People's Daily - August 9, 2026

Urban Renewal Chronicle

Fully implement the people's city concept, promote urban renewal with high quality — Xi Jinping

Chronicle of Caochang Hutong’s “Rebirth”
By our reporter Pan Junqiang (潘俊强)

In the evening, arriving at the north entrance of Caochang Four Hutong in Dongcheng District, Beijing, resident Zhu Maojin (朱茂锦) took the reporter on a stroll through the hutong.

On a hutong more than 300 meters long, Zhu Maojin, nearly 80 years old, has walked it from childhood to old age. “It feels like being back in childhood, but now it’s even better and more livable.”

On the eve of the Spring Festival in 2019, General Secretary Xi Jinping, during an inspection at Caochang Four Hutong, emphasized: “The Party Central Committee is very concerned about the renovation of old city areas and shantytowns. The goal is to make everyone’s living more comfortable and life better.”

The renewal of the streets and lanes is obvious to all.

The blue stone road twists and turns into quiet seclusion; wooden lampposts showcase old Beijing characteristics. “The government has launched several rounds of renovation of backstreets and alleys, and the living environment is getting better and better,” Zhu Maojin said.

“Before, the worst thing was using the public toilet — too cold in winter, too smelly in summer,” Zhu Maojin recalled.

The “toilet revolution” (厕所革命) has beautified the environment. Arriving at a public toilet, Zhu Maojin pushed open the door. “Inside, a fresh air system has been installed, along with mosquito and fly elimination devices.”

Burying overhead cables underground has brightened the skyline. Strolling through the hutong, one cannot see power poles, cables, or various electrical boxes. To reveal the beautiful skyline of the hutong, all 10.7 kilometers of overhead power cables in the Caochang area were buried underground.

The improvement in quality of life is directly felt.

Entering Zhu Maojin’s home, it is clean and tidy. The permeable bricks laid and the underground rainwater-sewage separation system quickly drained the rainwater from the previous day out of the small courtyard, eliminating the trouble of water accumulation.

Hutong renovation requires both “face” (surface appearance) and “substance” (inner quality). “The most直观 change is that cooking, bathing, and heating are all electric — no pollution, no open flames, and safer,” Zhu Maojin said. In recent years, the Caochang area completed the “gas-to-electricity” conversion (燃气改电) and “all-electric kitchen” (全电厨房) transformation, becoming Beijing’s first all-electric energy substitution demonstration zone.

Dongcheng District launched the “Beautiful Courtyard” (美丽院落) project. Qianmen Subdistrict (前门街道) upgraded and renovated 27 “beautiful courtyards” according to a “one courtyard, one policy” approach, meeting the personalized needs of hutong residents.

Governance enables empowerment, persevering over time.

Exiting Zhu Maojin’s home, next door is Caochang Four Hutong No. 44 courtyard — the neighborhood-famous “Small Courtyard议事 Hall” (小院议事厅). The “hall director” Li Caixian (李彩仙) said, “The ‘rebirth’ of the hutong cannot be achieved without follow-up governance. The masses’ affairs are discussed and handled together by everyone.”

Two years ago, the Caochang area welcomed “new neighbors” — an open boutique courtyard-style hotel moved in, with 42 courtyard-style guest rooms distributed from Caochang Hutong Three to Ten. While bringing development vitality, it also brought troubles such as noise from air conditioner outdoor units disturbing residents.

They held discussions in the “Small Courtyard议事 Hall.” “Resident representatives, street and community cadres, and the hotel manager gathered together, and we held many symposiums,” Li Caixian said. After that, Qianmen Subdistrict led the establishment of a multi-party联动 response mechanism, and the hotel also actively made changes.

At the south entrance of Caochang Four Hutong, Zhu Maojin turned and walked toward the nearby Sanlihe Park (三里河公园). The Sanlihe River, which had been cut off for a long time, was restored in recent years according to historical records. On both sides of the river, old guild halls, tea restaurants, and others each have their own characteristics — history and modernity blend together.

A river running through the streets and lanes mirrors the modern new life of hutong residents.

Chronicle of Mudan Community’s “Blooming”
By our reporter Liu Jiahua (刘佳华)

“Someone has fallen on the east side of Building 2.” A notification popped up on the phone of Jiang Linlin (姜琳琳), deputy secretary of the Party Committee of Mudan (牡丹) Community, Santaizi Subdistrict (三台子街道), Huanggu District (皇姑区), Shenyang City, Liaoning Province. Opening the app, the screen showed an elderly person lying on the roadside. Jiang Linlin called two social workers and rushed out the door — calling the family, sending to hospital, all in one go.

