls, she indulged herself.

“Here I can watch the games, appreciate intangible cultural heritage, and savor delicious food. County-level tourism destinations are becoming more and more appealing,” said Wu.

“Rongjiang county has six food zones, and since the VSL gained popularity, a total of 216 new dining businesses were set up in the county, significantly boosting the night economy,” said Yang Qiong, head of Rongjiang’s bureau of culture, sports, radio, television and tourism.

Rongjiang county has been actively exploring the cultural and tourism value and the industrial potential of the VSL, Yang noted. According to her, the football tournament helped generate night consumption of 586 million yuan ($81.61 million) in 2023, a year-on-year growth of 253.2 percent.

Accommodation is also booming in Rongjiang county. “Local residents were encouraged to accommodate tourists in line with their capabilities. Besides, we have built RV parks and camping sites to enhance our reception capacity,” said Yang.

The county has strived to meet the accommodation needs of tourists through different channels. So far, 113 new accommodation businesses have been set up across the county, with the number of beds increasing from 5,958 to 10,190. The Guizhou VSL Hotel also officially opened earlier this year after three years of construction.

“We are targeting the middle- and high-end market, striving to improve our reception capacity to attract more tourists by strengthening our weak points in rural accommodation,” said Peng Jinyan, chairman of the Guizhou VSL Hotel. The hotel has also developed study tours and intangible cultural heritage programs to expand the customer base, Peng added.

To turn the popularity of the football tournament into economic and social benefits, Rongjiang county has launched multiple tourism routes centered around the VSL, local scenic spots, intangible cultural heritage and exquisite food to promote the integrated development of agriculture, culture, sports, tourism, and commerce,” said Yang.

Leveraging rural tourism roads, the county has strengthened cooperation with surrounding scenic areas such as Xijiang township, Zhaoxing township, and Libo township to promote tourism development of the whole region.

In Rongjiang, friendly football matches of different types are still ongoing. Wu has decided to stay in the county and started livestreaming, becoming an envoy of VSL and the county.

“I want to stay for a while longer and capture more beautiful moments through my camera,” Wu said.

By Luo Shanshan, People’s Daily

At 8:30 a.m., local time, container trucks were lining up in front of a Chinese overseas warehouse in Dusseldorf, Germany, waiting to be unloaded.

About an hour later, the first truck was ready to depart. “The goods on this truck will be sent to different parts of Germany and its neighboring countries through transfer centers,” said Shi Lei, manager of the warehouse. Overseas warehouses are important logistics nodes connecting the Chinese and international supply chains, he noted.

With the booming development of cross-border e-commerce, consumers are demanding faster and more reliable shipping services. Setting up warehouses close to end markets allows for pre-stocking, which facilitates the distribution and turnover of Chinese goods in overseas markets and enhances the efficiency of last-mile deliveries in cross-border e-commerce.

According to statistics, China has established over 2,500 overseas warehouses so far, covering a total area of over 30 million square meters.

Overseas warehouses can greatly reduce the shipping time. For instance, businesses used to stock up in China before shipping them to German customers once orders were placed. Even with air freight, it would take 5 to 10 days for the goods to reach Germany. Now, by pre-stocking items at overseas warehouses, packages can reach Berlin within one day or two, similar to the efficiency of Chinese domestic logistics.

Besides, overseas warehouses can lead to a significant drop in overall logistics costs. “Cross-border logistics for overseas warehouses typically involves three stages: shipping between ports, storing goods abroad, and delivering them to customers overseas,” said Shi.

According to him, the first stage is usually covered by container sea freight, known for its high capacity that lowers the cost per unit of transportation. For the second stage, overseas warehouses can cut costs by enhancing operational efficiency and inventory turnover with refined operations and customized and professional services.

When it comes to the third stage, with products located closer to consumers, distribution costs are lower, especially when using combined shipping from multiple warehouses. Moreover, large overseas warehouses have stronger negotiating capabilities with local last-mile delivery service providers, which also helps reduce overall operational costs.

More importantly, the service chain of overseas warehouses is becoming more complete. Handling returns has been a major challenge for foreign trade companies, but this obstacle has been effectively addressed by overseas warehouses. Consider the case of clothing exports, which often involve a high number of returns and exchanges. Without overseas warehouses, returns would be complex and time-consuming due to the need for cross-border shipping; but now, products can be returned to overseas warehouses and redistributed as needed.

