Nigeria Times

By Wang Ke, Lin Ziye, People’s Daily

Online shopping has become a daily routine for people across China, spanning generations from Gen Z to the elderly. Today, the country has 976 million online shoppers, reflecting the vast scale of its digital consumer base.

According to data released by China’s Ministry of Commerce, the country’s digital consumption has expanded in both scale and quality during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025). Total digital consumption has exceeded 23.8 trillion yuan ($3.45 trillion), and China has remained the world’s largest online retail market for 13 consecutive years.

China’s online consumption continues to show strong growth. In 2025, online retail sales reached 15.97 trillion yuan, up 8.6 percent year on year, 1.4 percentage points faster than the previous year. Of this, online retail sales of physical goods totaled 13.09 trillion yuan, rising 5.2 percent and contributing 1.3 percentage points to the growth of total retail sales of consumer goods. 

New business models such as livestream e-commerce and instant retail have expanded rapidly. Livestream e-commerce maintained steady growth, with transaction volume rising 11.3 percent in 2025, while the rapid development of instant delivery services has enabled faster and more efficient fulfillment of consumer demand.

This impressive performance highlights the dual upgrade of scale and quality in China’s digital consumption.

Online retail is also driving consumption upgrading and improving people’s well-being. Convenient and efficient online shopping has become standard for Chinese consumers. According to commerce big data monitoring, online retail sales of digital products such as smartphones and intelligent robots grew by 20.5 percent and 18 percent, respectively, in 2025. Online retail is fueling the rise of smart, quality-oriented, and green consumption.

China has built the world’s largest delivery network with the widest coverage, benefiting a range of groups from consumers in first-tier cities to farmers in remote rural areas. This network now reaches nearly all townships, with courier services covering more than 95 percent of administrative villages. In 2025, 199 billion parcels were handled across the country. 

This network has eliminated geographic barriers and streamlined distribution channels, bringing the convenience of “order with a tap, deliver to your doorstep” within reach of households across the country.

Online retail is also accelerating industrial transformation and injecting momentum into high-quality development. E-commerce has improved the alignment between supply and demand, stimulating endogenous growth in China’s industries. In 2025, online retail sales in rural areas and of agricultural products grew by 6.7 percent and 9.9 percent, respectively, while e-commerce transactions in the textile and pharmaceutical sectors rose by 6.6 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively. At the same time, the sector has driven rapid growth in logistics, communications software, and artificial intelligence.

Beyond domestic markets, online retail is strengthening connections between China and the rest of the world, fostering mutual benefit and win-win cooperation. Chilean cherries and Peruvian blueberries have become popular among Chinese consumers, while Chinese-made robotic vacuum cleaners and heaters are selling well overseas. China’s online retail “circle of friends” continues to expand, bringing global products to Chinese consumers and offering more diverse and abundant choices to the world.

In 2025, the number of partner countries under the Silk Road E-commerce initiative increased to 36. In Shanghai, a pilot zone for Silk Road E-commerce cooperation has introduced and promoted 12 institutional innovations, including mutual recognition of digital identities across borders. According to statistics, retail sales on key cross-border e-commerce import platforms grew by 5.6 percent in 2025.

The 4th Global Digital Trade Expo was joined by 1,812 enterprises from 154 countries and regions, setting a new record. A total of 382 new products, technologies, and services were launched, showcased, or exhibited for the first time, an increase of nearly 90 percent, demonstrating how e-commerce is contributing to more inclusive and mutually beneficial economic globalization.

By Yu Jingxian, Dong Zeyang, People’s Daily

As the world largest producer and consumer of watermelons, China maintains a stable annual output of around 60 million tons. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, this accounts for roughly 60 percent of global production.

At Liguo Shunxin Supermarket in Jiaxiang county, east China’s Shandong province, stacks of round, glossy watermelons grown in Yunnan province stand out on the shelves. These “Mibao” watermelons sell for more than 4.99 yuan ($0.72) per 500 grams.

“Even though prices are higher than in summer, sales remain strong,” said store manager Zhang Hongtao, as he watched staff restock the watermelon display. Over the past half month, the supermarket has sold more than 80 kilograms of watermelons a day on average.

Zhang has noticed a pattern: during the off-season, customers tend to buy less per trip, but they shop more often and show strong interest in watermelons.