Early this year, Mudan Community, together with co-building units and the property management, installed an intelligent system on the cameras. When encountering unexpected situations like an elderly person falling, the system captures it in real time, and social workers respond immediately. “Community services are getting better and better now. It was right not to move away!” Ma Linbo (马林波), husband of the fallen elderly person Wu Yun (吴云), sighed with emotion.

In August 2022, General Secretary Xi Jinping, during an inspection at Mudan Community, emphasized: “The renovation of old residential communities is an important task to enhance the people’s sense of gain, and also an important part of implementing the urban renewal action” and “We must focus on serving the people, providing convenience to the people, and reassuring the people.”

Mudan Community was built in the 1980s. It once had aging pipelines, chaotic parking, tangled wires, no property management, no activity venues, and residents’ lives were very inconvenient.

The turning point began with the renovation of old residential communities. Cables were buried underground, rainwater and sewage were separated, pipelines were replaced, the square was paved with bricks… A elderly care service center and activity rooms were also newly built.

“I had planned to move, but when I saw the community renovated so well, I didn’t move. I redecorated, and now I live quite comfortably,” Ma Linbo said.

With the hardware improved, the “software” also needed an upgrade. Forty percent of the residents in Mudan Community are elderly. The community transformed a previously idle boiler room into an integrated service complex combining elderly care services, a community canteen, and a happiness classroom.

During the summer holiday, the free daycare class on the second floor of the Party and Mass Service Center opened as scheduled. Teachers from co-building schools, returning college students, and community volunteers took turns teaching — learning paper-cutting, practicing calligraphy, doing handicrafts… a rich variety of courses. A small hand gently pushed the joystick, and the airplane on the screen soared into the sky. “I really love coming here!” Ma Linbo’s grandson Ma Zihao (马梓豪) was particularly fond of the model airplane class.

At noon, Ma Linbo walked into the community canteen and bought two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes. “We have set up tiered discounts for elderly residents and also offer specialty snacks. If residents are unable to go out, we can deliver meals to their doors,” said Guo Cangna (郭苍娜), head of the elderly care service center. She opened the WeChat group — every evening the administrator sends out the next day’s menu, and then booking messages come in one after another.

In the physiotherapy room, several residents were receiving massage services. There are also monthly traditional Chinese medicine free clinics and family doctor checkups. In the Wutong Study Room (梧桐书房), it is cool and pleasant; elderly people are reading newspapers and books. In the Volunteer Home (志愿者之家), resident volunteers are cutting hair for elderly people living alone… Next to the fitness square, the peonies in the flower bed have already bloomed for one season — but in the hearts of the residents of Mudan Community, the flower of happiness blooms all year round.

Chronicle of Qingheju’s “Turning Around”
By our reporter Fan Haotian (范昊天)

“Dong dong dong…” Early in the morning, Xie Yujiao (谢玉姣), a grid worker of Qingheju (青和居) Community, Gongrencun Subdistrict (工人村街道), Qingshan District (青山区), Wuhan City, Hubei Province, started knocking on doors one by one. “How many electric bikes does your household have? Where do you mainly park them?”

Qingheju Community has a permanent population of over 6,000 people. Electric bikes are the main means of transportation, but when the community was built, only 800 electric bike parking spaces were planned. Incorporating residents’ electric bike ownership into the civil records, contacting co-building units to raise funds… Over the years, the community has gradually added 19 electric bike sheds, ensuring at least one shed per building.

Qingheju Community was once the largest shantytown in Central China; now every step reveals beautiful scenery. Through centralized contiguous shantytown renovation, by the end of 2015, Qingheju Community, as a public rental housing community, was officially completed and put into use, with over 5,000 households moving into new homes one after another.

In April 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping, during an inspection at Qingheju Community, emphasized: “Living in today’s era, compared with several decades ago, it is truly a world of change, as if in another life.”

Urban renewal means “knocking on doors to ask for needs.” Qingheju Community established a “daily knocking group” (天天敲门组), incorporating grid workers, community police, volunteers, and others. “Households of elderly living alone and empty-nesters are knocked on as a priority, other households are knocked on regularly — hierarchically and categorically grasping the dynamics of the masses and solving their actual needs,” introduced Feng Yuanyuan (冯圆圆), deputy secretary of the community Party Committee.

