Nigeria Times

By Wang Hailin, People’s Daily

As the referee’s whistle echoes through the 2026 United States-Canada-Mexico World Cup stadiums, China’s manufacturing epicenter Yiwu — thousands of miles away — has already been shipping fan merchandise worldwide through meticulous supply chain mechanisms.

According to Yiwu customs, exports of sporting goods and equipment from Yiwu reached 2.83 billion yuan ($417.85 million) in the first quarter of this year, up 12 percent year on year. Products related to the World Cup accounted for a significant share of that growth.

Pan-African multilingual news network Africanews reported that retailers across Africa and around the world rely on Yiwu’s manufacturing efficiency for everything from banners and flags to a wide range of fan merchandise, making Chinese manufacturing an indispensable behind-the-scenes force supporting major international sporting events. 

Meanwhile, the British industry website Campaign Asia-Pacific noted that Yiwu supplies roughly 70 percent of the global market for World Cup-related products, calling it one of the busiest barometers of global football consumer demand.

Why has Yiwu always been able to seize opportunities created by the world’s premier sporting events?

The answer lies in a quiet transformation taking place among Yiwu’s merchants — from simply responding to market demand to actively shaping it through design and securing competitive advantages through intellectual property. Behind this shift is a profound transition from passive order-taking to proactive value creation.

Intellectual property has become a powerful competitive moat, enabling businesses to move beyond contract manufacturing and toward shaping industry standards.

The era of relying solely on price competition has passed. Today, independent intellectual property has become a key source of both profitability and market recognition.

Merchant Wen Congjian began designing World Cup jerseys well in advance and simultaneously applied for overseas design patents. For this tournament alone, he has filed more than 40 design patent applications. Protected by these patents, his products can command price premiums of up to 20 percent.

An increasing number of Yiwu businesses are using intellectual property rights to safeguard innovation, signaling a broader evolution in Chinese manufacturing from a passive participant in global value chains to a creator of standards and rules.

At the same time, a growing emphasis on creativity and branding is reshaping the way Yiwu businesses compete.

Merchant Luo Tianle secured full-category licensing rights for several national teams and expanded his product offerings into cultural and creative merchandise. Niche products such as pet jerseys and skin-friendly jerseys for infants and toddlers have enabled him to tap into emerging consumer demand while avoiding the race to the bottom associated with low-price competition.

Having experienced multiple World Cup cycles characterized by intense price wars, many Yiwu merchants now place greater value on overseas reputation and long-term brand development. Pursuing high-quality growth is increasingly becoming a shared business philosophy.

Underlying all of this is the confidence that comes from the “Yiwu speed” made possible by China’s complete industrial ecosystem.

World Cup orders are typically large in volume, tight in schedule, and demanding in terms of production requirements. Yet these are precisely the conditions under which Yiwu excels. The city possesses a complete industrial chain covering design, prototyping, fabric sourcing, sewing, printing, and quality inspection. In some cases, a football can move from initial design sketch to finished product in less than a week.

This exceptional supply-chain capability, supported by China’s vast manufacturing network, enables innovative designs and patented products to be rapidly transformed into market-ready goods for customers worldwide.

Yiwu’s connection with the World Cup reflects the broader global recognition that Chinese manufacturing is earning.

When the jerseys worn and flags waved by football fans around the world increasingly bear the label “Made in China,” it represents more than market share — it is a vote of confidence. And that confidence extends well beyond football arenas.

In Mexico City, more than 95 percent of the shuttle buses serving football fans are Chinese-brand new-energy coaches. Meanwhile, urban rail projects such as Mexico City Metro Line 1, built with the participation of Chinese companies, are helping connect venues and improve transportation efficiency.

From flags and plush toys to green transportation solutions, Chinese manufacturing is becoming deeply integrated into the global sports economy through comprehensive, end-to-end participation.

From a patented football jersey sold overseas to Chinese-made electric buses operating around World Cup venues, the role of Chinese manufacturing on the global sporting stage has undergone a fundamental transformation.

The final whistle of a World Cup tournament will eventually blow. The momentum behind the upgrading of Chinese manufacturing, however, shows no sign of ending. If anything, its call is growing ever stronger.

By Song Yiran, People’s Daily

Located in the northeast of Jiangxi province in east China, Jingdezhen is renowned both in China and abroad for its porcelain and is widely known as the “millennium porcelain capital.” In January 2025, Jingdezhen’s handmade porcelain industry heritage sites were officially submitted to UNESCO as China’s nomination for the 2026 World Heritage List.

