People's Daily - January 23, 2026

Issuing the "Regulations on Military Theory Work"

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing (北京) January 22nd - Chairman of the Central Military Commission (中央军委) Xi Jinping (习近平) recently signed an order to promulgate the "Military Theory Work Regulations," which will take effect on March 1, 2026.

The "Regulations" adhere to Xi Jinping (习近平) Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as guidance, thoroughly implement Xi Jinping's (习近平) thinking on strengthening the military, thoroughly implement the military strategic guideline for a new era, focus on accelerating the modernization of military theory, optimize the top-level design of military theory innovation, improve the military theory research model, strengthen the transformation and application of military theory, build a modern military theory system with Chinese characteristics, and scientifically regulate the basic requirements and institutional arrangements for military theory work in the new era and new journey. It serves as an important legal basis for carrying out military theory work.

The "Regulations" consist of 7 chapters and 52 articles. In accordance with the general principles of the Central Military Commission (中央军委) exercising overall control, war zones focusing on combat, and services focusing on construction, the "Regulations" standardize and clarify the management system of military theory work. Based on the army's strategic planning system for the new era, the "Regulations" clarify the main contents and compilation and release procedures of military theory development strategies, construction plans, and annual plans. Emphasizing the combination of centralization and decentralization, and classified management, the "Regulations" make systematic specifications for the entire process of military theory project management links such as project establishment, topic selection, implementation, verification, and acceptance. Focusing on providing scientific theoretical support and guidance for the practice of strengthening the military, the "Regulations" clarify the measures and requirements for military theory achievement registration and sharing, evaluation and recognition, promotion and application, and retrospective evaluation. The promulgation and implementation of the "Regulations" provide a legal guarantee for promoting the high-quality development of military theory work.

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Reduce burdens and increase efficiency to boost morale; pragmatic action and dedication to write a new chapter.

By: 新华社记者 熊 丰 刘 硕 王明玉

In late 2025, Beijing Zhongnanhai (北京中南海).

At the democratic life meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, an important document was placed on the desks of the participating comrades: "Report on the Work of Rectifying Formalism and Reducing Burdens for the Grassroots in 2025."

"Continue to deepen and expand the work of rectifying formalism and reducing burdens for the grassroots, so that the vast number of grassroots cadres have more energy to focus on implementation."

Over the past year, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping (习近平) at its core has comprehensively and strictly administered the Party, leading the rectification of formalism and reduction of burdens for the grassroots to accumulate momentum, promoting the continuous improvement of the Party's work style, and uniting the powerful forces of the entire Party to strive to promote the construction of a strong country and the great rejuvenation of the nation.

Leading by example and persevering, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) pointed out the direction for promoting the rectification of formalism and reducing the burden on the grassroots.

Less than a week after the closing of the 2025 National People's Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) went to Guizhou (贵州) and Yunnan (云南) for inspection, going deep into the grassroots to investigate and guide the in-depth study and education of the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulation being carried out by the entire Party.

During the inspection, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) clearly pointed out: "Party organizations at all levels must deeply understand the great significance of this decision of the Party Central Committee, focus on the theme, and organize study and education in a simple and pragmatic manner. Do not engage in formalism. Formalism itself is what the Eight-Point Regulation opposes."

Taking study and education as an opportunity, comprehensively and strictly rectify formalism to reduce burdens for the grassroots.

In response to the phenomenon of some places transforming study and education into a "material competition," General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) criticism directly hit the nail on the head: "Do not regard writing tens of thousands of words of study experience as academic achievement" "Speaking empty words and putting on a show are useless."

Penetrating and to the point. Over the past year, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) has continued to orient and lead the rectification of formalism and reduction of burdens for the grassroots on occasions such as attending important meetings and going to local inspections.

Emphasizing "It is necessary to effectively rectify formalism to reduce burdens for the grassroots, and not to do good things and things that plant flowers, but to push difficult things and things that offend people to the grassroots";

Proposing "It is necessary to establish and improve a mechanism for regularly discovering and solving problems, and to take real action to rectify and rectify, and continue to release a strong signal of grasping to the end and being strict to the end";

Requiring "Promote the normalization and long-term effectiveness of work style construction, and use excellent work style to unite people's hearts and gather strength, do practical work, and constantly create new prospects for the development of the cause"...

A series of important expositions by General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平), from the strategic height of consolidating the Party's ruling foundation and promoting the development of the Party and the country, profoundly expounded the important significance of continuously promoting work style construction, and provided fundamental guidelines for the work of rectifying formalism and reducing burdens for the grassroots.

2025 is a crucial year for the conclusion of the "14th Five-Year Plan" and the planning and layout of the "15th Five-Year Plan," and it is also an important year for comprehensively deepening reforms to advance in depth.

The more arduous and heavy the task, the more necessary it is to break the shackles of formalism, emphasize practical work, do practical work, and seek practical results.

Over the past year, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) has made many important instructions and approvals, providing scientific guidance for deepening and expanding the rectification of formalism and reducing burdens for the grassroots.

Reducing burdens and empowering, practical work revitalizes the country.

Over the past year, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) has set an example, caring about the grassroots, and a series of important deployments have established a clear orientation of practical responsibility and serving the people in the entire Party, leading the vast number of Party members and cadres to provide strong guarantees for the implementation of the "14th Five-Year Plan" goals and tasks and the high-quality development of the economy and society with a pragmatic and responsible work style.

Targeted treatment, solidifying the foundation and consolidating the roots, the rectification of formalism and reduction of burdens for the grassroots is advancing in depth.

Repeatedly filling out forms and reporting numbers, and multi-headed data reporting, once made grassroots cadres deeply trapped in "busyness at their fingertips" and "consumption in forms."

In 2025, the "Regulations on the Sharing of Government Affairs Data" was implemented, and the stubborn diseases that plagued the grassroots, such as multiple data outputs and mutual barriers, have a systematic solution. The promulgation of this important regulation once again released a clear signal: reducing burdens for the grassroots requires both "immediate change" and "long-term establishment," and must be done for a long time and be good at success.

Institutional leadership can lead to stable and long-term progress. Over the past year, the Party Central Committee has continued to improve top-level design, and the institutional system has been continuously improved—

Promulgating systems and regulations such as the review of central documents, the consistency assessment of the issuance of documents and the reduction of burdens for the grassroots, and further standardizing the reporting of official document information briefs, to prevent formalism and bureaucracy from increasing the burden on the grassroots from the source;

Formulating institutional documents that strictly regulate "one-vote veto" and the signing of responsibility statements, publishing a list of retained items at the central level, and establishing and improving a long-term management mechanism;

Improving the management mechanism for evaluation, commendation, and creation of demonstration activities, strictly approving and managing, focusing on solving problems such as excessive quantity, lack of effectiveness, etc., and avoiding "invisible additional" burdens on the grassroots...

The sound and improvement of long-term mechanisms have tightened the cage and built a dam from the institutional level for the rectification of formalism and the reduction of burdens for the grassroots, and promoted the normalization and long-term effectiveness of burden reduction work.

Synergistic efforts to consolidate and deepen the results of rectification. Over the past year, the Party Central Committee has made careful deployments, and various regions and departments have made precise moves to prevent problems from rebounding—

The central ecological and environmental protection supervision and the assessment of petition work have improved their methods, simplified reception guarantees, and reduced the retrieval of materials, effectively reducing the burden on the grassroots to meet inspections and examinations; strictly regulating social affairs entering campuses, and unloading non-educational and teaching burdens for primary and secondary school teachers; incorporating national government affairs applications into unified technical supervision, the number of newly built government affairs applications in 2025 decreased by 93.3% year-on-year, and more than 3,700 applications with similar functions and low usage rates were closed and integrated...

In this year, supervision, inspection, and assessment are more standardized, evaluation, commendation, and creation of demonstration activities are more strictly rectified, the long-term mechanism for strictly controlling the transfer of cadres is more sound, and the governance of "formalism at the fingertips" is more effective, fully demonstrating the Party Central Committee's determination to grasp to the end and truly reduce burdens for the grassroots.

Promoting governance through cases, grasping key points, grasping notifications, and grasping rectification. Over the past year, the Party Central Committee has severely held accountable for violations of regulations and disciplines, forming a strong deterrent—

Some places make blind decisions and mechanically implement them in urban management, harming the interests of the masses; some places engage in "face projects" in government service and blindly decide to build cultural and tourism projects; some places and departments are overly dependent on supervision, inspection, and assessment, and frequently engage in ranking notifications, increasing the burden on the grassroots...

In 2025, the central level publicly notified 11 typical problems in 4 batches, driving the provincial and municipal levels to notify more than 1,500 typical problems, severely holding accountable for violations of regulations and disciplines, forming a strong deterrent.

At the same time, in response to prominent problems strongly reflected by the grassroots, a special deployment was carried out to carry out "six corrections" to promote the solution of problems such as eagerness for quick success and instant benefits, and blind decision-making; urging and promoting central and state organs and departments to overcome "institutional diseases" and "衙门作风"; focusing on education and teaching, rural revitalization, health, petition, statistics, and other 10 key areas to promote rectification and rectification.

To deepen and expand the rectification of formalism and reduce burdens for the grassroots, it is necessary to guide the vast number of Party members and cadres to consolidate the foundation and build a defense line ideologically.

In this year, the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance) held a special seminar mainly for provincial and ministerial-level leading cadres, focusing on studying and training on the "Several Provisions on Rectifying Formalism and Reducing Burdens for the Grassroots."

Publicly publishing the "Several Provisions," incorporating the "Several Provisions" into the study of the theoretical learning center group of Party committees (Party groups) at all levels, and the cadre education and training content of Party schools (administrative colleges), promoting Party-member leading cadres at all levels to take the lead in respecting, learning, abiding by, and using regulations, and conveying to the entire Party and the entire society the Party Central Committee's consistent and comprehensive and strict determination to rectify formalism and reduce burdens for the grassroots.

In October 2025, the central-level special work mechanism meeting for rectifying formalism and reducing burdens for the grassroots made deployments:

"It is necessary to promote work around the current overall development situation, go to the problems, stare at the problems and change them, continue to grasp deeply and practically, and strive to achieve practical results" "It is necessary to improve the mechanism for regularly discovering and solving problems, and pay attention to grasping the 'second half of the article' of problem rectification"...

Work style construction is always on the road, and rectifying formalism and reducing burdens for the grassroots is a battle of tough battles and a protracted war.

The "Suggestions of the CPC Central Committee on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development" proposed "Deeply carry out the work of rectifying formalism and reducing burdens for the grassroots," pointing out the direction for continuing to deepen work style construction on the new journey.

In the face of new situations and new tasks, only by grasping regularly and for a long time and continuously rectifying can we help the vast number of grassroots cadres to better unload their burdens, start lightly, and perform their duties and fulfill their responsibilities for the Party and the people.

Like a spring breeze turning into rain, entering the heart and seeing action, the effectiveness of reducing burdens at the grassroots level continues to manifest.

Adhering to the equal emphasis on reducing burdens and empowering, and the combination of correcting and establishing systems, over the past year, the entire Party has anchored its goals, allowing the clear wind of burden reduction to continue to blow through the grassroots, the momentum of practical work to fully flow, and the Party's work style construction to continue to present a new atmosphere.

The powers and responsibilities are clearer, preventing arbitrary apportionment and layer-by-layer additional codes from the source—

"In the past, it was 'a thousand hammers above, a nail below.' Now, before the documents are issued, they have undergone a strict 'burden reduction physical examination.' What should be done, what should be cooperated with, and what cannot be done are all written clearly." Luo Xinkang, director of the Party and government office of Sirong Township, Rongshui Miao Autonomous County (融水苗族自治县), Liuzhou (柳州), Guangxi (广西), expressed the feelings of many grassroots cadres.

Behind this change is Guangxi's special promulgation of the "List of Assessment and Review Items for the Consistency of Issuing Documents and Reducing Burdens for the Grassroots," requiring all regions and departments to evaluate and review the list one by one when issuing documents, and to eliminate problems such as "拍脑袋" apportionment (pāi nǎo dài - "patting the head," making decisions impulsively) and "甩锅" responsibility (shuǎi guō - "throwing the pot," shirking responsibility). The clarification of the boundaries of powers and responsibilities has allowed more grassroots cadres to shift from "empty affairs" to "practical work tracks."

The efficiency is higher, and the empowerment of digital intelligence solves the pain points of the grassroots—

"In the past, it took three or four days just to sort out various reports, and it was easy to have problems such as repeated data filling and inconsistent calibers." Cheng Yonghong, deputy secretary of the Party Working Committee of Gulin Street, Binhai New Area (滨海新区), Tianjin (天津), pointed to the "One Form Pass" system on the computer and introduced, "Now it's good, the data 'runs more' and we 'run less.' Entering information once can automatically generate various reports, which can complete the workload of the previous few days in a few minutes, and the accuracy rate is greatly improved."

Since 2025, a working group has been established at the central level to vigorously promote the construction of "One Form Pass," comprehensively streamline and integrate various reports, and various regions have actively implemented the "Work Guidelines for 'Reporting Only Once' of Grassroots Report Data" issued by the General Office of the State Council, and continue to explore and optimize ways to reduce burdens for the grassroots.

Both take real action to untie and reduce burdens, and deepen the root cause to empower the grassroots. A group of data has become a strong witness:

In 2025, all 38,000 townships (streets) across the country completed the preparation of a list of job responsibilities and announced it to the public, further straightening out the relationship between county and township responsibilities; a total of 15,200 additional establishments were transferred and increased for counties and townships, and the efforts to "reduce the top and supplement the bottom" continued to increase; the number of reports issued by central and state organs and departments to townships (streets) and villages (communities) was streamlined by 57.2%...

The momentum is stronger, and the practical orientation stimulates the spirit of entrepreneurship—

"Now I spend at least 3 days a week in the community, and I can calm down and listen to the demands of the masses and solve practical problems!" Zhao Yu, secretary of the Party Working Committee of Xidajie Street, Guancheng Hui District (管城回族区), Zhengzhou (郑州), Henan (河南) Province, is a vivid portrayal of grassroots cadres devoting themselves to practical work after reducing their burdens.

Grassroots cadres who used to spend a lot of time on report meetings and meeting inspections and examinations now have more energy to sink into the front line and serve the masses.

Reducing burdens does not reduce responsibility, and loosening bonds adds more energy. "Reducing burdens is not reducing responsibility and reducing responsibility, and it cannot be simply equated with not working overtime and working less, let alone becoming an excuse for懈怠‘躺平’ (xiè dài 'tǎng píng' - "slack off 'lie flat'," to do the bare minimum) and shirking responsibility"... Cadres at all levels have a clearer understanding of "burdens that should be reduced" and "responsibilities that should be fulfilled."

On the front line of rural revitalization, the vast number of Party members and cadres go deep into the fields to grasp projects and optimize services, and more policies benefiting farmers are implemented;

In urban and rural communities, grassroots workers walk through streets and alleys to listen to public opinion and solve people's worries, and practical matters for the people's livelihood, such as services for the elderly and children, and mediation of disputes, are handled more practically and meticulously;

In enterprise workshops and project construction sites, staff members are diligent and responsible for ensuring safety and promoting production, and use practical work to promote the improvement of development quality and efficiency...

From "multi-headed management" to "clear powers and responsibilities," from "人海战术" (rén hǎi zhàn shù - "human wave tactics," overwhelming with manpower) to "digital intelligence empowerment," from "passive coping" to "active action," the grassroots governance system is continuously improved, and the modernization level of governance capacity is continuously improved.

Whether the effect of reducing burdens is good or not, the masses and grassroots cadres have the most say.

"Now I spend 70% of my time in the village solving practical problems, no longer revolving around reports and meetings" "There are fewer certification materials, the efficiency of handling affairs is higher, and the satisfaction of the masses has been significantly improved"... The voices of grassroots cadres reflect the profound changes brought about by burden reduction.

A survey by the National Bureau of Statistics in 2025 showed that 91.7% of the interviewed Party and government organs and enterprise and institution staff members were satisfied with the efforts of their local areas and units to overcome formalism and bureaucracy.

While achieving remarkable results, it should also be soberly recognized that there are still some shortcomings and weaknesses in rectifying formalism and reducing burdens for the grassroots: a few cadres have not firmly established the people-centered development concept, some cadres discount and make changes in implementation, some places still arbitrarily dispatch work tasks outside the list of job responsibilities to the township and village levels, and some prominent problems in key areas have not been effectively solved.

Heavy responsibilities call for responsibility, and practical work creates the future.

Under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping (习近平) at its core, the entire Party will continue to deepen and expand the work of rectifying formalism and reducing burdens for the grassroots, and will surely promote the vast number of grassroots cadres to deliver political achievements for the people and deliver political achievements with practical work with a more high-spirited spirit and a more pragmatic work style, and hand over excellent answers to the Party and the people in the new era.

(Xinhua News Agency, Beijing (北京), January 22)

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Enhance capabilities and strengthen practical skills

By: 本报评论员

"To successfully complete the 'Fifteenth Five-Year Plan' objectives and tasks, we must focus on improving the Party's ability and level in leading economic and social development." At the opening ceremony of the seminar for leading cadres at the provincial and ministerial level to study and implement the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) put forward clear requirements for cadres at all levels, especially leading cadres, from the overall height of building Chinese-style modernization, emphasizing the need to "further strengthen learning," "establish and practice a correct view of performance," "vigorously promote the spirit of struggle," and "maintain a high-pressure anti-corruption stance."

Whenever at a major historical juncture, our Party always calls on the entire Party to strengthen learning. To improve ability and level, the first thing to do is to strengthen theoretical arming.

During the "Fifteenth Five-Year Plan" period, "promoting major breakthroughs in strategic tasks concerning the overall situation of Chinese-style modernization" puts forward new and higher requirements for the quality and ability of the vast number of party members and cadres. At present, technological innovation is advancing by leaps and bounds, social changes are broad and profound, and new things are emerging one after another. "褚小者不可以怀大，绠短者不可以汲深" (chǔ xiǎo zhě bù kě yǐ huái dà, gěng duǎn zhě bù kě yǐ jí shēn - "small container cannot hold big things, short rope cannot draw deep water," one's capabilities must match the task at hand). If knowledge is insufficient, vision is not broad enough, and ability is not strong enough, and one is at a loss and fearful when encountering complex situations, how can one seize opportunities and create new situations?

To overcome insufficient ability and "skill panic," learning is the entry point. The Party's innovative theory is the "nutrition" for transforming the subjective world and the "key" for transforming the objective world. The vast number of party members and cadres should understand the laws, clarify the direction, learn the methods, and increase wisdom from Xi Jinping (习近平)'s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, learn the skills of managing the household, revitalizing the Party, and strengthening the country, thoroughly understand the major policies and decisions of the Party Central Committee, and improve political ability and strategic thinking ability. Adhere to learning what you do, and making up for what you lack, enrich professional knowledge, and improve professional qualities. Combine reading "books with words" and reading "books without words," and continuously enhance the ability to build modernization in practice.

The view of performance is a fundamental issue, concerning the Party's commitment to serving the public and governing for the people. To improve ability and level, the key is to establish and practice a correct view of performance.

All the way along, our Party has no private interests of its own. Governing is to serve the people and to enable the people to live a good life. The red apples of Yan'an (延安) witness the original aspiration of serving the people, the battle against poverty witnesses the pragmatic actions of "true poverty alleviation, alleviating true poverty, and truly eliminating poverty," and high-speed railways built into old revolutionary areas and mountainous areas witness the "road to people's livelihood and happiness" becoming wider and wider... It is precisely because of adhering to producing performance for the people and producing performance with practical work that solid progress has been made in promoting common prosperity for all the people, the Party's heart and the people's heart are highly united, the people have a high degree of trust in the Party, and the Party's foundation for governing is more consolidated.

Striving for the "Fifteenth Five-Year Plan," benefiting the people is the fundamental value orientation. Only by adhering to proceeding from reality, acting according to the laws, and creating achievements that can withstand the test of practice and history, truly benefit the people, and be recognized by the masses through scientific decision-making and hard work, can we create achievements that can withstand the test of practice and history, truly benefit the people, and be recognized by the masses. The vast number of party members and cadres must adhere to finding gaps, digging roots, and strengthening self-cultivation from the perspective of Party spirit, and consciously eliminate the set of seeking novelty, being fond of greatness and success, engaging in flashy formalism, wasting money and manpower, and new officials ignoring old accounts in the pursuit of performance, so as to benefit the people and gain the trust of the people with practical work and achievements.

The new journey is a new Long March, and we must always be prepared to carry out a great struggle with many new historical characteristics. To improve ability and level, we must vigorously promote the spirit of struggle.

At present, China's development environment is facing profound and complex changes, and the deep-seated contradictions and problems in economic and social development "cannot be avoided or bypassed." Facing the "Lou Mountain Pass (娄山关)" and "Lazikou (腊子口)" on the road ahead, we must not only maintain strategic initiative and enhance risk insight and foresight, but also see things early and act quickly, and dare to struggle and be good at struggling. The vast number of party members and cadres must be brave to stand up and face difficulties, be good at fighting risks, meeting challenges, and overcoming difficulties, eliminate potential risks in a timely and decisive manner, strive to transform unfavorable factors into favorable conditions for overcoming the enemy and winning, and open up new horizons for the development of the cause through tenacious struggle.

To achieve the "Fifteenth Five-Year Plan" goals and tasks, the courage to self-revolution is the guarantee, and we must unswervingly punish corruption.

Corruption pollutes the political ecology and damages the development environment. The more effective the Party's governance, the more powerful the guarantee for economic and social development. At present, the situation in the anti-corruption struggle is still severe and complex, and the task of eradicating the soil and conditions for the breeding of corruption is still arduous and heavy. This determines that we must always maintain a high-pressure anti-corruption stance, without stopping for a moment or retreating for half a step, and we must never be soft-hearted. We must bear in mind that Party discipline and entrepreneurship are inherently unified, deeply understand that laws and regulations are not only "tight hoops" but also "amulets," understand the law, understand the rules, know awe, and do things cleanly and boldly.

Walking the right path in the world and doing a just cause, even if there are no predecessors and there are thousands of difficulties and dangers, but with the people in our hearts and the truth in our hands, we are full of confidence and strength, and we will resolutely brave the wind and rain. Unite more closely around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping (习近平) as the core, unite our hearts and minds, shoulder heavy burdens and difficulties, and strive for progress, we will surely turn the grand blueprint of the "Fifteenth Five-Year Plan" into reality.

History will not fail those who work hard, and history always belongs to those who strive!

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How to Effectively Integrate Ideological and Political Theory Classrooms with Social Practice Classrooms (Policy Q&A: Addressing Concerns)

By: 本报记者 吴 丹

Reader Concerns

I am a student, and I feel that the content of ideological and political courses has become increasingly rich in recent years. Seeing that the "15th Five-Year Plan" proposes "promoting the effective integration of ideological and political classrooms and social classrooms," what new changes will there be in ideological and political courses next?

To make ideological and political courses more attractive, "it is imperative to connect them with reality." In the past, due to insufficient innovation and low quality, the effect of some ideological and political courses was not very ideal. Ideological and political courses that are merely perfunctory not only fail to achieve the course objectives but also affect the implementation of the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education.

General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) emphasized: "Ideological and political courses should not only be taught in the classroom but also in social life." The "15th Five-Year Plan" proposes "promoting the effective integration of ideological and political classrooms and social classrooms."

How can ideological and political courses "integrate" to produce results?

To deliver good ideological and political courses in the new era, it is necessary to continuously seek vitality through reform and innovation, make good use of "large" resources, and gather "large" synergy.

Upholding integrity and innovating, expanding the pattern of practical education in ideological and political courses. The Ministry of Education (教育部) and other ten departments issued the "Work Plan for Comprehensively Promoting the Construction of 'Grand Ideological and Political Courses'," which clearly requires fully mobilizing the strength and resources of the entire society, making good use of the large social classroom, implementing the credit hours for practical teaching of ideological and political courses, and organizing diverse practical teaching activities.

At present, universities across the country generally implement the practical credit requirements for ideological and political courses, and more than 600 universities have independently offered ideological and political practice courses. "Grand Ideological and Political Course" comprehensive reform pilot zones have been established in five provinces and cities: Beijing (北京), Tianjin (天津), Shanghai (上海), Jiangxi (江西), and Shaanxi (陕西), and further expanded to 10 integrated reform pilot areas for ideological and political courses in primary, secondary, and tertiary schools. Thirty-two provincial-level integrated communities for ideological and political courses in primary, secondary, and tertiary schools and 32 provincial-level collaborative groups for the construction of ideological and political courses in vocational schools have been established to promote the integration of ideological and political courses in various types of schools at all levels.

Demonstration and leadership, "setting standards" and "creating models" for theories to enter the mind and heart. In order to promote the continuous optimization and improvement of practical teaching ideas, methods, and effects of ideological and political courses in various regions and schools, the Ministry of Education (教育部) innovatively organized national primary, secondary, and tertiary schools to attend the "Grand Ideological and Political Course" together, creating "benchmark courses" and "model courses" that combine theory and practice. The Ministry of Education (教育部) promptly carried out demonstration lectures and micro-course presentations on integrating the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee into ideological and political courses in primary, secondary, and tertiary schools, covering more than 90% of ideological and political course teachers nationwide, providing high-quality teaching resources that are "ready to use" and teachable for teachers at all levels. The Ministry of Education (教育部) and multiple units jointly created a demonstration "golden course" integrating primary, secondary, and tertiary schools with the theme of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, which was watched by over 150 million teachers and students nationwide, with a total of 485 million views online.

How can ideological and political courses be run with distinctive features?

Various regions actively create "one place, one feature" and "Grand Ideological and Political Course" brands. Such as Beijing's (北京) "Grand Ideological and Political Course on the Central Axis," Zhejiang's (浙江) "The Taste of Truth," Fujian's (福建) "Walking Through Eight Min," Hunan's (湖南) "My Shaoshan Trip," Guangdong's (广东) "Guangdong Practice at the Forefront," etc., organically integrating the Party's innovative theories into ideological and political course teaching.

Strengthening support, providing rich resources for practical teaching of ideological and political courses. The Ministry of Education (教育部) has jointly established more than 550 national-level practical teaching bases for "Grand Ideological and Political Courses" with multiple units, of which nearly 90% of the bases have developed basic courses featuring on-site teaching. It has jointly promoted high-quality resource projects for "Grand Ideological and Political Courses" with the theme of revolutionary cultural relics with the National Cultural Heritage Administration. A digital map of "Grand Ideological and Political Courses" has been built, including more than 5,400 practical teaching points. Virtual simulation teaching experience centers for ideological and political courses have been established in many universities to carry out immersive and interactive practical teaching of ideological and political courses, using technology to empower and "revitalize" practical teaching scenarios for ideological and political courses.

"Practical teaching will be one of the key points of reform and innovation in ideological and political courses in the future." The relevant person in charge of the Department of Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education (教育部社会科学司) stated that the next step will be to standardize the requirements for opening ideological and political practice courses, continue to create the "Grand Ideological and Political Course" brand, build and use practical education bases well, promote the empowerment of digital intelligence in practical teaching of ideological and political courses, and improve the digital map of "Grand Ideological and Political Courses" integrated with primary, secondary, and tertiary schools, using methods that contemporary young people like to hear and see to explain the Party's innovative theories in a deep, thorough, and lively manner.

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New Village, New Scenery: Living in Peace and Prosperity

"I have always been concerned about this, and I was learning about the situation here every day during that time." On January 22, 2025, during his first stop in Liaoning Province, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) went directly to Zhujiagou Village (祝家沟村), Mingshui Manchu Township (明水满族乡), Suizhong County (绥中县), Huludao City (葫芦岛市), which had previously suffered severe flooding.

In August 2024, Huludao City (葫芦岛市) suffered severe flooding, and Zhujiagou Village (祝家沟村), which is located in a low-lying area, was one of the most severely affected villages. After the flood, post-disaster reconstruction work began rapidly. Now in Zhujiagou Village (祝家沟村), the newly built blueberry greenhouses are helping to revitalize the industry, rural tourism continues to heat up, and everyone is working together to make their happy life even better.

(People's Daily reporter Xin Yang (辛阳))

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Per capita disposable income of rural residents to reach 24,456 yuan in 2025

This newspaper's Beijing (北京) dispatch on January 22nd (Reporter Yu Jingxian (郁静娴)): This reporter learned from a press conference held by the State Council Information Office (国务院新闻办公室) on the 22nd that in 2025, China's agricultural and rural development maintained a steady and progressive, and steadily improving momentum. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (国家统计局), the per capita disposable income of rural residents reached 24,456 yuan in 2025, an actual increase of 6% over the previous year.

In 2025, the added value of the national agricultural and sideline food processing industry above designated size increased by 5.6% over the previous year. New industries and new business formats such as rural leisure tourism and rural e-commerce continued to grow, effectively driving farmers to find employment and increase their income locally. The penetration rate of rural sanitary toilets reached about 77%, infrastructure conditions such as water, electricity, roads, gas, and information continued to improve, and the level of public services such as education, medical care, and elderly care was significantly improved.

According to reports, in 2025, the contribution rate of agricultural scientific and technological progress exceeded 64%. The research and development and application of agricultural machinery and equipment accelerated, and the comprehensive mechanization rate of crop cultivation, planting, and harvesting reached 76.7%. The application scenarios of smart agriculture have been expanded across the entire chain, and the number of agricultural drones exceeded 300,000, with an annual operating area exceeding 460 million mu.

(Related reports on page 2)

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Water consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP to decrease by 20% by 2025 compared to the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period.

(Our newspaper Beijing (北京) January 22nd dispatch) (Reporter Deng Jianyang (邓剑洋)) The reporter recently learned from the Ministry of Water Resources (水利部): During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, with the continuous leaps in total economic output and consecutive years of bumper harvests in grain production, China's total water consumption achieved zero growth. Preliminary statistics show that in 2025, the water consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP nationwide and the water consumption per 10,000 yuan of industrial added value decreased by 20% and 25% respectively compared with the end of the "13th Five-Year Plan" period. The effective utilization coefficient of farmland irrigation water increased from 0.565 at the end of the "13th Five-Year Plan" period to 0.583, and the utilization of unconventional water increased by more than 91% compared with the end of the "13th Five-Year Plan" period.

The Ministry of Water Resources (水利部) proposed to adhere to determining development based on water availability and acting according to water resources, and to implement and refine the water-saving system and policy framework. It is planned that by 2030, the water consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP nationwide and the water consumption per 10,000 yuan of industrial added value will decrease by more than 10% respectively compared with 2025. The effective utilization coefficient of farmland irrigation water will reach above 0.60, the scale of the water-saving industry will exceed 1.2 trillion yuan, the utilization of unconventional water will exceed 30 billion cubic meters, the reuse rate of reclaimed water in areas with severe water shortages and areas with water overload will reach above 30%, the utilization rate of mine water in the Yellow River (黄河) basin will reach above 70%, the water-saving system and policy framework will be more complete, the shortcomings in water-saving infrastructure will be basically addressed, the capacity for refined water-saving management will be significantly improved, and the efficiency and effectiveness of water resource utilization will be significantly enhanced.

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This year's routine and precise assistance focuses on "what's lacking, what to supplement" (authoritative release)

By: 本报记者 郁静娴

On January 22nd, the State Council Information Office (国务院新闻办) held a press conference, inviting relevant officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (农业农村部) to introduce the progress of accelerating agricultural and rural modernization and comprehensively promoting rural revitalization.

Zhang Xingwang (张兴旺), Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (农业农村部副部长), stated at the meeting that in the past year, agricultural and rural departments at all levels have learned from and applied the "Thousand Villages Demonstration, Ten Thousand Villages Renovation" Project ("千万工程") experience, solidly and effectively promoting the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas and the key tasks of building a strong agricultural country. Agricultural and rural development has maintained a steady and progressive momentum, with all annual and "14th Five-Year Plan" targets and tasks successfully completed, providing a fundamental support for promoting high-quality economic and social development.

Sufficient Guarantee of Vegetable Product Supply During the Spring Festival

In 2025, China's grain production achieved another bumper harvest, and the supply of "vegetable basket" products was abundant.

Output increased, with the in-depth implementation of a new round of action to increase grain production capacity by 100 billion jin, grain production has remained stable at over 1.4 trillion jin for two consecutive years; the results of expanding soybean and oilseed planting have been continuously consolidated, with output remaining stable at over 20 million tons for four consecutive years; and the output of pork, beef, mutton, and poultry reached 100.72 million tons, an increase of 4.2% year-on-year.

The quality is better, the routine monitoring pass rate of national agricultural product quality and safety reached 98%, the utilization rate of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has been further improved, the comprehensive utilization rate of livestock and poultry manure exceeds 80%, and the total number of green food, organic products, famous, special, excellent, and new agricultural products, and geographical indication agricultural products exceeds 88,000, and the comprehensive green transformation of agricultural development has made positive progress.

Production capacity has been improved, with over 1 billion mu of high-standard farmland built cumulatively, the area of independently bred crop varieties accounting for over 95%, and the comprehensive mechanization rate of crop plowing, planting, and harvesting reaching 76.7%. In 2025, the contribution rate of yield increase to national grain production exceeded 90%.

Zhang Xingwang (张兴旺) said that this year, counties and cities with the conditions will be encouraged to promote large-scale yield increase of grain and oil crops as a whole, and expand the implementation scale of the grain yield increase project. Optimize the grain production structure and regional layout according to local conditions, promote variety improvement and quality improvement, expand the production of strong and weak gluten special wheat, high-quality rice, fresh corn, etc., and promote marketable, high-quality, and high-priced products.

As the Spring Festival approaches, the supply of "vegetable basket" is of social concern. Chen Bangxun (陈邦勋), Director of the Development Planning Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (农业农村部发展规划司司长), introduced that as of January 10, the national vegetable area in the field increased by more than 1.9 million mu year-on-year. At present, the wholesale price index of "vegetable basket" products is generally stable, and the supply of "vegetable basket" products during the Spring Festival is fully guaranteed. With the increase in the number of "Southern vegetables transported to the North," the listing of northern facility vegetables is gradually increasing, and the vegetable supply guarantee capacity will continue to increase.

Support Policies Will Remain Generally Stable After the Transition Period

Since the 5-year transition period, China has firmly held the bottom line of preventing large-scale return to poverty, and the results of poverty alleviation have been consolidated and expanded, with more sufficient and sustainable results, laying the foundation for normalized assistance.

By the end of 2025, more than 7 million monitoring objects have been identified and assisted nationwide, and their risk of returning to poverty has been steadily eliminated. The level of compulsory education, basic medical care, housing safety, and drinking water safety for the lifted out of poverty population has continued to improve. Industrial employment assistance has been deepened, and the scale of employment of the lifted out of poverty labor force has exceeded 32 million people. The scale of employment of the lifted out of poverty population has remained stable at over 30 million people for five consecutive years.

This year is the first year of entering normalized assistance. Chen Bangxun (陈邦勋) introduced that the overall stability of support policies after the transition period will be maintained, and normalized assistance will be incorporated into the overall implementation of the rural revitalization strategy. The meeting specifically introduced several measures.

Implement normalized and precise assistance—improve a unified, standardized, precise identification, and dynamic adjustment of the normalized monitoring system, steadily and orderly manage the original registered lifted out of poverty population by category, implement targeted assistance according to "what is lacking, what to supplement," and improve the accuracy and timeliness of monitoring and assistance.

Strengthen development-oriented assistance measures—promote the full-chain development of assistance industries to benefit farmers and increase income, strengthen the standardized management of assistance project assets, make full use of channels such as East-West labor cooperation, employment assistance workshops, rural public welfare posts, and rural craftsman training, and improve the quality and efficiency of employment assistance.

Provide tiered and classified assistance to underdeveloped areas—focus on supporting key counties for rural revitalization to accelerate development, improve the East-West cooperation, central unit fixed-point assistance, and normalized resident village assistance mechanisms, continue to carry out social assistance, and help lifted out of poverty areas improve their development capabilities.

Rural Infrastructure Conditions Such as Water, Electricity, Roads, Gas, and Information Are Constantly Improving

In 2025, all localities will learn from and apply the "Thousand Villages Demonstration, Ten Thousand Villages Renovation" Project ("千万工程") experience to improve the level of rural industrial development, rural construction, and rural governance.

The quality and efficiency of rural industries have been improved, the added value of agricultural and sideline food processing industries above designated size has increased by 5.6% year-on-year, and new industries and new business forms such as rural leisure tourism and rural e-commerce have continued to grow, driving farmers to find employment and increase income locally. In 2025, the per capita disposable income of rural residents nationwide reached 24,456 yuan, a real increase of 6% year-on-year.

The rural living environment has continued to improve, the popularization rate of rural sanitary toilets is about 77%, infrastructure conditions such as water, electricity, roads, gas, and information have been continuously improved, and the level of public services such as education, medical care, and elderly care has been improved.

The construction of civilized rural customs has been steadily promoted, the effectiveness of rural governance has been continuously improved, and the supply of rural cultural products and services has been increasingly enriched.

Zhang Xingwang (张兴旺) said that the rural construction action will be continued, and the overall role of the rural construction task list and project library will be brought into play. Focusing on the urgent needs and concerns of farmers, guide localities to reasonably determine construction goals and tasks based on actual conditions, scientifically arrange construction priorities and time sequences, and promote rural revitalization in a classified, orderly, and regional manner. Improve the implementation mechanism of rural construction according to local conditions, organize and mobilize farmers to participate in all aspects of village planning, construction, management, and maintenance, adhere to doing what we can and acting according to our capabilities, and resolutely correct formalism and "image projects" problems.

Promote the Application of Modern Technologies Such as Artificial Intelligence in the Agricultural Field

The supporting role of science and technology in agricultural and rural modernization has been steadily enhanced. Zhou Yunlong (周云龙), Director of the Department of Science and Technology of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (农业农村部科学技术司司长), introduced that in 2025, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (农业农村部) will work with relevant departments and units to improve the overall effectiveness of the agricultural science and technology innovation system, strengthen the national agricultural science and technology strategic force, strengthen the main position of agricultural enterprises in science and technology innovation, promote organized scientific research and achievement transformation and application, and the contribution rate of national agricultural science and technology progress will exceed 64%.

For example, in basic research, the mystery of a single somatic cell "transforming" into a complete plant has been successfully revealed, providing new theoretical support for crop genetic improvement and efficient regeneration;

In frontier research, agricultural bio-manufacturing has achieved original breakthroughs, the "artificial intelligence + agriculture" layout has been accelerated, and smart agriculture large models have been continuously iterated and applied;

In industrial technology, the Yangmai 53 (扬麦53) new wheat variety has been bred, which has created a path for successfully solving the coordinated improvement of Fusarium head blight resistance, high yield, and quality, and the research and application of agricultural robots is accelerating breakthroughs.

Zhou Yunlong (周云龙) said that focusing on strengthening the supply of high-quality scientific and technological achievements, cultivating leading science and technology enterprises, and transforming and applying scientific and technological achievements, we will continue to improve the tackling mechanism of collecting needs for the industry, researching and demonstrating for scenarios, and evaluating and accepting for users, deeply implement the "Hundred, Thousand, Ten Thousand" agricultural science and technology enterprise cultivation project, and the application action of new agricultural technologies, new products, and new scenarios, accelerate the ripening and transformation of agricultural scientific and technological achievements, and promote the entry of achievements into villages and households.

Reporter's Notes

Understanding the Vitality of Agricultural and Rural Development in the Word "Steady"

The total grain output has remained stable at over 1.4 trillion jin for two consecutive years, the scale of employment of the lifted out of poverty population has remained stable at over 30 million people for five consecutive years, and the rural construction action has continued to be carried out... A series of data contain profound considerations for coordinating development and security, highlighting the important position of "agriculture, rural areas, and farmers" as the ballast stone of economic and social development. The word "steady" continues to be the main theme of the 2025 "agriculture, rural areas, and farmers" report card.

Through "steady," we can feel the strong pulse of "agriculture, rural areas, and farmers" development. Steady with resilience, extreme weather has occurred frequently in recent years, but China's rice bowl is firmly guarded, and "three meals a day" and "firewood, rice, oil, and salt" are more guaranteed, which proves that the comprehensive agricultural production capacity is constantly increasing. Steady with warmth, from "helping on the horse and sending it on its way" to maintaining the overall stability of support policies after the transition period, the implementation of key small matters in the fields of education, medical care, and elderly care reflects the sense of responsibility of "always being worried," conveying the warmth of building a solid bottom line for people's livelihood and enhancing people's well-being.

Behind the word "steady," there is more "new" meaning surging. From the "village-level" cultural and sports activities going out of the circle, the growth of new industries and new business forms such as rural leisure tourism and rural e-commerce, to the full-chain expansion of smart agriculture application scenarios... All kinds of development factors are accelerating the flow between urban and rural areas, new agricultural productive forces are developing in accordance with local conditions, and rural characteristic industries are moving towards new and better, which will continue to release huge development momentum and consumption potential.

"Agriculture, rural areas, and farmers" are improving, and the overall situation is active. Facing the "15th Five-Year Plan," China will accelerate agricultural and rural modernization and comprehensively promote rural revitalization. In one season after another of cultivation, the foundation of Chinese-style modernization is continuously consolidated, bringing farmers an increasingly solid sense of gain, happiness, and security, and injecting firm and powerful certainty into the good start and good start of the "15th Five-Year Plan."

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Provide strong financial support for a good start to the "15th Five-Year Plan" (Authoritative Interview: Starting the "15th Five-Year Plan")

By: 本报记者 吴秋余

General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) emphasized: "Implement more proactive and effective macroeconomic policies, promote effective qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth of the economy, maintain social harmony and stability, and strive to achieve a good start to the '15th Five-Year Plan'."

The Central Economic Work Conference proposed to continue implementing a moderately loose monetary policy. To thoroughly study and implement the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference, our reporter interviewed Pan Gongsheng (潘功胜), Secretary of the Party Committee and Governor of the People's Bank of China (中国人民银行).

Continue to Implement a Moderately Loose Monetary Policy

Reporter: What achievements have been made in financial support for the real economy and financial markets in the past year? The Central Economic Work Conference proposed to continue implementing a moderately loose monetary policy. How will the People's Bank of China (中国人民银行) implement the spirit of the conference?

Pan Gongsheng (潘功胜): Since last year, the People's Bank of China (中国人民银行) has implemented a moderately loose monetary policy in accordance with the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, strengthening the intersection and targeting of the central bank's policies with market concerns. On the basis of the continued role of existing policies in 2024, a number of monetary and financial policies in terms of aggregate, price, and structure were introduced in 2025 to support the stable growth and high-quality development of the real economy and the stable operation of financial markets. The total amount of finance has grown reasonably, the comprehensive social financing cost has been running at a low level, the credit structure has continued to optimize, and the financial market has been operating stably.

In 2026, the People's Bank of China (中国人民银行) will conscientiously implement the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference, continue to implement a moderately loose monetary policy, take promoting stable economic growth and a reasonable recovery in prices as important considerations for monetary policy, give play to the integrated effect of incremental and existing policies, create a good monetary and financial environment for stable economic growth, high-quality development, and stable financial market operation, and provide strong financial support for achieving a good start to the "15th Five-Year Plan."

In terms of aggregate policy, we will grasp the intensity, rhythm, and timing of policy implementation, flexibly and efficiently use a variety of monetary policy tools such as reserve requirement ratio cuts and interest rate cuts, maintain ample liquidity, and match the growth of social financing scale and money supply with economic growth and expected price levels. There is still some room for reserve requirement ratio cuts and interest rate cuts this year. The People's Bank of China (中国人民银行) will also do a good job in the implementation and supervision of interest rate policies to promote the low-level operation of comprehensive social financing costs.

In terms of structural policies, we will adhere to focusing on key points, being reasonably moderate, and having both entry and exit, continuously optimize the design and management of structural monetary policy tools, and guide financial institutions to increase support for major strategies, key areas, and weak links. A few days ago, the People's Bank of China (中国人民银行) has released a batch of monetary and financial policies that were first introduced at the beginning of the year, and optimized and improved the policy elements of structural monetary policy tools. The interest rates of various structural monetary policy tools were lowered by 0.25 percentage points, and the one-year interest rate of various re-lending facilities was lowered from the current 1.5% to 1.25%.

At the same time, we must continue to maintain the stable operation of the financial market. We will do a good job in expectation management and maintain the basic stability of the RMB exchange rate at a reasonable and balanced level. We will strengthen the supervision and management of the bond market, foreign exchange market, money market, bill market, and gold market. We will establish a mechanism arrangement for providing liquidity to non-bank institutions under specific scenarios. We will continue to make good use of the two monetary policy tools that support the capital market to support the stable development of the capital market.

Construct a Scientific and Sound Monetary Policy System and a Comprehensive Macro-Prudential Management System

Reporter: The "15th Five-Year Plan" proposal proposes to construct a scientific and sound monetary policy system and a comprehensive macro-prudential management system. How will the People's Bank of China (中国人民银行) implement this requirement?

Pan Gongsheng (潘功胜): Constructing a scientific and sound monetary policy system and a comprehensive macro-prudential management system is a strategic measure to promote high-quality financial development and accelerate the construction of a financial powerhouse during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period. The central bank takes maintaining currency stability and financial stability as its dual goals. The monetary policy system and the macro-prudential management system are two basic tools for the central bank to implement macro management. They are the two pillars for achieving the dual goals and jointly support the construction of a financial powerhouse.

To construct a scientific and sound monetary policy system, the key is to properly handle the relationship between short-term and long-term, stabilizing growth and preventing risks, and internal and external factors, and dynamically achieve the optimal combination of currency stability, economic growth, full employment, and balance of payments. In recent years, the structure of China's financial system has undergone profound changes. In 2025, the proportion of loans in the increment of social financing scale has been less than 50%. In this context, the improvement of the monetary policy framework needs to adapt to the evolving financial system and improve the scientificity and effectiveness of regulation. During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, we will focus on promoting the following tasks:

First, optimize the monetary policy target system, dilute the focus on quantitative targets, and create conditions for giving more play to the role of interest rate regulation.

Second, improve the basic currency issuance mechanism with short, medium, and long-term combinations and Chinese characteristics to maintain ample liquidity in the banking system.

Third, improve the market-based interest rate formation, regulation, and transmission mechanism.

Fourth, improve the structural monetary policy tool system to guide and incentivize financial institutions to optimize loan allocation.

Fifth, improve the RMB exchange rate formation mechanism, adhere to the decisive role of the market in exchange rate formation, maintain exchange rate flexibility, and prevent the risk of exchange rate overshooting.

Sixth, improve policy communication and policy transparency, and do a professional and pragmatic job in policy communication and expectation guidance.

To construct a comprehensive macro-prudential management system, we will focus on the following tasks:

First, strengthen the monitoring and assessment of systemic financial risks. Establish a standardized, systematic, and quantitative and qualitative monitoring and assessment framework.

Second, gradually expand the scope of macro-prudential coverage and management objects. On the basis of macro-prudential management in traditional fields, expand coverage to new fields such as financial markets, non-bank financial institutions, financial infrastructure, and Internet finance.

Third, continue to enrich and improve the toolbox of macro-prudential management. Realize the whole process management of macro-prudential management tool creation, implementation, evaluation, feedback, and optimization.

Fourth, improve the legal guarantee and governance mechanism of macro-prudential management. Focus on promoting legislative amendments such as the Law of the People's Bank of China (中国人民银行法). Strengthen the overall coordination of macro-prudential policies with monetary policy and micro-prudential supervision.

Continuously Improve the Quality and Efficiency of Financial Services for the High-Quality Development of the Real Economy

Reporter: The Central Economic Work Conference proposed to guide financial institutions to increase support for key areas such as expanding domestic demand, technological innovation, and small and medium-sized enterprises. What measures will the People's Bank of China (中国人民银行) take?

Pan Gongsheng (潘功胜): The People's Bank of China (中国人民银行) will increase policy support, refine policy measures, and continuously improve the quality and efficiency of financial services for the high-quality development of the real economy.

In terms of expanding domestic demand and supporting consumption, the People's Bank of China (中国人民银行) will take comprehensive measures around supporting the enhancement of consumption capacity, improving consumption supply, and releasing consumption potential to meet the diversified financial needs in the consumption field. A special 500 billion yuan re-lending facility for service consumption and elderly care will be set up to incentivize and guide financial institutions to innovate financial products. We will improve the level of consumer financial services, continue to promote the facilitation of payment services, implement a one-time personal credit repair policy, and improve the consumer financial environment. We will support eligible financial institutions to issue financial bonds and enhance the capital supply capacity in the consumption field.

In terms of supporting technological innovation, we will continue to increase policy support. Recently, the People's Bank of China (中国人民银行) has increased the quota of the 800 billion yuan re-lending facility for technological innovation and technological transformation by another 400 billion yuan to 1.2 trillion yuan, and included private small and medium-sized enterprises with high R&D investment levels in the support field. We will merge and establish a risk-sharing tool for technological innovation and private enterprise bonds, provide re-lending support, and promote the development of the bond market's "technology board."

In terms of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, we will continuously improve the inclusiveness and convenience of financing. We will increase the quota of re-lending and re-discounting for agriculture and small businesses by 500 billion yuan to 4.35 trillion yuan, and set up a separate 1 trillion yuan re-lending facility for private enterprises to focus on supporting small and medium-sized private enterprises. We will support financial institutions to issue financial bonds for small and micro enterprises and make good use of the financing support tools for private enterprise bonds. We will improve the credit enhancement system for private small and medium-sized enterprises and give play to the role of government financing guarantees and information sharing.

In addition, we will strengthen multi-party collaboration.

First, financial departments and industry authorities such as development and reform, commerce, industry and information technology, and science and technology will strengthen coordination and information sharing.

Second, we will strengthen the service capacity building of financial institutions. Third, we will strengthen the coordinated cooperation between monetary policy and fiscal policy.

Reporter: What measures will the People's Bank of China (中国人民银行) take to continue promoting global financial governance reform and international financial cooperation?

Pan Gongsheng (潘功胜): In the next step, the People's Bank of China (中国人民银行) will actively practice the global governance initiative, adhere to the path of reform and opening up and multilateralism, and contribute to building a more fair, just, inclusive, and resilient global financial governance system.

First, we will deepen institutional opening up in the financial field and continue to promote high-level opening up of the financial services industry and financial markets. We will promote the internationalization of the RMB in an orderly manner. We will support the construction of the Shanghai International Financial Center and consolidate and enhance the status of the Hong Kong International Financial Center.

Second, we will continue to build and develop a multi-channel, broad-coverage, safe, and efficient RMB cross-border payment system. We will increase international cooperation in cross-border payments.

Third, we will actively participate in international financial governance and cooperation, and pragmatically carry out multilateral and bilateral monetary and financial cooperation. We will continue to promote the reform of the international monetary system.

Fourth, we will strengthen the construction of regulatory capabilities that match the high level of opening up. We will resolutely safeguard national financial security.

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China comprehensively issues elderly care service consumption subsidies to moderately and severely disabled elderly individuals.

According to a report from our newspaper in Beijing (北京) on January 22nd (reporter Meng Xiangfu (孟祥夫)), the General Office of the Ministry of Civil Affairs (民政部) and the General Office of the Ministry of Finance (财政部) recently jointly issued a notice deciding to organize and implement a project to issue consumption subsidies for elderly care services to moderately or severely disabled elderly people nationwide, starting from January 1, 2026, based on previous pilot work. The notice clarifies that the implementation cycle of the subsidy project is 12 calendar months (from January to December 2026), and the project end time in each pilot area will be synchronized with the national schedule.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs (民政部) requires strict evaluation and supervision. County-level civil affairs departments should conduct on-site verification of the ability assessment results of elderly people in their respective regions at a rate of no less than 1%.

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China's express delivery volume reached 198.95 billion pieces last year.

This newspaper Beijing (北京) January 22nd (Reporter Han Xin (韩鑫)) The State Post Bureau (国家邮政局) announced the operational status of the postal industry in 2025 on the 22nd. Data shows that in 2025, the postal industry completed 216.51 billion postal delivery items, a year-on-year increase of 11.8%. Among them, the express delivery volume completed 198.95 billion items, a year-on-year increase of 13.6%. The continuous increase in business volume has driven a steady increase in business revenue. In 2025, the cumulative business revenue of the postal industry reached 1.8 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.1%. Among them, the cumulative express delivery business revenue reached 1.5 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.5%.

Regional development is more balanced. Through the industry's continuous enhancement of service capabilities in the central and western regions, enriching service scenarios, and improving the service system, the proportion of business volume in the central and western regions has steadily increased, providing strong support for releasing consumption potential. In 2025, the proportions of express delivery business revenue in the eastern, central, and western regions were 73.7%, 15.7%, and 10.6% respectively, and the proportions of express delivery volume were 70.5%, 19.9%, and 9.6% respectively.

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Chinese Scientists Successfully Develop "Fiber Chip"

Fudan University researchers have realized large-scale integrated circuits in soft, elastic polymer fibers, turning the "fiber chip" from a concept into reality. The related research results were published in the journal *Nature* on January 22. According to reports, the team has initially achieved the large-scale preparation of "fiber chips" in the laboratory. In the prepared chip, the integration density of electronic components (such as transistors) reaches 100,000 units/cm. Through the efficient interconnection of transistors and other electronic components, functions such as digital and analog circuit operations can be realized.

Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Ying (刘颖) photographed and reported.