“They are juicy, sweet and not too heavy. Both the elderly and children in the family love them,” said a woman surnamed Zhang who was picking out a watermelon.

Wholesaler Li Jianguo explained the seasonal shift: “Spring and summer watermelons come from local farms, while winter supply transitions to southern regions. These varieties feature thicker rinds for transport resilience while maintaining consistent sweetness.”

“Watermelon supply and prices follow clear seasonal trends,” said Zhao Junye, a researcher at the Agricultural Information Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS). After October each year, supply begins to decline and prices gradually rise. In the first quarter, the average national wholesale price usually exceeds 3 yuan per 500 grams. From April onward, as harvests increase significantly, prices fall quickly.

Blessed with abundant heat and sunlight, Hainan province in south China is one of China’s main winter production bases for fruits and vegetables. At the Beishanyang planting base in Haitang district of Sanya, Hainan province, the watermelon harvest has just been completed.

“Good varieties and careful packaging help ensure strong sales,” said Zhang Wei, head of the base and deputy general manager of Hainan State Farms Shenquan Group Co., Ltd. The Qilin seedless watermelons grown there, with bright red flesh and a crisp, juicy taste, are particularly popular in the market.

Because watermelons prefer warmth and sunlight but are sensitive to excessive moisture, the base has built greenhouses to shield plants from wind and rain while maintaining stable temperatures. A drip irrigation system and monitoring equipment also help create an ideal microclimate for growth.

Last year, this 33-hectare (500 mu) base achieved yields of approximately 2,500 kg per mu (0.067 hectares). “Our harvest sold out pre-harvest,” confirmed Zhang Wei, the base director.

What, then, is the secret behind China’s year-round watermelon supply?

Xu Yong, a researcher at the Beijing Vegetable Research Center of the Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, told People’s Daily that China’s vast territory provides diverse climates and growing conditions. 

Combined with the development of suitable varieties and the widespread use of modern agricultural techniques, such as greenhouse cultivation, integrated water and fertilizer management, and environmentally friendly pest control, farmers can grow watermelons in different regions throughout the year, Xu added.

China’s watermelon production is now concentrated in five major regions. Southern China supplies the market in winter; the Yangtze River basin and the Huang-Huai-Hai region bring early harvests in spring; the northwest extends the season with later harvests; and open-field cultivation in the northwest and northeast areas ensures supply during summer and autumn.

At the same time, breeding programs continuesly adapt to changing consumer preferences.

In Yanjia village of Yaojia township in Zhongmu county, central China’s Henan province, farmer Ma Xiuhong grows watermelons in greenhouses. In addition to conventional varieties, she has set aside half a mu to grow “rainbow watermelons.”

These “rainbow watermelons” are a specialty variety developed in recent years by the Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute of CAAS. When cut open, the flesh displays red and yellow layers resembling a rainbow. The fruit is sweet, crisp and rich in beta-carotene.

Xu added that China now offers a wide range of watermelon varieties. They can be classified by maturity — early, mid-early or late; by size — large, medium or small; and by flesh colors — including red, yellow, orange and multicolored varieties.

Behind this diversity lies the advancement of technological innovation. China’s watermelon breeding technology ranks among the world’s leading levels. Domestic varieties account for more than 98 percent of the market, and high quality has become the standard.

As early as 2012, Xu’s team completed the world’s first watermelon genome map. The achievement effectively opened the “black box” of watermelon genetics, identifying genes related to resistance against diseases such as fusarium wilt, anthracnose and powdery mildew, while also clarifying the genetic mechanisms behind traits such as sugar content, fruit size and shape.

Xu said that future research will focus on improving both resistance and quality while expanding the diversity of varieties. “In particular, high-quality medium and small watermelons with diverse flesh colors are likely to become the highlight of future watermelon breeding,” he noted.

By Fan Wei

A recent milestone in China’s aviation sector saw the successful maiden flight of an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Resembling an electric vehicle equipped with wings, this innovative craft can carry two passengers at speeds up to 150 km/h below 3,000 meters. Notably, the detachable wings allow it to drive over 300 kilometers on the road.

This achievement reflects the strong momentum of China’s low-altitude economy, which is rapidly becoming a key driver of the nation’s new quality productive forces. Advancements in airspace management, core equipment breakthroughs, and developing infrastructure networks position the sector to transition from pilot flights to scenario-based validation by 2026.