Community resident Zou Hongxia (邹红霞) said that two years ago, her husband suffered a sudden acute myocardial infarction. Xie Yujiao proactively helped contact for medical treatment. “After my husband was discharged, Xiao Xie often came to visit, helping to buy medicine and groceries.”

Today, on the basis of the “daily knocking group,” all 19 buildings in Qingheju Community have established “119 self-management squads” (119自管小分队). Each squad consists of one grid worker, one unit assigned to assist at the grassroots level, and nine volunteers. The contact information of the members is posted in the building. Someone is on duty every day, and residents can call them anytime for any issue.

In recent years, resources and forces at all levels have been regularly deployed to the community. Qingheju Community and its assigned units — including the Wuhan Municipal People’s Procuratorate, the Wuhan Municipal Bridge Construction Group, and the Qingshan District People’s Court — have established a regionalized Party building joint meeting mechanism (区域化党建联席会机制), resolving the masses’ urgent, difficult, and anxious problems through the “three lists” (三张清单).

“Each year the community compiles a list of needs, the assigned units provide a list of resources, and the two sides match them to form a list of projects,” Feng Yuanyuan said. The practical matters determined this year — such as pavement hardening, installing voice safety alerts, and adding leisure seating — have been claimed and implemented by the relevant units.

The “Good Taste” (好味到) cafeteria provides affordable meals and delivery services; the “4:30 School” (四点半学校) solves the problem of after-school care for children of working families… Continuously innovating governance carriers, Qingheju Community, once a shantytown area, is quietly “turning around” to become a happy harbor where the masses live and work in peace and contentment.

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A Vivid Practice of the People's City Concept (Editor's Note)

By: 张帅祯

"People's cities are built by the people, for the people" (人民城市人民建，人民城市为人民). Beijing's Caochang Hutong (北京草厂胡同) renovation takes into account both "face" and "lining"; Liaoning Shenyang's Mudan Community (牡丹社区) supports the "elderly and young" with heart and emotion; Hubei Wuhan's Qingheju Community (青和居社区) insists on "knocking on doors to ask about needs"... All localities fully practice the people's city concept and advance urban renewal with high quality.

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Advancing urban renewal with high quality is an important lever for urban modernization." At present, our country's urbanization is transitioning from a period of rapid growth to a period of stable development, and urban development is transitioning from a stage of large-scale incremental expansion to a stage primarily focused on improving quality and increasing efficiency of existing stock. Actively implementing urban renewal actions and promoting continuous improvement of urban formats, functions, and quality will help enhance development potential and optimize development space — it is imperative.

Urban renewal demonstrates the warmth of people's livelihood. The fundamental purpose of doing a good job in urban renewal is to make the people's lives more convenient, more comfortable, and better. By always insisting on asking the people about their needs, asking the people for their advice, and asking the people about results, by thoroughly applying embroidery work and persevering 久久为功 (jiǔ jiǔ wéi gōng - "persist for a long time to achieve success"), and by handling each critical small matter properly, we can make the people's sense of gain, sense of happiness, and sense of security more tangible and accessible.

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Imports grow 8 percentage points faster than exports in first seven months: what does it mean?

By: 本报记者 罗珊珊

Data released by the General Administration of Customs shows that in the first seven months, China's imports reached 12.69 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 22%, with the growth rate 8 percentage points higher than that of exports. We always focus on the rapid growth of exports of made-in-China products, but pay less attention to imports. What are the reasons for the acceleration of imports? Why should we expand imports?
——People's Daily Online netizen

For a long time, when some countries talk about China's foreign trade, they have always been accustomed to focusing on export growth, even giving rise to one-sided and false claims that "China exports production capacity, squeezing the space of other countries," ignoring that China is a backbone force in global industrial and supply chain cooperation, with goods flowing both in and out. In the first seven months, China's import growth rate was 8 percentage points higher than that of exports, making a greater contribution to foreign trade growth than exports, powerfully shattering ingrained prejudices.

Why has China's imports grown significantly? First, let's look at what we bought.

In China's shopping cart, there are large quantities of raw materials, parts, and intermediate goods from countries around the world. These goods flow to domestic factory workshops, are reorganized, created, and added value through made-in-China processes, with one part supplying the domestic market and another part being re-exported to markets across the globe. In the first half of the year, China's imports of metal ores and electronic components increased by 22.6% and 45.6% respectively.