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Decoding China's Certainty Amidst Global Turmoil

By: 本报记者 颜 欢 尚凯元 许海林 郭梓云

The winter sun shone on the snow-covered town of Davos, Switzerland. From January 19th to 23rd, the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026, themed "The Spirit of Dialogue," was held here. Nearly 3,000 representatives from more than 130 countries and regions around the world engaged in exchanges and dialogues on important issues in the fields of economy, geopolitics, and technology. Attendees believed that China's economy achieved remarkable results in 2025, demonstrating strong resilience and vitality. China's commitment to high-quality development and expansion of high-level opening-up injects valuable confidence and scarce certainty into the world economic development.

"Technological Innovation Wins China's Economic Growth Opportunity"

Walking through the town of Davos, the exhibition and promotion activities of well-known global companies, government agencies, and international organizations are rich and colorful, and Chinese elements are also visible everywhere. The humanoid robot developed by China immediately attracted onlookers when it was unveiled (see photo, taken by Shang Kaiyuan (尚凯元), reporter of this newspaper). During the annual meeting, the World Economic Forum released its latest report, selecting a new batch of "Artificial Intelligence Application Stars" with high global impact. Together with the first batch announced during the Summer Davos Forum in 2025, nearly half of the cases came from China.

Romain Moulin, founder of the French warehousing robot company Exotec, told this reporter that China occupies an important position in the world economic landscape and influences the direction of world economic development. "In this process, technological innovation and progress are indispensable."

Gabriel Olsewski, an entrepreneur from the Dutch medical industry, said that there is no shortage of innovative ideas in the world today, but what is truly scarce is the ability to realize technological applications and implement them on a large scale. China attaches great importance to the transformation and implementation of technology and has achieved remarkable results. Roshan Jaya, CEO of Capgemini Group (凯捷集团) in Northern Europe, said: "The speed of innovation in China's cutting-edge fields is accelerating, and the cycle from the proposal of a product concept to its final implementation has been significantly shortened."

Peter Howitt, a Canadian economist and one of the winners of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics, said that over the past few decades, China has not only successfully achieved rapid economic development, but has also become a global leader in several key technologies and industrial fields. "Technological innovation wins China's economic growth opportunity."

Mehdi Ghissassi, Chief Technology Officer of the artificial intelligence technology company "AI71," said: "China is at the forefront of the world in research and development in artificial intelligence, green technology, and other fields. China's economic development speed is remarkable and is one of the main contributors to the global economy."

"The investment practices of Chinese companies in infrastructure, clean energy, and the digital economy are becoming a new paradigm for sustainable investment." Li Nan (李楠), Director of the Investment and Enterprise Division of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (贸发会议), said that this is highly consistent with the concept of "investment promotes sustainable development" advocated by UNCTAD, and will add more confidence and impetus to global economic recovery and long-term stable development.

"An Indispensable Partner for Achieving Green Transformation"

In the exhibition hall of the Forum Annual Meeting, a huge display screen showed a set of constantly rising numbers, recording the destruction that global forests are experiencing in real time, highlighting that the green development path of various countries is still full of many challenges. In recent years, the important role that China has played in promoting and leading the global green transformation has aroused heated discussions and praise from participants.

Zeblon Vilakazi, Academician of the South African Academy of Sciences and President of the University of the Witwatersrand (金山大学), said that China's green transformation has achieved remarkable results, promoting green development through medium and long-term planning, and gradually forming a complete industrial system. "China has accumulated rich technologies and experience and is an indispensable partner for countries to achieve green transformation."

In a discussion on the future development of electric vehicles, Li Ke (李柯), Executive Vice President of BYD (比亚迪), said that electric vehicles are becoming an innovative carrier integrating technologies such as autonomous driving and artificial intelligence. The success of China's related industries is due to clear and stable long-term policies. China's firm commitment to carbon reduction goals allows the manufacturing industry to devote itself to innovation and development.

"Through technological empowerment, China is helping other regions around the world accelerate the green transformation process." Sebastian Buckup, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum, said that in the field of photovoltaic power generation, thanks to Chinese technology, the cost of solar power generation has been significantly reduced. China is also actively promoting the development of energy storage technology and playing an important role in the development of electric vehicles and other fields.

Jonathan Krane, CEO of Krane Funds Advisors (金瑞基金), said that over the past 10 years, China has helped many countries build green infrastructure. China's green transformation has released new development opportunities, and many countries are actively carrying out green cooperation with China and benefiting from Chinese technology.

"A Firm Supporter and Key Participant of Multilateralism"

Several reports released by the World Economic Forum pointed out that geo-economic differentiation, policy uncertainty, and supply chain restructuring are continuously weakening global market confidence. At this time, a predictable and responsible economic partner is of great significance for stabilizing market expectations. Attendees believed that China has always emphasized maintaining the stability and smooth flow of global industrial and supply chains, and actively promoted the common development of all parties through continuous expansion of opening up.

"As the world's second largest economy, China achieved 5% economic growth last year and continued to maintain a steady growth momentum, demonstrating the strong resilience and huge potential of the Chinese economy." Patricia de Lille (帕特里夏·德利莱), Minister of Tourism of South Africa (南非旅游部部长), said, "China is a 'certain factor' in world development. While achieving its own development, China has deepened pragmatic cooperation with developing countries, including South Africa, in infrastructure construction and other fields to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results."

Iskra Reic (尹思睿), Executive Vice President of AstraZeneca (阿斯利康), a pharmaceutical company headquartered in the United Kingdom, said that China's market size, business environment, innovation capabilities, and other factors continue to attract companies to increase investment. "Chinese innovation" is playing an increasingly important role in the global business expansion of multinational companies. She said that from China's "15th Five-Year Plan" (十五五规划) recommendations, the outside world sees positive signals of China's expansion of high-level opening up, as well as new opportunities brought about by China's continued economic growth. Multinational companies are full of confidence in China's long-term development prospects and business environment, and look forward to these forward-looking policies further promoting deeper international cooperation.

"China has always been a firm supporter and key participant of multilateralism." Børge Brende (博尔格·布伦德), President of the World Economic Forum, said that China is accelerating its development in cutting-edge technology fields and is expected to bring about productivity improvements and huge growth opportunities in the coming years. "This is one of the reasons why we remain optimistic about global economic growth."

By cultivating growth through technological innovation, expanding space through green transformation, and accumulating trust through responsible commitment, China is providing more opportunities and boosting stronger confidence for global development with its own high-quality development.

(Reported from Davos, Switzerland, by this newspaper on January 22)

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China's Massive Market as Reflected in "50 Trillion Yuan" (Harmony Voice)

China is not only willing to be the "world factory" but also the "world market," and will accelerate its transformation from a "manufacturing powerhouse" to a "consumption powerhouse." This will inject strong new impetus into mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation between China and countries around the world.

"Domestic demand" is a key word for the international community to observe the Chinese economy. In 2025, China's implementation of the strategy to expand domestic demand continued to take new steps. The total retail sales of consumer goods exceeded 50 trillion yuan for the first time, showing the world the opportunities and potential of the Chinese market.

Expanding domestic demand is a necessary and inevitable move. The characteristics of a major economy are that domestic demand is the mainstay and internal circulation is the main driver. Establishing a complete domestic demand system and a strong domestic market will help better solve practical problems in development and cope with external uncertainties.

Domestic demand has gradually become the main driving force and stabilizing anchor for China's economic growth. From 2013 to 2024, the average contribution rate of domestic demand to China's economic growth reached 93.1%. In 2025, the contribution rate of final consumption expenditure to China's economic growth was 52%, more than half, an increase of 5 percentage points compared with the previous year. Furthermore, China's consumption is showing a good trend of moving towards new directions and optimizing its structure. In 2025, service consumption expenditure accounted for 46.1% of per capita consumption expenditure of residents. E-commerce, live streaming e-commerce, online entertainment, and other factors have driven rapid growth in online consumption. The ice and snow economy, first-release economy, and silver economy continue to heat up, and are increasingly becoming new consumption growth points. The European publication *Modern Diplomacy* analyzed that as China promotes the formation of an economic development model that is more dominated by domestic demand, driven by consumption, and driven by endogenous growth, it is expected that in 2026, the Chinese economy will achieve significant growth in high-tech, intelligent manufacturing, green energy, and service consumption.

The process of responding to challenges is also a process of accumulating energy and building momentum. In recent years, some people in the international community have hyped up the so-called "imbalance theory" of the Chinese economy, but have ignored the fact that the current problems facing China, such as "strong supply and weak demand," are "growing pains" that can be solved through efforts. China's market has a large volume, multiple levels, and sufficient potential, and there is huge investment space in new urbanization, science and technology industries, and improvement of people's livelihoods. At present, China's residents' consumption rate is about 40%, which is 10-20 percentage points higher than that of developed countries, and the per capita infrastructure stock has 4-5 times the growth space compared with developed countries. With precise and coordinated policy efforts, the potential of domestic demand will continue to be released. In 2025, the policy of replacing old consumer goods with new ones benefited more than 360 million people, demonstrating the market volume and reflecting the policy energy. In response to the investment negative growth problem that has not occurred for many years, powerful measures such as "optimizing the implementation of 'two major' projects" and "effectively stimulating the vitality of private investment" were launched in a timely manner. International scholars who pay attention to China's development pointed out that "China views difficulties with a rational and pragmatic attitude, and responds to challenges with institutional advantages and policy tools. This is an important manifestation of the resilience of the Chinese economy." The UK's *Financial Times* reported: "Don't underestimate Chinese consumers."

China's unwavering implementation of the strategy to expand domestic demand will bring new upgrades to cooperation opportunities for the world. In the past five years, China has cumulatively imported more than 15 trillion US dollars of goods and services. At present, China is the world's second largest consumer market, and many sub-sectors such as automobiles, mobile phones, and home appliances have become the world's largest markets. Entering the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, with the steady growth of Chinese residents' income levels and the continuous improvement of people's needs for a better life, it will inevitably drive new consumption and drive new supply; as China accelerates the transformation of its development mode, optimizes its economic structure, and transforms its growth drivers, new investment momentum will continue to emerge, and there will be broad space for investment in both material things and people. In this process, China is not only willing to be the "world factory" but also the "world market," and will accelerate its transformation from a "manufacturing powerhouse" to a "consumption powerhouse." This will inject strong new impetus into mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation between China and countries around the world.

风物长宜放眼量 (fēng wù cháng yí fàng yǎn liàng - "for beautiful scenery, one should take a long-term view," one should take a broad and long-term perspective). A China with surging domestic demand, a stronger development body, and more abundant endogenous driving force will certainly inject more certainty and open up more new opportunities for global development with its own high-quality and sustainable development.

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China Plays Important Role in Bridging North-South 'Digital Divide'

By: 本报记者 崔 寅

"Currently, China is in a global leading position in the field of artificial intelligence. We thank China for helping Africa achieve development in related fields," said Abdon Atangana, Academician of the World Academy of Sciences and Chairman of the Research and Innovation Committee of the African Mathematical Union, in a recent interview with this reporter. "China actively supports African countries in carrying out localized artificial intelligence research and promotes the application of artificial intelligence technology in the Global South. China plays an important role in bridging the North-South 'digital divide'."

Atangana attended the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference held in Shanghai (上海). "China's initiative to establish the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization marks a new step in China's efforts to promote multilateralism and improve global governance," Atangana said. China adheres to the principles of equality, mutual benefit, and win-win cooperation, responding to the development concerns of the Global South. This initiative is a practical application of the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind in the field of science and technology.

Currently, China is deeply promoting the "Artificial Intelligence +" action, sharing development experience and technological products, and helping countries around the world, especially the Global South, to strengthen capacity building, so that the fruits of artificial intelligence development can better benefit the world. "Artificial intelligence should not become a tool to exacerbate the global digital divide, but should become a universal force to promote the development of the Global South. China's artificial intelligence technology, through open source and openness, attracts global developers to jointly participate in technology iteration, breaks the Western technological monopoly, enhances the accessibility of technology, and promotes the healthy and orderly development of artificial intelligence in a beneficial, safe, and fair direction," Atangana said. China shares development opportunities with developing countries through the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative, which reflects China's responsibility as a responsible major country.

Atangana was awarded the UNESCO "Al-Fozan Prize," which is awarded every two years to five young workers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, recognizing their contributions to science and socio-economic development at the national, regional, and global levels. Atangana said that he looks forward to further strengthening talent exchanges between Africa and China. "African countries have outstanding talents, and we hope that more African students can come to China to study artificial intelligence technology. We also invite Chinese students to Africa to understand local needs. This exchange not only gives African youth the opportunity to learn advanced technologies, but also allows young Chinese scholars to understand the real challenges in Africa, making cooperation more effective, mutually beneficial, and win-win."

"Africa needs to keep up with the rapid development trend of world artificial intelligence technology. In the past, African students lacked good libraries and had difficulty accessing information. Now, artificial intelligence can help them obtain a large amount of information. We urgently hope to use artificial intelligence to better solve the practical problems of food security, education, and medical care in Africa," Atangana said. "If my son wants to study artificial intelligence, I will not hesitate to send him to China to study. Not only because China's technology and application level are in the first echelon in the world, but also because we can feel equality and respect in China. The African people are willing to cooperate with China, and China is a reliable partner for Africa."

China's development achievements have impressed Atangana deeply. "China's economic and social development has been rapid, and it has achieved many major achievements. This is due to the Chinese government's strategic planning and strong implementation, and it is also inseparable from the unity and struggle of the Chinese people. The development path that China has explored in practice provides a realistic reference for the Global South countries, including African countries," Atangana said.

Atangana is full of confidence in the future of Africa. He said, "The African continent has abundant natural resources. With China's continued assistance, African countries will more actively control their own destiny, promote the construction of artificial intelligence and basic education, and strive to achieve a leap from 'resource export' to 'value creation', ushering in the take-off of Africa."

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China's outbound direct investment increased by 7.1% year-on-year in 2025

According to the Ministry of Commerce (商务部), guided by the high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative, China's (中国) outbound investment maintained healthy, stable, and orderly development in 2025. By the end of 2025, Chinese (中国) enterprises had established more than 50,000 companies overseas, spread across 190 countries and regions. The stock of outbound investment has remained among the top three in the world for nine consecutive years. In 2025, outbound direct investment reached $174.38 billion, an increase of 7.1% over the previous year, ranking among the top in the world. At the same time, Chinese (中国) enterprises that "go global" actively fulfill their social responsibilities, creating an average of more than 2 million jobs annually. They have funded the construction of a large number of educational, health, and environmental facilities, winning widespread praise from all sectors of host countries.

The year 2026 marks the beginning of the "15th Five-Year Plan." The Ministry of Commerce (商务部) will effectively implement outbound investment management, improve the comprehensive overseas service system, promote the integrated development of trade and investment, support enterprises in carrying out international operations, and deepen cooperation in emerging fields such as the digital economy and green development, to make greater contributions to the stable growth of the world economy.

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A Millennium in Retrospect: Together Recounting a Fine Tale of Civilizational Exchange

By: 本报记者 白元琪

At noon, the National Museum in Phnom Penh (金边), the capital of Cambodia, was crowded with people. The exhibition "Convergence and Coexistence: A Millennium Retrospective of Sino-Cambodian Civilizations" is being held here and will last until February 28. At the entrance of the exhibition, a panda mascot wearing a traditional Cambodian wide-brimmed hat, with its adorable appearance, has become the first stop for many visitors to take photos.

The exhibition is hosted by the National Museum of Cambodia and supported by the Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts (柬埔寨文化艺术部), the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia (中国驻柬埔寨大使馆), and the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage (中国文化遗产研究院). Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian (汪文斌) said that this is the first文物 exhibition in Cambodia with the theme of Sino-Cambodian civilization exchange and mutual learning, telling a friendly story of the deep integration and harmonious coexistence of Chinese civilization and Khmer civilization.

At the exhibition site, more than 30 picture and text introductions and dozens of cultural relics such as bronzes and ceramics string together the exchanges between Chinese civilization and Khmer civilization. As early as the 3rd century AD, Chinese historical records recorded the exchanges between Chinese people and the people of the Mekong Delta. "Bayon Temple (巴戎寺) is one of the most important buildings during the reign of Jayavarman VII (阇耶跋摩七世) (late 12th to early 13th century AD). In the stone carvings of the temple, you can see Chinese merchants walking side by side with Khmer people," explained Xie Suifeng (谢·苏峰), the docent. "Today, overseas Chinese in Cambodia have long been integrated into the local life."

In the center of the exhibition hall, celadon with thin body and moist glaze, brown-glazed bottles with warm and elegant colors, and blue and white porcelain with delicate patterns... seem to be telling the story of a journey to a foreign land hundreds of years ago (see photo, reported by Bai Yuanqi (白元琪), reporter of this newspaper). Zhou Daguan (周达观), a Chinese envoy of the Yuan Dynasty, wrote the book "A Record of the Customs of Zhenla (真腊风土记)" after visiting the ancient kingdom of Zhenla (真腊), which is now located in the Cambodian region. The book records that Chinese ceramics were commonly seen locally. "From the unearthed cultural relics, it can be seen that the trade between Cambodia and China has a long history, and this type of ceramics is a 'frequent visitor' in the maritime Silk Road trade between the two countries," said Xie Suifeng (谢·苏峰). In a corner of the exhibition hall, there are also newly unearthed archaeological results from the Preah Vihear Temple (柏威夏省圣剑寺) site in Preah Vihear Province (柏威夏省), Cambodia - several Chinese coins from the Tang and Song dynasties. Xie Suifeng (谢·苏峰) said that these coins were likely circulated among Chinese residents, merchants, and intermediaries, and related archaeological discoveries further enrich the details of the history of Sino-Cambodian economic and trade exchanges.

On the right side of the exhibition hall, it tells the contemporary story of China and Cambodia working together to protect cultural heritage. More than 10 photos on the wall showing the Zhou Sarei Temple (周萨神庙) and Ta Keo Temple (茶胶寺) sites before and after restoration highlight the ingenuity of cultural relics workers from both countries. Ange Chanson, a French history enthusiast, stood in front of the exhibition board for a long time. After learning that the reporter was from China, he shook the reporter's hand and said: "I lived in Siem Reap (暹粒) in my childhood and have a deep affection for the local historical sites. The Zhou Sarei Temple (周萨神庙) has been restored to its former beauty with the help of Chinese experts. Thank you to the Chinese people!"

In recent years, China and Cambodia have used cultural heritage cooperation as a medium to continuously tighten the bonds of people-to-people connectivity and contribute civilization strength to promoting the building of a new era of all-weather China-Cambodia community with a shared future. Cambodian Minister of Culture and Fine Arts Phoeurng Sackona (彭萨格娜) said that this exhibition is a manifestation of the long-term mutual trust established between the people of Cambodia and China in cultural cooperation, and lays a solid foundation for future exchanges of experience in the field of cultural heritage between the two sides.

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The summit between South Korean and Chinese leaders becomes an important opportunity to promote the improvement of bilateral relations.

This newspaper reported from Seoul on January 22nd (Reporter Mang Jiuchen (莽九晨)) South Korean President Lee Jae-myung (李在明) stated at the New Year's press conference held at the Cheongwadae (青瓦台) Guest House in Seoul (首尔) on the 21st that the South Korea-China leaders' meeting has become an important opportunity to promote the improvement of bilateral relations. He will explore mutually beneficial cooperation plans by redefining the South Korea-China bilateral relationship, and continuously enhance mutual trust through multi-field cooperation between the two countries.

Lee Jae-myung (李在明) said: "I think the South Korea-China leaders' meeting at the beginning of the month was very meaningful, and it became an important opportunity to promote the improvement of relations between the two countries. During the visit to China (中国), the Chinese side gave us a very warm reception, and the people of South Korea (韩国) and the people of China (中国) jointly witnessed these scenes."

Lee Jae-myung (李在明) said that by redefining the South Korea-China bilateral relationship, it is entirely possible to explore cooperation plans that are beneficial to both China (中国) and South Korea (韩国). There are many areas in which South Korea (韩国) and China (中国) can cooperate, and it is also necessary to continuously enhance mutual trust.

Lee Jae-myung (李在明) believes that cooperation between South Korea (韩国) and China (中国) in the economic and diplomatic fields is very important, and at the same time, both sides have the potential to cooperate in the military and security fields and enhance mutual trust. In addition, the development space and prospects in the fields of cultural and tourism and other humanities exchanges have been greatly expanded.

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Finnish Prime Minister Orpo to visit China

The People's Daily, Beijing, January 22nd (Reporter Cui Qi) - A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (外交部) announced on the 22nd: At the invitation of Premier of the State Council Li Qiang (李强), Prime Minister Orpo of Finland will pay an official visit to China from January 25th to 28th.

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President of the National Assembly of Senegal to Visit China

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, January 22nd (Xinhua) – At the invitation of Zhao Leji (赵乐际), Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the President of the National Assembly of Senegal, Ndiaye, will lead a delegation to visit China from January 24th to 30th.

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Mobile Hospital on the Grassland (Striving for the "15th Five-Year Plan" - First-hand Observations from the Front Lines)

By: 本报记者 李祉瑶

Optimize the functional positioning and layout of medical institutions, and implement projects to strengthen primary-level healthcare.

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

As the first rays of dawn appear, on the Urad (乌拉特) grassland, a mobile medical vehicle with a red cross symbol on its body drives along a winding path into Shiha River Town (石哈河镇), Urad Middle Banner (乌拉特中旗), Bayannur (巴彦淖尔) City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (内蒙古自治区).

Seeing the mobile medical vehicle from afar, herdsman Liu Ernv (刘二女) greets it: "I've been feeling palpitations and shortness of breath these past few days, and I haven't been sleeping well. I was worried about going to the hospital in the banner, which is too far, and then you came."

"Don't worry, let's talk slowly." Wang Shuling (王淑玲), a doctor from the Urad Middle Banner People's Hospital (乌拉特中旗人民医院), helps Liu Ernv (刘二女) into the mobile medical vehicle, measures her blood pressure, and takes out a portable electrocardiograph, attaching the electrodes. The instrument hums softly, and waveforms appear. Wang Shuling (王淑玲) constantly asks Liu Ernv (刘二女) about her recent health.

As the doctor assigned to Shiha River Town (石哈河镇), Wang Shuling (王淑玲) is familiar with the illnesses of the local herdsmen: "Liu Ernv (刘二女) has suffered from chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease and atrial fibrillation for many years, and sometimes experiences arrhythmia, accompanied by chest tightness and shortness of breath. Usually, in addition to providing diagnosis and treatment for her in the mobile medical vehicle, we also conduct remote consultations through collaborative clinics."

Before long, the electrocardiogram results and blood pressure data are output. After comprehensive assessment, Wang Shuling (王淑玲) writes down appropriate medication on the prescription, explains the precautions in detail, and does not forget to remind Liu Ernv (刘二女): "If you feel uncomfortable at any time in the future, call me."

Urad Middle Banner (乌拉特中旗) is vast and sparsely populated, with inconvenient transportation, and basic public health services face the challenge of "large service radius and high coverage difficulty." Some herdsmen, due to living in remote areas, have difficulty accessing medical care, and minor illnesses and chronic diseases often cannot be treated in a timely manner.

In September 2025, the Urad Middle Banner (乌拉特中旗) "Mobile Hospital" mobile medical vehicle was officially put into use, delivering medical services directly to the doorsteps of the people in the pastoral areas.

The mobile medical vehicle is like a small mobile clinic, equipped with basic diagnostic and treatment equipment such as a B-ultrasound machine, electrocardiograph, and urine analyzer, as well as commonly used medicines for common and chronic diseases in pastoral areas. It is worth mentioning that the vehicle is connected to the medical consortium information platform, which can be connected in real time with the leading hospital of the medical consortium through collaborative clinics, allowing people in pastoral areas to enjoy remote consultations and professional diagnosis and treatment from medical experts.

In addition to convenient diagnosis and treatment services, the mobile medical vehicle also brings tangible health protection.

In Bayanwulansumu (巴音乌兰苏木), Urad Middle Banner (乌拉特中旗), doctors found that herdsman Ma Jianping's (马建平) blood pressure was high during a mobile clinic visit. After completing the examination, the doctor learned through questioning that Ma Jianping's (马建平) dietary habits were salty. Combining his physical examination report and lifestyle habits, the doctor patiently explained health knowledge: "You can put a little less salt when you usually boil milk tea; when you eat meat, try to eat less of the fatty parts..." Ma Jianping (马建平) nodded repeatedly after hearing this: "I didn't expect that high blood pressure has so much to do with eating habits. I will definitely adjust in the future."

"Currently, mobile medical services have formed a fixed mechanism, with each vehicle going deep into pastoral areas at least twice a month." Chen Heping (陈和平), director of the Urad Middle Banner (乌拉特中旗) Health and Wellness Committee, introduced, "Operating expenses and personnel deployment are coordinated by the Urad Middle Banner (乌拉特中旗) Health and Wellness Committee to ensure sustainable and normalized services."

As of now, Urad Middle Banner (乌拉特中旗) has a total of 5 "Mobile Hospital" mobile medical vehicles, which have carried out more than 800 screenings, health checkups, and chronic disease follow-up visits, and completed more than 20 remote consultation guidance cases. "This year, we plan to add 2 mobile medical service DR (digital X-ray photography system) examination vehicles to the 'Mobile Hospital' to take films and check for farmers and herdsmen in need during mobile medical care, so as to detect potential diseases early," said Chen Heping (陈和平).

The mobile medical vehicle is like a mobile health station, carrying the responsibility and warmth of medical staff, running on the vast grassland, allowing people in pastoral areas to enjoy convenient and high-quality medical services at their doorsteps, and providing good health security services for people in pastoral areas.

(Yang Yang (杨洋) participated in the writing)

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Let health services safeguard every corner (Editor's Note)

By: 张雪妍

The mobile medical vehicle appearing in the distance on the grassland is a reassuring promise for herdsman Liu Ernv (刘二女).

Medical services that used to take the better part of a day to obtain now come to the doorstep with the mobile vehicle. Routine check-ups, symptomatic medications, and immediate health guidance—these basic yet crucial health needs receive a warm response when the door opens.

However, the significance of each small compartment is more than just a mobile clinic or pharmacy. Through remote collaboration, they also become the "nerve endings" connecting fixed medical institutions to the grassroots, making high-quality medical resources more equitable and accessible.

The trajectory of the medical vehicle on the grassland not only extends the physical radius of medical services but also expands the radius of health protection, effectively bridging the service gap caused by distance. We hope that such "nerve endings" can extend further, allowing warm health services to protect every corner.

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Maintain a tough crackdown and high-pressure stance, continuously strengthen systematic governance, and constantly promote new and greater achievements in the work of combating and managing [the issue].

This newspaper's Beijing (北京) dispatch on January 22nd (Reporter Zhang Tianpei (张天培)) The national video conference on combating and managing cross-border gambling was held on the 22nd. Wang Xiaohong (王小洪), Secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and State Councilor, attended and delivered a speech.

Wang Xiaohong (王小洪) pointed out that it is necessary to thoroughly study and implement the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) on combating and managing cross-border gambling, fully implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, firmly support the "Two Establishments" and resolutely achieve the "Two Safeguards," deeply understand the importance and urgency of combating and managing cross-border gambling, earnestly and meticulously implement various work measures, continuously consolidate and expand the results of combating and managing, and resolutely safeguard China's economic security, social stability, and national image.

Wang Xiaohong (王小洪) emphasized that it is necessary to accurately grasp the situation and tasks, closely focus on key cases, major fugitives, gambling-related criminal ecosystems, etc., adhere to chasing and cracking down, precise strikes, and continuous strikes, deepen intelligence research, special case strikes, and cluster strikes, always maintain a severe crackdown and high-pressure posture against cross-border gambling crimes, and make every effort to squeeze the space for crime. Adhere to comprehensive policies and systematic governance, coordinate the use of various prevention and control measures, resolutely cut off the ecological chain of cross-border gambling crimes, and strive to achieve both temporary and permanent solutions. Strengthen organizational guarantees, consolidate work responsibilities, further improve the quality and efficiency of mechanism operation, strengthen the construction of a professional talent team, improve professional capabilities and levels, and continuously promote the work of combating and managing cross-border gambling to achieve new and greater results.

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When the mind is open, difficulties give way.

By: 盛玉雷

A detail in the People's Daily (人民日报) long article "The 'Turning Point' of Old Yang and Young Yang's Thoughts" is particularly striking.

Chuyuan Group (楚源集团) was penalized by the environmental protection department, and the person in charge couldn't resolve his mental block for a while, resulting in intermittent production after resumption. The business fell into difficulties, and the entanglement followed: continue with the old chemical industry, or blindly follow the trend of new energy?

If the mind is not enlightened, difficulties will not give way, and progress will inevitably be 左支右绌 (zuǒ zhī yòu chù - "support left, stretch right," to be in a difficult situation; unable to cope).

In 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) emphasized at the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection: "For traditional industries, we cannot simply treat them as 'low-end industries' and shut them down or eliminate them. Instead, we must promote the upgrading of technology, equipment, and processes to achieve green and low-carbon transformation."

These words awakened the dreamer, dispelling confusion through learning. Chuyuan Group (楚源集团) seized green opportunities, made patient capital, focused on developing new quality productive forces, adhered to its main business, persisted in transformation, and achieved sales recovery and improved business conditions.

We often say, "There are always more solutions than difficulties." However, solutions do not come out of thin air; the key lies in unlocking thoughts and leaping in cognition.

For example, water used to be a "fierce flow" that harmed mines. The old mines of Heilongjiang Longmei Shuangyashan Mining Company (黑龙江龙煤双鸭山矿业公司) had high water content and many sandstone fissures, and were once on the verge of closure and shutdown.

"Green mountains and clear waters are by no means opposed to golden mountains and silver mountains; the key lies in people, the key lies in ideas." The enterprise used conceptual icebreaking to drive development breakthroughs: "In the past, we regarded mine water as an 'enemy' and always thought about how to eliminate it. Now, we regard it as a 'friend' and must think about how to protect and utilize it."

Today, the mine turns "water" into gold, realizing the resource utilization of mine drainage water, with an annual output value of nearly 10 million yuan. From "disaster water" to "living water," resources are redefined, and industries reshape value.

With thousands of threads of development, the biggest bottleneck is cognitive, and the biggest difficulty is ideological. From theoretical innovation to practical exploration, the Party's innovative theories always listen to the voice of the times and respond to practical issues, constantly proposing correct ideas and effective methods for solving problems. This is our ideological key to resolving crises, overcoming difficulties, and responding to changes, and it requires learning, thinking, practicing, and acting.

To enlighten the mind, not only must the operating entities understand it themselves, but also the Party committees and governments must lend a hand. "Always pay attention to what the Party Central Committee is concerned about and what it emphasizes," and deeply understand the strategic intentions of the Party Central Committee with a global perspective and dialectical thinking.

For example, in the process of Chuyuan Group's (楚源集团) transformation, the government departments played a key role in helping the person in charge of the enterprise to resolve his ideological knot and promote transformation. Resolving conceptual obstacles can open up a thoroughfare that combines an active government with an effective market.

For example, providing for the elderly is both a family matter and a national matter, and from another perspective, it is also a blue ocean of industry. In recent years, from "silver-haired golden streets" to health and wellness tourism, to new scenarios and new forms of smart elderly care, under the guidance and support of relevant policies and measures, the development momentum of China's silver economy has continued to improve.

A change in thinking broadens the horizon. Focusing on new problems encountered in practice and proposing scientific concepts and effective countermeasures to solve practical problems, crises can also become opportunities, and deadlocks can still be used to plan new situations.

Overcoming difficulties focuses on resolute action, and after breaking through ideological barriers, we must carry out work creatively.

When road construction encounters ancient trees blocking the way, what should be done? Removing ancient trees not only damages the natural ecology but also harms the cultural landscape, which is absolutely unacceptable. In Beichen District (北辰区), Tianjin (天津), in order to protect a pair of ancient Chinese Scholar trees (鸳鸯古槐) more than 200 years old, a green island was specially set up on the newly built road, "detouring" to achieve the best of both worlds. Grasping the profound logic of the connotative development of the city, innovatively planning and creatively implementing, many dilemmas in building a modern people's city can find a win-win solution.

During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, we must correct our thinking methods from the Party's innovative theories, learn the skills of managing our homes, revitalizing the Party, and strengthening the country, and transform conceptual innovation into development achievements.

When the mind is clear, everything is clear.

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Fun in the Snow

On January 20th, on the playground of Kunlun Mountain Road School (昆仑山路学校) in Suyu District (宿豫区), Suqian City (宿迁市), Jiangsu Province (江苏省), the snow was heavy. The children were playing football and enjoying the fun of winter on the snow.

Cai Liang (蔡亮) photographed (Image China (影像中国)).

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3,763 Discipline Inspection and Supervision Officials Disciplined in 2025

This newspaper Beijing (北京) January 22nd dispatch (Reporter Zhao Cheng (赵成)) The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission (中央纪委国家监委) website reported on the 22nd that the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission (中央纪委国家监委) released a report on the supervision, inspection, review, and investigation of discipline inspection and supervision cadres in 2025. The report shows that in 2025, discipline inspection and supervision organs nationwide filed cases against 4,119 discipline inspection and supervision cadres, and disciplined 3,763 people.

The report shows that in 2025, discipline inspection and supervision organs nationwide received more than 40,200 pieces of clues or reports involving problems of discipline inspection and supervision cadres, handled 35,000 pieces of clues involving problems of discipline inspection and supervision cadres, held conversations and sent letters of inquiry to 10,840 discipline inspection and supervision cadres, filed cases against 4,119 discipline inspection and supervision cadres, disciplined 3,763 people, and transferred 234 people to judicial organs. Among them, 4 cadres at the provincial and ministerial level, 116 cadres at the department and bureau level, and 746 cadres at the county and division level were disciplined.

According to the report, in 2025, discipline inspection and supervision organs nationwide used the "four forms" to criticize, educate, and handle more than 13,900 discipline inspection and supervision cadres. Among them, the first form was used to criticize, educate, and handle 9,937 people, the second form was used to handle 3,217 people, the third form was used to handle 465 people, and the fourth form was used to handle 282 people.

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Public opinions will be solicited on national standards for pre-prepared dishes, etc.

This newspaper Beijing (北京), January 22nd (Reporter Lin Lili (林丽鹂)) To effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and promote high-quality industrial development, the Food Safety Office of the State Council organized the National Health Commission, the State Administration for Market Regulation and other departments to draft the "National Food Safety Standard - Pre-made Dishes" and the "Terminology and Classification of Pre-made Dishes" draft; together with the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Ministry of Commerce and other departments, drafted an announcement on promoting the voluntary and explicit indication of the processing and production methods of dishes in the catering sector, which will be released to the public for comments in the near future. Next, relevant departments will further revise and improve the drafts based on fully absorbing the opinions and suggestions of all parties, and release them according to procedures.

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Reduce burdens and increase efficiency to boost morale; concrete action and dedication to write a new chapter.

By: 新华社记者 熊 丰 刘 硕 王明玉

In late 2025, Beijing Zhongnanhai (北京中南海).

At the democratic life meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, the comrades present had an important document on their desks: "Report on the Work of Rectifying Formalism and Reducing Burdens for the Grassroots in 2025."

"Continue to deepen and expand the work of rectifying formalism and reducing burdens for the grassroots, so that the vast number of grassroots cadres have more energy to focus on implementation."

Over the past year, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping (习近平) at its core has comprehensively and strictly administered the Party in depth, leading the rectification of formalism to reduce burdens for the grassroots, accumulating momentum, promoting the continuous improvement of the Party's work style, and uniting the powerful forces of the entire Party to strive to promote the construction of a strong country and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Setting an example and persevering, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) pointed out the direction for promoting the rectification of formalism and reducing the burden on the grassroots.

Less than a week after the closing of the 2025 National People's Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) went to Guizhou (贵州) and Yunnan (云南) for inspection, went deep into the grassroots, and conducted research and guidance on the in-depth study and education of the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulation being carried out by the entire Party.

During the inspection, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) clearly pointed out: "Party organizations at all levels must deeply understand the great significance of this decision of the Party Central Committee, focus on the theme, organize study and education in a simple and pragmatic manner, and do not engage in formalism. Formalism itself is what the Eight-Point Regulation opposes."

Taking study and education as an opportunity, comprehensively and strictly rectify formalism to reduce burdens for the grassroots.

In response to the phenomenon that some places have transformed study and education into a "material competition," General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) criticism directly pointed out the key: "Do not regard writing tens of thousands of words of study experience as academic achievement" "Speaking empty words and putting on a show are useless."

Penetrating and to the point. Over the past year, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) has continued to orient and lead the rectification of formalism to reduce burdens for the grassroots on occasions such as attending important meetings and going to local inspections.

Emphasizing "We must earnestly rectify formalism to reduce burdens for the grassroots, and we must not do good things and things that plant flowers, but push difficult things and things that offend people to the grassroots";

Proposing "We must establish and improve a regular mechanism for discovering and solving problems, and carry out genuine rectification and rectification, and continue to release a strong signal of grasping to the end and being strict to the end";

Requiring "Promote the normalization and long-term effectiveness of work style construction, and use excellent work style to unite people's hearts and gather strength, do practical work, and constantly create new prospects for the development of the cause"...

A series of important expositions by General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平), from the strategic height of consolidating the Party's ruling foundation and promoting the development of the Party and the country, profoundly expounded the important significance of continuously promoting work style construction, and provided fundamental guidelines for the work of rectifying formalism and reducing burdens for the grassroots.

2025 is a crucial year for the conclusion of the "14th Five-Year Plan" and the planning and layout of the "15th Five-Year Plan," and it is also an important year for comprehensively deepening reforms to advance in depth.

The more arduous and heavy the task is, the more necessary it is to break the shackles of formalism, emphasize practical work, do practical work, and seek practical results.

Over the past year, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) has repeatedly made important instructions and approvals, providing scientific guidance for deepening and expanding the rectification of formalism to reduce burdens for the grassroots.

Reducing burdens and empowering, practical work revitalizes the country.

Over the past year, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) has set an example, cared about the grassroots, and a series of important deployments have established a clear orientation of practical work and serving the people in the entire Party, leading the vast number of Party members and cadres to provide strong guarantees for the implementation of the goals and tasks of the "14th Five-Year Plan" and the high-quality economic and social development with a pragmatic and responsible work style.

Targeted treatment, solidifying the foundation and consolidating the foundation, the rectification of formalism to reduce burdens for the grassroots is advancing in depth.

Repeatedly filling out forms and reporting numbers, and multi-headed data reporting, once made grassroots cadres deeply trapped in "busyness at the fingertips" and "consumption in forms."

In 2025, the "Regulations on the Sharing of Government Affairs Data" was implemented, and the stubborn diseases such as multiple data outputs and mutual barriers that plagued the grassroots have a systematic solution. The promulgation of this important regulation once again released a clear signal: reducing burdens for the grassroots requires both "immediate change" and "long-term establishment," and we must work for a long time and be good at making achievements.

Institutional leadership can lead to steady and long-term progress. Over the past year, the Party Central Committee has continued to improve top-level design, and the institutional system has been continuously improved—

Promulgating systems and regulations such as the review of central documents, the evaluation of the consistency between the issuance of documents and the reduction of burdens for the grassroots, and further standardizing the reporting of official documents and information briefings, so as to prevent formalism and bureaucracy from increasing the burden on the grassroots from the source;

Formulating institutional documents that strictly regulate "one-vote veto" and the signing of letters of responsibility, publishing a list of matters retained at the central level, and establishing and improving a long-term management mechanism;

Improving the management mechanism for evaluation, commendation and creation of demonstration activities, strictly approving and managing, focusing on solving problems such as excessive quantity, lack of effectiveness, etc., and avoiding "invisible additional" burdens on the grassroots...

The sound and improvement of long-term mechanisms have made the rectification of formalism to reduce burdens for the grassroots tighten the cage and build a dam from the institutional level, and promote the normalization and long-term effectiveness of burden reduction work.

Synergistic efforts to consolidate and deepen the results of rectification. Over the past year, the Party Central Committee has made careful deployments, and various regions and departments have made precise moves to prevent problems from rebounding—

The central ecological and environmental protection supervision and the evaluation of petition work have improved their methods, simplified reception guarantees, reduced the retrieval of materials, and effectively reduced the burden of inspection and examination on the grassroots; strictly regulating social affairs into the campus, unloading non-educational and teaching burdens for primary and secondary school teachers; incorporating national government affairs applications into unified technical supervision, the number of newly built government affairs applications in 2025 decreased by 93.3% year-on-year, and more than 3,700 applications with similar functions and low usage rates were closed and integrated...

In this year, supervision, inspection and assessment are more standardized, evaluation, commendation and creation of demonstration activities are more strictly rectified, the long-term mechanism for strictly controlling the transfer of cadres is more sound, and the governance of "formalism at the fingertips" is more effective, fully demonstrating the Party Central Committee's determination to grasp to the end and truly reduce burdens for the grassroots.

Promoting governance through cases, grasping key points, grasping notifications, and grasping rectification. Over the past year, the Party Central Committee has seriously held accountable for violations of regulations and disciplines, forming a strong deterrent—

Some places make blind decisions and mechanically implement them in urban management, harming the interests of the masses; some places engage in "face projects" in government services, blindly making decisions to build cultural and tourism projects; some places and departments rely too much on supervision, inspection and assessment, and frequently engage in ranking and notification, increasing the burden on the grassroots...

In 2025, the central level publicly notified 11 typical problems in 4 batches, driving the provincial and municipal levels to notify more than 1,500 typical problems, seriously holding accountable for violations of regulations and disciplines, forming a strong deterrent.

At the same time, in response to the outstanding problems strongly reflected by the grassroots, a special deployment was carried out to carry out "six corrections" to promote the solution of problems such as eagerness for quick success and instant benefits and blind decision-making; urging and promoting central and state organs and departments to overcome "institutional diseases" and "衙门作风" (yá mén zuò fēng - "yamen style," bureaucratic style of work); focusing on education and teaching, rural revitalization, health, letters and visits, statistics and other 10 key areas to promote rectification and rectification.

To deepen and expand the rectification of formalism to reduce burdens for the grassroots, we must guide the vast number of Party members and cadres to consolidate the foundation ideologically and build a defense line.

In this year, the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance) held a special seminar mainly for provincial and ministerial-level leading cadres, focusing on studying and training on the "Several Provisions on Rectifying Formalism to Reduce Burdens for the Grassroots."

Publicly releasing the "Several Provisions," incorporating the "Several Provisions" into the study of the theoretical learning center group of Party committees (Party groups) at all levels, and the cadre education and training content of Party schools (administrative colleges), promoting Party-member leading cadres at all levels to take the lead in respecting, learning, abiding by, and using regulations, and conveying to the entire Party and the entire society the Party Central Committee's consistent and comprehensive and strict determination to rectify formalism to reduce burdens for the grassroots.

In October 2025, the central-level special work mechanism meeting for rectifying formalism to reduce burdens for the grassroots made deployments:

"We must promote work around the overall situation of current development, go to the problem and stare at the problem to change, continue to grasp deeply and practically, and strive to achieve practical results" "We must improve the mechanism for regularly discovering and solving problems, and pay attention to grasping the 'second half of the article' of problem rectification"...

Work style construction is always on the road, and rectifying formalism to reduce burdens for the grassroots is an arduous battle and a protracted war.

The "Recommendations of the CPC Central Committee on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development" proposed "Deeply carry out the work of rectifying formalism to reduce burdens for the grassroots," pointing out the direction for continuing to deepen work style construction on the new journey.

In the face of new situations and new tasks, only by grasping regularly and for a long time and continuously rectifying can we help the vast number of grassroots cadres better unload their burdens, start lightly, and perform their duties and responsibilities for the Party and the people.

Spring breeze and rain, entering the heart and seeing the line, the effectiveness of reducing burdens at the grassroots level continues to be demonstrated.

Adhering to the equal emphasis on reducing burdens and empowering, correcting and establishing systems, over the past year, the entire Party has anchored its goals, allowing the clear wind of burden reduction to continue to blow at the grassroots level, the momentum of practical work to fully flow, and the Party's work style construction to continuously present a new atmosphere.

The powers and responsibilities are clearer, preventing arbitrary apportionment and layer-by-layer additional codes from the source—

"In the past, it was 'a thousand hammers above, a nail below,' but now all documents have undergone strict 'burden reduction physical examination' before they are issued, and what should be done, what should be cooperated with, and what cannot be done are written clearly." Luo Xinkang, director of the Party and government office of Sirong Township, Rongshui Miao Autonomous County, Liuzhou, Guangxi, expressed the feelings of many grassroots cadres.

Behind this change is Guangxi's special promulgation of the "List of Evaluation and Review Items for the Consistency between the Issuance of Documents and the Reduction of Burdens for the Grassroots," requiring all localities and departments to evaluate and review the list one by one when issuing documents to eliminate problems such as "patting the head" apportionment and "responsibility shirking." The clarification of the boundaries of powers and responsibilities has allowed more grassroots cadres to shift from "empty affairs" to "practical work tracks."

The efficiency is higher, and the empowerment of numbers and intelligence solves the pain points of the grassroots—

"In the past, it took three or four days to sort out various reports, and it was easy to have problems such as repeated data filling and inconsistent calibers." Cheng Yonghong, deputy secretary of the Party Working Committee of Gulin Street, Binhai New Area, Tianjin, pointed to the "One Form Pass" system on the computer and introduced, "Now it's better, the data 'runs more' and we 'run less,' and entering information once can automatically generate various reports, which can complete the workload of the previous few days in a few minutes, and the accuracy rate is greatly improved."

Since 2025, a special working class has been established at the central level to vigorously promote the construction of "One Form Pass," comprehensively streamline and integrate various reports, and all localities have actively implemented the "Work Guidelines for 'Reporting Only Once' of Grassroots Report Data" issued by the General Office of the State Council, and continue to explore and optimize ways and methods to reduce burdens for the grassroots.

Both truly move and touch hard to untie and reduce burdens, and also deepen the root cause and empower the grassroots. A group of data has become a strong witness:

In 2025, all 38,000 townships (streets) across the country completed the preparation of a list of job responsibilities and announced it to the public, further straightening out the relationship between county and township responsibilities; a total of 15,200 additional establishments were transferred and increased for counties and townships, and the efforts to "reduce the top and supplement the bottom" continued to increase; the number of reports issued by central and state organs and departments to townships (streets) and villages (communities) was streamlined by 57.2%...

The momentum is stronger, and the practical work orientation stimulates the spirit of entrepreneurship—

"Now I spend at least 3 days a week in the community, and I can calm down and listen to the demands of the masses and solve practical problems!" Zhao Yu, secretary of the Party Working Committee of Xidajie Street, Guancheng Hui District, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, is a vivid portrayal of grassroots cadres devoting themselves to practical work after reducing their burdens.

Grassroots cadres who used to spend a lot of time on report meetings and welcoming inspections and examinations now have more energy to sink to the front line and serve the masses.

Reducing burdens does not reduce responsibility, and loosening ties adds more momentum. "Reducing burdens is not reducing responsibility and reducing responsibility, and it cannot be simply equated with not working overtime and working less, let alone becoming an excuse for slackening off, 'lying flat,' and shirking responsibility"... Cadres at all levels have a clearer understanding of "burdens that should be reduced" and "responsibilities that should be fulfilled."

On the front line of rural revitalization, the vast number of Party members and cadres go deep into the fields to grasp projects and optimize services, and more policies benefiting farmers are implemented and take effect;

In urban and rural communities, grassroots workers walk through the streets and alleys to listen to public opinions and solve people's worries, and civil affairs such as "one old and one young" services and mediation of contradictions and disputes are handled more practically and meticulously;

In enterprise workshops and project construction sites, staff members are diligent and responsible for ensuring safety and promoting production, and use practical work to promote the improvement of development quality and efficiency...

From "multi-headed management" to "clear powers and responsibilities," from "people's war" to "empowerment of numbers and intelligence," from "passive coping" to "active action," the grassroots governance system is constantly improving, and the modernization level of governance capacity is continuously improving.

Whether the effectiveness of burden reduction is good or not, the masses and grassroots cadres have the most say.

"Now I spend 70% of my time in the village solving practical problems, and I no longer revolve around reports and meetings" "There are fewer certification materials, the efficiency of handling affairs is higher, and the satisfaction of the masses has been significantly improved"... The voices of grassroots cadres reflect the profound changes brought about by burden reduction.

A survey by the National Bureau of Statistics in 2025 showed that 91.7% of the interviewed Party and government organs and enterprise and institution staff members were satisfied with the local and unit's efforts to overcome formalism and bureaucracy.

While achieving remarkable results, we should also be soberly aware that there are still some shortcomings and weaknesses in rectifying formalism to reduce burdens for the grassroots: a few cadres have not firmly established the people-centered development concept, some cadres discount and make changes in implementation, some places still arbitrarily dispatch work tasks outside the list of job responsibilities to the two levels of villages and townships, and some outstanding problems in key areas have not been effectively solved.

Heavy responsibilities call for responsibility, and practical work creates the future.

Under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping (习近平) at its core, the entire Party will continue to deepen and expand the work of rectifying formalism to reduce burdens for the grassroots, and will surely promote the vast number of grassroots cadres to deliver outstanding answers to the Party and the people in the new era with a more high-spirited spirit and a more pragmatic work style, and with political achievements for the people and practical achievements.

(Xinhua News Agency, Beijing (北京), January 22)

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China's Top-Level Domain (Xiongan) Resolution Node Officially Launched

This newspaper's report from Xiong'an on January 22nd (Reporter: Shao Yuzi (邵玉姿)) On January 22nd, the launching ceremony of the national top-level domain name (Xiong'an) resolution node was held in Xiong'an New Area (雄安新区), Hebei (河北).

The national top-level domain name resolution node is a core infrastructure supporting the operation of the Internet, undertaking the authoritative resolution task of national top-level domain names such as ".CN", which is of strategic significance for ensuring cyberspace sovereignty and improving regional network performance and security resilience. As an important part of the national "14th Five-Year Plan" for new infrastructure construction, the Xiong'an node is led by the China Internet Network Information Center (中国互联网络信息中心) and specifically implemented by Xiong'an Mobile (雄安移动). After completion, it will effectively improve the domain name resolution efficiency, anti-attack capability, and disaster recovery level of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (京津冀) region and even the whole country.

According to reports, the national top-level domain name Xiong'an Mobile (雄安移动) resolution node was launched for trial operation on December 5, 2025. The average daily visits reached more than 30 million. The resolution delay for mobile users in Hebei Province (河北省) decreased from 26.25 milliseconds to 9.52 milliseconds, and the service response speed increased by 65%, providing stable, efficient, and secure ".CN" domain name resolution services for Internet users in Hebei Province (河北省).

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Page 1 Editors: Hu Anqi, Zhao Zheng, Luan Xinyi; Page 2 Editors: Yin Xinyu, Zhang Anyu, Cui Bin; Page 3 Editors: Han Xiaoming, Jiang Bo, Li Anqi; Page 4 Editors: Yuan Zhenxi, Liu Jingwen, Yu Xuan

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More Efficient Governance, Guaranteed Well-being (People's Daily Commentary)

By: 邹 翔

Each specific and tangible governance optimization and detail improvement is superimposed to form an overall improvement in governance capacity and level, which is transformed into people's sense of livelihood security and social progress.

Making good use of technology empowerment, adhering to a problem-oriented approach, and being good at gathering synergy, more precise, efficient, and warm livelihood security and improvement are contained in the wisdom of handling the relationship between maintaining integrity and innovation.

Today, achieving a clear and healthy cyberspace has become an important part of improving people's well-being.

Not long ago, in response to the chaos in the group broadcasting industry, the Cyberspace Administration of China (中央网信办) focused on outstanding problems such as vulgar group broadcasts inducing rewards and false personas deceiving rewards, and continued to increase the efforts to clean up and dispose of them, and has cumulatively disposed of more than 73,000 illegal live broadcast rooms and 24,000 accounts.

After vigorous rectification, high-quality content in live broadcast rooms has gained greater space, and the content forms of group broadcasts have become more diversified. This not only injects fresh vitality into the live broadcast industry, but also enhances the sense of gain for netizens.

From the interaction between online and offline, it is not difficult to find the common logic that "what the people are looking forward to is what we should do," and it is not difficult to see the value of "grasping reform and promoting development, which ultimately is to let the people live a better life."

Find the right "small incision" to promote "big governance." Improving people's livelihood is not empty talk. The temperature, precision, and effectiveness of governance are hidden in the "clearly visible" large-print drug instructions and in the "touchable" age-appropriate and barrier-free facilities. Each specific and tangible governance optimization and detail improvement is superimposed to form an overall improvement in governance capacity and level, which is transformed into people's sense of livelihood security and social progress.

"Adhering to the people's livelihood as the top priority and striving to do more practical things for the people" is one of the eight key tasks of this year's economic work. "Optimizing governance" is an important foundation, and governance capacity optimization is needed to ensure the improvement of people's well-being.

With the strong promotion of the government, enterprises, and other parties, the labor rights protection network is becoming increasingly dense. Sun Dong (孙东), a Meituan (美团) rider who has been in the industry for 7 years, can now receive a social security subsidy of about 430 yuan per month, which makes him more motivated in the new year. Li Jianping (李建萍), who transitioned from a full-time mother to a rider, said with emotion that with social security subsidies, she can save hundreds of yuan more each month, and she feels more at ease.

How to reduce the phenomenon of delivery personnel going against the traffic, rushing, and running red lights due to rushing for time? Some takeaway platforms are exploring the establishment of "safety awards" and "no running red lights awards" to guide delivery personnel to consciously abide by traffic rules by replacing negative punishment with positive incentives.

From the breakthrough of paying social security for full-time riders to solving the problem of work-related injury compensation for takeaway employees, wherever new formats and new models expand, new mechanisms and optimized governance extend. Closely focusing on the concerns of the masses and the expectations of people's livelihood, governance innovation and quality improvement and efficiency enhancement will have a breakthrough point, and promoting governance modernization will have a focus.