Across China, diverse application scenarios are rapidly emerging. In major agricultural provinces such as Shandong, Henan and Sichuan, drones are widely used for crop protection, playing an important role in coordinated pest and disease control. 

In challenging environments like Yunnan and Xizang autonomous region, drones are essential for high-altitude power grid maintenance, serving as the primary tool for line inspections. Consumer applications are also growing; during 2026 Spring Festival holiday, Chongqing staged seven drone light shows, with drone performances becoming a new driver of consumer spending. 

Local governments nationwide are actively exploring demand-driven, locally adapted low-altitude applications. Agricultural and forestry operations, along with inspection services, are among the most mature use cases. By 2025, more than 300,000 agricultural drones were operating in China, covering 460 million mu (30.66 million hectares) of farmland. 

According to Li Chao, deputy director of the Policy Research Office of the National Development and Reform Commission, drones are now widely used for crop protection, fertilization and cargo lifting, significantly improving agricultural productivity. Meanwhile, drone-based power line inspections have exceeded 4 million kilometers, enhancing grid safety.

“Compared with manual work, crop-protection drones greatly shorten operation time and improve efficiency,” said Cheng Zhongyi, a senior technical solutions engineer at DJI Agriculture. 

“Spraying pesticides on a 150-mu orchard used to take four workers over three days. With a drone, the same task can be completed in just one day — crucial for responding to sudden pest outbreaks,” he noted.

For power inspection, drones equipped with LiDAR technology can automatically generate high-precision 3D models, far surpassing visual inspection. They can safely approach high-voltage environments and detect heat anomalies invisible to the naked eye. Even at night, drones can carry out inspections. Work that once took a traditional inspection team a week can now be completed in a single day.

China has recently launched its first large-scale drone operation in offshore oilfields. The project, officially deployed in the Beibu Gulf, north China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, covering 41 offshore platforms and two onshore terminals. This marks the full-scale industrial application of low-altitude economy technologies in offshore oilfields, establishing a multi-scenario drone operation system.

This progress relies on the mature application of multiple drone models, including the TD550 heavy-lift unmanned helicopter. 

“Offshore logistics has long faced challenges, especially in rough sea conditions where traditional transport methods are limited,” said Tian Gangyin, chief designer of the TD550. “The TD550 can withstand winds up to Force 8 and carry more than 200 kilograms per trip.”

He noted that drones can replace part of the work done by ships and helicopters, improving efficiency by over 30 percent, each year saving nearly 15 million yuan ($2.18 million) in vessel leasing and fuel costs, and reducing carbon emissions by 25,000 tons.

At present, China’s low-altitude economy is advancing through multiple technological pathways, including fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, manned and unmanned systems, as well as conventional and new-energy power systems, meeting the needs of diverse application scenarios.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), more than 70 domestically developed general aviation aircraft obtained airworthiness certification, while 18 civilian drones received approval. Nearly 30 ton-class drones and around 70 types of eVTOL aircraft are currently under development. As of December 30, 2025, 1,081 enterprises had registered in the sector, with 3,623 product types on record totaling over 5.29 million units.

An industry expert noted that China has established a complete industrial chain for the low-altitude economy, with a mature full-spectrum drone ecosystem and a leading share in the global market. Technologies such as new energy, intelligent manufacturing and artificial intelligence have provided strong support, driving rapid market expansion.

Looking ahead, a major challenge for the sector is transitioning low-altitude applications from industrial use to mass consumer adoption.

“While many demonstration zones have emerged across the country, most focus on single functions such as logistics or inspection. This is still some distance from the integrated, all-factor ecosystem I envision,” said Wu Ximing, chief technical expert at the Aviation Industry Corporation of China. 

He noted that the low-altitude economy should be more deeply integrated with urban transportation, emergency response and social governance, becoming a seamless part of everyday life.

By He Yin, People’s Daily

Mohe, China’s northernmost city in Heilongjiang province, experiences March temperatures still plunge below minus 20 degrees Celsius. Historically defined by its extreme location and bitter cold, these very conditions once posed significant development challenges for the city. 

Today, however, Mohe’s frigid climate is becoming a powerful economic driver. It attracts tourists seeking the unique “northernmost China” experience and fostering a booming vehicle testing industry specifically designed for cold regions.

The ice-and-snow economy is injecting strong momentum into China’s high-quality development while reshaping the global winter sports industry and opening a window of opportunity for the world.