In recent years, as overseas warehouse companies continuously make innovations and improve their services, overseas warehouses have evolved from basic storage locations to multi-functional foreign trade service facilities, playing a crucial role in the foreign trade supply chain. Some overseas warehouses can even provide multiple services such as exhibitions, after-sales support, and maintenance for companies venturing into global markets.

For example, the Yiwu-based Zhejiang China Commodity City Group Co., Ltd. has established overseas warehouses in Dubai, Mexico, and other locations around the world, which serve as both exhibition halls and warehouses. Besides, some Chinese overseas warehouse companies have expanded their services to include first-mile logistics services from Chinese domestic origins, creating a complete service cycle for exporters and importers.

Nowadays, Chinese overseas warehouses have formed a network around the world, opening up new routes for exports. According to the latest data released by China’s General Administration of Customs, the trade volume of China’s cross-border e-commerce reached 1.22 trillion yuan ($170.22 billion) in the first half of 2024, up 10.5 percent year on year, 4.4 percentage points higher than the overall growth of China’s foreign trade during the same period. The trade volume of China’s cross-border e-commerce has grown by 1.2 times over the past five years, from 1.06 trillion yuan in 2018 to 2.38 trillion yuan in 2023.

To improve logistics efficiency, many Chinese overseas warehouse companies are speeding up their shift toward digitalization and automation.

The movement of goods into storage and out for shipping involves a significant amount of information entry and product handling. Some warehouses handle tens of thousands of outbound orders each day, making it challenging to manage order allocation effectively.

With information-based intelligent platforms, product information can be collected, transmitted and processed in real time. Combined with big data analysis, the platform can predict sales trends and inventory demands, enabling proactive inventory allocation and replenishment.

Such efforts can help ensure timely delivery of goods and prevent issues like inventory backlog and poor sales. During the sorting and distribution process, robots and automated sorting equipment can efficiently handle a large volume of orders with stability and precision.

By Zhang Shuo, People’s Daily

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) is one of the most open and economically vibrant regions in China with bright prospects and infinite potential. Its total economic output has grown from 10.8 trillion yuan ($1.51 trillion) in 2018 to over 14 trillion yuan last year, achieving one-ninth of China’s total with less than 0.6 percent of the country’s national territorial area.

The region is known for its amazing “GBA speed.” For instance, customs clearance can be completed within five seconds at the Hengqin port, and a business can obtain a license in less than 10 minutes. Besides, it only takes an hour to travel between major cities within the region.

Over the past five years, the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has transformed from a blueprint into a reality. The GBA is making solid progress on the path of high-quality development, marked by stronger overall economic strength, higher capacity for technological innovation, better connectivity to other parts of the country and the world, rapid development of major cooperation platforms, and accelerated building of an integrated market.

Innovation is key to the development of the GBA. The GBA is built under “one country, two systems,” involving three customs territories using three different currencies, without any precedent to follow.

By leveraging the comprehensive advantages of south China’s Guangdong province, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), and Macao SAR within the framework of “one country, two systems” and the Basic Law, making institutional innovations, and promoting the circulation of production factors, the differences in systems within the GBA have turned into something beneficial.

So far, a number of landmark initiatives have been implemented: designated mainland hospitals in the GBA can use Hong Kong-approved drugs and medical devices without prior certification from China’s National Medical Products Administration; residents of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao can enjoy undifferentiated social security services within the GBA; the Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect Scheme allows residents to invest directly across the boundary of the designated wealth management products; the Cross-boundary Public Services enables residents and enterprises to access public services of the three places online anytime without the need for cross-boundary travel in person.

The GBA has announced 183 standards in areas such as food, traditional Chinese medicine, and elderly care. In addition, Hengqin and Macao have piloted cross-boundary business registration services, allowing businesses to complete registration procedures quickly in both locations. Guangdong and Hong Kong have launched 108 high-frequency cross-boundary government services.

With the efficient and convenient flow of factors such as people, goods, capital and data, the building of an integrated market in the GBA has been accelerated.

Hong Kong possesses internationally recognized advantages such as the free flow of capital, a simple tax system with low rates, high-quality and professional services, and well-developed shipping and aviation industries.

Macao, as a separate customs territory and a free port, has been making solid progress in building itself into a world center of tourism and leisure, a service platform for trade cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, and a cultural exchange and cooperation base, making new achievements in appropriate economic diversification.