From "having or not" to "good or not," from "broad coverage" to "high quality," what changes is the demand, and what remains unchanged is the courage to innovate and the original intention of serving the people.

In Xining (西宁), Qinghai (青海), community workers learned through proactive investigation and data analysis that Zhang Shengkui (张生魁), who lived alone, had lost his ability to work and was in a difficult situation due to illness, so they helped him apply for subsistence allowances and public rental housing. This is the governance effectiveness stimulated by technology empowerment.

In Beijing (北京), the policy service platform "Jingce" (京策) standardizes the process of realizing preferential funds for enterprises, makes the node time transparent, and makes the scale of funds explicit, changing "people looking for policies" to "policies looking for people," bringing service improvement and business environment optimization.

Anchoring the goal of benefiting the people, making good use of technology empowerment, adhering to a problem-oriented approach, and being good at gathering synergy, more precise, efficient, and warm livelihood security and improvement are contained in the wisdom of handling the relationship between maintaining integrity and innovation.

"Everyone" supports "small families," and "small families" achieve "everyone." This is where our confidence and confidence in moving forward lie, and it also reveals an important password for further upgrading governance: the masses are the biggest beneficiaries of social governance and the most extensive participants.

In Chengdu (成都), Sichuan (四川), dozens of dam meetings were held before the renovation of an idle plot, and finally it was "changed" to the hearts of the residents; in Yongdeng (永登), Gansu (甘肃), the "golden ideas" of villagers in Longquan Village (龙泉村) on building elderly canteens were transformed into governance "good prescriptions"... Asking the people for advice and asking the people for needs, jointly discussing, jointly building, jointly governing, and sharing, the source of living water for optimizing governance, solving problems, and promoting development will not dry up.

People's livelihood is like a mirror, reflecting thousands of lights and people's smiles, reflecting the upgrading of concepts and the unchanged original intention. Opening a new situation and starting a new journey, continuing to focus on the urgent and difficult problems of the masses, and promoting the modernization of the governance system and governance capacity, will surely make the color of people's well-being more sufficient and inject a powerful force into the construction of a strong country and the rejuvenation of the nation.

(End of this series of comments)

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High-Quality Development Seen from "First Meetings of the Year" Across China (Commentary Observation)

By: 常 晋

In the opening year of the "15th Five-Year Plan," many localities have broken with convention, advancing the "First Conference of the New Year," traditionally held after the Spring Festival, to immediately after New Year's Day.

This is not only an advancement of the work schedule but also an active acceleration of the work rhythm, conveying a spirit of "time waits for no one, seize the day" and a strong confidence in "making a good start and taking a good first step."

Looking at the "First Conferences of the New Year" across various regions, high-quality development is the main theme, with the real economy and people's well-being placed in prominent positions. At the same time, in terms of agenda setting and policy deployment, development paths are also planned according to local characteristics. Looking at the new year's high-quality development from the "First Conferences of the New Year" in various regions, the key words are a sense of the overall situation, a sense of direction, and execution.

Finding the right position, seeing "one's own piece" in the overall situation, and achieving win-win progress in differentiated development and coordinated development can better integrate into the "national chessboard."

Hainan (海南), based on the construction of a free trade port, is deeply cultivating open empowerment, emphasizing the leap from "the early policy pilot to the comprehensive transformation of institutional arrangements," and further exerting its role as a channel and traction for high-level opening to the outside world.

Chongqing (重庆), focusing on the "Chengdu-Chongqing Twin-City Economic Circle (成渝地区双城经济圈)," has iterated its goal from "promoting construction" in the past to "enhancing energy levels," enhancing its radiation-driving and resource allocation functions with greater promotion efforts, and better supporting and driving regional high-quality development.

Under the overall leadership of the Party Central Committee, various regions accurately position themselves and give full play to their strengths, so that they can not only add glory to one region but also add color to the overall situation.

Grasping the direction, finding the right track for oneself, and carrying out work creatively in combination with reality can solve real problems.

For example, the "15th Five-Year Plan" proposal puts forward "creating a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized," which has become a "highlight" of work in many places. Although it is a "common question," it varies according to the situation, and different solutions have been given in various places.

Shanghai (上海) is committed to "deepening the system": it has issued an action plan to optimize the business environment for the ninth consecutive year, and has made detailed provisions for new problems such as "involution-style" competition and "professional store closers," and is committed to creating a more stable, transparent, and predictable institutional environment.

Liaoning (辽宁) focuses on "boosting confidence": the relevant meeting proposed to create the "province with the best reputation for business environment," forcing the implementation of reforms with the determination of "leaving no room"; the provincial party committee leaders actively added WeChat of entrepreneurs, bluntly saying "If you have any questions, directly reflect them to me," actively building a new type of government-business relationship that is both close and clear, demonstrating the sincerity of optimizing the business environment.

The "15th Five-Year Plan" blueprint has been drawn, clarifying the "task book" for the next five years, but the "roadmap" for specific implementation needs to be explored by various places from the actual situation, and must not 刻舟求剑 (kè zhōu qiú jiàn - "carve boat seek sword," to take measures without regard to changing circumstances). What problems there are, solve what problems, one key opens one lock, in order to achieve real results and achieve development without moisture.

Implementing the deployment tests the strategic determination of long-term success and the execution of leaving footprints on the stone. Promoting high-quality development is a marathon that tests endurance and resilience, and the most taboo is wavering ideas and changing orders in the morning and evening. Finding the fit between one's own advantages and the general trend of development, maintaining determination, and drawing a blueprint to the end can accumulate small victories into big victories.

Henan (河南), as a province with all major industrial categories, has always firmly grasped the foundation of the real economy. This year, it proposed to use project construction as the "bull nose" to drive the high-end transformation of equipment manufacturing, food processing, and other industries, while resolutely shouldering the heavy responsibility of food security, clarifying the consolidation of the core area status of food production, and realizing the "industrial strong province" and "agricultural stable province" dual-wheel drive.

Hubei (湖北) ranks first in the central region in terms of regional innovation capability index. The theme of this year's first meeting once again focused on scientific and technological innovation, emphasizing "striving to shape more leading development that relies on innovation-driven and gives more play to first-mover advantages." Before the meeting, the "Scientists Walk the Red Carpet" event was held for the seventh consecutive year to show respect for innovation by treating talents with courtesy.

Respecting the laws of development and running one stick after another on the recognized track can maximize and exert local advantages in continuous progress, forming a lasting impetus for high-quality development.

Firing the gun in advance demonstrates the proactive responsibility of "getting to work quickly," and adapting to local conditions demonstrates the pragmatic thinking of "how to do it." Various regions recognize the direction and move forward firmly, and a magnificent picture of thousands of sails competing and ten thousand horses galloping is slowly unfolding.

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Trading Old for New Spurs New Development Momentum

By: 周泽将

Recently, the rapid implementation of the "New National Subsidy" has attracted much attention. During the New Year's Day holiday, Chongqing's (重庆) digital and intelligent product purchase subsidies totaled 16,324 transactions, and Fuzhou (福州), Fujian (福建) Province, saw nearly 16 million yuan in consumer goods (excluding automobiles) trade-ins verified... Subsidies arriving "in seconds" promote consumption upgrades, help industrial transformation, and demonstrate the driving effect of trade-ins.

In 2025, the trade-in policy continued to show its effectiveness, with annual sales of related commodities exceeding 2.6 trillion yuan, benefiting more than 360 million people, and playing an important role in expanding domestic demand. In the first year of the "15th Five-Year Plan," how can the policy effect of trade-ins be better leveraged to strengthen the supporting role of domestic demand in stabilizing growth? Not long ago, the "Notice on Implementing Large-Scale Equipment Renewal and Consumer Goods Trade-in Policies in 2026" was issued, optimizing aspects such as the scope of support, subsidy standards, and implementation mechanisms.

An economy is a system in which all links affect each other. To maximize and optimize the policy effect of trade-ins, it is necessary to use a systematic perspective to leverage its role in all aspects.

Improving people's livelihoods and expanding domestic demand promote each other, achieving a win-win situation for economic and social benefits. Data shows that there are approximately 220,000 old residential communities built nationwide between 1980 and 2000. Many elderly people in urban areas still live in buildings without elevators, and the demand for age-appropriate renovations is urgent. By 2035, the number of disabled elderly people nationwide is expected to reach 46 million, and there is a huge shortage of nursing beds in elderly care institutions. It can be seen that the installation of elevators in old residential communities and the equipment renewal of elderly care institutions are both what people want and what domestic demand requires. The new policy clarifies that the installation of elevators in old residential communities and equipment renewal in fields such as elderly care institutions are included in the scope of support, which is the intersection of improving people's livelihoods and expanding domestic demand.

The close connection between policy guidance and green transformation can guide consumption upgrades. For example, some places link home appliance subsidies to energy efficiency ratings, with a 15% subsidy for first-level energy efficiency products based on the selling price. Some places promote the prioritization of electric vehicles for old vehicle renewal, with a maximum subsidy of 140,000 yuan for old operating vehicles updated to electric trucks. Creating large-scale green application scenarios and increasing subsidies for green consumption not only promote the popularization of green consumption but also drive the development of new consumption formats such as green home decoration, shared mobility, biodegradable packaging, and health services. While optimizing the consumption structure, trade-ins continuously expand new consumption space, injecting higher quality and more potential impetus into the growth of domestic demand.

Combining optimized supply and expanded demand, new consumption drives new supply, and new supply meets new demand, thereby promoting industrial transformation and upgrading. Smart terminals and digital-intelligent consumption not only reshape the lifestyles of young people but also meet the urgent needs of the elderly in areas such as health monitoring. The trade-in policy follows this trend, expanding the scope of subsidies to include the purchase of new digital and intelligent products and covering age-appropriate home furnishing products. Using subsidies as leverage, closely following the trend of intelligence, trade-ins not only promote consumption renewal but also provide application scenarios for artificial intelligence technology, promoting companies to accelerate research and development and product iteration, thereby driving industrial transformation and upgrading and the development of new quality productive forces through consumption renewal.

Better leveraging the policy effect of trade-ins can not only play a role in expanding domestic demand and promoting consumption but also promote the formation of positive feedback in all links of the economic system, producing the effect of 四两拨千斤 (sì liǎng bō qiān jīn - "four ounces deflect a thousand pounds," to use minimal force to achieve a significant result). By expanding domestic demand space in improving people's livelihoods, cultivating new momentum in consumption upgrades, and promoting industrial upgrades in a virtuous cycle of supply and demand, the implementation and effectiveness of the trade-in policy will inject stronger momentum into high-quality economic development.

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Photo Report

The "ice and snow craze" is heating up, driving growth in demand for ice and snow equipment. Currently, China has formed a product system of 15 major categories of ice and snow equipment and materials, basically realizing the production and manufacturing of ice and snow equipment and materials for the entire industrial chain. From traditional projects to new "ice and snow +" scenarios, and then to domestic equipment manufacturing, the achievement of "driving 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports" is being transmitted from "consumption fever" to "manufacturing power."

This is precisely:

The ice and snow craze rises,
Equipment demand is strong.
Consumption scenarios expand,
The industry opens a new chapter.

Yan Luwen (燕陆文)

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Make Malicious Claimants Pay the Price (Across the Board)

By: 练洪洋

The "Measures for the Handling of Complaints and Reports by Market Supervision and Administration" (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures") will be implemented on April 15, 2026. The "Measures" aim to improve the quality and efficiency of handling complaints and reports, and explicitly propose regulating malicious claims and improving the jurisdiction of complaints by operators within the platform.

The "Measures" add new provisions stipulating that the right to file complaints and reports shall not be abused, and that complaints and reports shall not be used to seek improper benefits; complainants shall provide true identity information and corresponding factual basis; complaints and reports providing false materials, using other people's names, or refusing to cooperate in verifying true identity information will not be accepted. These provisions target the pain points of market governance and serve as a deterrent to behaviors such as "using counterfeiting as a pretext to engage in extortion." With the continuous improvement of the consumer rights protection mechanism, further clarifying the boundaries of rights and regulating abuse behaviors is conducive to creating a better market environment.

With the accelerated improvement of relevant laws and regulations such as the Consumer Rights Protection Law, the E-commerce Law, and the Advertising Law, the protection of consumer rights is continuously enhanced, and the market environment continues to improve. Taking the national 12315 platform as an example, it has handled more than 120 million complaints and reports since its launch, and many consumers have recovered their losses through this mechanism.

However, some individuals with ulterior motives have transformed the rights protection mechanism into a profit-making tool, leading to frequent occurrences of malicious claims. Some people engage in extortion in the name of "fighting counterfeiting," deliberately creating "minor mistakes with major compensation" and "minor offenses with severe penalties," which makes many small and medium-sized businesses miserable. Some people engage in coercion in the name of "supervision," exhausting legal procedures such as complaints, reports, administrative reconsideration, and litigation to pressure operators into settling privately. Some even use illegal methods such as carrying contraband, switching packages, and fabricating evidence to blackmail operators or defraud them of compensation.

Malicious claims damage the rights and interests of businesses and disrupt the market ecosystem. For operating entities, especially small and micro-businesses, "private settlements" will fuel their arrogance, while "hard confrontation" is unaffordable. For the regulatory system, a large number of complaints and reports suspected of malicious claims appear, which involve regulatory energy and occupy administrative resources. If it is not corrected in time, it will lead to a situation where the bad drives out the good, causing damage to all parties.

The "Measures" clarify the boundaries of rights, giving legitimate rights defenders more confidence and making malicious claimants lose more than they gain, achieving the unity of "confirming rights" and "limiting rights," and better grasping the policy scale. The vitality of a policy lies in its implementation. Only by strictly implementing the system regulations and accurately distinguishing between legitimate rights protection and malicious claims can the complaint and report system always play a positive role. This is not only a protection of honest operation, but also a safeguard for legitimate rights protection, and a necessary requirement for building a fair and orderly market environment.

(Excerpted and compiled from *Guangzhou Daily (广州日报)*, originally titled "Do Not Let Malicious Claims Overdraw Policy Goodwill")

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Why We Should "Nitpick Over Wording" (Talking Point)

It should be "dried naked oat flour" instead of "dried naked oat flour noodles," "steam catapult" was mistaken for "vapor catapult," and "leading figure" was incorrectly written as "giant engine"... Not long ago, the *Yao Wen Jiao Zi* (《咬文嚼字》) editorial department released the "Top Ten Language Errors of 2025." Times are changing, so why do we still need to "**咬文嚼字**" (yǎo wén jiáo zì - "nitpick over the wording," to pay excessive attention to wording; to split hairs)? Will new words and new usages continue to emerge, and will this contradict the standardization of Chinese expression and the expansion of language boundaries? In this issue's forum, we have selected three submissions to discuss our thoughts on nitpicking over wording.
　　--Editor

　　Standardization Will Not Stifle Linguistic Vitality
　　Guo Fei (郭飞), Wuhan City (武汉市), Hubei Province (湖北省)
　　I went to a village on the weekend to do volunteer work, preparing New Year's cards with everyone. Someone wrote "newly renovated" as "newly velveted." An old man smiled and corrected him: "'Qì (葺)' means to repair a house with thatch, while 'róng (茸)' is the 'fluffy' róng. Sending it out like that would be embarrassing." This reminded me of a small incident where a local area, when producing a garbage sorting initiative, wrote "initiative" as "ceremony," which caused a joke.
　　Whether the language is standardized is related to whether the meaning is expressed accurately and whether communication is smooth. An improper use of a character, a group of words, or even a punctuation mark can produce different or even completely opposite meanings. For example, "bù fù zhòng wàng (不负众望)" means to live up to everyone's expectations, while "bù fú zhòng wàng (不孚众望)" means not to meet everyone's expectations. Standardized use can avoid ambiguity and eliminate misunderstandings.
　　Some people worry that emphasizing standardization will stifle the vitality of the language. But that's not the case. Standardization and innovation are never opposed. If new words and new usages are likened to living water, then standardized expression is the riverbed of the language. Without the constraints of the riverbed, the living water will overflow. The vitality of language lies precisely in the dynamic balance between standardization and innovation. Building the expansion of boundaries on the basis of standardization will ensure that our language is constantly evolving and full of vitality.

　　Cherish Our Literacy
　　Zhuo Yu (琢玉), Xi'an City (西安市), Shaanxi Province (陕西省)
　　After going to Ba Bridge (灞桥) to admire the sunset, my daughter wrote "Ba Bridge" as "Hegemon Bridge" in her composition. I corrected her, but she didn't care: "Isn't it just missing a water radical?" From "Ba Bridge" to "Ba Willow Snow," I tried to describe the artistic conception in the words for her: the misty riverbank, willow catkins fluttering like snow, the river flowing for thousands of years, and the ancients parting with willow branches. Missing a water radical makes a big difference. After listening, my daughter carefully rewrote the character "Ba (灞)."
　　The deviation in writing reflects a phenomenon worth pondering: many people do not know much about the writing and meaning of Chinese characters, resulting in some seemingly correct usages. It is true that today's input methods can automatically associate words, and if you encounter unfamiliar words, you can ask artificial intelligence and get answers. But if you do not have good literacy skills, it may be difficult to distinguish between right and wrong.
　　Technology can help us learn, but it cannot automatically improve literacy, let alone replace our judgment and thinking. No matter when, gaining wisdom requires learning and accumulation. In my spare time, I take my daughter to museums to identify the shapes of inscriptions on bronzes, explore their origins, and understand their changes. Allowing these characters, which are engraved on tortoise shells, cast in bronze, written on bamboo and silk, and passed down for thousands of years, to shine in the digital age is also a romance unique to the Chinese people.

　　Behind Chinese Characters Are Home, Country, Mountains, and Rivers
　　Yu Haisheng (于海生), Weifang City (潍坊市), Shandong Province (山东省)
　　Chinese characters, composed of horizontal and vertical strokes, and left-falling and right-falling strokes, have home, country, mountains, and rivers behind them.
　　"How to understand 'zé (责)'? *Shuowen Jiezi* (《说文解字》) says 'zé (责), qiú yě (求也),' 'zé (责)' means to demand or ask for. What is being demanded? It is 'fù jiā cháng wù (负家偿物),' which is debt. The debt that should be repaid should be repaid, and later it was extended to the obligation that should be fulfilled." In a class meeting on responsibility, I started with the character "zé (责)" to make students understand the meaning of the word responsibility.
　　The students then talked about "self-blame" at the individual level, "fulfilling responsibility" at the social level, and "everyone is responsible" from a national perspective. In sorting out the origin of words and discussing their meanings, I led the students to understand the evolution of words and guide them to appreciate the charm of culture.
　　"Xiu (修)" originally described people, such as "Zou Ji (邹忌) was more than eight feet tall," but in the *Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion* (*兰亭集序*) it was used to describe bamboo. In this way, the picture of "lush forests and tall bamboo" immediately came to mind; the dialect "zhōng bù zhōng (中不中)," "zhōng (中)" means good, able, or okay. In fact, the *Analects* (*论语*) has the saying "If punishments are not proper, the people will have nowhere to put their hands and feet," and the *Records of the Grand Historian* (*史记*) also has the usage of "discard those who are useless." The students exclaimed that there are also cultural codes in dialects.
　　The beauty of Chinese characters lies in the characters themselves, and also in the inheritance of culture. Today, we still "**咬文嚼字**" (yǎo wén jiáo zì - "nitpick over the wording," to pay excessive attention to wording; to split hairs), not to make a fuss over a trifle, but to better protect the culture behind the characters.

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This edition's editors: Liu Tianliang, Li Hongxing, Cui Yan

This edition's email: rmrbbpl@peopledaily.cn (Please indicate the column name when submitting articles)

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Helping skyscrapers "stand firm" (Promoting the spirit of scientists)

By: 本报记者 黄晓慧

Lu Xilin (吕西林), born in 1955 in Qishan, Shaanxi (陕西岐山), is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, a professor at Tongji University (同济大学), and an expert in seismic resistance of building structures. Lu Xilin focuses on constructing performance-based and recoverable functional seismic theories and methods for high-rise buildings. He has presided over the completion of seismic research on more than 50 complex high-rise buildings in China, and developed various energy dissipation and vibration reduction devices and control technologies. His achievements have been applied to many major projects. He has won 3 second prizes of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, 10 first prizes at the provincial and ministerial level, the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Science and Technology Progress Award, and the 2024 Shanghai Science and Technology Meritorious Service Award.

"Establishing an education fund is a long-held wish of mine, and I hope to make a contribution to the cultivation of young people at the university." Recently, Academician Lu Xilin (吕西林) of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor at Tongji University (同济大学) donated all of the prize money from the 2024 Shanghai Science and Technology Meritorious Service Award to encourage the younger generation in the field of civil engineering to make innovative contributions in areas such as disaster prevention and mitigation, and intelligent construction.

This is the field that Lu Xilin (吕西林) has been devoted to for more than 40 years. The earthquake simulation shaking table at Tongji University (同济大学), which he presides over, is busy with experiments all year round. The Shanghai Tower (上海中心大厦), Raffles City Chongqing (重庆来福士广场), and more than 50 other landmark high-rise buildings have undergone seismic simulation tests here. "Our job is to help high-rise buildings 'stand firm,' designing a solid 'base' and strong 'bones' tailored for them," said Lu Xilin (吕西林).

"Apply what you have learned to 'strengthen the bones' of high-rise buildings"

The idea of studying seismic resistance originated from Lu Xilin's (吕西林) personal experience of a major earthquake. When the Tangshan Earthquake (唐山大地震) occurred in 1976, Lu Xilin (吕西林), who was studying at Xi'an Institute of Metallurgy and Construction Engineering (西安冶金建筑学院), felt the earthquake clearly. Lu Xilin (吕西林) and his teachers and classmates spent several sleepless nights in sheds on the school playground. "Why do houses collapse? Can we prevent them from collapsing?" At that time, this question took root in Lu Xilin's (吕西林) mind, prompting him to apply to the Structural Theory Research Institute of Tongji University (同济大学结构理论研究所) to study for a master's and doctoral degree.

In 1984, Lu Xilin (吕西林) graduated with a doctorate and became the first doctoral student in structural engineering independently trained by Tongji University (同济大学). In order to have more contact with the forefront of the field, Lu Xilin (吕西林) went abroad for further study after staying at the university to teach, specializing in seismic research of high-rise buildings. Lu Xilin (吕西林) returned to China and caught up with the development boom in Shanghai Pudong (上海浦东). "I was very excited to have the opportunity to apply what I had learned to 'strengthen the bones' of high-rise buildings," Lu Xilin (吕西林) recalled.

In 2008, the construction unit of the Shanghai Tower (上海中心大厦) began to organize design bidding. The Architectural Design and Research Institute of Tongji University (同济大学建筑设计研究院) and a foreign party won the bid. Lu Xilin (吕西林) took the lead in proposing that methods should be found to solve the problem of swaying risks encountered by super high-rise buildings in strong winds and earthquakes, and suggested setting up eddy current dampers on the roof of the building. In order to find the appropriate damper weight, Lu Xilin (吕西林) led his team members to repeatedly conduct simulation analysis and experiments, adjusting the weight of the damper from 1,400 tons to 1,000 tons, effectively reducing the swaying sensation that the building may produce in special weather conditions. To this day, the thousand-ton "building-stabilizing artifact" still allows this 632-meter-high building to stand tall in the face of strong winds and rain.

The innovative design of the Shanghai Tower (上海中心大厦) damper is the first time in the world that eddy current dampers have been used for wind resistance control of super high-rise buildings, and it has also made more people aware of the importance of wind and earthquake resistance of high-rise buildings.

In 2010, the design drawings of Raffles City Chongqing (重庆来福士广场) were handed to Lu Xilin (吕西林). The construction height of the building design reached 350 meters. "Chongqing (重庆) has hot weather, and the air conditioning temperature inside the building is low. Under the alternating hot and cold conditions, the concrete structure of the building is prone to cracks due to thermal expansion and contraction," Lu Xilin (吕西林) introduced. The traditional strengthening method is to thicken the beams and columns of the building, which is not only time-consuming and costly, but also affects the area actually used by the house. Combining the actual environment of the building, Lu Xilin's (吕西林) team gave a structural seismic isolation scheme of "sliding bearing + viscous damper". The "sliding bearing + viscous damper" is installed between the top of the tower and the connecting corridor. Through this device, even if the bearing shakes during an earthquake, the building body above can remain stationary. In this way, the seismic resistance of the building is greatly improved, and a lot of engineering time is saved. Today, this flexible combined seismic isolation and vibration reduction system has been successfully applied to more than 10 construction projects at home and abroad.

"Earthquake resistance research is not only a scientific issue, but also truly related to people's lives"

On the fourth day after the Wenchuan Earthquake (汶川大地震) in 2008, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development sent the "Housing Emergency Assessment Expert Group" of Tongji University (同济大学) to the front line of earthquake relief. Lu Xilin (吕西林) served as the leader. Within 5 days, the experts completed the assessment of 223 houses in Guangyuan (广元), Qingchuan (青川), Cangxi (苍溪) and other places in Sichuan (四川).

In Qingchuan County (青川县), which was severely affected by the disaster, aftershocks continued. Many houses were covered with dense cracks, and even the bricks were exposed. During the assessment process, the surrounding people were worried about these experts.

With his rich professional experience, Lu Xilin (吕西林) and several experts from Tongji University (同济大学) "swept the buildings" layer by layer. Finally, the assessment results determined that except for 67 houses that needed to be demolished immediately, most of the rest could be occupied. "Many people who were sleeping in the open can go home!" Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Since then, Lu Xilin (吕西林) has led teams to the disaster area more than ten times, traveling to Dujiangyan (都江堰), Qingchuan (青川), Guangyuan (广元), Cangxi (苍溪) in Sichuan (四川) and Baoji (宝鸡) in Shaanxi (陕西) to complete the seismic appraisal of a large number of buildings in the disaster area.

"The earthquake made me understand that earthquake resistance research is not only a scientific issue, but also truly related to people's lives," said Lu Xilin (吕西林).

Academically, whenever it comes to building structure safety issues, you will always see Lu Xilin's (吕西林) persistence in his bones. Once, he was invited to participate in an expert review meeting for a project. Facing the argumentation materials prepared by the inviting unit, Lu Xilin (吕西林) carefully studied and found unreasonable points in the design. He immediately raised different opinions and improvement plans. "I am here to check the quality of the project. I must be serious and responsible, and I can't just hold the mentality of going through the motions," said Lu Xilin (吕西林). Just as he often said to his students: "Earthquake resistance and disaster prevention are related to human lives. We must have a spirit of dedication, and even more a sense of mission and responsibility."

"As long as earthquakes do not disappear, our research will not stop"

"In China, high-rise buildings and contiguous buildings are emerging one after another. Single buildings are like isolated cells. It is difficult to grasp the whole situation by only studying single cells. We must study the seismic response of the entire building complex. Science and technology are developing rapidly, and we must constantly learn and adapt to new changes," said Lu Xilin (吕西林).

The vigorous innovative enthusiasm leads Lu Xilin (吕西林) to continue to explore and make progress on the academic road.

Lu Xilin's (吕西林) innovative ideas also affect the members of the entire laboratory. Last year, the "AI Large Model for Seismic Response of Building Clusters" developed by Zhou Ying (周颖), a member of the team and a professor at the School of Civil Engineering of Tongji University (同济大学土木工程学院), became a hot topic in the academic community - by integrating building physical characteristics and deep learning, the seismic response of a 21-story building can be predicted in a short time, which is equivalent to installing a "nervous system" on the building cluster. In July 2025, this AI large model will be unveiled at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference.

In 2025, the 7,500-ton Shikumen (石库门) building complex in Zhangyuan, Shanghai (上海张园) will realize the overall "relocation". The "step-by-step displacement" invention patent and related technical achievements developed by Lu Xilin's (吕西林) team will play a major role in it. Previously, the relocation and renovation of historical buildings such as the Shanghai Concert Hall (上海音乐厅) and the Grand Hall of the Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai (上海玉佛寺大雄宝殿) were inseparable from the technical support provided by Lu Xilin (吕西林) and his team.

Jiang Huanjun (蒋欢军), a professor in the Department of Structural Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Engineering at Tongji University (同济大学结构防灾减灾工程系), has been studying and working with Lu Xilin (吕西林) for 30 years. What impresses him most is Lu Xilin's (吕西林) unremitting learning spirit and innovative vitality: "Teacher Lu (吕老师) often tells us that with the emergence of new materials and new structures, the existing technical standards may not be applicable. Do not blindly follow the standards, and do not be bound by the existing structural seismic technology."

Someone asked Lu Xilin (吕西林) if he would feel monotonous to only do earthquake resistance research in his life? He shook his head: "As long as earthquakes do not disappear, our research will not stop. As long as there is still a house that may collapse in an earthquake, our work is not finished."

From Tangshan (唐山) to Wenchuan (汶川), from residential buildings to towering skyscrapers, Lu Xilin (吕西林) has practiced a belief throughout his life - to make buildings "earthquake-proof" and allow people to live happily in safe and reliable houses.

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Anchor the goal and pursue it unremittingly (Editor's Note)

By: 张智琪

For more than 40 years, Lü Xilin (吕西林) has been constantly working in the field of structural seismic theory research. No matter how the times change, his research enthusiasm remains undiminished. Perseverance amidst change is a spirit. Pursuit amidst perseverance is a state of mind. What has supported him to this day?

It is the tenacity of anchoring to goals and not letting go. Rooted in the research of structural seismic theory, he has presided over the completion of seismic research on more than 50 complex high-rise buildings in China. What remains unchanged is the goal of "making buildings 'earthquake-resistant' and allowing people to live happily in safe and reliable houses."

It is the unremitting pursuit of methodological innovation. Facing the endless emergence of high-rise buildings and contiguous buildings, Lü Xilin (吕西林) and his team have not been 故步自封 (gù bù zì fēng - "stick to conventions," to be complacent and refuse to make progress) academically, but have instead continuously forged ahead with vigorous innovative enthusiasm. Eddy current dampers weighing thousands of tons, combined seismic isolation and vibration reduction systems, AI large models for seismic response of building clusters... The team responds to the technical challenges posed by the times with continuous technological breakthroughs.

A constant goal is the lighthouse for navigation, and solid steps are the boats for moving forward. In today's rapidly changing technological development, we expect the majority of scientific researchers to be pioneers of technological innovation, to promote the spirit of hammering nails one after another, and to become the backbone of building a strong country in science and technology.

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"Moral Exemplars of China: Role Models Among Us" Theme Campaign Launched

This newspaper's Beijing (北京) dispatch on January 22nd (Reporter He Siqi (何思琦)): The launching ceremony and first on-site exchange activity of the "Virtue Shines in China, Role Models are Around Us" theme event was held on the 22nd at Sichuan University (四川大学), vividly recounting the touching stories of moral exemplars and promoting the new ethos of valuing virtue and goodness.

Moral exemplars are the value benchmarks for the entire society, and their deeds warm people's hearts and move China (中国). The "Virtue Shines in China, Role Models are Around Us" theme event interprets their spiritual world and transmits their exemplary power through methods such as face-to-face exchanges with the public.

At the event, the situational sketch "One Still, One Moving, Guarding the Summit of Huangshan (黄山)" vividly told the story of Li Peisheng (李培生) and Hu Xiaochun (胡晓春), ordinary workers in the Anhui (安徽) Huangshan Scenic Area (黄山风景区), who wholeheartedly protected the beautiful Huangshan (黄山), deeply moving the audience.

Chen Huaijiong (陈怀炯), the former president of the Tianquan County (天全县) Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital (中医院) in Sichuan Province (四川省), insisted on a consultation fee of 1 yuan and a plaster fee of 3 yuan, and donated his ancestral secret recipe to the country free of charge. The on-site narration "Priceless Benevolence, No Questions Asked" told the story of Chen Huaijiong's (陈怀炯) medical benevolence from the perspective of a reporter, earning praise and respect from the audience.

"This letter is a relay baton of civilization that transcends time and space, a spiritual oath connecting yesterday and tomorrow," moral exemplars and young students recited "A Letter to the Future" together, expressing their desire to write more moral stories.

It is reported that this theme event is sponsored by the Central Spiritual Civilization Construction Office (中央精神文明建设办公室), the Ministry of Education (教育部) and other departments to promote the publicity and learning of moral exemplars in schools, enterprises, government agencies, villages and towns, military camps, and new era civilization practice positions, and to widely gather consensus and actions to build a good social ethos.

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Clay molded into vessels, fire tempered into poetry (Artisan skills)

By: 本报记者 孙海天

Highlights:

Liu Meizhen (刘梅珍) is a representative inheritor of the national-level intangible cultural heritage of Li ethnic group's (黎族) original pottery-making techniques. She is proficient in the complete set of ancient techniques, from selecting soil and making blanks to "open-air stacking and firing" and "plant quenching."

Li pottery is unglazed. Liu Meizhen (刘梅珍) controls the heat and sprinkling of plant juices to form unique red and black spots on the surface of the pottery, with colorful, simple, and heavy colors. She combines traditional techniques with modern design, introduces modern gas kilns and integrates traditional stacking and burning, greatly improving the yield rate and rejuvenating the millennium-old Li pottery.

A piece of clay is repeatedly kneaded and beaten on a wooden table, gradually becoming soft and pliable. In front of the workbench, Liu Meizhen (刘梅珍) focuses on making pottery. She smiled and handed the reporter a ball of clay: "Try it and feel the feel of the clay." The clay is moist and heavy in the hand. This is the unique kaolin clay of Baotu Village (保突村) in Changjiang Li Autonomous County (昌江黎族自治县), Hainan (海南), which has good viscosity and high-temperature resistance.

"Mud strip coiling" is the core of Li pottery forming. Liu Meizhen (刘梅珍) exerted force in her palm and neatly rubbed out a long mud strip of uniform thickness. "The strength should be even, and the heart should be quiet." Liu Meizhen (刘梅珍) used mud pieces as the base and coiled the mud strips around the edge in circles. She held the inner wall with her left hand and resisted the outer wall with her right hand. Her fingers cooperated skillfully, gently squeezing and bonding, and the wall of the vessel "grew" accordingly, with uniform thickness, and even the seams were invisible.

Subsequently, she picked up a polished clam shell and repeatedly trimmed the wall of the vessel. With a rustling sound, the mud marks disappeared, and the pottery blank showed a faint luster. A thick and simple pottery pot took its initial shape.

Since she was 8 years old, following her mother to make pottery, Liu Meizhen's (刘梅珍) hands have been dealing with soil for more than 40 years.

The original pottery-making technique of the Li ethnic group (黎族) is known as the "living fossil of ancient Chinese original pottery-making," and has been circulating on Hainan Island (海南岛) for thousands of years. Different from modern pottery making, it does not rely on pottery wheels to pull blanks, nor does it enter closed kilns, but relies entirely on a pair of skillful hands and "open-air stacking and firing."

The birth of a Li pottery often takes more than half a month. Selecting soil, collecting soil, drying soil, pounding soil... The production of pottery clay alone is extremely time-consuming and laborious. "Making pottery starts with knowing the soil." Liu Meizhen (刘梅珍) said that the dug-back pottery clay needs to be exposed to the sun, crushed, and sieved into fine powder before it can be mixed with water and mud. After the pottery blank is formed, wooden boards and clam shells are used to trim the blank and engrave patterns. The patterns are mostly natural geometric patterns such as water ripples and frog patterns. The pottery blank cannot be exposed to the sun, and needs to be dried in the shade for more than 10 days until it is completely dry, otherwise it is very easy to crack during firing.

The most challenging part is the firing process - there is no thermometer, and the open-air stacking and burning is based entirely on experience. When the pottery is burned red, it must be quickly taken out and sprinkled with mashed plant juice for "quenching." As the "sizzling" sound and white smoke rise, the plant juice instantly penetrates into the micropores of the pottery body, increasing the hardness of the pottery, and the surface will show unique red and black spots. Therefore, each Li pottery is unique.

In 2006, the original pottery-making technique of the Li ethnic group (黎族) was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.

However, with the changes of the times, the pottery-making skills have gradually declined. In 2010, Liu Meizhen (刘梅珍), who had a stable job, returned to her hometown and saw the exquisite Li pottery being idle in the corner, and the old pottery artists were living in poverty, and she felt very uncomfortable. She resigned and returned to her hometown, determined to continue this flame that has been burning for thousands of years, and while adhering to the ancient methods, she also kept thinking about how to bring the "antique" into a new life.

"Preserving the essence is to retain the soul of mud strip coiling and plant quenching; innovation is to make the works conform to the aesthetics of modern consumers," Liu Meizhen (刘梅珍) said. In order to improve the quality, she introduced modern gas kilns and integrated traditional stacking and burning, greatly improving the yield rate. She also led the team to design cultural and creative products such as tea sets, vases, and aromatherapy furnaces, integrating Li ethnic elements (黎族) into modern minimalist lines, and the ancient Li pottery went from the "earthen stove" to the "desk."

In 2013, Liu Meizhen (刘梅珍) took the lead in establishing the Changjiang Baotu Li Pottery Products Professional Cooperative (昌江保突黎陶制品专业合作社), and built a training center with the support of the local government. Today, the cooperative has driven hundreds of villagers to find employment.

From returning to her hometown to "take the baton" to being selected as the sixth batch of national intangible cultural heritage representative inheritors, Liu Meizhen (刘梅珍) has been persisting. Today, she not only teaches villagers, but is also hired to enter university classrooms, "I hope that more young people will fall in love with Li pottery, and together with me, let this handful of soil from Hainan (海南), with the story of the Li ethnic group (黎族), go to a farther place."

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National Smart Metrological Supervision Platform for Electronic Pricing Scales Enters Trial Operation

The People's Daily, Beijing, January 22nd (Reporter Lin Lili (林丽鹂)) On the 21st, the National Smart Metrological Supervision Platform for Electronic Weighing Scales, developed by the State Administration for Market Regulation (市场监管总局), was launched for trial operation. This is the first smart platform in the national metrological supervision field to achieve full-chain, non-on-site, penetrating supervision, marking a new stage in China's metrological supervision towards smart interconnection and national integration.

As of now, a total of 134 electronic weighing scale manufacturers, 2163 metrological verification technical institutions, 3430 market supervision departments, and 20 type evaluation metrological technical institutions have settled in the platform, laying a good data ecology and collaborative governance foundation for smooth operation. This regulatory platform not only realizes full life cycle information aggregation, key data anti-counterfeiting and traceability, and closed-loop support for metrological supervision, but also facilitates public information inquiry and supervision. According to reports, the platform provides an electronic weighing scale information inquiry service, allowing the public to know "whether it exists" on the platform through "scan" and "touch," and then judge "whether it is accurate."

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Photo Report

On January 22nd, at the Shuangshiyan Tunnel entrance section excavation site of the Yongzhou Railway project on Zhoushan Island, workers were operating pneumatic drills to drill holes on the working face, while the secondary lining of the tunnel was also progressing simultaneously. Currently, the combined excavation from both ends is more than halfway complete.

Photo by Yao Feng (姚峰) (Image China)

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Editor in Charge for This Edition: Kang Yan, Liu Juanxi, Wang Bo

Layout design: Cai Huawei (蔡华伟)

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Let Consumers Shop Comfortably and Worry-Free (Big Data Observation)

By: 本报记者 白光迪 常碧罗 韩俊杰

Core Reading

How to keep the shopping mall environment fresh, whether it is convenient to return or exchange goods after shopping in physical stores, and whether there will be "pitfalls" in reservation services and prepaid fees... The quality of the consumption environment is related to the consumption experience. Optimizing the consumption environment can boost consumer confidence and stimulate economic vitality, which is of great significance for promoting high-quality economic development and ensuring a high-quality life. Various regions are actively exploring this and striving to improve consumption convenience, comfort, and satisfaction.

The Central Economic Work Conference pointed out that "we should implement special actions to boost consumption in depth" and "expand the supply of high-quality goods and services." At present, the three-year action to optimize the consumption environment, led by market supervision departments at all levels, is being implemented, focusing on solving outstanding problems and creating a reassuring consumption environment.

How to improve the quality of supply, maintain market order, and improve the effectiveness of rights protection? Reporters conducted explorations in various regions.

Nanjing (南京), Jiangsu (江苏)——
Art + Commerce, Consumption Scenarios "Updated"

In winter, a heavy snow adds charm to the streets and alleys of Nanjing (南京), Jiangsu (江苏). In an exhibition hall of Deji Plaza (德基广场), however, spring is in full bloom—colors are laid out on the canvas, and flowers are blooming between the brushstrokes. In front of the oil painting "Flowers in a Vase" by French Impressionist painter Claude Monet, customer Dong Yuan (董源) is watching intently, appreciating the vibrant vitality of the blooming flowers.

Dong Yuan (董源) was pleasantly surprised to see his favorite paintings in the mall. He often travels from Shanghai (上海) to Nanjing (南京) on business and is also a regular at Deji Plaza (德基广场). "There are genuine works by Western oil painting masters such as Monet, Picasso, and Cézanne, as well as works by outstanding Chinese painters such as Pan Yuliang (潘玉良), Zhao Wuji (赵无极), and Chang Yu (常玉)," said Dong Yuan (董源). This time, the mall not only has a flower-themed painting exhibition, but also a carefully designed digital art exhibition. Beetles crushed into balls, hair dryers rotating in the windows... "The whole mall is full of artistic atmosphere. Shopping and dining here is especially pleasant!" said Dong Yuan (董源).

The business philosophy of integrating art, commerce, and technology provides ideas for iterating consumption scenarios. "We hope to gradually make the mall a cultural tourism destination in the city by virtue of diverse exhibitions, rich activities, and exquisite cultural and creative products," said Ai Lin (艾琳), Deputy General Manager of Deji Culture and Art Co., Ltd. (德基文化艺术有限公司) and Curator of Deji Art Museum (德基艺术博物馆). Deji Plaza (德基广场) has achieved good results in empowering commercial space with culture and art. In 2025, its sales reached 26.2 billion yuan, attracting approximately 66 million visitors throughout the year, with a transaction completed here every six seconds on average.

The "traffic effect" has conversely promoted brand aggregation. In the past three years, Deji Plaza (德基广场) has introduced more than 200 first stores, further activating Nanjing's (南京) consumption vitality with a new form of cultural, commercial, and tourism integration.

Policy support has accelerated the "updating" of consumption scenarios. The Nanjing (南京) Municipal Government has introduced a number of measures to promote the development of the first store economy, support the gathering of high-level first stores, and encourage commercial carriers to introduce well-known domestic and foreign brands to open first stores and flagship stores, and provide a cumulative maximum reward of 2 million yuan for a single commercial carrier based on the number of first stores and flagship stores gathered in the carrier.

Many commercial complexes in Nanjing (南京) are promoting the innovation and upgrading of consumption scenarios in accordance with local conditions: Huacai Tiandi (华采天地) is characterized by "ecology + art," creating an indoor green plant dome and holding art exhibitions on a regular basis; Laomendong Block (老门东街区) relies on the architectural texture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties to combine traditional culture with the internet celebrity economy; Jingfeng Center (景枫中心) regularly holds IP-themed flash events through a curatorial retail model... No longer limited to shopping, but through immersive scenes, themed markets, live performances, and other experiential formats, accurately anchoring subdivided customer groups, the new look of shopping malls is reshaping the city's commercial space.

Sichuan (四川) and Chongqing (重庆) Join Hands——
Intercity and Inter-store, Hassle-free Returns and Exchanges for No Reason

"Clothes bought in Sichuan (四川) can also be returned or exchanged in Chongqing (重庆)?" When Mr. Peng (彭先生) was shopping at New Century Department Store Ruicheng (新世纪百货瑞成商都) in Jiulongpo District (九龙坡区), Chongqing (重庆), he learned about the Sichuan-Chongqing (川渝) cross-regional no-reason return service for the first time.

Not long ago, Mr. Peng (彭先生) bought a shirt at a Chongqing Department Store (重庆百货商场) in Luzhou (泸州), Sichuan (四川). A few days later, when he arrived in Chongqing (重庆), he saw the same brand of shirt while shopping. "The store in Luzhou (泸州) didn't have this style. This one looks better, but it's a pity I already bought one," Mr. Peng (彭先生) said regretfully.

"As long as your clothes do not affect secondary sales, we can return or exchange them for no reason within 15 days," the salesperson took the initiative to explain, "We can check your purchase record in Luzhou (泸州). You can return or exchange them even if you don't have a receipt." Mr. Peng (彭先生) brought the clothes without the tags cut off, returned them, and bought a more favorite style.

Jiulongpo District (九龙坡区), as the first pilot district in Chongqing (重庆), took the lead in piloting offline no-reason returns in qualified and willing shopping malls and supermarkets. "We encourage and guide offline physical store operators to actively participate in no-reason return commitments and establish no-reason return ledgers. At the same time, we require operators to proactively publicize the scope of goods, return time limit, return conditions, and return procedures for no-reason returns to consumers in a prominent position in the business premises," said the relevant person in charge of the Jiulongpo District Market Supervision Bureau (九龙坡区市场监管局).

The Chongqing Municipal Market Supervision Bureau (重庆市市场监管局) and the Sichuan Provincial Market Supervision Bureau (四川省市场监管局) jointly issued the Sichuan-Chongqing (川渝) Offline Physical Store Cross-Regional No-Reason Return Work Guidelines. Operators determine the specific content of the commitment to cross-regional no-reason returns based on the attributes of the goods they operate and actual operating conditions, and adopt methods such as "one enterprise, one commitment, one brand, one commitment." Encourage the same brand chain physical stores, manufacturer-operated physical stores, shopping malls, and supermarkets to promote no-reason return service commitments in different places and stores in Sichuan (四川), Chongqing (重庆), and other regions.

New Century Department Store Ruicheng (新世纪百货瑞成商都) is a subordinate shopping mall of Chongqing Department Store Co., Ltd. (重庆百货大楼股份有限公司). Here, the service commitment of "Worry-free Trial Shopping, 15-day Return and Exchange" can be seen everywhere. Dong Li (董莉), manager of the Comprehensive Department, introduced that Chongqing Department Store (重庆百货) has upgraded the "return and exchange in different places" service commitment to "Worry-free Trial Shopping, 15-day Return and Exchange (Sichuan-Chongqing (川渝) Cross-Regional No-Reason Return)," providing consumers with a more convenient and flexible shopping experience.

As of now, about 85% of Chongqing Department Store's (重庆百货) operating categories have promised no-reason returns and exchanges in different places, covering 50 offline department stores and 50 online shopping malls under the company in Sichuan (四川) and Chongqing (重庆). In the past two years, offline physical stores in Chongqing (重庆) have processed nearly 8,000 cross-regional returns for consumers.

Huangshan (黄山), Anhui (安徽)——
"Genuine Price," Making Consumption More Reassuring

Mr. Bao (包先生) booked a homestay in Yixian County (黟县), Huangshan City (黄山市), Anhui (安徽) a month in advance, preparing to visit Xidi Hongcun (西递宏村). However, as the departure date approached, he had to cancel the booked homestay because of a sudden family matter.

"I originally thought I would lose part of the room fee, but I didn't expect the store manager to return the full room fee after hearing the reason, and warmly welcomed us to go again when we have time," Mr. Bao (包先生) said happily, "After we finish our family affairs, we will go to Yixian County (黟县) and plan to stay at this place again!"

"We are a 'Genuine Price' store for reassuring consumption in Huangshan City (黄山市). We need to consider more from the consumer's perspective when handling room changes and refunds," said Huang Zhiyong (黄智勇), the homestay manager. Late-stage changes and refunds may indeed cause losses, but in the long run, consumer satisfaction will increase, and the repurchase rate will also increase.

A "Genuine Price" plaque embodies the business philosophy of "abstaining from deception, disciplining oneself, keeping promises, and valuing trust" in Huizhou (徽州) business culture. In recent years, Huangshan City (黄山市) has integrated it with the construction of reassuring consumption, selecting distinctive reassuring consumption stores, and promoting the realization of all-for-one tourism and reassuring throughout the entire process.

"The selection criteria are not low. Being selected is a great incentive for us!" said Huang Zhiyong (黄智勇). It is reported that the selection revolves around "food, accommodation, transportation, travel, shopping, and entertainment," with the goal of "five reassurances" of safety, quality, price, rights protection, and service. It requires self-declaration, recommendation from various districts and counties, preliminary qualification review, and credit compliance review before starting online voting. After 40 homestays (inns) were evaluated and awarded plaques, the repurchase rate increased by 20% year-on-year, and the online praise rate stabilized above 98.5%.

From homestays to catering, auto repair, and travel agencies, the "Genuine Price" selection activity has expanded to various consumption fields, and the main body of reassuring consumption has continued to expand. "At present, Huangshan (黄山) has cultivated a total of 178 'Genuine Price' stores for reassuring consumption," said Huang Jia Hong (黄家红), member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of the Huangshan Municipal Market Supervision Bureau (黄山市市场监管局). Since the selection, customer satisfaction has increased, quality complaints have decreased by 50%, and price complaints have decreased by 20.8%.

"We will study and formulate incentive policies to give these stores more support in terms of tax services, administrative approvals, financing and loans, and create a safe and reassuring consumption environment for consumers," said Huang Jia Hong (黄家红). The construction of the main body of reassuring consumption is helping to create a clear consumption environment, and the demonstration and leading effect is constantly being exerted.

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A Good "Experience" Levers Consumption (Editor's Note)

By: 卢 涛

"Surprise," "reassurance," "warmth"... the positive "physical experience" of consumers is a vivid annotation of the continuous optimization of the consumption environment. Shopping malls and scenic spots are better to visit, first launches and debuts, and trendy domestic products are more fashionable. Returns, exchanges, and consumer rights protection are more convenient. The continuous improvement of the consumption environment brings a full sense of gain, which is constantly leveraging consumption power and activating the large market.

Of course, consumers' expectations are also constantly changing and upgrading. To optimize the consumption environment, we must focus on consumers' feelings and allow more people to feel integrity, fairness, convenience, and safety in consumption.

Nowadays, "reassuring stores," "reassuring catering," and "reassuring factories" consolidate the foundation, while "reassuring markets," "reassuring business districts," and "reassuring scenic spots" improve quality and upgrade. More measures taken by various regions and departments address problems and respond to needs, giving consumers a reassuring choice and 无后顾之忧 (wú hòu gù zhī yōu - "no future worries," free from worries about the future), which will further enhance the consumption experience, stimulate market vitality, and empower a better life.

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Beijing explores using public service to offset rescue costs

By: 本报记者 潘俊强

In recent years, incidents of "backpackers" climbing wild mountains and encountering difficulties in restricted areas, leading to the use of public resources for rescue, have occurred from time to time. The topic of whether to charge for rescuing willful "backpackers" has also sparked heated discussions among netizens.

Recently, Changping District (昌平区), Beijing (北京) initiated a rescue cost recovery mechanism for two parties involved in rescues that utilized public resources. The willful "backpackers" in the two rescues donated 280 life jackets to two mountain villages in Changping District (昌平区) for flood season river patrol, near-water inspections, and other flood control emergency support work, completing the recovery of outdoor mountain climbing risk rescue costs through a public welfare compensation model.

According to reports, on November 29, 2025, two rescue incidents occurred in Changping District (昌平区) within a few hours. At 18:00 that day, 7 adults and 6 minors went missing during outdoor mountain climbing in an undeveloped area of the Ming Tombs Township (十三陵镇) in Changping District (昌平区). Relevant departments in Changping District (昌平区) quickly coordinated, and after 9 hours of intense search and rescue, the 13 trapped people were safely rescued at 3:00 the next day. At 22:00 that day, near Dayang Mountain (大杨山) in Yanshou Town (延寿镇), Changping District (昌平区), 3 adults were unable to descend the mountain due to physical exhaustion. The Changping District (昌平区) Emergency Management Bureau quickly mobilized the Forest Fire Brigade to the scene. After nearly 8 hours of rescue, the trapped people were safely transported down the mountain at 6:00 the next day.

After the rescue operation, the Changping District (昌平区) Emergency Management Bureau explained in detail to the rescued personnel the safety responsibilities of outdoor mountain climbing, the consequences of violating regulations and taking risks, and the rescue cost recovery mechanism.

Previously, on October 14, 2025, the Changping District (昌平区) Emergency Management Bureau, Fire and Rescue Department, and other departments jointly issued the "Changping District (昌平区) Outdoor Mountain Climbing Risk Rescue Management Measures (Trial Implementation)," stipulating that for those who cause the use of public resources for rescue due to outdoor mountain climbing activities, relevant departments reserve the right to recover rescue costs in accordance with the law, and may require the rescued personnel's work unit to conduct safety education and training for all employees depending on the circumstances; the measures encourage rescued personnel to participate in social services, public welfare activities, and public welfare publicity in the form of personal accounts to carry out safety education and publicity work, and those who actively participate in social services, public welfare activities, and public welfare publicity may be exempt from rescue cost recovery.

"The measures for the first time clarified that the government reserves the right to recover rescue costs for outdoor mountain climbing activities that lead to the use of public resources for rescue, and at the same time established an incentive compatibility mechanism to exempt fees through participation in public welfare services, with the aim of achieving the social effect of ‘挽救一个人，教育一大片’ (wǎn jiù yī gè rén, jiào yù yī dà piàn - "save one person, educate a large group," saving one person can educate many others)," said a relevant负责人 (fù zé rén - "person in charge") of the Changping District (昌平区) Emergency Management Bureau. "Recovering rescue costs" is not a mandatory fee, but a legal right and a powerful warning, aimed at curbing willful risk-taking behavior.