While the global ice-and-snow industry has been uneven, the rapid rise of the Chinese market is lifting confidence across the sector. 

In 2025, the total size of China’s ice-and-snow economy surpassed 1 trillion yuan ($144.92 billion) for the first time, nearly quadrupling in size over the past decade. 

During the 2025-2026 winter season, ice-and-snow leisure tourism trips are expected to reach 360 million, generating revenue of 450 billion yuan. 

China has become the world’s most promising market for winter consumption and one of the few regions maintaining rapid growth.

China is continuously expanding the boundaries of its ice-and-snow economy, charting a sustainable path for the global industry. 

In Huanren Manchu autonomous county, northeast China’s Liaoning province, local efforts to develop icewine production have turned the region’s speficalty into a sought-after “purple gold.” 

In Liupanshui, southwest China’s Guizhou province, high-altitude skiing has been combined with rural cultural tourism to fashion the area into a distinctive “southern ice-and-snow destination.”

Meanwhile, Chengdu of Sichuan province in southwest China has rolled out a ski-and-hot-springs experience, drawing visitors from across the country.

These homegrown innovations demonstrate to the world the vast potential of deeply integrating winter industries with technological development and cultural tourism.

As noted by U.S. independent journal Eurasia Review, the “cold economy” is no longer a seasonal curiosity; it is a permanent and growing component of China’s economy, providing a blueprint for how leisure consumption can drive high-tech manufacturing and regional growth in the 21st century.

The rise of China’s trillion-yuan ice-and-snow economy is also creating shared opportunities for global businesses. 

German multinational Bosch has opened its largest Asia-Pacific automotive winter test center in Yakeshi, north China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region, taking advantage of the area’s extreme climate for vehicle testing. 

TechnoAlpin, Italy’s manufacturer of snowmaking systems, plans to build its fourth-largest equipment center in China, leveraging the domestic market to serve surrounding regions. 

Doppelmayr Group, an Austrian manufacturer of ropeways and people movers for ski areas, has participated in the construction and operation of nine aerial ropeways at the National Alpine Skiing Center in Beijing’s Yanqing District.

From equipment manufacturing to tourism services, China’s dynamic winter market is becoming a preferred destination for global industry players seeking long-term growth.

China’s booming ice-and-snow economy vividly reflect how the country, in this new era, is contributing to the world through its own high-quality development. At a time when the global economy urgently needs new growth drivers, China is extending a sincere invitation for win-win cooperation, fueled by the vast potential of its super-sized market and the vitality of innovation-driven growth.

Looking ahead, China will continue to creat new opportunities for global development, working with all countries to build a better shared future.

By Zhu Jiaqi, PeopleDaily

Lipu, in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, operates at the heart of a global hanger manufacturing hub. Automated production lines hum in local factories, where environmentally coated hangers undergo precision polishing before shipping worldwide.

As China’s designated “Hanger Capital,” Lipu has established this sector as its core industry. The city has built a complete industrial chain that includes eight supporting industries and more than 3,000 product varieties. Today, Lipu is home to over 300 companies producing more than 4 billion hangers annually, with more than 80 percent of its wooden hangers exported to over 100 countries and regions.

Polishing parts, assembling components, labeling and packaging — at a production workshop of Guangxi Guilin Huahai Home Furnishing Co., Ltd. (Huahai), a batch of birchwood hangers moved smoothly down a fully automated production line. Soon they were packed and ready for shipment to Europe.

“To ensure we can deliver orders on time, smart manufacturing is the key,” said Cai Gaoxu, general manager of Huahai.

In 2022, the company purchased its first intelligent production line. Over the next three years, it added five more. Today, 95 percent of Huahai’s production is automated, and the company has been recognized as a smart factory by regional authorities.

“In the earliest days, hangers were made entirely by hand, and the hooks were bent from bicycle spokes,” recalled Qin Yuangao, chairman of Yuxiang Home Furnishing Products Co., Ltd., Lipu’s first hanger enterprise. He has witnessed firsthand the evolution of production technology in the local industry.

Today, more than 90 percent of Lipu’s export orders come from large-volume buyers, and many local companies maintain stable overseas client bases.

Automation has not only expanded production capacity but also improved product quality. At Butler Courtesy (Guilin) Inc., four large box-shaped machines roared as they operated. On the machine screens, processing parameters were set with precision down to 0.5 millimeters. Workers fed wood pieces into the machines, and in less than three minutes, 12 hanger halves were polished into shape. After assembly, they became six finished premium hangers.