Both Hong Kong and Macao remain stable economic growth with strong resilience, unique advantages, and immense potential. As China continues to expand its opening up, the status and role of Hong Kong and Macao will be further enhanced.

China’s rapid development and increasing openness have provided a strong impetus for Hong Kong and Macao to further enhance their advantages, expand their development space, and overcome challenges.

Under the principle of “one country, two systems,” Hong Kong and Macao can better leverage their distinctive advantages of close connection with the world market and strong support from the motherland. By combining their advantages of extensive international connections and well-developed professional services with the vast domestic market, complete industrial system, and strong technological capabilities of the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao have become important gateways for China’s two-way opening up.

The development of the GBA presents significant opportunities for Hong Kong and Macao, and plays a crucial role in consolidating and enhancing their unique status and advantages.

In terms of technological innovation capabilities, the GBA is steadily building itself into a global science and technology innovation center, a comprehensive national science center, and a high-level talent hub. It now boasts over 75,000 national-level high-tech enterprises. The “Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou Science and Technology Cluster” has ranked second globally for four consecutive years.

When it comes to connectivity, the GBA has built a more complete railway network, and the airports in the region have an annual passenger throughput capacity of over 280 million. Besides, the GBA’s port cluster has an annual container throughput capacity of over 85 million twenty-foot equivalent units. Its airline network covers major cities and trading ports worldwide.

Regarding major cooperation platforms, Hengqin has officially started independent customs operations; Qianhai, Shenzhen has introduced the country’s first investor protection regulations; Nansha district in Guangzhou has unveiled a comprehensive service base for Chinese enterprises going global; the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone has got off to a good start.

Currently, the GBA’s economy is thriving, which promotes the exchanges and cooperation between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong and Macao, provides more opportunities for economic and social development of the two SARs, and offers a broader living and development space for residents.

By Sheng Yulei, People’s Daily

How do migrating fish overcome a 63-meter-high dam?

The answer is artificial fishways. At the Huangjinxia water control project in Hanzhong city, northwest China’s Shaanxi province, a 1,908-meter-long ecological fishway extends upward along the dam.

The water control project is the major water source of the Hanjiang-to-Weihe River water diversion project, which brings water from Hanjiang River, the Yangtze River’s biggest tributary, to Weihe River, the Yellow River’s biggest tributary, to meet the water demand in central part of Shaanxi province.

About 3,000 fish migrate at the dam every day during the spawning season, thanks to the water replenishment channels, fish gathering channels, and fish entry holes built by the fishway.

“Since the design stage of the project, we have planned to build an eco-friendly fishway to ensure the smooth migration of fish species in Hanjiang River, considering their migration and spawning characteristics,” explained a staff member of the Huangjinxia hydropower station.

Eco-friendly designs such as fishways, bird corridors, culverts, and green bridges have become essential for major engineering projects in China, offering a unique perspective on the high-quality development of the country.

From bays to mountaintops, from plains to deserts, China’s major engineering projects are increasingly embracing green and innovative approaches.

The Qinghai-Xizang Railway, which links northwest China’s Qinghai province and southwest China’s Xizang autonomous region, is the highest and longest plateau railway in the world. To protect the plateau ecosystem and biodiversity, a total of 1.54 billion yuan ($215 million) was invested in ecological conservation along the railway when the construction started.

Besides, 33 dedicated passages were built to facilitate the migration of local wildlife. Train conductors are strictly prohibited from sounding the horn when passing through the passages to minimize the disturbance to wildlife.

The roof of the Xiong’an Railway Station in Xiong’an New Area, north China’s Hebei province, is a photovoltaic power station, with 17,700 polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic panels installed, which can generate 5.8 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) electricity on average annually.
The roof can save 1,800 tonnes of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 4,500 tonnes on an annual basis, which is equivalent to planting 12 hectares of trees.

During the construction of China’s Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the longest bridge-and-tunnel sea crossing in the world, the population of Chinese white dolphins, an endangered dolphin species under first-class state protection in China, increased from 1,200 to over 2,000.

The mega-project marks more than a step forward for China in bridge construction, but stands as a symbol of the harmonious coexistence between humans and the ocean in the country.

China attaches great importance to harmony between humanity and nature in its development planning.

Based on the carrying capacity of resources and the environment, the country has been cultivating new growth drivers and advantages through high-level environmental protection.

By effectively reducing the resource and environmental costs of development and continuously enhancing the potential and momentum of development, the country has managed to improve economic, social, and ecological benefits.

