Nigeria Times

By Li Hongxing, People’s Daily

More than 400 years ago, the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) scholar-official Li Zhizao collaborated with the Italian missionary Matteo Ricci to produce the Kunyu Wanguo Quantu (Complete Geographical Map of all the Kingdoms of the World), the earliest known Chinese world map rendered in color.

Today, this “treasured masterpiece” of the Nanjing Museum has taken on an entirely new form powered by technology. The recently launched immersive virtual reality (VR) exhibition, Mapping the World: The Kunyu Wanguo Quantu of Ming China, held at the Nanjing Museum, east China’s Jiangsu province, has drawn considerable public attention.

The transformation of the Kunyu Wanguo Quantu from a static map to a dynamic, immersive exhibition offers more dimensions and more engaging modes of interaction. In recent years, enthusiasm for cultural-heritage tourism has remained high across China. Technology continues to unlock new possibilities, creating important opportunities to revitalize and reinterpret cultural resources. How, then, can digital cultural heritage continue to innovate and thrive?

A key shift lies in moving from a relic-centered mindset to a product-centered one, enabling responsible and meaningful development on the basis of careful preservation. Bringing cultural relics “to life” extends beyond mere display; it involves leveraging digital tools, technology, and artistic approaches to reveal their cultural significance in new ways. Designing products related to cultural relics and heritage has emerged as a key pathway to revitalization.

For example, the Henan Museum has explored the food culture of central China by combining cultural IP with intangible cultural heritage techniques to create products such as coin-shaped chocolates and relic-inspired desserts, items that have resonated strongly with young consumers. 

Developing creative products based on artifacts’ forms and cultural meaning helps the public better appreciate their aesthetic and historical value. The success of creative products from the Palace Museum likewise shows that blending artistic appeal with practical utility can meet both material and cultural needs.

Balancing “trendy appeal” with “knowledge value” ensures audiences are not only entertained but also educated. In practice, many museums and cultural sites have introduced new technologies and  experiential scenarios. The VR exhibition at the Nanjing Museum, for instance, has captivated visitors — some returning multiple times — by skillfully combining immersive experiences with historical accuracy.

In the VR journey, visitors wearing VR headsets can board a virtual reconstruction of the ship of Chinese Ming Dynasty navigator Zheng He and encounter a guide speaking with a Minnan (Southern Fujian) accent. 

This detail is not arbitrary: according to historical records, Zheng’s voyages employed many Minnan sailors, navigators, and captains because of their maritime expertise. It is this meticulous attention to evidence-based details — from architectural styles and ship design to clothing and even dialect — that resonates with knowledgeable visitors while offering newcomers an accessible gateway to history. 

Cultural innovation must avoid becoming mere entertainment; its true value lies in preserving academic rigor through research-backed approaches while leveraging new technologies to present cultural heritage in ways that resonate with contemporary audiences.

A further shift is from “individualized” experiences to “co-creative” engagement, turning museums into cultural communities built together with the public. In the past, visitor interaction in museums was often limited, resulting in fleeting impressions. Today, technological advancements, particularly in AI, enable visitors to actively participate as integral components of exhibitions.

The Yunnan Provincial Museum recently launched a new VR exhibition exploring the ancient Dian culture. By recreating scenes such as waterways, traditional dwellings, and forest landscapes, the exhibition brings to life the daily activities and cultural world of the Dian people. Visitors can embark on an interactive journey across time and space within the virtual environment. 

One participant described the experience as truly immersive. As visitors transition from observing narratives to becoming part of it, they gain a stronger sense of connection and presence, and this experience turns exhibition spaces into more inviting and cultural environments. Such co-creation in museums fosters cultural sharing; when artifacts are activated and audiences engaged, a deeper, more personal cultural experience naturally emerges.

By Gao Xiang

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, a milestone as global climate governance enters a decisive phase. 

Convening in Belem, Brazil, the 30th United Nations climate change conference focuses on major climate issues, calling on the international community to work together to find shared solutions to the climate crisis, accelerate emissions reduction, strengthen climate resilience, and advance an inclusive and just transition. 

