People's Daily - January 18, 2026

Upholding the Organic Unity of the Rule of Law and the Rule of the Party According to Regulations

By: 本报记者 张 璁 沈童睿

On January 12, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) delivered an important speech at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, emphasizing: "We must adhere to the principle that everyone is equal before regulations and laws, that there are no privileges in abiding by regulations and laws, and that there are no exceptions in enforcing regulations and laws, to ensure that institutional provisions truly become high-voltage lines with electricity. The 'top leaders' must take the lead in implementing the system. We must strengthen the publicity and education of regulations and systems, and guide Party members and cadres to understand the law and discipline, understand the rules, and know awe."

"To comprehensively promote the rule of law, we must strive to form a pattern in which national laws and regulations and intra-party regulations and systems complement each other, promote each other, and guarantee each other."

On December 8, 2025, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held a meeting to review the "Regulations on the Work of the Communist Party of China (中国共产党) Leading the Comprehensive Rule of Law." This is the first basic and comprehensive intra-party regulation on the work of the Party leading the comprehensive rule of law, and it is a vivid carrier for adhering to the organic unity of governing the country according to law and administering the Party according to regulations.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping (习近平) at its core has positioned the rule of law from the strategic overall height of the Party's long-term governance and the country's long-term stability and security, deployed the rule of law, promoted the rule of law, strictly enforced the rule of law, and creatively proposed adhering to the organic unity of governing the country according to law and administering the Party according to regulations, and regarded the intra-party regulatory system and the legal normative system as important components of the socialist rule of law system with Chinese characteristics, and promoted the historical achievements of governing the country according to law and administering the Party according to regulations.

The recently published and distributed "Xi Jinping (习近平) Thought on the Rule of Law Study Outline (2025 Edition)" takes "Adhering to the Organic Unity of Governing the Country According to Law and Administering the Party According to Regulations" as the "Twelfth Adherence" of the core meaning of Xi Jinping (习近平) Thought on the Rule of Law, which fully reflects the theoretical character of Xi Jinping (习近平) Thought on the Rule of Law that keeps pace with the times and adheres to integrity and innovation.

To manage a country and its people, the system must be correct.

On the new journey, if our Party is to fulfill its major historical mission of governing and rejuvenating the country, win the great struggle with many new historical characteristics, and realize the long-term stability and security of the Party and the country, it must adhere to the integrated promotion and construction of governing the country according to law and governing the Party with the system and administering the Party according to regulations, and continuously promote the great cause of Chinese-style modernization with a more complete legal guarantee.

Ensure that the Party governs the country and administers state affairs in accordance with the Constitution and laws, and governs the Party and administers the Party strictly in accordance with intra-party regulations.

To govern a country, the Party must be governed first; to govern the Party, it must be strictly governed; and to govern strictly, it must be governed by law.

On December 4, 2012, less than a month after the closing of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee deliberated and approved the eight provisions on improving work style and closely connecting with the masses.

As the first important intra-party regulation formulated after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the eight central provisions have also become the "breakthrough work" for starting to administer the Party according to regulations in the new era. Over the past 10 years, from curbing "waste on the tip of the tongue" to stopping "corruption on wheels," rectifying "unhealthy trends in clubs," and continuing to solve outstanding problems of formalism, the eight central provisions have profoundly changed China.

The law is the beginning of governance.

"In our country, the law is a requirement for all citizens, and the intra-party regulations and systems are requirements for all Party members, and in many places, they are stricter than the requirements of the law."

"We must give play to the complementary role of governing the country according to law and administering the Party according to regulations, and ensure that the Party governs the country and administers state affairs in accordance with the Constitution and laws, and governs the Party and administers the Party strictly in accordance with intra-party regulations."

"In recent years, our Party has strictly enforced the rule of law and administered the Party according to regulations, and formulated and revised a large number of national laws and regulations and intra-party regulations, many of which are aimed at regulating the operation of power."

…………

Focusing on the profound change in national governance brought about by the comprehensive rule of law, General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) insightful exposition profoundly reveals the unique governance code formed by the governance of the Communist Party of China and the governance of China.

Follow the law and govern according to law. In October 2014, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made a decision on several major issues concerning the comprehensive promotion of the rule of law. As the first plenary session of the Central Committee in our Party's history to specifically study and deploy the comprehensive rule of law, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China incorporated "forming a complete system of intra-party regulations" into the overall goal of comprehensively promoting the rule of law.

Administering the Party according to regulations is the leadership and guarantee of governing the country according to law, and governing the country according to law is the foundation and support of administering the Party according to regulations. Since the new era, our Party has carried out its work with the concept of the rule of law, the system of the rule of law, and the procedures of the rule of law, improved the Party's leadership style and governance style, and promoted the institutionalization, standardization, and proceduralization of governing according to law.

Taking overall control and coordinating all parties—

In order to strengthen the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee over the construction of a rule-of-law China and improve the system and working mechanism for the Party to lead the comprehensive rule of law, the Third Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to establish the Central Committee for Comprehensive Rule of Law, which is the first such institution established in our Party's history.

From the formulation of the "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee on Strengthening the Legal Supervision Work of Procuratorial Organs in the New Era" to the introduction of the "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee on Strengthening the Trial Work in the New Era," our Party coordinates the work in all fields of governing the country according to law, ensures that the Party's propositions are implemented throughout the entire process and in all aspects of governing the country according to law, and continuously strengthens and improves the Party's leadership and improves the Party's ability and level in leading the country according to law.

Hanging rules and planting squares, the device only seeks innovation—

General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) emphasized: "Adhere to governing the Party with the system and administering the Party according to regulations, improve the Party's organizational regulations, leadership regulations, self-construction regulations, and supervision and guarantee regulations, and let the system 'grow teeth' and 'carry electricity.'"

Promulgating the first central document in the history of the Party that specifically deploys and promotes the construction of the intra-party regulatory system, holding two national intra-party regulatory work conferences, and successively compiling three five-year plans for the formulation of central intra-party regulations... Since the new era, our Party has embodied administering the Party according to regulations in all aspects and links of managing the Party and governing the Party, creating a good atmosphere of respecting the system and abiding by the system, and promoting the maturity and finalization of various systems.

To seek the growth of trees, we must strengthen their roots; to seek the distance of streams, we must dredge their sources.

"The relationship between the Party and the law is a fundamental issue. If it is handled well, the rule of law will prosper, the Party will prosper, and the country will prosper; if it is not handled well, the rule of law will decline, the Party will decline, and the country will decline."

Putting the Party's leadership into the whole process and all aspects of governing the country according to law is a basic experience in the construction of the socialist rule of law in our country. The Party not only leads the people to formulate the Constitution and laws, but also leads the people to implement the Constitution and laws, so that the Party leads legislation, guarantees law enforcement, supports the judiciary, and takes the lead in abiding by the law.

"Through legal procedures, the Party's propositions become the will of the state and form laws, and the effective implementation of the Party's policies is guaranteed through laws, so as to ensure the correct direction of comprehensively governing the country according to law."

Involving more than 30 existing and effective environmental laws, more than 100 administrative regulations, and more than 1,000 local regulations... As the second law in my country named after "Code," the draft Environmental Code will soon be submitted to the Fourth Session of the 14th National People's Congress for deliberation.

Compiling the Environmental Code is a major legislative task deployed by the Party Central Committee. Systematically integrating, compiling and revising, and integrating and sublimating, this code will protect the ecological environment and promote green development with the strictest system and the strictest rule of law.

As of the end of December 2025, there are 308 existing and effective laws in my country, more than 600 administrative regulations and supervisory regulations, and more than 15,000 local regulations... Being good at making the Party's propositions become the will of the state through legal procedures, the pace towards good laws and good governance is becoming more solid and powerful.

"After the Party's policies become national laws, implementing the laws is implementing the Party's will, and handling affairs according to law is implementing the Party's policies."

The Central Office for Governing the Country According to Law carries out on-site rule-of-law supervision to promote the implementation of the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments for comprehensively governing the country according to law.

Tighten and consolidate the responsibilities of the main leaders of Party committees and governments in fulfilling their responsibilities as the first person responsible for promoting the construction of the rule of law, and the on-site statement of the law makes the "top leaders" tighten the "rule of law string" in the red face and sweating.

Strengthen the appearance of heads of administrative organs in court to respond to lawsuits, forcing administrative organs to administer according to law, and allowing the people to "sue officials and see officials again" in the court of administrative litigation.

…………

Knowing the law in the heart and abiding by the law in action.

The organic unity of governing the country according to law and administering the Party according to regulations allows Party members and cadres to hang the mirror of the law high in their hearts, hold the ruler of the law tightly in their hands, know the scale of being an official and doing things, and the basic concepts of the rule of law, such as power is determined by law and power is exercised according to law, are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

Administering the Party according to regulations goes deep into the hearts of the Party, and governing the country according to law can go deep into the hearts of the people.

"This is the place to establish rules. The establishment and implementation of the Party's rules and systems have powerfully promoted the Party's work style and discipline construction."

In July 2013, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) came to Xibaipo (西柏坡), Pingshan County (平山县), Hebei Province (河北省), and emphasized the importance of "establishing rules" in front of the site of the famous September Conference.

Without rules, it cannot be a political party, let alone a Marxist political party.

The First National Congress of the Party adopted the first program of the Communist Party of China, which became the first intra-party regulation in the history of the Party; the Second National Congress of the Party adopted the Constitution of the Communist Party of China, and our Party has since had its own fundamental law; at the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Party, Comrade Mao Zedong (毛泽东) clearly put forward the concept of "intra-party regulations" for the first time; the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party sounded the horn of reform and opening up, and also proposed "improving Party rules and Party laws and strictly enforcing Party discipline"... Intra-party regulations are born because of the Party, established because of the Party, and prosper because of the Party.

"Administering the Party according to regulations goes deep into the hearts of the Party, and governing the country according to law can go deep into the hearts of the people."

In December 2016, the first national intra-party regulatory work conference in the history of the Party was held. On the eve of the meeting, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) made important instructions, emphasizing that "we must adhere to the integrated promotion and construction of governing the country according to law and governing the Party with the system and administering the Party according to regulations";

In October 2017, the report of the 19th National Congress of the Party proposed to "accelerate the formation of an intra-party regulatory system covering all aspects of Party leadership and Party building";

In November 2020, at the Central Conference on Overall Law-Based Governance, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) pointed out that "we must adhere to the organic unity of governing the country according to law and administering the Party according to regulations";

In July 2021, at the ceremony celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) emphasized that "we must adhere to administering the Party according to regulations and form a relatively complete intra-party regulatory system";

…………

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, our Party has promoted the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party with unprecedented courage and determination, adhered to governing the Party with the system and administering the Party according to regulations as the basic way to manage the Party and govern the Party, regarded strengthening the construction of the intra-party regulatory system as a long-term strategy and fundamental strategy for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, improved the mechanism for connecting and coordinating intra-party regulations with national laws and regulations, and built a set of effective power supervision system and discipline enforcement system, opening up a new realm of self-revolution for the century-old Party.

As of June 2024, there are 3,936 existing and effective intra-party regulations in the entire Party, of which more than 70% are newly formulated and revised intra-party regulations since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The construction of the intra-party regulatory system has achieved historical achievements, demonstrating the style of a big Party, the wisdom of a big Party, and the governance of a big Party.

The key lies in grasping the truth, and it depends on strict management.

In August 2018, at the first meeting of the Central Committee for Overall Law-Based Governance, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) pointed out: "The problem of having rules to follow has been basically solved. The next focus is on strictly enforcing the rules and making intra-party regulations truly implemented."

This important judgment shows that the construction of intra-party regulations is shifting from accelerating the establishment of rules and solving the problem of having no rules to follow to strengthening the enforcement of rules and ensuring the implementation of existing regulations.

General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important exposition not only points out the direction of progress, but also contains a scientific methodology—

"We must strengthen the awareness of regulations and systems, carry out publicity and education on regulations and systems throughout the Party, and guide the vast number of Party members and cadres to firmly establish the awareness of the rule of law, the awareness of the system, and the awareness of discipline."

From the Party's mass line education and practice activities to the in-depth implementation of the spirit of the eight central provisions, since the new era, our Party has successively carried out centralized education within the Party, established a disciplinary education mechanism that combines regularity and concentration, integrated it into daily life, grasped it regularly, and urged the vast number of Party members and cadres to internalize the Party Constitution, Party regulations, and Party discipline in their hearts and externalize them in their actions.

In 2025, in the Quanshan District People's Court (泉山区人民法院) of Xuzhou City (徐州市), Jiangsu Province (江苏省), the municipal and district-level discipline inspection and supervision commissions opened a "Discipline and Law Classroom" with a case of duty-related crime as the "teaching material." Taking cases as a basis for explaining morality, discipline, law, and responsibility, a cadre in Quanshan District (泉山区) said after listening: "This special course has given me a more intuitive understanding of preventing corruption and resisting change."

"We must increase the efforts to implement and enforce the rules, so that iron rules can exert their power and prohibitions can generate awe."

At the end of December 2025, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission announced the summary of the problems of violating the spirit of the eight central provisions investigated and dealt with nationwide in November 2025. This is the 147th consecutive month that monthly report data has been announced, and the "iron rules and hard constraints" have won the trust of the people.

Since the new era, our Party has resolutely corrected phenomena such as arbitrarily changing, maliciously evading, and ignoring the system, and severely investigated and dealt with serious violations of discipline and law by some Party members and cadres, including senior cadres, and made it clear to the entire Party and the entire society that no matter who it is, no matter how high their position is, as long as they violate Party discipline and state laws, they will be seriously investigated and severely punished.

"We must strengthen supervision and inspection, implement the supervision system, use supervision to transmit pressure, and use pressure to promote implementation."

Not long ago, the feedback work of the 20th Central Inspection of provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) was completed, and the collective feedback meeting reported the common problems found in the inspection. Inspection is an important means of intra-party supervision, and the implementation of the Party Constitution and other intra-party regulations by the inspection objects is one of the key points of inspection.

Implementing the supervision system, strengthening daily supervision and special inspections; scientifically designing the system and mechanism to improve the overall effectiveness of the supervision system; carrying out special supervision and inspection on the implementation of important intra-party regulations and systems to prevent the "broken window effect"... Those who are derelict in their duties must be held accountable, and those who are held accountable must be strictly held accountable, so that all disciplines and rules truly become "high-voltage lines with electricity."

Persevere and never slacken.

The Party Constitution is the general charter of the Party and is "a flag publicly erected."

In the exhibition hall of the Museum of the History of the Communist Party of China, the precious versions of the Party Constitution from various periods are eye-catching. This is a vivid embodiment of our century-old Party's adherence to governing the Party with the system and administering the Party according to regulations.

"Under the new situation, if our Party is to fulfill its major responsibility of governing and rejuvenating the country, it must strictly govern the Party in accordance with the Party Constitution and govern the country and administer state affairs in accordance with the Constitution." Focusing on strictly enforcing the rule of law and administering the Party according to regulations, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) has promoted the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party to develop in depth on the track of regulations and systems.

Put discipline and rules up and establish them, and connect discipline enforcement and law enforcement.

The greatest challenge facing our Party's comprehensive leadership and long-term governance is the supervision of power.

General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) emphasized, "We must adhere to governing the country according to law and administering the Party according to regulations, and put discipline and rules up and establish them" and "We must connect discipline enforcement and law enforcement."

Discipline and law are both important components of the national governance system. Only by coordinating the use of the "two yardsticks" of discipline and law and promoting the integrated advancement of supervision, discipline enforcement, and supervision and law enforcement can the rules for the operation of power be established.

This is a far-sighted blueprint.

The scope of supervision is too narrow, the forces against corruption are scattered, and the connection between discipline and law is not smooth... For a period of time, intra-party supervision and national supervision were not synchronized, and some people exercising public power were outside the scope of supervision. The Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping (习近平) at its core sized up the situation and made a major decision to deepen the reform of the national supervision system.

The Third Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China deliberated and approved the "Plan for Deepening the Reform of Party and State Institutions," which listed the establishment of the National Supervision Commission as the first article.

In March 2018, with the unveiling of the red silk cloth on the bronze plaque of the "National Supervision Commission of the People's Republic of China," a brand-new national anti-corruption work agency was established.

The formation of the national supervision system with Chinese characteristics has realized the full coverage and no dead ends of the supervision of public power and anti-corruption, and realized the organic unity of intra-party supervision and national supervision, administering the Party according to regulations and governing the country according to law.

This is a rock-solid determination.

Countless cases have proved that Party members and cadres "break the law" all start with "breaking discipline," and gradually slide into the abyss of illegal crimes from the loss of "small things and small details." Therefore, we must grasp early and grasp small, and prevent problems before they occur.
Numerous cases prove that the "breaking of the law" by Party members and cadres invariably begins with the "breaking of discipline," sliding step by step from the loss of "minor matters and small details" into the abyss of illegal and criminal activities. Therefore, it is imperative to address issues early and while they are small, and to prevent problems before they arise.

"Do not do something bad because it is small; do not fail to do something good because it is small. If we start by nipping problems in the bud and being strict in enforcing discipline from the beginning, how many people can be prevented from breaking the law?"

One addition and one subtraction, putting discipline first.

Since the new era, the "Regulations on Disciplinary Sanctions of the Communist Party of China" (《中国共产党纪律处分条例》) have been revised three times—doing a "subtraction" by cutting out content that overlaps with the law, highlighting the distinct characteristic that Party discipline is stricter than national law; and doing a sufficient "addition" by transforming the practical experience of governing the Party strictly since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (党的十八大) into moral and disciplinary requirements, constraining Party members with higher standards.

Discipline is stricter than the law, and discipline precedes the law. Since the new era, our Party has made good use of the "four forms of supervision and discipline enforcement," eliminating "viruses" and "pests" in their infancy, reducing the stock of corruption, curbing the increase in corruption, and forming a sound political ecology.

This is the responsibility of leading by example.

"The legal literacy of leading cadres should be grasped from the day they enter the cadre ranks, educating and guiding them to fasten the first button of the rule of law correctly."

As early as February 2015, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) clearly pointed out at the opening ceremony of the seminar for principal leading cadres at the provincial and ministerial level to study and implement the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee and comprehensively promote the rule of law that a cadre's ability may vary, but they must be competent in abiding by discipline and the law, and there can be no difference in this regard.

A strong country is built by those who uphold the law.

The General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (中办) and the General Office of the State Council (国办) issued the "Opinions on Establishing a List System of Party Regulations and National Laws that Leading Cadres Should Know and Be Able to Apply" (《关于建立领导干部应知应会党内法规和国家法律清单制度的意见》), and more than 70 central units have formulated lists of laws to be learned for their respective industries and systems;

Various localities and departments continue to improve the system and mechanism, promote the normalization and long-term effectiveness of learning, and establish a learning system for the central group of the Party committee (Party group); incorporate the learning and mastery of Party regulations into the content of the Party organization's "three meetings and one lesson" (三会一课) system;

Incorporate Party regulations and national laws into the teaching content of Party schools (administrative colleges) and the required training courses for the appointment and on-the-job training of leading cadres;

...

The key to governance lies in obtaining the right people; the key to governing the country lies in people. Governing the country according to law and governing the Party according to regulations must seize the "key minority" of leading cadres.

Since the new era, our Party has educated and guided leading cadres at all levels to enhance their awareness and literacy in abiding by regulations, upholding the law, and advocating the rule of law. The "key minority" has continuously improved its ability to use the thinking and methods of the rule of law to deepen reform, promote development, resolve contradictions, maintain stability, and respond to risks.

"When laws and regulations are implemented and discipline is rectified, there will be no ungoverned country and no uncultivated people."

Standing at a new historical starting point, the vast number of Party members and cadres are always closely united around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping (习近平同志) at its core, thoroughly implementing Xi Jinping's Thought on the Rule of Law (习近平法治思想), adhering to the organic unity of governing the country according to law and governing the Party according to regulations, maintaining the sobriety and determination to continue the journey, and providing a strong legal guarantee for continuing to write new chapters in the two major miracles of rapid economic development and long-term social stability, and comprehensively promoting the construction of a strong country and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese-style modernization.

Return to Top

Let the people live a better life

By: 本报记者 申少铁 邱超奕 杨彦帆

Realizing the people's aspiration for a better life is the starting point and ultimate goal of Chinese-style modernization.

General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) emphasized: "The people's aspiration for a better life is our goal. Grasping reform and promoting development are, in the final analysis, for the purpose of enabling the people to live a better life."

Focusing on people's livelihoods also means focusing on the economy. Improving people's livelihoods creates demand, impetus, and a stable social environment for economic development.

The "15th Five-Year Plan" proposal has made strategic deployments for "increasing efforts to guarantee and improve people's livelihoods, and steadily promoting common prosperity for all the people." We must resolutely implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, firmly stand on the people's position, guarantee and improve people's livelihoods in development, and continuously improve the quality of people's lives.

Grasping the Foundation of People's Livelihood

Adhering to employment first and promoting high-quality and full employment

Four months ago, college graduate Chen Ke'er (陈柯尔) returned to his hometown, Shangyu District (上虞区) of Shaoxing (绍兴), Zhejiang (浙江), to seek employment.

The local human resources and social security department provided assistance as soon as possible, implementing relevant subsidies and using artificial intelligence to match local job positions, providing a recommended job list.

Soon after, Chen Ke'er (陈柯尔) successfully joined the Shangyu Semiconductor Material Research Center (上虞半导体材料研究中心). "I didn't expect public employment services to be so intelligent and efficient," he said.

During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, China exceeded its target for new urban employment, laying a good foundation for maintaining overall stability in the employment situation.

In the coming period, China's labor supply will remain high, employment pressure will still exist, and structural employment contradictions will become more prominent.

Employment is the foundation of people's livelihood.

The "15th Five-Year Plan" proposal puts forward: "Promote high-quality and full employment." The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (党的二十届四中全会) made arrangements for promoting high-quality and full employment in the next five years. To implement new requirements and tasks, it is necessary to deeply implement the employment-first strategy, improve the employment promotion mechanism, and promote better qualitative and effective improvement and reasonable quantitative growth in employment.

--Expand the increment.

Unmanned aerial vehicle swarm flight planner, intelligent manufacturing system operator... In August 2025, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (人力资源和社会保障部), together with relevant departments, organized the development of 95 national occupational standards and publicly solicited opinions from the public, including several new occupations and new types of work.

At present, emerging industries such as new energy and the low-altitude economy are booming, and future industries such as quantum technology and artificial intelligence are in the ascendant, giving rise to a large number of knowledge-intensive jobs. We should seize opportunities, stimulate the potential of new business forms and models to create employment, and cultivate more new employment growth points in fields such as the digital economy, high-end manufacturing, and modern services.

--Improve quality.

Since 2025, from deploying the "Skills Illuminate the Future" training action to holding the 3rd National Skills Competition, to 60+ industrial education and evaluation skills ecosystem chains newly cultivated and built in 19 provinces, China's skilled talent team has continued to grow.

The key to improving the quality of employment lies in effectively solving the structural employment contradiction of "there is work but no one to do it, and there are people but no work to do." In education, deepen the integration of industry and education, school-enterprise linkage, and enhance students' professional adaptability and job competence; in vocational skills, vigorously promote the new enterprise apprenticeship system, and comprehensively improve workers' quality and practical skills; in rights protection, strengthen the protection of workers' rights, especially those in new employment forms.

--Focus on key points.

In the first 11 months of 2025, the national urban surveyed unemployment rate averaged 5.2%, lower than the expected control target of 5.5%. This is inseparable from the efforts of the human resources and social security departments to strengthen employment work for key groups such as college graduates, migrant workers, and people who have been lifted out of poverty.

Stabilizing key employment groups stabilizes the basic employment situation. In the next five years, the employment of college graduates and other young people should be the top priority; smooth channels for migrant workers to go out for work and find employment locally, and stabilize the scale of employment of people who have been lifted out of poverty; strengthen employment assistance for groups with employment difficulties, and make good use of public welfare posts to provide bottom-line assistance.

Focusing on the Needs of People's Livelihood

Improve the service system and promote high-quality population development

In the "Elderly Care Home" (颐养之家) in Fangcheng New Village (坊城新村), Xiping Town (西坪镇), Yunzhou District (云州区), Datong (大同), Shanxi (山西), several elderly people sat on benches in the corridor after dinner, basking in the sun and chatting. "I'm doing well here. Someone helps me wash clothes and clean up the house, and I'm sent to the hospital in time when I'm sick," said Wu Yuzhi (吴玉芝), an 86-year-old woman.

Building 22 happy engineering projects in urban communities, 38 "Elderly Care Homes" (颐养之家) in rural areas, and 266 elderly meal assistance points, increasing the proportion of nursing beds in elderly care institutions to 54.5%... At present, Datong (大同) has basically built a three-level service network based on home, relying on the community, and supported by institutions.

China has more than 310 million elderly people aged 60 and above. During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, China's aging will further deepen, and the demand for services such as elderly care and medical care will increase. At the same time, young parents increasingly need modern, socialized childcare services.

Elderly care, childcare, and medical treatment are not only urgent and difficult problems for the people, but also related to the high-quality development of the population. The "15th Five-Year Plan" proposal puts forward a series of measures: optimize the supply of basic elderly care services and improve the urban and rural elderly care service network; optimize fertility support policies and incentives; develop inclusive childcare and integrated childcare services, and gradually improve relevant systems; accelerate the construction of a healthy China...

Find out the "real needs" and concentrate efforts to grasp the most prominent and urgent livelihood issues.

"My child receives professional care in an inclusive childcare institution, and I can pick up my child on the way home from work every day." Li (李) , a mother of two living in Kaizhou District (开州区), Chongqing (重庆), calculated an account, "The cost of prenatal checkups and childbirth can be reimbursed, and I received maternity allowance some time ago, which has reduced the burden a lot."

In the next step, Kaizhou District (开州区) will continue to explore the construction of public-private community-embedded childcare points with "communities providing venues, professional institutions operating, and the government supervising," while improving the maternity insurance system, optimizing fertility support policies and incentives, and effectively reducing the cost of family birth and raising children.

Focus on "more fair, balanced, inclusive, and accessible" and provide the masses with high-quality medical, elderly care, and other services.

An Guilan (安桂兰), who lives in Haigang District (海港区), Qinhuangdao City (秦皇岛市), Hebei Province (河北省), has suffered from eye diseases for many years. Thanks to the construction of the National Regional Medical Center project -- Qinhuangdao Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Oriental Hospital (北京中医药大学东方医院秦皇岛医院), she received treatment from experts from Beijing (北京) without leaving the city, and is currently recovering well.

"During the '15th Five-Year Plan' period, the service system will focus more on public welfare and balance, making it more convenient and efficient for the masses to see a doctor," said Lei Haichao (雷海潮), Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Director of the National Health Commission (国家卫生健康委).

Weaving a Tight Safety Net for People's Livelihood

Improve the social security system so that development results benefit everyone

"Wearing a bracelet is like having an extra 'health housekeeper'." Liu Shulin (刘树林), who lives in Donggongsi Street (董公寺街道), Huichuan District (汇川区), Zunyi City (遵义市), Guizhou (贵州), is nearly seventy years old and has no children. The civil affairs department gave him a black smart bracelet, which added a bit of security and warmth to his solitary life.

"Some time ago, I fell at home, and the bracelet immediately sent out an alarm," said Liu Shulin (刘树林). "Community cadres and medical staff rushed over quickly."