Jingdezhen possesses not only millennial ceramic heritage but also a long tradition of openness and inclusiveness. Historically, it was said that only 20-30 percent of people that lived there were locals, while the rest were migrants drawn by its thriving porcelain industry. 

Today, around 5,000 foreign residents have made their homes there, known locally as “Jingdezhen drifters.” They have become part of the city’s everyday life, as communicators of ceramic culture, contributors to urban development, and co-creators of the distinctive character of this global city of crafts and folk arts.

Discovering the Cultural Heart of Jingdezhen

Yann Colleu, from the French overseas territory of Reunion Island, first came to Jingdezhen in 2017 for a short-term study program and was immediately captivated by the atmosphere.

“I became obsessed with the place,” he said with a smile.

What stayed with him was extended far beyond the masterful handiwork of seasoned local potters. Jingdezhen’s ceramic traditions are not museum pieces frozen behind glass; it is a living tradition,  carried forward through gestures, language, customs, patience, and daily practice.

In 2024, he and his wife returned to Jingdezhen and established their own studio there.

When he first arrived, he could not speak a single word of Chinese. One day, a craftsman handed him a lump of clay and gestured: “Come on, give it a try.” 

Colleu placed the clay on a wheel, and it collapsed three times. Each time, the craftsman patiently helped him reshape it and simply said: “Take it slowly.”

That afternoon, Colleu realized something important: “Language is not a barrier, and hands are the best translators.”

A young man in a neighboring workshop freely repaired dozens of his flawed clay prototypes without charge, asking only that he paint classic blue-and-white porcelain patterns for them as repayment down the line.

Once, when Colleu was selling ceramics at a night market, a local woman running a neighboring stall helped him attract customers. “Foreign artist’s work — very creative!” she called out. At that moment, he stopped feeling like an outsider.

By 2025, the total output value of Jingdezhen’s ceramic industry had exceeded 100 billion yuan ($14.77 billion). The city is home to more than 58,000 handmade ceramic workshops and approximately 150,000 ceramic industry workers, while maintaining partnerships with more than 180 cities across 72 countries.

“No matter where you come from, as long as you respect tradition and are sincere about craftsmanship, people here will treat you as one of their own,” Colleu said.

Today, he is pursuing a doctoral degree at Jingdezhen Ceramic University, searching through bowls and porcelain fragments for earlier and deeper connections between Jingdezhen and the wider world.

From Old Kilns to New Creative Spaces

When Australian artist David Reid first visited Taoxichuan Ceramic Art Avenue in 2006, what he saw was an abandoned industrial area covered in overgrown vines and surrounded by aging red-brick factories.

He did not realize then that he was standing at the starting point of a city’s transformation.

In 2018, he returned to establish a studio, learn the traditional blue-splashed glaze technique, and transfer more than four decades of ink-painting experience onto porcelain.

Walking back into Taoxichuan, the transformation left him “almost unable to believe his eyes.” Former factory buildings had become museums and creative marketplaces. Former firing workshops now hosted exhibitions.

Today, Taoxichuan draws more than 33,000 “Jingdezhen drifters,” incubating over 4,500 independent ceramic brands. Old factories, ancient kilns, and historical alleyways have not disappeared. Instead, they have continued their cultural legacy through new functions. For instance, Sanbao village has transformed from a remote mountain settlement into a popular artistic community. The 1,127 Ming- and Qing-Dynasty (1368-1911) residences in Taoyangli have been restored. Ancient kilns such as Xu Family Kiln have resumed firing.

“Jingdezhen’s transformation wasn’t about tearing down the past and starting over,” Reid said proudly. “It was about allowing old factories and historical neighborhoods to grow new functions.”

Last September, at the age of 70, he held an art exhibition in Jingdezhen. The exhibition featured 41 works and was a gift both to himself and to the city.

Making a Home in Jingdezhen

Cultural appeal may attract people initially; promising industry prospects bring many back for extended stays. But what truly makes people stay is a sense of comfort and security built through everyday life.

French artist Camille Grandaty spent years traveling around the world before 2015. “I rarely lived in one country for more than two years,” she said.

All that changed once she landed in Jingdezhen, where she has resided continuously for the past 11 years.

Last September, shortly after becoming a mother, she received the residence card she had long dreamed of, becoming one of only three foreign residents in Jingdezhen to obtain permanent residence permits in China.