“This is our ‘one-touch molding’ production line,” said Jiang Muxun, general manager of the company. “It achieves higher precision than traditional manual polishing, ensures more reliable quality and significantly reduces rework. We hold patents for the technology.”

Smart technology is also applied beyond the factory floor.

“We use digital software for market analysis, product application scenario design, material simulation and visual recognition,” Qin said. “These technologies reduce the cost of trial and error in the early stages. This year, we will launch a digital transformation program to connect data across all processes and use artificial intelligence to enhance design, production and management.”

Just how many forms can a hanger take? At an exhibition hall in Lipu, nine major categories of hangers are showcased, including wooden, bamboo, fabric-covered, plastic-coated, aluminum alloy, flocked, rubber-plastic, wood-plastic and metal-wood designs. There are also personalized styles such as rhinestone-studded hangers and specially shaped models. Local companies each have their own specialties. Behind this variety lies constant innovation.

Environmental responsibility shapes material science. “We transitioned from oil-based to water-based coatings over a decade ago to meet global standards,” Cai emphasizes. Collaborating with Guilin University of Technology, Maos Hangers developed renewable injection-molded hangers, complementing their 2025 iron-wood design launch.

Some companies focus on high-end, customized products, while others concentrate on mass-market items.

“European and American customers prefer wooden hangers, but they take up more space and are relatively costly,” Qin explained. “So we made wooden hangers thinner, allowing more people to use high-quality wooden hangers.”

So far, hanger companies in Lipu hold 30 valid invention patents and 57 utility model and design patents.

“The hanger industry is about much more than hangers,” said Li Qingsong, vice mayor of Lipu. “In recent years, global trade conditions have been complex and constantly changing, yet our export figures have remained stable. The key is that the entire industry, from upstream to downstream, has worked together, strengthening companies’ international competitiveness.”

Pooling resources has enabled the industry to maximize limited inputs and unlock internal vitality. Today, Lipu’s hanger sector has horizontally driven the development of related industries such as hardware, electroplating, coatings, and packaging. Vertically, it has stimulated upstream and downstream sectors including forestry cultivation, trade, logistics, and scientific research. This complete industrial cluster has laid a solid foundation for the growth of the hanger industry.

By Luo Wei

Last December, at its 20th session, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage under UNESCO decided to move China’s “Hezhen Yimakan storytelling” from the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

It was another item from China to be moved to the Representative List after the traditional Li textile techniques of spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering, the traditional design and practices for building Chinese wooden arch bridges, and the Qiang New Year festival, which joined the list in 2024.

Intangible cultural heritage is living heritage, and its protection is an ongoing, dynamic process. 

Under the framework of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, intangible cultural items that are endangered and in need of immediate protection should be included in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

If an item is removed from the list and added to the Representative List, it signals that the item has been effectively preserved, revitalized and strengthened, with its viability significantly enhanced.

The addition of the four Chinese items to the Representative List not only reflects the effectiveness of China’s systematic safeguarding efforts, but also offers useful reference for other countries. It is, at the same time, a recognition by the international community of China’s achievements and its fulfillment of convention obligations.

Take the Qiang New Year festival as an example. The Qiang-inhabited areas, primarily located in Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture in southwest China’s Sichuan province, were severely damaged in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. This once put the continuity of the festival at risk.

In response, a national-level Qiang cultural and ecological protection zone was established in October of that year to provide comprehensive protection for Qiang-inhabited areas as a whole. This timely intervention enabled the Qiang New Year festival to be preserved without interruption, even in the aftermath of the major natural disaster.

Moreover, the festival has evolved significantly. A rotating system has been introduced, with host celebrations held in Wenchuan, Lixian, Maoxian and Beichuan counties, replacing the earlier village-based observances. What was once celebrated within individual communities has now become a regional event, attracting participation not only from the Qiang people but also from Han, Tibetan, Hui and other ethnic groups.

China has adopted a multi-pronged approach to safeguarding its intangible cultural heritage, including legislative protection, rescue-oriented safeguarding, productive conservation, holistic preservation and digital preservation. These efforts are aimed at strengthening the capacity for heritage transmission, protecting spaces where heritage is practiced, and continuously enhancing the viability of intangible cultural heritage.