Since 2023, the Huichuan District Civil Affairs Bureau (汇川区民政局) has equipped more than 600 scattered special hardship support personnel and elderly people living alone with age-appropriate smart bracelets, which can monitor blood pressure and heart rate in real time, and have functions such as one-key help, fall monitoring, and voice broadcasting. In addition, the Huichuan District Civil Affairs Bureau (汇川区民政局), in conjunction with insurance companies, has uniformly purchased inpatient care insurance for more than 1,400 special hardship support personnel in the district, forming a superimposed effect with the issuance of special hardship support funds, so that special hardship personnel have subsidies for living and guarantees for care.

Social security is a basic institutional guarantee for guaranteeing and improving people's livelihoods, maintaining social fairness, and enhancing people's well-being. It is an important institutional arrangement for promoting economic and social development and realizing the sharing of reform and development results by the broad masses of the people. China has woven the world's largest social security network. As people's needs for a high-quality life grow, the masses are not only concerned about whether social security "exists," but also more concerned about whether social security is "good" and "in place."

In the next five years, how will the connotation of social security be enriched, how will the level be improved, and how will the quality be improved?

Accelerate the development of a multi-level and multi-pillar pension insurance system, improve the multi-level medical security system, improve the social assistance system, and improve the service guarantee system for groups such as empty-nest elderly, children in difficult situations, and disabled people... The "15th Five-Year Plan" proposal makes comprehensive arrangements for improving the social security system. All regions and departments must adhere to the people-centered approach, continue to introduce a series of measures, and continuously improve the social security system.

--Adhere to the people first and universal participation.

Social security is related to the most concerning, most direct, and most realistic interests of the people. Focusing on the goal of covering everyone and everyone enjoying it, we will continue to promote the universal participation plan, promote urban-rural integration, include more people in the scope of security, and continuously enhance the fairness of social security. Focusing on key groups such as new employment form employees, flexible employees, and migrant workers, we will improve participation policy measures, attract more people to participate, and continuously improve the participation rate. Continue to expand the pilot project of occupational injury protection for new employment form employees.

--Adhere to doing our best and acting according to our capabilities.

China is still in and will be in the primary stage of socialism for a long time. Improving the social security system cannot be separated from this greatest reality. Improving the social security system should be based on the level of economic development and actual financial resources. We must neither stand still, haggle over every penny, and not spend the money that should be spent, nor be too ambitious, overdraw the future, and make promises that cannot be fulfilled. We must proceed in an orderly manner, persevere, and work persistently to improve the mechanism for determining and adjusting benefits, and continuously form phased results, so that the masses can see new changes and receive real benefits.

--Adhere to sustainable development and optimize services.

Sustainability is a basic requirement for the construction of the social security system, and it is related to the people's confidence and expectations in livelihood security; convenience is the basic goal of meeting the people's needs for social security public services. Continue to promote national unified management of basic pension insurance for enterprise employees, promote provincial unified management of basic medical insurance, continue to consolidate and improve provincial unified management of unemployment insurance and work injury insurance, actively develop the participation of third-party forces, and continuously improve the coverage of social security. Promote the standardization, standardization, and refinement of various social security tasks, improve the unified social insurance public service platform, and make it more convenient for the masses and enterprises to handle business.

…………

Chinese-style modernization is the modernization of common prosperity for all the people.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (党的十八大), China has promoted coordinated regional development, taken strong measures to guarantee and improve people's livelihoods, won the battle against poverty, and comprehensively built a moderately prosperous society in all respects, creating good conditions for promoting common prosperity.

Adhere to the people-centered development ideology, take benefiting the people as the fundamental value orientation, adhere to guaranteeing and improving people's livelihoods in development, anchor the goals, and continue to struggle. It is believed that in the next five years, China's comprehensive national strength will continue to increase, decisive progress will be made in basically realizing socialist modernization, and people's lives will be happier and better.

(Reporters Shen Zhilin (申智林), Zheng Yangyang (郑洋洋), Wang Xinyue (王欣悦), and Huang Xian (黄娴) of this newspaper participated in the writing)

Return to Top

China's Total Electricity Consumption Exceeded 10 Trillion kWh for the First Time in 2025

Beijing, January 17th (Reported by Ding Yiting (丁怡婷) of this newspaper) - The reporter learned from the National Energy Administration (国家能源局) that in 2025, China's total social electricity consumption exceeded 10 trillion kilowatt-hours for the first time, totaling 10368.2 billion kilowatt-hours, an increase of 5.0% year-on-year, which is also a first for a single country in the world.

Looking at electricity consumption by industry, the primary industry's electricity consumption was 149.4 billion kilowatt-hours, an increase of 9.9% year-on-year; the secondary industry's electricity consumption was 6636.6 billion kilowatt-hours, an increase of 3.7% year-on-year; the tertiary industry's electricity consumption was 1994.2 billion kilowatt-hours, an increase of 8.2% year-on-year; and the electricity consumption of urban and rural residents was 1588 billion kilowatt-hours, an increase of 6.3% year-on-year. The contribution of the tertiary industry and the electricity consumption of urban and rural residents to the growth of electricity consumption reached 50%.

"China's electricity consumption scale ranks first in the world. In July and August 2025, the total social electricity consumption exceeded one trillion kilowatt-hours for two consecutive months, which is also a first in the world," introduced Yang Kun (杨昆), Executive Vice Chairman of the China Electricity Council (中国电力企业联合会). In 2025, with the active development of new quality productive forces, the electricity demand in high-end manufacturing, the digital economy, and emerging technologies grew rapidly. The electricity consumption of wind power equipment manufacturing, the Internet, and related service industries increased by more than 30% year-on-year, and the growth rate of electricity consumption in the charging and swapping industry approached 50%. The new changes in the electricity consumption structure and the new scenarios of electricity consumption reflect that the industrial structure is accelerating towards high-tech and high value-added directions, and the vitality of emerging industries is being released, injecting momentum into economic growth.

Return to Top

Setting "Red Lines" and Establishing "Rules" for Selling Food in Livestreaming Rooms (Policy Q&A: Addressing Concerns)

By: 本报记者 林丽鹂

Reader Concerns

I often buy snacks and fresh food from live streaming rooms. Although it's convenient, there are many tricks, sometimes the goods don't match the description, and it's troublesome to return and protect my rights. Are there any policies to regulate this?

Live streaming e-commerce has expanded channels for consumers to purchase food, but issues such as false advertising and difficulty in protecting rights are also prominent. In response to issues of concern to consumers, the State Administration for Market Regulation (市场监管总局) recently issued the "Supervision and Administration Regulations on Live Streaming E-commerce Operators Implementing the Main Responsibility for Food Safety" (直播电商经营者落实食品安全主体责任监督管理规定), drawing a "red line and establishing rules" for live streaming e-commerce food broadcasts.

On January 16, the State Administration for Market Regulation (市场监管总局) held a special press conference on food safety to introduce that the regulations will include live streaming e-commerce platform operators, live streaming room operators, live streaming marketing personnel, and live streaming marketing personnel service agencies into the regulatory scope. From live streaming platforms to live streaming rooms, and then to anchors and MCN (Multi-Channel Network) organizations, all must fulfill their corresponding main responsibilities for food safety in accordance with the requirements of the regulations.

——"The anchor speaks carelessly, and the platform is helpless"? The regulations consolidate the main responsibility of the platform.

On the one hand, the platform must establish review and registration, training, risk control and other systems and measures, equip food safety management personnel, formulate a "Food Safety Risk Control List" (《食品安全风险管控清单》), and establish a "smart monitoring, investigation and scheduling, and rapid disposal" working mechanism. On the other hand, the regulations clarify the "responsibility field" of live streaming e-commerce platforms in the field of online food sales. Whether it is the goods in the live streaming room or the people in the live streaming room, the platform must manage them and do a good job in accordance with the requirements of the "prescribed actions" without any discount.

——Selling counterfeit and shoddy, expired food? The regulations clarify 13 types of prohibited foods and draw a "red line" for the sale of food in live streaming rooms.

Including food produced with non-food raw materials and added with toxic and harmful substances; food with excessive pathogenic microorganisms and heavy metals; expired, deteriorated, moldy and insect-infested food; diseased, dead or quarantined unqualified livestock, poultry, aquatic meat and its products; unlabeled pre-packaged food; food that the state explicitly prohibits the production and operation of; and so on.

——"Filter with goods", exaggerated publicity? The regulations detail 10 prohibitions and clarify the "bottom line" of live streaming behavior.

For example, it is not allowed to use technical means to change the true sensory properties of food; it is not allowed to imply that food has disease prevention and treatment functions or use medical terms; it is not allowed to claim health functions for non-health food; it is not allowed to confuse ordinary food, special food, and drugs; it is not allowed to falsely promote information such as the origin, ingredients, functions, and applicable population of food; it is not allowed to publish food inspection information issued by food inspection institutions that have not obtained qualification certification in accordance with the law; it is not allowed to publish food inspection data, results, reports, etc. in the form of food safety information; it is not allowed to jointly recommend food to consumers with food inspection institutions in the form of advertising or other forms. At the same time, it is clearly stipulated that information directly related to the physical health and life safety of consumers must be prompted in a prominent manner, and consumers must not be misled.

The regulations also construct a stepped penalty system to form a chain of responsibility traceability.

Return to Top

"Old hands" farming with plenty of new tricks (First-hand observations on implementing the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session)

By: 本报记者 刘以晴

The cold wind swept across the land, and the roar of agricultural machinery could be heard from time to time in the Xiazi Branch of the Daxia Livestock Farm in Qian'an County (乾安县), Songyuan (松原), Jilin (吉林).

"Liguang, come to my house for dinner!" Farmer Han Lijun (韩立军) shouted towards the field, "What are you busy with in this cold weather?"

His younger brother, Han Liguang (韩立光), poked his head out of the agricultural machinery: "The farmland has a 'good foundation,' and the agricultural machinery must also be well maintained to prepare for spring plowing!"

The "good foundation" that Han Liguang (韩立光) mentioned refers to the deep plowing of straw back into the field with agricultural machinery after the autumn harvest. "With the integration of water and fertilizer, we are more confident in this year's harvest."

The "Suggestions" of the 20th Fourth Plenary Session of the Communist Party of China (党的二十届四中全会) proposed: "Improve the comprehensive agricultural production capacity and quality benefits" and "Build agriculture into a modern large industry."

The two brothers have deep feelings about this. "A good harvest is hard-won." Han Lijun (韩立军) clearly remembers that the cultivated land in Qian'an County (乾安县) used to be patches of "alkali bumps," with scarce wells and severe soil salinization.

"If we want to increase production and income, our old farm must find a new way," said Liu Qilei (刘启雷), general manager of Daxia Livestock Farm Agricultural Comprehensive Development Co., Ltd. (大遐畜牧场农业综合开发有限公司).

The change comes from technological empowerment. Under the guidance of Songyuan City (松原市), Daxia Livestock Farm (大遐畜牧场) cooperated with the Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences (吉林省农业科学院) to introduce water and fertilizer integration technology suitable for arid and saline-alkali areas to increase production and efficiency. The fertilizer is dissolved in water, and then, according to the soil's lack of water and fertilizer, the nutrients are "fed" to the roots of the crops through drip irrigation pipes. "It's like giving the land an 'IV drip'," Han Liguang (韩立光) said. With enough water and fertilizer, the crops not only have larger ears and higher yields, but also have enhanced resistance to lodging and drought.

The "old hands" who know how to farm have also learned many new skills. Han Liguang (韩立光) was hired by the farm as an agricultural machinery operator. After participating in training, he is now proficient in operating large agricultural machinery such as spring plowing planters and autumn deep plowing machines. "Speaking of deep plowing straw, driving an agricultural machine, you can plow five or six hundred acres of land a day." After Han Lijun (韩立军) transferred the land to the farm for management, he studied sheep farming techniques, with an annual income of over 50,000 yuan. Now, he is discussing ecological farming with his peers.

At the same time, the Xiazi Branch (遐字分场) promoted road connectivity and canal connection to further improve agricultural infrastructure. "With a solid foundation and strong 'muscles and bones,' new technologies can take root," said Zhang Yu (张宇), deputy director of the Qian'an County Agriculture and Rural Bureau (乾安县农业农村局).

In the autumn harvest of 2025, the average yield per mu of corn using water and fertilizer integration technology in Daxia Livestock Farm (大遐畜牧场) increased from 1200 jin to 1600 jin, and the fertilizer utilization efficiency increased by 30%. Moreover, after three consecutive years of application of the technology, the thickness of the cultivated layer of the land increased to 30 centimeters.

As dusk fell, the big pot of vegetables was steaming hot, and the whole family sat around chatting enthusiastically. Third Uncle Han Shifang (韩世方) started the conversation: "It's really different to farm now!"

"In the past, our family worked from dawn till dusk, and could irrigate 100 mu of land in a week. Now, by pressing the remote control, water and fertilizer can be directly 'transported' to the roots of the seedlings," said Han Liguang (韩立光).

"Wang Wei (王伟) in our village can now manage nearly a thousand acres of land by himself. Farming is becoming more and more technological, and life is getting better and better!" said Han Lijun (韩立军).

Jilin Province (吉林省) has promoted the application of water and fertilizer integration technology as a key measure to increase the yield per unit area on a large scale. As of October 2025, the promotion area of the "water and fertilizer integration + dense planting" technology in Jilin Province (吉林省) reached 11.38 million mu.

"To thoroughly study, publicize, and implement the spirit of the 20th Fourth Plenary Session of the Communist Party of China (党的二十届四中全会), we will continue to promote agricultural modernization, ensure stable and high grain yields, and make the lives of farmers better," said Zhao Hongwei (赵宏伟), director of the Songyuan Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (松原市农业农村局).

Return to Top

Striving for Excellence in Education (Today's Commentary)

By: 桂 常

The State Council executive meeting held on January 9 this year focused on resolving the urgent needs and concerns of permanent residents who have not yet obtained household registration, and clearly proposed improving education policies for children moving with their families. Promoting the provision of basic public services by the place of permanent residence alleviates the worries of families troubled by household registration issues, demonstrating the pursuit of "people's livelihood as the most important thing."

Currently, China has built the largest and highest-quality education system in the world, and more and more good schools are being built "at the doorstep," making parents more relaxed about their children's education. Free preschool education for one year benefits more than 12 million children, and tuition fees at top public universities are only 1/10 to 1/20 of those of their foreign counterparts. The quality of primary and secondary education in China ranks among the top in the world, and its effectiveness in cultivating high-quality talents is obvious to all.

"Inclusive" and "high-quality" are the keywords of China's education development, giving every ordinary person the opportunity to shine in life.

The "15th Five-Year Plan" (十五五规划) recommendations make arrangements around running education that the people are satisfied with. Implementing a series of policies and measures, such as steadily expanding the scope of free education and promoting the expansion and quality improvement of basic education, will surely create a new picture of people's livelihood where learning is "excellent" and teaching is valued, and the temperature of development will double the power to move forward.

Return to Top

Testing Cars in the Frozen Wilderness: "Cold Resources" Heat Up (Striving for the "15th Five-Year Plan" - First-hand Observations)

By: ​本报记者 郭晓龙 本报通讯员 于福庆

Expand channels for realizing the value of ecological products 因地制宜 (yīn dì zhì yí - "adapt to local conditions," to take measures appropriate to local conditions).

——Excerpt from the "15th Five-Year Plan" proposal

Heihe City (黑河市), Heilongjiang Province (黑龙江省), morning temperature is minus 29 degrees Celsius, the ice on the river is more than one meter thick.

At the test site of Heilongjiang Honghe Valley Automobile Testing Co., Ltd. (黑龙江红河谷汽车测试股份有限公司), Geely Automobile (吉利汽车) engineer Wang Qingxi (王庆喜) is wearing thick cold-proof clothing, staring at his laptop. On the field, test vehicles speed past, kicking up clouds of snow; on the computer screen, the discharge efficiency curve of the car battery at low temperature fluctuates.

"In the past, there weren't so many car companies coming to test vehicles. During the six-month winter, we could only rely on tourism and border trade for a living," said Tao Chuanguo (陶传国), Director of the Office of the Commerce Bureau of Heihe City (黑河市商务局). The income from ice and snow tourism is concentrated around New Year's Day and the Spring Festival, and border trade is greatly affected by fluctuations in the international environment.

The turning point came from the development of the new energy vehicle industry, with a surge in demand for vehicle cold resistance performance testing. "Our place has temperatures below minus 20 degrees Celsius, a seven-month freezing period, and low wind speeds in the basin, which attracts many car companies to do testing," said Liu Xingming (刘兴明), Deputy Director of the Heihe City Bureau of Industry and Information Technology (黑河市工信局).

"The 'cold' that we worry about is a rare resource in the country," said Liu Xingming (刘兴明). It was not easy to make good use of the "cold resource." Initially, Heihe (黑河) could only provide simple sites, lacking professional equipment, and the accuracy of the data was greatly reduced. In 2019, the Heihe (黑河) municipal government organized a delegation to learn from Northern Europe, and upon their return, they decided to develop cold-weather vehicle testing into a distinctive industry.

Relevant regulations were introduced to manage test sites, market order, and the protection of corporate rights and interests; services also had to keep up. The Bureau of Industry and Information Technology (工信局) established a vehicle testing section, "moving" the office into a WeChat group, with staff responding 24 hours a day. "Not long ago, a car company had an equipment failure late at night. After seeing the message, we coordinated a technical team to repair it, without delaying the subsequent testing," said Li Nan (李楠), head of the vehicle testing section.

To meet the growing testing needs of car companies, Heihe (黑河) has built 34 professional test bases and more than 120 performance test roads. "We are striving to create a world-class environment, allowing companies to complete the most stringent winter tests here," said Liu Xingming (刘兴明). The cold-region national-level closed autonomous driving test site has also been established in Heihe (黑河), with 14 scene units such as tunnels and S-shaped curves, including 48 test scenarios.

Heihe (黑河) has become an important carrier for automobile cold-region testing in the country, and has established cooperation with more than 170 companies at home and abroad. "This winter, 92 domestic and foreign vehicle and component companies have arrived in Heihe (黑河), with 5,000 person-times of testing personnel and more than 3,100 test vehicles," said Liu Xingming (刘兴明).

When winter ends, can testing still be done? In September 2025, the four-season low-temperature test site began trial operation. "Car companies don't have to go to the Southern Hemisphere for testing in the summer, and the R&D cycle is shortened by 30%-40%," said Zhao Xinhong (赵鑫宏), general manager of Honghe Valley Company (红河谷公司). European car companies are also turning their attention to Heihe (黑河).

With the industry thriving, life is becoming more prosperous. Zhang Shoucheng (张守诚), a villager in Xiaowusili Village (小乌斯力村), became a test assistant, earning more than 3,000 yuan more per month; Li Meng (李猛) from a car repair shop learned new energy vehicle repair technology, and car companies are scrambling for him... Heihe (黑河) has successfully held five cold-weather vehicle testing festivals, and events such as the China Mass Production Car Performance Competition have been held, integrating vehicle testing with culture, tourism, and sports, driving employment of more than 1,000 people and increasing revenue for related industries by 600 million yuan.

On the streets of Heihe (黑河), test vehicles with special car film are a sight to behold. During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, the path of local industrial development is becoming clearer: improving the supporting facilities of the smart testing park, achieving full-season coverage of the testing cycle, promoting the construction of intelligent networked and autonomous driving testing facilities, and further enriching extreme environment testing scenarios... In the icy and snowy land, new development opportunities are constantly emerging.

This issue coordinated by: Zhang Anyu (张安宇)

Return to Top

Making Domestically Produced Cars More Cold-Resistant and Durable (Eyewitness Says)

By: 王庆喜

This is my ninth winter in Heihe (黑河). Every year in late November, I "fly" here like a migratory bird, witnessing this city gradually transform from a simple testing point into a large-scale cold-region testing base.

Initially, the conditions here were poor, the equipment was old, the road conditions for testing were not satisfactory, and the services were limited... Gradually, Heihe's professional closed testing ground became more scaled, the road surface slope and friction coefficient had clear standards, and the testing environment was standardized; Honghe Valley Company developed tools such as ice and snow pavement measuring equipment, and the data accuracy was improved; the National Automobile Quality Supervision and Inspection Center (国家汽车质量监督检验中心) also settled in Heihe (黑河), and the test data can be directly used for product certification, eliminating the need to run to other places for retesting, shortening the research and development cycle.

Now coming to Heihe (黑河) is like returning to a "second home": after getting off the plane, there are special industrial teams to connect with you, technical support personnel are on standby at any time in the test field, it is convenient to repair new energy vehicles in the surrounding repair shops, and commonly used parts can be obtained on the same day.

I heard that the four-season low-temperature test site has begun trial operation, maybe in the future, I won’t have to fly to the southern hemisphere for testing in the summer. I hope Heihe (黑河) can make more efforts to build more extreme environment test scenarios, simulate blizzards and freezing rain, and build a right-hand drive vehicle test track so that export models can also be tested.

Extreme cold is a natural advantage here, but what is even more valuable is the people. They respond to our demands as soon as possible; they offer advice and solve problems together when we encounter difficulties. We will also take root here for a long time to make domestic cars more cold-resistant and durable, 深耕本土 (shēn gēng běn tǔ - "deeply cultivate the local soil," to focus on developing the domestic market) and set sail overseas.

(Interview and compilation by Guo Xiaolong (郭晓龙), reporter of this newspaper)

Return to Top

Promoting the Transformation of Natural Endowments into Industrial Factors (Expert Commentary)

By: 赵泽斌

According to relevant research reports, the total scale of China's ice and snow industry has increased from 270 billion yuan in 2015 to 980 billion yuan in 2024. The ice and snow economy is evolving from a traditional consumption-based business format to a full-chain, multi-business format integration, and is expected to reach 1.5 trillion yuan by 2030. Promoting the transformation of ice and snow "cold resources" into industrial "hot power" is of great significance for exploring and releasing the potential of regional resource endowments.

During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, the ice and snow economy will be upgraded from resource advantages to innovation advantages. We should adhere to adapting to local conditions and innovation leadership, fully explore the precise combination points of natural resources and emerging industries, future industries, and transform extreme cold, ice and snow, permafrost and other natural conditions into unique functional elements in industrial cultivation and growth, so as to realize the transformation of natural endowments into industrial elements; promote the deep integration of the industrial chain, service chain, and value chain, and unblock the chain group synergy bottlenecks between the ice and snow industry and new-generation information technology, new energy vehicles, new energy storage and other industries.

(The author is a professor at the School of Economics and Management, Harbin Institute of Technology (哈尔滨工业大学), interviewed and compiled by Guo Xiaolong (郭晓龙), a reporter from this newspaper)

Return to Top

New Developments in Cross-Provincial Sharing of Individual Employee Medical Insurance Accounts (Policy Interpretation)

By: 本报记者 孙秀艳

Recently, the National Healthcare Security Administration (国家医保局) and the Ministry of Finance (财政部) issued a notice requiring efforts to improve the inter-provincial mutual assistance of basic medical insurance personal accounts for employees, and to further expand the scope of mutual assistance. In response to questions from readers, a reporter interviewed the relevant person in charge of the National Healthcare Security Administration (国家医保局).

Q: What is family mutual assistance for employee medical insurance personal accounts? What are the limitations on the scope of mutual assistance?

A: Since the establishment of China's employee medical insurance system in 1998, it has implemented a security model combining social pooling and personal accounts. Employee medical insurance personal account funds can be used to pay for the portion of medical treatment and drug purchases borne by the individual. In 2021, the General Office of the State Council issued a document expanding the scope of use of employee medical insurance personal account funds from the employee themselves to their "spouse, parents, and children" who participate in basic medical insurance, meaning that medical insurance personal account funds can be used for mutual assistance by family members. In July 2024, the General Office of the State Council issued another document, further expanding the scope of relatives for employee medical insurance personal account mutual assistance from "spouse, parents, and children" to their "close relatives" who participate in basic medical insurance. According to the Civil Code, spouses, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, maternal grandparents, grandchildren, and maternal grandchildren are considered close relatives.

Q: With the nationwide promotion of inter-provincial mutual assistance, what are the new changes in related policies?

A: In order to solve the dilemma of "sleeping funds" in employee personal accounts and promote better benefits for the people from medical insurance funds, relevant departments have been promoting inter-provincial mutual assistance. On December 2, 2024, the National Healthcare Security Administration (国家医保局) officially launched national inter-provincial mutual assistance for medical insurance personal accounts in Suzhou (苏州), Jiangsu (江苏). Insured individuals can use their medical insurance wallets to transfer funds to close relatives who are also participants in basic medical insurance, realizing the mutual use of medical insurance personal account funds.

There are two new changes in this notice that are worth noting.

First, there are new requirements for the management of mutual assistance relationships. The notice not only clarifies that the scope of application for inter-provincial mutual assistance is close relatives of employees participating in basic medical insurance, but also stipulates that mutual assistance relationships can be established or terminated voluntarily by both parties. The relationship is automatically terminated when the insured person's medical insurance relationship changes, and one person can establish mutual assistance relationships with multiple people.

Second, provisions have been made for setting mutual assistance quotas. The notice clarifies that a personal medical insurance wallet should be established relying on the unified national medical insurance information platform, and the mutual assistance provider sets a mutual assistance quota for the recipient through the medical insurance wallet. It is stipulated that personal medical insurance wallets should implement virtual quota management, and the relevant regulations on the management of medical insurance fund accounts must be strictly implemented, and medical insurance funds must not be actually transferred into personal medical insurance wallets.

Q: What is the relationship between mutual assistance funds and the money in personal accounts, and what is the role of mutual assistance funds?

A: According to the notice, employee medical insurance personal account funds can be used to pay for the personal medical expenses incurred by close relatives in designated medical institutions, the personal expenses incurred in purchasing compliant drugs, medical devices, and medical consumables in designated retail pharmacies, and the personal contributions to basic medical insurance for urban and rural residents and long-term care insurance.

It should be reminded that personal account mutual assistance only shares funds and does not involve the qualifications, benefits, and policies of medical insurance reimbursement. Both parties need to use their own medical insurance cards to enjoy benefits in accordance with regulations. In simple terms, "money can be shared, but cards cannot be shared."

Currently, many provinces (autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government) have achieved inter-provincial mutual assistance in some cities through the medical insurance wallet function. According to the requirements of the notice, inter-provincial mutual assistance funds will be cleared uniformly by the state and cleared at the provincial and municipal levels, referring to the inter-provincial settlement process for out-of-pocket medical expenses, and carried out simultaneously with the inter-provincial settlement work for out-of-pocket medical expenses. At present, all work is being fully promoted, and according to the current work progress, efforts will be made to achieve national inter-provincial mutual assistance within this year.

Return to Top

China Starts Construction of First Nuclear Power Unit This Year

Beijing, January 17th (Reporter Gu Yekai (谷业凯)) - It was learned from China National Nuclear Corporation (中核集团) that on the 16th, the first nuclear power unit to commence construction in China in the opening year of the "15th Five-Year Plan" – Unit 1 of the Jiangsu Xuwei Nuclear Energy Heating and Power Plant (江苏徐圩核能供热发电厂) – began pouring concrete for its nuclear island. This marks the entry of the world's first large-scale nuclear energy and petrochemical industry coupling project into the main construction phase.