In 2022, Jingdezhen introduced policies facilitating visas and residence permits for overseas residents, providing foreign nationals with measures such as multiple-entry visas and residence permits lasting between two and five years according to individual needs.

With a more open and inclusive approach toward global talent, Jingdezhen allowed Grandaty to truly settle down.

“The treasure of Jingdezhen is its craftsmanship,” she said. “It cannot even be called a living fossil, because it has never stopped living — it has thrived every single day.”

Driven to learn all 72 ceramic-making procedures, she stayed for 11 years. Stable, long-term life in Jingdezhen gradually changed her artistic expression as well.

On her workbench stands a clay sculpture of a rooster created together with her Chinese mentor’s wife. “The rooster is a symbol of France,” she explained. “This work is the product of cultural exchange between France and China.”

Clay pulled from the earth, hardened under intense kiln fire, shipped across vast oceans to reach global markets. That is the story of porcelain.

People come to Jingdezhen from every corner of the globe to study, create, and build their lives before sharing the story of Jingdezhen with the world. That is the story of “Jingdezhen drifters.”

These stories continue year after year. They speak not only of the cultural appeal of the millennium  porcelain capital, but also of how a Chinese city is innovating through preservation, growing through cultural inheritance, and connecting with the world through openness and inclusiveness.

By Wang Di, People’s Daily

Rural China is emerging as a runway online hit across international social media platforms. Growing numbers of overseas content creators are shifting away from China’s iconic mainstream tourist landmarks — the Great Wall, Shanghai’s Bund and other staple sightseeing hotspots — to pack up their cameras and journey into remote terraced fields, centuries-old hamlets and working farmsteads dotted across China’s countryside.

Their footage relies on no flashy special effects; it simply captures farmers tending to crops, kitchen smoke curling up from rural stoves, and warm grins from local villagers. These plain, unfiltered clips have struck a chord with countless overseas netizens.

What lies behind this growing trend? Put simply, it comes down to one word: authenticity.

First, this authenticity comes from unfiltered, unscripted real life, free from the biased framing long pushed by mainstream Western media.

For decades, many Western news outlets have framed China through a distorted dual narrative: either painting the country as underdeveloped and disconnected in negative, disparaging coverage, or stoking unfounded alarm to craft skewed public impression. Clouded by this fog of misinformation, most overseas audiences have never been able to catch a clear glimpse of the real China. 

This ongoing viral trend focused on China’s countryside, by contrast, opens up a fresh window for the world to observe China’s development through the most plainspoken lens. China’s rural areas manage to preserve timeless rustic charm while offering unexpectedly convenient amenities and tranquil living environments. This raw, genuine perspective proves to be the most compelling way to share China’s story.

Second, authenticity shines through the tangible beauty visitors can experience firsthand. 

For sheer scenic and cultural charm, China stands unrivaled worldwide, with 19 villages accredited as Best Tourism Villages by the UN Tourism, ranking first globally. 

From the exquisite ancient Huizhou-style architecture of Xidi in east China’s Anhui province and the rolling Longji Terraces in Dazhai village of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region to the time-honored grand song of the Dong ethnic group in Huanggang, Guizhou province in southwest China, rural China boasts diverse charms. It never fails to impress travelers, whether they are fond of stunning natural scenery or fascinated by profound cultural heritage.

Beyond visual appeal lies the reassuring sense of security that China offers. A German influencer released a video titled “People Warned Me Not to Visit Rural China,” directly countering widespread online hearsay. His on-location footage showed order and sound public security, complete modern amenities, and hospitable local villagers. 

Drawing on his firsthand experience, he fully debunked the alarmist hearsay. This peaceful, secure atmosphere has encouraged foreign travelers to explore remote rural areas that were once unfairly stereotyped.

Equally impressive is the convenience offered in rural areas. Highways extend straight to village entrances; network covers every corner of the countryside; grand bridges spanning mountains and rivers leave foreign visitors in awe. 

As commented by foreign media, these bridges are far more than transportation hubs, but are scenic landmarks in their own right, enabling truly seamless transitions between urban and rural life.

As long-held biased narratives lose their hold over global perceptions, international visitors gain a clearer path to connect with and truly understand China.

Third, cross-country global comparisons further amplify the authentic allure of China’s rural transformation.