Traditional Li textile techniques, once endangered by industrialization, were revived through government funding, policy support, and multi-stakeholder collaboration involving skill training, cooperative production, and sustainable market development.

The addition of these items in the Representative List reflects not only outcomes, but also the accumulation of valuable experience. Strong support from the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government for the preservation and development of fine traditional Chinese culture has provided a solid foundation for high-quality intangible cultural heritage protection. 

In recent years, China has established a protection system for intangible cultural heritage that is tailored to its national conditions and provides essential institutional safeguards. With the government playing a leading role to clarify responsibilities, it encourages public participation to uphold people’s cultural rights. The system is guided by long-term planning rooted in a science-based approach to development, adheres to the principle of “protection first” as its fundamental direction, and prioritizes emergency safeguarding to address the most pressing tasks.

Rooted in the daily lives and cultural practices of diverse countries and ethnic groups, intangible cultural heritage embodies how people think, what they do, and the aspirations they hold. 

Through its engagement in the global effort to safeguard intangible cultural heritage, China is presenting captivating stories of its heritage, sharing its experience, and contributing its vision.

In doing so, it conveys a distinctive Chinese cultural ideal — one that celebrates one’s own heritage, appreciates that of others, and seeks harmony in diversity, envisioning a world of shared beauty.

(Luo Wei is director of the center for cultural development strategy studies at the Chinese National Academy of Arts.)

By Jiang Hongbing, People’s Daily

In June 2023, Fudan University launched its campus-based cloud intelligent computing platform. 

Building on this initiative, Professor Qi Yuan and colleagues proposed to Shanghai’s municipal leadership that China develop large-scale scientific AI models, drawing inspiration from leading global projects. 

Their proposal received approval within a week. By September of that year, the Shanghai Academy of AI for Science (SAIS) was officially established.

More than two years later, the institute has become a benchmark for “new research infrastructure,” with a steady stream of breakthroughs.

On March 1, 2026, SAIS unveiled super scientific research partner Dasheng, an intelligent agent capable of autonomously breaking down research tasks and advancing projects based on natural language instructions.

Dasheng is highly versatile. It supports research across life sciences, earth sciences, humanities and other fields. Powered by strong foundational model tools, it can even generate multiple parallel “instances” to handle complex and time-intensive tasks simultaneously.

Dasheng is developed under the NovaInspire platform jointly built by SAIS, Fudan University, and Shanghai-based AI company INF. The platform made its debut at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference 2025, where it introduced the concepts of “scientist-centered design” and “accelerating scientific discovery.” 

Through continuous iteration, the platform has integrated over 400 scientific models and tools, accumulated 22 petabytes of high-value data, and incorporated more than 500 million academic papers and patents, generating a growing number of innovations.

At SAIS, several domain-specific scientific models — named after figures from Chinese mythology — are designed to address key scientific challenges in high-value industrial applications.

In materials science, the Suiren model has built a candidate library of 12,000 molecules to train generative models, accelerating the discovery of new electrolyte formulations for lithium batteries.

In drug design, the Nvwa RNA model, combined with a proprietary siRNA database, has overcome key bottlenecks in siRNA drug development. Its goal is to evolve into a “living” scientific AI infrastructure, one that can be repeatedly used and continuously improved by scientists and industry experts.

In earth sciences, alongside the FuXi weather model, SAIS has also developed PI@Climate, a large language model trained on data spanning more than ten primary disciplines. As China’s self-developed climate science model, it is already providing intelligent support for climate research, international climate negotiations, and policy-making.

According to Wu Libo, assistant president of Fudan University and chair of SAIS, the institute’s exploration is helping universities systematically validate a new paradigm for future scientific research. SAIS has already established in-depth collaboration with 43 teams at Fudan University, supporting the creation of 18 interdisciplinary centers for scientific intelligence. 

“We aim to break down the boundaries between disciplines, engineering, platforms, and talent development,” Wu said.

SAIS fosters innovation through initiatives like its “research bar,” where young researchers can receive a free drink in exchange for sharing their ideas and innovations — an initiative that reflects a vibrant and youth-driven culture.

The institute’s multidisciplinary team averages 33 years in age, About 31 percent recruited from overseas universities and leading AI labs, while 40 percent bring extensive engineering experience from top tech companies. “Our greatest strength lies in these young talents,” Wu noted.