At present, policy backtracking and inconsistency in some countries have created new obstacles for global climate governance. As a responsible major country, China has remained firmly committed to multilateralism, honored its own pledges, deepened international cooperation, and worked to build broad consensus. Through concrete and pragmatic actions, China has injected confidence into the global climate response.

A decade ago, amid diverging interests among nations, Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the opening ceremony of the Climate Change Conference in Paris. 

He stressed that the Paris Agreement should help meet the goals of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and chart the course for green development, help galvanize global efforts and encourage broad participation, help increase input of resources to ensure actions on climate change, and accommodate the national conditions of various countries and lay emphasis on practical results.

China has made unremitting efforts to advance global cooperation on climate change, driving all parties to reach the Paris Agreement through arduous negotiations, demonstrating true multilateralism.

In 2009, China voluntarily announced its 2020 carbon intensity reduction target. Following years of extraordinary effort, the country fulfilled that commitment ahead of schedule. In June 2015, to help build momentum toward the Paris Agreement, China announced its nationally determined contribution (NDC) target for 2030, demonstrating strong resolve to drive forward multilateral climate governance. 

In 2020, at a time when global climate action was losing momentum, China announced its dual carbon goals, giving fresh impetus to global climate governance. In September this year, China unveiled its 2035 NDC, making a historic shift from carbon-intensity control to absolute emissions reduction and expanding targets for the first time to the entire economy. This marks not only China’s concrete implementation of the Paris Agreement, but also sets the direction for its green and low-carbon transformation over the next decade.

China has earnestly fulfilled its NDC commitments and advanced its dual carbon goals in a well-coordinated and steady manner. The country has established a “1+N” policy framework, in which “1” refers to an overall framework of the dual carbon policy, while “N” represents the specific policies and implementation plans formulated by various government departments and local authorities, covering multiple fields and industries, and pursued institutional innovation and technological breakthroughs to enable green transition, offering a “Chinese approach” to global emissions reduction. 

By 2024, non-fossil energy accounted for 19.8 percent of China’s primary energy consumption. The country achieved ahead of schedule its 2030 targets for total installed capacity of wind and solar power, as well as forest stock volume. It has remained the world’s largest producer, installer, and exporter of renewable energy equipment for many consecutive years, and its production, sales, and export of electric vehicles have overtaken those of traditional auto producers. 

China’s national emissions trading system covers over 60 percent of the country’s carbon emissions. Furthermore, the country is a pioneer in climate adaptation, including early warning systems for climate disasters, the construction of climate-resilient cities, and the conservation and restoration of mangrove forests. These efforts reflect China’s role as a nation of solid action and concrete contributions in tackling climate change.

Since China proposed to set up 10 pilot low-carbon industrial parks, launch 100 mitigation and adaptation programs and provide 1,000 training opportunities on climate change cooperation in developing countries in 2015, the country has provided or mobilized more than 177 billion yuan ($24.9 billion) in project funding, offering strong support to other developing countries. 

By the end of 2024, China had hosted more than 300 capacity-building workshops on climate change through South-South cooperation, training over 10,000 experts from more than 120 developing countries. Through the establishment of low-carbon demonstration zones, and the provision of photovoltaic systems, early warning equipment, clean stoves, and other supplies, China has helped partner countries enhance their capacity to address climate challenges.

Electricity is fundamental to modernization, and clean energy is essential for green transformation. In September 2023, to implement the Declaration on China-Africa Cooperation on Combating Climate Change, China announced the launch of the Africa Solar Belt program at the first Africa Climate Summit. 

This June, the Sao Tome and Principe project under the Africa Solar Belt program was delivered. As a small island developing state, Sao Tome and Principe has long suffered from electricity shortage, an acute bottleneck that undermines both residents’ quality of life and the country’s attractiveness to foreign investors. 

The project provided the country with 3,100 sets of household photovoltaic systems, benefiting about 1/10 of all households. “It used to be completely dark here at night. After 6 p.m., we could only stay indoors. Now the solar system has changed our lives. We are very grateful to China for providing this assistance,” said Margarida, a local resident.

Over the past decade since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, China has honored its commitments through concrete actions, advancing low-carbon transformation, strengthening climate adaptation, and actively promoting South-South cooperation. 