Through patient and meticulous policy explanations, the rescued personnel in the two rescue incidents realized the danger of entering undeveloped areas without authorization, and took the initiative to propose to assume responsibility in the form of donating materials to compensate for the consumption of public resources caused by their own behavior. Considering that the rescued personnel took the initiative to assume responsibility, the Changping District (昌平区) Emergency Management Bureau decided to exempt the rescue costs in accordance with the above-mentioned regulations.

A relevant 负责人 (fù zé rén - "person in charge") of the Changping District (昌平区) Emergency Management Bureau stated that the successful practice of this public welfare compensation model is not only an innovative breakthrough in the outdoor risk rescue management mechanism, but also conveys humanitarian care in a way that "emphasizes both punishment and guidance," providing replicable experience for solving the problem of rescue cost recovery for outdoor risk rescue and building a safe and orderly social environment.

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2026 Spring Breeze Action and Employment Assistance Season Activities Launched

This newspaper Beijing (北京) January 22nd (Reporter Qiu Chaoyi (邱超奕)) From January to March, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (人力资源社会保障部) and other 9 departments will deploy the 2026 Spring Breeze Action and Employment Assistance Season activities nationwide.

The theme of this event is "Spring Breeze Delivers Jobs to Promote Employment, Sincere Assistance Warms People's Hearts," focusing on key groups such as unemployed people, gig workers, and rural laborers, concentrating on providing basic employment assistance to vulnerable groups, and promoting employment and income growth for rural laborers.

During the event, various regions will intensively carry out "four deliveries" measures: delivering jobs, delivering services, delivering policies, and delivering warmth. Among them, the centralized delivery of jobs includes holding small-scale but beautiful, specialized and refined special recruitment fairs, promoting recruitment services to enter communities and villages, enter industrial parks and squares, enter shopping malls and night markets, and enter stations and scenic spots, promoting online recruitment models such as live job exploration, and achieving broad coverage of recruitment; the centralized delivery of services includes relying on the "15-minute employment service circle" to provide "right next to you" services, guiding workers in need to obtain skill certificates, organizing those with weak employment intentions to participate in vocational experience, and boosting job-seeking confidence; the centralized delivery of policies includes releasing lists of employment policies and employment services, designing and promoting publicity carriers such as "one picture to understand," micro-videos, and "clarification papers" to improve awareness of employment policies and promptly realize policy dividends; the centralized delivery of warmth includes organizing care and concern activities for vulnerable groups, doing a good job in sending warmth to urban workers in difficulty, strengthening employment services for people with disabilities, and implementing paired assistance for graduates in difficulty.

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The 32nd All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots Taiwan Youth Winter Camp Opens in Zhejiang

Xinhua News Agency, Hangzhou, January 22nd (Reporters Duan Jingjing (段菁菁) and Zheng Keyi (郑可意)) The opening ceremony and cross-strait youth gala of the 32nd All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots (全国台联) Taiwan Youth Winter Camp, hosted by the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots (全国台联) and organized by the Zhejiang Provincial Federation of Taiwan Compatriots (浙江省台联), the Zhejiang Overseas Friendship Association (浙江海外联谊会), and Zhejiang University (浙江大学), was held on the evening of the 21st at Zhejiang University (浙江大学).

As the first large-scale cross-strait youth exchange activity in 2026, this year's winter camp is themed "Youth Embarks on a New Journey, Working Together to Paint the Landscape." More than 1,000 Taiwanese students will travel to 24 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities to conduct exchanges and visits focusing on the achievements of Chinese-style modernization, major national scientific and technological innovations, traditional Chinese culture, and integrated cross-strait development.

At the opening ceremony, Ji Bin (纪斌), Secretary of the Party Group of the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots (全国台联), said that he hopes everyone will take advantage of the winter camp activities to see more and feel the development pulse of the motherland; to forge deep friendships in the company of peers, and jointly contribute youthful strength to promoting the peaceful and integrated development of cross-strait relations.

"The All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots (全国台联) Winter Camp has witnessed countless friendships across the strait for more than 30 years," said Li Zhaoyu (李招誉), Vice Chairman of the Taipei City Sports Federation (台北市体育总会). This winter camp allows Taiwanese youth to personally touch the development pulse of the motherland, and this experience will surely become the most precious memory of their youth. He also hopes that young people on both sides of the strait can use the "bridge of sports" to eliminate estrangement through exchanges and grow together through mutual learning.

"The thirst for knowledge, the enthusiasm for innovation, the resonance for culture, and the yearning for the future of young people on both sides of the strait are completely in sync," said Yang Jiuqing (杨久庆), a student at the Department of Electrical Engineering of National Taiwan Normal University (台湾师范大学电机研究所) and a representative of the Taiwanese campers. He hopes that through exchanges, the seeds of friendship and cooperation will be planted in the hearts of young people on both sides of the strait. He also welcomes young friends from the mainland to visit Taiwan and create more mutually beneficial and win-win opportunities, and jointly shoulder the responsibility of inheriting Chinese culture and realizing the rejuvenation of the nation.

As the location of the opening ceremony, during their stay in Hangzhou (杭州), young people from both sides of the strait entered Zhejiang University (浙江大学) to gain an in-depth understanding of the educational achievements of cutting-edge science and technology development on the mainland; felt the roots of Chinese culture in the Liangzhu Ancient City Ruins Park (良渚古城遗址公园) and the Hangzhou National Archives of Publications and Culture (杭州国家版本馆); and experienced the strong momentum of the mainland's new quality productive forces in the Future Science and Technology City Urban Exhibition Hall (未来科技城城市展馆), the Alibaba (阿里巴巴) headquarters park, and specialized, refined, and new high-end intelligent equipment enterprises.

The All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots (全国台联) Taiwan Youth Winter Camp was founded in 1989 and has been successfully held for 31 sessions, attracting more than 9,000 Taiwanese youth to participate, making it a popular exchange activity among Taiwanese youth, providing an important platform for young people on both sides of the strait to communicate, learn from each other, and integrate.

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Photo Report

On January 22nd, two self-elevating offshore operation support platforms, independently designed and built by Chinese enterprises, set sail from Qingdao West Coast New Area (青岛西海岸新区), Shandong Province, and were shipped to the Persian Gulf in the Middle East for delivery and use.

Photo by Zhang Jingang (张进刚) (Xinhua News Agency (新华社) issued)

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China adds 41 new duty-free shops at ports of entry

This newspaper reported from Beijing on January 22nd (Reporter Qu Zhehan (曲哲涵)) Recently, the Ministry of Finance (财政部), the Ministry of Commerce (商务部), the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (文化和旅游部), the General Administration of Customs (海关总署), and the State Taxation Administration (国家税务总局) jointly issued a notice to establish and adjust a batch of port entry duty-free shops. The notice proposes to establish a new port entry duty-free shop at each of the 41 ports, including Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (武汉天河国际机场), significantly increasing the number of port entry duty-free shops in China, and expanding the coverage of port entry duty-free shops. At the same time, adjustments and optimizations have been made to some port entry duty-free shops whose operating contracts are about to expire or have already expired, and whose passenger transport functions at the ports have changed.

Port entry duty-free shops are shops established in the isolation zones of airports, water transport, or land ports open to the outside world, selling duty-free goods to inbound passengers in accordance with regulations. The establishment and adjustment of port entry duty-free shops this time aims to further facilitate duty-free shopping consumption for inbound passengers, give full play to the role of duty-free shops in supporting and boosting consumption, and promote the healthy and orderly development of duty-free commodity retail business.

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Hainan Free Trade Port Sees Double Increase in Passenger and Freight Traffic Across Qiongzhou Strait in First Month After Sealing

According to reports from our newspaper, Haikou, January 22nd (Reporter Sun Haitian (孙海天)), the Haikou Maritime Safety Administration (海口海事局) reports that the Qiongzhou Strait (琼州海峡) passenger and cargo transportation has shown positive growth in the first month of Hainan Free Trade Port (海南自贸港) independent customs operations. The maritime department safely guaranteed the crossing of 1.608 million passengers and 475,000 vehicles, representing respective increases of 9.9% and 7.0% compared to the previous month.

According to statistics, in the first month of independent customs operations, the total number of vessel entries and exits in the Qiongzhou Strait (琼州海峡) reached 12,146, with a cargo throughput of 11.7323 million tons, including 109,500 TEUs of container throughput. The on-time rate of passenger ro-ro vessels remained at a high level of 99.2%. To improve navigation efficiency, the maritime department optimized channel passage conditions, with the maximum widening of the channel reaching 348 meters. At the same time, the "three priorities" guarantee was implemented for key material vessels such as coal, grain, and LNG (liquefied natural gas), and all-weather reservation and fast customs clearance services were promoted for international route vessels.

In addition, the maritime department improved quality and efficiency through measures such as deploying the intelligent voice digital human "Little Sealion" (小海狮), reducing the average preparation time for a single business by 70%, and achieving a 100% completion rate for approved businesses within the promised time limit.

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This edition's editors: Ji Yalin, Zhang Weihao, Zhai Qinqi

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Seeing "Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" from 5 Percentage Points (Reading Numbers: An In-depth Look at Annual Data)

By: 吴 燕

Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets. Over the past decade, the Yangtze River Economic Belt has delivered a clear answer sheet with a higher green content and a greater gold content:

The proportion of excellent water quality has increased from 67% to 96.5%. At the same time, the region's GDP has more than doubled, and its share of the national total has increased from 42.2% to 47.3%.

From 42.2% to 47.3%, an increase of a full 5 percentage points, the Yangtze River is more beautiful, and the vitality of the Yangtze River Economic Belt is even greater.

Over the past decade, from Chongqing (重庆) to Wuhan (武汉) in Hubei (湖北), from Nanjing (南京) in Jiangsu (江苏) to Nanchang (南昌) in Jiangxi (江西), from "promoting" to "deeply promoting," "comprehensively promoting," and then to "further promoting," President Xi Jinping (习近平) has chaired four symposiums on the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, adhering to the principle of jointly protecting the environment and refraining from large-scale development, adhering to ecological priority and green development, consistently. Protecting in development and developing in protection, traveling along the river, new pictures of harmonious integration of mountains, rivers, people, and cities can be seen everywhere.

"The gorges on the Ba River overlap, and the twelve peaks of Yangtai are green and steep." Wushan (巫山) in Chongqing (重庆), 93% of the area is karst landform, and the Yangtze River flows from here through the Three Gorges to the middle and lower reaches. Peng Bin (彭斌) is a native of Quchi Township (曲尺乡), Wushan County (巫山县), and also a new farmer who returned to his hometown to start a business. He and his fellow villagers planted scattered plum trees in front of and behind their houses on a large scale. In the past, the sloping farmland was such that "it rained yellow soup, and a knife in sunny days." Now, the fruit trees with developed root systems firmly grasp the soil and cover the barren slopes with a "green carpet." A Wushan crisp plum has also been made into wine, pastries, masks...differentiating into "N times the value," and the brand value exceeds 10.5 billion yuan. In Peng Bin's (彭斌) eyes, the mountains of fruit trees, consolidate water and soil, can make money, both ends are not missed!

The 5 percentage point increase is not only in the sweetness of the full slope of crisp plums, but also in the transformation of barren mountains into green and the transformation of forests into gold.

The transformation is the reconstruction of the relationship between people and mountains. Over the past decade, the Yangtze River Economic Belt has implemented 17 integrated ecological protection and restoration projects for mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, and grasslands, and delineated more than 17,000 ecological environment control units, guarding the foundation of development. People live up to the green mountains, and the green mountains will surely live up to the people. Ecological advantages will become development advantages and become a good life for the people.

"The first to emerge is Cui Wei, occupying the upper reaches, and the thick green remains towards Jingzhou." The Wanli Yangtze River is dangerous in Jingjiang (荆江); the Shishou (石首) Jiangwan (江湾) is winding. In Shishou (石首), Hubei (湖北), Chuyuan Group (楚源集团), covering an area of 1,800 mu, was once the world's largest manufacturer of active dye intermediates. Ten years ago, an environmental protection fine of more than 27 million yuan hit the two chairmen, Yang Zhijun (杨志军) and his son Yang Peng (杨鹏), who "cried injustice and lay flat." From untangling ideological knots and summoning the courage to "rectify," to settling down and proudly "upgrading," the old Yang and the young Yang experienced a profound ideological turn. Old workshops were demolished, robots went online, nano-materials were tested, and new quality productivity developed in accordance with local conditions re-illuminated this factory. In Yang Peng's (杨鹏) view, once the green opportunity is seized, the gourd becomes a pagoda, and the path is right.

The 5 percentage point increase is not only in the rushing clear river water, but also in the thousands of enterprises that are struggling to transform and upgrade and are determined to develop greenly.

The transformation is the reconstruction of the relationship between people and water. Over the past decade, the Yangtze River Economic Belt has "closed, transformed, relocated, and transferred" nearly 10,000 chemical enterprises along the river, and laid out the construction of 24 national carbon peak pilot cities and parks, and 14 zero-carbon parks, transforming the "chemical encirclement of the river" into "finless porpoises chasing waves." The old goes and the new comes, and removing the old kinetic energy seems to be doing subtraction, but in fact it leaves enough room for growth for the new kinetic energy.

"Autumn mountains are suitable for sunset, and beautiful waters produce cold smoke." In the western suburbs of Hefei (合肥), Anhui (安徽), Shushan Lake (蜀山湖) and Da Shushan (大蜀山) face each other. Science Island (科学岛) is like a flat boat, lying quietly on the lakeside. It operates 2 national major science facilities, lays out 7 research units, and gathers more than 3,000 researchers. The fully superconducting tokamak nuclear fusion experimental device, known as the "artificial sun," is one of them. Science Island (科学岛) is an oasis in the city and a golden belt for technological innovation, driving the development of future industries such as nuclear fusion energy. Locals proudly say: Hefei (合肥) reserves the most beautiful scenery for scientific and technological innovation.

The 5 percentage point increase is not only in the most beautiful scenery of Science Island (科学岛), but also in the accelerated growth of a batch of advantageous industrial clusters.

The transformation is the reconstruction of the relationship between people and cities. The Yangtze River Economic Belt has cumulatively cultivated 41 national-level advanced manufacturing clusters and 30 strategic emerging industry clusters, accounting for 51% and 45% of the country, respectively; the provinces and cities along the river have laid out 3 science and technology innovation centers and 8 national laboratories. From Bashan Shushui (巴山蜀水) to Jiangnan water towns, lucid waters and lush mountains have become key elements to attract talent, capital, and technology, and unique scientific research advantages and talent advantages are being transformed into development advantages.

The change in the relationship between mountains, rivers, people, and cities stems from the change in concepts. Taking the change in development concepts as the guide to the change in development methods and the change in economic structure, promoting the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, always focusing on the present and aiming for the long term. Chinese-style modernization is a modernization in which man and nature coexist in harmony. Building a vibrant Yangtze River Economic Belt is exploring a green development path for the future of China.

The great river is surging, and the atmosphere is ever-changing. The spring scenery is everywhere, and the morning sun shines on thousands of mountains and rivers. Countless rivers and lakes hide vigorous vitality.

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Protecting the fish and the river, there's pride and a sense of responsibility.

By: 本报记者 姚雪青

A refueling ship had just docked at the Huada Wharf (华大码头), located upstream of Rugao Port (如皋港) in Jiangsu (江苏). Gao Fulin (高富林), who had been preparing, immediately sailed out a service boat. Several workers threw out and set up oil containment booms, creating an isolation zone around the refueling ship. Subsequently, wharf personnel connected the oil delivery pipes to the ship's tanks and began refueling. After 5 hours, approximately 2,000 tons of fuel were loaded. The pipelines were removed first, followed closely by the service boat, which carefully checked to ensure there were no oil leaks before quickly removing the oil containment booms.

"This Yangtze River (长江) water transport service is to prevent running, spilling, and dripping during oil loading and unloading, protecting the safety of the Yangtze River's water quality," said Gao Fulin (高富林). Gao Fulin (高富林), a 63-year-old Rugao (如皋) native, is a former fisherman who retired from fishing and is now a relevant person in charge of Nantong Dingyi Shipping Service Co., Ltd. (南通市鼎益船舶服务有限公司).

"My family has been fishermen for generations. I started fishing at the age of 19," Gao Fulin (高富林) told reporters. When he was a child, the Yangtze River (长江) water was relatively clear, and there were many fish. Taking the knife fish as an example, hundreds of kilograms could be caught in one net. As chemical plants along the coast sprang up and the Yangtze River (长江) was overfished, the water quality deteriorated, and the number of fish and shrimp decreased.

In 2019, news of the Yangtze River (长江) fishing ban and retirement program came. Besides feeling lost about the future, Gao Fulin (高富林) felt even more that "**继续下去也难以长久，早晚会有这么一天的**" (jì xù xià qù yě nán yǐ cháng jiǔ, zǎo wǎn huì yǒu zhème yī tiān de - "continuing would be difficult to sustain for long, sooner or later there would be such a day," indicating a sense of inevitability and acceptance of the situation). As the head of the "Man Cang Fishery" Professional Cooperative (满舱渔业专业合作社), he took the lead in handing over his fishing boat and nets on time. Based on the size of the fishing boat and the scale of production, he received subsidies of nearly 460,000 yuan, including boat dismantling fees, fishing gear compensation fees, and fisherman subsidies.

Gao Fulin (高富林) decided to work for a few more years before retiring. Rugao City (如皋市) had conducted several training sessions for the transformation and development of fishermen who had come ashore and had also recommended positions, but Gao Fulin (高富林) felt that they were not suitable. "I have spent my whole life on the Yangtze River (长江), and I really can't bear to leave."

In April 2020, under the matchmaking of the Rugao City Human Resources and Social Security Bureau (如皋市人社局), a surveying company found him and asked him to help with the measurement of waterways and wharves. Based on his years of experience in water operations, Gao Fulin (高富林) saw the opportunity for Yangtze River (长江) traffic services. "I discussed it with several fishermen who had come ashore, and we decided to start a business."

The first step in starting a business was to purchase a service boat. They used subsidies and savings to raise 2 million yuan in registered capital and established a shipping service company. The Rugao Agricultural Law Enforcement Brigade (如皋农业执法大队) led the human resources, maritime, and other departments to provide business guidance to the entrepreneurial fishermen. "Not only did it accelerate the approval process, but it also gave the company a 150,000 yuan interest-free loan, which alleviated the problem of tight funds," said Gao Fulin (高富林). The agricultural and rural affairs departments also sent them to Yangzhou (扬州), Jiangsu (江苏) for training, and their fishing boat driver's licenses were converted into inland vessel crew certificates of competency.

After the company was established, the first few orders were for surveying. Gradually, they discovered that there was a large demand for crew transfer and material supply services on the river. "Cargo ships on the Yangtze River (长江) cannot dock at will." Gao Fulin (高富林) opened up a new market. "Our service boats can deliver goods and transport people." The oil containment boom service is a new business developed in 2024. Gao Fulin (高富林) introduced that doing a good job in isolation and protection is a "hard requirement" of the maritime department for refueling ships, and the business volume is currently stable.

"In recent years, the company's average annual revenue has been more than 600,000 yuan, and the best year was 700,000 yuan. We have also added a post-80s employee," said Gao Fulin (高富林). With the addition of young blood, the company plans to launch drone delivery this year.

In addition to a stable income, what makes Gao Fulin (高富林) most happy is the change in the Yangtze River (长江) – in the river, the water quality has improved, and more and more fish are visible to the naked eye. Silver carp often jump onto the service boat, and the long-unseen finless porpoises have also returned. On the shore, the chemical plants and small workshops that once stood in large numbers have long been moved away and have become ecological parks that residents and tourists often visit, which are also the most beautiful scenery on his service route.

"In the past, fishing was physical labor, and we had to rely on the weather; now, service is technical work, and we are guaranteed a harvest regardless of drought or flood." Facing the future, Lao Gao (老高) is full of ambition, "**护鱼又护江**" (hù yú yòu hù jiāng - "protecting fish and protecting the river," indicating a dual responsibility and commitment), "I have a sense of pride and a sense of responsibility."

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Credit Card Installment Plans Included in Interest Subsidy Support

By: 本报记者 赵展慧

Extending the policy duration to the end of this year, including credit card installment plans in the support scope, removing previous restrictions on consumption areas in the interest subsidy policy, increasing the interest subsidy standard, and adding handling institutions... Recently, the "national subsidy" policy for consumer loans has been fully upgraded. Currently, many financial institutions have issued announcements detailing the specific details of the policy upgrade and service optimization, and answering the question of "how to apply for credit card installment interest subsidies," so that the consumer loan interest subsidy "red envelope" can be received as soon as possible.

Including credit card installment plans in the support scope and an annual interest subsidy rate of 1 percentage point are highlights of this policy upgrade that are of general concern to consumers. Regarding how to apply for credit card installment interest subsidies, China Construction Bank (中国建设银行) has clarified that credit card installment plans are still processed according to the general procedure, but it is necessary to sign agreements such as the "China Construction Bank (中国建设银行) Personal Consumer Loan Financial Interest Subsidy Service Agreement." After processing the installment plan, China Construction Bank (中国建设银行) will automatically identify consumer transaction information that meets the interest subsidy conditions through the system, calculate the amount of financial interest subsidy that can be enjoyed, and directly deduct it from the loan interest payable when the customer repays. Agricultural Bank of China (中国农业银行) has clarified that customers need to sign a "Supplementary Agreement on Financial Interest Subsidies for Credit Card Installment Plans" with the bank, and each credit card needs to be signed separately.

"For credit card holders, there is no need to specifically apply for personal consumer loans. Through credit card installment plans, they can enjoy consumer credit support, which is more convenient than applying for personal consumer loans, and the interest rate (fee rate) is often lower than credit card overdrafts, which can effectively increase residents' consumption willingness and ability," said Dong Ximiao (董希淼), Deputy Director of the Shanghai Finance and Development Laboratory (上海金融与发展实验室) and Chief Researcher of Zhaolian.

To maximize convenience for consumers, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (中国工商银行), Bank of China (中国银行), China Construction Bank (中国建设银行), and others have clarified that loans for which interest subsidy applications have been completed do not need to re-sign interest subsidy agreements, and consumer transactions occurring from January 1, 2026, will automatically apply the latest interest subsidy policy. At the same time, personal consumer loan services are provided free of charge, and no third party is entrusted to handle them.

This policy also increased the number of handling institutions, including city commercial banks, rural cooperative financial institutions, foreign-funded banks, consumer finance companies, and auto finance companies with regulatory ratings of 3A and above in the scope of local interest subsidy policy handling institutions.

"Third- and fourth-tier cities and county consumption are important growth points in China's consumer market. City commercial banks and rural commercial banks focus on serving the local area, serving small and micro enterprises, and serving agriculture, rural areas, and farmers. These customer groups need the support of pro-consumption policies," said Dong Ximiao (董希淼). This policy optimization is also a good opportunity for city commercial banks, rural commercial banks, and non-bank institutions to accelerate the development of consumer finance business, which will promote more financial institutions to contribute to boosting consumption and expanding domestic demand.

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The first batch of 936 billion yuan in ultra-long-term special treasury bonds for equipment upgrades has been allocated this year.

This newspaper reported from Beijing on January 22nd (Reporter Liu Zhiqiang (刘志强)) Since the beginning of this year, the National Development and Reform Commission (国家发展改革委), together with relevant parties, has optimized the implementation of the "Two New" policies. Building on the solid groundwork of planning and reserving equipment renewal projects in the early stages, they have been promptly organizing project applications, strictly conducting reviews, and accelerating the implementation of equipment renewal policies to achieve effective results. Recently, the first batch of 93.6 billion yuan in ultra-long-term special treasury bonds for equipment renewal in 2026 has been allocated, supporting approximately 4,500 projects in fields such as industry, energy and electricity, education, healthcare, grain and oil processing, customs inspection, old residential elevators, energy conservation and carbon reduction, environmental protection, and recycling, driving a total investment of over 460 billion yuan. Simultaneously, by directly allocating funds to local governments, continued support is provided for the scrapping and renewal of old operating freight vehicles, the renewal of new energy urban buses, and the scrapping and renewal of old agricultural machinery.

In the next step, the National Development and Reform Commission (国家发展改革委) will work with relevant parties to continue coordinating and tracking progress, strengthen the full-chain management of equipment renewal projects and funds, steadily advance project construction, accelerate the efficiency of fund utilization, and further enhance the effectiveness of the "Two New" policies.

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Hemu Village Dressed in Silver

The continuous snowfall has adorned Hemu Village (禾木村) in Hemu Kanas Mongolian Ethnic Township (禾木喀纳斯蒙古族乡), Burqin County (布尔津县), Xinjiang (新疆), into a silver-clad fairytale world, attracting tourists from all over. Distinctive homestays, dreamy snow houses, traditional cuisine, and ski resources are intertwined, jointly igniting Hemu's vigorous ice and snow economy. According to statistics, in 2023, Burqin County (布尔津县) received 30.0561 million tourists, with a total tourist expenditure of 25.558 billion yuan, representing year-on-year increases of 76.69% and 82.20%, respectively.

People's Daily reporter Lei Sheng (雷声) photographed.

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The value of imports and exports at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge port will exceed 300 billion yuan in 2025.

According to the latest data from Gongbei Customs (拱北海关): In 2025, the number of inbound and outbound passengers through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (港珠澳大桥) port exceeded 31 million, the number of inbound and outbound vehicles exceeded 6.8 million, and the total value of imports and exports exceeded the 300 billion yuan mark, reaching 325.84 billion yuan, an increase of 40.1% year-on-year. The flow of people, vehicles, and goods has all broken historical records since the bridge opened, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (粤港澳大湾区) has achieved a "new speed" in economic and trade integration.

Cross-border e-commerce has become a new driving force for growth. It is reported that nearly 500 e-commerce trucks, fully loaded with more than 1.6 million packages, depart from here every day, transiting through Hong Kong (香港) and Macao (澳门) airports to "fly" to more than 140 countries and regions. In 2025, the export value through the customs cross-border e-commerce management platform via the bridge port reached 110.98 billion yuan, an increase of 92.5%, and the bridge port has become the second largest cross-border e-commerce retail export port in the country. In 2019, the total value of imports and exports at the bridge port was 49.65 billion yuan, and the average annual growth rate from 2019 to 2025 reached 36.8%.

Reported by Ouyang Jie (欧阳洁), Beijing (北京), January 22nd.

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Railway Department Launches Phone Ticket Booking Service for Senior Passengers

This newspaper reported from Beijing on January 22nd (Reporter Li Xinping (李心萍)) The reporter learned from China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (中国国家铁路集团有限公司): Based on existing ticket booking channels, the railway department has launched a telephone ticket booking service for elderly passengers. Elderly passengers purchasing train tickets for travel dates on or after February 2nd, within the pre-sale period and 3 days or more before departure, can call the railway 12306 customer service hotline to book tickets.

Currently, this service only accepts ticket booking requests from elderly passengers aged 60 and above holding second-generation resident ID cards, and is available from 8:00 to 18:00 daily. When booking tickets by phone, it is necessary to provide specific requirements such as the date, train number, seat type, number of people, and payment method for the train ticket to be booked, as well as the contact information and identity information of the ticket booker. Among them, passengers aged 60 and above who are registered users of 12306 can dial 12306 using their registered mobile phone, press the number "1" key, and be directly transferred to manual service. After 12306 accepts the request, it will match the ticket booking needs of elderly passengers according to the remaining ticket situation. If the remaining tickets can meet the needs, the ticket booker will be informed by phone. If online payment is selected, 12306 will send the ticket booker a text message containing a payment link. The ticket booker clicks on the link in the text message, fills in all the required passenger information according to the prompts, and pays the ticket price to complete the online ticket purchase. If offline payment is selected, 12306 will send the ticket booker a text message containing the order number. The ticket booker can take the ID documents (original or photocopy) of all the required passengers to any railway passenger station ticket window nationwide and pay the ticket price with the order number to complete the offline ticket purchase.

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Inland County Accelerates Cross-Border E-Commerce Development

By: 本报记者 杨颜菲

"With front-end shops taking orders and back-end factories producing, the order response speed is three times faster than before!" Xu Xintao (徐新桃), a young entrepreneur who returned to his hometown to start a business, said happily while watching the high-speed intelligent printing machine running at Yongke Garment Co., Ltd. in Jianyuan Logistics Park, Qianshan County (铅山县), Shangrao City (上饶市), Jiangxi Province (江西省). Xu Xintao's online store has been deeply involved in domestic and foreign platforms. With the help of the park's "front-end shop and back-end factory + vertical industrial chain" model, the sales volume in 2025 exceeded 12 million yuan.

The "front-end shop and back-end factory" model is a closed-loop model built by Qianshan County (铅山县) from research and development design and production to marketing services, which improves the order response speed and enables the digital printing clothing enterprises to achieve an order fulfillment rate of more than 98%.

The digital printing clothing industry is an important industry in Qianshan County (铅山县), with more than 30% of the national production capacity gathered here. In order to further improve the level of industrial development and build a full-chain ecology, Qianshan County (铅山县) focuses on cross-border e-commerce and has embarked on a unique high-quality development path through model innovation, logistics upgrades, and park aggregation.

"Here, I can not only contact many high-quality small and medium-sized suppliers, but also get detailed product catalogs and samples, which lays the foundation for establishing long-term business relationships," said Chai Chai (柴柴), a buyer from Thailand, after purchasing goods at the Qianshan County (铅山县) E-commerce Industrial Park.

Offline stores provide physical displays, sample customization and other services, and online cloud warehouses integrate supply chain resources to achieve rapid delivery... The "offline store + online cloud warehouse" model seamlessly connects experience and transactions, changing the pain points of traditional cross-border procurement, such as difficulty in selecting goods, high costs, and long cycles. This model has attracted many high-quality buyers at home and abroad. From January to October 2025, it received a total of 162 batches of buyers, and the online transaction volume exceeded 2.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 75%.

With more and more orders, how can an inland county solve the problem of cross-border logistics?

"In the past, it took 14 days for goods to reach Europe and the United States, but now it only takes 3-5 days, and logistics costs have been reduced by more than 30%." Zhang Min (张敏), head of Qianshan Chengyue Trading Co., Ltd. (铅山诚越贸易有限公司), said, pointing to the real-time logistics tracking system. Qianshan County (铅山县) has built a multi-modal transport system of water, land, air and rail, introduced more than 10 international logistics companies, and laid out a global logistics network of "overseas warehouses + distribution centers" to achieve efficient distribution of local stocking and local delivery. At the same time, it promotes the upgrading of customs supervision models, realizes "one-click customs clearance" for cross-border e-commerce B2B exports in the county, and jointly develops intelligent dispatching systems with logistics companies to optimize transportation routes and warehousing management. From January to October 2025, the number of cross-border express shipments in Qianshan (铅山) exceeded 45 million.

At the same time, the Qianshan County (铅山县) E-commerce Innovation Park continues to exert its strength, relying on the industrial base to plan a 21,800-square-meter cross-border e-commerce operation cluster area to create a professional headquarters cluster. The Qianshan (铅山) Digital Printing Industry Public Service Center, which is being promoted simultaneously, integrates diversified services such as equipment sharing, talent sharing, technical training, and quality inspection and certification to build a deep integration pattern of "platform + enterprise + industry."

In the Qianshan (铅山) Digital E-commerce Industrial Park, more than 170 cross-border e-commerce companies are operating in an orderly manner. This 470,000-square-meter industrial space integrates production, logistics, office, and living services, providing zero-threshold entry and one-stop growth services, forming an industrial community with upstream and downstream support and industry-university-research collaboration.

From January to October 2025, the number of cross-border e-commerce entities in Qianshan County (铅山县) in the digital printing clothing category reached 6,346, and the number of companies with a value of 10 million yuan increased to 26, creating a total of more than 32,000 jobs.

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This edition's editors: Wu Yan, Lin Ziye, Huang Jinyu

Layout design: Cai Huawei (蔡华伟)

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The Rich Connotation and Original Contributions of the Anti-Poverty Theory with Chinese Characteristics (In-depth Study and Implementation of Xi Jinping's Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era: A Comprehensive Discussion on Original and Iconic Concepts)

By: 王 琳

The problem of poverty is a global challenge, and poverty reduction is a task facing all of humanity. In the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, eliminating poverty in all its forms worldwide is the primary goal. China has always fought against poverty with unwavering, tenacious belief and will. In particular, since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, our Party has led the people to win a complete victory in the battle against poverty, historically eliminating absolute poverty, achieving the poverty reduction target of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule, and creating a miracle in human history. After the completion of the poverty alleviation goals and tasks, we have "helped and supported" the formerly impoverished areas and people, continued to consolidate and expand the achievements in poverty alleviation, and firmly guarded the bottom line of preventing large-scale relapse into poverty. In February 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) pointed out at the National Commendation Conference for Poverty Alleviation: "Based on China's national conditions and grasping the laws of poverty reduction, we have introduced a series of extraordinary policies and measures, and constructed a complete set of effective policy systems, work systems, and institutional systems, forging a path of poverty reduction with Chinese characteristics and forming a theory of poverty alleviation with Chinese characteristics." The theory of poverty alleviation with Chinese characteristics is an important original concept and iconic concept of Xi Jinping (习近平)'s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, with rich theoretical connotations, practical orientations, and original contributions, which need to be deeply understood, adhered to for a long time, and continuously developed.

The Theory of Poverty Alleviation with Chinese Characteristics Has Rich Connotations

General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) pointed out: "Since its establishment, the Communist Party of China has adhered to its original aspiration and mission of seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation, and has united and led the Chinese people in a long and arduous struggle to create their own better lives." The theory of poverty alleviation with Chinese characteristics is the theoretical crystallization of our Party's profound understanding of the characteristics of poverty occurrence and the laws of poverty governance in China, combining Marxist theory of poverty alleviation with China's specific realities and excellent traditional Chinese culture, and leading the people of the whole country to fight against poverty and create a better life. It is the latest achievement of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxist theory of poverty alleviation, and has rich connotations.

Strengthen the leadership of the Party and strengthen political and organizational guarantees. Marxism believes that the Communist Party, as the vanguard of the working class, is advanced not only in its theoretical awareness, but also in its organizational mobilization and practical leadership capabilities, playing an organizational and leading role in social change. The ultimate goal of the Communist Party of China is to enable all people to live a good life. No matter how the international and domestic situation changes, our Party always adheres to its original aspiration and mission, and unites and leads the people of the whole country to fight against poverty. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, our Party has incorporated poverty alleviation into the "Five-Sphere Integrated Plan" and the "Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy," strengthened the working mechanism of central coordination, provincial responsibility, and municipal and county implementation, as well as the working mechanism of focusing on areas, working to villages, and helping households, forming a situation in which the five levels of Party secretaries grasp poverty alleviation and the whole Party mobilizes to promote the battle, and constructing a responsibility system with clear responsibilities, each assuming its own responsibilities, and jointly tackling the difficulties. General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) personally commanded, personally deployed, and personally supervised the battle, coordinating planning and vigorously promoting it, presiding over the Central Poverty Alleviation Work Symposium seven times, conducting in-depth grassroots research on poverty alleviation work more than 50 times, traveling to 14 contiguous areas of extreme poverty, and researching and guiding 24 impoverished villages, playing a super-strong organizational leadership core and political core role. Always adhere to and strengthen the Party's overall leadership, providing a strong political and organizational guarantee for poverty alleviation.

Demonstrate the people's position and unswervingly follow the path of common prosperity. The issue of poverty alleviation is essentially a question of the fundamental attitude towards the people. Our Party always puts the people in the highest position in our hearts, regards common prosperity as the essential requirement of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and strives to achieve the all-round development of people and the common prosperity of all people. Since the new era, our Party has adhered to the people-centered development thought, precisely implemented policies around the needs of the people, unremittingly strived for common prosperity, and concentrated its efforts on solving the basic livelihood needs of the impoverished people. From the Loess Plateau to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, from the Taihang Mountains to the Wumeng Mountains, from Dingxi (定西), Gansu (甘肃), known as "the poorest place in the world," to the Liangshan (凉山) area of Sichuan (四川), where it takes "a day to walk across a mountain," our Party has actively responded to the needs, expectations, and demands of the people, solved the "two worries and three guarantees" problem for people in difficulty, and built a moderately prosperous society in all respects that "must not leave behind a single impoverished area or a single impoverished person." This is a powerful manifestation of the Communist Party of China being born for the people, prospering because of the people, always standing with the people, and striving for the interests of the people, fulfilling the solemn promise of "letting the people live a good life."

Leverage institutional advantages to build the "four beams and eight pillars" of joint efforts. Eliminating poverty is a difficult and complex systematic project, and it is far from enough to rely solely on individual, regional, or civil forces. Broadly and effectively mobilizing and uniting all parties, and building a poverty alleviation system in which the government, society, and market coordinate and promote, and multiple entities jointly participate, can concentrate efforts to overcome difficulties. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, our Party has given full play to the advantages of the socialist system in concentrating efforts to accomplish great things, formulated a timetable and roadmap for poverty alleviation, coordinated various resources, and built a complete, scientific, standardized, and efficient policy system and institutional framework. For example, adhering to the working mechanism of central coordination, provincial responsibility, and municipal and county implementation, implementing the responsibility system at all levels, and forming a responsibility system in which each assumes its own responsibilities and performs its own duties; the Party Central Committee strengthening top-level design, relevant departments issuing a series of policy documents or implementation plans, and various localities successively issuing and improving a series of supporting measures for poverty alleviation of "1+N," forming a policy system of linkage and unified coordination from top to bottom; building a large poverty alleviation pattern in which special poverty alleviation, industrial poverty alleviation, and social poverty alleviation complement each other, forming a social mobilization system of broad participation and joint efforts; and so on. Give full play to the advantages of the socialist system in concentrating efforts to accomplish great things, and establish institutional systems such as the responsibility system, policy system, organizational system, investment system, mobilization system, supervision system, and assessment and evaluation system for poverty alleviation, providing strong support for the smooth advancement of poverty alleviation.

Adhere to the development-oriented poverty alleviation policy and regard development as the fundamental way to solve poverty. Marxism believes that material production activities are the foundation of human society's existence and development. When the level of productive forces is low and society cannot create enough social products, poverty becomes inevitable with the imbalance of distribution. For this reason, development is an important path to shedding the hat of poverty. The theory of poverty alleviation with Chinese characteristics emphasizes using development methods to eliminate the root causes of poverty, combining poverty alleviation with economic and social development, both solving current difficulties and enhancing development capabilities. After winning the battle against poverty, a five-year transition period was established, and measures such as industrial assistance, employment assistance, and consumption assistance were taken to further enhance the development capabilities of poverty-stricken areas and people. Establish a rural mechanism to prevent relapse into poverty and a hierarchical and classified assistance system for low-income people and underdeveloped areas, forming a virtuous circle of development-consolidation-redevelopment-re-consolidation, and firmly guarding the bottom line of preventing large-scale relapse into poverty.

Give play to the main role of the impoverished masses and stimulate the endogenous driving force for poverty alleviation. General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) emphasized: "A good life is created through hard work. Ultimately, getting rid of poverty and becoming rich depends on the impoverished masses achieving it through their own hard work." Only by mobilizing the enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity of the impoverished masses to get rid of poverty, and enhancing their ability to participate in development, share development, and develop independently, can we truly stimulate their endogenous driving force for getting rid of poverty and becoming rich. In practice, we fully respect and actively give play to the main role of the impoverished masses, guide the impoverished masses to establish the concept of "rather work hard than endure hardship," muster the energy of "as long as there is confidence, loess can be turned into gold," and enhance the resilience of "weak birds fly first, and dripping water penetrates stone," so that the hearts of the masses are warmed up and their hands are moved, relying on hard work and tenacious will to get rid of poverty and change their destiny. At the same time, we adhere to the combination of poverty alleviation and aspiration and intelligence support, paying attention to both aspiration support, promoting the transformation from "wanting me to get rid of poverty" to "I want to get rid of poverty"; and paying attention to intelligence support, enhancing the "blood-making" ability of the impoverished masses themselves through developing education and strengthening training.

Based on a global perspective, jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind without poverty. General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) pointed out: "China's poverty alleviation process shows that with the resilience, perseverance, and fighting spirit of dripping water penetrating stone and drawing a blueprint to the end, the poverty problems of developing countries can be solved, and weak birds can fly first and fly high." Historical materialism believes that with the progress of the mode of production, the expansion of exchanges, and the deepening of the division of labor, all nations will no longer develop in isolation, and human history will move from closure to global integration. China's elimination of absolute poverty is not only an achievement of domestic development, but also a positive contribution to promoting the common development of the Global South. As the world's largest developing country, China focuses on global poverty governance, and strengthens exchanges and cooperation with other developing countries and international organizations in the field of poverty alleviation through foreign aid, project cooperation, technology diffusion, think tank exchanges, etc., jointly building a community with a shared future for mankind without poverty and common development, and providing Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions for world poverty governance and sustainable economic and social development.

The Theory of Poverty Alleviation with Chinese Characteristics Has Important Original Contributions

Great practice produces great theory, and great theory guides great practice. The theory of poverty alleviation with Chinese characteristics not only reveals the winning path for achieving a comprehensive victory in poverty alleviation, but also creates a Chinese model for international poverty governance, with important original contributions.

At the theoretical dimension, enrich and develop Marxist theory of poverty alleviation. Marxism is the fundamental guiding ideology for our Party and our country. Marxist theory of poverty alleviation believes that when the means of production are in the hands of political forces representing the interests of all the people, the purpose of production can shift from maximizing profits to meeting the needs of the people. The theory of poverty alleviation with Chinese characteristics adheres to the guidance of the basic principles of Marxism, forms a regular understanding of the path of poverty reduction with Chinese characteristics, and realizes a major leap from practical exploration to theoretical sublimation, from experience summary to law grasp. The theory of poverty alleviation with Chinese characteristics adheres to eliminating poverty, improving people's livelihood, and gradually realizing the common prosperity of all people as an unswerving goal, as an important symbol of embodying the superiority and progressiveness of the socialist system, breaking through the theoretical limitations of the West individualizing and marginalizing poverty; adheres to the people-centered development thought, and takes the people's yearning for a better life as the goal of struggle, demonstrating the people-oriented nature of the theory of poverty alleviation with Chinese characteristics; forms a series of pragmatic and effective policies and measures, and forges a path of poverty reduction with Chinese characteristics; and so on. These aspects are logically interlocked and progressively advanced, jointly forming an organically unified theoretical whole, which not only inherits the Marxist theory of poverty alleviation, but also enriches and develops the Marxist theory of poverty alleviation based on China's actual conditions, and deepens the understanding of the laws of Communist Party governance, the laws of socialist construction, and the laws of human social development.

At the methodological dimension, creatively put forward the strategy of targeted poverty alleviation. For countries with a large population of impoverished people, accurately identifying the impoverished population and implementing genuine poverty alleviation is a universal problem. The theory of poverty alleviation with Chinese characteristics actively draws on international experience, closely combines it with China's actual conditions, adheres to the strategy of targeted poverty alleviation, adheres to the specific analysis of specific problems, and realizes the leap from traditional extensive poverty alleviation to modern scientific poverty governance. In terms of requirements, focus on the "six precisions" of supporting objects, project arrangements, fund use, measures to households, assigning people to villages, and poverty alleviation effectiveness, taking the precise identification of poverty alleviation objects as the premise, the precise arrangement of projects and the precise use of funds as the guarantee, the precise measures to households and the precise assignment of people to villages as the means, and the precise effectiveness of poverty alleviation as the goal, realizing the transformation from "flood irrigation" to "precise drip irrigation." In terms of paths, in response to the causes of poverty such as few employment opportunities, poor living conditions, fragile ecological environment, and backward education level, implement the "five batches" of developing production, relocating to other places, ecological compensation, developing education, and social security bottom line, so as to implement policies according to people and places, according to the causes of poverty, and according to the types of poverty, realizing symptomatic treatment and targeted therapy. In terms of mechanisms, establish a full-chain dynamic management system of identification-policy implementation-exit-monitoring, carry out the establishment of files and cards, and solve the problem of "who to support"; select and dispatch resident village cadres to solve the problem of "who will support"; adhere to classified policy implementation to solve the problem of "how to support"; strictly implement poverty exit to solve the problem of "how to exit"; and establish a long-term mechanism to prevent relapse into poverty to solve the problem of "how to stabilize." The strategy of targeted poverty alleviation embodies our Party's scientific attitude of adhering to everything from reality and following the laws of development, not only runs through the entire process of poverty alleviation, but also becomes an effective measure to consolidate and expand the achievements of poverty alleviation, achieve stable income increase for the impoverished population, and sustainable development in poverty-stricken areas, injecting lasting impetus into promoting the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside.

At the value dimension, forge the great spirit of poverty alleviation. Marxism believes that the dynamic role of the spirit is an important characteristic that distinguishes human beings from animals. Human activities are conscious and purposeful, manifested in the ability of human beings to understand the world through their own consciousness and thinking, and to transform the world through practical activities. The spirit of poverty alleviation formed in the great practice of poverty alleviation, which is "unity of purpose from top to bottom, all-out efforts, precision and pragmatism, pioneering and innovation, overcoming difficulties, and living up to the people," has become the "spiritual power engine" for promoting the theory of poverty alleviation with Chinese characteristics to take root in practice, enriching and developing the spiritual pedigree of Chinese Communists. "Unity of purpose from top to bottom" has gathered the mighty power of the people of all ethnic groups throughout the Party and the country, "all-out efforts" embodies the institutional advantages of concentrating efforts to accomplish great things, "precision and pragmatism" demonstrates the pragmatic work style of seeking truth from facts, "pioneering and innovation" demonstrates the reform spirit of keeping pace with the times, "overcoming difficulties" interprets the fighting character of not being afraid of sacrifice, and "living up to the people" engraves the value pursuit of governing for the people. The spirit of poverty alleviation embodies the unity and struggle and the responsibility and action of the people of all ethnic groups throughout the Party and the country in the practice of poverty alleviation, not only providing a strong spiritual impetus for poverty alleviation, but also providing valuable spiritual wealth for consolidating and expanding the achievements of poverty alleviation, promoting the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside, and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, inspiring the Chinese people to continue to strive to create a better future.

At the practical dimension, explore new solutions and paths for human poverty reduction. Eliminating poverty is a common goal of all countries in the world, and it is also a common aspiration of the vast number of developing countries. Faced with the problem of poverty, no country can be immune, and only through cooperation, working together, and helping each other can all countries in the world eliminate global poverty at an early date. The theory of poverty alleviation with Chinese characteristics is a valuable experience formed in China's poverty reduction practice, which expands the ideas of human poverty alleviation and explores new paths for human poverty reduction; the path of poverty reduction with Chinese characteristics is a successful path created by the Chinese people under the leadership of the Party through long-term arduous exploration. China can succeed, and other developing countries can also succeed. China's successful practice and valuable experience in eliminating absolute poverty have deepened the understanding of the laws of human poverty reduction, enriched and developed the theory of human poverty alleviation, injected strong confidence into other countries, especially the vast number of developing countries, to eliminate absolute poverty, provided reference and reference for other countries to choose their own poverty reduction and development paths, and provided Chinese solutions for solving the problems of modern national governance and opening up a brighter prospect for the development of human society.

Adhere to and Continuously Develop the Theory of Poverty Alleviation with Chinese Characteristics for a Long Time, and Lay a Solid Foundation for Basically Realizing Socialist Modernization
To adhere to and continuously develop the anti-poverty theory with Chinese characteristics to consolidate the foundation for basically realizing socialist modernization.

The "15th Five-Year Plan" period is a crucial period for consolidating the foundation and fully exerting efforts to basically realize socialist modernization. It is also the first five years after the transition period of effectively connecting the achievements of poverty alleviation with rural revitalization. It is of great significance for testing the effectiveness of poverty alleviation and promoting the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside. The "Suggestions" of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) proposed that "the modernization of agriculture and rural areas is related to the overall situation and quality of Chinese-style modernization" and made important deployments for "accelerating the modernization of agriculture and rural areas and solidly promoting the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside," proposing to "establish a normalized mechanism to prevent returning to poverty." The Central Economic Work Conference held in December 2025 proposed: "Continue to consolidate and expand the achievements of poverty alleviation, incorporate normalized assistance into the overall implementation of the rural revitalization strategy, and firmly hold the bottom line of preventing large-scale return to poverty." To implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, we must focus on the overall situation of Chinese-style modernization, adhere to and continuously develop the anti-poverty theory with Chinese characteristics for a long time, establish a normalized mechanism to prevent returning to poverty, ensure that large-scale return to poverty does not occur, and continuously consolidate the foundation for basically realizing socialist modernization.

Promote the transition from "concentrated tackling" to "normalized consolidation." General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) pointed out: "After winning the victory in poverty alleviation, we must comprehensively promote rural revitalization. This is a historic shift in the focus of 'agriculture, rural areas, and farmers' work." "Deeply implement the rural revitalization strategy, increase support for key national rural revitalization assistance counties, and establish a normalized assistance mechanism for low-income people and underdeveloped areas." Social development is a unity of continuity and stages. The historic shift in the focus of "agriculture, rural areas, and farmers" work requires us to accelerate the modernization of agriculture and rural areas and solidly promote the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside while continuing to consolidate and expand the achievements of poverty alleviation. To this end, we must adhere to the principle of "major stability, minor adjustments," maintaining the overall stability of the existing assistance policy system and work system, while also optimizing and improving supporting policies in a targeted manner based on item-by-item demonstration and evaluation, according to the changes in the assistance situation and tasks after the transition period and the outstanding problems existing in actual operation. Focusing on improving the scientific, accurate, and effective nature of monitoring and reducing the burden on the grassroots, we will establish and improve a unified, standardized, accurate identification, and dynamic entry and exit normalized monitoring system to prevent returning to poverty. Promote the convergence and integration of policies to prevent returning to poverty and policies for normalized assistance to rural low-income people, include all eligible individuals in the scope of normalized assistance, and build a normalized assistance system that can both ensure the bottom line and promote development, making the foundation of poverty alleviation more solid and the results more sustainable.

Promote the transition from "treating existing poverty" to "preventing returning to poverty." General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) pointed out: "Improve the monitoring and assistance mechanism to prevent returning to poverty and prevent large-scale return to poverty." Looking at international anti-poverty practices, most focus on post-event governance of poverty, which is a passive response. Preventing large-scale return to poverty is the bottom-line task for promoting the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside, requiring the focus of poverty governance to be shifted forward, which is an active prevention method. Currently, the work of holding the bottom line of preventing large-scale return to poverty is still arduous. Establishing a normalized mechanism to prevent returning to poverty after the transition period is precisely to discover and intervene in a timely manner, eliminating the risk of returning to poverty in the bud. This fully reflects the shift in poverty governance from "treating existing poverty" to "preventing returning to poverty" and from "passive rescue" to "active prevention." To this end, on the basis of improving the dynamic monitoring mechanism, we must focus on the bottom-line requirements such as "two no worries and three guarantees" and drinking water safety, comprehensively consider the per capita disposable income of rural residents, the household property status of farmers, and rigid expenditures, adapt to economic and social development and changes in living costs, and reasonably determine the identification standards for monitoring objects to prevent returning to poverty; implement hierarchical and gradient assistance according to the actual difficulties of the assisted objects, and promote the realization of a closed-loop prevention mechanism of "monitoring-verification-assistance-elimination-tracking" to ensure the initiative and foresight of preventing returning to poverty.

Promote the transition from "guaranteeing the basics" to "promoting development." General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) pointed out: "Consolidate and expand the achievements of poverty alleviation and enhance the endogenous development动力 (dònglì - "driving force," inherent power to develop) of poverty-stricken areas and people who have been lifted out of poverty." Chinese-style modernization is the modernization of common prosperity for all the people. Allowing all the people to share the fruits of modernization, the key and difficulty still lie in the rural low-income population. It should be seen that many rural low-income people still lack the ability and conditions for self-development, and in the post-transition period and even for a longer period in the future, they still cannot do without necessary support from the state. To this end, we must improve the institutional arrangements for rural low-income people and underdeveloped areas to keep up with the pace of modernization. For low-income people without the ability to work, we can ensure the bottom line through comprehensive social security measures, strengthen the bottom line of minimum living security, and improve social assistance measures to ensure basic living without worry; for low-income people with the ability to work, we can increase the intensity of development-oriented assistance on the basis of ensuring basic living, and help them create a better life with their own hard work by supporting the development of characteristic industries, carrying out skills training, and organizing transfer employment; for the specific constraints encountered by underdeveloped areas in development, take targeted assistance measures to help them improve development conditions and create a better development environment. At the same time, combined with the requirements of comprehensive rural revitalization and development, grasp regional development differences, make up for the shortcomings of basic public services, develop and strengthen characteristic industries, promote the efficient matching of assistance resources and the development needs of underdeveloped areas, enhance the endogenous development动力 (dònglì - "driving force," inherent power to develop) of underdeveloped areas, and consolidate the foundation for solidly promoting comprehensive rural revitalization.

(The author is a researcher at the Beijing (北京市) Research Center for Xi Jinping (习近平) Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.)

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Continuously Enhance the Grassroots Party Organizations' Ability to Organize the Masses (In-depth Thinking)

By: 侯喜保

The "Suggestions" from the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee proposed: "Coordinate the advancement of grassroots Party organization construction in various fields, enhance the political and organizational functions of Party organizations, and give play to the exemplary role of Party members." General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) emphasized: "The people possess rich wisdom and unlimited creativity. We must organize, mobilize, and unite the broad masses at the grassroots level, and fully stimulate their enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity." Grassroots Party organizations are the "last mile" for implementing the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee. Enhancing the organizational capacity of grassroots Party organizations among the masses is related to the Party's foundation for governance and the effectiveness of its work among the masses, providing important support for promoting the modernization of the national governance system and governance capabilities.