At a time when some Western countries are grappling with social division, widening inequality, and public security challenges, China continues to make steady progress toward integrated urban-rural development, common prosperity, and sustainable growth.

This contrast has transformed global curiosity about China’s countryside into something deeper: a desire to understand how China has managed to achieve these outcomes.

Pakistani newspaper Pakistan Today observed that in China, rural areas are viewed not as burdens but as sources of potential, arguing that the Chinese model has opened a new development path for the world.

An Italian tourism website analyzed how rural tourism has created mutually reinforcing relationships with agriculture and cultural preservation. Meanwhile, the British platform Dialogue Earth spotlighted China’s rural bird-watching tourism, believing that it fosters deeper connections not only between people and nature, but also between people and environmental values.

Some scenery and charms can only be truly perceived and appreciated through in-person visits. With China’s increasingly accessible entry policies and upgraded services, more international visitors are expected to explore the country’s countryside for themselves, to see with their own eyes and experience the vivid vitality of Chinese modernization.

When these overseas creators return home, they carry back far more than social media likes, views or viral video clout. They bring firsthand anecdotes of a multifaceted, human-centric China: a nation defined by ordinary daily warmth, close-knit community ties and authentic real-life charm.

By Wang Yunshan, Wu Jun, People’s Daily

Advancements in artificial intelligence have pushed computing power to the forefront as an essential core digital resource worldwide. One pressing challenge is how to enable computing resources across different regions to work together efficiently and be accessed on demand.

China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) outlines the need to further advance the East Data, West Computing initiative, build a multi-tier computing infrastructure system, and establish an integrated nationwide computing power network.

What exactly is a computing power network? And how is China turning this blueprint into tangible infrastructure network? Real-world applications across the country are already offering concrete answers

At the First People’s Hospital of Jingzhou in central China’s Hubei province, radiologist Zhang Liren uploaded computed tomography images into an AI-assisted diagnostic system. In less than 10 seconds, a preliminary assessment of a patient’s condition was generated.

Such remarkable speed gains rely on robust network support. China Mobile Hubei, the Hubei branch of wireless carrier China Mobile, recently unveiled its Lingban Computing Network platform, engineered to build a multi-level latency coverage system. 

It delivers a 1-millisecond latency for intra-city access, 5 milliseconds across the province, 7 milliseconds between provincial capital Wuhan and key cities along the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and 10 milliseconds linking Wuhan to the nation’s eight core computing hubs.

Previously, computing tasks were sometimes processed locally and sometimes dispatched hundreds of kilometers away, resulting in delays that users simply had to endure.

China Mobile Hubei has deployed 27 municipal-level data centers and 42 operational or under-construction computing nodes across Hubei province. 

According to Gong Jian, head of a research institute under China Mobile Hubei, the company integrates edge computing resources from cities across the province while incorporating idle social computing resources under unified management. 

Paired with an intelligent task-scheduling platform, this enables AI startups to access fast computing services without massive upfront investment, Gong added.

The spatial distribution of 

China’s computing resources suffer from inherent geographic imbalance: eastern provinces host concentrated market demand yet face steep costs for new data center construction, while western regions boast abundant land and energy for server facilities but have far weaker local computing consumption. Meanwhile, computing demand fluctuates significantly across industries and time periods.

“Therefore, computing tasks need to be proactively assigned according to urgency, budgets, and chip requirements to determine where they should be executed,” said Zhang Huawei, product manager for China Mobile’s computing network scheduling platform.

Different tasks require different types of computing resources.

“To use a highway analogy, ambulances use emergency lanes while delivery trucks stay in regular lanes,” said Zhang Xianghong, head of the data infrastructure standards working group under the National Technical Committee 609 on Data Standardization Administration of China. 

“In practice, applications such as remote surgery occupy the equivalent of emergency lanes, whereas large-model training and film rendering can wait in line and utilize resources with less stringent latency requirements.”

According to Zhang, the integrated nationwide computing power network is essentially a form of digital infrastructure. Built on information network technologies, it enables highly integrated, large-scale scheduling and operation of computing resources nationwide.

“Put simply, it ensures that every computing task finds the most suitable lane,” Zhang added.

Beyond technological upgrades, building a unified national computing network also drives sweeping structural reform across China’s digital economy by reorganizing how computing power, raw data, communication networks and power supply resources are integrated and distributed.

The integrated nationwide computing power network represents not only technological innovation, but also a fundamental restructuring of how computing power, data, networks, electricity, and other resources are integrated and allocated.