The Jiangsu Xuwei Nuclear Energy Heating and Power Plant (江苏徐圩核能供热发电厂) is the world's first pressurized water reactor and high-temperature gas-cooled reactor coupling project, the world's first commercial promotion project for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, and the world's first nuclear power project to adopt an integrated plant construction model under the nuclear power general contracting model. The project is a nuclear power plant primarily for industrial heating, while also providing electricity. It uses China's completely independent intellectual property third-generation nuclear power technology "Hualong One (华龙一号)" and fourth-generation nuclear power technology high-temperature gas-cooled reactor combination. It prepares saturated steam by heating desalinated water with the main steam of "Hualong One (华龙一号)," and then uses the main steam of the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor to reheat the saturated steam. Once completed, under design conditions, it will simultaneously have high-quality steam supply capacity and power generation capacity, officially opening China's transition of nuclear energy from power generation as the main focus to diversified supply.

Return to Top

Second-hand car transactions exceed 20 million units.

This newspaper Beijing (北京) January 17th (Reporter Wang Zheng (王政)) The reporter learned from the China Automobile Dealers Association (中国汽车流通协会): In 2025, the transaction scale of China's second-hand car market exceeded the 20 million mark, reaching a new historical high. Among them, the annual transaction volume of new energy second-hand cars reached 1.6 million vehicles, accounting for 7.9% of the total annual transaction volume of second-hand cars.

In 2025, the cumulative transaction volume of second-hand cars was 20.108 million vehicles, an increase of 2.52% year-on-year, and the cumulative transaction amount was 1289.79 billion yuan. Among them, the cumulative transaction of passenger cars was 15.7397 million vehicles; the cumulative transaction of commercial vehicles was 2.8692 million vehicles, an increase of 7.7% year-on-year. Historical data shows that in 2016, China's second-hand car transaction volume was 10.39 million vehicles, breaking the 10 million mark for the first time.

Luo Lei (罗磊), Vice President of the China Automobile Dealers Association (中国汽车流通协会), introduced that the second-hand car market in 2025 presents four characteristics: the trend of cross-regional circulation continues to strengthen, the proportion of new energy second-hand cars continues to increase, the average transaction price of second-hand cars tends to be stable, and the level of inventory management continues to be optimized. In December 2025, the transfer rate of second-hand cars rose to 34.9%, an increase of 4.7 percentage points compared with the same period last year. Luo Lei (罗磊) said that the increase in regional circulation vitality not only effectively released the circulation value of second-hand cars, but also alleviated the inventory pressure of local dealers; it also reflects that consumers' choice of second-hand cars has broken through regional restrictions, and the overall market activity continues to increase.

Return to Top

Let the people live a better life.

By: 本报记者 申少铁 邱超奕 杨彦帆

Realizing the people's aspiration for a better life is the starting point and ultimate goal of Chinese-style modernization.

Xi Jinping (习近平) General Secretary emphasized: "The people's aspiration for a better life is our goal. Grasping reform and promoting development are, in the final analysis, to enable the people to live a better life."

Grasping people's livelihood is also grasping the economy. Improving people's livelihood creates demand, impetus, and a stable social environment for economic development.

The "15th Five-Year Plan" proposal makes strategic deployments for "increasing efforts to guarantee and improve people's livelihood, and steadily promoting common prosperity for all the people." We must resolutely implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, stand firmly on the people's position, guarantee and improve people's livelihood in development, and continuously improve the quality of people's lives.

Grasping the Foundation of People's Livelihood

Adhering to employment first, promoting high-quality and full employment

Four months ago, college graduate Chen Ke'er (陈柯尔) returned to his hometown of Shangyu District (上虞区), Shaoxing (绍兴), Zhejiang (浙江) to seek employment.

The local human resources and social security department provided assistance as soon as possible, implementing relevant subsidies and using artificial intelligence to match local job positions, providing a recommended job list.

Soon after, Chen Ke'er (陈柯尔) successfully joined the Shangyu Semiconductor Materials Research Center (上虞半导体材料研究中心). "I didn't expect public employment services to be so intelligent and efficient," he said.

During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, China exceeded its target for new urban employment, laying a good foundation for maintaining overall stability in the employment situation.

In the coming period, China's labor supply will remain high, employment pressure will still exist, and structural employment contradictions will become more prominent.

Employment is the foundation of people's livelihood.

The "15th Five-Year Plan" proposal states: "Promote high-quality and full employment." The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee made deployments for promoting high-quality and full employment in the next five years. To implement new requirements and tasks, we must deeply implement the employment-first strategy, improve the employment promotion mechanism, and promote better qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth in employment.

--Expand the increment.

Drone swarm flight planner, intelligent manufacturing system operator... In August 2025, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (人力资源和社会保障部) and relevant departments organized the development of 95 national occupational standards and publicly solicited opinions, including several new occupations and new types of work.

Currently, emerging industries such as new energy and the low-altitude economy are booming, and future industries such as quantum technology and artificial intelligence are in the ascendant, giving rise to a large number of knowledge-intensive jobs. We should seize opportunities, stimulate the potential of new business forms and models to create employment, and cultivate more new employment growth points in fields such as the digital economy, high-end manufacturing, and modern services.

--Improve quality.

Since 2025, from deploying the "Skills Light Up the Future" training campaign to holding the 3rd National Skills Competition, to 19 provinces adding more than 60 industrial education evaluation skills ecological chains, China's skilled talent pool has continued to grow.

The key to improving employment quality lies in effectively solving the structural employment contradiction of "there is work but no one to do it, and there are people but no work to do." In education, deepen the integration of industry and education, school-enterprise linkage, and enhance students' vocational adaptability and job competence; in vocational skills, vigorously promote the new enterprise apprenticeship system and comprehensively improve workers' quality and practical skills; in rights protection, strengthen the protection of workers' rights, especially those in new employment forms.

--Grasp the key points.

In the first 11 months of 2025, the national urban surveyed unemployment rate averaged 5.2%, lower than the expected control target of 5.5%. This is inseparable from the efforts of human resources and social security departments to strengthen employment work for key groups such as college graduates, migrant workers, and people lifted out of poverty.

Stabilizing key employment groups stabilizes the basic employment situation. In the next five years, the employment of college graduates and other young people should be the top priority; smooth channels for migrant workers to go out for work and find employment locally, and stabilize the scale of employment for people lifted out of poverty; strengthen employment assistance for groups with employment difficulties, and make good use of public welfare posts to provide bottom-line assistance.

Focusing on the Needs of People's Livelihood

Improving the service system and promoting high-quality population development

In the "Elderly Care Home" (颐养之家) in Fangcheng New Village (坊城新村), Xiping Town (西坪镇), Yunzhou District (云州区), Datong (大同), Shanxi (山西), several elderly people sat on benches in the corridor after dinner, basking in the sun and chatting. "I'm doing well here. Someone helps me with laundry and cleaning, and I'm taken to the hospital in time when I'm sick," said Wu Yuzhi (吴玉芝), an 86-year-old woman.

Building 22 urban community happiness projects, 38 rural "Elderly Care Homes," and 266 elderly meal assistance points, increasing the proportion of nursing beds in elderly care institutions to 54.5%... At present, Datong (大同) has basically built a three-level service network based on home, relying on the community, and supported by institutions.

China has more than 310 million elderly people aged 60 and above. During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, China's aging will further deepen, increasing the demand for services such as elderly care and medical care. At the same time, young parents increasingly need modern, socialized childcare services.

Elderly care, childcare, and medical treatment are not only urgent and difficult problems for the people, but also related to the high-quality development of the population. The "15th Five-Year Plan" proposal puts forward a series of measures: optimize the supply of basic elderly care services, improve the urban and rural elderly care service network; optimize fertility support policies and incentives; develop inclusive childcare and integrated childcare services, and gradually improve relevant systems; accelerate the construction of a healthy China...

Find out the "real needs" and concentrate efforts on solving the most prominent and urgent livelihood problems.

"My child receives professional care in an inclusive childcare institution, and I can pick up my child on the way home from work every day," said Ms. Li (李女士), a mother of two living in Kaizhou District (开州区), Chongqing (重庆), who did the math. "Maternity checkups and delivery costs can be reimbursed, and I received maternity allowance some time ago, which has reduced the burden a lot."

In the next step, Kaizhou District (开州区) will continue to explore the construction of public-private community-embedded childcare centers that "communities provide venues, professional institutions operate, and the government supervises," while improving the maternity insurance system, optimizing fertility support policies and incentives, and effectively reducing the cost of family birth and raising children.

Focus on "more fairness, balance, inclusiveness, and accessibility" to provide the public with high-quality medical, elderly care, and other services.

An Guilan (安桂兰), who lives in Haigang District (海港区), Qinhuangdao (秦皇岛), Hebei (河北) Province, has suffered from eye diseases for many years. Thanks to the construction of the National Regional Medical Center project - Qinhuangdao Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Oriental Hospital (北京中医药大学东方医院秦皇岛医院), she received treatment from experts from Beijing (北京) without leaving the city, and is currently recovering well.

"During the '15th Five-Year Plan' period, the service system will further highlight public welfare and balance, making it more convenient and efficient for the public to see a doctor," said Lei Haichao (雷海潮), Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Director of the National Health Commission (国家卫生健康委).

Weaving a Tight Safety Net for People's Livelihood

Improving the social security system so that development results benefit everyone

"Wearing a bracelet is like having an extra 'health housekeeper'," said Liu Shulin (刘树林), who lives in Donggongsi Street (董公寺街道), Huichuan District (汇川区), Zunyi (遵义), Guizhou (贵州) Province, who is nearly seventy years old and has no children. The civil affairs department gave him a black smart bracelet, which added a bit of security and warmth to his solitary life.

"Some time ago, I fell at home, and the bracelet immediately sent out an alarm," said Liu Shulin (刘树林). "Community cadres and medical staff rushed over quickly."

Since 2023, the Huichuan District Civil Affairs Bureau (汇川区民政局) has equipped more than 600 scattered special hardship support personnel and elderly people living alone with smart bracelets suitable for the elderly, which can monitor blood pressure and heart rate in real time, and have functions such as one-key help, fall monitoring, and voice broadcast. In addition, the Huichuan District Civil Affairs Bureau (汇川区民政局), in conjunction with insurance companies, has purchased unified inpatient care insurance for more than 1,400 special hardship support personnel in the district, forming an overlapping effect with the issuance of special hardship support funds, so that special hardship personnel have subsidies for living and guarantees for care.

Social security is a basic institutional guarantee for guaranteeing and improving people's livelihood, maintaining social fairness, and enhancing people's well-being. It is an important institutional arrangement for promoting economic and social development and realizing the sharing of reform and development results by the broad masses of the people. China has woven the world's largest social security network. As people's needs for a high-quality life grow, the masses are not only concerned about whether social security "exists," but also more concerned about whether social security is "good" and "in place."

In the next five years, how will the connotation of social security be enriched, how will the level be improved, and how will the quality be improved?

Accelerate the development of a multi-level and multi-pillar old-age insurance system, improve the multi-level medical security system, improve the social assistance system, and improve the service guarantee system for groups such as empty-nest elderly, children in difficulty, and people with disabilities... The "15th Five-Year Plan" proposal makes comprehensive deployments for improving the social security system. All regions and departments must adhere to the people-centered approach, continue to introduce a series of measures, and continuously improve the social security system.

--Adhere to putting the people first and universal participation.

Social security is related to the most concerning, most direct, and most realistic interests of the people. Around the goal of covering all people and everyone enjoying it, continue to promote the universal participation plan, promote urban-rural integration, include more people in the scope of protection, and continuously enhance the fairness of social security. Focus on key groups such as new employment form employees, flexible employees, and migrant workers, improve participation policy measures, attract more people to participate, and continuously improve the participation rate. Continue to expand the pilot project of occupational injury protection for new employment form employees.

--Adhere to doing our best and acting according to our capabilities.

China is still in and will be in the primary stage of socialism for a long time. Improving the social security system cannot be separated from this greatest reality. Improving the social security system must start from the level of economic development and the actual financial resources. We must not stand still, be stingy, and not spend the money that should be spent, nor should we be too ambitious, overdraw the future, and make empty promises. We must proceed in an orderly manner, persevere, and work for a long time, improve the mechanism for determining and adjusting treatment, and continuously form phased results, so that the masses can see new changes and receive real benefits.

--Adhere to sustainable development and optimize services.

Sustainability is a basic requirement for the construction of the social security system, and it is related to the people's confidence and expectations in livelihood security; convenience is the basic goal of meeting the people's needs for social security public services. Continue to promote the national unified management of basic old-age insurance for enterprise employees, promote provincial-level unified management of basic medical insurance, continue to consolidate and improve provincial-level unified management of unemployment insurance and work-related injury insurance, actively develop the participation of third-party forces, and continuously improve the coverage of social security. Promote the standardization, standardization, and refinement of various social security tasks, improve the unified social insurance public service platform, and make it more convenient for the public and enterprises to handle business.

…………

Chinese-style modernization is the modernization of common prosperity for all the people.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China has promoted coordinated regional development, taken strong measures to guarantee and improve people's livelihood, won the battle against poverty, and comprehensively built a moderately prosperous society in all respects, creating good conditions for promoting common prosperity.

Adhere to the people-centered development thought, take benefiting the people as the fundamental value orientation, adhere to guaranteeing and improving people's livelihood in development, anchor the goal, and continue to struggle. It is believed that in the next five years, China's comprehensive national strength will continue to increase, decisive progress will be made in basically realizing socialist modernization, and people's lives will be happier and better.

(Reporters Shen Zhilin (申智林), Zheng Yangyang (郑洋洋), Wang Xinyue (王欣悦), and Huang Xian (黄娴) of this newspaper participated in the writing)

Return to Top

"2026 National Online New Year Shopping Festival" to be Held

This newspaper reported from Beijing on January 17th (Reporter Wang Ke (王珂)): This reporter recently learned from the Ministry of Commerce (商务部): From January 19th to March 4th, the Ministry of Commerce will, together with relevant units, jointly guide the holding of the "2026 National Online New Year Shopping Festival." As the first key online event of "Shopping in China" this year, this year's New Year Shopping Festival will focus on four themes: promoting traditional culture, enriching quality supply, revitalizing consumption scenarios, and connecting domestic and foreign markets. Various regions and platforms will organize a series of characteristic activities that are popular among the masses to further stimulate consumption potential, improve consumption quality, and enrich consumption content.

This year's New Year Shopping Festival will adopt a "1+N" format. "1" refers to the national launch ceremony held in Lanzhou (兰州), Gansu (甘肃). The five northwestern provinces and e-commerce platforms will centrally release supporting activities to create a New Year's shopping feast that integrates the ancient charm of the Silk Road and the vitality of e-commerce. "N" refers to the fact that various regions and platforms will launch a variety of colorful and diverse supporting activities around the Spring Festival's "eating, living, traveling, shopping, and entertainment" needs, creating a "New Year's Flavor Map" and "New Year's Goods List," carrying out intangible cultural heritage performances and cultural and creative product sales, so that Spring Festival consumption is both full of "fireworks" and "cultural flavor."

At the same time, the Ministry of Commerce (商务部) will integrate "Silk Road E-Commerce Celebrates the New Year" and guide e-commerce platforms, major business districts, national pavilions of "Silk Road E-Commerce" partner countries, and live-streaming e-commerce bases to carry out activities such as New Year's goods going overseas and Silk Road good products Spring Festival markets, amplify the Spring Festival intangible cultural heritage effect, promote the global sharing of Chinese New Year goods, and create a joyful and festive atmosphere for the Spring Festival.

Return to Top

"A Key Force in Driving Local Economic Development and Improving People's Lives" (Belt and Road Initiative: First Report)

By: 本报记者 白元琪

Roads crisscross, traffic flows like weaving threads, the roar of machines and the din of voices never cease, and a surge of development can be felt everywhere... Stepping into the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone (SSEZ) in Cambodia (柬埔寨西哈努克港经济特区), or "West Port Special Zone (西港特区)" as it is often called, first-time visitors are often amazed by its busyness and vitality. It's hard to imagine that 18 years ago, there were no roads, no water, no electricity, and no internet here.

At the celebration ceremony for over 200 companies entering the West Port Special Zone (西港特区) in 2025, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet (洪玛奈) stated that the West Port Special Zone (西港特区) is a "key force driving local economic development and improving people's lives, and a model project for Cambodia and China to jointly build the 'Belt and Road' initiative."

Over the years, with the joint construction of China and Cambodia, the supporting facilities of the West Port Special Zone (西港特区) have been gradually improved, growing into a modern industrial park covering diverse industries such as auto parts and tires, hardware and machinery, building materials and home furnishings, new materials, and medical supplies. The resident enterprises have provided 35,000 jobs. At the same time, these enterprises are also constantly transforming and upgrading, introducing new equipment and technologies, and playing a greater demonstration role in the construction of Cambodia's "Industrial Development Corridor."

Rapid Improvement of Vocational Skills—

From "Operating a Machine" to "Managing a Workshop"

Put on gloves, check the fixture, install the sample, set the parameters—a series of actions are clean and efficient. In the laboratory of 3L Medical Products (Cambodia) Co., Ltd. (3L医用制品（柬埔寨）公司), Yin Qinpi (尹钦披), the quality inspection manager, started the tensile testing machine after confirming that the sample was installed firmly. On the screen, the curve slowly rose, eventually reaching the preset standard. "The sample is qualified!" Yin Qinpi (尹钦披) reported the test results.

Since settling in the West Port Special Zone (西港特区) in 2013, the company has continued to develop and has grown into a modern enterprise with approximately 600 employees, with products covering more than 20 categories such as protective clothing, masks, surgical films, and protective sleeves. The company's localization rate has also continued to increase, with Cambodian employees currently accounting for more than 90%. In order to cultivate more skilled and management talent, since 2017, the company has arranged for Cambodian employees to go to Jiangxi (江西), China, in batches for 6 months of Chinese language and professional skills training.

Yin Qinpi (尹钦披) is an old employee cultivated by this company. At the beginning of his employment, he had the opportunity to go to Jiangxi (江西), China, for training. Yin Qinpi (尹钦披) said that his experience in China not only broadened his horizons but also helped him lay a technical foundation. After returning to Cambodia, he started as an ordinary quality inspector and, under the patient guidance of Chinese technicians, gradually grew into the quality inspection manager.

In the protective sleeve production workshop, Udom (乌多姆), the workshop director, shuttles between multiple production lines, managing more than 200 employees. "When I first joined the company, I only knew the simplest procedures and was afraid of complex equipment," he said. Under the careful guidance of Chinese technicians, he gradually mastered the entire production process from raw materials to finished products. "Now I can not only stand alone but also bring out a group of business backbones."

Yang Hua (杨华), the person in charge of the company, introduced that the Chinese side implements a job promotion system, and all personnel to be promoted must complete a 3-month systematic training. "From product structure and process flow to clinical medical common sense and medical product usage standards, each item must be assessed one by one, and only those who pass can take up the post."

As the West Port Special Zone (西港特区) gradually expands and improves in quality, this enterprise is also planning to transform and upgrade. "To improve production efficiency, we plan to import automatic tape machines from China and add 6 sets of visual inspection equipment to comprehensively improve inspection efficiency and accuracy," Yang Hua (杨华) introduced. The company will also deploy a third-generation threading and lacing integrated machine to further improve the automation level and manufacturing accuracy of protective sleeve production.

Significant Improvement in Employees' Lives—

From "Living in Tin Houses and Thatched Cottages" to "Building Brick Houses"

Industrial development is also quietly changing the daily lives of company employees. "In the past, I had to squeeze into a minibus to go to work, and the one-way commute took more than an hour; now motorcycles are standard, and the 'motorcycle army' during the morning and evening rush hours has become a scenic line in the West Port Special Zone (西港特区)," Su Meng (素萌), the personnel specialist assistant of Hordesheng Luggage (Cambodia) Co., Ltd. (和德盛箱包（柬埔寨）有限公司), said with a smile. She pointed to a few square pillars in the corner of the workshop and added: "There used to be several public telephones installed here, and there were often long queues during peak hours. Now employees have a mobile phone each and can communicate anytime, anywhere."

Inside the company's production workshop, there is a busy scene: hundreds of sewing machine flywheels rotate rapidly, and fabrics of various colors flutter between the employees' fingers. Factory director Zhao Zhong (赵忠) shuttles between them, checking the product's sewing process and guiding operational details from time to time.

"During the preparation for the construction of the factory in 2014, it was difficult to find someone who knew how to use a sewing machine," Zhao Zhong (赵忠) recalled. The Chinese team decided to open a "teaching" class, focusing on training for half a month, and then conducting practical assessments through real orders. "Teaching hand-in-hand, correcting point-to-point, batches of technicians were brought out in this way. Many young people from nearby villages have completely changed their lives and the lives of their families by coming to work in the factory."

"Many female employees have bought more beautiful and exquisite jewelry and dress more fashionably," Zhao Zhong (赵忠) introduced. Every Cambodian New Year, he often visits employees' families. "Many employees who used to live in tin houses and thatched cottages have now basically built brick houses."

"Many young people have come out of the training classes and become skilled technicians and workshop backbones, and some have even become 'technical leaders' in other factories," Zhao Zhong (赵忠) said. Even if employees change jobs, they mostly "leave with experience," which helps to improve the technical level of the local textile industry.

Enterprises Accelerate Transformation and Upgrading—

From "Flipping Through Several Reports" to "Clicking a Few Mouse Clicks"

In the sunset, the logistics yard on the west side of the West Port Special Zone (西港特区) is a busy scene. At the entrance, trucks enter one after another, and containers are neatly stacked in the yard...

Next to a row of containers, Tan En (坦恩), an employee of Jialida Logistics (Cambodia) Co., Ltd. (佳利达物流（柬埔寨）公司), is focusing on operating a stacker, and a container weighing several tons is steadily stacked to the sixth floor.

"We are using new equipment imported from China, which has low noise and strong grip, and can stack up to seven floors, saving a lot of space at once." Tan En (坦恩), who used to be a porter, still remembers vividly: A few years ago, workers had to climb to the top of the container to tie吊缆 (diào lǎn - "hoisting cables," ropes used for lifting), and pull铁链 (tiě liàn - "iron chains," metal chains), which was both laborious and dangerous. "When the wind blows and the container shakes, my heart is in my throat." Now with the new equipment, it is efficient and safe.

"We have also brought China's mature logistics management system and experience here," said Jiang Weiqi (蒋卫旗), the person in charge of the company. Through the digital management platform, transportation information can be visualized throughout the entire process and traced at all nodes, greatly improving logistics efficiency.

Local employee Mu An (姆安) has a deep understanding of this and praises the system. "In the past, to check an order, I had to flip through several reports and often worked until late at night," he said. "Now, with a few mouse clicks, all the information is clear at a glance. If customers have any questions, we can give them an answer as soon as possible."

"In recent years, benefiting from the continuous expansion of Sino-Cambodian bilateral trade, the company's business volume has maintained rapid growth," Jiang Weiqi (蒋卫旗) introduced. In May last year, the direct route from Wuxi (Jiangyin) Port (无锡（江阴）港) in China to Sihanoukville Port (西哈努克港) in Cambodia was officially opened, significantly reducing freight costs and injecting new impetus into the company's development.

In recent years, the West Port Special Zone (西港特区) has continued to improve its industrial undertaking capacity and optimize its industrial structure, which has not only enriched Cambodia's industrial types but also promoted the local industrialization process.

"From the changes in the customer's cargo structure, we can clearly feel that the Sino-Cambodian supply chain cooperation is constantly deepening," Jiang Weiqi (蒋卫旗) said, citing an example. In the past, mobile phone plastic shells were mostly imported as complete pieces, and the design and processing were completed in China. Now, local customers mostly choose to import plastic particles and complete injection molding and assembly in Cambodia. "The proportion of local production is constantly increasing." He said that this change not only reduces costs but also promotes the coordinated development of the upstream and downstream of Cambodia's industrial chain.

"As a shining pearl in the construction of Cambodia's 'Industrial Development Corridor,' the West Port Special Zone (西港特区) is a 'golden rice bowl' for promoting the prosperity of local people," said Wang Wentian (汪文斌), the Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia. The Chinese side is willing to work with the Cambodian side to promote the high-end, green, digital, and international development of the West Port Special Zone (西港特区) and continuously inject surging power into building a China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era.

(Reported from Phnom Penh (金边) by this newspaper)

Return to Top

<b style="color:red">[Generation Error]</b>

By: 刘江永

If Japan continues further down the wrong path, it could cause serious damage to peace in East Asia and even the world. Faced with this dangerous tendency, people of all countries, including the Japanese people, should be vigilant and clearly voice their opposition.

"Collective self-defense" is one of the concepts of self-defense mentioned in Article 51 of the "Charter of the United Nations," and its purpose was to prevent the revival of fascism and its re-threatening of world peace. Japan has pledged in its constitution to forever renounce war, the threat of force, or the use of force as a means of settling international disputes. The Japanese government once proposed the principle of "exclusively defense-oriented defense" based on this, that is, defensive forces can only be used when attacked by force, but collective self-defense cannot be exercised.

However, in 2015, the Shinzo Abe (安倍晋三) cabinet forcibly passed a new security bill in the Diet aimed at lifting the ban on collective self-defense, proposing that Japan could exercise collective self-defense in order to deal with a "survival-threatening crisis situation." The so-called "survival-threatening crisis situation" refers to: a clear and dangerous situation in which another country that has a close relationship with Japan is attacked by force, thereby threatening Japan's survival and fundamentally subverting the Japanese people's rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (高市早苗) declared that a "Taiwan emergency" may constitute a "survival-threatening crisis situation," implying the possibility of military intervention in the Taiwan Strait situation. As the current Japanese Prime Minister and Supreme Commander of the Self-Defense Forces, Sanae Takaichi's (高市早苗) outrageous remarks linking the Taiwan issue to the exercise of collective self-defense are a military threat to China and are extremely bad in nature. Its danger is mainly manifested in four aspects.

First, it exposes that the spearhead of Japan's vigorous military expansion is aimed directly at China, which seriously damages peace and stability in the East Asian region. Japan attempts to use the excuse of exercising "collective self-defense" to drag the United States into the whirlpool of the Taiwan Strait conflict and jointly use force to prevent China's reunification process. This foreshadows that Japan may once again become the source of war in Asia. Japan, which once colonized Taiwan for 50 years, seems to have rekindled its ambitions for Taiwan on the 80th anniversary of Taiwan's retrocession. This is something that the Chinese government and the Chinese people will never tolerate.

Second, the verbal military threat to China is a serious challenge to post-war international law and the international order. The post-war international law and international order are based on documents such as the "Charter of the United Nations," the "Potsdam Proclamation," and the "Cairo Declaration." The "Cairo Declaration" requires Japan to return all Chinese territories such as Taiwan that it has stolen. In July 1945, China, the United States, and the United Kingdom jointly issued the "Potsdam Proclamation" urging Japan to surrender, emphasizing that "the terms of the Cairo Declaration must be implemented." In September of the same year, Japan signed the instrument of surrender, clearly promising to "undertake the obligation to faithfully fulfill the various provisions of the Potsdam Proclamation." The Japanese government once again promised in the 1972 "Sino-Japanese Joint Statement" to "adhere to the position of following Article 8 of the Potsdam Proclamation." Sanae Takaichi (高市早苗) deliberately avoids the above-mentioned commitments and cites the illegal and invalid "San Francisco Peace Treaty" to create the illusion that "the ownership of Taiwan is undetermined," and is suspected of subverting post-war international law and the international order, as well as the political and legal basis of Sino-Japanese relations.