In doing so, China has honored its commitments and demonstrated the sense of responsibility befitting a major developing country, emerging as a trusted leader in global climate governance. Through concrete actions, China has helped steer global efforts and contributed to building a fair and rational global climate governance system directed towards cooperation and mutual benefit.

(Gao Xiang is a research fellow at China’s National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation.)

By Han Xin, People’s Daily

In recent years, low-altitude logistics has been applied more and more widely across China.

During the busy lunch hour at a Shanghai business park, delivery drones hovered over designated pickup points. “I ordered milk tea from more than four kilometers away, and it arrived in less than 10 minutes. It’s incredibly convenient,” said a woman surnamed Wang who works in the park.

To enhance efficiency in specific zones, Shanghai has partnered with the technology-driven retail company Meituan to build a low-altitude logistics model featuring instant response and precision airdrop. Three drone routes now cover nearby universities and industrial parks, enabling deliveries in about 15 minutes.

In Suzhou Industrial Park, east China’s Jiangsu province, a maiden flight was recently completed along a dedicated drone route for semiconductor testing samples. In less than an hour, samples were delivered directly to an enterprise’s laboratory by drone, meeting the demanding time  requirements of research and development process.

In Guiya village of Jiuwanxi township in Zigui, central China’s Hubei province, drones efficiently  transport navel oranges from mountain orchards. Moving 1,000 kilograms of oranges now takes just 10 minutes, a significant reduction from the previous three-hour journey.

Connecting Shenzhen and Zhongshan in south China’s Guangdong province, a commercial low-altitude logistics corridor establishes an aerial link. Once users place an order via a mini-program, small and urgent parcels can be delivered across cities in an average of three hours.

Over the past year, cross-city routes like Shenzhen-Zhongshan, Shenzhen-Zhuhai, Shenzhen-Dongguan have continued to emerge, weaving a fast-growing low-altitude logistics network across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). At present, Phoenix-Wings, a cargo drone company owned by Chinese logistics giant SF Express handles an average of over 1,000 flights per day in the Greater Bay Area, transporting more than 20,000 parcels.

China’s low-altitude logistics sector is evolving rapidly, transitioning from isolated pilot routes into interconnected networks and moving beyond niche applications into everyday use. This technology is increasingly integrated into various aspects of work and life, serving purposes from parcel delivery and agricultural transport to medical supply distribution. In 2024 alone, China launched more than 140 new low-altitude logistics routes, with approximately 90 percent operating within city limits.

According to Dong Zhiyi, chief expert on low-altitude economy at the Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China’s low-altitude logistics industry is mainly concentrated in the  GBA, the Yangtze River Delta, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Chengdu-Chongqing area, while other regions focus primarily on specific scenarios. The GBA and Yangtze River Delta are economically advanced and rich in application scenarios; the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region has strong innovation capacity and clear spillover effects; and the Chengdu-Chongqing area leverages strengths in manufacturing and airspace resources to promote synergy and resource sharing. 

“The growth of e-commerce and instant logistics has fueled consumer demand for faster and more personalized services, driving the release of market potential for low-altitude logistics,” said Yan Yan, head of public affairs of drone service of Meituan. Drone delivery significantly reduces the impact of road traffic on delivery times. For items such as pan-fried buns or hot coffee that require high timeliness, drones can double delivery efficiency compared with traditional ground transport, Yan added.

Beyond speed, drones offer compelling cost advantages compared to conventional logistics. For instance, ZTO, a leading express delivery company in China, developed an electric hexacopter drone with a full lifecycle cost of 85,800 yuan ($12,071) and a capacity to deliver 75,000 parcels. The drone’s per-parcel cost is 1.14 yuan. Based on the industry’s average single-parcel cost of 1.85 yuan, this represents a reduction of about 40 percent. 

With large-scale operations and the rollout of dedicated product services, logistics costs are expected to fall further, said Wang Qi, head of ZTO’s drone project.

From Phoenix-Wings drones capable of handling diverse terrain to JD Logistics’ multi-rotor smart drones, new technologies and products are steadily enhancing the reliability and efficiency of low-altitude logistics, revealing vast potential for industrial development.