Inside the monitoring system of a national integrated computing power network monitoring and scheduling test platform at the Pengcheng Laboratory in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong province, real-time data on computing resources nationwide is displayed clearly on screen.

Deng Qing, director of the computing network ecosystem at Pengcheng Laboratory, said the monitoring system provides a clear picture of intelligent computing capacity and resource distribution across regions. 

Currently, the system covers the 10 major clusters within the eight computing hubs established under the East Data, West Computing initiative, as well as computing resources from certain non-hub regions.

At present, 1.37 million PFLOPS of intelligent computing capacity has been incorporated into the monitoring system, accounting for approximately 72 percent of China’s total intelligent computing capacity.

“The monitoring system serves as the eyes of the computing power network,” Deng explained. “It is the prerequisite for efficient scheduling, resource optimization, and informed decision-making. Since computing resources built on different architectures vary substantially, the first requirement is visibility. Only when integrated real-time monitoring provides data on distribution, workload, and utilization can resources be effectively scheduled and efficiently used.”

According to Guo Mingjun, director of the computing economy division at the State Information Center under China’s National Development and Reform Commission, one defining feature of the integrated nationwide computing power network is intensive development.

The objective is to promote large-scale and concentrated development of diverse computing resources, including general-purpose computing, intelligent computing, and supercomputing within national computing hubs.

By the end of March this year, intelligent computing capacity built within the eight national computing hubs of the East Data, West Computing initiative accounted for more than 80 percent of the national total, highlighting a trend of increasingly concentrated development.

For computing resources built on different architectures, operated by different institutions, and located in different regions to be recognized, managed, and utilized under a unified scheduling framework, standardized rules are essential.

Zhang noted that the National Technical Committee 609 on Data Standardization Administration of China has already released nine technical documents, largely establishing the standard framework for computing networks. Moving forward, these standards will continue to be refined based on practical experience to strengthen their authority and guiding value.

By Huang Xiaohui, People’s Daily

As countries around the world look toward returning humans to the Moon, Chinese researchers are exploring an unusual building material for future lunar bases: fibers made from lunar soil.

Recently, samples of these lunar-soil fibers were sent to the Chinese space station aboard a Tianzhou cargo spacecraft, where they will undergo exposure tests in the harsh conditions of outer space, including high vacuum, intense radiation and extreme temperature fluctuations.

The lunar-soil fiber was developed by a research team led by academician Zhu Meifang from the College of Materials Science and Engineering at Donghua University.

The fibers produced from lunar soil are as thin as human hair, said Cheng Yanhua, a researcher on the team. The basic principle itself is relatively straightforward: lunar soil is heated until it melts, formed into tiny droplets and then drawn into ultra-fine filaments.

Lunar soil shares similar chemical and mineral compositions with basalt and contains a variety of trace elements. Fibers made from basalt are widely applied in high-end equipment manufacturing.

It is not difficult to produce simulated lunar soil via precise scientific formulation. The real challenge lies in recreating the lunar environment on Earth. According to Cheng, drawing fibers in lunar environment is akin to making sugar figurines in a vacuum, which cannot be accomplished with conventional methods.

To tackle the problem, Zhu’s team began researching materials for extreme environments in 2016 and independently designed a specialized spinning system capable of simulating lunar high-vacuum and microgravity conditions.

The research made a major breakthrough after the Chang’e-5 mission returned lunar samples to Earth in 2020. Using just 0.5 grams of actual lunar soil, the team successfully produced continuous fibers about three meters long, each strand as fine as human hair.

In April 2025, the slender but remarkably durable lunar-soil fibers were displayed at the exhibition “20 Years of Chinese Lunar Exploration Program” at the National Museum of China. Several months later, in September 2025, the fully homegrown technology won a top award at the China International Industry Fair.

Researchers believe such technology could play an important role in future lunar exploration because transportation construction materials from Earth to the Moon is extremely expensive..

“In the future, these lunar-soil fibers could potentially be used to build tents directly on the Moon,” a team member said, adding that they may be woven into flexible structural materials or used to reinforce lunar concrete, much like steel bars in construction on Earth.

For now, however, the technology remains in the early experimental stage, and practical applications are still some distance away. The current experiment aboard the Chinese space station aims to determine whether the fibers can withstand the severe conditions of space over long periods. Every piece of data collected will help support future efforts to build sustainable human habitats on the Moon.