Third, it violates international law and Japanese domestic law, and has crossed the red line on the Taiwan issue. The "Charter of the United Nations," the "Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship," and the Japanese Constitution all stipulate that international disputes should be resolved peacefully, without resorting to force or the threat of force. Article 98 of the Japanese Constitution also stipulates that treaties concluded by Japan and established international regulations must be faithfully observed. The Taiwan issue is purely China's internal affair and is the core of China's core interests, but Sanae Takaichi (高市早苗) deliberately creates international disputes involving Taiwan and threatens to use force. This will seriously threaten China's national security and East Asian peace.

Fourth, similar outrageous remarks are common in history, and there is a dangerous tendency for Japan to return to the old path of militarism. From the Meiji Restoration (明治維新) in 1868 to its defeat and surrender in 1945, Japan constantly used excuses such as "facing a survival crisis" or "defending the safety of Japanese expatriates" to vigorously expand its military and launch foreign wars of aggression, eventually sliding into militarism. Today, Japan has once again put forward the concept of a so-called "survival-threatening crisis situation" and plans to revise the "National Security Strategy" and other "three security documents" in advance, further substantially increasing defense spending, constantly relaxing restrictions on arms exports, and even starting to export lethal weapons, etc., and is deviating from the post-war path of peaceful development.

If Japan continues further down the wrong path, it could cause serious damage to peace in East Asia and even the world. Faced with this dangerous tendency, people of all countries, including the Japanese people, should be vigilant and clearly voice their opposition.

(The author is a professor in the Department of International Relations at Tsinghua University (清华大学))

Return to Top

"Promoting Openness and Mutual Learning Between East and West"

By: 本报记者 徐 馨

"My experience in China has had a great impact on my life and work. Looking back on my time in China, I sincerely feel how admirable and inspiring China's technological achievements are today. I am honored to be a witness. This experience has also given me a responsibility, which is to constantly share my understanding and knowledge of China and Chinese science." Niels Peter Thomas (尼尔斯·彼得·托马斯), Global Book Director and Executive Vice President of Springer Nature, said in an exclusive interview with reporters. He also has a Chinese name: Tang Enping (汤恩平).

Springer Nature has a history of more than 180 years: Springer Publishing House was founded in Berlin (柏林), Germany (德国) in 1842; Macmillan Publishing Company was founded in London (伦敦), England (英国) in 1843 and began publishing the journal *Nature* in 1869. In 2015, Macmillan and Springer merged to form Springer Nature. Niels Peter Thomas (尼尔斯·彼得·托马斯), a German (德国) youth who studied and lived in Beijing (北京) and Qingdao (青岛), is now the Global Book Director and Executive Vice President of Springer Nature. He has a Chinese name: Tang Enping (汤恩平). For many years, Tang Enping (汤恩平) has been deeply involved in the translation, publication, and internationalization of Chinese academic works, and has won the highest award in the Chinese publishing industry for overseas contributions - the China Special Book Award.

In the 1980s, Tang Enping (汤恩平), then a middle school student, came to Beijing (北京) from Germany (德国) with his mother, which was his first visit to China. In the following 40 years, he visited China again and again, witnessing the rapid development of relations between Europe and China. Tang Enping (汤恩平) said that since 1981, Springer has begun publishing academic works for Chinese scientists, including the famous mathematician Hua Luogeng (华罗庚), in overseas markets. In 2022 alone, Springer Nature published nearly 100,000 articles by Chinese scholars and nearly 1,000 books.

In Tang Enping's (汤恩平) view, China is an indispensable part of the global scientific community, and Springer Nature has witnessed China's development in the field of science in the past 20 years. "Today's China is one of the leading countries in the global scientific community. This is not only reflected in the outstanding number of studies, but also in the increasing quality of research. For example, according to the 'Nature Index', even after the database was expanded to include more than 60 medical journals, China still leads overall," said Tang Enping (汤恩平). "The amazing rise of Chinese science is inspiring and benefits the international scientific community, enabling researchers from all countries to build on China's scientific achievements and continue to make new discoveries."

"We have established book publishing partnerships with nearly 100 Chinese publishers, covering almost all major disciplines. We also cooperate with well-known Chinese academic institutions and societies to jointly publish more than 200 high-quality journals with global influence. I can proudly say that we are currently an important journal partner of the 'China Science and Technology Journal Excellence Action Plan'," Tang Enping (汤恩平) said, 如数家珍 (rú shǔ jiā zhēn - "enumerate treasures," to be very familiar with one's subject).

While focusing on breakthroughs in academic fields, Springer Nature also focuses on sustainable development issues with the vision of "accelerating the search for solutions to address urgent global challenges." Since the United Nations launched the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, Springer Nature has published more than 1 million research articles and book chapters related to the Sustainable Development Goals, 57% of which are open access, allowing readers unlimited free reading. The Springer Nature "China New Development Award", founded in 2019, is awarded to English books written by Chinese scholars published by Springer Nature, aiming to encourage and recognize Chinese scholars' academic contributions to promoting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and solving global challenges, and to share Chinese experience. Last June, Tang Enping (汤恩平) attended the "China New Development Award" ceremony held by Springer Nature at the Beijing International Book Fair (北京国际图书博览会). A total of 10 English academic books won awards, covering cutting-edge hot topics such as new energy vehicles, smart agriculture, artificial intelligence, and quantum gravity.

As a winner of the China Special Book Award, Tang Enping (汤恩平) said, "This award is not only a recognition of myself, but also of my many colleagues and our Chinese partners, and a recognition of the unique position and role that academic exchanges play in strengthening Sino-Western exchanges and mutual trust." Tang Enping (汤恩平) said that this award has also helped him better achieve his goal for many years, which is: not only to have a deeper understanding of China himself, but also to share his understanding and understanding of China with others and bridge the distance between the world and China.

Talking about the present and the future, Tang Enping (汤恩平) believes that the voice of Chinese researchers in the world still needs to be strengthened: "We will further increase the number of Chinese editors and peer reviewers to contribute to promoting scientific and intellectual exchanges between countries and continue to promote openness and mutual learning between the East and the West." Tang Enping (汤恩平) said that he sincerely welcomes everyone who shares the same belief to support academic exchanges and jointly create a better future for mankind.

(Reported from Berlin (柏林) by this newspaper)

Return to Top

Comprehensive Collection of Archival Documents on the Tang Honglu Well Stele Published

This newspaper reported from Shanghai on January 17th (Reporter Cui Yin (崔寅)) On January 16th, the "Comprehensive Collection of Archival Documents of the Tang Honglu Well Stele" was released in Shanghai (上海). Compiled by the Center for Research on Chinese Cultural Relics Overseas at Shanghai University (上海大学中国海外文物研究中心) and others, the book systematically collates all extant images of the Tang Honglu Well Stele at its original site in Lushun (旅顺) and in Japan, rubbings of inscriptions on the Tang Honglu Well Stele, relevant archival documents and materials from the stele's creation to its looting into Japan, and related research works by Chinese and foreign scholars since the 20th century. The book provides complete, systematic, and reliable historical data and documentary support for further research and tracing of the Tang Honglu Well Stele.

The Tang Honglu Well Stele was erected in 714 AD. It is an important historical object proving that a special envoy of the central government of the Tang Dynasty was ordered to confer titles on the leaders of the Mohe (靺鞨族) ethnic minority local regime in Northeast China, establishing that the area belonged to the Tang Dynasty. Before the end of April 1908, the Japanese army garrison in Lushun Zhenshoufu (旅顺镇守府) dismantled the Tang Honglu Well Stele and the stele pavilion built in 1896 to protect the Tang Honglu Well Stele, loaded them onto ships, and illegally transported them to Japan. Relevant Chinese government departments, scholars, social organizations, and enlightened people in Japan have been committed to returning the Tang Honglu Well Stele to China.

According to the Center for Research on Chinese Cultural Relics Overseas, the center has completed the research on the tracing of the Tang Honglu Well Stele's loss to Japan and its history of circulation, forming a complete chain of evidence, and restoring the fact that Japan illegally plundered the Tang Honglu Well Stele and the stele pavilion under the pretext of "war spoils" from the Russo-Japanese War. The Tang Honglu Well Stele, a precious cultural relic existing in Japan, belongs to China. The evidence is conclusive and the chain of evidence is complete. The Japanese government should return the Tang Honglu Well Stele and the stele pavilion to China as soon as possible.

At the new book release ceremony, the editorial board of the "Comprehensive Collection of Archival Documents of the Tang Honglu Well Stele" presented the book to the Japanese representatives. The two sides jointly issued a declaration, calling on the Japanese government to respect historical facts, follow the international consensus on the return of lost cultural relics to their countries of origin, correct historical errors, and return the Tang Honglu Well Stele as soon as possible.

Return to Top

Photo Story

Recently, at the large-scale module installation site of the PV3 Al Ajban 1.5 GW Photovoltaic Project in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (阿联酋阿布扎比), constructed by China National Electric Engineering Co., Ltd. (中国电建), domestically produced photovoltaic module installation robots participated in construction in the Middle East for the first time, helping new energy projects develop towards high efficiency, high safety, and high intelligence. The picture shows robots installing photovoltaic panels.

People's Daily reporter Guan Kejiang (管克江) took the photo.

Return to Top

Contributing to the construction of a fertility-friendly society

By: 本报记者

The population issue is a "major national matter." Optimizing fertility support policies is linked to family happiness on one hand and national development on the other.

Facing the people's beautiful expectation of "having access to childcare," various regions across the country have successively introduced a series of policy "combination punches" covering childcare subsidies, inclusive childcare, and medical insurance reimbursement for prenatal checkups and childbirth, precisely exerting efforts and warming people's hearts. These people-benefiting policies effectively reduce the burden of childbirth, parenting, and education, making childbirth and parenting more reassuring and comfortable, adding to the people's well-being for thousands of households, and also writing a vivid footnote for "investing in people." Recently, reporters visited parenting families in Zhangye (张掖), Gansu (甘肃), Changchun (长春), Jilin (吉林), Guangzhou (广州), Guangdong (广东), and other places to listen to the voices of young parents.

Zhangye (张掖), Gansu (甘肃)——
Childcare Subsidies Support "Steady Happiness"

At the end of December 2025, the home of Li Peng (李鹏), a villager in Lijiawan Village (李家湾村), Shangqin Town (上秦镇), Ganzhou District (甘州区), Zhangye City (张掖市), Gansu Province (甘肃省), was warm and cozy. Li Peng (李鹏) squatted by the sofa, tapping on the screen of his mobile phone. "It's here! 7200 yuan!" He straightened up and turned to shout into the inner room, "Yaping (亚萍), the subsidy has arrived!"

Li Peng (李鹏), 36 years old this year, is the father of 3 girls. The eldest daughter just started elementary school. In June 2023, twin daughters were born, adding joy to the family while also increasing expenses. Li Peng's (李鹏) wife, Wang Yaping (王亚萍), needs continuous medication due to illness, with monthly medical expenses. Li Peng (李鹏) works odd jobs in the decoration industry, and his income is unstable. The couple carefully calculates to support the operation of this family.

In August 2025, Li Peng (李鹏) learned about the childcare subsidy policy through the village cadre's notification and WeChat group. With the help of the village cadre, he learned to use the WeChat "Childcare Subsidy" mini-program. "It only took about 10 minutes. After submitting, I waited for the review, and the progress could be viewed on the phone at any time," said Li Peng (李鹏).

"This money is equivalent to more than two months of my salary." Li Peng (李鹏) looked at the arrival information on his mobile phone, unable to hide his joy. "Most of the subsidy was used for the milk powder and diapers of the two little ones, which effectively reduced the pressure of childcare expenses. Yaping's (亚萍) money for buying medicine is also more abundant, and the atmosphere in the family has suddenly become much easier."

On January 5, when the application channel for the 2026 childcare subsidy was just opened, Li Peng (李鹏) got up early to operate his mobile phone. "There is no need to change the information, just click 'renew,' the process is very simple." After completing the application procedures, he felt a lot more at ease and has already started planning to take the children to the city for a walk after the spring.

In order to promote the implementation and effectiveness of the childcare subsidy policy, Zhangye City (张掖市) has established a full-process service mechanism from publicity and mobilization to fund disbursement. As of now, the city's childcare subsidy fund disbursement progress has reached 99.22%, the disbursement rate is 81.51%, and it has benefited 26,000 people.

Changchun (长春), Jilin (吉林)——
Inclusive Childcare Solves Parents' "Difficulty in Taking Care of Children"

On January 16, the sunlight shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows onto the colorful crawling mats. In the Jinse Bali City Childcare Center (金色八里城托育中心) in Erdao District (二道区), Changchun City (长春市), Jilin Province (吉林省), two-year-old Liu Xi (刘熙) was sitting next to the caregiver, curiously pointing at the book with her little hand to learn to read. Here, the walls are soft-packed, the bathroom has a special children's toilet seat, and every detail reveals professionalism and warmth.

"We only have two charging items, a monthly management fee of 800 yuan, and a food fee calculated on a daily basis, 20 yuan per day." Xu Wei (许微), the director of the childcare center, introduced that this childcare center, established in 2018, now covers more than 13,000 households in the surrounding area, and more than 900 infants and young children under the age of 3 have been cared for here.

For Liu Xi's (刘熙) mother, Liang Xinyue (梁歆玥), this is a strong backing for her and her husband to work hard with peace of mind. As a dual-income family, they were once caught in a dilemma about "who will take care of the child": the elderly in the family have limited energy, hiring a nanny is too expensive, and it is difficult to balance their careers if they take care of the child themselves. "It's like walking into a dead end," Liang Xinyue (梁歆玥) recalled.

The change in life originated from the implementation plan of the special action to boost consumption issued by Jilin Province (吉林省) in April 2025. The plan clarifies that it supports the development of inclusive childcare services. For self-supporting public and inclusive private childcare service institutions, Changchun City (长春市) urban areas will be subsidized at 3,600 yuan/year per child, and other areas will be subsidized at 2,400 yuan/year per child. At the same time, Jilin (吉林) multi-department jointly issued a notice on the management of childcare service fees, clarifying that public and social inclusive childcare service institutions and kindergarten childcare classes implement government-guided prices, and other institutions implement market-adjusted prices, but need to clearly mark prices, and use the method of "classified pricing + list publicity" to truly benefit the people with inclusive childcare.

"In the past, taking children to early education required crossing half the city. Now there are professional courses at the doorstep. We send them at 7 am and pick them up at 6 pm, giving us plenty of 'time confidence'," said Liang Xinyue (梁歆玥). The baby is happy, the parents are comfortable, and the elders are at ease.

Liang Xinyue's (梁歆玥) story is a microcosm of Jilin Province's (吉林省) continuous improvement of fertility-friendly support policies. In recent years, a combination of policies covering the entire chain of "birth, raising, and education" has been continuously promoted in the Bai Shan Song Shui (白山松水) area, and the people's livelihood concern of "having access to childcare" allows children to grow up healthily and allows more families to realize the wish of "taking care of children without delaying work."

Guangzhou (广州), Guangdong (广东)——
Medical Security Weaves a "Worry-Free Net" for Childbirth

"Except for the cost of my lover's companion delivery, which was paid with the medical insurance personal account, all other costs were directly reimbursed, and I felt like I didn't spend much money!" On January 15, Feng Xinyu (冯歆禹), a new mother who had just completed discharge procedures at the Zhujiang New Town Branch (珠江新城院区) of the Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center (广州医科大学附属妇女儿童医疗中心), was full of smiles.

The bill shows: 4831.5 yuan was reimbursed by medical insurance, and 237.6 yuan was paid by the individual. What made Feng Xinyu (冯歆禹) even more worry-free was that she didn't have to worry about the entire reimbursement process, and there was no need to pay in advance or run errands afterwards. "The 3,000 yuan deposit paid at the time of admission was returned in the same way at the time of discharge," said Feng Xinyu (冯歆禹).

On December 13, 2025, the National Medical Security Work Conference clarified that in 2026, it is necessary to reasonably improve the medical expense security level of prenatal checkups and strive to basically achieve "no self-payment" for individuals within the policy scope of childbirth nationwide. As early as July 2025, Guangdong (广东) issued a notice on further strengthening the security of childbirth medical expenses, stipulating that the expenses of prenatal checkups, childbirth, etc. that meet the regulations for employees participating in medical insurance shall be paid in full by the medical insurance fund. In Guangzhou (广州), in 2025, more than 10,000 parturients had self-paid expenses of less than 100 yuan for childbirth, and nearly 200 mothers achieved "zero self-payment."

During the prenatal checkup stage, Feng Xinyu (冯歆禹) also felt the benefits of the maternity insurance policy. "For expensive genetic testing projects, after medical insurance reimbursement plus relevant subsidies, I personally hardly spent any money." The "fetal chromosomal aneuploidy non-invasive prenatal genetic testing" project mentioned by Feng Xinyu (冯歆禹) previously cost about 1,500 yuan in various parts of Guangdong (广东). In 2025, the Guangdong Provincial Medical Security Bureau (广东省医疗保障局) introduced a policy to uniformly adjust it to 560 yuan per time. Pregnant women who meet relevant subsidy and reimbursement policies can even achieve "zero self-payment."

A reporter learned from the Guangdong Provincial Medical Security Bureau (广东省医疗保障局) that since October 1, 2024, Guangdong (广东) has included 8 assisted reproductive medical service price projects such as "oocyte retrieval" and "embryo transfer" into the scope of basic medical insurance payment. Some services are guaranteed with reference to the treatment of special outpatient diseases, with no deductible, and the payment ratio within the policy scope is implemented with reference to the inpatient standard, reducing the economic burden for some families with fertility difficulties and supporting the hope of childbirth. In addition, Guangdong (广东) also clarified that newborns can participate in insurance in any coordinated area of Guangdong Province (广东省) within 180 days of birth with a birth medical certificate and can retroactively enjoy medical treatment from the date of birth. Expenses such as premature infant treatment and neonatal jaundice treatment can be reimbursed as required.

In response to the increasing number of advanced-age mothers and high-risk pregnancies, relevant departments will accelerate the research and introduction of policies to include treatment costs related to fetal protection and miscarriage prevention into the scope of maternity insurance payment, giving full reimbursement to help build a fertility-friendly society.

(Our reporter Lu Fanbing (陆凡冰), Cheng Yuanzhou (程远州), Men Jiewei (门杰伟), Zeng Yichen (曾亦辰))

Return to Top

983,000 People Disciplined by National Discipline Inspection and Supervision Organs in 2025

Beijing (北京), January 17th (Reporter Zhao Cheng (赵成)) This newspaper reported: The website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission (中央纪委国家监委) released a message on the 17th: The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission (中央纪委国家监委) reported on the supervision, inspection, and investigation conducted by national discipline inspection and supervision agencies in 2025. In 2025, national discipline inspection and supervision agencies filed 1.012 million cases and punished 983,000 people, including 69 cadres at the provincial and ministerial level or above.

The report shows that in 2025, national discipline inspection and supervision agencies received 4.168 million complaints, of which 1.282 million were accusatory complaints. They handled 2.63 million clues to problems. They filed 1.012 million cases, including 115 cadres at the provincial and ministerial level or above, 5,016 at the department and bureau level, 41,000 at the county and division level, and 137,000 at the township and section level; they filed cases against 91,000 incumbent or former village Party branch secretaries and village committee directors. They punished 983,000 people, including 727,000 with Party disciplinary actions and 321,000 with administrative sanctions; they punished 69 cadres at the provincial and ministerial level or above, 4,155 at the department and bureau level, 35,000 at the county and division level, 125,000 at the township and section level, 133,000 general cadres, and 686,000 other personnel from rural areas, enterprises, etc.

According to the report, in 2025, national discipline inspection and supervision agencies used the "four forms" of criticism, education, and handling 1.984 million person-times. Among them, the first form of criticism, education, and handling was used 987,000 person-times, accounting for 49.7% of the total; the second form of handling was used 817,000 person-times, accounting for 41.2%; the third form of handling was used 94,000 person-times, accounting for 4.7%; and the fourth form of handling was used 86,000 person-times, accounting for 4.4%. At the same time, adhering to the simultaneous investigation of bribery and bribe-taking, 33,000 people involved in bribery were filed, and 4,306 people were transferred to the procuratorial organs.

Return to Top

16 Departments Jointly Launch 2026 Winter Vacation Child Care Service Activities

This newspaper's Beijing (北京) dispatch on January 17th (Reporter Yang Hao (杨昊)) The reporter learned on the 17th from the All-China Women's Federation (全国妇联): The All-China Women's Federation, the Cyberspace Administration of China (中央网信办), the Supreme People's Court (最高人民法院), and 13 other departments recently issued a notice jointly deploying the "Bring Love Home - Warm Hearts and Escort Growth" 2026 winter vacation children's care service activities, so that the majority of children can spend a safe, warm, healthy, happy, and meaningful holiday.

The notice emphasized that all localities and relevant departments should closely focus on celebrating the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (中国共产党) and the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Red Army's Long March (红军长征), strengthen the ideological and moral construction of minors, implement the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education, rely on patriotic education bases and other red resources, widely carry out the theme activity of "Young Children's Hearts Towards the Party," and guide young children to inherit the red gene and embark on a new era of the Long March through red story lectures, landmark visits, and situational experiences. At the same time, combine the Spring Festival atmosphere to carry out New Year custom experience activities, allowing children to cultivate their love for the country in the process of experiencing traditional culture and excellent family traditions.

The notice requires that we should adhere to prevention first and move the defense line forward, and do our best to protect children's safety during the holidays. In-depth legal publicity and education should be carried out to popularize relevant laws and regulations on the protection of minors, and to improve children's legal literacy and self-protection ability. Aiming at fire safety, traffic safety, food safety, network risks and other issues that are prone to occur during the winter vacation, carry out thematic safety education to help children master prevention skills.

The notice proposes that we should give full play to the role of the collaborative education mechanism of home, school, and community, and strengthen family companionship and family education guidance. Widely carry out the "Family with Books Fragrance Reciting Classics" series of activities, allowing parents to enlighten their children in classical recitation. Carry out the "I am the Legal Guardian" initiative to popularize family education concepts and knowledge, and strengthen the main responsibility of parents. Organize teachers and experts to go into the community to carry out guidance services to help parents master scientific parenting methods. Rely on online service platforms to launch "Family Growth Open Classes" to provide convenient and accessible family education resources.

Return to Top

Upholding the Organic Unity of the Rule of Law and the Rule of the Party According to Regulations

By: 本报记者 张 璁 沈童睿

On January 12, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) delivered an important speech at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, emphasizing: "We must adhere to the principle that everyone is equal before regulations and institutions, that there are no privileges in abiding by regulations and institutions, and that there are no exceptions in enforcing regulations and institutions, to ensure that institutional provisions truly become high-voltage lines with electricity. The 'top leaders' must take the lead in implementing the system. We must strengthen the publicity and education of regulations and institutions, and guide Party members and cadres to understand the law and discipline, understand the rules, and know awe."

"To comprehensively advance the rule of law, we must strive to form a pattern in which national laws and regulations and intra-party regulations and institutions complement each other, promote each other, and guarantee each other."

On December 8, 2025, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held a meeting to review the "Regulations on the Work of the Communist Party of China (中国共产党) Leading the Comprehensive Rule of Law." This is the first fundamental and comprehensive intra-party regulation on the work of the Party leading the comprehensive rule of law, and it is a vivid carrier for adhering to the organic unity of governing the country according to law and governing the Party according to regulations.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping (习近平) at its core has positioned the rule of law from the strategic overall perspective of the Party's long-term governance and the country's long-term stability and security, laid out the rule of law, promoted the rule of law, strictly enforced the rule of law, creatively proposed adhering to the organic unity of governing the country according to law and governing the Party according to regulations, and regarded the intra-party regulatory system and the legal normative system as important components of the socialist rule of law system with Chinese characteristics, promoting historic achievements in governing the country according to law and governing the Party according to regulations.

The recently published and distributed "Xi Jinping (习近平) Thought on the Rule of Law Study Outline (2025 Edition)" takes "Adhering to the Organic Unity of Governing the Country According to Law and Governing the Party According to Regulations" as the "Twelfth Adherence" of the core essence of Xi Jinping (习近平) Thought on the Rule of Law, fully reflecting the theoretical character of Xi Jinping (习近平) Thought on the Rule of Law of keeping pace with the times, upholding integrity, and innovating.

Ordering the country and governing the people requires rectifying its systems.

On the new journey, if our Party is to fulfill its major historical mission of governing and rejuvenating the country, win the great struggle with many new historical characteristics, and realize the long-term stability and security of the Party and the country, it must adhere to the integrated advancement and construction of governing the country according to law and governing the Party according to the system and regulations, and continuously advance the great cause of Chinese-style modernization with a more complete legal guarantee.

Ensure that the Party governs the country and administers state affairs in accordance with the Constitution and laws, and governs the Party and administers the Party strictly in accordance with intra-party regulations.

To govern a country, one must first govern the Party; to govern the Party, one must be strict; to be strict, one must have legal standards.

On December 4, 2012, less than a month after the closing of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee reviewed and approved the Eight Provisions on Improving Work Style and Strengthening Ties with the Masses.

As the first important intra-party regulation formulated after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Eight Provisions of the Central Committee have also become a "breakthrough" in starting to govern the Party according to regulations in the new era. Over the past 10 years, from curbing "waste on the tip of the tongue" to stopping "corruption on wheels," rectifying "unhealthy trends in clubs," and continuously solving outstanding problems of formalism, the Eight Provisions of the Central Committee have profoundly changed China.

The law is the foundation of governance.

"In our country, the law is a requirement for all citizens, and intra-party regulations and institutions are requirements for all Party members, and in many places, they are stricter than the requirements of the law."

"We must give play to the complementary role of governing the country according to law and governing the Party according to regulations to ensure that the Party governs the country and administers state affairs in accordance with the Constitution and laws, and governs the Party and administers the Party strictly in accordance with intra-party regulations."

"In recent years, our Party has strictly enforced the rule of law and governed the Party according to regulations, and has formulated and revised a large number of national laws and regulations and intra-party regulations, many of which are aimed at regulating the operation of power."

...

Focusing on the profound transformation of national governance in comprehensively promoting the rule of law, General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) insightful exposition profoundly reveals the unique governance code formed by the governance of the Communist Party of China and the governance of China.

Following the law and governing according to the law. In October 2014, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee made a decision on several major issues concerning the comprehensive promotion of the rule of law. As the first plenary session of the Central Committee in our Party's history to specifically study and deploy the comprehensive promotion of the rule of law, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee incorporated "forming a complete system of intra-party regulations" into the overall goal of comprehensively promoting the rule of law.

Governing the Party according to regulations is the guidance and guarantee for governing the country according to law, and governing the country according to law is the foundation and support for governing the Party according to regulations. Since the new era, our Party has carried out its work with the concept of the rule of law, the system of the rule of law, and the procedures of the rule of law, improved the Party's leadership style and governance methods, and promoted the institutionalization, standardization, and proceduralization of governing according to law.

Taking overall control and coordinating all parties—

In order to strengthen the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee over the construction of the rule of law in China and improve the system and working mechanism for the Party to lead the comprehensive rule of law, the Third Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee decided to establish the Central Commission for Comprehensive Rule of Law (中央全面依法治国委员会). This is the first time in our Party's history that such an institution has been established.