The innovations and breakthroughs in China’s major projects make it easier to understand the deep connotation of “new productive forces are in itself green productive forces.”

For instance, during the construction of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, a mega cross-sea passage in south China, builders faced the challenge of transporting 5,035-meter-long prefabricated immersed tubes from the manufacturing base to the construction site, a distance of roughly 50 kilometers, using floating transportation.

The project team came up with a creative idea to build an integrated ship for transporting and installing the immersed tubes, leading to a reduction of dredging volume by over 10 million cubic meters and exhaust emissions by about 1 million cubic meters compared to traditional towing methods.

China defined the harmony between humanity and nature as a key feature of its drive to advance Chinese modernization.

In order to promote innovation in development models, it is crucial to uphold the principle that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, accelerate innovations in green technologies and the application of advanced eco-friendly technologies, integrate digital and intelligent development with green endeavors in industrial development, thus laying a solid green foundation for high-quality development.

By He Cong, Yao Xueqing, People’s Daily

In June 2023, east China’s Jiangsu province planned to establish three basic science centers as part of its efforts to deepen reforms in the scientific and technological system and talent development mechanisms.

These centers, focusing on physics, applied mathematics, and synthetic biology, are being piloted in research universities and other scientific institutions to reform the basic research system. In just one year, a number of groundbreaking results have emerged from these young “experimental fields” of basic research.

Among them, the Provincial Center for Physics Science (PCPS) in Jiangsu province, which is backed by Nanjing University, has made significant strides in original research.

At the quantum extreme measurement laboratory of the School of Physics, Nanjing University, professor Du Lingjie and his doctoral students are at the forefront of innovative research. Every day, they search for signals of new quasi-particles from excitation peaks, akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

In their experiments, the flickering red laser beams keep changing energy levels, striking semiconductor samples in a cooling machine. The signals are instantly captured and displayed on a computer screen as excitation peaks that look like an electrocardiogram. Each peak represents a collision between an electron and a photon.

The team examines hundreds of these excitation peaks per day, trying to identify the elusive signals. “Where is the signal? What does it look like? How long will it take to find it?” These are the questions that drive their research, with no guarantees of success.

In the first half of 2023, Du and his team encountered challenges in their research: experiments that needed to be redesigned, a need for continuous capital input, and unknown prospects of the studies. This entirely new research was not included in any scientific project guidelines. Despite these challenges, Du received unwavering support from Wang Bogen, dean of the School of Physics, Nanjing University.

Wang’s confidence came from the commitment of China’s “experimental fields” to reforming the scientific and technological system. This reform grants researchers substantial autonomy in their scientific pursuits and encourages them to “propose new theories, pioneer new fields, explore new paths, and focus on independent innovation.”

In 2023, Jiangsu province invested 130 million yuan ($18.14 million) to establish three basic research centers – the PCPS and other two provincial centers for applied mathematical sciences and foundational research in synthetic biology, among which the PCPS received a funding of 50 million yuan.

“The strong research support and sufficient financial guarantee were like a lifeline for our research,” said Du. On March 28 this year, their significant research findings were published on Nature. This marked the world’s first discovery of quasi-particles with graviton-like characteristics in real systems.

At a future computing laboratory of the PCPS, a four-layer “atomic building block” electronic device is clearly visible under a microscope. This groundbreaking development is the work of professor Miao Feng’s research team from the School of Physics, Nanjing University.

“In traditional materials, electrons move without a unified direction. However, when in the topological edge states of quantum matter they move in a consistent direction, much like vehicles on a highway,” said Miao.

His team has successfully integrated this “highway” concept into “atomic building blocks,” constructing special electronic devices for brain-like computing. This significant achievement was recently published in the prestigious journal Nature Nanotechnology.

According to Ma Yuqiang, head and chief scientist of PCPS, project leaders are free to allocate research funds based on their judgment, which enables them to maximize the impact of limited resources, create cross-departmental, cross-disciplinary, and cross-industry teams, and bring together top talent.

Education, science and technology, and human resources are the foundational and strategic pillars for Chinese modernization. “The establishment and operation of the three basic science centers in Jiangsu province would help explore the integrated reform of education, science and technology, and talent systems, continuously unleash the inexhaustible drive for scientific research, and foster a vibrant atmosphere for innovation and creation,” said Xu Guanghui, head of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Science and Technology.