What attracts such a dynamic group of innovators?

Sun Xiuyu, an AI scientist in earth sciences, pointed out that under an organized research framework, SAIS provides participating teams with high-quality computing resources and considerable research autonomy, enabling young researchers to turn ideas into reality through continuous experimentation.

Wang Wenli, a materials science researcher, values the institute’s collaborative environment, where scientists, AI experts, and engineers interact face-to-face on a regular basis. “What we create here naturally integrates the genetic strengths of multiple disciplines,” she said.

Jiang Ruoxi, an AI scientist at SAIS, added, “What initially attracted me was the close integration with industry, but the speed of progress has exceed all expectations.”

“Our goal is to build a world-class scientific intelligence institution by 2030,” said Qi Yuan, president of SAIS, expressing strong confidence in the institute’s future.

By Bao Han, People’s Daily

Recently, a trend dubbed “Chinamaxxing” has been gaining traction on overseas social media. How this phenomenon is interpreted reflects differing attitudes toward cross-cultural exchange.

A growing number of overseas netizens describe themselves as being in a “Chinamaxxing” phase — embracing Chinese ways of living. One original video tagged “becoming Chinese” has garnered over a million views, as practices like brewing wellness tea and practicing traditional Chinese health exercise Baduanjin(traditional Chinese health exercises) become symbols of a “cool” lifestyle among young people abroad.

And the trend is now moving offline. At markets in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, mamianqun, which literally translates into “horse-face skirts,” a traditional Chinese costume, has become top sellers. In Italy, Spring Festival items such as couplets, paper-cuttings and zodiac-themed cultural products are enjoying brisk sales. 

More people now believe that the best way to experience Chinamaxxing is to visit China in person. Data shows that during the Spring Festival holiday this year, inbound tourist visits to China doubled year on year.

Some media outlets have interpreted the Chinamaxxing trend not as cultural “role-playing,” but as a form of “subconscious identification.” Chinese culture is fully capable of inspiring such resonance. 

By blending history with modernity, and tradition with fashion, China offers a uniquely rich cultural experience.

In today’s China, one can enjoy the convenience of “doing it all with one smartphone.” At the same time, traditional ways of living endure — imbued with a sense of mindfulness, where everyday moments are approached with care and intention. Modern infrastructure like high-speed rail and 5G connects the country, while lesser-known “hidden gem” cities invite leisurely exploration. Cutting-edge technological innovation thrives alongside the unhurried craftsmanship of intangible cultural heritage.

As international visitors engage with and experience Chinese culture, what begins as a “cool” encounter often evolves into deeper reflection on ways of life, revealing the true essence and appeal of cross-cultural exchange.

The rise of the Chinamaxxing trend offers a fresh lens through which to understand China. There was a time when misconceptions and biases about the country circulated widely in some Western societies, shaping a distorted image of China. Today, however, China’s continued development, expanding opening up and technological advances have paved the way for this Chinamaxxing phenomenon. 

As more people engage with China firsthand, their understanding of the country deepens — moving beyond traditional cultural symbols to shape a more nuanced view of the country. This shift, subtle yet profound, is reshaping global perceptions of China. 

As some international observers noted: “What people see on TikTok is not a static, traditional China, but a modern and confident one.” It offers, in their words, “a powerful correction to the image many grew up with.”

That said, overcoming entrenched biases takes time. While more young people abroad are embracing habits like drinking warm lemon honey water, some in Western societies react with unease even anxiety. 

They frame the Chinamaxxing trend as a form of “cultural shock,” claiming that young people are “betraying” their own societies on aesthetic, moral, or even political grounds. Casting normal cultural exchange as “cultural infiltration” or “ideological invasion”, or forcing it into a geopolitical narrative, says more about their own mindset than about the trend itself. Such thinking is increasingly out of step with the interconnected world, where exchanges among civilizations are constant.

As The Guardian, UK aptly observed, if embracing elements of other cultures, from Chinese aesthetics to French country kitchens, qualifies as “betrayal,” then such “traitors” are everywhere.

Cultural exchange and mutual learning among civilizations is not a zero-sum game. The global spread of Chinese culture does not rely on imposition or indoctrination, but on sharing rooted in equality, respect and voluntary participation. 

As more people around the world are naturally drawn to Chinese culture, rather than reacting with unnecessary anxiety, it may be wiser — as one commentator suggested — to pause, relax, and enjoy a cup of tea.