From the formulation of the "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee on Strengthening the Legal Supervision Work of the Procuratorial Organs in the New Era" to the introduction of the "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee on Strengthening the Trial Work in the New Era," our Party coordinates the work in all fields of governing the country according to law, ensures that the Party's propositions are implemented throughout the entire process and in all aspects of governing the country according to law, and continuously strengthens and improves the Party's leadership and improves the Party's ability and level to lead the country according to law.

Hanging rules and planting squares, the device only seeks innovation—

General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) emphasized: "Adhere to governing the Party with the system and governing the Party according to regulations, improve the Party's organizational regulations, leadership regulations, self-construction regulations, and supervision and guarantee regulations, so that the system 'grows teeth' and 'carries electricity.'"

Issuing the first central document in the history of the Party that specifically deploys and promotes the construction of the intra-party regulatory system, holding two national intra-party regulatory work conferences, and successively compiling three five-year plans for the formulation of central intra-party regulations... Since the new era, our Party has embodied governing the Party according to regulations in all aspects and links of managing and governing the Party, creating a good atmosphere of respecting the system and abiding by the system, and promoting the more mature and finalized system in all aspects.

To seek the growth of trees, one must strengthen their roots; to desire the flow of water, one must dredge its source.

"The relationship between the Party and the law is a fundamental issue. If it is handled well, the rule of law will prosper, the Party will prosper, and the country will prosper; if it is not handled well, the rule of law will decline, the Party will decline, and the country will decline."

Putting the Party's leadership into the entire process and all aspects of governing the country according to law is a basic experience in the construction of socialist rule of law in our country. The Party not only leads the people to formulate the Constitution and laws, but also leads the people to implement the Constitution and laws, so that the Party leads legislation, guarantees law enforcement, supports the judiciary, and takes the lead in abiding by the law.

"Through legal procedures, the Party's propositions become the will of the state and form laws, and the effective implementation of the Party's policies is guaranteed through laws, ensuring the correct direction of comprehensively governing the country according to law."

Involving more than 30 existing and effective ecological and environmental laws, more than 100 administrative regulations, and more than 1,000 local regulations... As the second law in our country named after "Code," the draft Ecological and Environmental Code will soon be submitted to the Fourth Session of the 14th National People's Congress for deliberation.

Compiling the Ecological and Environmental Code is a major legislative task deployed by the CPC Central Committee. Systematically integrating, compiling, and integrating and sublimating, this code will protect the ecological environment and promote green development with the strictest system and the strictest rule of law.

As of the end of December 2025, there are 308 existing and effective laws in our country, more than 600 administrative regulations and supervisory regulations, and more than 15,000 local regulations... Being good at making the Party's propositions become the will of the state through legal procedures, the pace towards good laws and good governance is more solid and powerful.

"After the Party's policies become national laws, implementing the laws is implementing the Party's will, and handling affairs according to law is implementing the Party's policies."

The Central Office for Governing the Country According to Law carries out on-site legal supervision to promote the implementation of the major decisions and deployments of the CPC Central Committee on comprehensively governing the country according to law.

Tightening and consolidating the responsibilities of the main leaders of the Party and government in fulfilling their responsibilities as the first person responsible for promoting the construction of the rule of law, and the on-site statement of the law makes the "top leaders" tighten the "rule of law string" in blushing and sweating.

Strengthening the appearance of heads of administrative organs in court to respond to lawsuits, forcing administrative organs to administer according to law, and allowing the people to "sue officials and see officials again" in the court of administrative litigation.

...

Understanding the law in the heart and abiding by the law in action.

The organic unity of governing the country according to law and governing the Party according to regulations allows Party members and cadres to hold high the mirror of the law in their hearts, hold the ruler of the law tightly in their hands, know the scale of being an official and doing things, and the basic concepts of the rule of law, such as power being granted by law and power being exercised according to law, are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

When governing the Party according to regulations penetrates deeply into the hearts of the Party, governing the country according to law can penetrate deeply into the hearts of the people.

"This is a place to establish rules. The establishment and implementation of the Party's rules and systems have powerfully promoted the construction of the Party's work style and discipline."

In July 2013, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) came to Xibaipo (西柏坡) in Pingshan County (平山县), Hebei Province (河北省), and emphasized the importance of "establishing rules" in front of the site of the famous September Meeting.

Without rules, it cannot be a political party, let alone a Marxist political party.

The First National Congress of the Communist Party of China adopted the first program of the Communist Party of China, which became the first intra-party regulation in the history of the Party; the Second National Congress of the Communist Party of China adopted the Constitution of the Communist Party of China, and our Party has since had its own fundamental law; at the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Party, Comrade Mao Zedong (毛泽东) first clearly put forward the concept of "intra-party regulations"; the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party sounded the clarion call for reform and opening up, and also proposed "improving Party rules and Party laws and strictly enforcing Party discipline"... Intra-party regulations are born because of the Party, established because of the Party, and prosper because of the Party.

"When governing the Party according to regulations penetrates deeply into the hearts of the Party, governing the country according to law can penetrate deeply into the hearts of the people."

In December 2016, the first national intra-party regulatory work conference in the history of the Party was held. On the eve of the meeting, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) made important instructions, emphasizing that "we must adhere to the integrated advancement and construction of governing the country according to law and governing the Party according to the system and regulations";

In October 2017, the report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed to "accelerate the formation of an intra-party regulatory system covering all aspects of Party leadership and Party building";

In November 2020, at the Central Conference on Overall Law-Based Governance, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) pointed out that "we must adhere to the organic unity of governing the country according to law and governing the Party according to regulations";

In July 2021, at the ceremony celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) emphasized that "we must adhere to governing the Party according to regulations and form a relatively complete intra-party regulatory system";

...

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, our Party has promoted comprehensive and strict Party governance with unprecedented courage and determination, adhered to governing the Party with the system and governing the Party according to regulations as the basic methods of managing and governing the Party, taken strengthening the construction of the intra-party regulatory system as the long-term strategy and fundamental strategy for comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, improved the mechanism for connecting and coordinating intra-party regulations with national laws and regulations, and built a set of effective power supervision system and discipline enforcement and law enforcement system, opening up a new realm of self-revolution for the century-old Party.

As of June 2024, there are a total of 3,936 existing and effective intra-party regulations in the entire Party, of which the proportion of newly formulated and revised intra-party regulations since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China exceeds 70%. The construction of the intra-party regulatory system has achieved historic achievements, demonstrating the style of a large Party, the wisdom of a large Party, and the governance of a large Party.

The key lies in truly grasping, and what is relied on is strict management.

In August 2018, at the first meeting of the Central Commission for Overall Law-Based Governance, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) pointed out: "The problem of having rules to follow has been basically solved, and the next focus is on strictly enforcing the rules so that intra-party regulations can truly be implemented."

This important judgment shows that the construction of intra-party regulations is shifting from accelerating the establishment of rules and solving the problem of having no rules to follow to strengthening the enforcement of rules and ensuring the implementation of existing regulations.

General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important exposition not only points out the direction of progress, but also contains a scientific methodology—

"We must strengthen the awareness of regulations and institutions, carry out publicity and education on regulations and institutions throughout the Party, and guide the vast number of Party members and cadres to firmly establish the awareness of the rule of law, the awareness of the system, and the awareness of discipline."

From the Party's mass line education and practice activities to the in-depth implementation of the spirit of the Eight Provisions of the Central Committee, since the new era, our Party has successively carried out centralized education within the Party, established a disciplinary education mechanism that combines regularity and concentration, integrated it into daily life, grasped it regularly, and urged the vast number of Party members and cadres to internalize the Party Constitution, Party regulations, and Party discipline in their hearts and externalize them in their actions.

In 2025, in the Quanshan District People's Court (泉山区人民法院) of Xuzhou City (徐州市), Jiangsu Province (江苏省), the municipal and district-level discipline inspection commissions and supervisory committees opened a "Discipline and Law Classroom" with a case of duty-related crime as the "teaching material." Taking the case as a basis for explaining morality, discipline, law, and responsibility, a cadre in Quanshan District (泉山区) said after listening: "This special course has given me a more intuitive understanding of preventing corruption and resisting degeneration."

"We must increase the intensity of implementation and let the iron rules exert their power and the prohibitions exert their authority."

At the end of December 2025, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission announced the summary of the problems of violating the spirit of the Eight Provisions of the Central Committee investigated and dealt with nationwide in November 2025. This is the 147th consecutive month that monthly report data has been announced, and the "iron rules and hard constraints" have won the trust of the people.

Since the new era, our Party has resolutely corrected phenomena such as arbitrarily changing, maliciously evading, and ignoring the system, and has seriously investigated and dealt with serious violations of discipline and law by some Party members and cadres, including senior cadres, showing the entire Party and the entire society that no matter who it is, no matter how high their position is, as long as they violate Party discipline and state laws, they will be seriously investigated and severely punished.

"We must strengthen supervision and inspection, implement the supervision system, use supervision to transmit pressure, and use pressure to promote implementation."

Not long ago, the feedback work of the 20th Central Committee's inspection of provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) was completed, and the collective feedback meeting reported the common problems found in the inspection. Inspection is an important means of intra-party supervision, and the implementation of the Party Constitution and other intra-party regulations by the inspection objects is one of the key points of inspection.

Implementing the supervision system, strengthening daily supervision and special inspections; scientifically designing the system and mechanism to improve the overall effectiveness of the supervision system; carrying out special supervision and inspection of the implementation of important intra-party regulations and systems to prevent the "broken window effect"... Those who fail in their duties must be held accountable, and those who are held accountable must be strictly held accountable, so that all disciplines and rules truly become "high-voltage lines with electricity."

Persevering and never slackening.

The Party Constitution is the general charter of the Party and is "a flag openly erected."

In the exhibition cabinets of the Exhibition Hall of the History of the Communist Party of China, the precious versions of the Party Constitution from various periods are eye-catching. This is a vivid embodiment of our century-old Party's adherence to governing the Party with the system and governing the Party according to regulations.

"Under the new situation, if our Party is to fulfill its major responsibilities of governing and rejuvenating the country, it must strictly govern the Party in accordance with the Party Constitution and govern the country and administer state affairs in accordance with the Constitution." Focusing on strictly enforcing the rule of law and governing the Party according to regulations, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) promotes the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party to develop in depth on the track of regulations and institutions.

Raise and establish discipline and rules, and connect discipline enforcement and law enforcement.

The greatest challenge facing our Party's comprehensive leadership and long-term governance is the supervision of power.

General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) emphasized, "We must adhere to governing the country according to law and governing the Party according to regulations, and raise and establish discipline and rules" and "We must connect discipline enforcement and law enforcement."

Discipline and law are both important components of the national governance system. Only by coordinating the use of the "two rulers" of discipline and law and promoting the integrated advancement of supervision, discipline enforcement, and supervision and law enforcement can the rules for the operation of power be established.

This is a far-sighted blueprint.

The scope of supervision is too narrow, the forces against corruption are scattered, and the connection between discipline and law is not smooth... For a period of time, intra-party supervision and national supervision were not synchronized, and some people exercising public power were outside the scope of supervision. The CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping (习近平) at its core sized up the situation and made a major decision to deepen the reform of the national supervision system.

The Third Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee reviewed and approved the "Plan for Deepening the Reform of Party and State Institutions," putting the establishment of the National Supervision Commission in the first place.

In March 2018, with the unveiling of the red silk cloth on the bronze plaque of the "National Supervision Commission of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国国家监察委员会)," a brand-new national anti-corruption work institution was established.

The formation of the national supervision system with Chinese characteristics has realized the full coverage and no dead ends of the supervision of public power and anti-corruption, and has realized the organic unity of intra-party supervision and national supervision, governing the Party according to regulations and governing the country according to law.

This is a rock-solid determination.

Countless cases have proved that Party members and cadres "break the law" all start with "breaking discipline," and gradually slide into the abyss of illegal crimes from the loss of "small things and small details." Therefore, we must grasp early and grasp small, and prevent problems before they occur.
Countless cases prove that the "breaking of the law" by Party members and cadres invariably begins with the "breaking of discipline," gradually sliding from the loss of "minor matters and small details" into the abyss of illegal and criminal activities. Therefore, it is imperative to address problems at an early stage and prevent them before they worsen.

"Do not do evil things just because they are small, and do not fail to do good things just because they are small. If we start by nipping problems in the bud and being strict in enforcing discipline from the beginning, how many people can be prevented from breaking the law?"

Adding and subtracting, discipline is placed at the forefront.

Since the new era, the "Regulations on Disciplinary Sanctions of the Communist Party of China" (《中国共产党纪律处分条例》) has been revised three times—doing "subtraction" well by cutting out content that overlaps with the law, highlighting the distinct characteristic that Party discipline is stricter than national law; and doing enough "addition" by transforming the practical experience of governing the Party strictly since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China into moral and disciplinary requirements, constraining Party members with higher standards.

Discipline is stricter than the law, and discipline precedes the law. Since the new era, our Party has made good use of the "four forms of supervision and discipline enforcement," eliminating "viruses" and "pests" in their infancy, reducing the stock of corruption, curbing the increase of corruption, and forming a good political ecology.

This is the responsibility of leading by example.

"The legal literacy of leading cadres should be grasped from the day they enter the cadre ranks, educating and guiding them to fasten the first button of the rule of law."

As early as February 2015, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) clearly pointed out at the opening ceremony of the thematic seminar for principal leading cadres at the provincial and ministerial level to study and implement the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee and comprehensively promote the rule of law that a cadre's ability may be high or low, but they must be excellent in abiding by discipline and law, and there can be no difference in this regard.

If those who uphold the law are strong, then the country is strong.

The General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (中办) and the General Office of the State Council (国办) issued the "Opinions on Establishing a List System of Party Regulations and National Laws that Leading Cadres Should Know and Be Able to Apply" (《关于建立领导干部应知应会党内法规和国家法律清单制度的意见》), and more than 70 central units have formulated lists of laws to be learned by their respective industries and systems;

Various localities and departments continue to improve the system and mechanism, promote the normalization and long-term effectiveness of learning, and establish a study system for the central group of the Party committee (Party group); incorporate the learning and mastery of Party regulations into the content of the "three meetings and one lesson" of Party organizations;

Incorporate Party regulations and national laws into the teaching content of Party schools (administrative colleges) and the required training courses for leading cadres' appointment training and on-the-job training;

…………

The key to governance lies in obtaining the right people; the key to governing the country lies in people. Governing the country according to law and governing the Party according to regulations must grasp the "key minority" of leading cadres.

Since the new era, our Party has educated and guided leading cadres at all levels to enhance their awareness and literacy in abiding by regulations, upholding the law, and advocating the rule of law, and the ability of the "key minority" to deepen reform, promote development, resolve contradictions, maintain stability, and respond to risks by using the thinking and methods of the rule of law has been continuously improved.

"When laws and regulations are implemented and discipline is rectified, there will be no ungoverned country and no uncultivated people."

Standing at a new historical starting point, the vast number of Party members and cadres are always closely united around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping (习近平) at its core, thoroughly implement Xi Jinping's (习近平) thought on the rule of law, adhere to the organic unity of governing the country according to law and governing the Party according to regulations, maintain the sobriety and determination to continue the examination, and provide a strong legal guarantee for continuing to write new chapters in the two major miracles of rapid economic development and long-term social stability, and comprehensively promote the construction of a strong country and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese-style modernization.

Return to Top

2026 Spring Festival Gala Completes First Rehearsal

This newspaper's Beijing (北京) dispatch on January 17th (Reporter Liu Yang (刘阳)): On the 17th, the China Media Group's (中央广播电视总台) "2026 Spring Festival Gala" successfully completed its first rehearsal. Various types of programs were integrated with innovative technology applications and stage art visual design elements. The connection of each link in the process was smooth, and the overall effect of the gala began to appear.

This year's Spring Festival Gala will cleverly integrate the zodiac horse element, which symbolizes self-improvement and striving for progress, into the creation, adhere to the integrated communication of "ideology + art + technology," and continuously broaden the boundaries of artistic expression. In the stage design, AI, AR, XR and other technological means are flexibly used to create an immersive three-dimensional visual effect of "people in the scenery, the scenery moving with the people" between virtuality and reality. The artistic installation, interpreted with the pattern of "horse", constitutes a stage space of ten thousand horses galloping, undulating and scattered. The original songs are brisk in rhythm, singing the spirit of a galloping horse; the opera program innovatively arranges situational horse dance based on the traditional program "Treading Horse", and every move shows heroic posture.

The China Media Group's (中央广播电视总台) Year of the Horse Spring Festival Gala is a further upgrade of "technology + art," integrating "technological intelligence" into stage presentation, content creation, etc., enriching people's colorful imagination of the New Year's flavor.

Return to Top

Photo Report

On January 17th, local time, in the quarter-final of the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup held in Jeddah (吉达), Saudi Arabia (沙特阿拉伯), the Chinese team and the Uzbekistan (乌兹别克斯坦) team drew 0-0 in regular time and extra time. Ultimately, the Chinese team defeated the Uzbekistan (乌兹别克斯坦) team 4-2 in the penalty shootout, advancing to the semi-finals.

The picture shows Chinese player Xu Bin (徐彬) (left) in the match on January 17th, local time.

Xinhua News Agency (新华社) reporter Wang Haizhou (王海洲) photographed it.

Return to Top

Page 1 Editors: Hu Anqi, Zhao Zheng, Luan Xinyi; Page 2 Editors: Yin Xinyu, Guo Xueyan, Cui Bin; Page 3 Editors: Wu Gang, Zhou Zhou, Cheng Shijie; Page 4 Editors: Yuan Zhenxi, Zhang Xueyan, Yu Xuan

Return to Top

Embodied AI Takes Center Stage (Dream Chasers: Anticipating the "15th Five-Year Plan" - Young People Discuss Opportunities ①)

By: 本报记者 杨 昊 李 纵

The "15th Five-Year Plan" period is a crucial time to consolidate the foundation and fully exert efforts to basically achieve socialist modernization. The "15th Five-Year Plan" proposals outline the grand blueprint for China's economic and social development in the next five years, depicting a new landscape of high-quality development.

New professions are emerging, and new tracks are being opened up. For young people, the "15th Five-Year Plan" period is full of new opportunities. How should the vast number of young people seize opportunities and synchronize their personal growth with national development? Starting today, this edition launches a series of reports titled "Looking Forward to the '15th Five-Year Plan' - Youth Talk About Opportunities," focusing on young people standing at the forefront of the times and feeling their efforts and struggles in the tide of the times.
——Editor

From appearing on the Spring Festival Gala stage to completing marathon races, from showcasing kung fu and demonstrating combat to going to workshops to test product quality, embodied intelligence is accelerating from laboratories to more application scenarios. Through the deep integration of algorithms and mechanics, embodied intelligence has achieved a leap from "intelligence" to "action," not only reshaping the industrial ecology but also spawning a batch of new professions full of technological sense.

More and more young people are standing at the forefront of embodied intelligence humanoid robots. Among them, some are algorithm engineers who give robots "brains," some are hardware designers who polish the robots' "muscles and bones," and some are developers who expand application scenarios. Recently, reporters approached this group of young people, listened to their stories of "evolving" together with robots, interpreted the synchronization of personal ideals with national development, and wrote a youthful answer sheet for the embodied intelligence track.

"Growing together with a rapidly iterating emerging industry requires continuous learning ability"

At 2:30 pm, in the Internet Innovation Center of Zhongguancun Software Park (北京中关村软件园) in Beijing (北京), Ma Cheng (马程), a post-95s embodied intelligence algorithm engineer at Wanjing Qianxun (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. (万境千寻（北京）科技有限公司), is staring at the jumping data on the screen. The robot "Mozi" (墨子) next to him steadily grabs a plate containing bread, puts it in the microwave, and presses the start button... Metal fingertips close, data is uploaded to the cloud, and the model will complete iteration within a few hours.

"Simply put, my job is to continuously improve the intelligence level of robots, so that they can complete tasks stably and efficiently in as many real scenarios as possible," said Ma Cheng (马程).

Organizing office desks, arranging files, cleaning the environment... Real scenarios are far more complex than laboratories. Ma Cheng (马程) introduced that relying solely on increasing the amount of data collection is difficult to achieve practical standards of success. Taking the "water arrangement" task as an example, the robot must arrange 6 scattered bottles of mineral water into an equilateral triangle as standard as possible. This requires the robot to have continuous and precise grasping and placement capabilities and accurately judge the distribution shape of the mineral water. Any positional deviation of a bottle of water may lead to overall failure.

Ma Cheng (马程) led the team to innovate training paradigms, systematically optimize data collection and model iteration processes, and closely connect high-quality data collection with backend model training through low-cost and easy-to-implement paths, greatly improving the success rate of handling complex tasks.

With a smarter "brain" and a more agile "cerebellum," robots also need keen "senses" and more flexible "limbs" to deeply couple cutting-edge algorithms with mechanical hardware.

Zeng Yusheng (曾钰胜), 31, is a visual algorithm engineer at Shenzhen Youbixuan Technology Co., Ltd. (深圳市优必选科技股份有限公司) and is the person who lights up the "eyes" for robots. During the practical training of deploying the industrial humanoid robot Walker S series to the Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor (东风柳汽) General Assembly Workshop, Zeng Yusheng (曾钰胜) encountered a problem: how to achieve precise sorting of stacked workpieces, especially black workpieces, by humanoid robots? "The surface of this type of workpiece absorbs light, and traditional 3D vision solutions are difficult to capture effective data. In addition, with shadows and reflections interfering, position and posture recognition is extremely difficult," said Zeng Yusheng (曾钰胜).

"We need to solve the problem from both the data and model ends." Zeng Yusheng (曾钰胜) led the team to use simulation technology to generate full-scene data and deeply integrate various models. To address the problem of missing depth information for black workpieces, they independently developed a set of algorithms. After continuous iteration, the team greatly improved the accuracy of the entire process of sorting.

If algorithms are "wisdom," hardware is "physique." Xu Changping (许昌平), 32, a hardware engineer at Youbixuan (优必选), is responsible for the research and development of humanoid robot servo drivers. This is the "nerve center + power brain" of the robot's joints, determining its accuracy and stability.

In the development of Walker S2, the core challenge was to meet the requirements of small size while achieving large torque output and ensuring that the "joints" operate stably for a long time without overheating. Xu Changping (许昌平) led the team to start in-depth collaborative tackling—in terms of hardware, precise selection was made in the circuit architecture to find a balance between high load and low heat generation; in terms of structure, key components of heat generation were focused on, and heat dissipation paths were carefully designed; in terms of algorithms, software was used to dynamically adjust the torque distribution of each "joint" to avoid local overheating.

Today, the servo driver equipped with Walker S2 can support the robot to achieve uninterrupted operation on the industrial production line. "Growing together with a rapidly iterating emerging industry requires continuous learning ability. We hope that through our efforts, robots will be more stable, more versatile, and more intelligent," said Xu Changping (许昌平).

"The most difficult thing is the lack of reference targets, so you can only explore on your own, which requires being able to endure loneliness"

From "embodied intelligence" being written into the "Government Work Report" for the first time, to the issuance of the "Opinions on Deeply Implementing the 'Artificial Intelligence+' Action," to the "15th Five-Year Plan" proposals proposing to "promote quantum technology, biomanufacturing, hydrogen energy and nuclear fusion energy, brain-computer interfaces, embodied intelligence, and sixth-generation mobile communications to become new economic growth points"... Under the promotion of policies, China's humanoid robots are accelerating their evolution, moving from laboratories to large-scale applications.

Ren Guangjie (任广杰), born in 1997, is the industrial project leader of Leju Intelligent (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. (乐聚智能（深圳）股份有限公司). When he first started working, Ren Guangjie (任广杰) completed the operation process with the workers every day, ran through more than 70 factories, and recorded the standardized processes of hundreds of scenarios. The real challenge was in the debugging stage of the "Kua Fu" (夸父) humanoid robot. "Every day, I am struggling with data, always thinking about how to increase the success rate," said Ren Guangjie (任广杰).

Initially, the robot was not stable, and the box-moving operation could only last for 20 minutes at most. Ren Guangjie (任广杰) and the team simply "stuck" in the factory. "The visual model was iterated 5 times, and more than 30,000 photos were collected; the navigation plan was changed 4 times, and the core algorithm was optimized dozens of times." In order to reproduce an occasional failure, Ren Guangjie (任广杰) and the team stayed in the factory for several months. In the northeast, where the winter temperature was minus 30 degrees Celsius, the engineers from the south were not acclimatized and fell ill, so they changed a group of people to take over.

"In the exploration of humanoid robots entering the industrial field, the most difficult thing is the lack of reference targets, so you can only explore on your own, which requires being able to endure loneliness," Ren Guangjie (任广杰) admitted that which hardware is more suitable and which technical architecture is the most practical need to be repeatedly polished in different scenarios.

Today, the "Kua Fu" (夸父) humanoid robot has been deployed to the FAW Hongqi (一汽红旗) automobile production line for testing, and can complete operations such as material handling and precise grasping, and can operate continuously with high stability for 8 hours.

Currently, embodied intelligent large models are the core of competition. Facing randomly placed clothes, the robot grabs, folds, and stacks them into "tofu blocks"—the action seems simple, but it is a challenge for the robot in terms of visual perception, whole-body coordination, and task planning.

In March 2025, Qianxun Intelligence's (千寻智能) self-developed visual language action model overcame the long-range operation problem of flexible objects. The company was established only two years ago and has achieved rapid development under the leadership of a group of young people with an average age of 28.

Precisely plugging in battery components and autonomously detecting the connection status of wiring harnesses... The humanoid robot "Xiao Mo" (小墨), developed by this group of young people, is "on duty" on the Ningde Times (宁德时代) new energy battery production line.

In the new energy battery production process, the final functional test before the battery pack goes offline has long relied on manual completion. Workers need to manually plug and unplug test plugs with hundreds of volts of high voltage, which is risky, and the operation efficiency and quality are also unstable.

"Xiao Mo" (小墨) has environmental perception and task generalization capabilities, can autonomously respond to uncertain situations such as deviations in the position of incoming materials, and adjust the operating posture in real time. Gao Yang (高阳), assistant professor at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences of Tsinghua University (清华大学交叉信息研究院) and co-founder of Qianxun Intelligence (千寻智能), introduced that when plugging and unplugging flexible wiring harnesses, the robot can dynamically adjust the force to ensure reliable connection without damaging the components.

Application scenarios are becoming more diverse, technology is becoming more sophisticated, and collaboration is becoming smoother. "Accelerating iteration and deep integration, humanoid robots are accelerating into production and life," said Ren Guangjie (任广杰).

"Looking forward to more young people joining this young career"

Artificial intelligence, a young career, is also a career for young people.

Stepping, side kicking, playing Tai Chi... Not long ago, Hangzhou Yun Shen Chu Technology Co., Ltd. (杭州云深处科技股份有限公司) released a video of a humanoid robot, with "eighteen kinds of martial arts" taking turns. Behind this, the innovative exploration of algorithm engineer Peng Bo (彭博) is indispensable. In addition to being responsible for the whole-body imitation learning and remote operation research and development of humanoid robots, he also uses his spare time to produce a series of teaching videos such as "Four-Legged Motion Control from Entry to Mastery" and "Embodied Intelligence Development," deeply analyzing algorithm logic on social platforms, and attracting countless fans. "The field of embodied intelligence is becoming more and more popular. I hope to attract more young people to join it through sharing," said Peng Bo (彭博).