Chen Xiaohui, director of public affairs at Phoenix-Wings, said that by leveraging drones’ efficiency and flexibility, low-altitude logistics can solve delivery challenges that traditional transport struggles with, not only ensuring successful delivery but also helping enterprises shift from price-driven competition to value-driven competition.

“With the coordination between drones and ground vehicles, we can build a smart delivery network covering both urban and rural areas, further addressing the ‘last mile’ challenge,” said an official from the State Post Bureau.

According to the China low-altitude logistics development report for 2024, the low-altitude logistics market is experiencing rapid growth. The market is expected to reach 120 to 150 billion yuan this year and climb to 450 to 605 billion yuan by 2035.

By Liu Zhiqiang, People’s Daily

When proposing to build a modernized industrial system and reinforce the foundations of the real economy, the recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan stresses that the share of manufacturing in the national economy should be kept at an appropriate level.

But what exactly is an “appropriate level”?

It should be neither excessively high nor unduly low. The share of manufacturing in GDP is shaped not only by the sector itself but also by the performance and expansion of services and other industries. In recent years, as China’s economic size has continued to grow and its structure has steadily upgraded, the share of services has generally risen, while that of manufacturing has declined relative to earlier periods. 

Between 2010 and 2024, China’s industrial structure shifted from 10.2:46.8:43.0 to 6.8:36.5:56.7. Although the absolute size of manufacturing continued to expand, its share in GDP moderately declined, an evolution consistent with the broader development trajectories of many other economies.

But the share must not fall too low. A look at world economic history shows that many major economic powerhouses rose to prominence through manufacturing. Yet some economies, after entering a post-industrial stage, moved too quickly toward financialization and offshoring, resulting in “industrial hollowing-out,” which ultimately affected economic growth and employment stability. For a major country like China, such risks must be avoided.

For China during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, manufacturing is central to enhancing economic strength, scientific and technological capabilities, and overall national power, as well as to improving people’s well-being. The sector remains the material basis of daily life, the backbone supporting countless industries, and a key absorber of employment. 

At the same time, growing global competition requires China’s manufacturing to aim higher and move faster. Although China has ranked as the world’s largest manufacturing nation for many years, there is no room for complacency. 

A new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is unfolding, with new technologies, new business forms, and new industries emerging at a rapid pace, ringing both opportunities and challenges. Seizing opportunities can help consolidate advantages; missing them risks falling behind. In this context, China must keep the focus of economic development squarely on the real economy. By accelerating the building of a manufacturing powerhouse, the country can navigate profound global changes with greater initiative and confidence.

The recommendations for the 15th Five-Year Plan outline a wide range of concrete tasks related to developing a modernized industrial system with advanced manufacturing as the backbone, upgrading traditional industries, and fostering emerging industries and industries of the future. These efforts collectively drive the transition from manufacturing “scale” to “strength.”

In 2024, China’s manufacturing value added accounted for nearly 30 percent of the global total. Among 500 major industrial products worldwide, China ranks first in output for more than 220 of them. The country now produces over 70 percent of the world’s lithium batteries and photovoltaic modules, and more than 60 percent of the world’s new-energy vehicles and wind power equipment. Over the past five years, China’s manufacturing sector continued to grow in volume and improve in quality, achieving hard-earned progress.

At the same time, notable weak links and bottlenecks remain. China’s capacity for original innovation still needs strengthening. Some key industries face technological gaps. Many traditional sectors remain positioned at the lower end of global value chains. These challenges must be addressed for China to advance from being a large manufacturing country to a strong one. 

Looking toward the 15th Five-Year Plan period, or the next five years, whether in “promoting upgrading in key industries,” “accelerating transition toward digitalization and intelligent transformation,” “creating new pillar industries,” or “making forward-looking arrangements for future industries” the priority will be to pursue higher standards and drive improvement across sectors, fields, and value-chain segments.

Ultimately, China’s commitment to keeping the share of manufacturing in the national economy at an appropriate level reflects the country’s assessment of development trends and practical needs, and sends a clear policy signal on the importance of the real economy. 

By continuing to deepen its industrial foundations and advance the high-quality development of manufacturing, China will further strengthen its industrial capabilities and economic resilience, and maintaining a balanced manufacturing share will naturally follow.