By Fang Yuan, People’s Daily

Within the Harbin Science and Technology Innovation City in Harbin, capital of northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, stands a cluster of white buildings, covering an area roughly the size of 50 football fields. 

The complex houses one of China’s key national science and technology infrastructure projects in the aerospace sector: the Space Environment Simulation and Research Infrastructure (SESRI), often referred to as the “ground-based space station,” it was jointly developed by Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. The project took nearly two decades of research and engineering before achieving national acceptance in 2024. 

SESRI has the unique capability to replicate nine major types of extreme space conditions — including vacuum, radiation, weak magnetic fields and plasma — bringing the harsh cosmic environment down to Earth to provide indispensable ground verification for a range of major space missions.

“While most ground-based simulation facilities in the world focus on a single factor, but the real environment of outer space usually involves the coupling of multiple factors,” said Li Liyi, director of the SESRI at HIT. “The purpose of building the ‘ground-based space station’ is to simulate the real conditions of space as closely as possible.”

Rather than being a simple collection of separate laboratories, the facility can reproduce complex interactions — such as the coupling of radiation and ultra-low temperatures, or interactions among different radiation sources — within the same physical space, creating a more realistic simulation of the space environment.

The facility supports a wide spectrum of scientific research. It can simulate space dust impacts at speeds of up to 70 kilometers per second to help design protective shielding for spacecraft. Inside a massive vacuum chamber, engineers can overcome atmospheric pressure differences approaching 10 tons per square meter while maintaining millimeter-level positioning accuracy for key equipment. The system can also recreate charged lunar dust environments to test the durability of spacesuit materials.

The research team overcame 15 key technological challenges during development. The facility has already supported the development of more than 2,000 aerospace components and helped validate and certify over 10 major space mission models.

Since becoming operational, the “ground-based space station” has attracted scientists from China and abroad thanks to its powerful simulation capabilities and has become an important platform for cutting-edge research.

“In the past, we could only conduct experiments with devices measuring a few dozen centimeters. Here, the equipment is dozens of times larger, enabling us to investigate far more complex physical processes,” said Lu Quanming, a professor at the University of Science and Technology of China.

In March 2025, Lu’s team worked with researchers at HIT to achieve the first laboratory-based simulation and confirmation of magnetic reconnection processes in the Earth’s magnetopause configuration.

Activity at SESRI has also surged alongside China’s rapidly growing commercial space sector. “In 2023, commercial spaceflight experiments accounted for only 36 percent of all missions conducted here. By the second half of 2025, that share had risen to 67 percent,” Li said. The facility now provides ground testing and verification for electronic systems used in most satellites across several Chinese satellite constellations, helping accelerate the deployment of China’s low-Earth-orbit constellation networks.

SESRI is open not only to domestic users but also to international partners. Through initiatives such as the Global Open Program released via the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization, the facility has established partnerships with eight countries and 15 research institutions, promoting joint research, data sharing and talent training. Scientific cooperation in multiple key fields is helping build bridges for cross-border collaboration through technological exchange.

Since its acceptance, the facility has supported major strategic missions and frontier scientific exploration across fields such as human spaceflight, commercial spaceflight, deep-space exploration, health care, agricultural breeding, new materials and new energy. It has served more than 200 user organizations — including the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation — and over 400 research teams, delivering more than 60,000 hours of testing services.

“Looking ahead, the development of the ‘ground-based space station’ will move toward greater precision, broader applications and deeper research,” Li said.

Technologically, SESRI will continue advancing higher-precision environmental simulation capabilities to meet the needs of sectors such as aerospace, semiconductor chips and advanced materials. In terms of services, it will extend support to emerging and future industries including deep-space exploration, quantum technology and new energy. In international cooperation, it will provide unique testing conditions for global research teams, particularly in areas such as radiation-resistant materials for deep-space missions and spacecraft reliability verification.

“We will use this facility to accelerate the implementation of the Global Open Program,” Li said. “By bringing together leading universities, research institutions and top scientists worldwide, we aim to jointly launch major international scientific programs and conduct frontier exploration.”

More than a major scientific facility for China, the “ground-based space station” is also a frontier outpost for humanity’s exploration of the universe. Looking ahead, it will continue to provide essential ground support for future missions, including crewed lunar landings, Mars sample returns and exploration of the outer solar system.