Youth is often new, the most innovative, and the most innovative. From artificial intelligence large models to the embodied intelligence industry, young scientific and technological talents are the source of innovation.

Gao Yang (高阳), 35, feels this deeply. After graduating with a doctorate, he returned to China to teach and start a business. Today, he teaches two courses, "Computer Vision" and "Principles of Artificial Intelligence," and also shuttles between the podium and the industrial front line, bringing the "technical demand list" back to the laboratory, so that students can grow into talents in the process of solving complex problems.

"The development speed of artificial intelligence is very fast. We need to continuously overcome difficulties in key core technology fields, and also connect academic frontiers with industrial practice, and transform talent advantages into innovative breakthroughs," said Gao Yang (高阳).

"Cross-border" and "integration" are the common keywords of this group of young people. Zhao Xing (赵行), assistant professor at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences of Tsinghua University (清华大学交叉信息研究院), believes that embodied intelligence talents must break down disciplinary barriers, "those who do algorithms must have intuition about hardware, and those who do hardware must understand algorithm requirements. Cross-border integration is the soil for disruptive innovation."

The "15th Five-Year Plan" proposals propose to "cultivate and strengthen emerging industries and future industries." Ren Guangjie (任广杰) believes that the humanoid robot field is a key track where emerging industries and future industries converge, "Looking forward to more young people joining this young career."

The future has come, and the momentum is surging. The broad prospects of embodied intelligence have opened a door full of opportunities for the vast number of young people. "**你追我赶、各展所长**" (nǐ zhuī wǒ gǎn, gè zhǎn suǒ cháng - "you chase me, I surpass you, each displays their strengths," a vivid description of competitive development where everyone strives to excel and showcase their unique talents) has become a vivid portrayal of industrial development.

"Promoting the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation requires us to carry out tackling with industrial needs as the guide, and more firmly work towards the goal of making robots 'understand, see accurately, think, and execute,' so that embodied intelligence can truly empower thousands of industries," Zeng Yusheng (曾钰胜) said with confidence.

(People's Daily Online reporter Song Zijie (宋子节), intern Xue Siyuan (薛思远) participated in the writing. Related videos can be found in the "Experience" column of People's Daily Online)

Return to Top

A Young Field, A Career for Young People (Reporter's Notes)

By: 杨 昊

"Personal ideals integrated into national development," "Taking serving the country through science and technology as one's own responsibility"... These are phrases heard repeatedly during interviews. The embodied intelligence track provides technological solutions for addressing major social needs of the country, and also provides a stage for young people who crave innovation and creation to realize their personal value. The struggle of this group of young people not only makes robots more intelligent, but also enables technology to empower all walks of life. This is both the humanistic care of technology and the historical mission entrusted to young people by the times.

Planning for the "15th Five-Year Plan" (十五五), promoting the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, and looking forward to more young people joining this field full of hope and challenges. The youthful power running in both directions with the times is a vivid footnote to the vigorous development of new quality productive forces.

Return to Top

Resilient Youth, Powerful Society (Youth Perspective)

By: 孟祥夫

Not long ago, Pang Zhongwang (庞众望), who once moved countless netizens with his refusal to give up in the face of a "heaven-collapsing start" and his "defying fate," was selected as a 2025 Student of the Year at Tsinghua University (清华大学), once again sparking heated discussions among netizens. With a father suffering from schizophrenia and a mother with lower limb disabilities, Pang Zhongwang shouldered the burden of his family from a young age, moving forward in adversity, "falling, getting up, falling again, and getting up again," getting into a prestigious university, and pursuing a doctorate. He said, "Resilience is the foundation that my family has given me since childhood." Resilient growth has allowed Pang Zhongwang to achieve one breakthrough after another on a less-than-smooth life path.

In life, it is inevitable to experience various changes, from small family and career changes to large-scale changes in the times and the world. The torrent of the times surges forward, and "change" is the only "constant." Facing the changes and challenges encountered in life, how can young people settle down and break through? Resilient growth is the best answer.

Resilience, literally, refers to the ability of an object to deform under external force without easily breaking. For a person's growth, resilience means elasticity, resilience, and resistance to adversity. "千磨万击还坚劲 (qiān mó wàn jī hái jiān jìng - "subjected to a thousand grindings and ten thousand strikes, it still remains firm and strong," meaning to remain steadfast despite repeated setbacks)," like a bamboo, deeply rooted in the soil, not blown down by the wind, not broken by the snow, still standing tall and growing towards the sun after the wind and snow. It is common for young people to experience confusion and pressure on their growth path. Refusing internal friction, adjusting at any time, not resisting stubbornly, and not persevering to the death are the ways many young people deal with things nowadays. Some people take a trip on a whim after experiencing a period of high-intensity work, some change tracks based on personal interests and expertise when encountering a ceiling in the workplace, and some work hard to build themselves into "slash youths"... On social platforms, some young people share their practices and experiences. They do not follow the rules, dare to break the routine, are good at "jumping out," and adjust their state at any time to explore more possibilities.

Resilient growth is not only about being indomitable when encountering challenges, but also about the ability to quickly find solutions when encountering pressure, thereby transforming challenges into opportunities. Wang Xiaonan (汪小楠), a post-00s girl, is a "second-generation business owner" in Yiwu (义乌). Her company mainly deals in hardware tools. In the past two years, affected by the external environment, product sales have been under pressure. Inspecting the American market, flying to Europe to visit customers... Wang Xiaonan's schedule is full, and she is running around the market non-stop, opening up new business channels. "Waves of foreign businessmen come, but I feel that business is busier." Wang Xiaonan is becoming more and more confident as she runs around. In her opinion, her products are of good quality and low price, and the difficulties are only temporary and can be solved easily. There are always more solutions than difficulties. If you don't get discouraged, don't stop, practice your internal skills diligently, and concentrate on doing your own thing, you will surely see the light of day.

In today's era, the world is intertwined with chaos and change, and the new technological revolution is in full swing. This is a rapidly changing era, and it is also an era of coexistence of opportunities and challenges. Facing changes, young people need to respond to external shocks with full resilience and face and solve problems with a flexible attitude. It is gratifying that many young people have responded with admirable actions. They do not hesitate or fear, and while exploring inward, they also expand outward. They can withstand the pressure of stretching and accumulate the power to move forward when relaxed. This resilience is a powerful force for contemporary youth to effectively resist external interference and adapt to changes.

Experiencing in a larger arena and tempering oneself in overcoming difficulties are also effective ways for young people to improve their resilience and enhance their ability to withstand pressure. In recent years, some young people have stepped out of their own world. Some have gone to the west to teach, growing up in the Pamir Plateau (帕米尔高原); others have become social workers, developing skills and increasing resilience in solving the needs and expectations of the masses and complex problems. Practice has proved that integrating the small self into the big self and undergoing trials and tribulations in "urgent, difficult, dangerous, and new" situations will make the pace of growth more firm and calm, the resilience stronger, and the stamina more sufficient.

When young people have resilience, society has strength. Resilient growth means not shrinking back when encountering difficulties, being able to adapt to changes, embracing opportunities and innovation, daring to explore, and bravely pursuing dreams, so as to write one's own wonderful life.

Return to Top

Adhering to the Craftsman's Spirit, Serving the Nation with Skills (From the Grassroots)

By: 本报记者 刘佳华

Braving the cold wind, Niu Feifei (牛菲菲) arrived at the company early as usual. After changing into her work clothes and entering the workshop, she allocated the day's tasks to the entire team. Then, she sat down at her workstation, holding flat-nose pliers in one hand and a dynamometer in the other, focusing on adjusting the railway signal relay on the workbench.

The relay is known as the "neuron" of the railway signal control system and is one of the key components to ensure operational safety. The production of relays is inseparable from manual adjustment. Niu Feifei (牛菲菲), 35 years old this year, is a signal fitter at China Railway Signal & Communication (CRSC) Xi'an Industrial Group Shenyang Railway Signal Co., Ltd. (中国通号西安工业集团沈阳铁路信号有限责任公司).

In 2010, Niu Feifei (牛菲菲) joined Shenyang Railway Signal Co., Ltd. (沈信公司) after graduating from Liaoning Railway Vocational and Technical College (辽宁铁道职业技术学院). From understanding the structure of relays to trying to adjust the contact pieces, and then to independently adjusting complete relays, Niu Feifei (牛菲菲) was diligent and eager to learn, making rapid progress under the guidance of her master. However, she also fell into confusion for a time. At that time, the rework rate of the relays she adjusted was high, and sitting on a stool every day also made her feel bored. "Fortunately, my master and seniors kept encouraging me, teaching me to calm down and be able to sit still." Therefore, Niu Feifei (牛菲菲) constantly consulted her masters about the various details of the relay, working overtime to practice her skills.

Under the guidance of senior colleagues in the workshop, Niu Feifei (牛菲菲) participated in industry vocational skills competitions many times, constantly improving in practice and competition. A white scar still remains on her hand, which was left by a splash of molten iron during a training session. "When practicing machining, the iron parts must be firmly fixed, and you can't let go even if you get burned." From first signing up for the competition in 2014 to winning first place in the signal fitter group of the National Industry Vocational Skills Competition in 2023, a hundredfold effort finally paid off.

In 2019, Niu Feifei (牛菲菲) joined the Model Worker Innovation Studio and took the lead in establishing a quality management team, working with young colleagues to tackle technical problems. "When we analyzed production data, we found that in the self-inspection process, selecting different models of feeler gauges to measure gaps according to different products was time-consuming and inefficient." Finding the crux of the problem, Niu Feifei (牛菲菲) and her colleagues repeatedly tried, verified, and compared, spending two years developing a set of more professional and easier-to-operate special feeler gauges, which reduced the gap measurement time and increased the average daily production of relays by 63 units, adding tangible benefits to the company. In recent years, Niu Feifei (牛菲菲) has participated in summarizing the "12-step adjustment method for relays," helping young employees improve the qualified rate of adjustment, successively overcoming 12 production problems, achieving more than 30 innovative achievements, and obtaining 6 national patents.

Steadfast, diligent, and striving – these are the qualities that Niu Feifei (牛菲菲) inherited from the older generation of workers in the workshop, and she is now continuing to promote them. The relay adjustment team has 82 employees. Starting this year, Niu Feifei (牛菲菲) has served as the rotating deputy team leader and is also responsible for the skill competition training tasks, uniting everyone to work together to improve product quality. She said: "Every small action determines the quality of the product and is related to the safety of railway operation. We must promote the spirit of craftsmanship, strive for perfection, and safeguard the 'neurons' of railway signals."

Return to Top

Editor in Charge for This Edition: Meng Xiangfu

Layout design: Cai Huawei (蔡华伟)

Return to Top

"Victory Code" of the Medical Warriors (On the Road to a Strong Military)

By: 本报记者 李龙伊

Qilu Land (齐鲁大地), the sky is clear after the first snow. Inside the Army 80th Group Army Hospital (陆军第80集团军医院), a mass casualty treatment exercise is underway: rapid triage, orderly evacuation, precise treatment... The reporter saw at the scene that the medical staff's series of actions were clean, efficient, and methodical.

The executors of the exercise are members of the New Era Red Army Doctor War Trauma Treatment Doctoral Team of the Army 80th Group Army Hospital (陆军第80集团军医院新时代红色军医战创伤救治博士团队). This team is led by 9 young and middle-aged medical doctors from the hospital, bringing together backbones from multiple disciplines such as orthopedics, neurology, and respiratory medicine. Dozens of subject patents are at the forefront of academia.

"I hope the scalpel in my hand is not only for suturing wounds, but also for supporting the lives and hopes of officers and soldiers." Opening a team member's notebook, a line of text is sincere and ardent.

In the new era, the team members' eyes are always focused on the future battlefield, closely following actual combat, and vigorously transforming, forging themselves into a sharp knife on the health support front.

"Wherever the battlefield is, health support extends to there."

On an exercise field of a certain combined arms brigade, smoke filled the air. Team member and critical care medicine doctor Cai Peng (蔡鹏), carrying nearly 30 kilograms of individual soldier equipment, crawled through the trenches.

Cai Peng's task is to ensure that every first aid kit is readily available. "2 epinephrine injections, 3 tourniquets!" Amidst the explosions, although sand and gravel poured into his collar and blurred his vision, his voice was clear and firm when he reported the list of medicines.

More than 4 years ago, Cai Peng, who had just graduated from the military medical university with a doctorate, was only studying trauma treatment theory in the laboratory. Now, as the commander of a service detachment, he leads officers and soldiers to charge on the training ground, deeply understanding the meaning of the five characters "combat-oriented military doctor."

As the reform of the army deepens, the health support tasks undertaken by the hospital are becoming increasingly arduous, and the goal of this doctoral team is becoming clearer: everything is for winning.

Only by being strict and demanding can we forge winning vanguards.

In the early summer of 2025, on the coast of Bohai Bay (渤海湾), an exercise kicked off. Alarms pierced the sky, and 6 "wounded" were transferred here. Team member and orthopedic doctor Han Zhao (韩钊) and his comrades were on standby: nurses quickly assessed the injuries, the transfer team transferred them steadily, and Han Zhao concentrated and carefully examined the "wounded."

"'Wounded' with combined head, chest, and abdominal injuries, measure blood pressure, prepare for general anesthesia!" As soon as Han Zhao finished speaking, the nurse had already handed over the sphygmomanometer, and the anesthesiologist synchronously adjusted the ventilator. From triage and transfer to surgery, the entire team was like a precision machine, seamlessly connected.

In order to maximize the proximity to actual combat, the military doctors set strict conditions for themselves: constantly shaking the surgical tent to simulate ship turbulence; blowing the surgical table directly with a fan to simulate sea gusts. The operating table shook incessantly in the turbulence, and strong winds rushed in, but Han Zhao's hands were as steady as a rock, precisely operating and handling.

"In the past, the operating table was very stable at the training base. But how could the real battlefield be absolutely stable?" Han Zhao said with emotion. Later, the team took the initiative to increase the difficulty: carrying out treatment in simulated "night low light" and "chemical weapon contamination" environments. "What the battlefield needs, we practice." Han Zhao said.

War trauma treatment is not a one-man battle.

单丝不成线，独木难成林 (dān sī bù chéng xiàn, dú mù nán chéng lín - "a single thread cannot make a line, a single tree cannot make a forest," one person cannot accomplish much alone; unity is strength). Team member and cardiovascular disease specialist Zhang Yanda (张艳达) said that the team is closely following the needs of the future battlefield, breaking the traditional barriers of disciplinary training, and carrying out normalized integrated training. Doctors of different specialties are teachers and apprentices to each other, forming a systematic way of thinking in repeated collaboration.

One joint rescue impressed Zhang Yanda deeply: In the summer of 2025, a soldier was seriously injured in a live-fire training exercise. When the alarm sounded, without a moment's hesitation, Zhang Yanda and two other doctors from different departments rushed to the rescue room at the same time from different positions.

The three people acted accurately and cooperated tacitly: rib fixation, circulation maintenance, hematoma removal... After several hours of strenuous rescue, a stable and regular waveform finally appeared on the monitor, and a thrilling multi-department joint operation won the victory.

Winning is the unremitting pursuit of team members.

Late at night, the after-action review discussion at the field training ground is still underway. "Wherever the battlefield is, health support extends to there." Team leader and orthopedic doctor Pan Zhaohui (潘朝晖) said that health support capabilities are tempered in the front line of training and upgraded iteratively in resonance with battlefield needs.

"The 'sights' of scientific research must be aimed at winning."

In June 2025, Beijing (北京), the 6th Pan-Pacific Military Medicine Conference was held. A scientific research result brought by the team directly addressed the problem of "slow judgment and difficult decision-making" in battlefield injury assessment. After team member and orthopedic doctor Bai Yun (白赟) presented the last set of comparison data, applause rang out in the venue.

This is an efficient solution given by the team after thousands of simulations and clinical verifications, which has won the recognition of the experts attending the meeting. "For us, this is not only a subject, but also a mission." Bai Yun said firmly, "If we 'stay up' one more night in the laboratory, we may leave one more soldier who can fight on the future battlefield!"

From international academic conferences to the smoke-filled front lines of exercises, the scientific research footprints of this doctoral team have always been clearly imprinted with a combat-oriented direction.

"The 'sights' of scientific research must be aimed at winning." Team member and neurologist Wang Huaiming (王怀明) said.

Through an exercise, Wang Huaiming found that battlefield psychological stress responses were difficult to detect in real time, and interventions also lacked specificity. Therefore, he and his team plunged into the laboratory, combining physiological sensing technology with psychological intervention methods, analyzing officers' and soldiers' training data during the day, debugging system algorithms at night, and repeatedly simulating battlefield environments such as explosions and noise...

After thousands of experiments, a field psychological protection system was unveiled. The system can monitor indicators such as heart rate and skin electrical reactions in real time, accurately capture stress signals, and synchronously push personalized intervention programs. In pilot troops, it is like a real-time updated "psychological situation map," providing decision support for commanders.

The treatment of fractures caused by war trauma is related to the health of soldiers and is an important direction for the team to tackle.

"In field conditions, how can complex fractures be reduced and fixed faster and more accurately?" This traditional and realistic problem is placed in front of Pan Zhaohui.

"As long as the battlefield needs it, research cannot stop." Faced with the various difficulties in the research, Pan Zhaohui never flinched. He led the team to use 3D printing technology to accurately reproduce the three-dimensional morphology of the fracture and pre-plan each reduction path on the model. This innovation greatly compresses the operation time of complex fractures, which can buy crucial "golden window" time for rescue.

"Problems are collected from the battlefield, and results serve to win." Wang Huaiming introduced that the team has established a joint research and training mechanism with multiple combat troops, and directly transforms the shortcomings exposed in the exercise and the needs of officers and soldiers heard during rounds into a list of key research topics.

The lights in the laboratory are often on until late at night. For this team, there is no end to scientific research climbing. Up to now, the team has published 64 authoritative papers, undertaken more than 40 military and provincial and municipal projects, and carried out more than 70 new businesses and new technologies... One achievement after another is applied to the front line of support, effectively promoting technological upgrades and adding confidence to winning.

"You guard the motherland, we guard you."

In the late autumn of 2021, during a field training assessment, a soldier inhaled a large amount of dust and grass clippings due to the blast wave of an explosion, and his airway was severely obstructed. He was urgently sent to a temporary medical station.

At this time, team member and respiratory medicine doctor Liu Tao (刘涛) was leading a team to conduct a war injury respiratory emergency drill. She did not hesitate at all, grabbed the war rescue kit, and rushed to the medical station. When she arrived, Liu Tao carefully assessed the situation and decided: "In the tent, perform bronchoscopic foreign body removal."

The conditions in the tent were very simple, and a marching bed served as an operating table. Liu Tao knelt beside the bed, holding the bronchoscope steadily in her left hand and precisely manipulating the forceps in her right hand. When the first piece of debris was removed, the soldier's breathing suddenly became smooth; more than half an hour later, the last obstruction was removed, and the soldier's complexion gradually became ruddy.

"The Red Army's concept of 'moving the battlefield forward' means to us that we move the treatment table to the training ground and to our comrades. Under limited conditions, we use the most solid technology to guard the line of defense for life." Liu Tao said, "This is responsibility, and even more so, it is the duty of a soldier."

For team members, guarding the health of officers and soldiers is a duty and mission, and they must go all out.

Leaving home to enter school, and leaving school to enter the barracks, is the common trajectory of many young military doctors. After graduation, a special lecture made team member and orthopedic doctor Zhang Hongyang (张洪洋) truly understand the meaning of the word "responsibility"—

An old military doctor with white hair tremblingly recounted the past when they performed amputation surgery in the battle with only the faint light of a flashlight: "At that time, there was no advanced equipment, no sterile environment, and no time to hesitate. What supported us was the belief that 'we must save them'."

Action shows loyalty and responsibility.

Once, Zhang Hongyang went to the border plateau for a medical tour. The altitude there was more than 4,000 meters, and the air was thin. He felt a tightness in his chest as soon as he got out of the car. However, seeing the soldiers with pale faces due to altitude sickness, he immediately cheered up and gave the soldiers oxygen, prescribed medicine, and examined them. At night, Zhang Hongyang's fingers were numb from the cold, but he was still recording medical records under the lamp. The next morning, he carried the first aid kit and rushed to the next post.

At a certain post, a soldier's discomfort was relieved after treatment. The soldier expressed his gratitude with joy, and Zhang Hongyang patted him on the shoulder and said, "You guard the motherland, we guard you."

Pan Zhaohui introduced that when choosing the location for temporary duty and medical tours, each member of the team actively applies to go to the most front-line, most difficult, and most remote places.

On the road of medical tours, tests often come unexpectedly.

In the northern borderland, in a low temperature of minus 30 degrees Celsius, a soldier fell on the snow, his carotid artery pulse was weak, and he was diagnosed with anaphylactic shock. The medic performed routine intravenous puncture, but failed repeatedly due to severe vascular collapse. Time was passing by second by second, and life and death depended on these few minutes.

"We can only do blind puncture." Team member and orthopedic sports medicine doctor Zhang Hongxin (张洪鑫) quickly took over, predicting the direction of the blood vessel based on years of experience. The first time, no blood return was seen. Adjusting the angle slightly, probing again, blood finally poured into the needle tube. "Channel established, rapid fluid resuscitation!" Fifteen minutes later, the soldier slowly opened his eyes, and Zhang Hongxin breathed a sigh of relief. Zhang Hongxin's training uniform was soaked with sweat, and the outer layer was frozen into an ice shell in the severe cold.

Later, Zhang Hongxin walked through thousands of miles of border defense line, surveyed more than a thousand border defense officers and soldiers, and finally formed a solid health data set, compiled a practical first-line emergency manual, and equipped each patrol class with a "portable first aid kit" to provide a solid guarantee for the health of border defense soldiers.

In recent years, the team's footprints have spread all over high mountains and islands, forest and snow fields, and they have gone deep into hundreds of front-line companies and outposts. "We must protect the lives and health of officers and soldiers" is their unwavering belief.

Return to Top

Where is the "Advanced" in Advanced Combat Capability? (Jintai Dianbing)

By: 胡 杨 葛宇斌

In the deep winter Gobi Desert, smoke fills the air as a combined arms brigade of the Army engages in a fierce confrontation exercise: drone swarms scout ahead, quadruped robots carry equipment to breach obstacles, and digitalized infantry rely on intelligent terminals for precise assaults. Traditional combat units and new quality forces collaborate efficiently, breaking through the opponent's defense system in one fell swoop. The scene of the New Year's training is a vivid interpretation of the development of advanced combat capabilities.

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (中国共产党) clearly proposed "accelerating the construction of advanced combat capabilities." This important proposition for strengthening the military and rejuvenating the nation becomes increasingly clear in the tests of the training ground. The "advanced" characteristics of advanced combat capabilities are embodied in the organic integration of theoretical guidance, organizational aggregation, talent support, and technological empowerment.

The generation of advanced combat capabilities requires the guidance of advanced military theory. As the form of warfare accelerates its evolution towards intelligence, only by closely following the changes in technology, warfare, and adversaries can we seize the initiative to win. A naval base broke down service barriers, jointly constructing a collaborative training area with more than 30 units, transforming joint operations theory into standardized procedures for nighttime ship-aircraft coordinated search and rescue, allowing theoretical innovation achievements to be directly transformed into battlefield effectiveness. From the theater command's focus on combat to the service's focus on construction in the system restructuring, to the practical exploration of system-based training and joint victory, an advanced combat theory system with Chinese characteristics is guiding troops to continuously solve the "winning" problem in realistic training exercises, calibrating the direction of advanced combat capability construction.

The modernization of organizational form is an important symbol of the modernization of military forces. The efficient generation of advanced combat capabilities relies on an organizational system that can stimulate vitality, gather resources, and connect links. Today, Army staff officers entering Air Force towers to analyze the situation, and Navy ships coordinating with Air Force aircraft to conduct far-sea training, have become the norm for system-based training. The optimized organizational structure has cleared the blockages in the combat chain, allowing the forces of various services and arms to 攥指成拳 (zuàn zhǐ chéng quán - "clench fingers into a fist," to unite and concentrate strength), releasing a multiplied system combat capability.

The way to strengthen the military lies in obtaining talent. The generation of advanced combat capabilities ultimately depends on talent. Shi Xiaoyu (史晓宇), a soldier from a brigade of the 71st Group Army (第71集团军), took the lead in compiling a small drone combat lesson plan library after winning the national drone challenge, driving a group of officers and soldiers to grow into composite talents who "understand technology, are proficient in operation, and can teach." From commanders relying on data modeling and algorithm deduction to carry out intelligent decision-making, to combatants precisely coordinating with unmanned equipment, a talent phalanx adapted to the requirements of intelligent warfare is taking shape. Through innovative training models and the construction of practical platforms, the comprehensive quality of military talent is continuously improving, providing solid human support for the generation of advanced combat capabilities.

Advanced military technology is a force multiplier for combat capabilities. Technology is the core combat capability of modern warfare, and disruptive technologies are reshaping the operational landscape. A missile unit of the Rocket Force (火箭军) repeatedly tempered itself in extreme environments, and its deterrence capability to defeat the enemy with "speed" continued to improve; the "Linfen Brigade" (临汾旅) used a combat simulation training system to iterate tactics in a virtual battlefield, significantly shortening the combat capability generation cycle; old equipment was significantly improved in performance through information and intelligent transformation, embarking on a path of low investment and high efficiency in national defense modernization. From the deployment of new quality equipment to the upgrading of traditional equipment, technological empowerment allows advanced combat capabilities to continuously iterate and upgrade.

The construction of advanced combat capabilities is in progress. It is necessary to deeply grasp the era requirements of accelerating the construction of advanced combat capabilities, actively seize the commanding heights of military struggle, seek new advantages in military competition and development, focus on advanced combat capabilities, think about changes, grasp construction, make preparations, and continuously improve the strategic ability to safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests.

(Author's unit: National Defense University (国防大学))

Return to Top

Listening to the Deep Sea's "Pulse" (Voice of the Military)

By: 仲昭广

"Di, di, di..." In the depths of the ocean, on the sonar station of a certain type of naval vessel, the spectral curve on the fluorescent screen undulates with the sound waves. I gently touch the operation panel, as if I can feel the breathing of the deep sea. These sound waves, hiding the roar of undercurrents and the disturbance of schools of fish, are the most familiar "ocean language" in my 30-year military career. As long as there is a slight abnormality in the frequency, my nerves will instantly tense up - it is very likely a submarine, quietly cruising under the cover of the deep sea.

In order to develop "muscle memory," I devoted my youth to monotonous repetition. When I first boarded the ship, facing the dense spectrum diagrams, the veteran squad leader told me: "Sonar is the underwater eye of the ship." During the day, I followed the veteran squad leader for practical operations at sea, and at night I worked hard in the dormitory, forcing myself to lock onto targets from mixed signals in the dark. To distinguish similar submarine signals, I spent several consecutive days in the sonar room, repeatedly adjusting parameters to compare the spectrum.

For 30 years, through cold and heat, I have been sticking to my post. Someone asked me: "Aren't you bored facing the 'di di' sound all year round?" I always answer with a smile: "Being able to understand the language of the ocean and escort the ship, this job becomes more and more interesting."