Strengthen education and guidance to consolidate the ideological foundation for common struggle. For grassroots Party organizations to effectively exert their function of organizing the masses, they must first strengthen ideological and political education and consolidate the common ideological foundation for the unity and struggle of the broad masses. Historically, our Party, through running workers' night schools, women's literacy classes, and other forms, fully utilized the important role of grassroots Party organizations in serving and organizing the masses, accumulating rich and valuable experience in mass work. Entering the new era, our Party has profoundly grasped the characteristics and laws of mass work under the new situation, integrating the education and guidance of the masses into the entire process and all aspects of grassroots governance. In the vivid practice of doing practical things, optimizing services, and promoting culture, the organizational capacity of grassroots Party organizations among the masses is continuously improved. For example, by using the "Fengqiao Experience" in the new era, adhering to and implementing the Party's mass line, and insisting on relying on the masses under the leadership of the Party to resolve conflicts locally, a large number of vivid practices in grassroots governance such as "bench courts," "small courtyard deliberation halls," and "courtyard discussion meetings" have emerged, demonstrating the main role of the people in promoting the modernization of grassroots governance. Datian County (大田县) in Sanming City (三明市), Fujian Province (福建省), promotes the downward shift of the focus of grassroots governance, the sinking of forces, and the inclination of services by connecting to the network to understand public sentiment, jointly using positions to solve people's worries, and jointly building mechanisms to benefit the people. This allows grassroots Party organizations to better solve problems and do practical things for the masses, practicing the people-centered development thought in a visible, tangible, and warm way. By enhancing the satisfaction and trust of the broad masses, the organizational capacity of grassroots Party organizations among the masses is improved. Zhejiang Province (浙江省) uses the experience of the "Thousand Villages Demonstration, Ten Thousand Villages Renovation" project to focus on building rural cultural auditoriums, organically integrating the Party's policy publicity, the practice of civilization in the new era, and the inheritance of local culture. In a subtle way, this promotes the Party's innovative theories of the new era to be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, continuously enhancing the sense of ownership of the masses, promoting everyone to discuss matters together, and gathering a strong joint force for all parties to actively participate in social governance.

Strengthen Party building leadership to enhance the ability to connect with and serve the masses. Since the new era, the broad masses of grassroots Party organizations have fully played their role as fighting fortresses, and their political and organizational functions have continued to strengthen, forming a good situation in which Party building leads to the improvement of grassroots governance effectiveness. At the same time, with economic and social development, profound changes are taking place in the social structure, and social concepts, social psychology, social behavior, and interest demands are becoming more diverse. It is necessary to continuously enhance the organizational capacity of grassroots Party organizations among the masses to better organize and mobilize the masses and gather a strong joint force of unity and striving. In recent years, Party committees and governments at all levels have continuously increased their investment in the construction of grassroots organizations, and the working environment and hardware facilities of village (community) Party organizations have been continuously improved. Platforms and carriers such as the "one-stop" digital government service pilot, the New Era Civilization Practice Center (Station), as well as innovative mechanisms such as "dual reporting" of on-the-job Party members, "civil sentiment tea houses," and "online deliberation halls," have further strengthened the function of grassroots Party organizations to connect with and serve the masses. At the same time, the organizational functions of some individual grassroots Party organizations need to be further improved, and there are still problems of "cadres doing the work while the masses watch" to varying degrees. For example, some grassroots Party organizations have failed to effectively embed themselves in grassroots social organizations, and the participation of the masses in public affairs in some places is not high enough. Some grassroots Party organizations spend too much effort on paperwork, piling up thick reports and stretching out long transcripts, but they do not pay enough attention to the urgent needs and expectations of the masses, and the solutions are not timely or solid enough. There is still a certain temperature difference and gap between the work of the masses and the demands of the masses. To enhance the organizational function of grassroots Party organizations to connect with and serve the masses, the key is to vigorously promote Party building to lead grassroots governance, make great efforts to rectify weak and lax grassroots Party organizations, and effectively improve the ability of grassroots Party organizations to lead and promote grassroots governance, acting both as executors of the Party's policies and as defenders of the interests of the masses. In terms of extending organizational tentacles, promote the deep embedding of grassroots Party organizations in village-level collective economic organizations, professional cooperatives, etc., give full play to the role of "four discussions and two public announcements," and guide the masses to fully participate in grassroots governance. In terms of tasks and responsibilities, fully implement the list of matters for grassroots Party organizations to perform their duties, effectively rectify formalism to reduce the burden on the grassroots, and allow grassroots Party organizations to better do practical things and solve problems for the masses.

Strengthen technological empowerment and innovate organizational mobilization methods. General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) emphasized: "We must be good at using Internet technology and information technology to carry out Party building work, and strive to achieve full online and offline coverage of Party organizations and Party work." With the rapid development of technologies such as the Internet, big data, and artificial intelligence, the lifestyles and information acquisition methods of the people are undergoing profound changes, and many people are accustomed to obtaining information and communicating through social media platforms. The key to organizing the masses to actively participate in grassroots governance lies in combining the characteristics of the times and making good use of new technologies and new methods to empower the mass work of grassroots Party organizations. On the one hand, innovate organizational methods, explore the creation of a "smart hub" integrating Party affairs, government affairs, and services, use big data to draw a "civil sentiment portrait," accurately perceive the needs of the masses, and strive to achieve "immediate reporting" of demands, "finger-tip handling" of services, and "optimal allocation" of resources, effectively expanding the coverage and effectiveness of grassroots Party organizations in serving the masses. On the other hand, deepen the "Party building +" governance mechanism, actively guide new employment groups to fully participate in "micro-governance," promote non-office Party members to set up posts and define responsibilities, improve the volunteer service system, etc., deeply embed multiple subjects into the grassroots governance network, and create a social governance pattern of co-construction, co-governance, and sharing.

(The author is a special researcher at the Hunan Provincial Contemporary China Marxism Research Center (湖南省当代中国马克思主义研究中心).)

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Highway Traffic Police Investigate Criminal Cases Throughout the Entire Process (Building a Higher Level of Safe China)

By: 本报记者 张腾扬

On highways, a driver can traverse several counties and cities with a single "step on the gas." Due to the closed nature of highways and the fast flow of traffic, vehicles operate across regions. Dealing with illegal activities such as long-distance driving in the wrong direction and severe overloading often faces challenges such as limited jurisdiction, delayed handling, and loss of evidence, posing significant public safety risks.

In the past, highway traffic police mainly dealt with traffic violations and accidents, only handling criminal cases in the early stages, with subsequent transfers to the criminal investigation departments of local public security organs. In 2024, the reform of national provincial-level public security agencies was launched, and the Traffic Management Corps of the Hebei Provincial Public Security Department (河北省公安厅交通管理总队) was officially granted the power of public security prevention and control and criminal case investigation as one of the first pilot units.

From "specialized traffic management" to "concurrent handling of criminal cases," this is not only a change in the boundaries of responsibilities but also a comprehensive upgrade of law enforcement concepts, case-handling capabilities, and policing models. How to solve the problem of functional transformation? How is "full-process investigation" specifically achieved?

Breaking through traditional ideas to investigate and handle overloading cases, the violation rate of similar cases in the jurisdiction decreased by 43%

"As the first batch of pilots in the country, highway traffic police independently handle public security and criminal investigation cases, and the lack of operating norms is the biggest challenge," said Yang Xingfeng (杨兴锋), Political Commissar of the Highway Traffic Police Detachment of the Traffic Management Corps of the Hebei Provincial Public Security Department (河北省公安厅交通管理总队). To this end, Xu Junfu (许俊富), head of the Criminal Investigation and Public Security Brigade of the Highway Traffic Police Detachment of the Traffic Management Corps of the Hebei Provincial Public Security Department, led the team to sort out 12 types of common criminal cases and 86 case-handling procedures, and took the lead in drafting normative documents for highway criminal investigation work, filling the institutional gap.

At the Shijiazhuang (石家庄) entrance of the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Expressway (京港澳高速), two semi-trailer trucks carrying steel pipes ignored the barriers of the toll station and forcibly broke through the card and entered the expressway. Weighing over the pump showed that the two vehicles exceeded the approved load quality by 150%, and the total weight of the vehicle and goods exceeded 100 tons. Such "hundred-ton kings" are listed as "major accident hazards" by the Ministry of Transport: the destructive power of a single hundred-ton truck on the road surface is equivalent to 60,000 standard-load trucks passing, which will directly roll out ruts on some road surfaces or collapse the roadbed bridges. Because its emergency braking distance is more than twice that of normal trucks, it is extremely easy to cause malignant accidents.

The investigation was launched immediately, and at 284 kilometers of the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Expressway, two "hundred-ton kings" were successfully intercepted. "In the past, such behaviors mostly stopped at fines, and the amount of a single fine was far lower than the illegal income." At the case analysis meeting, Xu Junfu strongly advocated breaking through the traditional model and pursuing the criminal responsibility of the legal representative of the enterprise in accordance with the law. However, the procuratorial organ made three supplementary investigation suggestions and believed that over-limit transportation was an administrative violation and there was no precedent for criminal prosecution.

Faced with the problem, Xu Junfu led the team to tackle key problems and build a complete evidence closed loop. He successively went to transportation, road administration, quality inspection and other departments to collect the freight ledgers of the logistics company involved for three years and 132 weighing records, and found that 17 vehicles had been overloaded for a long time - the overloading range of these trucks in a single trip generally exceeded 150%, and the highest reached 200%.

The brigade then organized five argumentation meetings with procuratorial organs, legal experts, and engineers to discuss the case and legal provisions. Finally, the procuratorial organ recognized that criminal responsibility should be pursued for the relevant personnel for the crime of dangerous operation. Subsequently, Wang (王), the legal representative of the enterprise, was taken criminal coercive measures for suspected crime of dangerous operation. After the judgment of the case, the violation rate of similar cases in the jurisdiction decreased by 43%.

According to reports, since 2025, Hebei (河北) highway traffic police have filed 569 criminal cases involving 23 crimes such as robbery, theft, fraud, dangerous operation, endangering public safety, and dangerous driving, arrested 422 criminal suspects, transferred 248 people to the procuratorate for prosecution, seized 178 illegal vehicles, and recovered 8.3524 million yuan in stolen highway tolls.

"Criminal Investigation - Traffic Management" apprenticeship, improve the case-handling ability of traffic police

"Before the reform, our main business was accident handling and traffic guidance, and all criminal cases were transferred to the local public security." Xu Junfu admitted frankly that his criminal investigation and public security brigade core team only had 4 people, but they needed to guide more than 10 traffic police brigades and about 30 full-time case-handling police officers in the entire detachment in criminal investigation business, "For standardized interrogation and other work, experience is very important. Generally speaking, the first interrogation is related to the overall situation, and if the question is asked well, the case will be like a hot knife through butter; if the question is smashed, the other party will build a psychological defense line, and the follow-up will be more passive."

The Hebei Provincial Public Security Department promoted the "Criminal Investigation - Traffic Management" apprenticeship program, inviting 23 senior criminal police officers to serve as practical instructors and organizing 32 training sessions on criminal technology, legal application, and other topics. The traffic management department, together with criminal investigation, legal system, and procuratorial organ experts from local public security organs, carried out "door-to-door teaching," and continuously improved professional quality through case analysis and trial observation.

"Training is by no means just lip service, but real participation in police dispatch, squatting, interrogation, and whole volume." Lu Xuming (吕旭明), a highway traffic police officer who participated in the training, recalled, "Starting from public security cases in the police station, how to appease the parties, how to standardize evidence collection; learning on-site protection, DNA evidence chain construction, and docking with the procuratorate in the criminal police team, everything is knowledge."

After four or five months of study, all full-time case-handling police officers obtained criminal technology qualification certificates, realizing "everyone can investigate and everyone can handle cases."

Leveraging big data to achieve precise strikes and judicial connection in parallel

In the road network with a daily traffic flow of 500,000 vehicles, an ordinary truck disguised is illegally transporting 900 boxes of fireworks and firecrackers, driving on the highway. Xu Junfu accurately locked the target with the help of the big data early warning system. When he was intercepted, the truck driver Liu (刘) was full of astonishment.

"Traditional inspection is like looking for a needle in a haystack, and we must innovate tactics." Xu Junfu led the team to develop the "Police Leap + Thousand Hands" AI early warning system. The system deeply learns 3 years of highway traffic data, extracts 8 illegal feature models such as night driving, detour service areas, and abnormal load fluctuations, and the multi-dimensional research and judgment ability can trace the vehicle's origin, analyze driving time periods, and research and judge abnormal behaviors at inspection points. In response to the toll evasion problem that has long plagued highway management, the team also built a "Highway Toll Evasion Big Data Analysis Platform," which monitors abnormal data 24 hours a day and jointly defines differentiated case filing standards with the procuratorial and legal departments to achieve precise strikes and judicial connection in parallel.

From a single traffic management to a three-in-one modern policing model of "public security prevention and control + criminal crackdown + smart empowerment," Hebei highway traffic police have accumulated criminal investigation experience in practice, helping to improve the level of public safety governance in the region. "Faced with the increasingly complex highway traffic environment and the high incidence of traffic-related violations and crimes, highway traffic police will further fulfill the sacred duty of maintaining the safety and smoothness of highways and safeguarding the happiness and tranquility of the people," said Yang Xingfeng.

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Over 16,000 Public Interest Litigation Cases Filed and Handled in 10 Years

This newspaper Beijing (北京) January 22nd (Reporter Wang Zhou (王洲)) In 2015, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (全国人大常委会) made a decision authorizing 13 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities to carry out pilot projects for public interest litigation by procuratorates, and Beijing (北京) was the only municipality directly under the Central Government among them. Recently, the reporter learned from the Beijing Municipal People's Procuratorate (北京市人民检察院) that since the pilot project of public interest litigation by procuratorates, the Beijing (北京) procuratorial organs have filed and handled a total of 16,286 public interest litigation cases, put forward 4,856 procuratorial suggestions for administrative public interest litigation, filed 205 public interest litigations in accordance with the law, and supported administrative organs in carrying out ecological environment damage compensation work as claimants in 400 cases.

Over the past 10 years, through handling public interest litigation cases, the Beijing (北京) procuratorial organs have supervised the clearing of more than 2 million tons of domestic waste and construction waste, supervised the shutdown and rectification of 122 polluting enterprises, promoted the demolition of 87,000 square meters of illegal construction, supervised the recovery of more than 1.54 billion yuan of state-owned property losses such as various taxes and fees and state-owned land transfer fees, supervised the recovery of 137.6 mu of illegally occupied urban state-owned land, supervised the restoration or repair of 456 mu of cultivated land, supervised the removal of illegally piled domestic waste occupying 307 mu, confiscated the area of above-ground buildings of more than 20,000 square meters, and recovered more than 450 million yuan of ecological damage compensation from polluting enterprises and individuals.

Qi Zhiguo (祁治国), Deputy Procurator-General of the Beijing Municipal People's Procuratorate (北京市人民检察院), said that they will further standardize the conditions and procedures for the issuance of procuratorial opinions and earnestly safeguard the judicial authority of public interest litigation.

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Shanxi Implements Full Video Surveillance of High-Risk Operations

According to reports from the Shanxi Bureau of the National Mine Safety Administration (国家矿山安监局山西局), Shanxi (山西) continues to promote the construction of "no operation without monitoring" and "electronic fences" to improve the intrinsic safety level of coal mines. As of now, a total of 96,000 video surveillance cameras have been installed in coal mines, with 16,700 locations achieving intelligent AI recognition video surveillance, and 24,000 "electronic fences" have been installed in dangerous areas such as underground tunneling faces.

In order to effectively prevent violations of command, violations of operation, and violations of labor discipline in coal mine field operations, Shanxi (山西) requires all coal mines in the province to add and improve video surveillance in important workplaces to achieve full-process video monitoring of high-risk operations, construct a production environment where work behaviors are supervised and work sites are visualized, promote coal mine employees to "work in standard positions and do standard work," and minimize the occurrence of accidents to the greatest extent.

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Residents have needs, co-construction units handle them online.

By: 本报记者 丁志军

"Washing winter coats used to be a hassle, sometimes requiring a long trip to the dry cleaner. Now, the community's 'Love Laundry' not only offers free washing but also provides door-to-door pickup and delivery, which is very convenient." Grandpa Wang, a resident of Jiajiawan Community in Lantian Street, Jungar Banner (准格尔旗), Ordos (鄂尔多斯), Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (内蒙古自治区), said with a joyful face as he held up his clean and fluffy down jacket.

To solve problems such as inaccurate demand matching and fragmented service resources in urban grassroots governance, Jungar Banner (准格尔旗) launched the Party-building-led "Red Venture Capital" project in the first half of 2025, building a grassroots governance model of "Party organizations building the stage, multiple entities participating," allowing various resources to accurately meet the needs of the people. Relying on the "Red e-Line" platform built by the Organization Department of the Jungar Banner (准格尔旗) Party Committee, each community sorted out a list of the people's needs projects, which were then claimed and implemented by relevant co-construction units through "online ordering." In Jiajiawan Community, the Jungar Banner (准格尔旗) Energy Bureau immediately claimed the problem of inconvenient laundry for the elderly in the community, raising 300,000 yuan in social resources to help build and operate the Love Laundry.

Sunshine Community (阳光社区) is a demonstration site for the early implementation of the "Red Venture Capital" project. The community has thousands of residents, most of whom are employees of nearby units, and the problem of "difficulty in taking care of children during holidays" for dual-income families is very prominent. In May of last year, the "Love Daycare Class" of the "Red Venture Capital" project was launched, and many college student volunteers were invited to open interest classes such as calligraphy, painting, and handicrafts, which were welcomed by dual-income families. At the same time, the community also introduced the "Meteorological Wonder House" led by the Meteorological Bureau, setting up dozens of popular science games such as lightning protection, human body power generation, and space meteorology, which were popular among children.

"Red Venture Capital" gives full play to the synergy of governance and improves the level of community governance: Guanghe Community (广和社区) innovated the "Community + Property Management" joint Party branch, implementing dual-appointment, with property management investing 50,000 yuan to improve facilities, and the number of 12345 hotline community complaints decreased from more than 500 per year to more than 30; Sunshine Community (阳光社区) absorbed property management party member backbones to participate in property management, solving problems such as street vending and difficulty in parking...

"The urgent needs and concerns of the people are the focus of our work. The Party-building-led 'Red Venture Capital' project accurately meets the needs of residents, making the community truly a 'warm harbor' for residents." Hu Jun (胡军), Deputy Minister of the Organization Department of the Jungar Banner (准格尔旗) Party Committee and Secretary of the Working Committee of the Organs, introduced that the project has raised a total of 7.86 million yuan, benefiting 250,000 people.

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Photo Report

In recent years, Xishui County (浠水县) of Huanggang City (黄冈市), Hubei Province (湖北省), has practiced the concept of green development, safeguarding clear waters and blue skies by carrying out measures such as returning fishing areas to lakes. The picture shows the Ce Lake National Wetland Park (策湖国家湿地公园) in Xishui County (浠水县), where Party member volunteers are cleaning up floating debris on the lake.

Wang Jiang (王江) Photo (Image China (影像中国))

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Hunan Launches Special Campaign for Party and Government Organs to Practice Thrift and Combat Waste

This newspaper Changsha (长沙) January 22nd (Reporter Yang Xun (杨迅)) The Hunan Province (湖南省) government office affairs work conference was held in Changsha (长沙) on the 20th. At the meeting, the Hunan Provincial Government Office Affairs Administration (湖南省机关事务管理局) released the "Special Action Plan for Party and Government Organs to Practice Economy and Oppose Waste," deploying a one-year special action in party and government organs throughout the province to promote the habit of living frugally in party and government organs.

The action plan focuses on key areas such as state-owned assets, office space, official reception, official vehicle management, and energy conservation and carbon reduction in public institutions, to promote the improvement of resource conservation and intensive utilization. This includes promoting pilot reforms such as the unified electronic official letter for official reception in Hunan Province (湖南省), time-sharing leasing of new energy vehicles, and energy cost trusteeship services for public institutions; carrying out special offensives such as revitalizing and utilizing inefficient and idle state-owned assets, cleaning up office space and existing public housing, and rectifying official vehicle management; and implementing key projects such as the construction of distributed photovoltaic power generation in public institutions, the layout of charging infrastructure, and the green transformation of existing buildings.

It is reported that in 2025, the Hunan Province (湖南省) government office affairs system revitalized idle state-owned assets worth 12 billion yuan, and the province's "Internet + Supervision" system's official vehicle and official reception management information platform achieved full coverage of 21,560 party and government organs, and the cumulative reduction of fiscal expenditure through the circular utilization of assets in the province's public property warehouse exceeded 800 million yuan, and the operating expenses of government offices have decreased for five consecutive years.

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Guangxi Implements Market Regulation Credit Exemption System

According to a report from our Nanning (南宁) office on January 22nd (Zhang Yunhe (张云河), Ning Zuotian (宁佐添)), the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (广西壮族自治区) Market Supervision Bureau (市场监管局) announced that Guangxi (广西) has formally introduced the "Guangxi Market Supervision Field Credit Exemption Management System (Trial Implementation)" (《广西市场监管领域信用豁免管理制度（试行）》). By implementing credit exemptions for minor dishonest behaviors of business entities, the system promotes credit supervision to extend from "post-event repair" to "pre-event prevention and in-event inclusion," reducing the burden on business entities with more empathetic law enforcement measures and continuously optimizing the business environment.

Credit exemption refers to the exemption of penalties for minor dishonest behaviors of business entities, such as exemption from "problem discovery" in "double random" regulatory inspections, exemption from administrative penalty publicity, and exemption from inclusion in the list of abnormal names.

Compared to the traditional "first violation without penalty" or credit repair, credit exemption emphasizes "pre-event inclusion" and "process correction," providing a buffer period for minor dishonest behaviors of business entities, guiding enterprises to actively comply with regulations, and reducing the long-term impact of minor faults on enterprise credit.

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This edition's editors: Su Xianlong, Zhao Xiaoxi, Chi Jiarui

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Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway: Connecting Two Cities, Driving Development

The Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway Opens for Five Years, Serving 210 Million Passengers
The Total Mileage of High-Speed Railways in Northeast China Exceeds 5,000 Kilometers

(People's Daily, Beijing, January 22nd) (Reporter Li Xinping (李心萍)) The reporter learned from China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. that January 22nd marked the 5th anniversary of the full operation of the Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway. Over the past 5 years, the Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway has transported a total of 210 million passengers, including over 63 million passengers traveling from the Beijing area to the northeast, and 39.36 million passengers traveling from Harbin (哈尔滨) to Beijing (北京).

The Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway connects Beijing (北京), Hebei (河北), Liaoning (辽宁), Jilin (吉林), and Heilongjiang (黑龙江), with a total length of 1,198 kilometers. It is an important component of the "eight vertical and eight horizontal" high-speed railway network in China, specifically the Beijing-Harbin—Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau corridor. On January 22, 2021, with the opening of the Beijing-Chengde section of the Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway, the entire Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway was fully connected.

The three generations of the Beijing-Harbin line demonstrate the charm of high-speed rail and the progress of the times.

The first generation of the Beijing-Harbin line was the Beijing-Fengtian Railway plus the southern branch of the Chinese Eastern Railway.

The second generation of the Beijing-Harbin line was the Beijing-Harbin Railway.

In October 2003, the Qinhuangdao-Shenyang Passenger Dedicated Line, with a total length of 404 kilometers and a maximum design speed of 200 kilometers per hour, was put into operation. The Beijing-Harbin Railway started from Beijing Station (北京站), went east along the Beijing-Qinhuangdao line to Qinhuangdao (秦皇岛), then reached Shenyang (沈阳) along the Qinhuangdao-Shenyang Passenger Dedicated Line, and finally reached Harbin (哈尔滨).

The third generation of the Beijing-Harbin line is the Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway.

From July 1, 2025, the Beijing-Shenyang section of the Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway will operate at a high standard of 350 kilometers per hour, forming a "2-3 hour" transportation circle with the Beijing-Harbin line as the backbone. The shortest departure interval between trains between Beijing and Harbin is only 5 minutes, and the fastest travel time from Beijing to Shenyang and Harbin is shortened to 2 hours and 29 minutes and 4 hours and 33 minutes, respectively, realizing same-day round trips between major cities along the route.

The Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway is promoting the development of cities along the route.

In the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Chengde City (承德市) has seen an explosion of passenger traffic due to the "half-hour tourism circle," and the Jinshanling Great Wall (金山岭长城) has become a popular weekend getaway for residents of Beijing, Tianjin (天津), and Hebei (河北).

In Northeast China, high-speed rail has become the main transportation force for the "ice and snow economy." On New Year's Day in 2026, Harbin (哈尔滨) received a total of 1.405 million tourists, including 591,000 tourists from outside the province. The number of out-of-province passengers arriving in Harbin by train reached 126,000, accounting for 21%.

The Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway is injecting a continuous stream of vitality into the development of various cities in Northeast China.

Before the opening of the Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway, there was a lack of direct connections between the Northeast high-speed rail network and the national trunk network. The opening of the Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway has broken through the key bottleneck for the Northeast to integrate into the national economic cycle. Relying on the Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway, cities such as Qiqihar (齐齐哈尔), Daqing (大庆), Tieling (铁岭), and Fuxin (阜新) are accelerating their integration into the national high-speed rail network.

Taking Qiqihar (齐齐哈尔) as an example, the average daily passenger flow at Qiqihar South Station (齐齐哈尔南站) has jumped from just over 10,000 in 2020 to 17,000 in 2025, driving the surrounding permanent population from 20,000 to over 100,000. High-quality barbecue fresh ingredients from Qiqihar are transported to Harbin (哈尔滨) via high-speed rail express, and then transshipped to all parts of the country. From a local "small store" to a national "big market," as of the end of 2024, there were 24,000 Qiqihar barbecue stores nationwide, accounting for about 12% of domestic barbecue stores.

As of now, the total mileage of high-speed railways in Northeast China has exceeded 5,000 kilometers. Relying on the high-speed rail network, the railway department has launched high-speed rail tourism ticket products, covering 14 major stations in the three provinces of Liaoning (辽宁), Jilin (吉林), and Heilongjiang (黑龙江), connecting popular attractions such as Changbai Mountain (长白山) and Snow Town (雪乡), promising "full refund if not used within 30 days, valid for 15 days after the first ride, and free ticket changes and refunds," and offering hundred-yuan-level ticket purchase discounts. The cumulative sales volume has exceeded 30,000 tickets.

Connecting Dreams and Careers, Hometowns and Distant Places

People's Daily Reporter Li Xinping (李心萍)

Li Guangze (李光泽) is a freshman at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (中国科学院大学) and a native of Harbin (哈尔滨).

"Going to Beijing (北京) was my childhood dream," said Li Guangze (李光泽). In 2016, when he was still in elementary school, Li Guangze (李光泽) silently wrote down his wish list: to watch the flag-raising ceremony in Tiananmen Square (天安门广场), to feel the charm of the Forbidden City in the Palace Museum (故宫), and to visit the National Museum of China (国家博物馆), the China Science and Technology Museum (中国科学技术馆), and the Beijing Planetarium (北京天文馆)...

Every holiday, Li Guangze (李光泽) hoped to go to Beijing (北京). However, air tickets were expensive. If he took the train, the bullet train would take a whole day, and the Z-series train would take a whole night to reach Beijing (北京). In January 2021, the Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway opened. In 2025, Li Guangze (李光泽) was admitted to the undergraduate-master-doctoral program of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (中国科学院大学) and went to the capital to study. His childhood dream came true, and the distance between Beijing (北京) and home was no longer far away. "After the Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway was upgraded, it only takes a little over 4 hours to take the high-speed train from Harbin (哈尔滨) to Beijing (北京), and I can go home on weekends," said Li Guangze (李光泽).

The Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway has shortened the distance between Li Guangze's (李光泽) school and home. For Ms. Qiao (乔女士), the convenience of high-speed rail is even more deeply rooted in her daily life.

As an employee of the Harbin branch of a Beijing (北京) Internet company, Ms. Qiao (乔女士) has to report to the Beijing headquarters at least twice a month. Before the opening of the Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway, she mostly chose to fly back and forth. Although the flight time was only 2 hours, it took nearly 8 hours for a one-way trip, including the time from the city to the airport, waiting for the flight, and airport transfers. After the opening of the Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway, Ms. Qiao (乔女士) switched from "flight mode" to high-speed rail commuting.

The train she most often takes is the G902. It departs from Harbin West Station (哈尔滨西站) at 8:34 a.m. She eats breakfast on the train while sorting out plans and preparing meeting presentation materials. Five hours later, the train arrives in Beijing (北京) on time, and she takes the subway directly to the headquarters. "Time is money," said Ms. Qiao (乔女士). In her opinion, the efficient operation of personnel, information, and logistics will bring a substantial increase in economic benefits. The company's business in Harbin (哈尔滨) has gradually expanded, and she has also become the head of the Harbin branch.

The Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway is connecting the dreams and careers, hometowns and distant places of more ordinary people.

■ Extended Reading

Why is this High-Speed Railway in Northeast China Not Afraid of Snow or Cold?

Every winter, trains run on the snow-covered plains. Why is the Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway not afraid of snow or cold?

High-altitude cold-resistant trains are equipped with "super anti-freeze" black technology.

Taking the latest cold-resistant version of the Fuxing (复兴号) intelligent EMU as an example, its body is made of special cold-resistant materials, just like putting on a "down jacket" for the train; the connections between doors, windows, and the car body are made of special elastic rubber strips, just like putting on a "windproof mask" for the train, firmly isolating the cold air; the main components of each system inside the train have also been modified to be cold-resistant, and all mechanical transmission parts use low-temperature-resistant lubricating oil and grease, and even the specially made wheels can be used normally in temperatures of minus 40 degrees Celsius.

The maintenance of EMUs also has ice-breaking "artifacts."

Flying in the snow, a large amount of ice and snow will inevitably roll into the bottom of the train, affecting the safety of train operation. To this end, the railway department has installed a dynamic image detection system for EMU operation faults next to the track. Through high-speed cameras and image recognition technology, it automatically analyzes the snow and ice conditions at the bottom of the car and starts the graded disposal plan for ice melting and snow removal in a timely manner.

For a long time, ice melting and snow removal of EMUs has been a "big problem." In the earliest days, ice melting and snow removal mainly relied on manual use of snow removal rods and rubber hammers. When a large amount of snow rolled into the bottom of the car and formed hard ice and snow blocks, the difficulty of snow removal was even greater. During the Spring Festival travel rush, each EMU snow removal work required more than 200 people to fight for 4 hours at the same time, which was inefficient and labor-intensive. In 2024, China Railway Harbin Bureau (国铁哈尔滨局) developed a "hot water pressurization device for ice melting and snow removal." The device has fast water temperature rise, stable water pressure, high safety, and a larger snow removal spray area. When the EMU returns to the depot for maintenance, it can realize simultaneous snow removal operations for three EMUs on adjacent tracks, and the snow removal efficiency is increased by more than 1 time, becoming an ice-breaking "artifact."

Line antifreeze, more innovative technology to help.

In extremely cold weather, high-speed rail lines are prone to gauge changes and cracks. The pantograph of the EMU and the contact network may also have problems such as loose parts and unstable voltage due to thermal expansion and contraction, which can easily cause power outages and stops.

To this end, the tracks of the Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway have also been specially modified. By increasing the thickness of the track slab and other measures, the antifreeze performance of the track structure is improved from the source of design. Each station is equipped with a turnout snow melting device. Whenever it snows, it can use electric heating to quickly melt and dry the snow, ensuring that the turnout can be switched freely. In addition, the railway department also launched a real-time monitoring system, using high-speed cameras to screen the fasteners and vertical bolts of the Beijing-Harbin High-Speed Railway line one by one, and solve problems in a timely manner. At the same time, the "natural disaster and foreign object monitoring system" is launched, using vents, rain gauges, infrared scanners, etc. to determine wind speed, rainfall, and snow thickness, and issue speed limits and stop orders in a timely manner.

In the icy and snowy world, the antifreeze high-speed rail that "flies close to the ground" carries people to the world of ice and snow.

(Interview and compilation by People's Daily reporter Li Xinping (李心萍))

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An Octogenarian Crosses City Daily to Visit Hospitalized Wife (Helping Hand)

By: 本报记者 刘军国

At 5:45 AM, he takes a customized shuttle from his doorstep to Jintang Bus Passenger Transport Center; at 6:10 AM, he takes a special bus to Li Huili Hospital (李惠利医院) in Ningbo City (宁波市); at 8:30 AM, he is admitted for visitation; after accompanying his wife for half an hour, at 10:40 AM, he takes a bus from Ningbo North Bus Station (宁波汽车北站) back to Jintang Town (金塘镇), arriving home about an hour later... On January 14, Chen A'zhong (陈阿重), an 81-year-old man from Jintang Town (金塘镇), Dinghai District (定海区), Zhoushan City (舟山市), Zhejiang Province (浙江省), completed another journey of companionship. Unlike the previous period, this trip was "particularly easy."

"Before, I would leave early in the morning and not get home until it was almost dark. Today I came back early, and I can finally rest for a while this afternoon," Chen A'zhong (陈阿重) told reporters that with the help of all sectors of society, it is much more convenient to accompany his wife to the hospital.

It turns out that at the end of November last year, Chen A'zhong's (陈阿重) wife was hospitalized in Ningbo Li Huili Hospital (宁波李惠利医院) due to a lung infection, and in early December, her condition developed into severe pneumonia and she was sent to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) for treatment. The ICU does not allow bedside care, only half an hour of visitation from 10:30 AM to 11:00 AM every day.

An old couple in their twilight years. "She is the best old woman in my heart. After more than 50 years together, I can't live without her, I have never left her..." Chen A'zhong (陈阿重) said. Since his wife was admitted to the hospital, Chen A'zhong (陈阿重) has been traveling between Zhoushan (舟山) and Ningbo (宁波) every day to visit her.

Previously, in order not to miss the visitation time, Chen A'zhong (陈阿重) would get up at 4:30 AM every day to cook, and leave home at 6:00 AM to take the bus to Jintang Bus Passenger Transport Center (金塘汽车客运中心) in Dinghai District (定海区), Zhoushan City (舟山市), to take an intercity bus to Ningbo North Bus Station (宁波汽车北站), and then take the bus to the hospital, often arriving at the ICU entrance before 8:00 AM, and then waiting for the visitation time to open. After the visitation, he took the bus to Ningbo North Bus Station (宁波汽车北站), and waited until 3:00 PM for a bus home. After a long journey, he would arrive home in the evening.

Wang Wei (王伟), the deputy head nurse of the ICU ward of Li Huili Hospital (李惠利医院), learned about the elderly man's special situation and immediately discussed it with the director of the department, Dong Zhouzhou (董绉绉). The two decided to make an exception to advance Chen A'zhong's (陈阿重) visitation time to 8:30 AM every day, provided that it did not affect the routine treatment of other patients, so that he could catch the 10:40 AM bus home.

The staff of Jintang Huitong Automobile Transportation Co., Ltd. (金塘汇通汽车运输有限公司), a subsidiary of Zhoushan Automobile Transportation Company (舟山市汽运公司), saw the report about the hospital adjusting the visitation time for the elderly man and reported the elderly man's situation to the company leaders. Zhoushan Automobile Transportation Company (舟山市汽运公司) decided to allow the elderly man to ride the medical special line for free, and contacted Ningbo North Bus Station (宁波汽车北站). Zhoushan Automobile Transportation Company (舟山市汽运公司) and Ningbo Public Transport Group (宁波公运集团) worked together to provide Chen A'zhong (陈阿重) with free transportation services, and specially arranged a seat near the door for him to facilitate getting on and off the bus. "Starting today, I don't have to spend money on the bus, and I can save more than 60 yuan a day, and it's free to go back and forth," Chen A'zhong (陈阿重) shared the good news in front of his wife's hospital bed.

This "love channel" spanning Zhoushan (舟山) and Ningbo (宁波) makes the visitation road smoother and adds some warmth to this moving companionship that has been running for a long time.

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The State Council's Office of the National Disaster Reduction Commission Deploys Work to Ensure Affected People Stay Warm Through Winter

This newspaper's Beijing (北京) dispatch on January 22nd (Reporter Liu Wenxin (刘温馨)): On January 20th, the Ministry of Emergency Management (应急管理部) convened a special meeting on ensuring that disaster-stricken people have a warm winter. The meeting studied and deployed further efforts to do a good job in post-disaster recovery and reconstruction, resettlement and living security for disaster-stricken people, and other work to ensure that disaster-stricken people have a safe and warm winter.

The meeting pointed out that the current period is a crucial stage at the end of the year and the beginning of the year. Ensuring that disaster-stricken people have a safe and warm winter is a hard task. It is necessary to further improve the political stance, enhance the sense of responsibility and urgency, adhere to problem-oriented, goal-oriented, and result-oriented approaches, resolutely implement various tasks, guide and urge all regions to take effective measures, and do a solid job in post-disaster recovery and reconstruction, resettlement and living security for disaster-stricken people with heart, affection, and effort. We must earnestly promote winter and spring assistance to ensure that no household is missed and no one is left behind.

The meeting emphasized that it is necessary to guide disaster areas to speed up the progress of work, standardize the performance of procedures, and ensure that the central government's winter and spring relief funds are all distributed before the Spring Festival. It is necessary to urge disaster areas to seize the construction period and fully promote the reconstruction and repair of damaged houses, and strive to allow disaster-stricken people to move into new homes as soon as possible. It is necessary to ascertain the number of people who need winter resettlement, help solve difficulties with a policy for each household, and implement heating security measures. It is necessary to keep a close watch on the situation in key areas, actively respond to the demands of the masses, pay close attention to the needs of special groups in difficulty, do a good job in visiting and comforting them, distribute relief funds and materials in a timely manner, and implement relief and assistance measures. It is necessary to strengthen publicity and guidance and policy interpretation to create a good social atmosphere. It is necessary to give play to the coordinating role of the National Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Relief Office (国家防减救灾办), strengthen the connection of relief policies, gather departmental synergy, jointly promote the development of disaster insurance, and improve the level of disaster relief. It is necessary to strengthen front-line guidance and assistance, and promptly send working groups to disaster areas to carry out on-site guidance.

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Tibet's student financial aid system achieves "three full coverages"

This newspaper reported from Lhasa on January 22nd (Reporter Qiongda Zhuoga (琼达卓嘎)): A reporter learned from the Tibet Autonomous Region (西藏自治区) Department of Education (教育厅) that Tibet (西藏) has established a "three all-encompassing" policy system for student financial aid, covering all academic levels, public and private schools, and students from families with financial difficulties, effectively ensuring that students from families with financial difficulties have "three worries-free" situations before, during, and after enrollment. In 2025, the region cumulatively implemented various types of student financial aid funds totaling 5.273 billion yuan, benefiting 2,135,500 students.

In the basic education and secondary vocational education stages, Tibet (西藏) continues to fully implement the "three guarantees" policy of providing food, accommodation, and basic learning materials, as well as 15 years of free public education, and implements a nutrition improvement program for children of farmers and herdsmen in the compulsory education stage. Starting from the autumn semester of 2025, the annual per capita standard for the "three guarantees" of education will be increased by another 80 yuan, reaching 4,700 yuan, and regional differentiated subsidies will be implemented.

In the higher education stage, a six-in-one financial aid system of "scholarships, loans, grants, work-study programs, subsidies, and exemptions" has been formed. Starting in 2025, several financial aid standards will be further increased: the exemption and subsidy standard for students from the autonomous region studying in normal, agricultural, pastoral, forestry, water conservancy, and geological mining majors in universities outside the region will be increased from 6,600 yuan to 7,300 yuan per student per year; the autonomous region's funding standard for the free education policy for college students from poverty-stricken families in the autonomous region will be increased from 7,000 yuan to 7,700 yuan per student per year; and the academic scholarship standards for postgraduate students in universities will also be increased simultaneously, to 10,000 yuan for master's students and 12,000 yuan for doctoral students.

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Silent Stall Brands Life with Golden Hue

By: 本报记者 王 丹

At 4 PM, in Shangrao, Jiangxi (江西上饶), the meat pie stall appears on time at its old location in front of the Jiangxi Medical College (江西医学高等专科学校). Unlike other stalls, there are no shouts here, only the "sizzle" of the oil in the pan. The stall owners, Zheng Youqi (郑又奇) and Huang Suling (黄素玲), communicate in sign language, flipping the golden-brown meat pies in perfect harmony.

Zheng Youqi (郑又奇) lost his hearing at six months old due to a serious illness. At a special education school, he diligently studied literacy and sign language. Later, through an introduction, he met Huang Suling (黄素玲), who was also in a silent world. Together, they built a warm little family and had a baby.

After marriage, to provide a better life for his family, Zheng Youqi (郑又奇) decided to learn a trade. He traveled to Wuhan, Hubei (湖北武汉), to learn how to make scallion and fresh meat pies.

"The hardest part was not being able to communicate normally with the master when learning the craft. I could only rely on watching, remembering, and tasting," Zheng Youqi (郑又奇) told the reporter by typing on his phone. He once ate his own meat pies for every meal, repeatedly adjusting the recipe, with his notebook densely filled with the proportions of various seasonings.

After returning to Shangrao (上饶), to support the family, the couple decided to make a living using their skills. They purchased simple equipment and started trying to set up a stall, insisting on using the best ingredients to make meat pies. "They use real ingredients, we can all see it," said a cashier at the supermarket where the couple often shops. "We give them a small discount on every pound of meat as a form of support."

"The first time I bought it was out of curiosity, but later I was truly moved," said a regular customer, Ms. Zhang (张女士). "Their pies are full of ingredients and taste delicious." Students nearby also spontaneously helped promote them on WeChat Moments. A student surnamed Wang (王同学) majoring in nursing at Jiangxi Medical College (江西医学高等专科学校) wanted to help submit a post to the campus bulletin board to promote them, but found that a classmate had already taken the initiative to submit one, and the comments section was full of praise for them.

Initially, the couple's stall was on the right side of the gate of Jiangxi Medical College (江西医学高等专科学校), which posed certain problems of occupying the road and safety hazards. In August 2025, community workers and urban management departments arranged a new, more regulated stall for the couple. However, after a few days of trial operation, they expressed to the staff in writing that the old location had familiar regulars, and it was more convenient for students to buy. After understanding this situation, staff from the Maojialing Street (茅家岭街道) of Xinzhou District, Shangrao City (上饶市信州区) coordinated again and patiently communicated with surrounding merchants. Finally, under the premise of complying with management regulations, they expanded the area for business activities and set the couple's original stall as a regular stall, helping them keep the "old place" that carried the friendship of regular customers and the atmosphere of everyday life.

In addition, after learning about their situation, staff from the Xinzhou District Employment and Entrepreneurship Service Center (信州区就业创业服务中心) actively helped them connect with various support policies. The staff came to their door to help them prepare materials, hoping to help them apply for entrepreneurial subsidies for people with disabilities, reduce their pressure on raw material procurement and operations, and make this small business more stable.

"Although we can't hear, we can live by our own efforts," Huang Suling (黄素玲) gestured in sign language, and Zheng Youqi (郑又奇) nodded beside her, his eyes shining with determination.

As the sunset glow gradually dyed the sky, a long queue formed again in front of the meat pie stall.

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This edition's editors: Cheng Chen, Qin Ruijie, Min Fangzheng

Layout Design: Zhang Danfeng (张丹峰)

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Half acre of Flower Field: Deeply Cultivating Natural Flower and Plant Research, Building a Leading Domestic Brand in the Personal Care Field

In recent years, the personal care market has increasingly developed towards refinement, efficacy, and diversified scenarios. With the popularization and deepening of rational consumption concepts, brands in the personal care field face not only short-term sales competitions but also long-term value endurance tests. As a well-known domestic brand in the personal care field, Hanhoo (半亩花田) has performed brilliantly. In 2025, relying on solid research and development strength and precise market positioning, it not only firmly occupied the top spot on the Douyin 618 Body Care List and the Tmall 618 Domestic Body Care List, but also topped the Douyin Body Wash List during the Double 11 period, demonstrating the hard-core strength of domestic brands.

Quality as the Foundation: Controlling Raw Material Quality from the Source

Founded in 2010, Hanhoo (半亩花田) is a brand under Shandong Huawutang Cosmetics Co., Ltd. (山东花物堂化妆品股份有限公司). Since its inception, it has been rooted in the field of natural flower plants, taking Shandong Jinan (山东济南) Grasse roses as the research origin, gradually exploring the mysteries of Chinese natural flower plant ingredients, establishing the brand concept of "pleasing the skin with flowers," exploring the source of flowers, amplifying the effect of flowers, and sharing the joy of flowers. Hanhoo (半亩花田) takes the Shandong Jinan (山东济南) Grasse rose planting base as the starting point, and has successively cooperated to layout multiple raw material planting gardens in Heze, Shandong (山东菏泽) peony, Guangxi (广西) jasmine, and Dali, Yunnan (云南大理) camellia, which not only truly achieves control of raw material quality from the source, but also conducts in-depth exploration of the potential of Chinese characteristic natural flower plants.

Taking the Hanhoo (半亩花田) raw material traceability base in Jinan (济南) as an example, the unique natural conditions provide an ideal environment for the growth of Grasse roses. The main raw material of Hanhoo's (半亩花田) first product is extracted from Grasse roses, and rose hydrosol has been created as the brand's "ace ingredient," which is used in a variety of products such as shampoo, shower gel, and body lotion.

Independent Research and Development: Creating a Product Matrix of "One Wash, One Care, One Bath"

As a domestic brand focusing on the personal care track for 16 years, Hanhoo (半亩花田) has always adhered to independent innovation, taking high-quality natural flower plant raw materials as the foundation, deeply exploring the efficacy path of ingredients, extracting skin care ingredients contained in natural flower plant raw materials with scientific research power, and creating them into the brand's distinct technical labels.

Hanhoo (半亩花田) has successively built its own research and development centers in Shanghai (上海), Jinan (济南), and Guangzhou (广州). Through independent research and joint research and innovation with professional universities, institutions, and industry experts, it has released the "Chinese Young Women's Body Pigmentation Atlas" and led the formulation of group standards such as the "Body Skin Care Cosmetics Research and Development Guide" (T/CHCIA 043-2025) and the "Natural Washing and Care Cosmetics Development Guide" (T/GDICST 009-2025), actively promoting the high-quality development of the industry.

In addition, Hanhoo (半亩花田) has jointly released the "China Body Skin Care White Paper" with the China Association of Fragrance Flavor and Cosmetic Industries (中国日用化工协会) and other institutions for three consecutive years. In 2025, Hanhoo (半亩花田) won the first prize of the Science and Technology Progress Award of the China National Light Industry Council (中国轻工业联合会) and other awards.

The brand's core self-developed technologies, such as peony seed oil "RIVETOR PRO" skin barrier repair technology and rose essence "flash extraction technology," have become the hard-core guarantee of product quality. Hanhoo (半亩花田) conducted thorough market research and, in response to consumers' concerns about "scalp health," applied rose hydrosol to the fresh flower extract product series for the first time. The product has won wide recognition and favor from the market after its launch. The Hanhoo (半亩花田) Fresh Flower Essence Fragrance Shower Gel, newly launched in January this year, uses rose hydrosol as a base and adds freeze-dried petals to create a new fresh flower bathing solution for users.

From ensuring high-quality raw materials to diligently cultivating research and development, Hanhoo (半亩花田) takes "flowers" as its foundation and gradually builds a full-scene product matrix of natural personal care of "one wash, one care, one bath," accurately reaching the subdivided needs of personal care, continuously strengthening product quality, and creating a full-scene solution for consumers' personal care, demonstrating the brand's long-term strategic vision and deep insight into consumer needs.

Fulfilling Responsibility: Demonstrating the Responsibility of a Domestic Brand

While focusing on improving product quality, Hanhoo (半亩花田) actively serves green development and comprehensive rural revitalization. In 2021, it launched the "Hanhoo Million Trees" project and has participated in desert greening transformation in Inner Mongolia (内蒙古) for many years. Hanhoo (半亩花田) has also established a rapid response disaster relief mechanism, extending a helping hand in a timely manner when disasters occur to help disaster areas recover and rebuild. Hanhoo (半亩花田) actively practices corporate social responsibility, demonstrating the responsibility and commitment of a leading domestic brand.

Data source: Shandong Huawutang Cosmetics Co., Ltd. (山东花物堂化妆品股份有限公司)

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Boosting Consumption by Focusing on Counties (People's Perspective: County Economy)

By: 本报记者 张云河 吴 君 李 蕊

Introduction
　　Liu Qin, the operator of a small shop in front of her house in Xuan'en County (宣恩县), Hubei Province, has been running it for 17 years, with customers mainly from the neighborhood. Since launching instant retail services in 2021, the store's goods have been moved online, and takeaway deliveries have been available within an "hour," expanding the service radius from 1 kilometer to 7 kilometers, doubling the turnover.
　　China has a large county population and great consumption potential. In July 2023, the "Three-Year Action Plan for County Commerce (2023-2025)" issued by the Ministry of Commerce and other 9 departments proposed "taking digitalization, chain operation, and standardization as the direction" and "building about 500 county commercial 'leading counties' nationwide by 2025."
　　The expansion and quality improvement of county commerce releases the "upward" potential of consumption in the "sinking" market. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that from 2021 to 2024, the proportion of retail sales of consumer goods in counties and townships, including towns and villages, in the total retail sales of consumer goods increased from 38% to 38.8%. From January to October 2025, retail sales of consumer goods in counties and townships increased by 4.6% year-on-year, faster than the urban level during the same period.
　　The "15th Five-Year Plan" proposal suggests "vigorously boosting consumption." Recently, reporters visited national county commercial "leading counties" such as Ningjin County (宁津县) in Shandong Province, Xuan'en County (宣恩县) in Hubei Province, and Fuchuan Yao Autonomous County (富川瑶族自治县) in Guangxi, to experience new county and township consumption experiences.

　　Digitalization
　　Instant retail, live streaming e-commerce, self-built platforms, various places "tailor-made"
　　"Thanks to the timely delivery of medicine by the takeaway guy, I was saved in an emergency." Meng Xiaoling (蒙晓玲), a resident of Zhushan Town (珠山镇) in Xuan'en County (宣恩县), was deeply impressed by a recent experience of buying medicine.
　　"That morning, my child suddenly had a high fever. Unfortunately, we ran out of antipyretic medicine at home." In a panic, Meng Xiaoling (蒙晓玲) opened her mobile phone to buy medicine, and about half an hour later, the takeaway guy delivered the medicine from a pharmacy 5 kilometers away to her home.
　　Ordering on online platforms, nearby stores or warehouses shipping goods, and riders delivering within an hour—the new model of instant retail service is entering counties. Currently, instant retail services in Xuan'en County (宣恩县) have covered 130,000 residents in Zhushan Town (珠山镇) and Shadaogou Town (沙道沟镇).
　　The No. 1 Central Document of 2025 proposed "promoting the extension of cold chain distribution and instant retail to townships." The "Development Report of the Instant Retail Industry (2025)" released by the Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce pointed out that instant retail platforms are accelerating the expansion of county markets, becoming a key area for the growth of instant retail, and county instant retail has moved from the trial stage to large-scale implementation.
　　24/7 "buy and use immediately" to meet the emergency needs of "want it now." Meng Xiaoling (蒙晓玲) showed her takeaway order records, including fresh fruits and vegetables, daily necessities, electronic products, and beauty and trendy toys, "From occasional emergencies to daily purchases, I have fallen in love with this shopping method of instant delivery to my door."
　　The beneficiaries of the digital convenience brought by instant delivery are not only customers. Not far from the community where Meng Xiaoling (蒙晓玲) lives, there is a store where she often places orders—Shihui Life Supermarket. The store has a wide variety of goods, and riders come in and out. The owner, Liu Qin (刘琴), said with a smile: "The store is 'smarter' and it's easier to make money."
　　In 2009, Liu Qin's (刘琴) first store opened, "At that time, product procurement, warehousing, and outgoing were all done manually. The inventory was chaotic and difficult to manage."
　　Now, with the application of digital systems, sourcing planning, order management, customer portraits, and sales analysis can all be done with "one click." "There are more than 6,700 existing members, and the variety of goods has doubled. Four stores have been opened successively, and the store with the best sales has an average monthly turnover of 2 million yuan." Liu Qin (刘琴) opened the digital system on her mobile phone, "What is selling well and when to replenish goods is clear at a glance."
　　"Minute-level delivery" is also inseparable from digital empowerment.
　　At 9:00 a.m., at the rider station on Shinan Road (施南路) in Zhushan Town (珠山镇), Xuan'en County (宣恩县), squad leader Xu Long (许龙) neatly put on his takeaway work clothes and started delivering orders, "We have 6 squads, more than 100 riders, delivering to the entire Zhushan Town (珠山镇)."
　　Zhushan Town (珠山镇) has 11 communities and 2 established villages under its jurisdiction, covering an area of more than 160 square kilometers. In the past, when there were many people and cars, riders "relied on experience to grab orders and sprinted with physical strength." "Now, with AI scheduling and intelligent navigation, the platform plans the delivery route, saving time and effort," Xu Long (许龙) said with emotion.
　　The reporter found that various counties "tailor-made" various digital commercial measures. Ningjin County (宁津县) is targeting live streaming e-commerce.
　　Stepping into the Ningjin County (宁津县) Common Prosperity E-commerce Base, the shouts of live streaming rooms rise and fall. In the Demu Xiaojiang Studio, under a warm light, Li Yun (李云), the person in charge, sits in front of a solid wood coffee table, facing the camera, pouring tea and tasting it, "Our pure solid wood furniture is a perfect blend of craftsmanship and nature..."
　　"Coffee table, bed, sideboard... I want all of these, calculate the total price." In the background, a customer sent a shopping list.
　　Fingers danced on the calculator, and the customer service quickly replied: "I'll give you a discount, 36,000."
　　"Deal."
　　This swift online order was "attracted" by live streaming e-commerce.
　　Located in northwestern Shandong, Ningjin County (宁津县) has a deep foundation in the solid wood furniture industry, with a complete industrial chain from wood procurement, "blank" processing to finished product assembly. More than 4,500 business entities gather, and more than 60,000 people make a living from this.
　　"‘Even good wine is afraid of deep alleys.’" Yang Jingdong (杨景东), secretary-general of the Ningjin County (宁津县) Furniture Industry Association, said.
　　Transformation is imminent, and Ningjin (宁津) is actively embracing the digital wave. The county has built a common prosperity e-commerce base, covering an area of 35,000 square meters. The base conducts e-commerce training, teaching skills such as live streaming, short video shooting, and account operation, and integrates services such as photography, art design, and agency operation.
　　Furniture is integrated into life to create a small scene atmosphere; the copywriting is unique... "During the training, I learned a lot of drainage skills," Li Yun (李云) praised the effectiveness of the training.
　　The base also cultivates the "front store and back factory" model: online stores display products to attract traffic; offline, the factory doors are opened to welcome customers to visit on the spot. "Take the 'seeing is believing' experience to turn 'traffic' into 'sales'," Li Yun (李云) said.
　　Yan Yunjun (闫云军), director of the Ningjin County (宁津县) Bureau of Commerce, introduced that the Common Prosperity E-commerce Base has attracted 72 e-commerce companies to settle in, and the online sales of tables and chairs exceeded 450 million yuan in 2025.
　　Instant retail and e-commerce live streaming have certain scale requirements for commodity supply. Can the small amount of agricultural products produced by villagers also be operated online? Since 2022, Xuan'en County (宣恩县) has built a digital village platform, which is open to local farmers for free. Once agricultural product information is uploaded, it is visible throughout the county, and buyers and sellers are directly connected.
　　"Honey from the mountains is only taken once a year, and the taste is very good." In the "Agricultural Trade Market" section of the Xuan'en (宣恩) Digital Village Platform, Yang Yuxin (杨玉新), a villager from Majiazhai Village (马家寨村) in Gaoluo Town (高罗镇), put photos of the honey he collected on it, wrote this advertising slogan, and left his contact information. A few days later, 5 kilograms of honey were sold out.
　　Tang Xiuming (唐秀明), director of the Xuan'en County (宣恩县) Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, told reporters that as of the end of October 2025, the "Agricultural Trade Market" of the Xuan'en (宣恩) Digital Village Platform has released a total of 2,120 agricultural products, helping to broaden the channels for farmers to increase their income.