The arena is a touchstone for testing strength. That year, in the professional competition, experts gathered. In the final, the assessment team played a signal that lasted only 0.5 seconds and was wrapped in complex noise. While other contestants were still thinking, I had already pressed the buzzer: "A certain type of conventional submarine is traveling at low speed!" It took only 1 second from hearing the signal to making a judgment. The leader of the assessment team gave me a thumbs up. When I held up the championship trophy, I understood in my heart that this was both affirmation and a heavy responsibility.

The real test is on the battlefield. In a certain training exercise, the "Black Shark" we were searching for had excellent stealth performance. For three consecutive days, I carefully identified signals in the "sound maze" interwoven with whale calls and merchant ship noise. At dawn on the third day, a weak signal, whose intensity was almost submerged by wake noise, flashed by. The instinct formed by years of training made me instantly alert - the frequency characteristics were highly similar to those of a certain type of submarine!

I held my breath, unaware that sweat was dripping on the operation panel. After tense analysis, I decisively reported: "Submarine target detected!" The ship quickly took position, and the torpedo roared out. A few minutes later, the sonar sent back a clear echo of the hit. At that moment, I deeply felt the value of this watch: on the silent battlefield, we are the most sensitive ears of the deep sea.

一花独放不是春 (yī huā dú fàng bù shì chūn - "one flower blooming alone does not make spring," meaning that prosperity requires collective effort). With the acceleration of the Navy's transformation, batches of young sonar soldiers have taken up their posts. As a veteran squad leader, I often tell the new recruits: "There is no shortcut to the growth of a sonar soldier; you can only engrave every signal in your heart." I shared my more than 10 notebooks and the "three-part listening method" I summarized with them. The "relay baton" of the deep-sea defense line is being steadily passed on.

Now my temples are frosted, but whenever I walk into the station and hear the familiar "ocean frequency," I am still excited. In order to keep up with the pace of transformation, I actively learn new systems and study new tactics. I believe that no matter how advanced the equipment is, it cannot be separated from the perseverance of people.

As the sun sets, the ship cuts through the waves. The familiar "di di" sound still echoes in the station, which is our dialogue with the ocean. On this deep blue battlefield, I will continue to watch with my ears, and together with my young comrades, write an agreement that resonates with the ocean and has no regrets in the wave of strengthening the military.

(The author is a first-level sergeant major of a certain unit of the Northern Theater Navy (北部战区海军), compiled by Ren Tongtong (任彤彤) and Feng Zhibin (封治斌))

Return to Top

Attracting More Outstanding Talents to Join the Civilian Cadre (National Defense Perspective)

By: 本报记者 李龙伊

In the cold winter season, Chen Liang (陈良), a Ph.D. graduate from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (中国科学院大学) who had just joined an army unit, felt a surge of warmth in his heart as he looked at the newly issued "Notice on Specific Issues Concerning the Implementation of Beijing's Policies on Military Civilian Personnel Across Military and Local Areas" (《关于落实北京市军队文职人员跨军地政策有关具体问题的通知》, hereinafter referred to as the "Notice").

"According to relevant policies, I have the opportunity to enjoy benefits such as settling in Beijing (北京) and talent subsidies, which is very encouraging to me. The support of the policies has further strengthened my confidence in choosing a career as a civilian employee. I will definitely work diligently and contribute actively to the troops, and strive to contribute to the building of national defense and the military," Chen Liang (陈良) said excitedly.

Civilian personnel are an important emerging force in our army. Giving full play to their role is of great significance for promoting a strong military, national rejuvenation, and the modernization of national defense and the military. Since 2025, the Political Work Department of the Beijing Garrison (北京卫戍区政治工作部) has worked with 11 departments, including the Organization Department of the Beijing Municipal Committee (北京市委组织部), the Beijing Municipal Finance Bureau (市财政局), the Beijing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau (市人力资源社会保障局), the Beijing Municipal Health Commission (市卫生健康委), and the Beijing Municipal Veterans Affairs Bureau (市退役军人事务局), to study and formulate implementation measures for policies on the introduction of civilian personnel talent, children's education, housing and medical care, retirement subsidies, and social benefits, which has attracted widespread attention from civilian personnel.

"As the capital, Beijing (北京市) should take the lead in supporting national defense and military construction. The introduction of good policies welcomed by civilian personnel is only the first step, and more work needs to be done in proactive service and precise implementation," said a person in charge of relevant departments in Beijing (北京市). It is reported that relevant military and local departments in Beijing (北京市) will rely on the joint military-local meeting mechanism to regularly sort out the contradictions and problems of civilian personnel and promote the release of good policy effectiveness.

The issue of children's education concerns the hearts of many civilian personnel. "My child is about to reach school age, and I am always a little uncertain about whether I can enjoy relevant preferential treatment for children's enrollment and how to handle it. The new policy has a clear direction and scope, and I feel much more at ease, and I also feel the care of the country and the army for civilian personnel," said Chang Xin (常鑫), a civilian employee of the PLA News Communication Center (解放军新闻传播中心).

Li Xiang (李翔), Deputy Minister of the Dongcheng District People's Armed Forces Department in Beijing (北京市东城区人武部), paid special attention to the military-local training policy. "The 'Notice' clarifies that qualified civilian personnel can be selected to attend training at the Party School of the Beijing Municipal Committee (北京市委党校) and study in the same class as local government officials, which is more conducive to improving their ideological level and broadening their horizons," Li Xiang (李翔) said. Military-local joint training can not only improve the comprehensive quality of civilian personnel, but also reflects the recognition of the identity of civilian personnel.

Bai Jianping (柏建平), a civilian employee who is about to reach retirement age, frankly said: "The new civilian personnel system has been established for less than 10 years, and the number of retirees is not large. What will happen to our treatment after retirement in the future is one of our biggest concerns."

In response to this problem, the Beijing Garrison (北京卫戍区) closely cooperated with relevant functional departments in the駐地 and jointly tackled key problems. It took the lead in the country to clarify the specific standards for retirement allowances and subsidies, giving civilian personnel a "reassurance pill" and also exploring a path for other provinces to introduce relevant policies.

The more powerful the guarantee, the more combat effective the army. "The cross-military and local policies for civilian personnel introduced this time are a practical measure to open up the 'last mile' of the implementation of the new civilian personnel system, which is conducive to attracting more outstanding talents from society to join the civilian personnel ranks." The relevant person in charge of the Political Work Department of the Beijing Garrison (北京卫戍区政治工作部) introduced that the number of civilian personnel assigned to troops stationed in Beijing (北京) is the largest among all provinces. In recent years, the popularity and quality of recruitment have steadily increased. In 2025, the number of applicants exceeded 100,000, many of whom came from well-known universities at home and abroad. More and more ambitious young people are joining the military and dedicating themselves to national defense, providing a source of vitality for the development of the army.

Return to Top

Editor in charge of this edition: Li Longyi

Layout design: Zhang Danfeng (张丹峰)

Return to Top

Shaping Chinese Style, Displaying Chinese Spirit (Humanistic Dialogue)

In 2025, Chinese films achieved remarkable success in "going global." Third-party data statistics platforms show that *Ne Zha* single film overseas box office (including Hong Kong and Macao markets) reached 69 million U.S. dollars, setting a new high in recent years for domestic films' single film overseas box office. At the same time, the total overseas box office of domestic films throughout the year exceeded 1 billion yuan, an increase compared to the previous year. Among the top 20 domestic films in annual box office, 15 were released overseas. China held Chinese film festivals in more than 40 countries, and the pace of Chinese films "going global" became deeper and farther. Industry insiders pointed out that from content to technology, from management systems to market mechanisms, Chinese films "going global" are showing a systematic trend, and the "going global" of the Chinese film "model" is attracting increasing attention.

From now to 2035, when China will be built into a film powerhouse, how will Chinese films better tell Chinese stories and convey Chinese values through systematic overseas expansion? In this issue, we invite domestic film practitioners and experts to jointly discuss the "going global" path of Chinese films.

-- Editor

Host:
Liu Yang (刘阳), Reporter of this newspaper

Dialogue Guests:
Ying Xujun (应旭珺), President of CMC Pictures
Gong Bo (龚波), Director of the China Research Institute of Film Science & Technology
Zhi Feina (支菲娜), Professor of the Chinese National Academy of Arts

From "Content Going Global" to "Model Going Global," Chinese Films Establish Comprehensive Confidence

Reporter: What are the highlights and trends of Chinese films "going global"?

Ying Xujun (应旭珺): First of all, from the production end, co-productions and international co-productions have become an important trend. For example, the *Meg 2: The Trench* series adopts a new approach of "Chinese control + international resources." Internationalized narrative, industrialized production, and localized leadership are the hallmarks of a new stage in Chinese films.

In terms of narrative, the vision of China's new generation of directors has expanded significantly. They are no longer limited to "Chinese stories in a Chinese-language context," but rather allow Chinese characters to appear in international contexts, establishing emotional resonance with global audiences. *The Wandering Earth* and *Home Coming*, among others, answer the question of "how Chinese people view the world" in different ways.

In terms of distribution, film "going global" is gradually moving from festival screenings to a commercial and systematic approach. Chinese films can not only achieve simultaneous global releases, but also form a normalized distribution model of "theaters + streaming media" running in parallel. National-level cultural promotion activities, such as the "Chinese Film Festival" and "Chinese Film Week," enable Chinese films to have sustained overseas exposure. Overall, Chinese films are shifting from "going abroad to participate in exhibitions" to "global releases," from "cultural output" to "industrial participation," and from "occasional phenomena" to "systematic norms."

Gong Bo (龚波): From the perspective of "technology going global," one is the LED projection system. As of September 2025, there are a total of 22 LED cinema screen manufacturers worldwide that have passed authoritative international certification, of which China accounts for 13. There are approximately 300 LED cinema screens installed globally, of which China accounts for more than 200, and many Chinese brands have been launched overseas. The second is virtual shooting technology. The LED virtual shooting systems of Chinese companies have entered North America, Europe, and other places. Many institutions or enterprises, such as Zhejiang Boda, Shenzhen Zhouming, and Wuxi National Digital Film Industrial Park, have built virtual studios overseas. The third is that domestic cameras and lenses are used in award-winning works at film awards such as the Oscars, Venice, and Cannes. The fourth is domestic immersive sound technology. Chinese research teams have developed an immersive sound reproduction system that meets international standards and has entered the demonstration application stage.

In terms of standards, three breakthroughs have been achieved. First, in 2023, the *Technical Requirements and Measurement Methods for Stereoscopic Projection in Digital Cinemas* led by China was released. This is the first international film standard led by China, and also the only international film standard led by a non-U.S. country. Second, in 2024, we proposed the international standard proposal *Optical Technical Requirements and Measurement Methods for Digital Cinema LED Theaters*, which has been approved by the ISO International Organization for Standardization and is being carried out in an orderly manner. Third, experts from the China Film Research Institute serve as conveners of the ISO/TC36 Artificial Intelligence Special Working Group, which is the first time that Chinese experts have led an international film standard group, indicating that we have gradually mastered the dominant power and voice in "AI + film standards."

Zhi Feina (支菲娜): Chinese films as a whole have entered the "model going global" stage, including a management system with keen reform, openness, tolerance, and good learning; a market system based on doubling content, a huge screening network, and a convenient online ticketing system; an industrial system that encourages artistic innovation, business innovation, technological innovation, and talent innovation; and a film public service system that covers the whole people and is regionally balanced. A development model with Chinese characteristics has gradually formed and is moving towards the world and influencing the world.

The key to "model going global" is the system, concept, and path, which is a more systematic cultural phenomenon, marking the transition of Chinese films from "learners" to "leaders."

Accumulating Strength, Chinese Films and Chinese Narratives Are Increasingly Accepted by the World

Reporter: The achievements of Chinese films "going global" today are a manifestation of accumulated strength. What are the reasons for the formation of this development trend?

Ying Xujun (应旭珺): The improvement of the country's comprehensive strength provides a solid foundation for cultural communication, and the country's clear goal of becoming a film powerhouse and policies encouraging overseas cooperation and co-production projects constitute the institutional support for films "going global."

As China's "visibility" in various fields around the world increases, it becomes more natural and easier to accept Chinese characters appearing in international narratives. Changes in the global cultural consumption pattern have also provided a window of opportunity for Chinese films. Streaming media promotes the dissemination of diverse cultural content, and the tastes of audiences around the world are more open.

Gong Bo (龚波): There are three main technical reasons. First, the overall technical strength of the country has improved. China's LED production capacity accounts for 75% to 80% of the world, forming a scale advantage. Second, scientific research and standardization work are solid. The China Film Research Institute has been carrying out screening quality testing and international standard research since 2015, accumulating a large amount of data, which has laid a solid foundation for leading the formulation of international standards. Third, following international rules and carrying out multilateral communication and linkage allows China to connect with the international system in terms of technical standards and achieve breakthroughs within international rules.

Zhi Feina (支菲娜): The essence of film "model going global" is to participate in the global audio-visual industry landscape with Chinese-style film management and cultural governance experience. This is the result of the synergy of multiple factors such as institutional advantages, system reform, folk innovation, and global opportunities.

China's institutional advantages and top-level design provide a stable policy environment and strategic guidance for film development. By lowering the threshold for entry and reducing taxes and fees, breakthroughs are constantly being made in the reform of the system and mechanism in the film field. China has become the world's second largest economy, and the Chinese film market has also become the world's second largest film market.

System reform and long-term accumulation have laid a solid foundation for the film industry. China has achieved a leap from a scarcity of screens to a global head market in just a few decades. The huge domestic market has nurtured creative folk wisdom, such as the unique operating model explored by Hengdian World Studios (横店影视城), which demonstrates the flexibility and innovation of enterprises and grassroots.

Sustainability and Systematization Are the Real Challenges Facing "Going Global"

Reporter: The road for Chinese films "going global" is not smooth. What new challenges are currently faced?

Ying Xujun (应旭珺): Language and cultural barriers are still the main problems, which requires creators to find "common expressions" while maintaining cultural subjectivity; the marketing and promotion system in overseas markets is weak, which leads to films that may be of excellent quality but may "receive good reviews but not be popular" due to insufficient communication capabilities; international co-productions not only need directors and actors, but also producers, publicity personnel, legal advisors, and market managers who are familiar with international laws, markets, and cultural rules, and the professional talent system needs to be improved. It can be said that the real challenge for Chinese films "going global" lies in whether it is sustainable and whether it can be systematized.

Gong Bo (龚波): The technical challenges lie in the fact that the competitiveness of domestic brands and the completeness of the standard system still need to be improved, and the LED industry needs to strengthen regulation. In response, the State Film Administration has issued the *Notice on the Development and Regulation of LED Cinemas* and clearly requires the China Film Research Institute to strengthen quality supervision.

Zhi Feina (支菲娜): The first is that concepts urgently need to be updated. Chinese films must not only gain market and confidence in the local market, but also compete with international first-class products in the international mainstream market and provide widely accepted cultural products. On the basis of taking the initiative, telling Chinese stories well, and spreading Chinese culture well, by optimizing taxation, customs, finance, and other measures, we will attract excellent global image creators to jointly tell film stories that global audiences can understand, like to hear, and have the spirit of China as the core, and better reflect Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese spirit. We must shift from "going out" to "internationalization," stand in the center of the stage, and establish cultural confidence that matches the goal of becoming a film powerhouse.

Becoming an Important Force in Reshaping the World Film Landscape

Reporter: What are your expectations for the future of films "going global"?

Ying Xujun (应旭珺): By 2035, China will be built into a film powerhouse, and our changes to the world film landscape will be all-round and systematic. This not only means the expansion of the global market share and audience of Chinese-language films, but also means that China will occupy a core position in the global film industry ecosystem.

Specifically, China will become an important film production force in the world, controlling or deeply participating in top international projects; it is possible to make breakthrough progress in the next generation of film technology represented by artificial intelligence and virtual production, forming "Chinese standards" and "Chinese solutions" that are widely adopted globally; Chinese film companies will achieve deep localization operations overseas, producing content that local audiences love.

All of these will support a key vision: under the premise of maintaining the Chinese cultural core and subjectivity, cultural products containing Chinese wisdom and values will have a wide and far-reaching cultural influence on a global scale.

Gong Bo (龚波): China will form a complete international standard system in the fields of LED optics, acoustics, and plate making. In the future, it will also launch international guidelines in the field of artificial intelligence film standards. High-quality LED cinema screens will be launched in more countries, and cinemas in some countries jointly building the "Belt and Road" may take the lead in adopting domestic equipment and simultaneously carry Chinese content to go global. At the same time, the ecological reconstruction will be carried out. In the future, new technologies such as LED film projection, virtual shooting, and immersive sound will promote the global film ecological transformation, and China will become an important force in reshaping the world film landscape.

Zhi Feina (支菲娜): Chinese films will realize the transformation from "learners" to "contributors" and even "leaders" of global film experience. Chinese-style management wisdom, market models, and industrial innovation can provide reference solutions for countries with consensus. On this basis, the entire "going global" trend needs to promote the upgrade from "one-way input" to "two-way interaction." At the same time, Chinese films, as constantly maturing and distinctive cultural products, are gaining more attention from the international mainstream market. Such as the completeness and timeliness of China's film box office statistics system, unique film public services, and film and television cultural tourism integration models.

(Wu Shuo (吴硕) participated in writing)

Return to Top

Simply "Reading for Pleasure" is Not Enough (Humanities Salon)

By: 张 贺

In recent years, in order to stimulate reading interest and guide everyone to read more, various regions and units have often emphasized "joyful reading" in the promotion of national reading, that is, "reading is happy," "reading makes people happy," "read happily"... "Joyful reading" is certainly not wrong, but 过犹不及 (guò yóu bù jí - "going too far is as bad as not going far enough," excess is as bad as deficiency; to overdo it). Overemphasizing "joyful reading" easily leads to national reading tending towards "lightness," "softness," "shortness," and "fragmentation," which is not conducive to the profoundness of the spiritual world of the entire nation, nor is it conducive to "guarding our core and qualities."

The spiritual pleasure brought by reading is objectively present. When you are attracted by the plot in the book, when you are moved by the story, when you are convinced by the philosophy, you will naturally feel the joy of reading. But this kind of happiness comes from the active participation of the mind and from sustained mental investment. Without the expenditure of energy, it is difficult to generate a sense of pleasure by simply skimming through the pages. Reading is a bit like physical exercise; without investing a certain amount of physical strength and reaching a certain intensity, it is difficult to stimulate "happy transmitters" such as endorphins and dopamine. Psychological research proves that reading, especially deep reading, requires a high degree of concentration and consumes a lot of brain energy. Reading is actually not easy.

The "joyful reading" that many people are keen on today is, to some extent, a misunderstanding or myth brought about by the digital age. They misunderstand the convenience of obtaining reading resources, the convenience of browsing social media, and the ease of reading online short articles as reading being easy and enjoyable, resulting in a habit of shallow reading, fragmented reading, and video reading, and even the emergence of extremely compressed "speed reading" such as "reading a famous book in three minutes." Accompanying this, the books read are also mainly popular online novels and social media articles.

Entertainment and leisure are certainly one aspect of the joy of reading, but it is not enough to be satisfied with this alone. An individual or a nation must make their spiritual world profound and elevate their spiritual realm by reading classics.

Now, when classics are mentioned, many people shy away. One is that they feel it is old news and there is nothing new, and the other is that they feel that classics are boring and far from today and reality, and they cannot arouse interest. Then, we might as well change the term and replace "reading classics" with "reading first-class works." "First-class works" are the source or representative of various fields, laying the foundation for the development of various fields. There are not many such books, and reading them can be worth ten, which is a reading that saves energy and is very beneficial.

"First-class works" cannot be read with the attitude of reading detective novels or fantasy novels. Profound works require equally profound reading. Reading such books is like climbing a high mountain. Although the process is arduous, as long as you reach the summit, you can discover a different kind of scenery, "climbing Mount Tai (泰山) and belittling the world." With the experience of studying first-class works, it is much easier to read other works. As a foreign scholar said: "You must read and learn books that exceed your ability, books that exceed your mind. Only such books can help your thoughts grow."

Currently, in national reading, all sectors are generally very concerned about the national reading volume. But instead of focusing on "reading volume," it is better to focus on "reading quality." Throughout history, many masters have pointed out that it is better to read carefully than to read a lot. The aesthetician Zhu Guangqian (朱光潜) said: "Reading is not about quantity, the most important thing is to choose carefully and read thoroughly." The German writer Hesse (黑塞) said: "Reading is definitely not just for our pleasure, but should concentrate our spirit to read. Reading is not to pass the boring life... but to help us gradually improve and enrich our lives." These insightful arguments are worth pondering.

In 2024, the reading volume of paper books plus e-books for adult citizens in China (中国) has exceeded 8 books. Next, to deepen national reading, we must improve the quality of national reading. And to improve the quality of reading, "joyful reading" alone is clearly not enough. We must not only read more books, but also read good books and read them well. While enjoying the joy of reading, we should improve our minds and cultivate our sentiments by reading first-class works, thereby enhancing the spiritual strength of the entire nation and promoting national reading to a new level.

Return to Top

Village Stage Set Up, Villagers Take the Lead (Rural Scene)

By: 本报记者 赵帅杰

"Outside the camp gate, three cannon blasts sounded like thunder, and from the Tianbo Mansion (天波府) walked out my patriotic minister..." In Taishan Village (泰山村), Potou Town (坡头镇), Jiyuan (济源), Henan (河南) Province, the play *Mu Guiying Takes Command* was being performed by the Jiyuan City Drama Art Development Center (济源市戏剧艺术发展中心). More than a hundred villagers sat around the stage to watch, and 67-year-old Grandpa Wang (王大爷) tapped his knee lightly in time with the rhythm. When the performance reached its climax, he couldn't help but cheer, "This play is so enjoyable to listen to, it's much better than watching TV at home!"

*The Fifth Generation Pleads for Battle*, *The Great Sacrifice Stake*, *Chaoyang Gully*... one wonderful play after another is now regularly staged in the villages of Jiyuan. "The people of Jiyuan love to watch plays, and there is a saying that 'I'd rather miss a meal than miss a play.'" Cui Zonghao (崔宗浩), director of the Jiyuan Municipal Spiritual Civilization Construction Steering Center (济源市精神文明建设指导中心), introduced that, focusing on the needs of the masses, Jiyuan innovatively launched the "Village Pear Garden" (村梨园) cultural project, carrying out more than 200 performances to the countryside and cultural activities at the grassroots level every year.

Walking into Nanxun Village (南勋村), Chengliu Town (承留镇), on the village square, villager Cheng Zhanquan (成战全), dressed in costume, was practicing a newly compiled play with his fellow actors, singing, reciting, acting, and performing in a professional manner. Cheng Zhanquan said, "In the past, watching plays was a hobby, but now I also try to go on stage and play the leading role."

Many villagers have had their "singing addiction" aroused by watching so many plays. "But without any foundation or guidance, I pondered for a long time, and the pitch was always off, and the movements were awkward, which made me stomp my feet in frustration." Villager Yuan Xiaoling (原小领) has loved listening to plays since he was a child, and dreamed of being able to sing a section on stage. From listening to tapes in his early years to learning on his mobile phone in recent years, he has put in a lot of effort.

The key to going from "wanting to sing" to "knowing how to sing" is to have a "master lead you in." To this end, Jiyuan launched an action to help grassroots spiritual civilization construction through literature and art, specially inviting famous opera artists to "pair up" with amateur troupes, and moving professional opera training to the villagers' doorsteps. Now, Yuan Xiaoling is the backbone of the village troupe, and he takes the villagers to rehearse whenever he has time, and everyone's creative enthusiasm has also been ignited.

"Sending plays to the countryside is like inviting guests to dinner, it's lively for a while and then it's over. The 'Village Pear Garden' 'starts a fire' in the village, allowing the villagers to become 'chefs'." Li Yanyan (李燕燕), deputy director of the Jiyuan Municipal Spiritual Civilization Construction Steering Center, introduced that today, there are 26 active rural amateur opera troupes in Jiyuan, becoming the main force of "the masses perform, the masses watch."

Today, the small stage of the "Village Pear Garden" not only sings operas, but also sings a new fashion of rural civilization. Not long ago, two households in Dongzhicheng Village (东轵城村), Zhicheng Town (轵城镇), had a dispute over homesteads. The village cadres specially arranged a performance of *Generals and Ministers Reconcile* ("将相和"). "If generals and ministers can reconcile, what knots can't our neighbors untie?" After the village cadres' persuasion, the two sides shook hands and made peace.

"Values such as loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and harmonious neighborhood are made especially intimate and easier to internalize through opera performances." Zhao Wuxia (赵武霞), secretary of the Party branch of Dongzhicheng Village, said that opera conveys goodness, and this effect is much better than simply lecturing. "Now, there are fewer quarrels in the village, more mutual help, and the appearance of the countryside has been completely renewed."

The "Village Pear Garden" features ordinary people on stage, cheers from neighbors, and the transmission of cultural roots. "Opera not only brings laughter, but also becomes an effective carrier for uniting the people, resolving conflicts, and advocating new customs." Kong Qinghe (孔庆贺), director of the Standing Committee of the Jiyuan Municipal People's Congress (济源市人大常委会), said that they will continue to deepen the "Village Pear Garden" cultural project, further showcase the image of the countryside, drive consumption vitality, promote cultural prosperity, and make the villagers' lives more and more flavorful.

(Yu Yiyan (于一言) participated in the writing)

Return to Top

Editor in Charge for This Section: Li Zhuoer

Layout Design: Zhang Danfeng (张丹峰)

Return to Top

Editor's Note

"Although made by man, it seems to be created by Heaven." From a pavilion to a kiosk, from a mountain to a rock, and then to a flower and a tree, Chinese gardens have profoundly influenced the development of world garden art with their unique design concepts, construction techniques, and aesthetic interests. Today, Chinese garden culture has become a "living water," providing rich nourishment for the design of exhibition spaces, stage art, and architectural courtyards. What kind of "top-tier aesthetics" are hidden in the construction aesthetics of Chinese gardens? Today, this edition invites three experts and scholars to discuss the beauty of gardens from the dimensions of the "living" meaning of Chinese gardens, landscape art, and the "way of translation."

--Editor

Return to Top

The Living Essence of Chinese Gardens

By: 朱良志

Chinese gardens pursue the "living" intention. Qi Chengjie (祁承㸁), the owner of Dansheng Hall (澹生堂), a library in Shaoxing (绍兴) in the late Ming Dynasty, said when discussing his experience in garden construction that building a garden is like a child learning to write an essay, it is necessary to "make a lively topic." The word "living" can be said to be the soul of the Chinese garden.

There are bridges and water in the garden, with some fish swimming in the water. Watching the fish from the bridge is a typical program of Chinese freehand gardens. This kind of program is often called "the thought between Hao and Pu" (濠濮间想). Since the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, many gardens have scenic spots named after "the thought between Hao and Pu" (濠濮间想), Zhiyu Kan (知鱼槛), and Zhile Pavilion (知乐亭), such as the Mountain Resort in Chengde (承德避暑山庄) with "the thought between Hao and Pu" (濠濮间想), and the Lingering Garden in Suzhou (苏州留园) with the Haopu Pavilion (濠濮亭). Just like Zhuangzi (庄子) watching the fish on the bridge, what is emphasized is: you should not be a bystander of the world's scenery, but a participant in the world. The small garden is for you to swim freely in the real ocean of life.

The liveliness pursued by Chinese gardens is not just about looking lively. If it only stays on external viewing, then introduce more flowing water, hang more waterfalls, the mountains are alive with the water, and the water accompanies the mountains, so that the garden is full of green grass and colorful flowers; if the pursuit of the realm of "the kite flying and the fish leaping" or "the thought between Hao and Pu" (濠濮间想) is understood as an external form, then fish are released wherever there is water, and more birds are raised in the forest. In the eyes of Chinese garden experts, gardens created with this attitude can only be regarded as botanical gardens.

"Elegant people feast their eyes, and cloud guests settle their hearts." Chinese gardens, as a place for cultivating the mind, are a place to settle the soul. Su Shi (苏轼) traveled with his friend Zhang Huaimin (张怀民) to Chengtian Temple (承天寺) on a moonlit night, "walking together in the middle courtyard. The courtyard was like accumulated water, empty and bright, with algae and Xing crisscrossing in the water, which were shadows of bamboo and cypress," he sighed: "What night is without the moon? What place is without bamboo and cypress? But there are few idle people like us." If people's hearts are not "idle" and are "locked" by all kinds of trivial matters, they will miss the boundless scenery, miss the green grass in the courtyard, and there will be no "living" intention.

Like the empty pavilion in the garden, it is the eye of the Chinese garden, designed for "living". If you sit in the Lotus Breeze Pavilion (荷风四面亭) of the Humble Administrator's Garden (拙政园), it is open on all sides, but you can see the boundless scenery in front of you. "Only this pavilion has nothing, sitting and watching all the scenery to get the whole world," you look into the distance, the vast sky, embrace it in your arms, push from the front to the distance, and then return from the distance to the front, freely unfolding and rolling, and the Yin and Yang interact. When you sit in the pavilion, it is like sitting in a breathing vent, and you participate in the unfolding and surging cosmic aura. At this time, you are not a person watching the scenery, you are a part of the scenery.

The "living" intention pursued by Chinese gardens reflects the purpose of traditional Chinese philosophy of life. "The greatest virtue of heaven and earth is life." The "life" in gardens has three levels: first, a fresh look, or "business," the garden must have a lively charm, and all rigid, dead, and static expressions are not like this ideal. Living fragrance and living state are the lifeblood of Chinese gardens. The second is vitality, that is, the "momentum" of life connected and mutually agitated. Chinese Qi transformation philosophy believes that heaven and earth are a space where Qi flows, Qi is divided into Yin and Yang, and Yin and Yang rub against each other to form internal tension, which is "momentum." The arrangement of Qi veins, soil veins, water veins, dragon veins, and bone veins in Chinese gardens all have considerations of "momentum." The third is physiology. The principle of life is the deep logic of life. Heaven and earth have ubiquitous original power, and the spirit of life is a lively spirit that runs through heaven, earth, and human relations. "Physiology" is not an abstract concept, but the source of life power. The three, fresh look, vitality, and physiology, are integrated. Fresh look is the external manifestation of physiology, vitality is the rhythm of internal management of hills and valleys, and physiology is the original power of life, located at the core level. Opening up a fresh look in the garden is to manifest the lively rhythm and internal spirit of heaven and earth through the external form full of "business."

Chinese gardens are often old trees with new flowers, and stubborn stones produce rich moisture. For example, Xiao Dezhao (萧德藻), a poet of the Southern Song Dynasty, praised plum blossoms: "Hundreds of thousands of years of moss on dead trees, a few spring spots for old branches," pursuing the richness of life in a desolate world. In the green grass in the courtyard, you can see the business of all things, and in the withered and clumsy, you can also show "physiology" and even more show the original life force.

For example, the Four Seasons Rockery of Geyuan Garden (扬州个园) in Yangzhou (扬州) is a model of rock stacking in garden construction. Its original intention is to create an ancient style of "spring mountains are light and smiling, summer mountains are green and dripping, autumn mountains are bright and dressed, and winter mountains are bleak and sleeping" through different stone qualities and different rock stacking methods, giving people the feeling that the scenery of the four seasons is different and the joy is endless. The spring mountain is built with stone shoots that express affection with every inch of stone, the summer mountain is made of Taihu stone (太湖石) that is most transparent and detached, the autumn mountain is piled up with yellow stone that is clumsy but gorgeous, and the winter mountain is made of Xuan stone (宣石) that is as white as snow. The plaque "Hutian Zichun" (壶天自春) next to the Four Seasons Rockery can be said to be the theme - creating a realm where you can enjoy the spring in the pot without going out of the courtyard. The flow of time, the change of seasons, and the different colors of scenery make people feel different. However, outside this changing flow of time, there is a "spring" intention that transcends time, which is an eternal spirit. For example, looking at the winter scenery, the tiny flowers that are growing secretly in the stream beside the stone bridge are the eternal spring of this small garden. The flowers are small, sipping slowly, and there are still strands of endless spring, and there is still inexhaustible vitality.

(The author is a professor in the Department of Philosophy at Peking University (北京大学))

Return to Top

Creating a Spiritual Ambiance of Mountains and Rivers

By: 谷 泉

China is located in the Northern Hemisphere, with its four seasons alternating between cold and heat, and the interplay of sunlight and moonlight. Its long-term and stable agricultural civilization has nurtured its own rhythm and cadence. These, in turn, have been developed into diverse art forms through different artistic means, at different scales, and with different carriers. Landscape art is a representative of these, shaping the visual image of an ideal society. Gardens are a form of landscape art that presents Chinese rhythms and cadences through the artistic means of "garden making," using stones, water features, flowers, trees, and architecture as carriers. They are by no means simple simulations of real nature, and most are concentrated in cities. They are unique creations that centrally showcase the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature in residential areas, and are truly "urban landscapes."

In the Chinese gardens that people are familiar with, artificial mountains and grotesque rocks usually occupy the main position. The stones selected for gardens are often densely perforated, with multiple layers of space folded in narrow places, pointing directly to a paradise. Accompanied by other garden elements, arbitrarily switching between near and far, large and small, long and short, many and few, fast and slow, and light and dark, a small world that is feasible, desirable, habitable, and explorable, rich in comparisons and metaphors, appears. The Great Rockery of the Lion Grove Garden (狮子林) in Suzhou (苏州) is the most classic example. This masterpiece, stacked with Taihu stones (太湖石), is vast in scale, divided into three layers, nine routes, and twenty-one cave openings. Peaks, cliffs, valleys, caves, and steps are intertwined and winding, and one can get lost within a few steps, with infinite mysteries. The hard texture of the stone and the crisscrossing curves form a strong contrast, making people overwhelmed and full of interest. The east side of the Great Rockery is close to the main buildings such as the Yanyutang Hall (燕誉堂), and the west side is an open water surface. The water surface is divided into several pieces of different sizes by the Huxinting Pavilion (湖心亭) and stone bridges. At the farthest northwest point, there is a stone boat, meaning departure or return. Other pavilions and towers surround the rockery and water surface, with distinct layers and varying paces.

At the top of the mountain, "terraces and palaces are arranged," with the Lion Peak (狮子峰), the largest in the center, standing tall and commanding the overall situation. Ancient trees and pines even grow between the stones. One tree and one stone contrast each other, and organic and inorganic matter confirm each other: what force is raising the overlapping mountains on the flat ground? Or, where is the real intention of garden art? Yes, building forests and creating gardens is very different from daily use. In addition to demonstrating the builder's cultural taste, it is also for those who are cultivated and understand aesthetics to wander, imagine, contemplate, and express their emotions... Only in this spatial and temporal relationship can one shift scenes with each step, travel beyond the physical world, personally experience abstract concepts, and have thousands of thoughts flowing back and forth, feeling what is illusory, real, true, and false, and once again explore the complex human nature and the light and darkness of endless wisdom. They arouse life's empathy and resonance for Chinese rhythms and cadences, welcoming every moment of amazement and joy. Although located in the bustling city, one does not know where they are or what day it is. They will praise that this is a poetic dwelling place for those who are destined, a truly earthly paradise.

Landscape art is a human creation. With changes in scale and carrier, the physical experience is different, and the artistic means used are drastically different. On a small scale, the four sides of silk are the boundary of the garden. But the painting is small, and the forest is large; people stand outside the painting, and people are in the garden. Comparing the relationship between the artificial mountains and grotesque rocks in the garden and the relationship between people and mountains and rocks in "Travelers among Mountains and Streams" (溪山行旅图), the latter is more natural. Or bonsai - "scenery in a pot," perfectly matching "forest in a garden," but because the carrier is single, it is necessary to strengthen the binding techniques of plant branches, with dense rhythms and cadences, to reach the wonderful illusion of shrinking a dragon into an inch. Going to a larger scale, urban planning and national geography thus have cultural benchmarks. How can the "landscape city" of Hangzhou (杭州) be without West Lake (西湖), Gushan Hill (孤山), Broken Bridge (断桥), and Baoshu Pagoda (保俶塔)? The pattern of the Three Seas (三海), Summer Palace (颐和园), and Old Summer Palace (圆明园) as "one pond and three mountains" also sets a deep landscape tone for Beijing (北京), the capital city. Furthermore, the original real nature is shaped into humanistic nature, and reversed to interpret real nature with humanistic nature. Just like Huangshan Mountain (黄山) in the eyes of scientists, it is a geological trace left by the Quaternary glaciers; for ordinary Chinese people, what comes to mind is the strange peaks, ancient pines, flying waterfalls, and sea of clouds. If you are a traditional culture enthusiast, you will definitely think of the moment when the Yellow Emperor (黄帝) attained enlightenment and ascended to heaven here, silently reciting Li Bai's (李白) poem "Huangshan is four thousand ren high, with thirty-two lotus peaks," and the Huangshan style in the brushstrokes of Shitao (石涛) and Hongren (弘仁) will emerge...

Different landscape arts have extremely unified artistic orientations. Gardens are not only closely related to astronomy, philosophy, music, and religion, but also interact with poetry, calligraphy, painting, and seal carving - stacking mountains and managing water is equivalent to creating a heavenly palace and the Milky Way; pruning branches and leaves is the same as level tones and oblique tones - as long as you have the ability to grasp the principles of Chinese art, 万变不变，不变万变 (wàn biàn bù biàn, bù biàn wàn biàn - "ten thousand changes unchanging, unchanging ten thousand changes," constant amidst change; change amidst constancy), 从心所欲而不逾矩 (cóng xīn suǒ yù ér bù yú jǔ - "follow one's heart's desire without overstepping the bounds," to do as one pleases without violating principles)! Since ancient times, Chinese people have been wrapped and nourished by these landscape arts, intentionally or unintentionally, always integrated with the heaven and earth, all things, and historical stories reflected by them. They determine values, enhance aesthetic power, and delineate the boundaries of Chinese culture.

For this reason, over thousands of years, countless gardens have been abandoned, but the cultural context has continued, and there have been many famous gardens and masterpieces in different eras. Today, the high walls have long been opened, and gardens have changed from a resource for a few to a shared resource for the majority. Landscape art freely evolves in the lively reality. New art forms that emerge from Chinese rhythms and cadences at different scales and with different carriers are emerging one after another. Understanding tradition, practicing tradition, and modern transformation in this way, Chinese art will surely be new every day and continue to thrive.

(The author is an associate researcher at the Institute of Fine Arts of the Chinese National Academy of Arts (中国艺术研究院美术研究所))

Return to Top

Chinese Gardens Have Their Own "Way of Translation"

By: 唐克扬

Without a doubt, gardens are one of the most distinctive gifts that Chinese culture has given to the world, but there are also "translation" issues with those Chinese gardens exported overseas. Adorned with various couplets and plaques, Chinese gardens are inherently closely linked to the sentiments of literati. In this case, can those who do not understand Chinese or think in Chinese fully enjoy the experience on-site?

Landscape architect Zhou Weiquan (周维权) said, "Poetry and painting" are the essence of Chinese gardens. Many famous gardens are indeed created based on a poem or a concise saying. For example, the small pavilion in the water of the West Garden of the Humble Administrator's Garden (拙政园) in Suzhou (苏州) is named "With Whom Do I Sit?" (与谁同坐), as if permanently waiting, which is much more evocative than its original name "Fan Pavilion" (扇亭). The existing "Two-Part Moon Tower" (二分明月楼) in Yangzhou (扬州) was repeatedly built for Zhao Mengfu's (赵孟頫) famous couplet: "Spring breeze in the Langyuan, three thousand guests; bright moon in Yangzhou, the first tower." (春风阆苑三千客，明月扬州第一楼).

There are many who emphasize "poetry and painting." The late Chen Congzhou (陈从周), a rare scholar of ancient architecture and garden art with a Chinese literature background, once studied under the painter Zhang Daqian (张大千). He believed: "Chinese gardens are a comprehensive work of art composed of architecture, landscapes, flowers, and trees, full of poetry and painting..." He practiced what he preached, creating the book *On Gardens* (说园), using elegant and refined language to narrate the story. The ancient garden pictures attached to the book do not include architectural drawings or follow vanishing point perspective, yet they can make people feel as if they are in the "environment." How is this done?

This is not simple. Qian Zhongshu (钱锺书) specifically wrote an article *On Synesthesia* (通感), starting with "Red apricot blossoms herald spring" (红杏枝头春意闹), describing the cognitive basis of Chinese gardens transforming literary language into visual images: "Colors seem to have temperature, sounds seem to have images, cold and warmth seem to have weight, and smells seem to have texture." Indeed, vision, hearing, touch, smell, taste, and physical sensation can be interconnected and comprehensively utilized. The multi-channel interaction of contemporary smart devices integrates people's multiple senses, allowing users to exchange information with computer systems more naturally. In this way, the colors, sounds, textures, tastes, and postures in gardens can be connected with human vision, music, experience, tone, expression, joys and sorrows, and intentions. This is no longer a matter of two dimensions or one dimension, but rather conforms to the principles of cognitive psychology: understanding Chinese gardens does not have to be limited to the Chinese language; it has its own "way of translation."

Chinese gardens, a highly comprehensive art, are also realistic. Whether designing gardens or entering gardens, they allow us to recognize the way home, not just "wandering alone along the fragrant path of the small garden" (小园香径独徘徊). Theorists realize that they need to find a better word to summarize why Chinese gardens have become a high-level art form. Zhu Youjie (朱有玠) proposed that the most distinctive national characteristic of Chinese gardens is the overall creation of "artistic conception" (意境) in the gardens. Since it is a "conception," it must move from two dimensions to three dimensions, from small rocks and inches of water to panoramic views of mountains and rivers, and from instantaneous cognition to a fuller, whole-hearted experience.

In the influential article *Suzhou Gardens* (苏州园林), Ye Shengtao (叶圣陶) strongly argued that gardens "look like a painting from every angle"—today, we don't always have to look at paintings, because gardens are three-dimensional and multi-dimensional. Not just Suzhou gardens, from Emperor Wu of Han's Shanglin Garden (汉武帝上林苑), Shi Chong's (石崇) Golden Valley Garden (金谷园) in the Western Jin Dynasty to Emperor Huizong of Song's Genyue (艮岳), the examples clearly written into the history of Chinese gardens are so different, but it does not prevent each from being beautiful in its own way. Gardens are also a history of human habitation. The Ming and Qing Jiangnan gardens represented by Suzhou and Yangzhou are related to the modern urban development they rely on. Behind the rise and fall of gardens are the rise and fall of capitals such as Chang'an (长安), Luoyang (洛阳), and Bianjing (汴京) (Kaifeng (开封)), and even the rise and fall of the nation—different cities, different gardens, different lives, and different garden interests.

Ancient Egyptians, ancient Romans, and the ancient Islamic world each created their own garden traditions, and there was some exchange between them. One thing that makes Chinese gardens even more proud is the comprehensive integration mentioned above, various perceptions, various scales, various patterns—whether in the city or in the countryside, garden design is ultimately the colorful wisdom of individuals facing survival, 殊途同归 (shū tú tóng guī - "different routes, same destination," to reach the same goal by different means). The modern Chinese word "园艺" (yuányì - horticulture) and the English word "garden" cannot fully encompass the meaning of "园林" (yuánlín - garden).

From architectural design to stage scenery, and even product design, contemporary China is also drawing on the traditions of gardens. "New Chinese style," "New Song style," and "New Literati Gardens" are still on the road of exploration, with gains and losses. The gain is due to its greatness, responding to our beautiful associations with the living world—think of words like "homeland" (家园) and "old garden" (故园)! The loss is that small gardens are sometimes inevitably cramped. Not only should we see ingenuity and beauty in gardens, but also the times—gardens are not otherworldly paradises that arise from nothing. As Horace Walpole commented on the 18th-century English landscape architect William Kent: he jumped the fence and saw that all of nature was a garden.

(The author is the Chief Researcher of the Future Laboratory of Tsinghua University (清华大学))

Return to Top

Expressing Dao with Sincerity (Art Notes)

By: 吴协生

Having undergone thousands of years of development, the art of calligraphy continues to thrive. Faced with the impact of artificial intelligence, the value of calligraphy is thought-provoking. Looking back on my decades of calligraphy practice, as I grow older and my understanding deepens, I increasingly realize my own shortcomings and deeply feel the breadth and depth of calligraphy culture and the irreplaceable value of calligraphy, walking on the path of seeking knowledge with awe.

The development of art is always a pioneering effort of overcoming obstacles. On the path of art, I have always adhered to the spirit of pioneering, hoping to innovate on the basis of tradition and create my own world. I have loved epigraphy, calligraphy, and painting since I was a child. One year, on New Year's Eve, a neighbor came to get Spring Festival couplets, but I had not yet finished writing them, and I was severely reprimanded by my father. My mother defended me: there are too many people asking him to write Spring Festival couplets, even if he wrote with both hands at the same time, he wouldn't be able to finish. This unintentional remark made me realize that the 双管齐下 (shuāng guǎn qí xià - "two pipes down together," to do two things at once; to adopt a two-pronged approach) idiom came to mind. During the Warring States period, Han Fei (韩非) once said, "Drawing a circle with the right hand and a square with the left hand, neither can be accomplished," but according to records, Zhang Zao (张璪) of the Tang Dynasty painted pine trees, "often holding two brushes in his hand, writing at the same time, one for growing branches and one for withered branches, his spirit arrogant like mist and clouds, his momentum surpassing wind and rain." This made me firmly believe that people have enormous creative potential. Therefore, I diligently explored "writing with two brushes at the same time," that is, holding a brush in each hand and writing different Chinese characters at the same time, even Chinese characters in different directions.

In order to avoid writing becoming a mere skill, I started by training my hands in a disciplined manner, copying famous steles and calligraphy models of past dynasties, and extensively studying oracle bone inscriptions from the Yin Ruins (殷墟), bronze bells and tripods, cliff carvings, bamboo and silk books, stele forest epitaphs, and calligraphy scriptures... Hard work pays off, and through day-after-day of hard practice, I finally achieved some success in "writing with two brushes at the same time."

No matter what you do, if you want to achieve something, you must first have focus, and this is especially true for writing calligraphy. Without focus, the mind will be chaotic and superficial. From writing positive and negative characters with two brushes to writing the same characters with two brushes, and then to writing different characters simultaneously with two brushes, there are many ways to write "with two brushes at the same time," which requires the left and right brains to work together, and has extremely high requirements for a person's state of mind, the structure of the characters, and the harmony of the hands, requiring a high degree of concentration. If you are not focused, you cannot write "with two brushes at the same time" well, and the two influence and promote each other.

Calligraphy is an art with "the meaning of life," not only in careful study at the desk, but also in accumulating knowledge outside of books. As early as more than 1,500 years ago, Wang Sengqian (王僧虔) of the Southern Dynasty said in *Piyi Zan* (笔意赞): "The wonderful way of calligraphy, spirit is the best, form is second, and those who combine the two can inherit from the ancients," which shows that calligraphy also emphasizes "using form to express spirit." Zhang Huaiguan (张怀瓘), a calligraphy theorist of the Tang Dynasty, further proposed that "those who deeply understand calligraphy only observe the spirit and do not see the form of the characters," further strengthening the theory of spirit in calligraphy. The form of calligraphy includes brushwork, ink technique, and composition, all of which are unified in the lines of the work. Spirit refers to the spirit, temperament, and style of the calligrapher expressed in the work, full of "meaning." For Chinese calligraphy and painting, expressing form is only a means, and writing spirit is the goal. Su Shi (苏轼) said, "Pay attention to things, and you will often find them interesting." Calligraphers of all dynasties who have achieved great success are good at capturing spirit from the objective objects of the world. For example, Zhang Xu (张旭) of the Tang Dynasty improved his cursive script by watching Gongsun Da Niang (公孙大娘) dance with swords; Huaisu (怀素) of the Tang Dynasty suddenly understood the meaning of brushwork by watching summer clouds moving with the wind; Xian Yushu (鲜于枢) of the Yuan Dynasty "saw two people pulling a cart in the mud and realized the brushwork," and so on. For thousands of years, generations of calligraphers have been constantly innovating and changing the art of calligraphy in the pursuit of spirit.

The difficulty of "writing with two brushes at the same time" lies not in the technique, but in "being single-minded." As long as you strengthen your training, almost everyone can write with both hands. Calligraphic aesthetic awareness is the internalization of national spirit, the accumulation and sublimation of personal aesthetic experience, and the dynamic reflection of the calligrapher learning from nature. "Single-minded" means sincerity, and "the middle way" means "moderation." In short, the way of calligraphy is to use sincerity to write freely and directly reach the realm of miraculous brushstrokes. Intention is the manifestation of "the Way." In order to pursue this realm, I have always adhered to "learning from nature" and "learning from life," drawing nourishment from tradition on the one hand, and constantly understanding from the piano performances, martial arts performances, and other scenes in real life on the other hand, in order to "do what I want without overstepping the bounds."

Intention is connected to the heart, so calligraphy is more of a way to cultivate one's moral character for me, allowing me to adhere to my original intention. The level of calligraphy art depends not only on the calligrapher's skillful mastery of techniques such as brushwork, character structure, and composition, but also on the calligrapher's experience, cultivation, knowledge, temperament, personality, inspiration, and other aspects. Therefore, in recent years, I have paid more attention to skills outside of calligraphy. Approaching my twilight years, I am still working hard to improve myself, reading diligently every day, hoping to pursue the true meaning of the Way in "reading ten thousand books" and "writing with two brushes at the same time."

(The author is a first-class artist, interviewed and compiled by Wu Yanli (吴艳丽), a reporter from this newspaper)

Return to Top

Photo Report

Woodcut "Winter Forest Pastoral," by Tian Yunlong (田云龙).

Return to Top

Auspicious Deer Bringing Blessings (Reading Paintings)

By: 李卫华

Since ancient times, deer have been deeply loved by people. They are mysterious and elegant, gentle and agile, exuding an air of tranquility and peace. In the context of traditional Chinese culture, deer are regarded as auspicious animals. The pronunciation of "deer" (鹿) is the same as that of "prosperity" (禄), and it has gradually become a symbol of "lasting blessings." The combination of deer and bats represents "double blessings and prosperity" (福禄双全); a gourd hanging from deer antlers implies "double arrival of blessings and prosperity" (福禄双至). At the same time, "deer" (鹿) is homophonous with "road" (路), which extends to the auspicious meaning of a smooth journey. Deer, with rich cultural implications, carry people's beautiful wishes for wealth and auspiciousness.

In the history of Chinese painting, deer are also a favorite creative theme for painters of all dynasties. From Ma Yuan's (马远) "Deer Gazing under Pine Shade" (松荫观鹿图) in the Southern Song Dynasty to Shen Quan's (沈铨) "Cypress and Deer" (柏鹿图) in the Qing Dynasty, generations of painters have shaped the beauty of deer into classic artistic images through diverse perspectives. Mou Zhongfu's (牟仲甫) "Pine, Ganoderma, and Deer" (宋元集绘册之“松芝群鹿”) from the Song Dynasty (see picture) is one such exemplary work. This work continues the delicate tradition of Song paintings, carefully depicting a tranquil scene of a pair of deer leisurely inhabiting among green pines and bamboos, with elegant colors and a combination of form and spirit. Although the painting is small in size, the painter has ingeniously avoided the simple arrangement of objects, weaving pines, bamboos, ganoderma, and deer into a vivid picture with the sentiments of a poet. This is not only a vivid interpretation of "establishing images to fully express meaning" (立象以尽意), but also integrates the aesthetic spirit of "implying meaning in objects" (寓意于物).

In the painting, the male and female deer are plump and have glossy fur. The female deer looks into the distance with its ears perked up, while the male deer looks back with clear eyes and a graceful and calm posture. The painter's brushwork is exquisite, outlining the velvety antlers and rendering the fur, with a texture so warm that it seems within reach. However, the "prosperity" (禄) depicted in this painting is not limited to worldly fame and wealth, but also contains the long-lasting fulfillment of harmonious coexistence between man and nature.

The pines under Mou Zhongfu's (牟仲甫) brush deeply capture the spirit of the Song people. The main trunk is twisted like iron, the branches are slanted, strong and intertwined, the pine needles are clustered and distinct, and the roots are coiled but the posture is relaxed, revealing a composure that remains unchanged despite the wind and frost. Since ancient times, pine has been regarded as a symbol of the character of literati and officials, expressing the noble character of a gentleman who does not change his virtue regardless of his circumstances. The "Doctrine of the Mean" (中庸) in the "Book of Rites" (礼记) says, "Great virtue will surely obtain its position, and will surely obtain its prosperity" (大德必得其位，必得其禄). This reveals the true meaning of "blessings and prosperity" (福禄): only with noble virtue can one obtain profound and lasting blessings.

Under the shade of the pines, several green bamboos stand quietly, their clear shadows swaying. The bamboo leaves are written with a central brush technique, the ink lines are vigorous, and the colors are elegant. Bamboo is the spiritual homeland of Chinese literati, symbolizing the gentlemanly virtue of humility. In this auspicious themed painting, bamboo injects a touch of tranquility into the auspicious scenery, making the rich connotation of "prosperity" (禄) transcend worldly warmth and rise to the elegance of artistic conception.

The most ethereal thing in the painting is the ganoderma lucidum that quietly grows among the pines and bamboos, with a perfect shape and a jade-like warmth, which is even more spiritual and refined under the cover of green pines and bamboos. Since ancient times, ganoderma has been an immortal herb, symbolizing longevity and auspiciousness. This painting uses deer to imply "blessings and prosperity" (福禄), pine to symbolize "virtue" (品德), bamboo to show "tranquility" (安宁), and ganoderma to contain "longevity" (长生). The four complement each other in the painting, jointly painting a complete and peaceful vivid picture. This is not only a blessing for the length and depth of life, but also entrusts people's pursuit of settling down and establishing themselves.

"Pine, Ganoderma, and Deer" (宋元集绘册之“松芝群鹿”) from the "Song and Yuan Album" inspires us that the "happiness" sought by the Song people lies in daily aesthetics and natural contemplation. This auspicious code has traveled through thousands of years and can still touch people's hearts. Standing in front of the painting, we are not only appreciating the painting, but also observing ourselves: where is the "happiness" we seek today hidden? Perhaps the answer lies in the blessings expressed by the deer shadows, pine winds, bamboo rhymes, and ganoderma clouds.

(Author's affiliation: Northeast Electric Power University (东北电力大学))

Return to Top

Editor in Charge for This Section: Xu Hongmei

This edition's email: msfk@peopledaily.cn
Layout design: Cai Huawei (蔡华伟)

Return to Top