　　Chain Operation
　　Well-known brands sink into counties, and regional first stores, industry first brands, and new product launches continue to be updated
　　A department store located in a county seat made Li Fei (李霏), who had been a "drifter in Beijing" for many years, look at her hometown Ningjin (宁津) with new eyes.
　　Arriving at Ningjin Debai Plaza (宁津德百广场), customers were seen queuing up in the beverage corridor, with brand beverage stores such as Chagee and Starbucks lined up. Walking inside, brand stores such as Casarte No. 001 Store and Xiaomi Home had customers coming in and out from time to time. Young people were in groups of three or five, either talking and laughing with drinks in their hands, or taking pictures with new products in their hands.
　　"This is no longer the county shopping mall in my memory, and brand chain stores can be seen everywhere." Li Fei (李霏) gently stirred the coffee in her hand and recalled the past. At that time, if she wanted to drink a cup of brand coffee, she had to run to Dezhou (德州) city.
　　Now, well-known brands are sinking into county towns, and convenient consumption is available at your doorstep at any time.
　　Regional first stores, industry first brands, and new product launches continue to be updated. Ningjin Debai Plaza (宁津德百广场) has introduced more than 150 regional brand first stores such as Huawei Experience Store, opened the county's first 24-hour 7-Eleven convenience store, and built a 1,000-square-meter gym, a large naughty castle and other diversified consumption scenarios, creating a county commercial complex integrating shopping, leisure and entertainment.
　　Does the county town have enough customers? Can it cover the cost? How to ensure "profitability upon entry"? Qi Yuling (齐玉玲), deputy secretary of the Party branch of Ningjin Debai Plaza (宁津德百广场), admitted frankly that some brand agents had concerns at the beginning of the county commercial complex's investment promotion.
　　"The county market is a 'new blue ocean' for driving consumption growth, with low penetration rates in segmented categories and relatively small competition. Early layout can often quickly establish brand awareness." Qi Yuling (齐玉玲) talked about her experience with the company's own development: Dezhou Department Store, which was founded in 1983, had long limited its business scope to Dezhou (德州) city. As the income gap between urban and rural areas narrowed, Shandong Dezhou Department Store (Group) Co., Ltd. gradually identified county commerce as a new business growth point for the company, and has built 7 "Debai" chain county commercial complexes since 2012.
　　Compared with cities, county shops often have lower rents, lower costs, and higher returns on investment. Ningjin Debai Plaza (宁津德百广场) gives some brands that enter for the first time a half-year rent-free discount. At present, the Ningjin Debai (宁津德百) business district, with a business area of 130,000 square meters, has gathered more than 500 shops, with an average daily passenger flow of about 13,000 people, and a peak of more than 50,000 people during holidays.
　　"The sinking of well-known brands into counties is not a simple relocation of commercial resources, but a systematic reconstruction of the consumer ecology." Qi Yuling (齐玉玲) said the logic behind it: Ningjin Debai Plaza (宁津德百广场), as a platform, its value lies in aggregating high-quality chain brands and allowing new consumption formats to sink into county towns as a whole. This is not just the flow of goods at the logistics level, but also the subtle influence of trendy consumption scenarios and fashionable lifestyles.
　　Yang Jie (杨洁), a native of Ningjin (宁津), has a deep feeling. In the past, county commerce was relatively monotonous, and the choice of watching movies and shopping was not large. In recent years, more and more big brands and trendy brands have sunk into county towns, and county residents can enjoy "the same style as big cities" nearby, and there are also many fashionable social spaces.
　　Blue butterflies flutter, small jellyfish sway lightly, and bearded dragons shake their heads... Ningjin Debai Plaza (宁津德百广场) introduced the first Amazon Tropical Rainforest Biological Museum in August 2025 for customers to watch for free. Entering the museum, the 400-square-meter touchable ecological insect exhibition area was crowded with people, and hundreds of amphibians, reptiles and insect pets attracted countless eyes.
　　Give full play to the superimposed advantages of brand co-branding 1+1>2. In 2025, Ningjin Debai Plaza (宁津德百广场) joined hands with major chain merchants to launch a series of activities: in August, the Midea Windless Music Festival was held; in September, the Spring Festival Gala robot/robot dog performance was launched; in November, the Xiaomi "Double 11" Technology Caravan Experience Activity was carried out... The performance "traffic" has become a consumption "increment", driving the mall's sales to continue to rise.
　　"Interesting, informative, and with dry goods, the shopping mall in the county town is very City." Yang Jie (杨洁) said that she followed the Ningjin Debai Plaza (宁津德百广场) official account, and as soon as she saw an interesting event announcement, she would invite her girlfriends to check in.
　　The brand chain stores that sink into the county are like a catfish, activating local market competition. In Ningjin (宁津), a chain supermarket called Jialongli (嘉隆利) brought the concept of "bright kitchen and bright stove" to local supermarkets; in Xuan'en (宣恩), in order to benchmark well-known chain enterprises, local resident Qiu En (邱恩) turned his own supermarket into a chain supermarket.
　　Qiu En (邱恩), the current chairman of Enshi Prefecture Xinjingtian Trading Co., Ltd. (恩施州新景添商贸有限公司), opened a supermarket after being laid off from a paper mill in his early years. At that time, the county's consumption capacity was weak, "The brand of goods we positioned was relatively high-end, and the management level was also limited. Customers didn't buy it, and we lost a lot of money."
　　With the improvement of the income level of urban and rural residents, county consumption is leaping from survival-oriented and production-oriented to development-oriented and enjoyment-oriented. "High-end goods were originally 'unaffordable', but later 'unavailable'. The former mismatch between supply and demand has become a match between supply and demand, and the company can show its skills." Seeing the opportunity, Qiu En (邱恩) went to chain enterprises such as Pangdonglai (胖东来) in Henan and Yonghui (永辉) in Fujian at his own expense to learn from their experience, brought the advanced experience back to the county town, and the supermarket sales became better and better.
　　At present, Qiu En's (邱恩) supermarket has developed from the initial 1 to 18 covering Xuan'en (宣恩), Xianfeng (咸丰), Lichuan (利川) and other counties and cities, with annual sales revenue exceeding 500 million yuan, driving more than 1,200 people to employment.

　　Standardization
　　"Thousands of markets and ten thousand stores" benchmark the industry, opening up the "last mile" of industrial products going down and the "first mile" of agricultural products going up
　　The passenger, cargo and postal integration development service station is located at the doorstep. Li Haifeng (李海凤), a villager in Futian Village (浮田村), Fuli Town (福利镇), Fuchuan (富川), bought two bottles of drinks while picking up her express delivery. "The facade has changed, it's really different!" Li Haifeng (李海凤) greeted the store owner Han Dingfeng (韩定峰) and said with a smile.
　　Looking around the service station, the food area and express delivery area are in order, the shelves are neatly arranged, and the price tags are clearly marked. Compared with the previous situation where the store doors were often closed and the goods were placed in a mess, it has long changed its appearance.
　　"Kang Shuaifu" instant noodles, "Lan Muliang" laundry detergent... Speaking of "copycat goods" that "rub famous brands", Li Haifeng (李海凤) called out helplessly. In the past, due to low cost, high profit, weak supervision, and difficulty in identification, "Li Gui" products once prevailed in the rural market.
　　In October 2022, Fuchuan (富川) took the rural convenience store passenger, cargo and postal integration transformation as an opportunity to carry out standardized transformation of Han Dingfeng's (韩定峰) small store. In recent years, Fuchuan (富川) has integrated funds of about 18 million yuan from economic and trade, transportation, postal and other departments to transform the convenience service stores in 137 established villages, build 150 rural logistics nodes, and open up the "last mile" of industrial products going down and the "first mile" of agricultural products going up.
　　"The county's distributors deliver goods to the door in a unified manner, and the source of goods is formal." Han Dingfeng (韩定峰) said that the variety of goods in the small store has increased from more than 70 before the transformation to more than 200, and the distributor's sales staff will regularly inspect the store and uniformly recycle and destroy expired food.
　　"Now when you buy things in the village, you are no longer afraid of buying counterfeit goods." Li Haifeng (李海凤) said, "In the past, we were 'making do', buying whatever was in the store; now we are 'exquisite', buying whatever is good."
　　In recent years, the Ministry of Commerce has continued to promote the transformation of "thousands of markets and ten thousand stores". From 2023 to March 2025, a total of 2,628 county comprehensive commercial and trade service centers, 13,391 township commercial and trade centers, and 138,000 village convenience stores have been built and transformed nationwide.
　　The small stores have been transformed, what about the small workshops? Fuchuan's (富川) answer is still standardization.
　　"This taste is unmistakable." The color is golden, "click", take a big bite, crispy and sweet, Mao Xiaomin (毛晓敏), a Fuchuan (富川) native living abroad, ate the rice noodles from her hometown and was full of joy, "I haven't been back to Fuchuan (富川) for many years, I didn't expect to be able to eat the taste of my hometown across the ocean."
　　The rice noodles that Mao Xiaomin (毛晓敏) ate came from a small workshop in Fuyang Town (富阳镇).
　　Kneading the dough, rolling the dough, and dividing the noodles, at 4:00 a.m., the Wang's Food Processing Workshop (王氏食品加工坊) in Fuchuan (富川) was brightly lit. "Once the weather gets cold, the rice noodle business is hot. As the New Year approaches, the business is even more prosperous. This is a must-have New Year's product for local people." Yang Liyuan (杨丽媛), the person in charge of the processing workshop, introduced that the production process of rice noodles is complex and requires more than 10 steps such as soaking rice and mixing sugar, which are completed purely by hand, and every step must not be sloppy. Yang Liyuan's (杨丽媛) family of 11 all went into battle, and they could only produce about 100 kilograms per day.
　　Due to the lack of standard specifications, the quality of rice noodles on the market in Fuchuan (富川) was once uneven. Some have incorrect raw material ratios and a hard taste; some have poor processing environments and are unsanitary; some cut down on process steps and have a poor taste... which affected consumers' evaluation of this special snack.
　　In order to change the status quo, Fuchuan (富川) organized practitioners and technicians from the county inspection and testing center to repeatedly demonstrate, and finally formulated a group standard. In December 2024, the Fuchuan (富川) Fried Rice Noodle Production Technical Regulations were officially released. As one of the drafters of this group standard, Yang Liyuan (杨丽媛) believes that with standards, the production behavior of each workshop has been standardized, enhancing consumers' trust in the products.
With e-commerce platforms online, and their own stores and specialty stores in the county offline, Yang Liyuan's (杨丽媛) business is booming thanks to good quality. "Most of the customers are young people, and purchases require reservations, with sales reaching as far as the United States and Australia," Yang Liyuan (杨丽媛) said with pride.

From "selling products" to "selling standards," more "local specialties" are selling at good prices.

In the past five years, the navel orange output value of Guangxi Nongken Lixin Farm Co., Ltd. (广西农垦立新农场有限公司) in Fuyang Town (富阳镇) has nearly doubled. When asked about the secret, Lu Zhengdao (陆政道), a 58-year-old "agricultural expert," said: "The fruits have 'accuracy,' and we have profits!" In recent years, the farm has participated in the preparation of eight local standards, including the Fuchuan (富川) Navel Orange Production Technical Regulations.

Standardized production has polished the brand, and Fuchuan (富川) navel oranges have been recognized as a National Geographical Indication Product. In the promotion and use of geographical indication certification trademarks, Fuchuan (富川) strictly authorizes and standardizes the use of the mark, and has signed license contracts with 31 qualified entities.

Data released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (农业农村部) in July 2025 showed that since the "14th Five-Year Plan," China has newly certified 36,000 green, organic, famous, special, excellent, and new geographical indication agricultural products, an increase of 70% compared with the end of the "13th Five-Year Plan." The annual supply of green and high-quality agricultural products to society exceeds 200 million tons, and more and more agricultural brands are becoming well-known 大江南北 (dà jiāng nán běi - "north and south of the great river," throughout the country).

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Activating New Momentum for County-Level Consumption (A Thought)

By: 张云河

County-level areas connect cities and serve rural areas. After conducting interviews in Ningjin County (宁津县), Shandong Province, Xuan'en County (宣恩县), Hubei Province, and Fuchuan County (富川县), Guangxi Province, I deeply felt that the "small size" of county-level consumption contains the "large energy" of China's economy.

With smooth logistics, Feng Xiuying (奉秀英), a navel orange grower in Fuchuan Yao Autonomous County (富川瑶族自治县), said: "The navel oranges in our village are 'easy to sell,' freshly picked and shipped, and can arrive in Guangzhou (广州) tomorrow."

With booming night markets, Qu Youlin (璩友林), a candied hawthorn vendor in Xuan'en County (宣恩县), said: "My candied strawberry skewers are 15 yuan each and often sell out."

With refreshing experiences, Li Fei (李霏), a young man from Ningjin County (宁津县) on vacation from Beijing (北京), said: "Western restaurants, flower shops, e-sports halls, treasure shops are 'blooming everywhere.'"

Milk tea shops all over the streets, increasingly popular pet shops, yoga studios with rich courses, and super-popular multi-functional cinemas... Unlike the stereotype of "one old street, one department store, and a few supermarkets," some county towns have bid farewell to the past "rustic" image and ushered in a wave of consumption upgrades.

To activate new momentum in county-level consumption, it is necessary to continuously lead new supply with new demand and create new demand with new supply. In recent years, as the gap between urban and rural areas continues to narrow, the people's need for a better life has been growing, and county-level consumption is shifting from survival-oriented and production-oriented to development-oriented and enjoyment-oriented. Various regions continue to improve the commercial system, enrich supply in multiple dimensions, and optimize scenarios in multiple directions. Business models such as instant retail and community group buying are accelerating their penetration into county-level markets. County-level consumption is becoming an important factor in promoting county-level economic development and a broad blue ocean for driving domestic demand growth.

To activate new momentum in county-level consumption, adapting to local conditions is key. Each county has its own unique commercial foundation and resource endowment. If we copy the commercial development ideas of big cities and simply "copy and paste," we will inevitably end up with "a thousand counties with the same face" and fall into the trap of homogenization and excessive commercialization. Only by taking a differentiated and characteristic development path can county-level commerce bloom with unique charm. From the game *Black Myth: Wukong* boosting Xiaoxitian (小西天) in Shanxi's Xixian County (隰县), to the "Nezha whirlwind" causing lotus root powder in Hubei's Honghu (洪湖) to sell out; from Guizhou's Rongjiang (榕江) "Village Super League" becoming popular and possessing hundreds of billions of traffic, to Xinjiang's Burqin (布尔津) turning "cold resources" into "hot economy"... Practice fully proves that by understanding the resource "family assets," adapting to the "county," and using the wisdom of "one key to open one lock" to do a good job in characteristic articles, each county can find its own position in the unified national market and take the right path of differentiated development.

Small county towns leverage large markets. When more than 2,800 county-level administrative regions jointly boost domestic demand and embrace the "new blue ocean" of consumption, county-level consumption will surely shine.

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Editor in Charge for This Edition: Yang Yan, Sun Zhen, Dai Linfeng, Liu Yurui

Layout Design: Shen Yiling (沈亦伶)

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Millennial Welcoming Pine Greets Guests from All Directions (Making Friends with Ancient Trees)

By: 本报记者 李俊杰

In the early morning, sunlight shines on the summit of Tiandu Peak (天都峰), welcoming a new day at the Huangshan Scenic Area (黄山风景区) in Anhui (安徽).

In front of the Jade Screen Pavilion (玉屏楼), the thin mist slowly dissipates like a light veil, revealing the true appearance of a uniquely shaped Huangshan pine tree in the morning light – one side of its branches stretches out like an arm, its needles shimmering with a verdant luster in the morning light, as if welcoming guests from all over the world with full enthusiasm.

This is the Huangshan Greeting Pine (黄山迎客松), approximately 1000 years old, and was included in the "World Heritage List" in 1990. Behind it, mountains stretch endlessly and seas of clouds surge; in front of it, Hu Xiaochun (胡晓春), the pine guardian, has already begun his day's work.

"This time of day, before the tourists come up the mountain, is the best time for observation and recording." As he speaks, Hu Xiaochun skillfully raises his binoculars to check the growth of the Greeting Pine's branches and leaves.

On Hu Xiaochun's desk, there is always a notebook, recording every detail about the Greeting Pine. After sixteen years of guarding the pine, Hu Xiaochun has written 96 Greeting Pine diaries, totaling about 1.6 million words. "These seemingly trivial records are the 'life archives' of the Greeting Pine. Every day, my happiest moment is writing 'no abnormalities' at the end of the day's diary," says Hu Xiaochun.

Of course, the work of a pine guardian goes far beyond just recording.

At the end of January 2018, the Huangshan Scenic Area (黄山风景区) encountered freezing rain. Hu Xiaochun recalls: "At that time, the Greeting Pine was covered in ice. My colleagues from the emergency team and I quickly took action, implementing 24-hour shifts for guarding and regular monitoring of the Greeting Pine. Based on weather changes and other factors, we carried out emergency support and protection as needed." Several days and nights of careful guarding ultimately ensured the safety of the Greeting Pine.

In recent years, the addition of technology has made the protection of the Greeting Pine more precise. Wu Yijun (吴贻军), a senior engineer at the Huangshan Scenic Area Management Committee (黄山风景区管理委员会) Landscape Architecture Bureau (园林局), explains that the scenic area has collaborated with universities to develop "tree bidirectional dual-stiffness elastic support" technology after multiple rounds of design, research, development, and testing. This allows the Greeting Pine's arm branches to sway freely in the wind and rain, promoting self-enhancement and self-adaptation behavior due to stress stimulation. It can also limit the range of swing based on the size of the wind and snow load by adjusting the amplitude limiting device, avoiding damage to the Greeting Pine's arm branches due to excessive deformation.

In 2020, Wu Yijun (吴贻军) led the "Greeting Pine 3D Digital Modeling" project, completing the three-dimensional scanning, close-up photography, and modeling of the Greeting Pine's main body, as well as the three-dimensional scanning of the surrounding environment. "This has preserved detailed digital archives for the Greeting Pine, providing a data foundation for monitoring, display, and other protection and utilization efforts," says Wu Yijun.

"Every year, we also invite experts in forest pathology, pest control, tree mechanics, and other fields to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the Greeting Pine as needed for protection," Wu Yijun (吴贻军) explains. In 1981, Huangshan (黄山) pioneered the "pine guardian" system. With the continuous deepening of exploration and practice, a "one tree, one policy, one tree, one file" protection mechanism has been formed locally, implementing comprehensive protection measures such as daily guarding, regular monitoring, expert consultation, emergency response, and scientific management to safeguard the Greeting Pine's safety and promote its normal growth.

In the Huangshan Scenic Area (黄山风景区), the famous ancient and precious trees are not limited to the Greeting Pine. According to the results of the sixth general survey of ancient and precious tree resources in the Huangshan Scenic Area and the third general survey of ancient and precious tree resources in Anhui Province (安徽省), a total of 137 ancient and precious trees in the scenic area are listed for archival management.

Currently, precise protection measures have been extended from the Greeting Pine to the protection of ancient and precious trees throughout the Huangshan Scenic Area (黄山风景区): the scenic area has established a "tree chief system," with tree chiefs and management teams responsible for the protection of ancient trees in different areas; special funds are invested annually for the daily maintenance, rejuvenation, rescue, and facility construction of ancient and precious trees.

Year after year, the efforts of guardians such as Hu Xiaochun (胡晓春) and Wu Yijun (吴贻军) have been deeply engraved into the annual rings of the ancient pines. In Huangshan (黄山), the connotation of the Greeting Pine has long surpassed the scope of plants – its spirit of taking root in rocks, braving the wind and snow, and being firm and indomitable inspires people; the "welcoming" posture of its outstretched branches has been given a cultural connotation of warmth and hospitality. The Greeting Pine has also been used as a national gift element many times, conveying the friendly sentiments of the Chinese people.

"Every year, millions of tourists stop in front of the Greeting Pine. I have seen elderly people stroking the railings in contemplation, and I have also seen children carefully imitating the posture of the Greeting Pine. Tourists come to Huangshan (黄山) not only to see a pine tree, but also to experience a kind of beautiful character," says Hu Xiaochun.

Thousands of years have left deep marks on the trunk of this ancient pine tree, and have also witnessed the generational inheritance of guardianship.

From the initial simple support to today's digital monitoring; from relying solely on the experience of the pine guardian to a "one tree, one policy" scientific management system, what has changed is the method, what remains unchanged is the guardians' cherishing and care for the ancient and precious trees.

"I hope that people thousands of years from now can still see this ancient tree standing on the summit of Huangshan (黄山), widely welcoming guests from all over the world. That is the value of our guardianship," says Hu Xiaochun.

Coordinated by: Zhang Ye (张晔), He Yuche (何宇澈), Zhang Yifu (张一夫)
Multimedia Production: Zhang Yixuan (张意轩), Zhang Yu (张宇), An Ran (安然)
Illustration: Huang Chufeng (黄楚峰)

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First List of Pilot Zones for Beautiful Countryside Announced

According to a report from our newspaper in Beijing on January 22nd (Reporter Kou Jiangze (寇江泽)), the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (生态环境部) recently announced the first list of Beautiful Village Pioneer Zones, with 23 counties (cities, districts) including Anji (安吉), Zhejiang Province, selected.

Among them, there are 10 agricultural counties (cities, districts) that focus on demonstrating rural ecological functions, solving the problems of mountainous rural construction, and coordinating ecological protection and people's livelihood development; there are also 7 agricultural counties (cities, districts) that focus on demonstrating urban-rural integrated development, coordinating urban and rural development, reversing the dual structure, and exploring "ecological protection + characteristic industries"; and there are also 6 agricultural counties (cities, districts) that focus on demonstrating agricultural production functions, ensuring the ecological base, and realizing industrial prosperity in agriculture.

The 23 Beautiful Village Pioneer Zones have deeply studied and applied the experience of the "Thousand Villages Demonstration, Ten Thousand Villages Renovation" Project, meet the basic conditions such as beautiful mountains and clear waters, have clean and tidy villages, effective treatment of sewage and garbage, and the basic elimination of black and odorous water bodies. At the same time, they have characteristic experiences and practices suitable for learning and reference in various places in ecological environment governance, green agricultural development, and the transformation of "green waters and green mountains" into "golden mountains and silver mountains."

It is reported that during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the quality of China's rural ecological environment has continued to improve, with more than 110,000 new administrative villages completing environmental remediation, the treatment rate of rural domestic sewage reaching 55%, more than doubling that at the end of the "13th Five-Year Plan," and 5,042 rural black and odorous water bodies of larger area have been basically eliminated.

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The Yellow River's cumulative frozen length reaches 679.1 kilometers.

(People's Daily, Beijing, January 22) (Reporter Deng Jianyang (邓剑洋)) The reporter learned from the Ministry of Water Resources (水利部) that the ice conditions in the upper, middle, and lower reaches of the Yellow River (黄河) are developing rapidly due to the recent strong cold wave. On January 21, the Ningxia (宁夏) section of the Yellow River (黄河) experienced its first river closure of the year, and the Shandong (山东) section in the lower reaches experienced its first ice floes of the year. As of 10:00 a.m. on that day, the cumulative frozen length of the Yellow River (黄河) was 679.1 kilometers, of which 637 kilometers were frozen in the upper reaches and 42.1 kilometers were frozen in the middle reaches. The overall ice situation in the entire river is generally stable and controllable.

Currently, the Inner Mongolia (内蒙古) section of the Yellow River (黄河) in the upper reaches has entered a stable river closure period, with stable under-ice flow capacity and no abnormal dangerous situations. On January 21, the upper head of the river closure entered Ningxia (宁夏), from Mahuangou (麻黄沟) (Ningxia (宁夏), Inner Mongolia (内蒙古) provincial boundary section) to 1 kilometer upstream of Mahuangou (麻黄沟). The first closure date in the Ningxia (宁夏) section is 18 days later than the multi-year average and 31 days later than the 2023-2024 period. In the lower reaches, ice floes appeared in the Shandong (山东) section from Qihe Panzhuang (齐河潘庄) dangerous work to Zouping Zhangqiao (邹平张桥) control and guidance project, with an ice floe length of 148.6 kilometers. The first ice floe date is 32 days later than the multi-year average and 11 days later than the 2024-2025 period.

According to meteorological department forecasts, the temperature in most areas of the Yellow River (黄河) basin will slowly rise in the next 3 days, and temperature fluctuations will be relatively stable for a period of time in the future. The Yellow River Conservancy Commission (黄河水利委员会) of the Ministry of Water Resources (水利部) will continue to do a good job in ice condition monitoring, forecasting, and early warning, strengthen consultation and judgment, scientifically schedule water projects, strengthen supervision of river-related projects such as floating bridges and construction trestle bridges, and engineering inspections and defenses, strictly manage safety production, strengthen duty and information reporting, implement various ice prevention measures in detail, and make every effort to ensure the safety of ice prevention on the Yellow River (黄河).

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Liaodong Bay in Bohai Sea Enters Severe Ice Period

This newspaper's Shenyang (沈阳) report on January 22nd (Reporter: Xin Yang (辛阳)) In recent days, a wide range of severe cold weather has occurred in Liaoning Province (辽宁省), with temperatures in some areas falling below minus 30 degrees Celsius. Affected by the cold wave, Liaodong Bay (辽东湾) entered a severe ice period on January 19. According to the Marine Ice Remote Sensing Monitoring Bulletin of the National Marine Application Center of the Ministry of Natural Resources (自然资源部国家海洋应用中心): On January 22, the maximum distance from the shore of the outer edge line of sea ice in Liaodong Bay (辽东湾) was 58 nautical miles, and the total area of sea ice reached 12,953 square kilometers, accounting for 42.33% of the sea area of Liaodong Bay (辽东湾). The overall ice situation is heavier than the same period in the past 10 years.

After entering the severe ice period, sea ice will have varying degrees of impact on marine aquaculture, fishing port terminals, port shipping, oil and gas production, and inhabited islands. High-density thick ice may be distributed in channels and port pools, affecting shipping; sea ice drift may collide with fishing boats and aquaculture rafts, causing losses; offshore oil platforms, wind power, photovoltaic and other structures also face the risk of floating ice impact and cutting.

Liaodong Bay (辽东湾), located in the northeastern part of the Bohai Sea (渤海), is one of the three major bays in China's Bohai Sea (渤海) and has China's northernmost coastline.

The North China Sea Bureau (北海局) of the Ministry of Natural Resources (自然资源部) has launched a comprehensive survey of sea ice in the Bohai (渤海) and Yellow Seas (黄海) in the winter of 2026. The "Polar (极地)" icebreaker survey vessel sailed to the core ice area of Liaodong Bay (辽东湾) in the Bohai Sea (渤海) to carry out a comprehensive full-cycle survey of multiple elements such as sea ice, meteorology, hydrology, and ecology.

At present, the North China Sea Bureau (北海局) has built a three-dimensional sea ice observation network covering marine stations, ships, drones, video points, radar and satellites.

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The number of overwintering waterbirds in Xinjiang exceeds 370,000.

Urumqi, January 22nd (Reporter Shang Rongzheng (尚嵘峥)) - According to the latest monitoring data from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (新疆维吾尔自治区) Forestry and Grassland Bureau, the number of overwintering waterbirds in Xinjiang (新疆) has exceeded 370,000, a significant increase compared to the previous year, setting a record high for the same period in history. The monitoring range covers 44 monitoring units and 75 monitoring zones in Xinjiang (新疆), recording various rare bird species, including the White-headed Duck and Black Stork, which are national first-class protected wild animals, as well as the Ibisbill, Swan Goose, and Falcated Duck, which are national second-class protected wild animals.

Xinjiang (新疆) is located in an important passage for global migratory birds and is a key node in three of China's four main migration routes. In terms of distribution, overwintering waterbirds are mainly concentrated in the Toshkan River (托什干河), Muzati River (木扎提河), and Aksu River (阿克苏河) basins in the Aksu region (阿克苏地区). Among them, the number of overwintering waterbirds in the Toshkan River (托什干河) basin reached more than 99,000, setting a record high for the region, and the number of Common Cranes in the Muzati River (木扎提河) basin reached more than 13,000.

In recent years, Xinjiang (新疆) has continued to promote ecological protection by issuing the General Forest Chief Order to consolidate bird protection responsibilities, implementing key ecological projects such as wetland restoration and habitat protection, regularly carrying out wild bird "Guardian Flight Actions," and severely cracking down on various illegal and criminal activities involving birds in accordance with the law, providing a safe and suitable living environment for migratory and overwintering birds.

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South-to-North Water Diversion "Tianhe" Model Officially Released

The Beijing (北京) report of this newspaper on January 22nd (Reporter Wang Hao (王浩)) - The reporter learned from China South-to-North Water Diversion Group Co., Ltd. (中国南水北调集团有限公司) that the South-to-North Water Diversion "Tianhe (天河)" Large Model was officially released recently. It empowers the intelligent construction and operation of the national water network's entire life cycle with artificial intelligence, and helps maintain the safety of the South-to-North Water Diversion project, water supply safety, and water quality safety.

The South-to-North Water Diversion "Tianhe (天河)" Large Model constructs one intelligent computing cloud platform, creates two major mid-platforms: an AI mid-platform and a data mid-platform, and establishes three major model systems: a water network large language model, a water network visual large model, and a matrix of water conservancy professional models. It can understand, simulate, predict, and assist in decision-making regarding complex water system behavior. It possesses capabilities such as intelligent perception and cognition, accurate forecasting and early warning, scenario pre-enactment and simulation, and intelligent decision-making and planning, helping to achieve a shift from "people running and looking, experience-driven" to "intelligent perception, accurate early warning."

In terms of scheduling and operation and maintenance, the South-to-North Water Diversion "Tianhe (天河)" Large Model, through the construction of a multi-agent collaborative system for simulation, scheduling, control, and maintenance, relies on a digital twin water network to achieve high-precision simulation and deduction and autonomous decision-making under complex operating conditions. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and robotic dogs form a "sky-ground" perception network, enabling automatic identification and early warning of hidden dangers and faults, with the accuracy rate of identifying key parts remaining stable above 98%.

In terms of safety supervision, the South-to-North Water Diversion "Tianhe (天河)" Large Model integrates multi-source data such as meteorology, hydrology, engineering operation, and construction, and can carry out rolling forecasts for the next 15 days and intelligent deduction of flood processes, which can improve the ability to predict floods and the scientific nature of emergency decision-making. At the same time, facing major engineering construction scenarios such as the water diversion from the Yangtze River to supplement the Han River (引江补汉), related intelligent agents will effectively improve the efficiency of comprehensive forecasting and construction collaboration, and reduce engineering construction risks.

In terms of water quality protection, it can achieve second-level retrieval of water quality knowledge, minute-level pre-enactment of pollution diffusion, and compression of algae identification from the hour level to the second level, comprehensively building a solid water quality safety defense line.

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Tianjin's green electricity transaction volume exceeds 10 billion kWh for two consecutive years.

According to reports from the Tianjin Electric Power Trading Center (天津电力交易中心) by reporter Jin Bo (靳博) of this newspaper, Tianjin's (天津) annual electricity transaction volume in 2026 reached 30.896 billion kilowatt-hours, of which green electricity transaction volume was 11.916 billion kilowatt-hours, exceeding 10 billion kilowatt-hours for two consecutive years, accounting for nearly 40% of the annual electricity transaction volume.

Since the launch of green electricity trading in 2021, Tianjin's (天津) green electricity trading volume has experienced rapid growth. It increased by 550% in 2022 to 0.78 billion kilowatt-hours; increased by 2246% in 2023, reaching 1.83 billion kilowatt-hours; and increased by 298% and 143% in 2024 and 2025 respectively, reaching 7.289 billion kilowatt-hours and 17.718 billion kilowatt-hours. In 2026, Tianjin (天津) conducted its first Qinghai (青海) annual centralized bidding green electricity transaction, allowing low-priced green electricity from other provinces to be directly supplied to end-users, with the average green electricity transaction price decreasing by 10.33% compared to the same period.

Tianjin (天津) has overcome geographical and time zone limitations to achieve green electricity "space-time transmission." By utilizing time zone differences, matching Xinjiang (新疆) photovoltaic power generation curves, Tianjin's (天津) load demand, and the transmission capacity of ultra-high voltage channels, the "golden power supply period" is captured. In the summer of 2025, State Grid Tianjin Electric Power (国网天津电力) effectively alleviated summer electricity pressure through 5 intra-month peak-shifting green electricity transactions.

During the energy transition, Tianjin's (天津) wind and solar new energy power generation increased by 45.87% in 2025. State Grid (国家电网) has completed and put into operation 42 ultra-high voltage projects. The Yindong (银东), Qingdong (庆东), and Zhaoyi (昭沂) DC ultra-high voltage channels ensure the entry of clean energy from the Northwest into Tianjin (天津). The Datong-Tianjin South (大同—天津南) ultra-high voltage project under construction will further enhance cross-regional power transmission capacity.

After the full market entry of new energy in 2026, green electricity pricing will shift to a market mechanism. The Tianjin Electric Power Trading Center (天津电力交易中心) has launched a "price difference sharing" model, improved the market system, promoted the establishment of a standardized green electricity and green certificate grid system, and helped enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, participate in transactions.

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This edition's editors: Chen Juan, Yang Xiaoyu, Dong Wenxin

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County sports: Growing upwards (Sports Grandstand)

China has a vast territory, and diverse county-level sports models have "grown" in different regions. Many counties and districts take sports as a breakthrough point to revitalize existing resources and optimize incremental resources, developing characteristic industries according to local conditions. The reporter visited many places to see the development prospects and explore the "code" for increasing income. These practices are inspiring.

——Editor

Chongyi, Jiangxi Promotes Trendy Sports
From Event Traffic to Development Increment

Sliding, kickflip, board catching... At the skateboard base in Yuantian Village (元田村), Chongyi County (崇义县), Jiangxi (江西), many skateboard enthusiasts in trendy clothes come to check in during holidays. Although the base is built in the village, it has street, bowl, and pump track facilities, and some venues meet the standards for hosting national first-level events.

In 2025, several national-level events will be held in Yuantian Village (元田村). The first stop of the China Roller Skating (Skateboarding) Open was held here, attracting more than 80,000 visitors and achieving a comprehensive income of over 200 million yuan. In October last year, the China Chongyi Rural Skateboarding Competition, guided by the Chinese Roller Skating Association (中国轮滑协会) and the Jiangxi Provincial Sports Bureau (江西省体育局), was held. Hosting the competition brought popularity to Yuantian Village (元田村), and more and more skateboard enthusiasts came here attracted by its reputation. "Here, you can enjoy the fun of sports and feel the beauty of fields and streams, subverting our impression of traditional skateboarding venues," said skateboard enthusiast Lu Yinyin (芦茵茵).

How can event traffic be transformed into development increment? Yuantian Village (元田村) built a themed block, and the formerly idle farmhouses were transformed into modern themed homestays, complementing the pastoral scenery. Everyone's life has also undergone considerable changes. Lai Yongjin (赖永金), a villager who runs a farmhouse, earned nearly 10,000 yuan during the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays last year.

In recent years, relying on the ecological advantages of high forest coverage, Chongyi (崇义) has explored the integrated development path of "sports +". With the counterpart support of the General Administration of Sport of China (国家体育总局), Chongyi (崇义) has built the Guobu Triathlon Outdoor Competition Base (过埠三栖户外竞技基地), the Changtan International Lure Fishing Base (长潭国际路亚基地), and the Wanchangshan Alpine Ski Resort (万长山高山滑雪场), forming a full-season outdoor sports product supply system. In October 2025, Chongyi (崇义) was also successfully selected into the first batch of national high-quality outdoor sports destination construction list.

From "selling scenery" to "selling experience", Chongyi's (崇义) cultural, sports, and tourism industry has achieved value leap. According to statistics, the county received 9.08 million tourists in 2025, achieving a tourism income of 7.774 billion yuan.

Leling, Shandong Promotes Industrial Iteration
From Handmade Workshops to Advantageous Clusters

It takes about 1 hour to drive from Dezhou (德州), Shandong (山东), to Leling (乐陵). Along the way, billboards of sports brands such as Taishan Sports (泰山体育), Friendship Archery (友谊射箭), and Luchen Garment (鲁辰制衣) come into view.

"Leling (乐陵) started from handmade workshops and became a national sports industry base in 2010. Now it has formed an advantageous cluster of sports industries," introduced Zhang Keqiang (张克强), Party Secretary and Director of the Leling Municipal Sports Development Center (乐陵市体育事业发展中心). In the past two years, the local sports industry's total output value has exceeded 10 billion yuan, which is a solid pillar of county economic development.

Walking into Leling Friendship Sporting Goods Co., Ltd. (乐陵市友谊体育器材有限责任公司), the staff are busy in an orderly manner. A technician is remotely collecting customer data to tailor professional shooting clothing for them. "In 2025, the company's total output value reached 120 million yuan, and export sales increased by nearly 80%. In addition to the gratifying results in archery, shooting clothing, and equipment sales, we have also achieved good results in event services and sports training," introduced General Manager Liu Yongkang (刘永康).

In the workshop of Shandong Taishan RuiBao Composite Materials Co., Ltd. (山东泰山瑞豹复合材料有限公司), the machinery is operating efficiently, and the production scene is well-organized. This is an important base for the research and development and production of carbon fiber sports bicycles in China, and high-end bicycles are sold to many parts of the world from here.

In order to promote the integration of the sports industry with sports events and activities and the lives of citizens, the city issued the "Leling City's Implementation Plan for Building a Bicycle-Friendly City with All Efforts" in 2023, established relevant organizations, built tracks, held events... One plan after another is gradually becoming a reality.

Currently, Leling (乐陵) is constantly exploring the integrated development of "sports +". In 2025, the local area hosted the first stop of the Shandong Provincial Bicycle Sports League, attracting nearly a thousand cycling enthusiasts. During the event, the city received a large number of tourists. According to statistics, the sales of characteristic products such as jujube products and intangible cultural heritage handicrafts increased by 30% year-on-year, and local brand bicycles and accessories became popular products.

Jingshan, Hubei Adheres to "City-Event Integration"
From Tennis Characteristics to City Brand

In January, the lowest temperature in Jingshan (京山), Hubei (湖北), has reached below zero, but the tennis court is still bustling. In December last year, the Jingshan (京山) Tennis League Finals were held in the Wenfeng Tennis Theme Park (文峰网球主题公园), bringing together 41 teams and nearly 500 enthusiasts. The event is not only a vivid practice of national fitness, but also a microcosm of the local area using tennis as a fulcrum to leverage county economic development.

Jingshan's (京山) "tennis +" practice started from a deep mass base and succeeded in a systematic industrial layout. This small county with a population of less than 600,000 has more than 100,000 tennis enthusiasts, more than 350 standardized tennis courts, and has built a 15-minute tennis circle in the urban area.

In 2025, the first Jingshan (京山) Tennis Open was held, and men's and women's international professional tennis events were held simultaneously, directly driving comprehensive tourism revenue of over 110 million yuan. "Hubei (湖北) players performed well in the competition, igniting the citizens' sense of pride and participation, and laying a deep mass foundation for the 'Jingwang' brand, making the event a powerful engine for driving development," said Zhang Qionghui (张琼慧), Deputy Mayor of Jingshan City (京山市). At the industry promotion meeting held during the Jingshan (京山) Tennis Open, 20 high-quality projects were signed on the spot, with a total investment of 1.9 billion yuan.

International professional events, national professional events, and mass popularization events run in parallel. Since last year, Jingshan (京山) has held 48 tennis events and activities, with nearly 20,000 participants, attracting more than 3.5 million people to "travel to Jingshan (京山) with rackets".

"We adhere to 'city-event integration' to deeply integrate tennis with urban growth," said Gao Bao (高宝), Deputy Director of the Jingshan Municipal Government Office (京山市政府办公室) and Executive Principal of Hubei Tennis School (Jingshan) (湖北省网球学校（京山）). Jingshan (京山) combines tennis with its local ecological advantages and hot spring health resources to create a characteristic route of "watching events, soaking in hot springs, and touring the countryside", transforming the audience flow into the main force of tourism consumption. Today, tennis has become a resounding brand of Jingshan (京山).

(Our reporters Zeng Huafeng (曾华锋), Kong Qingyuan (孔庆元), Li Shuo (李硕), Wang Liang (王亮))

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Pillow on Cold Waves, Lie on Icy River, Admire Beautiful Scenery

By: 本报记者 李祉瑶

Surrounded by snow-capped mountains and rime ice, leisurely floating in non-freezing waters, enjoying the unique beauty of cold weather... Recently, the ice floating project "lying on ice" has appeared in some northern provinces. Participants, dressed in red, fully-enclosed cold-proof suits, lie and float in the icy river, and are called "iced crayfish" by some netizens because they look like crayfish.

Ice floating is common in high-latitude countries and regions such as Russia, Finland, and Iceland. Now it has entered China and become a new winter cultural tourism hotspot in many places. Ice floating has high requirements for natural conditions. In areas rich in geothermal resources, even if the temperature is close to minus 40 degrees Celsius, the icy river can still maintain a temperature of about 4 degrees Celsius, forming a non-freezing water area, which provides a suitable environment for this project.

How to safely experience ice floating?

First of all, participants must choose operating venues with formal qualifications and complete safety facilities, and stay away from undeveloped natural waters.

Professional equipment is the key to ensuring the safety of ice floating. The dry cold-proof suit, called the "crayfish suit" by netizens, is an improved version of ship life-saving equipment. It uses high-strength sealed waterproof fabric and thermal insulation coating to isolate the invasion of ice water and keep the inside dry and warm; the rectangular airbag on the back of the clothes can hold the person's head and shoulders to ensure that the upper body floats on the water. Participants need to bring their own warm clothing and remove sharp objects in advance.

During the experience, pay attention to ensuring that the neck seal fits when wearing equipment, squat and exhaust after the zipper is fully pulled; when entering the water, slide in slowly in a sitting position, keep a supine position when floating, and do not leave the designated area without authorization; when floating, you need to mobilize the strength of the core muscle groups of the body to grasp the floating direction, and the duration should be controlled between 20 and 30 minutes. Replenish heat in time before and after the experience; follow the guidance of professional coaches throughout the process, and do not engage in dangerous behaviors such as making noise or breaking ice.

Now, relying on rich ice and snow resources and unique natural geographical conditions, ice floating projects have been launched in Inner Mongolia (内蒙古) and other places. More and more enthusiasts are checking in on this unique experience in the ice and snow, and feeling the northern scenery in the fusion of ice and water.

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Wang Xinyu Advances to Australian Open Women's Singles Round of 32

This newspaper Beijing (北京) January 22nd dispatch (Reporter Li Shuo (李硕)) On the 22nd, in the second round of the 2026 Australian Open women's singles, Chinese player Wang Xinyu (王欣瑜) defeated the 24th seed, Latvian player Ostapenko (奥斯塔彭科), advancing to the Australian Open women's singles top 32 for the first time in her career. This match can be described as a break point battle, with a total of 15 break points completed by both sides. Wang Xinyu (王欣瑜) stabilized her mentality and achieved a reversal after losing the first set and encountering a break point in the second set. In the next round, she will face the 13th seed, Czech player Noskova (诺斯科娃).

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Dongyang, Zhejiang: Using the "Hundred Crafts Cup" Competition as a Bridge to Broaden the Development Path of Traditional Industries

Zhejiang Province's Dongyang City is known as the "World Capital of Wood Carving." Its wood carving furniture industry has formed a complete ecosystem covering wood trading, design, production, and sales, becoming a prosperous industry that drives income growth for the masses. As of the end of December 2025, the city had more than 1,300 wood carving and bamboo weaving furniture enterprises, gathering 59 provincial-level or higher arts and crafts masters, employing more than 60,000 people, with a total industrial chain revenue exceeding 100 billion yuan, and its industrial scale and comprehensive strength ranking among the top in the industry.

In recent years, facing the iteration of consumer groups and the trend of rational consumption, Dongyang City has taken the China (Dongyang) "Baigong Cup" Whole House Wooden Furniture Design and Creation Competition as a starting point, adhering to the concept of upholding integrity and innovation, and promoting the industry's transformation towards "people-friendliness, youthfulness, intelligence, and internationalization," allowing the millennium-old wood carving craftsmanship to enter ordinary people's homes.

Competition Leads Innovation, Reconstructing the Product Supply System

Dongyang City uses competitions as a carrier to promote product innovation in multiple dimensions, catering to diverse market demands. The first "Baigong Cup" competition took "Craftsmanship Inherits Classics, New Quality Towards the Future" as its theme, focusing on "innovation + people-friendliness," and promoting product innovation from three dimensions: space, materials, and culture. In terms of space, modular and combined designs are adopted to adapt to different apartment types; in terms of materials, high-quality hardwood is cross-border matched with modern materials, retaining core crafts such as mortise and tenon joints and wood carving while reducing costs; in terms of culture, anchoring Song-style aesthetics, refining traditional patterns, and revitalizing intangible cultural heritage techniques to cater to the preferences of young consumer groups. As of the end of December 2025, the copyrights of all 21 winning works have been completed, and the total sales of 100 shortlisted works exceeded 20 million yuan.

Clarifying price and quality orientation, promoting the transformation of products to "daily necessities." The competition advocates achieving the unity of texture and high cost performance in rational material selection, and encourages the selection of people-friendly high-quality hardwood and modern materials. At the same time, Dongyang wood carving furniture adheres to the mortise and tenon structure and wood carving techniques, using "subtraction design" of "simple cutting, skillful and natural" to make traditional crafts more in line with modern aesthetics, and preserve the foundation of craftsmanship and culture.

Improving Supporting Facilities, Reducing the Cost of Industrial Transformation

Dongyang City optimizes supporting facilities to reduce corporate operating costs. In terms of logistics support, in 2019, the first wood-specific public bonded warehouse in Zhejiang Province was put into use in Dongyang City, relying on policy advantages to reduce raw material transportation costs. The Nanma Public Bonded Warehouse, approved for establishment in 2025, opened up the linkage channel between Ningbo and Dongyang ports, supporting a shared processing center, and optimizing the entire chain process with a "large batch in, small batch out" model, helping 80% of the city's wood carving furniture enterprises reduce costs from the raw material end to the production end.

Strengthening the dual guarantee of policies and supervision, guiding the standardized transformation of the industry. In terms of policy support, Dongyang City continues to iterate industrial support policies, increasing support in areas such as industrial upgrading, enterprise development, talent cultivation, brand building, and business environment optimization, allowing enterprises to "dare to transform and transform well"; in terms of industry supervision, Dongyang City promotes the "one certificate, one book, one card" mechanism to strengthen quality tracking management and regular sampling inspections, guiding enterprises to abandon low-price competition and win the market with craftsmanship quality; in terms of transformation results, Mingtang (明堂) and Zhuomuwang (卓木王) have established industry benchmarks with historical classic industrial production and manufacturing transformation demonstration projects, and brands such as Shangxi Home Furnishings (上汐家居) and Lizhongxin Rosewood (李忠信红木) have frequently appeared on high-end stages at home and abroad, and the global influence of Dongyang wood carving furniture industry continues to increase.

Strengthening Talent Cultivation, Consolidating the Foundation for Industrial Development

Dongyang City constructs a college cultivation system to train specialized technical talents in a targeted manner. As the main base for Dongyang wood carving furniture talent cultivation, Zhejiang Guangsha Construction Vocational and Technical University (浙江广厦建设职业技术大学) has constructed a cultivation system with "undergraduate as the main and higher vocational as the auxiliary," and launched the "Master Elite Class" project in November 2025 to cultivate and deliver comprehensive high-end talents with design, production, and operation capabilities for the industry.

Building a talent introduction and cooperation platform to gather external innovative wisdom. Establishing a "shared designer" mechanism, inviting well-known architectural designers from Shenzhen (深圳), Guangdong (广东), and even internationally to conduct cross-border cooperation, solving the shortage of high-end design talents, promoting the deep integration of traditional crafts and modern aesthetics, and providing a continuous stream of talent support for industrial innovation.

In the future, Dongyang City will continue to deepen the innovative practice of traditional industries, allowing exquisite mortise and tenon structures and elegant aesthetic shapes to enter thousands of households, further expanding the development space of the wood carving furniture industry, and allowing the millennium-old wood charm to radiate more lasting vitality in the new era.

Data Source: Dongyang City Rong Media Center (东阳市融媒体中心)

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This edition's editors: Lin Lin, Shi Zhe, Gao Ji

Layout Design: Zhang Danfeng (张丹峰)

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"Digital Silk Road" Weaves a Landscape of Innovation and Development in Latin America (International Perspective)

By: 本报记者 谢佳宁

Latin America has become one of the regions with the most abundant content and fruitful results in the "Digital Silk Road" cooperation. According to a recent article on the Spanish website "China Policy Observer," driven by China's digital technology and cooperation concepts, emerging technologies such as cloud computing, 5G communication, smart agriculture, and e-commerce are accelerating their implementation in Latin America. A "Digital Silk Road" spanning the Pacific Ocean extends from the Andes Mountains to the Caribbean coast, connecting the innovative development landscape of Latin American countries, injecting strong impetus into the comprehensive partnership between China and Latin America, and building a solid digital foundation for building a China-Latin America community of common destiny.

Digital Infrastructure First: Solidifying the Foundation of Cooperation

In Santiago (圣地亚哥), the capital of Chile (智利), rows of servers operate stably in the cloud data center built by China's Huawei (华为) company, with flashing indicator lights transmitting data signals in an orderly manner. This data center not only provides high-quality cloud services for Chile but also attracts customers from neighboring countries such as Argentina (阿根廷) and Peru (秘鲁). "Huawei's construction of a public cloud in Chile and its radiation of services to other Latin American countries has strengthened and consolidated Chile's position as a digital port and leader in digital transformation and information infrastructure construction in the Latin American region," said Cristián Rodríguez, former chairman of the Chilean Foreign Investment Committee.

In recent years, Chile has actively promoted the "Digital National Strategy," proposing the goal of building a data hub in the Southern Hemisphere, and Chinese companies have become important partners in this process. Huawei has successively launched the second and third data center projects in Chile, using technologies such as cloud computing, big data, and artificial intelligence to help the country upgrade its digital infrastructure. ZTE (中兴通讯) and Telefónica Chile (西班牙电讯智利公司) have joined hands to promote 5G transformation in Antofagasta (安托法加斯塔市), improving communication network efficiency and reducing environmental impact. The "Digital Thousand Villages" project, a cooperation between China and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, is being piloted in Chile, allowing remote areas to share digital connections and agricultural information services.

Such cooperation scenarios can be seen in many Latin American countries. The 5G network jointly built by Brazil (巴西) and Chinese companies covers major cities, providing strong support for the development of agricultural Internet of Things. Mexico (墨西哥) has introduced Chinese technology to promote digital infrastructure construction, effectively promoting digital transformation and social inclusion. The smart transportation system in Lima (利马), the capital of Peru, is jointly developed by Chinese and Peruvian teams, significantly improving urban traffic efficiency through automatic traffic light control and bus priority. Currently, many Latin American countries are accelerating digital transformation, and Chinese digital technology is becoming an important support for Latin American countries to cross the "development gap," promoting the extension of information superhighways to thousands of households and allowing digital dividends to cover all fields of government governance, enterprise development, and people's lives.

"Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and other countries are gradually becoming the main force in infrastructure cooperation between Latin America and China. More and more Chinese companies are participating in Latin American digital infrastructure projects, and Chinese investment and technology are injecting vitality into local infrastructure development," said Enrique Dussel, director of the Center for Chinese-Mexican Studies at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (墨西哥国立自治大学).

Digital Intelligence Empowers Industries: Deepening People's Well-being

The Port of Santos (桑托斯港) in southeastern Brazil is an important shipping hub in Latin America, and Chinese smart port technology is injecting momentum into its upgrading and transformation. The "Container Truck Anti-Lifting System" upgrade project launched by Fujian Electronic Port Co., Ltd. (福建电子口岸股份有限公司) at the port has effectively improved the safety and efficiency of port operations. In addition, Chinese companies are also cooperating with Brazilian partners in port expansion, equipment supply, and intelligent facility investment, jointly exploring green port, smart port construction, and operation optimization solutions, and promoting the transformation of this old port to digitalization and intelligence.

Currently, relying on the deepening of China-Latin America digital cooperation, digital technology is deeply integrated into many industries in Latin America, promoting the transformation and upgrading of local traditional industries. For example, São Paulo (圣保罗) in Brazil is cooperating with China to promote smart agriculture systems, monitoring farmland humidity and pests and diseases through sensors and satellite remote sensing to achieve precise irrigation and medication. After some farms adopted Chinese drones, their operating efficiency has been greatly improved. Argentina's pastoral areas have introduced Chinese satellite positioning equipment, making cattle tracking and feed management more scientific.

The dividends of China-Latin America digital cooperation are truly entering the daily lives of Latin American people. In the mountainous areas of Puebla (普埃布拉州) in central Mexico, local fruit farmers have broadened their sales channels by participating in China-Latin America digital village projects, using digital marketing, e-commerce platforms, smart payment, and logistics systems, increasing their profits by 20%. Some fruit farmers are planning to further develop deep-processed products such as apple cider and organic soda and open rural hotels, allowing tourists to experience apple picking and gourmet food making. This change is closely related to Bai Niu Village (白牛村) in Lin'an District (临安区), Hangzhou (杭州市), Zhejiang Province (浙江省), China, thousands of miles away. A few years ago, Andrés, a young man from Mexico, visited Bai Niu Village and was deeply shocked by the vitality that the digital economy gave to the countryside. He visited Bai Niu Village four times to learn about the local e-commerce development experience and, in 2020, brought the Chinese e-commerce wealth-generating experience back to his hometown through the Mexican digital village project.

Cross-border e-commerce has also become an important "digital link" connecting the Chinese and Latin American markets, promoting the two-way flow of good products. Latin American agricultural products such as Chilean cherries, Ecuadorian bananas, and Colombian coffee are entering Chinese tables through Chinese e-commerce platforms. Chinese electric vehicles, smart home equipment, and small household appliances are selling well in Latin America, allowing local residents to truly experience smart living. The digital economy not only accelerates commodity circulation and improves trade efficiency but also drives employment growth in logistics warehousing, cross-border payment, customer service, and other fields.

"Chinese farmers have successfully achieved market diversification and income growth by using e-commerce platforms, digital payment tools, and smart logistics, forming a virtuous cycle. This model not only attracts young people to return to their hometowns to start businesses but also provides a reference path for global poverty reduction and rural revitalization," said Andrés.

Joint Cultivation of Digital Talents: Injecting Momentum into Development

Inside the Confucius Institute (孔子学院) at the Catholic University (天主教大学) in Lima, Peru, the "Seeds for the Future" China-Peru youth exchange and training program is being carried out in an orderly manner. The program not only sets up digital technology application courses but also arranges Chinese cultural lectures and experience activities. Confucius Institute teachers start with China's national conditions and traditional etiquette, gradually extending to interactive explanations of modern technology, mobile payment, and the sharing economy. While mastering knowledge and technology, students gain an in-depth understanding of China's development concepts. This project, which combines technical training and cultural exchange, is a vivid practice of China-Latin America digital education cooperation.

The "China-CELAC Key Areas of Cooperation Joint Action Plan (2025-2027)" released in May 2025 clearly proposes to strengthen "digital technology cooperation," emphasizing carrying out digital talent training and exploring the establishment of a China-Latin America e-commerce cooperation dialogue mechanism, providing a mechanism guarantee for China-Latin America digital cooperation to move to a higher stage. In São Paulo, Brazil, young engineers master programming and network security knowledge through China-Latin America Digital Academy courses, and some students enter China-Brazil joint venture technology companies for internships. In Puebla, Mexico, the Puebla campus of the Ibero-American University (伊比利亚美洲大学普埃布拉分校) signed an educational cooperation agreement with Huawei to provide teachers and students with digital skills training and certification resources, promoting the digital transformation of universities. The China-Latin America and Caribbean States Technology Transfer Center (中国—拉美加勒比国家技术转移中心) jointly launched the China-Latin America Digital Education University Alliance with Chinese and Latin American universities to strengthen digital education and talent training. These China-Latin America cooperation cases are cultivating batches of digital professionals who understand technology and are capable of doing things for Latin American countries.

From artificial intelligence to e-commerce, from smart education to digital governance, China and Latin America are constantly expanding cooperation space in knowledge sharing, youth innovation, and inclusive social development. The "Digital Silk Road" across the Pacific Ocean not only transmits technology and experience but also condenses the trust and hope of the Chinese and Latin American people, linking the talents, enterprises, and dreams of both sides. The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (联合国拉丁美洲和加勒比经济委员会) wrote in a report that China-Latin America "Digital Silk Road" cooperation has effectively promoted the digital transformation process in the Latin American region, significantly improved the regional e-commerce vitality and digital infrastructure coverage level, and injected key momentum into Latin American countries to bridge the digital divide and achieve sustainable economic growth.

"China's technological innovation capabilities are admirable. Latin American countries, including Mexico, can carry out more cooperation with China in digital economy, digital education, and other fields to empower future development," said Li Ziwén (李子文), former Mexican Ambassador to China. "Peru highly appreciates China's initiative and looks forward to continuously consolidating the comprehensive strategic partnership with China based on mutual trust and mutual respect. Latin America-China digital cooperation will help us move towards a more sustainable digital development future," said Birches, Secretary-General of the Secretariat of Government and Digital Transformation of the Peruvian Prime Minister's Office.

(Reported from Mexico City (墨西哥城) on January 22 by this newspaper)

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"Memory Gaps" in Japanese History Education (Global Perspective)

By: 朱玥颖

During my time working in Japan, I repeatedly asked local young people to help me film videos on the theme of the Japanese invasion of China. During the interviews, some young people said that they previously knew almost nothing about this period of history, and that school textbooks had never mentioned it. It was not until they heard the tearful testimonies of those who had personally experienced it that they realized that the "history" they knew was so pale and incomplete. The shock and confusion of this young Japanese person is not an isolated case, reflecting the "memory void" deliberately constructed by Japan in its history education.

In order to explore how Japan systematically erases the history of its invasion of China in education, I investigated Japanese history textbooks. Japan implements a textbook screening system, in which the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (文部科学省) reviews textbooks compiled by publishers, and those that pass the review are selected by local education committees or schools. On the surface, the screening system allows for the selection of textbook versions, but in the key chapters involving modern history of aggression, the current different versions of textbooks show a certain "tacit understanding": the Nanjing Massacre (南京大屠杀), "comfort women," Unit 731 (731部队) and other historical facts are either mentioned in a few words, vaguely, or downplayed, distorted and beautified, or even completely absent. This clearly shows that Japanese history education is lacking in its recognition of war responsibility.

In April of last year, junior high school history textbooks that passed the screening by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (文部科学省) were officially released and used. Taking the history textbooks purchased from Nippon Bunkyo Shuppan (日本文教出版社) and Kyoiku Shuppan (教育出版社) as examples, the books only use one page to briefly describe the war of aggression against China after the Lugou Bridge Incident (卢沟桥事变) in 1937, and the content contains many distortions and beautifications, which seriously downplays the fact that Japanese militarism launched a war of aggression in Asia. This systematic and structural narrative omission is by no means accidental; it reflects the long-standing attempt by some forces to start with education in order to achieve the goal of downplaying war responsibility and reshaping historical understanding.

Writing a textbook that restores the truth of history in Japan often means a difficult struggle. In the 1960s, Japanese historian Saburo Ienaga (家永三郎) was deemed "unqualified" by the Ministry of Education (文部省) (the predecessor of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) because his high school textbook "New Japanese History" truthfully recorded the crimes of Unit 731 (731部队) and other content. The descriptions in the manuscript about Unit 731 (731部队) capturing personnel to carry out germ warfare experiments were deleted by the Ministry of Education on the grounds that "relevant academic materials have not been published"; the expression "aggression" was also tampered with to "military advancement," and the nature of the war was deliberately distorted.

Saburo Ienaga (家永三郎) did not remain silent; he chose to use the law as a weapon to file a "textbook lawsuit." This lawsuit lasted 32 years, with three ups and downs, and almost exhausted half of his life. Saburo Ienaga (家永三郎) wrote in "Textbook Trial" that he had felt uneasy because he had failed to bravely resist during the war, and if he gave up writing again, could he avoid repeating the same regret?

The Saburo Ienaga (家永三郎) textbook lawsuit led teachers to avoid teaching about war crimes due to fear of right-wing retaliation, forming an atmosphere of "classroom self-censorship." For a long time, Japanese history textbooks have weakened the facts of harm to Asian countries, but instead focused on the descriptions of the damage suffered by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Tokyo air raids, portraying Japan as a "dual victim" of World War II. With such a distortion of history, how can young Japanese people know the truth of history and establish a correct view of history? What is even more worrying is that the history discipline is facing marginalization in Japanese society, which further weakens the social foundation for historical research and inheritance.

Fortunately, there are also people of insight with justice in Japan who have always been running around and appealing, trying their best to uncover that dark history. In February of last year, Hideo Shimizu (清水英男), a former member of the "boy squad" of the Japanese Army Unit 731 (731部队) that invaded China, made a special trip to Joshi Seigakuin Junior and Senior High School (女子聖学院) in Tokyo to tell teachers and students about the past that had been deliberately concealed. When talking about the crimes committed by Unit 731 (731部队), Hideo Shimizu (清水英男) choked up several times. A high school sophomore said after listening: "This is the first time I have learned in detail about what Unit 731 (731部队) did. Their crimes such as conducting human experiments are shocking." The testimony of the person who experienced it is like a sharp sword piercing the man-made curtain, allowing young hearts to directly feel the weight of history and the weight of truth.

History is a nation's collective memory and a mirror for the future. Systematically erasing the history of war crimes in history education is not only a secondary injury to the people of the victimized countries, but also a deprivation of the right to know and think of their own youth, fundamentally eroding the foundation of peace and reconciliation. Only when more people of justice stand up and take responsibility for the truth of history can they break through the shackles of lies and defend the dignity of history.

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U.S. Remarks on Europe Spark Questions and Criticism

By: 本报记者 许海林

In a speech delivered at the World Economic Forum annual meeting on January 21, U.S. President Donald Trump (唐纳德·特朗普) criticized Europe's immigration and green energy policies, saying that Europe "is not going in the right direction." On the issue of Greenland, Trump (特朗普) stated that it is a "core national security interest" of the United States and will seek to immediately begin negotiations on the United States' "acquisition" of the island. The U.S. remarks have triggered criticism and questioning from many parties, accusing its policies of lacking logic, undermining the multilateral order, and exhibiting obvious hegemonic tendencies.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (克里斯特松) told Swedish media at a press conference held in Davos (达沃斯), Switzerland, that afternoon that the content and wording of Trump's (特朗普) speech "show injustice everywhere" and are deeply disappointing. In his speech, Trump (特朗普) continued to make threatening and satirical remarks about European countries, "These remarks are not in line with the facts." Kristersson (克里斯特松) said that Trump's (特朗普) recent remarks and a series of actions by the United States have drawn severe criticism from global public opinion and have been strongly opposed even within the United States. He believes that Europe needs to strengthen its national defense, enhance its economic strength, improve its technological level, and, more importantly, reduce its dependence on the United States. Sweden will firmly support Denmark (丹麦) and Greenland (格陵兰岛) in subsequent negotiations, "As an autonomous territory of Denmark (丹麦), Greenland (格陵兰岛) is not for sale, and we fully agree with this."

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (弗雷泽里克森) said in an interview with Danish media on January 22 that Denmark's (丹麦) red line has always been the same: we will not give up sovereignty, and Greenland (格陵兰岛) is part of the Kingdom of Denmark (丹麦王国).

European Green Party co-chair Vula Tsetsi (武拉·采齐) strongly called on European leaders to "unite and resist Trump's (特朗普) bullying." She pointed out that Trump's (特朗普) remarks exposed dangerous nationalist tendencies, leading the United States towards a "national model accompanied by domestic oppression and open imperialist intentions," which seriously threatens the international order.

Swiss German-language broadcaster SRF (瑞士德语广播电视公司) published a commentary saying that Trump (特朗普) claims that the EU is going astray – whether on energy issues, the so-called "mass immigration" issue, national debt issues, or many other aspects. Trump (特朗普) actually believes that without the United States, the world would not prosper, and Europe's economic boom would be out of the question. These remarks came from the mouth of someone out of touch with reality. Trump (特朗普) once again sent a signal: the United States gives orders, and the world must obey. But in Davos (达沃斯), the wave of European resistance seems to be brewing. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (冯德莱恩) and French President Emmanuel Macron (马克龙) have both made it clear that Greenland's (格陵兰岛) sovereignty is not negotiable, and they are absolutely unwilling to live in a "barbaric" and ruleless world.

On January 21, the European Parliament (欧洲议会) adopted the annual report on the EU's common foreign, security, and defense policy, stating that relevant U.S. diplomatic actions and remarks have posed a "significant threat" to the EU's strategic interests, the Atlantic alliance, and the international order, urging the EU to take unified countermeasures and resolutely safeguard its own rights and multilateralism principles.

U.S. remarks about Europe have also sparked criticism in the United States. California (加利福尼亚州) Governor Gavin Newsom (纽森) told the British newspaper The Guardian (《卫报》) that Trump's (特朗普) speech was "boring" and "rude," and warned that if Europe does not take a firm response and defend its own position, it will face greater risks. Harvard University (哈佛大学) professor Graham Allison (格雷厄姆·艾利森) said that Trump's (特朗普) remarks made Europeans realize that Europe is in such a strange world that the "allies" of the past would threaten to use force against themselves.

(Reported from Davos (达沃斯), Switzerland, January 22 by this newspaper)

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Photo Report

The 2026 Berlin International Green Week was held in Berlin, Germany, from January 16th to 25th. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Berlin International Green Week, attracting more than 1,600 exhibitors from over 50 countries to showcase food, agricultural, and horticultural products.

Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Haofu (张豪夫) photo

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Trump Launches So-Called "Peace Committee" in Davos

According to Xinhua News Agency, Davos, Switzerland, January 22nd (Reporters Kang Yi (康逸) and Guo Shuang (郭爽)) - US President Donald Trump (特朗普) signed documents with representatives from more than 10 countries and regions in Davos, Switzerland on the 22nd, launching the so-called "Peace Committee." The signatories on site did not include representatives from Palestine and Israel.

Trump (特朗普) will serve as the "Chairman" of the "Peace Committee." He said at the signing ceremony that the "Peace Committee" will cooperate with the United Nations in dealing with major regional and global diplomatic issues. He also said that the US defense budget for fiscal year 2027 will increase to $1.5 trillion.

Critics believe that this move by the United States will weaken the authority of the United Nations. Some invited countries refused to join or adopted a cautious attitude. A French Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on the 22nd that France would not join for the time being, as the charter of the "Peace Committee" does not comply with the United Nations resolutions on the Gaza issue, and some content also violates the "Charter of the United Nations." British Foreign Secretary Cooper (库珀) clearly stated in an interview with the media in Davos on the 22nd that the United Kingdom would not participate in the signing ceremony of the "Peace Committee."

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Iran Continues to Protest External Interference

By: 本报记者 张志文

The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) reported on January 21, citing a statement from the Iranian National Security Council, that the recent riots in Iran resulted in 3,117 deaths, of which 2,427 were civilians and law enforcement personnel. According to Iranian media reports, the social order in Tehran (德黑兰), the capital of Iran, has basically returned to stability, with shops operating normally and citizens' lives gradually returning to normal. However, as long as external forces do not abandon their obsession with military intervention, all of this may be a brief calm before the storm.

Since the end of last year, protests have occurred in many parts of Iran due to rising prices and currency devaluation. Violent riots occurred during the protests, and the social order of many cities was severely impacted. According to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Ali Akbar Velayati (韦拉亚提), the Supreme Leader of Iran's foreign affairs advisor, spoke with Nouri al-Maliki (努里·马利基), the former Prime Minister of Iraq and leader of the "State of Law Coalition," on the 20th. Velayati (韦拉亚提) briefed Maliki (马利基) on the recent events in Iran, stating that the event was not only targeted at Iran but also at the entire region. He emphasized that the United States must be held accountable. Brigadier General Alireza Elhami (阿里礼萨·埃尔哈米), of the Iranian Army Air Defense Force, confirmed that a large number of foreigners participated in the armed riots, and that this event was a continuation of the military conflict between Iran and Israel in June last year. Maliki (马利基) said that he hopes that chaos will no longer occur in Iraq and Iran, and that any such event will directly affect the entire region.

Faced with both internal and external pressures, the heads of the Iranian executive, legislative, and judicial branches have pledged to seize the opportunity to solve people's livelihood and economic problems and respond to the people's reasonable demands. The Iranian army has also entered a state of high alert. Mohammad Reza Moradi (穆罕默德·礼萨·莫拉迪), director of the international department of Iran's Mehr News Agency, told this reporter that the Iranian people are currently facing enormous economic pressure, and the US military threat has further increased social psychological pressure. "After witnessing this riot, the Iranian people strongly condemned this violent act. It is certain that the vast majority of Iranians believe that no foreign power has the right to interfere in Iran's internal affairs in any way."

Iran's neighboring countries have also continued to speak out recently, calling for avoiding escalation of the situation and jointly maintaining regional stability. According to the UAE's *The National*, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed (穆罕默德) said at the World Economic Forum annual meeting that military action against Iran would only exacerbate the turmoil in the entire region, and that Qatar always believes that "there is still room for diplomacy," and emphasized that "escalation will inevitably have consequences." Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz (夏巴兹) emphasized Iran's key role in regional affairs in a telephone conversation with Iranian President Pezeskian (佩泽希齐扬) on the 19th, and reiterated Pakistan's willingness to provide assistance in de-escalating regional tensions. Turkish President Erdoğan (埃尔多安) recently stated that Turkey opposes any actions that may push the region into chaos and believes that Iran can overcome this difficult period through dialogue and diplomatic means.

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Japan's Largest Nuclear Plant Shut Down Again Due to Malfunction One Day After Restart

According to Xinhua News Agency, Tokyo, January 22nd (Reporter Qian Zheng (钱铮)) - Tokyo Electric Power Company (东京电力公司) announced on the 22nd that Unit 6 of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant (柏崎刈羽核电站) in Japan, which had just been restarted on the 21st, issued an alarm during operations on the 22nd. Due to the time required for investigation, it was decided to temporarily shut down the unit.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (东京电力公司) issued a press release on the 22nd stating that in the early hours of the day, during the operation of extracting the reactor control rods, an alarm indicating an abnormality sounded. The staff immediately interrupted the operation and are currently continuing the relevant investigation.

The director of the nuclear power plant, Takeyuki Inagaki (稻垣武之), stated at a press conference held that evening that it is currently impossible to predict how long the relevant investigation will last.

Located in Niigata Prefecture (新潟县), the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant (柏崎刈羽核电站) is the largest nuclear power plant in Japan. Unit 6 of the nuclear power plant was originally scheduled to restart on the 20th, but a failure of the alarm system occurred during the control rod extraction test on the 17th, causing the restart to be postponed to the 21st. This is the first restart of a nuclear power plant under the name of the company after the "3.11" Great East Japan Earthquake (东日本大地震) in 2011 triggered the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (福岛第一核电站) accident of Tokyo Electric Power Company (东京电力公司).

The fact that the nuclear power plant is being shut down again only one day after restarting has caused concern among local residents. Niigata Prefecture (新潟县) resident Mitsuru Kojima (小岛充) said in an interview with Kyodo News (共同社) that the nuclear power plant has been shut down for more than 10 years. The fact that it is being shut down again after restarting is exacerbating the anxiety of Niigata Prefecture (新潟县) residents.

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Editor in Charge for This Section: Zhang Mengxu, Yue Linwei, Liu Gang

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Meeting through Art, Communicating with the World

By: 丁 宁

At the turn of the year, everything takes on a new look. The Beijing Exhibition Center (北京展览馆) in winter welcomed the highly anticipated 10th China Beijing International Art Biennale (中国北京国际美术双年展) (hereinafter referred to as the "Biennale"), adding a strong cultural atmosphere and vigorous spiritual vitality to the New Year. Since the first Biennale was held in 2003, this event, known as the "International Olympics" of the art world, has always attracted the attention of artists from all over the world.

The theme of this year's Biennale is "Symbiosis." Chinese and foreign artists participating in the exhibition each have their own strengths, showcasing unique understandings and artistic expressions. If you want to understand the current diverse and colorful global art status and development trend, the Biennale undoubtedly opens a unique window of observation, bringing new perspectives, understandings, and inspirations to the audience.

Gathering excellent works from China and abroad to interpret the grand theme of "Symbiosis"

In the history of art, there are many international art exhibitions named "Biennale," but few continue to operate and maintain such scale and influence. When the first Biennale was held, artists from 45 countries and regions participated, with 557 works exhibited, making it the largest international art event in China at that time, which aroused widespread attention and heated discussion. Since then, the Biennale has steadily moved forward, and its international influence has continued to expand. The number of participating countries has increased in each session, until this year, it has gathered about 600 works from 118 countries and regions, which is a grand sight. Of course, a grand international art exhibition platform does not simply win by quantity. The key lies in whether there are many excellent works and whether the works contain a unique exploration aspect.

At this year's Biennale, Chinese artists are emerging. For example, Hong Fangzhou's (洪方舟) Chinese painting "Victory and Peace" echoes the major theme of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War in 2025. Based on inheriting the materials, media, techniques, and brushwork of Chinese painting, the painter deconstructs traditional painting norms and uses screen-like forms and images elements from all directions to meaningfully eulogize the peaceful life brought about by the war of justice, rendering people's peaceful vision meaningful and profound.

Wang Baoqi's (王保起) Chinese painting "Mirror Lake Ripples" depicts the moment when a speedboat cuts through the mirror-like lake surface, creating an arc-shaped wave, with an ingenious and concise composition. Speedboats are not classical painting images. The author uses the tension between modern and classical, dynamic and static to stimulate the audience's infinite reverie: speedboats represent exciting speed and power, and also allow people's vision to stay on the vast and quiet water surface—this is part of the natural landscape. As a result, the beautiful scenery of harmonious coexistence between man and nature leaps onto the paper.

"Symbiosis" presents artistic languages with different characteristics in the works of creators from different cultural backgrounds. Costa Rican artist Alejandro Barvoza brought the sculpture "Spring." On a charming golden background, felt is layered to create a dancing human figure. The vacancy in the chest and abdomen of the figure allows the audience to see the vigorously growing plants in the background, implying that human life is closely connected with natural nourishment, with a long lyrical meaning. Whether in the choice of materials or in the crossover and integration of painting and sculpture, the artist has made successful attempts, which is impressive.

In French artist Sylvie Uder's sculpture "Ellie," a huge modern female head is in an upward-looking posture. She reminds people of the Baroque sculpture style, and is like a close-up shot in a movie, prompting people to ponder the inner ripples or turbulent waves of the character: Is it a release after breaking away from real anxiety? Or is it fulfillment and perseverance after experiencing hardships? Good works are always concise and simple, yet rich in meaning.

Extending the curatorial dimension to explore new issues in contemporary art

In addition to the theme exhibition, this year's Biennale also set up special exhibitions and national exhibitions with clear themes and diverse forms, becoming an important window for observing the diversified trends and new issues of global contemporary art. For example, the "Human-Intelligence Symbiosis: Digital Art Special Exhibition" highlights the theme of "technology empowering artistic expression," bringing together the works of nearly 50 Chinese and foreign artists. With its highly interactive experience and distinct technological temperament, it has quickly become a popular special exhibition. In the exhibition hall, AI art, interactive installations, immersive images, virtual reality art and other creative forms are intertwined, exploring the relationship between humans and machines and the ethical issues of technology in the digital age, which are both contemporary and of concern.

The interactive video installation "Emotion Theater 3.0" created by the Chinese artist Fei Jun (费俊) team uses AI and emotional computing technology to sense the experiencer's emotions such as pleasure, curiosity, and anxiety in real time, and generates healing sounds and pictures that vary from person to person, attracting many viewers to try it out. Yu Zhen's (于朕) "Seeking Caves" combines virtual reality technology and interactive experience devices to reconstruct the historical features of the Mogao Grottoes (莫高窟), Yungang Grottoes (云冈石窟), and Longmen Grottoes (龙门石窟). Viewers can wear equipment to shuttle between the thousand-year-old grottoes, which is not only a contemporary translation of traditional statue art, but also an immersive exploration of memory, history, and imagination. French artist Justine Emard's "Hyperphantasia" takes viewers on a fantastic journey through AI-generated images, starting from prehistoric cave paintings and ending in the human brain's nervous system.

The "International Contemporary Ink Painting Special Exhibition" focuses on the new explorations of ink painting art by Chinese and foreign artists. The curatorial fusion of video, digital technology, and traditional calligraphy and installations demonstrates the cultural inclusiveness and innovation of ink painting art, which may inspire the audience's interest in exploration and thinking. Chinese artist Li Shiqi (李世奇) uses an LED wave screen to present the digital work "Artificial Neural Network Yaji," training an artificial neural network to learn traditional Chinese aesthetics and reinterpreting ancient Chinese paintings with AI, with a lively and amazing meaning. American artist Qiu Mai (秋麦) uses live shooting superimposed with special rice paper printing technology to give the famous painting "Eight Views of Xiaoxiang" (潇湘八景) a different charm.

According to convention, this year's Biennale has a national special exhibition. This national special exhibition focuses on the contemporary art scene in Serbia. Under the theme of "Resilient Ecology: Negotiated Coexistence in Serbian Contemporary Art," 19 Serbian artists use their works to show how people can be reborn from historical trauma and how they can contribute a unique Serbian perspective to promoting global peace and development through a cooperative and symbiotic resilient attitude. Jelena Braunović's large-scale oil painting "Close to the Heart" depicts what she saw when she went to the botanical garden as a child. The vigorously growing green grass and small flowers in the painter's pen are symbols of a peaceful environment and a good time, and also mean the harmonious coexistence between man and nature.

For artists from different cultural backgrounds, this year's Biennale is not only a stage for concentrated presentation of creative achievements, but also an opportunity to communicate with each other and understand each other. The Biennale established the International Art Conference for the first time. Art historians, critics, artists, curators, and museum and art gallery experts from different countries and regions actively exchanged ideas, shared information, and collided ideas and reached consensus in the dialogue.

In the current situation where global art exchanges are becoming increasingly frequent, the Biennale continues to build an open and diverse platform for display and dialogue, allowing artistic experiences from different cultural backgrounds to reflect each other, and also making the position of Chinese art in the world art map more clear and perceptible. I believe that this New Year's Eve art event and related academic activities can bring us a brand new aesthetic experience, imaginative gallop, and ideological inspiration.

(The author is a professor at the School of Arts of Peking University (北京大学) and a curatorial member of the 10th China Beijing International Art Biennale)

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Cicadas by the River Kwai (Traveler's Musings)

By: 张矜若

This was a visit organized by the Chinese Embassy in Thailand. In my three years stationed in Thailand, I had never been to Kanchanaburi (北碧府). I only knew that it was located over a hundred kilometers northwest of Bangkok (曼谷), surrounded by mountains, bordering Myanmar (缅甸) to the west, and with the River Kwai (桂河) flowing through the city. More than half a century ago, the Bridge on the River Kwai became world-famous because of a war epic film of the same name. Today, trains still occasionally run on this railway bridge, and tourists linger.

On the day of arrival, a gust of wind by the River Kwai blew the leaves, and a sudden cicada's cry pierced straight into my ears—sharp, mournful, and the sorrow seemed to penetrate time and space. In this very ordinary moment, I suddenly realized that the tranquility seen in Kanchanaburi today is built on a history that devoured countless lives.

In 1942, in order to open up a land supply line in Southeast Asia, Japanese invaders forcibly conscripted more than 60,000 Allied prisoners of war and about 200,000 Asian laborers to build the 415-kilometer Thai-Burma Railway (泰缅铁路) in the primeval jungle. The project, which should have taken seven years, was forcibly completed in 17 months. Malaria raged, supplies were scarce, torture was constant, and more than 100,000 lives were buried in the valleys. The Thai-Burma "Death Railway" was forced to spread out in countless bones and blood.

The Krasae Cave Railway Bridge (克拉塞洞铁路桥) is the most dangerous section of the "Death Railway." It runs along the cliff, with towering cliffs on one side and rushing rivers on the other. In 1943, thousands of British, Australian, Dutch prisoners of war and Thai laborers worked day and night here. Within 17 days, landslides, falls, hunger, and disease took countless lives, and they did not even have time to leave a recognizable mark. What was later found were just some worn tools and pieces of cloth.

The nearby cemetery is neat and solemn, with neat names engraved on the tombstones—that is the resting place of the "named," but more Asian laborers have no graves to be found and no names to be recorded. The imbalance of commemoration is clearly visible here: Western prisoners of war have files and photos, but the multiple numbers of Asian laborers exist only as vague figures in historical materials. This is not only a lack of information, but also an ethical problem in historical memory.

In the "Hellfire Pass" Memorial Museum (地狱之火通道纪念馆), the light is dim and the walls are rough, as if to let visitors experience the fear of that year: weak prisoners of war used torches and oil lamps to cut through mountains and split rocks, and the dim firelight intertwined with human shadows, like hellish ghosts. I stopped in front of a set of exhibits: the bottom of a palm-sized coarse pottery bowl had only a thin layer of white rice; in a cage about 1 meter square and 2 meters high, large and small stones were almost overflowing the edges. On one side was the meager ration to maintain life, and on the other side was the heavy labor that had to be repeatedly carried. The two were placed side by side, forming a glaring contrast. Standing in front of the glass cabinet for a long time, I could even smell the mixed smell of lime and wood, which made my throat slightly astringent. Standing in front of the display case, I finally understood why the cicada's cry was disturbing—it once existed with hunger, heat, and heavy labor, witnessing too many lives being quietly exhausted in the dense forest.

The rails extend into the distance, and where they lead depends on what direction humanity chooses. In the years of war, the railway carried plunder and oppression, like a scar across the land. In the years of peace, the railway reconnects separated regions and turns strangeness into understanding. From regional connectivity to China-Thailand railway cooperation (中泰铁路合作), what people pursue along the rails is no longer aggression and conflict, but cooperation and development.

Walking in Kanchanaburi, the wind of the River Kwai and the cicadas in the forest sound year after year. It is in such daily life that looking back at the "Death Railway" seems particularly necessary—not to cling to grief, but to let that history continue to remind us that peace is not a matter of course. May the memories on this land be transformed into the power to safeguard peace, so that the future rails will only lead to the direction of light.

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Unforgettable "Little Birch"

By: 黄际影

Graceful dance steps, transcending time and mountains. At the beginning of the new year, the Russian National Beryozka Dance Ensemble (hereinafter referred to as "Beryozka") performed "Beryozka's Gift" at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (中国国家大剧院) in China to commemorate the ensemble's first visit to China in 1955 and continue the cultural bond between China and Russia that has lasted for more than 70 years.

A dozen girls in red dresses walked onto the stage, holding birch branches in their hands. Their upper bodies were dignified and steady, and their steps were invisible under their wide skirts, as if floating across the vast plains (see photo, Ling Feng (凌风) photo). This is the unique "cloud step" of Beryozka's female dancers. Because they are as neat and fast as if they are on roller skates, they are also known as "Fairies on the Water." In 1948, Russian dancer Nadezhda Nadezhdina (娜杰日季娜) founded Beryozka, incorporating classical ballet techniques into traditional Russian folk dance, creating a unique dance style. The combination of a steady and upright posture and flowing steps, the stage composition is lively and not cluttered, presenting a serene vitality and romance.

In this performance, Beryozka brought classic dances such as "Beryozka," "Autumn," and "Song of the Coachmen," some of which were retained from the tour of China. For more than 70 years since the establishment of the dance troupe, these works have touched the audience with their elegant and pure temperament, rich Russian national customs, and rigorous and elegant stage presentation. In 1955, dance critic Long Yinpei (隆荫培), who watched Beryozka's performance for the first time, wrote: "Their dance immerses us in infinite sublime beauty, and our hearts are filled with freedom, peace, and comfort."

The female dancers' dance steps are graceful, and they dance the round dance from Russian folk dance into ever-changing patterns, showing the pure, noble, gentle, and tenacious temperament of Russian women, overlapping with the moving scenery of the Russian land: the hand-in-hand formation meanders, extending the shape of mountains; the shoulder-to-shoulder straight line slowly walks, spreading out the quiet flow of the river, where swans roam; the wide and white headscarves wave, which is the aurora flowing over the Arctic ice sheet... Using the beauty of women to symbolize the great scenery of the motherland, this poetic and romantic ode is a lyrical poem written by artists to the motherland, with deep and lasting affection.

In addition to the poetic display of human customs and the scenery of the motherland, some of Beryozka's programs use realistic techniques to depict the labor and life of the Russian people. The artists excavated typical movements during labor and choreographed them into dance segments full of life interest: the male dancers put their shoulders on each other, showing the scenes of lumberjacks carrying and lifting wood between advancing, retreating, squatting, and standing; the coachmen pulled their teammates' front legs, as if sitting on the frame of a carriage, proudly waving their whips... These works are either simple or humorous, using superb dance techniques to push the narrative to an emotional climax, realistically and simply showing the spiritual outlook of the Russian working people, just like drawing a dynamic Russian pastoral scroll. This realistic technique that fully demonstrates the national spirit influenced the folk dance creation of many Asian and European countries at that time, such as the Caucasian dance in Georgia that expresses fighting and hunting scenes, the humorous Gypsy dance in Hungary, and the Beilege dance in Mongolia that shows nomadic life.

In addition to performing in Beijing (北京), Beryozka's director Tatyana (塔吉亚娜), artistic director Irina (伊琳娜), and actors went to Beijing Dance Academy (北京舞蹈学院) to exchange ideas with the actors of the Beijing Dance Academy Youth Dance Troupe (北京舞蹈学院青年舞团). The actors of the Beijing Dance Academy Youth Dance Troupe performed the Korean dance "Chasing the Past," the Mongolian dance "Sawuer Deng·Ode," the Chinese classical dance "Qin King Ordering Troops" and "Xianghe Song," and the actors of Beryozka performed wonderful excerpts from Russian dance.

"The four programs of the Chinese actors brought four surprises!" Tatyana praised that the female actors' agile upper limbs are full of expressiveness, which has something in common with the artistic expression of Russian dance. Through exchanges, the Chinese female actors learned the cloud step, and the Russian male actors learned the Chinese classical dance's sweeping and sea-exploring turn. Although the language is not fluent, everyone often understands a simple gesture or a demonstration of a body movement.

During Beryozka's first visit to China, it performed 28 shows in Beijing, Shanghai (上海), and other cities, leaving a beautiful and profound impression on the Chinese audience. Nadezhdina said: "The basic principle of engaging in folk dance work is to love the people, love the people's creation, and observe life with the eyes of a poet." This creative method had a profound inspiration for the creation of Chinese national folk dance in the 1950s and 1960s. From the brisk swinging hands and fast running steps of the Yi dance "Happy Babble" to the agile drum beats and rhythmic grape-picking and tasting movements of the Uygur dance "Picking Grapes," Chinese artists used folk dance materials and used their bodies as pens to write odes to all ethnic groups. Chinese national folk dance has explored a dance path with Chinese characteristics through learning, borrowing, and extensive collection. This dance exchange, which has lasted for more than 70 years, is an unforgettable and beautiful memory in the history of Sino-Russian cultural exchange.

(The author is an associate professor at Beijing Dance Academy (北京舞蹈学院))

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Chinese online literature gains global fans.

By: 肖映萱

From Southeast Asian cafes to North American libraries, from European subway commutes to Latin American home afternoons, an increasing number of readers of different skin colors are "following" Chinese online literature through small screens. These Eastern stories, born in the digital age and rooted in the fertile soil of Chinese culture, have converged into a strong cultural trend.

The global appeal of Chinese online literature is rooted in its exceptional ability to tell Eastern stories. These Eastern stories are not only specific themes such as martial arts and Xianxia, but also works that contain the spiritual core of Chinese culture, such as respecting teachers and valuing morality, and family and country sentiments, which can resonate emotionally with readers around the world. They cleverly integrate traditional philosophical wisdom with modern values, and through tortuous and moving plots, explore universal human themes such as growth, struggle, and justice.

In December 2025, 12 Chinese online literary works were collected by the British Library. This is the third time after 2022 and 2024 that Chinese online literature has been collected by this largest academic library in the world, bringing the total number to 38. Chinese online literature, which continues to cultivate cultural quality and textual value, is gradually gaining widespread recognition from overseas cultural evaluation systems.

It is worth noting that the 12 works collected by the British Library this time are not only wide-ranging in subject matter, covering science fiction, suspense, history, romance, and other fields, but also demonstrate the creators' writing skills. For example, writer Ke Yao's (柯遥) science fiction novel "Why It Never Ends" won the 2025 Galaxy Award for "Best Original Book." Qian Shan Cha Ke (千山茶客), the author of "Rebirth of the Poisonous Queen," Yi Qianzhong (意千重), the author of "The Splendor of Chinese Color," Zhizhi (吱吱), the author of "Nine Layers of Purple," and Xu Weijuquan (须尾俱全), the author of "Pseudo-Image Report," have all had their works collected by the British Library before. Behind this "entering the hall" is the trend of Chinese online literature writers winning resonance from overseas readers with their solid textual skills, magnificent imagination, and up-to-date creative concepts.

For a long time, the vast length and rapid updates of online literature have made translation efficiency and translation costs a bottleneck for large-scale overseas expansion. With the leapfrog development of AI translation technology, the giant ship of Chinese online literature has been equipped with a powerful engine. In 2025, "Webnovel," the overseas digital reading platform of China Literature Group (阅文集团), added more than 10,000 AI-translated works, with a total scale increase of up to 281% year-on-year. After applying AI translation, the translation efficiency of online literature has increased nearly a hundredfold, and the cost has been reduced by an average of more than 90%. This means that global readers can follow updates almost in "zero time difference."

The essence of literary translation lies in conveying cultural meaning. The current AI translation adopts a human-computer collaboration model of "AI initial translation + manual proofreading," combining manual proofreading to polish the translation and ensure that the translation retains the essence of the original work to the greatest extent while pursuing efficiency. This intelligent language bridge is helping Chinese online literature to open the door to a vast market of minor languages: In 2025, the translation scale of Indonesian, Spanish, and Portuguese works all achieved a staggering increase of more than 300%. The Latin American reading market has risen strongly, forming a new global online literature reading pattern of "three wings flying together" with North America and Eurasia.

When AI translation solves the problem of "how to go out," the full industrial chain development of IP answers the proposition of "how to go deeper and further." In 2025, Chinese IP is moving from online to offline, deeply integrated into the global cultural tourism landscape. The e-sports novel "The King's Avatar" cooperated with the Swiss National Tourist Office to launch the "25-Year Appointment in Zurich Plan," combining the World Championship scenes in the novel with the real scenery of Switzerland, attracting tens of thousands of book fans to check in in Switzerland. "Strange Tales of the Daoist (道诡异仙)," which integrates Taoist thought and Cthulhu mythology elements, entered Universal Studios Singapore, launching a Halloween-themed adventure house that deeply restores the world of the novel, triggering a queue of hundreds of meters... Reading and travel are connected to each other, and the magnificent world on the screen is being gradually transformed into a reachable and experienceable real space.

The global journey of Chinese online literature depicts a clear upward curve: from works going overseas, to models going overseas, to today's ecological co-creation. The platform mechanism pioneered by Chinese online literature, such as paid reading, reader comments, and fan interaction, is a vivid practice of the core concept of new mass literature, "user-led content production." This set of mechanisms has been successfully transplanted overseas, giving rise to the prosperity of global creation.

On today's Webnovel platform, nearly 530,000 overseas creators are telling stories in their own languages, and have currently created more than 820,000 works, of which authors born after 2000 account for as much as 50%. While drawing on Chinese online literature narrative frameworks such as "upgrading and fighting monsters" and "counterattack growth," overseas authors also integrate local cultural elements and social thinking, and their creations are also loved by 400 million users worldwide.

In the 2025 Webnovel Annual Writing Competition, "The Weakest Beast Tamer? I Tame All SSS Dragons" by Mexican writer "Big Z" won the "Book of the Year." He switched from biological research to the online literature writing track. His secret recipe is to cleverly embed Eastern elements such as cultivation in the Western narrative framework. "Marsh Lilac," a 22-year-old Nigerian girl, won the "High Reputation User Favorite Award" for "The Curse of Hades." Online literature creation has enabled her to share family pressure and pay for her tuition after experiencing family changes. These real creation stories witness how the Chinese online literature platform builds a ladder for global authors to realize their dreams, forming a truly meaningful two-way cultural exchange.

The exploration of Chinese online literature provides a unique Chinese path for global cultural exchange. It is different from the Western Hollywood-style model dominated by capital and industrial standardization, but instead takes an open and inclusive attitude, transcends national borders, connects emotions, and stimulates imagination migration and integration on a global scale. The new voyage of Chinese online literature going overseas proves that a good story, no matter where it originates, can find soulmates in the world. Looking to the future, this new cultural trend originating from China will write more exciting global chapters in promoting the process of mutual learning among civilizations.

(The author is an associate professor at the School of Literature, Shandong University (山东大学))

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This edition's editors: Wang Jiake, Zhuang Xueya, Li Xinyi

Electronic Mailbox: rmrbbgjfk@peopledaily.cn
Typesetting Design: Cai Huawei (蔡华伟)

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A New Approach to Saving Food: Insights from "Food Banks" ("Agriculture, Rural Areas, and Farmers" Observation)

By: 晓 乐

In the evening, in the night of Jilong First Village (吉龙一村), Futian District (福田区), Shenzhen (深圳市), Guangdong Province (广东省), a green smart cabinet is particularly eye-catching. After mobile phone verification, the cabinet door "clicks" open, and a free food item is taken out. This is the "Food Bank" that has recently become popular online. For more than 3 years, about 500,000 portions of near-expiry or surplus food have found a "new home" here, benefiting about 500,000 people.

This warmth from the corner of the city has entered the national policy vision. At a press conference held by the State Council Information Office (国新办) on January 6, Vice Minister Sheng Qiuping (盛秋平) of the Ministry of Commerce (商务部), when introducing the promotion of green consumption, specifically praised: "In order to regulate the use of near-expiry food, Shenzhen (深圳) and other places have launched 24-hour 'Food Banks' to provide them free of charge to disadvantaged groups and citizens in need, reducing food waste." The "Food Bank," an innovative practice from the grassroots, has become a new way of thinking to solve the problem of handling near-expiry food and surplus food, and to promote food conservation.

Why has the "Food Bank" received such high attention? The key lies in its innovative solution to the problem of passive garbage disposal of near-expiry food and surplus food. With the government building the platform, enterprises participating, social organizations operating, and the whole people building, governing, and sharing together, Futian District (福田区) has established stable cooperation with nearly 100 enterprises such as Hema Fresh (盒马鲜生), China Resources Ole (华润ole), and Yonghui Superstores (永辉超市), saving a total of about 202 tons of food and reducing carbon emissions by about 404 tons. However, this is only a preliminary exploration. The problem of food waste runs through the entire chain. According to estimates by relevant institutions, China loses and wastes about 920 billion catties of food every year, and there are "leaks" in every link from harvesting and storage to processing and consumption. This reminds us that we must establish the concept that saving and reducing losses is increasing production, and promote saving and reducing losses throughout the entire chain.

How to solve the problem? The practice of the "Food Bank" provides further enlightenment. Its core concept—allowing near-expiry food and surplus food that are "difficult to sell and a pity to throw away" to continue to "exert residual heat" rather than become garbage—is to extend forward from the end of consumption and build a bridge between material circulation and charitable assistance. At the same time, it can form a synergy with scientific grain storage at the production end, moderate processing at the processing end, and the "Clean Plate Campaign" at the consumption end to achieve the cascade utilization of resources.

Saving food has never been a new proposition. Thrift is a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation. "Who knows that every grain on the plate is hard-earned" has been recited for thousands of years and is still the best food-saving education. There are also relevant cases abroad. Singapore promotes the "Empty Plate Zero Leftovers" program, Germany develops the "Too Good To Go" mobile application to help reasonably preserve ingredients, and Chile's "Outdoor Zero Food Waste" project encourages the donation of near-expiry food while composting inedible food. At present, our forms of food saving are more diverse and richer—the "leftover blind boxes" popular among young people, the cafeteria with weighing and billing, and the near-expiry food zones set up in supermarkets, saving food is being sublimated from concept cultivation to perceptible and participatory actions.

Saving food ultimately needs to be implemented on everyone. For ordinary families, purchasing on demand and cooking in moderation is an easy task; for catering companies, promoting small portions and participating in near-expiry food donations are both social responsibilities and can reduce operating losses. As advocated in the "Action Plan for Food Conservation and Anti-Food Waste," "integrate food conservation and anti-food waste into community covenants, village rules and regulations, and industry norms," strengthen guidance and norms, and make saving a national consciousness.

A smart cabinet connects the collaborative participation of the government, enterprises, social organizations, and the public, reflecting the civilized temperature of a city. When more and more cities build "Food Banks," and when saving changes from a slogan to a habit, the granary of a large country will be more stable, and the Chinese rice bowl will be held more firmly.

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"Cloud Coffee" Upgrades Its Chain (Three Meals, Four Seasons)

By: 本报记者 叶传增

In winter, walking into the various coffee-producing areas of Yunnan Province, the mountains and plains are covered with coffee trees full of red coffee fruits, marking another year of coffee harvest season.

Yunnan Province has a coffee planting area of approximately 1.2 million mu and a yield of over 150,000 tons, both accounting for more than 98% of the country's total. The total agricultural output value of the coffee industry is nearly 5 billion yuan. According to Kunming Customs (昆明海关) statistics, in the first 11 months of 2025, Yunnan's exports of coffee and its products reached 840 million yuan, ranking first in the country. A series of data confirms the saying: "Yunnan coffee still represents China."

In recent years, the "Yunnan Coffee" industry has been focusing on breeding, planting, processing, and marketing, embarking on a path of industrial upgrading from "selling by the ton" to "tasting by the cup."

Trapped in the "bottom" of the value chain, where is the road for Yunnan coffee?

At the Xiao Aozi Coffee Manor (小凹子咖啡庄园) in Simao District (思茅区), Pu'er City (普洱市), the reporter met Liao Xiugui (廖秀桂), the first generation of "coffee farmers" in Pu'er.

"Currently, the purchase price of fresh coffee fruit has reached a maximum of 10 yuan per kilogram," Liao Xiugui's joy was evident. The value of Yunnan coffee has only increased in recent years.

Before 2018, the purchase price of green coffee beans in Yunnan remained low. "Selling beans still resulted in losses. After calculating the 'economic accounts,' coffee farmers simply stopped harvesting, and some even took knives to their own coffee trees to plant other cash crops." Recalling the low point of industrial development, Liao Xiugui's tone became heavy again.

The main reason for the low coffee price is that the pricing power is not controlled by the Yunnan producing area. "Despite Yunnan's leading coffee planting scale in the country, it accounts for less than 2% of the international coffee bean supply system, and the purchase price is completely dependent on international coffee futures prices," said Zhou Kailian (周开联), deputy leader of the Yunnan Province Coffee Industry Expert Group.

In addition, the coffee varieties planted in Yunnan are Catimor series hybrids, which are disease-resistant and high-yielding, but their quality is difficult to reach the top level. For a long time, Yunnan coffee beans have been used as raw materials for instant coffee, which is what the industry often calls "commodity beans."

Zhou Kailian once visited coffee shops in Shanghai (上海), Guangzhou (广州), and other places and found that Yunnan coffee beans were not on the menu at all. "I asked the owners, and they took them out from under the table, bitterly smiling and saying, 'The quality of Yunnan coffee beans is not very good.'" This answer stung Zhou Kailian's heart and made the local Party committees, governments, and practitioners think:

Where is the road for Yunnan coffee?

Adapting to local conditions and taking the road of high-quality development

What kind of coffee is called specialty coffee? The industry's recognized standard is usually based on the evaluation system of the Specialty Coffee Association, and a score of 80 or more is required to become specialty coffee. Coffee beans that can be used for specialty coffee often require special soil and climatic conditions and have outstanding flavor.

Located near the Tropic of Cancer, with low latitude, high altitude, large diurnal temperature range, fertile soil, and weak acidity, Yunnan's natural endowments are similar to those of internationally renowned specialty coffee producing areas. The Arabica small-bean coffee planted has the characteristics of "rich but not bitter, fragrant but not strong, and slightly fruity."

The price of specialty beans is more than twice that of commodity beans. If Yunnan coffee wants to "break the situation," it is imperative to adapt to local conditions and take the road of high-quality development.

At the suggestion of the coffee industry expert group represented by Zhou Kailian, Yunnan Province has planned a new path for the coffee industry, shifting from the "commercial track" to the "specialty track," promoting the overall transformation of the industry.

In August 2022, Yunnan issued the "Several Policy Measures on Promoting the Improvement of Coffee Specialty Rate and Deep Processing Rate." The core measures include: at the planting end, optimizing the variety structure and producing area layout, focusing on supporting the development of specialty coffee in areas above 1100 meters above sea level; at the processing end, concentrating resources to support the construction of modern coffee fresh fruit processing centers to solve quality bottlenecks; at the brand and market end, vigorously cultivating regional public brands and actively exploring new forms of coffee tourism integration. A set of "combined punches" provides a clear path for the transformation of the "Yunnan Coffee" industry.

Variety is the core competitiveness of specialty coffee. In September 2022, Yunnan designated 1.05 million mu of suitable planting areas for specialty coffee, promoted excellent varieties such as Geisha, Typica, and De Re, and encouraged provincial scientific research institutions to carry out variety innovation.

At the Yunnan Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (云南省德宏热带农业科学研究所), the number of coffee germplasm resources preserved exceeds 1,000, and the number of new varieties selected and bred accounts for more than 90% of the country's total. The "De Re 132" variety independently selected and developed by Li Jinhong (李锦红), deputy director of the institute, and his team has been promoted and planted in 50,000 mu throughout the province, achieving good economic benefits. "'De Re 132' has strong rust resistance, high yield, and has a nutty aroma and jasmine aroma after roasting," Li Jinhong introduced.

With good varieties, the planting concept must also keep up. Xinzhai Village (新寨村), Longyang District (隆阳区), Baoshan City (保山市) has designated 13,600 mu of core coffee producing areas and promoted integrated water and fertilizer planting technology. Wang Jiawei (王加维), secretary of the village Party branch, introduced that through technical training and demonstration guidance, coffee farmers have gradually bid farewell to the extensive management of **靠天吃饭** (kào tiān chī fàn - "rely on heaven for food," depend on weather conditions) and established the refined management concept of "full red fruit picking" and "better management than multiple planting." In 2024, the per capita disposable income of villagers exceeded 40,000 yuan.

Science and technology empower deep processing to make coffee taste better

The flavor of a cup of specialty coffee depends not only on the quality of the beans but also on the processing.

He Yuejun (何跃军), general manager of Aini Manor Coffee Co., Ltd. (爱伲庄园咖啡有限公司) in Simao District (思茅区), Pu'er City (普洱市), introduced that from fresh coffee fruit to roasted coffee beans, it goes through steps such as peeling, fermentation, washing, drying, shelling, grading, and roasting.

On the automatic coffee bean sorting production line of the Aini Manor Coffee Factory, coffee beans are precisely sorted and graded through processes such as particle size and color selection. "If grading is not done, roasting beans of different sizes together will result in uneven flavor and quality because the small beans are roasted thoroughly while the large beans are not," He Yuejun said. The coffee beans that have been sorted are full of particles and roasted in batches according to size, ensuring product quality control. The company's built-in thousand-ton roasted coffee production line can roast coffee from the same origin into 16 different flavors.

If environmental protection issues are not resolved, industrial transformation is just empty talk. Taking coffee washing treatment as an example, in the past, coffee farmers mostly used water immersion to treat it. One ton of fresh coffee fruit requires 6 tons of water for treatment, and the treated wastewater contains a large number of pollutants, which pollute the environment after being discharged. In order to solve the environmental protection problem of coffee primary processing, Yunnan is exploring "micro-water processing" technology to centrally process fresh coffee fruit.

At Chunle Coffee Manor (淳乐咖啡庄园) in Ning'er Hani and Yi Autonomous County (宁洱哈尼族彝族自治县), Pu'er City (普洱市), a waterless peeling and micro-water degumming production line is in operation, which can process 8 tons of fresh coffee fruit per hour. "We cooperated with the Tropical Crop College of Yunnan Agricultural University (云南农业大学热带作物学院) to develop this production line. It only takes 100 liters of water to process 1 ton of coffee beans, which is efficient and environmentally friendly," said Chen Jianfei (陈舰飞), the person in charge of the manor.

With the advancement of deep processing, coffee by-products such as coffee cascara tea and coffee grounds are utilized. At the Beijing International Coffee Exhibition in September 2025, the cascara tea drinks brought by Chen Jianfei were very popular, selling more than 4,000 orders in two days. "The market price of cascara tea is 300 to 400 yuan per kilogram, which greatly increases the added value of fresh coffee fruit." Chen Jianfei said that making cascara tea requires the peel of all-red fruit, and the company only accepts all-red fruit when purchasing fresh fruit and increases the purchase price, forcing coffee farmers to shift from harvesting mixed red and green fruit to harvesting all-red fruit, promoting the improvement of the specialty rate.

The direct change brought about by high-quality development is the transformation of Yunnan coffee beans from "low quality and low price" in the past to "high quality and high price." The "2024 Yunnan Province Coffee Industry Development Report" shows that the average price of green coffee beans in Yunnan is 41.02 yuan per kilogram, an increase of 10.3% year-on-year; the average price of specialty coffee beans is 67.37 yuan, with a yield of 46,100 tons. The specialty rate of Yunnan coffee has increased from 8% in 2021 to 31.6% in 2024, and the deep processing rate has increased from 20% in 2021 to 80% in 2024.

"Specialty coffee shops in big cities are vying to 'find beans' in Yunnan, and more and more coffee shops are listing Yunnan beans in prominent positions on the menu." From "alternative beans" hidden under the table to today's "star beans," Zhou Kailian is pleased with this change.

Building brands and cultivating talents, "Yunnan Coffee" is fragrant around the world

In May 2025, a coffee bean called "Washed Ba Tian" won the championship with a high score of 89.96 in the "First Cup of Excellence Yunnan Pilot Competition." The origin of the "champion bean" is Qiupo Coffee Manor (秋珀咖啡庄园) in Cangyuan Va Autonomous County (沧源佤族自治县), Lincang City (临沧市).

The Cup of Excellence competition is known in the industry as the "Coffee World Oscars." In 2025, the competition set up Yunnan as a pilot competition area for the first time, which means that Yunnan specialty coffee has gained international recognition. Not only Qiupo, but also the popularity of Yunnan local coffee brands such as Aini, Zhongka, and Bidun has been increasing in recent years.

Data shows that the scale of China's coffee industry in 2024 is 313.3 billion yuan, an increase of 18.1% year-on-year. With the warming of the domestic coffee consumption market, many consumers have come to Yunnan. Yunnan is taking advantage of the situation to promote a new model of integrated development of the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries. Nearly 60 specialty coffee manors have been built throughout the province, creating a number of new "coffee +" consumption scenarios to enhance the popularity and influence of Yunnan coffee.

Talent is the foundation of industrial development. At the beginning of 2024, Yunnan Agricultural University (云南农业大学) was approved to open a bachelor's degree program in "Coffee Science and Engineering," becoming the first school in the country to offer coffee undergraduate talent training, with a cumulative enrollment of more than 340 students in the past two years.

"The development of the coffee industry requires talent support, especially in the fields of variety innovation and product research and development, and the demand for talent is very large." Li Xuejun (李学俊), deputy dean of the Tropical Crop College of Yunnan Agricultural University, said that the college is located in the coffee producing area, and students can not only go deep into the planting base but also enter the processing factory, providing conditions for cultivating "coffee all-rounders." In addition, Yunnan Agricultural University also innovates the talent training model, recruiting 20 teachers and students from the entire school to form a coffee "new farmer" team, jointly training with coffee companies, and exploring a new path of collaborative education of "industry, academia, research, and application."

At the same time, human resources and social security departments in various parts of Yunnan have introduced talent cultivation measures to promote employment and entrepreneurship in the coffee industry. The Pu'er Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau (普洱市人力资源和社会保障局) focuses on cultivating the "Pu'er Barista" skilled talent brand. By building a full-cycle talent training system, it has cumulatively cultivated 21,000 talents in the entire industry chain, certified 3,560 professional baristas, and driven employment and entrepreneurship for more than 327,000 people. Baoshan City (保山市) established the Baoshan Coffee Industry College (保山咖啡产业学院) to train more than 100 international specialty coffee Q-certificate tasters, brewers, and roasters. "Baoshan Barista" was recognized as a provincial labor brand by the Yunnan Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security (云南省人力资源和社会保障厅).

At present, Yunnan coffee planting is mainly distributed in 6 prefectures and cities: Pu'er (普洱), Baoshan (保山), Lincang (临沧), Dehong (德宏), Xishuangbanna (西双版纳), and Nujiang (怒江). Pu'er has the largest planting scale and output and is an important "granary" for well-known coffee brands such as Nestlé and Starbucks; Baoshan focuses on deep processing and promotes the integrated application of 96 national, industry, and local standards; Dehong relies on scientific research institutes to select, breed, and develop excellent coffee varieties for promotion and planting. Each producing area adapts to local conditions, gives full play to its comparative advantages, and helps "Yunnan Coffee" become fragrant.

From "selling by the ton" to "tasting by the cup," Yunnan coffee is building high-quality products, breaking through from the "bottom" of the value chain all the way and standing in the "C position." This coffee bean from the red soil plateau has both coffee flavor and "coffee status"!

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"Red" Strawberries Finally Fetch a "Sweet" Price (Says the First Secretary Stationed in the Village)

By: 王永战 武雯婧

Sunlight streamed into the steel-framed greenhouse, creating a warm atmosphere. Tao Yong (陶勇) walked into the greenhouse, squatted in front of a strawberry seedling, and carefully observed, "They are already starting to turn red!"

As the Spring Festival approached, Tao Yong (陶勇), the first secretary stationed in Caizi Village (菜子村), Shiban Deng Subdistrict (石板凳街道), Eastern New Area (东部新区) of Chengdu (成都), Sichuan (四川), was busy: planning a strawberry seedling research center, introducing intelligent sorting lines, building a strawberry sorting center, and filming videos in strawberry greenhouses. "Farmers are counting on our 'Caizi Xingnong (菜子兴农)' account to promote their products!" Tao Yong (陶勇) said with a smile.

The per capita disposable income of villagers exceeded 31,000 yuan, and the collective economic income of the village exceeded 1.2 million yuan. Regional public brands such as "Tianfu Dongshan Farm (天府东山农场)" are also becoming more and more well-known. In recent years, Caizi Village (菜子村) has undergone many major changes. However, this was hard to imagine in the winter of 2023.

Recalling that year, villager Wang Lianqun (王连群) said, "The strawberries in the village have been red for more than 20 years. That year, we had a bumper harvest, but we didn't sell them at a 'sweet' price."

It turned out that the villagers were all good at tending greenhouses, but they were worried about bumper harvests every year. When merchants came, they set the price. At that time, the wholesale price of strawberries in Caizi Village (菜子村) once fell below 10 yuan per kilogram.

In September 2023, the Jianzhou New City Management Committee (简州新城管理委员会) of Chengdu (成都) sent Tao Yong (陶勇) to Caizi Village (菜子村) to provide assistance. When Tao Yong (陶勇) first arrived in Caizi Village (菜子村), he saw the situation and was anxious: "How can good fruits not be turned into 'real gold' in the pockets of the villagers?"

What was the problem? After running through the strawberry greenhouses in the village and visiting more than 20 growers, he figured out the key: Caizi Village (菜子村) has a good foundation for growing strawberries, the soil and climate are suitable, and the villagers' technology is also mature. But it lacks a well-known reputation and stable sales channels.

"We must let good fruits be seen and recognized!" After discussing with several young cadres in the village, Tao Yong (陶勇) had the idea of ​​doing self-media and live streaming to promote sales.

Once decided, they acted. Under the leadership of Tao Yong (陶勇), the village quickly registered the "Caizi Xingnong (菜子兴农)" account. After finishing his daily work during the day, he and the village cadres took their mobile phones and went to the fields to shoot videos. In the evening, everyone gathered together to write copy, edit clips, and start live broadcasts, often working until late at night. "At that time, I didn't think so much. Whether it works or not, just do it!" Tao Yong (陶勇) was full of energy.

However, many villagers did not understand the introduction of new things into the village. At a critical moment, Wang Lianqun (王连群) became "the first person to eat crabs." "At first, I was also skeptical, fearing that 'if I invest money, I won't see any results.'" Wang Lianqun (王连群) ran a strawberry picking garden. After thinking about it, she decided to listen to Secretary Tao (陶书记) and "test the waters!"

Soon, Tao Yong (陶勇) and his team went to the picking garden to do planning and shoot videos, working hard. "Unexpectedly, after the video was released, within a few days, waves of tourists from surrounding urban areas came to the picking garden." Wang Lianqun (王连群) said with a little excitement, "Through on-site picking and online orders, the price is much higher than wholesale!"

Sister Wang's (王大姐) success became a "living advertisement" in the village. Everyone saw that she used her mobile phone to attract customers and make money. The doubts gradually disappeared. Tao Yong (陶勇) took the opportunity to organize the villagers to "learn from experience" in Wang Lianqun's (王连群) garden.

The village's e-commerce road is getting wider and wider. The changes are not only happening on the books, but also in the spirit. From "let me do it" to "I want to do it," the villagers' eyes have faded from the confusion of "waiting, relying on, and asking for," and the awareness of branding and market thinking has become stronger.

"Without a well-known name, Caizi Village's (菜子村) strawberries cannot become a product that is well-known and lasts for a long time." With the successful attempt of e-commerce, Tao Yong (陶勇) and his team worked together to study the entire strawberry industry chain. "For Caizi Village (菜子村), it is not an optional question, but a mandatory question."

From the field to the tip of the tongue, from growing to selling well, how to build the entire strawberry industry chain?

Consolidate the front end. In the past two years, Tao Yong (陶勇) has led the villagers to work hard: unifying production standards, designing graded packaging, establishing a traceability system... Today, through the "village collective + cooperative + farmer" model, Caizi Village (菜子村) has developed a concentrated and contiguous standardized planting base, and there are more than 50 large strawberry growers.

Upgrade the middle end. "We are vigorously developing strawberry noodles, strawberry coffee and other products to extend fresh fruit into year-round saleable commodities." Tao Yong (陶勇) said that the village's strawberry noodles and other products are now well-known.

Expand the back end. Adjacent to Tianfu International Airport (天府国际机场), Caizi Village (菜子村) has developed a fast logistics network of "next-day delivery" or even "same-day delivery," relying on online e-commerce and community marketing to achieve "national delivery." "We also optimize the experience and create high-standard picking gardens to let tourists come in and stay." Tao Yong (陶勇) said.

Now, Caizi Village (菜子村) has also formed a three-level regional public brand system...

After a busy day, night fell, and the "Caizi Xingnong (菜子兴农)" live broadcast room lit up again. The Caizi Village (菜子村) village song "Beautiful Time," with lyrics by Tao Yong (陶勇), sounded, "The story of Dongshan Farm (东山农场), the distant place on the cloud bench, the busyness of Caizi Village (菜子村) is the answer sheet for rural revitalization..."

On the small screen, messages kept pouring in. On the other side of the screen is the vast market from all over the world; on this side are the villagers who hold their good days tightly in their hands.

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Editor in Charge for This Section: Li Xiaoqing

Layout Design: Wang Zhepíng (汪哲平)

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This "Chip" Cannot Replace That "Heart" (Operating Room Light)

By: 白剑峰

Chinese Academy of Engineering Academician Zhong Nanshan (钟南山) once wrote: "Artificial intelligence cannot replace medical humanities, nor can it replace communication between doctors and patients. Artificial intelligence solves problems technically, but it is difficult to resolve patients' psychological anxiety. When a person gets sick, they will inevitably get psychologically ill. Psychological state plays a significant role in whether a disease worsens or improves. To resolve the patient's 'heart disease,' doctors need to communicate. Doctors are not saving the disease, but the person." This statement is thought-provoking.

Currently, artificial intelligence technology is accelerating its iterative evolution, providing convenience for doctors to diagnose and treat diseases. Medical artificial intelligence can be called a "super brain," whose memory, reasoning, and computing abilities far exceed those of individual doctors, and it can deeply learn the latest medical achievements, allowing for more accurate diagnosis of diseases. Therefore, every doctor should actively embrace medical artificial intelligence and apply it to their specialty. As a powerful auxiliary tool, artificial intelligence can help doctors improve diagnostic and treatment efficiency, allowing them to free up more time and energy to communicate with patients, which is conducive to promoting harmony between doctors and patients.

Some people predict that artificial intelligence will replace doctors in the future. In fact, this statement is not reliable. Currently, artificial intelligence can only exhaust the known and cannot explore the unknown; it can only calculate "fixed numbers" and cannot cope with "variables." Life has complexity, uncertainty, and unpredictability. The development of medical artificial intelligence must adhere to being people-oriented, patient-centered, and doctor-led in decision-making. Medicine is the study of people, and doctors face living people. Artificial intelligence will promote the individualization, precision, and humanization of medicine, but it will never weaken the humanistic attributes of medicine. No matter how advanced technology becomes, the deep emotional connection between doctors and patients is irreplaceable, and the core value and role of doctors cannot be changed. It is foreseeable that the medicine of the future will be human-machine collaboration, rather than machines replacing doctors.

More than 50 years ago, Lin Qiaozhi (林巧稚), a famous Chinese expert in obstetrics and gynecology, returned from a visit to the United States and said with emotion: "Advanced technology and equipment are certainly good, but I am worried that they will become an obstacle between doctors and patients, or that doctors and patients will trust and rely more on examinations and tests. Perhaps this is a potential danger to medicine or healthcare!" Such insights are so profound, and her foresight is admirable.

Medicine is the expression of good human nature and beautiful emotions. No matter how advanced artificial intelligence is, it cannot replace face-to-face contact between doctors and patients, because the temperature of machines and the temperature of people are different. Machines have a "core," and humans have a "heart." This "core" cannot replace that "heart." Machines can only read data, but doctors can read people's hearts. All things have algorithms, but the human heart is not within the algorithm. Human pain comes from both physiological and psychological dimensions, and physiological pain and psychological suffering are intertwined and mutually causal. A good doctor should not only relieve physical diseases but also comfort psychological trauma. Although many diseases may not have definite treatments, if the doctor's consultation process can make the patient feel warmth, the patient will develop trust and reliance on the doctor. The doctor's care for the patient is reflected both in and beyond medical treatment. Patients may not understand medicine, but they certainly understand the doctor's love.

Lin Qiaozhi (林巧稚) is known as the "Mother of Ten Thousand Babies." She has a special attraction; her every word, gesture, and movement can reassure patients. She often walks to the patient's bedside, holds their hand, touches their head, tucks in the corners of the blanket, and even puts her ear on the pregnant woman's belly to listen to the fetal heartbeat. This is the temperature of the heart, and it is also the power of love. Doctors face people with flesh and blood and emotions, not a pile of scattered cells, tissues, and organs. Doctors should not only pay attention to "the person's disease" but also to "the diseased person." Humanistic care is an important professional value for doctors. In addition to communicating about the illness, there should also be emotional exchange between doctors and patients, which cannot be replaced by any high technology.

Times are developing, and technology is advancing, but medical humanities will not become outdated. Lin Qiaozhi (林巧稚) has a famous saying: "Doctors should always go to the patient's bedside and do face-to-face work. It is dangerous to rely solely on test reports for diagnosis and treatment." In the future, no matter how developed artificial intelligence becomes, doctors should have diseases in their eyes and people in their hearts. Care will always be the first "prescription" that doctors give to patients.

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AI + Healthcare: Promising Prospects, but Boundaries Need Clarification (Health Focus)

By: 本报记者 杨彦帆 陆凡冰

With the breakthroughs in deep learning technology and the arrival of the era of big data, AI (Artificial Intelligence) is accelerating its application in the field of medical and health services.

Tsinghua University (清华大学) announced the establishment of an AI hospital, and the hospital construction will be carried out in stages; Peking Union Medical College Hospital (北京协和医院) has deployed an AI diagnostic system based on deep learning... AI + healthcare, what conveniences do doctors and patients feel? What are the prospects? Where are the boundaries?

AI enters the hospital, what is the significance?

Currently, "Artificial Intelligence +" medical services that the public can feel and access have been implemented in many hospitals. In November 2024, the General Office of the National Health Commission (国家卫生健康委办公厅) and other departments jointly issued the "Reference Guide for Artificial Intelligence Application Scenarios in the Health Industry" (《卫生健康行业人工智能应用场景参考指引》), which proposed 84 application scenarios. In terms of "Artificial Intelligence +" medical services, it involves intelligent pre-diagnosis, intelligent escort diagnosis, intelligent auxiliary decision-making, and intelligent auxiliary treatment. Over the past year, various regions have accelerated the pace of innovation to bring these application scenarios into reality.

On the one hand, it can facilitate doctors and patients——

In the East Hospital District of Jinan Central Hospital (济南市中心医院东院区) in Jinan, Shandong Province, Li Fang (李芳) brought her child to see a doctor. On the "Intelligent Pre-Diagnosis" interface, the graphic human-computer interaction system generates questions one by one based on the child's symptoms: What are the prominent symptoms of the child now? What medicines have been used? Are the child's symptoms getting better or gradually worsening? ... Li Fang answered one by one according to the prompts.

"With intelligent pre-diagnosis, when the child sees a doctor, I can bring in the content of the pre-diagnosis with one click, and communication with the patient becomes more efficient," said Wu Lei (吴蕾), a pediatrician who received the consultation.

A similar scene also occurred in West China Hospital of Sichuan University (四川大学华西医院). Here, the AI follow-up system has covered 43 clinical departments in the hospital, realizing intelligent and active follow-up management of patients. As of November 24, 2025, AI follow-up has served a total of 500,000 patients, and AI telephone intelligent outbound calls have reached 793,000.

On the other hand, it can improve the efficiency of diagnosis and treatment——

"Imagine you are walking on the beach..." In the clinical psychological ward of Peking University Sixth Hospital (北京大学第六医院), Ms. Jiang (江女士) is talking to the "Bei Xiaoliu" (北小六) AI psychological service robot. Ms. Jiang has been troubled by anxiety for a long time. During her hospitalization, "Bei Xiaoliu" became her "confidant and friend." "At the beginning, I couldn't calm down and my breathing was rapid, but 'Bei Xiaoliu' could repeatedly and patiently guide me and provide me with professional guidance," said Ms. Jiang.

In the field of medical imaging, AI has become the doctor's "second pair of eyes." Beijing Tiantan Hospital (北京天坛医院), affiliated with Capital Medical University, is based on stroke imaging data training, and can complete the automated imaging evaluation of acute ischemic stroke in as little as 3 minutes, providing rapid and accurate image analysis, and shortening the pre-operative decision-making time by half.

"When emergency doctors receive stroke patients, they need to take time for inquiries, physical examinations, and other treatments. Our hospital is also developing an artificial intelligence-assisted diagnosis and treatment robot for stroke clinical neurological function assessment, which can make stroke assessment more efficient and win more valuable rescue time for stroke patients," Li Zixiao (李子孝), vice president of Beijing Tiantan Hospital, told reporters.

AI + healthcare, what are the prospects?

Ren Chuandi (任传弟), a 78-year-old patient with severe osteoporosis in Xinzhuang Village (新庄村), Dajun Township (大均乡), Jingning She Autonomous County (景宁畲族自治县), Lishui City (丽水市), Zhejiang Province, sat early on a chair at the entrance of the village committee, waiting for the mobile clinic.

Wu Jie (吴洁), a doctor from Dajun Township Health Center (大均乡卫生院), got out of the car and carefully helped Ren Chuandi onto the mobile clinic to do a physical examination for him. Subsequently, through the "Cloud Clinic" remote consultation platform, she connected with Chen Xiaowei (陈小伟), chief physician of Jingning She Autonomous County People's Hospital (景宁畲族自治县人民医院). On the other end of the screen, Chen Xiaowei carefully checked the patient's real-time data and AI analysis results, and gave a drug adjustment plan based on the condition.

In Nanpi County (南皮县), Hebei Province, the Fourth Hospital of Cangzhou (沧州市第四医院) (Nanpi County People's Hospital (南皮县人民医院)) has applied the medical large model to actual diagnosis and treatment and management scenarios, and is exploring the construction of a "digital and intelligent county medical community." Relying on artificial intelligence and large models, the medical community allows the mature experience of tertiary hospitals in specialized disease diagnosis and treatment to be systematized and standardized, and sunk to primary medical institutions, realizing real-time interconnection and collaborative application of examination results, medical images, and diagnostic recommendations. "Artificial intelligence and large models are not simply replacing doctors, but through systematic capabilities, the high-quality medical resources are truly delivered to the grassroots level," said Mao Xinsheng (毛新生), chairman of Shukun Technology (数坤科技). "This will help improve the overall medical service capacity of the county, and make the medical community move from 'physical integration' to 'capacity collaboration'."

Experts said that the AI + healthcare industry has broad prospects, which is not only conducive to improving the efficiency of diagnosis and treatment, but also plays a supporting role in optimizing the allocation of medical resources and basic drug research, and helps the high-quality development of the health and health cause.

In October 2025, the General Office of the National Health Commission (国家卫生健康委办公厅), the General Office of the National Development and Reform Commission (国家发展改革委办公厅), and other departments jointly issued the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting and Regulating the Application and Development of 'Artificial Intelligence + Medical and Health'" (《关于促进和规范“人工智能+医疗卫生”应用发展的实施意见》), which deployed artificial intelligence in grassroots applications, clinical diagnosis and treatment, patient services, traditional Chinese medicine, public health, scientific research and teaching, industry governance, and the health industry.

In Peking University Third Hospital (北京大学第三医院), the "Third Hospital Lingzhi" (三院灵智) intelligent system provides strong support in diagnosis and treatment, medical technology, and scientific research. "In terms of clinical scientific research, every diagnostic suggestion and conclusion can be traced back to the original literature. The hospital's exclusive large model has no limit on the number of questions and time limits, and it also protects everyone's scientific research results very well," said Li Dan (李丹), deputy chief physician of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine of Peking University Third Hospital.

The relevant person in charge of the National Health Commission (国家卫生健康委) introduced that it will encourage the participation of government, industry, academia, research, and application, give full play to the advantages of massive data and huge market application scale, cultivate and develop the big health industry, and promote the full-chain application of the artificial intelligence medical service system to take root and take effect.

Where are the boundaries of AI use?

When AI is applied to medical and health services, while bringing convenience, it also raises some questions.

First, can AI be used as a basis for diagnosis?

The "Internet Diagnosis and Treatment Supervision Rules (Trial)" (《互联网诊疗监管细则（试行）》) issued in 2022 clearly stipulates that other personnel, artificial intelligence software, etc. shall not impersonate or replace physicians to provide diagnosis and treatment services; prescriptions shall be issued by the attending physician himself, and the use of artificial intelligence and other automatic generation of prescriptions is strictly prohibited.

Many experts pointed out that at present, in clinical diagnosis and treatment, AI plays more of a role in supporting and assisting clinical decision-making.

"For example, the application of AI in the field of medical imaging can speed up the acquisition of high-definition images, image generation, and improve the signal-to-noise ratio and clarity, helping to quickly screen and identify lesions," said Lu Su (吕粟), director of the Department of Radiology and deputy director of the Institute of Radiological Imaging of West China Hospital of Sichuan University. This reduces the workload of traditional manual film reading and allows doctors to focus more on clinical decision-making and precision diagnosis and treatment.

"Issuing a prescription is a medical act with legal responsibility. AI can provide certain diagnostic support and suggestions, but the prescription should still be issued by the attending physician and verified manually," Li Zixiao (李子孝) introduced.

Huang Xuebing (黄薛冰), director of the Department of Clinical Psychology of Peking University Sixth Hospital (北京大学第六医院), introduced that, taking "Bei Xiaoliu" (北小六) as an example, it can be used in wards and clinics for evaluation, cognitive behavioral training, and further evaluation feedback, etc., but all need to be used under the treatment framework and supervision formulated by doctors.

In reality, AI still faces many challenges, such as the data quality and generalization ability of AI models need to be improved. Experts said that not completely relying on AI is an industry consensus. In diagnosis and treatment behaviors, AI needs to be used under the supervision of medical staff, and doctors should not over-rely on AI technology and ignore their own professional judgment and the individual needs of patients.

Second, who is responsible for medical accidents caused by AI diagnosis and treatment?

The interviewed experts all pointed out that medical institutions, as the core subject of medical services, are always the first responsible party in the process of AI-assisted diagnosis and treatment.

"AI is always an auxiliary tool for doctors," Huang Xuebing (黄薛冰) believes, "We cannot define AI as an existence that surpasses doctors and medical staff, is technically more advanced, and can assume the main responsibility itself."

"From a legal perspective, current domestic and foreign laws and policies generally regard medical artificial intelligence as a product," said Deng Yong (邓勇), a professor of health law at Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (北京中医药大学). The problem of artificial intelligence infringement needs to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis, and there are often problems such as difficulty in determining the cause of infringement and difficulty in judicial adjudication.

"If AI decision-making errors are caused by technical failures, the equipment or intelligent body provider is generally responsible, and the medical institution can recover from the responsible party," Deng Yong (邓勇) said. Due to the complexity of the decision-making process and the unpredictability of the results, designers and producers, as the main responsible parties, must fully consider the expected scope of use and potential risks of the system in the product design stage.

Deng Yong (邓勇) suggested further improving relevant laws and regulations and strengthening the approval and supervision of AI medical products. At the same time, combined with the diversity and complexity of medical behaviors, legal clauses should be refined and standards for determining responsibility should be clarified from the aspects of medical technology damage, medical ethics damage, and medical product damage. In the process of practice, it is also necessary to further protect the autonomy of patients. Patients must clearly understand the impact of AI technology on their diagnosis and treatment process, and have the right to know and decide whether to accept AI-assisted diagnosis and treatment.

Third, how to protect patient privacy?

Medical data usually contains patients' personal health information, involving highly sensitive privacy issues. The industry has formed a general consensus: it is necessary to strengthen data quality and infrastructure construction, emphasize the professional processing and security protection of original medical record data, and follow the principle of "minimizing patient privacy information."

To protect data security, attention must be paid from the product development end. The technical负责人 (fù zé rén - "person in charge," individual responsible) of Beijing Puju Health Technology Co., Ltd. (北京朴聚健康科技有限公司), which is responsible for the development of "Bei Xiaoliu" (北小六), told reporters that in the product development process of "Bei Xiaoliu" (北小六), some technical means have been used to avoid leaking user privacy. For example, de-identification is used to ensure that data cannot be linked to individuals; end-to-end encryption is used in the data transmission process to ensure that data cannot be interpreted even if it is intercepted.

Many hospitals have also conducted active explorations. Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital (邵逸夫医院) affiliated with Zhejiang University School of Medicine uses the immutability and traceability of blockchain to ensure the authenticity and integrity of data and information sharing; West China Hospital of Sichuan University (四川大学华西医院) reconstructs the patient's anonymized master index, removes patient identifiers, and establishes a strict approval and log recording system in the process of data collection and integration...

"From data collection, data processing, to data use, medical large models need to follow the principles of legality, legitimacy, and necessity. Not only must the training data be legal and compliant, and no personal information unrelated to the services provided should be collected, but also medical ethics review requirements must be met," said Li Zixiao (李子孝).

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A Hundred Years of Life Can Be This Fun (My Health and Wellness Story)

By: 主讲人：上海“百岁钟姐”

My name is Zhong Wenyu (钟文毓), and I am already 100 years old, living in Shanghai (上海). On a winter afternoon, I sit by the window basking in the sun, a cup of hot milk tea on the coffee table, my fingers swiping across the screen of my tablet – this level of "Candy Crush" is almost cleared.

My youngest daughter always laughs at me for being an "old child." But I feel that there is still a little girl living in my heart, full of curiosity about the world.

I love to eat and love to try new things.

When it comes to tasting food, I like to keep up with the pace of young people. My children know I love to eat, so they always buy some novel foods to bring back, hamburgers, fried chicken, all kinds of desserts... I'll try whatever they hand me. If I think it's delicious, my eyes will light up: "This is good, buy some more next time." If it doesn't suit my taste, I won't mention it again.

I love to eat crab, paired with a ginger vinegar dipping sauce, it's full of flavor. Although I've lost almost all my teeth, and my gums are shallow, the doctor doesn't recommend dentures, but this doesn't hinder me from enjoying the deliciousness at all.

Not long ago, my granddaughter opened a social media account for me, named "Centenarian Sister Zhong (百岁钟姐)," and also filmed a video: I'm sitting at the dining table, focused on eating a sauce crab, the shell slowly turning in my hand, every bit of meat is eaten clean. The video was posted online and received many warm messages from unfamiliar children.

My daughter always says I "don't watch what I eat," which doesn't meet "health standards." Actually, I know that at this age, being able to satisfy some "appetites" within a controllable range and enjoy this simple happiness is a blessing from heaven.

I often keep a book of Chinese herbal medicine by my pillow, flipping through it whenever I have time. I know what to eat in each season. In winter, I ask my daughter to stew old hen ginseng soup to warm and nourish me. In the summer, the soup changes to mung bean and lily soup to clear heat and moisten dryness, or stewed white fungus with red dates and goji berries. On weekdays, stewed soft carrots and yams are also common nutritional supplements on the table.

As I get older, it's inconvenient to move around, but I also have to find some fun for myself, life can't be too boring.

I love to read. I used to love Jin Yong's (金庸) martial arts novels, reading page by page with a magnifying glass, completely absorbed. Later, as I got older, I couldn't hold heavy books, so my daughter replaced them with a tablet.

At first, I used it to watch TV series, one after another, my daughter said that the TV series production companies couldn't keep up with my viewing speed. Later, my granddaughter taught me how to play games: solitaire, Candy Crush... my fingers sliding on the screen, watching the colored blocks disappear one by one, I also find it quite interesting.

When the weather is good in spring and autumn, the children push me out for a stroll. I don't like to go to the park, but I like to visit supermarkets and farmers' markets. When I see snacks I haven't seen before or novel daily necessities, I point to them, and the children put them in the shopping cart. This kind of "discovery" pleasure makes me feel that I am still closely connected to this world.

Occasionally, I also play some "small tricks": when I want to go to a restaurant to eat, I don't directly say "I want to eat out," but instead say "I have to go buy medicine today." My daughters understand as soon as they hear it, and laughingly accompany me out. After eating sweet and sour mandarin fish, the "buying medicine" thing is long forgotten 九霄云外 (jiǔ xiāo yún wài - "beyond the highest heavens," to forget completely; to cast to the winds).

As long as you have a broad mind, everything looks pleasing to the eye.

Although I love to eat new things, my routine is fixed. I get up at 8 am every morning, go to bed before 12 am, eat three meals at fixed times, and get 8 hours of sleep. I have maintained this habit for decades.

People often ask me the secret to longevity, I thought about it, probably it's "not being contentious." Among neighbors, I never say provocative words, and haven't had a red face in decades; in front of my children, I often talk about the good in everyone, and advise the family to see each other's difficulties and strengths.

What I watch most often is the news. Last year's September 3rd military parade, I watched the whole thing, not missing a second. Watching the country become strong, the soldiers marching in neat steps, and the new weapons being powerful and majestic, I feel particularly at ease. The Global Women's Summit was held in Beijing (北京), and I also stared at the live broadcast. In these 100 years, the status of Chinese women has really undergone earth-shaking changes.

My daughter asked me: "Mom, do you understand?"

How could I not understand? I have experienced a lot in my life. Born in Chongqing (重庆) in 1925, I was still a student during the War of Resistance Against Japan, and I once carried the wounded with my classmates using stretchers. Later, I met my husband and followed him from Hangzhou (杭州) to Shanghai (上海), where we settled down. Only after experiencing the flames of war can one better understand the preciousness of peaceful days.

So when I look at things, I always like to think positively. If the neighbors make some noise in the middle of the night, I think it might be that the child is sick and needs care; if the community renovation is noisy, I think it's to make our living more comfortable. From neighbors to the country, I often tell my children: "It's not easy for people to get along, we have to be more considerate."

Last time I got a haircut, some black hair actually grew on the top of my head. In recent years, my breakfast has always included a bowl of black sesame paste, which may really have some nourishing effect. But I think what's more important is a peaceful state of mind, without worries in my heart.

A hundred years of life can still be so fun. Every day I wake up, I still have expectations, expecting what new things will happen today, expecting that warm cup of milk tea in the afternoon... such a life is colorful and not enough.

(Interview and compilation by Zhang Hanyun (张瀚允), reporter of Health Times)

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This edition's editor: Dong Siyu

Layout Design: Shen Yiling (沈亦伶)

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Cultivating a New Generation to Meet the AI Tide Head-On (Inside and Outside the Book)

By: 唐江澎

I've heard a thought-provoking analogy. It says that after years of diligent study and practice, one finally passes exams one, two, and three, and with great difficulty obtains a shiny driver's license, only to discover that true self-driving has been realized—this is like us painstakingly learning certain knowledge, only to have the future prove it useless.
　　The exaggerated "joke" reflects people's real confusion: with artificial intelligence coming on strong, how should our education respond? At a deeper level, facing the powerful capabilities of AI, people are worried about the value of learning in the traditional sense. This is also the question I try to answer in my book "Student Portraits in the AI Era" (《AI时代学生画像》).
　　The *Mozi* (《墨子》) says, "A metaphor is to use other things to clarify it." Using driving as a metaphor, we can glean some truths about learning: knowledge that is "memorized during study and completely forgotten after the exam" will no longer be important in the future, but the coordination, adaptability, and, more importantly, the awareness of cherishing life, the habit of obeying rules, and the cultivation of civilized courtesy formed in practice, these essential qualities, key abilities, and values that are deposited on the body will surely benefit us for life.
　　In fact, what is truly worth pondering is not whether the content of learning is useful in the AI era, but whether our educational philosophy can adapt to the core qualities needed by future society that AI cannot replace. For example, we don't need to mechanically practice problems to improve calculation speed, but we need to cultivate a love for scientific exploration; we no longer need so many art examination certificates, but we need to cultivate a lasting passion for art; we don't need to spend so much time in the classroom, but the playground, the fields, and the museum are all classrooms for students to grow; we don't need to be excellent in every subject, but we must have hobbies that we are focused on and even obsessed with, and use our special skills to mark the height of our lives and careers.
　　There is no need to be overly anxious about the changes brought about by AI. AI is not an opponent to replace humans, but an assistant to expand capabilities. AI is "colliding" with education, but not destroying it, but promoting its transformation from an "industrialized assembly line" to an "ecological growth system."
　　Throughout the history of human education, from oral instruction to the digital revolution, AI is catalyzing the third leap in the educational paradigm. More than 3,000 years ago, schools were born, and humans began to inherit civilization purposefully, plannedly, and organizedly; more than 300 years ago, the modern education system was born, opening up large-scale standardized education; today's digital education is ushering in the era of personalized education. AI can help us teach students in accordance with their aptitude and provide students with customized teaching services. Taking Chinese language teaching as an example, many schools have a Chinese language teacher who teaches two classes with more than 100 students, making it difficult to carefully correct each student's composition and give targeted and detailed guidance. Now, the composition and requirements can be entered, and AI can provide modification suggestions, which is equivalent to each student having an exclusive "private tutor."
　　Without change, there is no way to face the future, but we must also be wary of using AI improperly for teaching. In the past 30 years, educational informatization has entered the classroom in various forms, the speed and rhythm of teachers imparting knowledge has become faster and faster, and the way to test learning performance has become more and more convenient, but the burden on students has also become heavier and heavier. To use AI well, it is not just to add an AI course to the curriculum, but to appropriately and reasonably integrate advanced technology into the teaching of various subjects, and to carry out a series of integration and adjustments to the original courses such as Chinese, mathematics, music, and art, to form a curriculum system that conforms to the requirements of the development of the times.
　　My exploration at Jiangsu Xishan Senior High School (江苏省锡山高级中学) is to carry out technology development and curriculum innovation based on the real scenes and urgent needs of the front line of teaching. The first is to develop AI learning companions, transform "courses" into "learning paths," empower personalized teaching, and allow students to decide what to learn and how to learn. The second is to break through the learning methods of rote memorization and passive problem-solving with the help of artificial intelligence, break down subject barriers, and design task-driven learning, inquiry-based learning, and cooperative learning based on real problems. The third is to use AI technology to create digital teaching scenarios, provide students with flexible and diverse specific situations, and improve students' ability to apply knowledge in practice.
　　When machines can learn, think, and act, and stand before humans in the posture of "giants," if humans want not to be dwarfed and weakened, they must strive to be "great people." The skills acquired through problem-solving training are easily replaced, but the excellent qualities cultivated by moral education stand firm. Therefore, whether it is school education or family education, we should pay more attention to the shaping of children's character, such as kindness and love, compassion and mercy, courage and perseverance, empathy and compassion; we should focus more on developing students' "learning ability," including the purity of loving learning, the agility of being good at learning, and the resilience of continuous learning; we should pay more attention to cultivating students' ability to practice, solve complex problems, and adapt to social changes.
　　The faster AI develops, the more it reminds us that the entire purpose of education is to cultivate active wisdom, so that students can immediately and profoundly apply what they have learned to real life, to observe, understand, and create. Only in this way can we move from knowledge-based education to quality-development education, paying less attention to knowledge that can be remembered for a while, and more attention to qualities that can be used for a lifetime.
　　During the 2021 National People's Congress (全国两会), I proposed that good education should cultivate "four types of people," which resonated with netizens. In the AI era, I am willing to reiterate this proposition: in an innovation education ecology that is people-oriented, the new people of the era who stand at the forefront of the AI wave should have such a portrait—they are lifelong athletes, possessing healthy bodies; they are responsible bearers, possessing noble character; they are problem solvers, possessing creative abilities; they are elegant livers, possessing aesthetic qualities.
　　(The author is the Chairman of the High School Education Professional Committee of the Chinese Society of Education (中国教育学会高中教育专业委员会理事长) and the Director of the Institute of Contemporary Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (香港中文大学（深圳）当代教育研究所所长))

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The Beauty of Serene Simplicity (Preface and Postscript)

By: 谢 冕

I have not yet met the author Yin Dong (尹东) in person. He entrusted someone to send me a printed collection of poems, exuding the fragrance of ink: *Hometown in My Heart* (心上乡土) (published by Changjiang Literature and Art Publishing House (长江文艺出版社)). In a hurried moment, I casually opened it, and a page jumped into my view: it was about "An Old Story," about the family's cow being lost. "I" went to find the cow, at the age of seven. The corn grew taller than "me," the night was dark, and home was still far away. "I" cried:

　　The one who finally found me was Gouzi (狗子)/It also called for Mom/Mom had already cried a lot/Because the cow was lost

　　The ordinary "me," the ordinary Mom, the ordinary rural life scene, the ordinary worries, the ordinary joy, are all expressed in ordinary language. Affectionate, natural, readily available, without any affectation, just like life as it is. The poet's language is simple and full of the fragrance of soil and corn leaves. I was moved by this simple narrative, and thus had a sense of joy. The fragrance of ink filled the paper, and the local accent filled my ears. I immediately had an interest in reading. In these joyful readings, I got to know this rural boy named Yin Dong (尹东).

　　The friend sent only a "plain book," with no introduction except for the poems. This is enough to test a reader, especially a poetry critic like me. I can only judge based on my reading absorption and feelings. My reading began with a casual "encounter": the loss of a cow. His poems begin with rural memories, one past event after another, one memory after another, naturally forming these moving poems. He writes about the farewells in the countryside. Mom never sends "me" far away, sometimes sending "me" to the entrance of the village, sometimes only to the elm tree at the door of the house. The following stroke is particularly vivid:

　　If the pig at home calls urgently/She turns around and goes to get busy

　　This is our Mom, a simple rural mother. We can glimpse the full richness of her daily life through this simple "turn around." Yin Dong's (尹东) strength is his "stinginess" with rhetoric, refusing to be flashy. "The wind blows through my village year after year, blowing old many of Mom's worries, but she is still broad-minded and stout, managing the daily lives of a crowd of livestock." The Mom in his writing does not have the "sadness" found in the writings of ordinary poets. This rural Mom is healthy, busy, and happy, with endless things to do every day. Mom's busyness constitutes "my" endless concern, which is long and real. Yin Dong (尹东) thus moves us with his countryside.

　　His lines are very simple, plain words, as transparent as water. Rural life, farming, labor, wedding banquets, and evening cooking, are like the quiet woods at the entrance of the village, quietly changing the seasons, staging daily stories. Here is an ordinary rural dinner: Father cut half a catty of meat, and "I" swallowed saliva because I was so greedy. Gouzi (狗子) lay beside me, a few chickens flew overhead, and white smoke billowed from the chimney in the kitchen. Life flowed forward in this way. Here is a rural feast in the autumn harvest season:

　　After the crops are stored/Autumn takes a deep breath/After large swaths of corn stalks are cut down/Grasshoppers lose their barriers/Their jumping can be faster than the wind/But not faster than our pursuit

　　They use long grass stalks to string up grasshoppers, light a fire in the wilderness, and roast the grasshoppers. This is the "feast" of autumn. Time flies, and childhood has become yesterday before we know it. The rural path paved with grass once left childish footprints. The fragrant grass is lush, and the footprints are blurred, but life continues to move forward, full of confidence and even joy. Parents are old, and many old people have passed away. "Second Aunt (二大娘) in another world, still likes to squat at the door to eat." There is a thought, and it is inevitable that there is a loss. "It's just that no matter how big a bowl I hold out, I can't get the fragrance of rice from her bowl!" In Yin Dong's (尹东) poems, we do not see the homogenized "nostalgia" of the present, or even the "normal" sadness. His lines are still peaceful, the imagery is still simple, and the scenery in front of us is still as beautiful as yesterday. But we see "Seventy-six-year-old Mom standing on the wall picking locust flowers." What remains unchanged is his still shallow sketch, still writing his beautiful lines with beautiful imagination: turning "locust flowers into a kind of summoning," transforming everything in front of him into a long-lasting homesickness.

　　He is just quietly and unexaggeratedly creating and declaring his usual, special sense of beauty. Yes, these poems remotely point to the homesickness we are familiar with, and which we have mostly heard of, overflowing with the poet's unique shallow, faint, and even imperceptible fragrance of soil and corn leaves. This is the poet's rural love told to us in poems, the beauty that we permanently retain.

　　(This article is a preface to the book *Hometown in My Heart* (心上乡土), and this edition has been abridged.)

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They are polishing the "Made in China" brand to make it shine even brighter.

By: 南 翔

I, along with a postgraduate student who graduated many years ago, after about two years of interviews, presented this book, *Splendor in Hand: A Collection of Contemporary Craftsmen* (published by Jiangxi Education Publishing House and China Workers' Publishing House), in the just-passed year of 2025—coinciding with the centenary of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (中华全国总工会). The craftsmen in the book range in age from the post-50s to the post-90s generations, covering 16 fields including nuclear power, steel structures, automation, decoration, game design, fine wood carving, auto repair, and rural construction.

They are all technical backbones, management mainstays, and scientific research elites who have grown up on construction sites, in workshops, and on assembly lines. Chen Zhenming (陈振明), chief engineer of steel structures, not only teaches at the university and supervises graduate students but also wears a hard hat to climb and traverse under the massive steel structures. Cao Yajun (曹亚军), who has been deeply involved in the glass curtain wall and green decoration industry, is on the go all year round, appearing not only in laboratories, watching the flashing instruments, but also in airports, passenger stations, and various commercial complexes that are rising from the ground and waiting to be decorated, timely discovering gaps and constantly filling and consolidating them.

Many of these contemporary craftsmen have dual identities as technicians and engineers, being both skilled technical personnel and having considerable research and development capabilities. At the same time, they all have a broad vision of opening their eyes to the world, going out, inviting in, and learning by doing, climbing and improving step by step. Young technicians such as Chen Yongwei (陈永伟) and Zhang Hua (张华) went to countries such as Canada, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates to participate in training or observe world skills competitions, humbly learning from the world's outstanding scientific and technological achievements, and through chewing, digesting, and absorbing, nourishing their own flesh and blood, refreshing their report cards, and becoming skill elites in their respective fields.

After completing the writing, I also have a deep feeling: there are many paths that contemporary young people can take, and the junior high school entrance examination and the college entrance examination are not the only ones. Taking the path of skilled workers, technicians, and even senior technicians and chief technicians is not only the call of the times and the needs of reality but also can become an optimal choice for individuals. This road has broad prospects and unlimited scenery.

We look forward to having more outstanding craftsmen enrich all walks of life and make the "Made in China" brand shine even brighter.

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Recognizing oneself, and empathizing with others.

By: 谢有顺

When literature is no longer confined to studies, and when more people begin to pay attention to the mundane lives of ordinary people and the labor scene, a new form of art and literature has the soil for growth. The "New Mass Literature Series" launched by Flower City Publishing House brings together works by six amateur writers from Dongguan: Yingzi (瑛子), Zhang Xinhong (章新宏), Yi Xiang (易翔), Zeng Weimin (曾为民), Shen Hanyan (沈汉炎), and Wen Xiongzhen (温雄珍). From "Polishing High-Rise Buildings" to "People Who Chase Stones," from "Dongguan Time" to "Some Light Will Not Disappear," these writers, though perhaps inexperienced, use rags as pens, stones as paper, and time as stationery, turning ordinary days into poetry, giving sweat and tears spiritual strength, and becoming a vivid footnote to our era's "everyone can write."

These six authors have identities with distinct marks of laborers: cleaners, stone material salespersons, barbecue stall owners, grassroots teachers, sports workers, and drifters in fishing villages. They are not writers in the traditional sense, nor do they fabricate life. Instead, they observe, record, feel, and think as participants. Their writing rarely involves empty lyricism; it is more about dissecting and carving the texture of life. They do not pursue exquisite rhetoric or grand narratives, but rather value the authenticity of experience and the sincerity of emotions. These lively details and experiences from the scene of life once again prove that experience has power, and knowledge gained from physical perception is sometimes more profound than abstract ideas. This rough power gained from direct experience is a significant shock to literature that is becoming increasingly rigid.

Yingzi (瑛子), the author of "Polishing High-Rise Buildings," writes about the neglected lives in prosperous cities, hoping to "polish her own life" while "polishing high-rise buildings." She records the scenes of labor, such as when cleaning the basement, "four people push the mop forward together, if anyone is a little slow or a little fast, the mop will not be in a straight line," but because she is a little overweight, "after working for half the time, she feels oxygen-deprived and can't run anymore." The picture has no aesthetic appeal, but it is full of the weight of life. She also writes about how dust flies, and the color of work clothes after being soaked in sweat. These details, with breath, body temperature, and subtle tremors, become a prism reflecting the real living conditions of a group.

"People Who Chase Stones" is a life poem refined by Zeng Weimin (曾为民), a stone factory worker, from stone chips. From the sweat of stone carriers to the hidden pain of work injuries, from the longing for separated couples to the nostalgia for hometown feelings, the poet integrates personal experiences into poems, making each poem a slice of real life. This kind of writing that uses objects to write about people and uses events to illuminate the heart echoes the characteristics of "New Mass Literature"—not avoiding the hardships of life, not exaggerating the suffering of survival, but understanding the fate of individuals in specific scenes, and finding the meaning of life in ordinary labor.

Each work in the series carries this imprint of individual life. Wen Xiongzhen's (温雄珍) "Settling Down on Charcoal Fire" writes about the daily life of a barbecue stall, the sizzling sound of charcoal grilling ingredients, the bustling voices in front of the vegetable stall, and regards "guarding the vegetable stall by the roadside" as a remarkable thing. The daily life she experiences every day is given extraordinary weight in her writing. Zhang Xinhong (章新宏) writes about homesickness in "From Jiangxi to Lingnan" (从江右到岭南), "When I rooted myself in this land of Dongguan (东莞), it was just autumn. From then on, my memory code has an extra 'autumn' code name." Yi Xiang (易翔) writes about pure teenagers in "Dongguan Time" (东莞时间), "She feels weak, and every threshold is difficult to cross / She has to be trapped in the beautiful time, unable to extricate herself," and also writes about "the teenager burying his head in the test paper, looking for the correct answer to the future," reflecting the perseverance and expectation of grassroots educators. Shen Hanyan (沈汉炎) writes about drifting and rooting in "Some Light Will Not Disappear," saying "a tricycle is a mobile museum," collecting hope for those who stay behind and those who drift. The touching part of these words is that the writers do not stand by indifferently, but actively participate in the lively life, integrating personal joys and sorrows into the torrent of the times, allowing individual narratives to resonate with more people.

This is a writing revolution, and the masses are transforming from "appreciators" of art and literature to "participants." The six writers of the "New Mass Literature Series" question reality with their flesh, feel the warmth and cold with their words, both recognizing themselves and empathizing with others. Such writing allows us to see the tenacity in the ordinary, and also allows us to believe that every person who lives seriously and every persistent adherence has the potential to shine in literature.

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New Bookshelf

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A Powerful Tribute to the Taiwanese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression

By: 卢树鑫

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Taiwan's Retrocession in 2025, the book "History of the Anti-Japanese Struggle of the Taiwan People During the Japanese Occupation Period" edited by Mr. Zhang Haipeng (张海鹏) was published. With 650,000 words, it pays deep respect to the martyrs who sacrificed for the anti-Japanese struggle to protect Taiwan and for Taiwan's return to the motherland, and to the Chinese people who have struggled for the reunification of the motherland. Through literature review and historical analysis, the book restores a large number of historical facts of the continuous resistance of the Taiwan people against Japanese colonial rule from 1895 to 1945, and clearly refutes the fallacies of the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces that wantonly distort and deny the history of Taiwan's Retrocession.

After the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki (马关条约) in April 1895, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands (澎湖列岛) were forced to be ceded to Japan, causing grief to all Chinese people. Since the beginning of the Japanese invasion, the people of Taiwan have never stopped resisting. In that year, Taiwan gentry represented by Qiu Fengjia (丘逢甲) closely cooperated with the "Black Flag Army" led by Liu Yongfu (刘永福), opening a moving chapter of resisting Japan and protecting Taiwan. Since then, under the strict military, political, and police system of the Japanese colonial authorities, the Taiwan people successively launched the Beipu Uprising in 1907, the Lin Yipu Uprising in 1912, the Miaoli Incident in 1913, the Liujia Incident in 1914, the Jiaobaonian Incident in 1915, and the Wushe Uprising led by Mona Rudao (莫那·鲁道) of the Taiwan indigenous peoples in 1930, and other armed anti-Japanese struggles. According to incomplete statistics from the Taiwan Revolutionary Alliance, a total of 650,000 Taiwan compatriots sacrificed their precious lives in the long-term armed anti-Japanese struggle, leaving an indelible mark in the history of the Chinese nation's resistance against foreign aggression.

After the Jiaobaonian Incident, although the Taiwan people changed their means of resisting Japan, they never changed their attitude of vowing not to be subjects of Japan. Demands for the abolition of the "Article 63 Law," the activities of the Taiwan Cultural Association (台湾文化协会) and the Taiwan People's Party (台湾民众党), the Taiwan Communist Party (台湾共产党) and the peasant-worker movement... non-violent anti-Japanese struggles emerged one after another, showing the persistent efforts of the Taiwan people to get rid of Japanese colonial rule. Lian Heng (连横), Lai He (赖和), Zhang Wojun (张我军), Yang Kui (杨逵) and other anti-Japanese fighters on the Taiwan cultural front were determined to protect the country with culture and preserve the race with history. Under the high pressure of Japanese imperialism, they worked hard to write books, showing the world that Taiwan is a province of China, Taiwan culture is a part of Chinese culture, and Taiwan compatriots are members of the Chinese family.

In 1937, after Japan launched a full-scale war of aggression against China, the colonial authorities carried out the "Kōminka" movement in Taiwan, attempting to transform the Taiwan people into "true Japanese." However, even at the peak of the "Kōminka" movement, a strong national identity and concept of the motherland enabled the Taiwan compatriots under Japanese colonial rule to always maintain the firm belief that China would win, Japan would lose, and Taiwan would eventually return to the motherland. Many Taiwan compatriots who were unwilling to be slaves of a conquered nation were still persisting in the just struggle against Japanese aggression. Archives preserved by Japanese government agencies show that incidents of resistance by the Taiwan people, full of national feelings and national righteousness, continued to occur. During the same period, Li Youbang (李友邦) and other Taiwan compatriots crossed the sea to the mainland of the motherland and organized groups such as the Taiwan Volunteer Corps (台湾义勇队) and the Taiwan Revolutionary Alliance (台湾革命同盟会) to actively resist Japan, sharing the same fate with the people of the motherland, and finally ushered in the victory of the Anti-Japanese War and the Retrocession of Taiwan.

History proves that Taiwan's liberation from Japanese colonial rule and return to the embrace of the motherland is the result of the unremitting struggle of all Chinese people. "The fate of Taiwan is determined by China's War of Resistance." The arduous struggle of the people of the whole country won the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, laid the political foundation for Taiwan's Retrocession, Japan's unconditional surrender, Taiwan's return to the motherland, and completely negated Japan's colonial rule over Taiwan. The historical facts of the anti-Japanese struggle of the Taiwan people during the Japanese occupation period resoundingly declare across time and space: Taiwan's return to the motherland is the right path of history, "Taiwan independence" has never happened in history, and will never happen in the future.

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This edition's editor: Zhang Mingse

This edition's email: dushu@peopledaily.cn
Layout design: Shen Yiling (沈亦伶)

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