Clearly, as a major manufacturing country, China has never been a closed, self-sufficient production machine that unilaterally exports production capacity to the world, but rather a "world factory" deeply embedded in the global division of labor, driving upstream and downstream partners to benefit together. Behind the march of made-in-China to the world is the maximization of value of high-quality production factors from various countries under the integration of China's industrial and supply chains. The more China imports, produces, and exports, the more efficient the operation of the international cycle becomes, and the stronger the resilience and vitality of global industrial and supply chains.

Import growth not only demonstrates the enabling role of the "world factory," but also highlights the responsibility of the "world market."

China is not only a major manufacturing country, but also a major consumer country. Converted according to the World Bank's purchasing power parity, China's total retail sales of consumer goods in 2025 will be equivalent to 1.7 times that of the United States, making it the de facto largest commodity consumer market in the world. Currently, China's volume of physical consumption ranks first globally, and the per capita annual consumption of some industrial products has approached the level of developed countries. In the first half of the year, imports of edible oil and edible aquatic products increased by 19.2% and 24.1% respectively, and imports of consumer goods and agricultural products continued to expand.

By 2035, China's per capita gross domestic product will reach the level of moderately developed countries, and the middle-income group will significantly expand. With huge consumption space and ample potential and vitality, it will continue to inject strong momentum into world economic growth.

What is even more commendable is that China, as a major consumer country, is proactively open. China has implemented a zero-tariff policy for 63 countries, becoming the first major economy in the world to achieve full-coverage zero-tariff treatment for all African countries with diplomatic relations and all least developed countries with diplomatic relations; it is the only country to host an International Import Expo, which has been successfully held for 8 sessions with a cumulative intended transaction volume exceeding US$580 billion.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China's cumulative import scale exceeded 90 trillion yuan, and its import scale ranked second globally for 17 consecutive years, becoming a major export destination for nearly 80 countries, fully demonstrating that China is not only a "world factory" but also a "world market."

Speaking of this, some netizens cannot help but ask: at a time when anti-globalization sentiments are surging and individual countries are imposing additional tariffs, setting up trade barriers, and scrambling to grab export shares, what exactly is China aiming for by persisting in expanding imports and proactively enlarging market dividends?

On a practical level, under the wave of consumption upgrading, imports of global high-quality consumer goods and specialty agricultural products have enriched people's life choices; under the demand for industrial upgrading, imports of global high-end production factors have activated domestic economic momentum.

On a deeper level, the root lies in China's persistent adherence to harmonious coexistence. Unlike some countries that view trade as a zero-sum game and pursue unilateral gains, China has always firmly believed that the essence of trade is two-way empowerment, mutual benefit and mutual advantage.

This is particularly evident in cooperation with Africa. Starting from May 1 of this year, China fully implemented zero-tariff measures for 53 African countries with diplomatic relations. In just May and June, China's total imports from Africa reached 193.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 23.5%. A large number of African specialty products have used the Chinese market to open up sales channels, revitalize industries, and drive employment. China's tariff reductions and import expansion are not passive trade behavior, but an active choice of institutional opening that shares benefits.

China has never deliberately pursued a trade surplus. Whether exports or imports, they are essentially key links for China to connect and integrate into the dual domestic and international circulations and promote economic globalization. The meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held on July 30 emphasized "promoting balanced development of trade." As the "world factory" iterates and upgrades, and the "world market" continues to expand, China will continue to use two-way opening to work with all countries to make the cake of global common development bigger.

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Jiangsu's "New" Wave Drives Manufacturing Upgrades (Vitality China Research Tour)

By: 本报记者 杨 凯 王汉超 白光迪

Walking in Jiangsu, a "new" tide surges forward as technology empowers a contest of hundreds of boats.
In Nanjing, an old photograph records the difficult start of China's radar industry from nothing, displaying an innovative gene that refuses to admit defeat; in Yangzhou, a robotic arm assembles a car body from multiple materials, and new tools bring new surprises; in Yancheng, silver yarn flies between intelligent tracks, weaving "sensing" smart fabrics… As innovation accelerates, one new scene after another keeps viewers on their toes.

During this year's two sessions, when participating in the deliberation of the Jiangsu delegation, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "It is necessary to integratively advance education, science and technology, and talent development, striving to achieve new breakthroughs in strengthening original innovation and tackling key core technologies and seizing the technological commanding heights; to explore new pathways in promoting the deep integration of the innovation chain, industrial chain, capital chain, and talent chain, and driving the efficient transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements; to create new situations in optimizing and upgrading traditional industries, cultivating and strengthening emerging industries, and deploying future industries in advance; and to obtain new achievements in further deepening reform and removing institutional and mechanistic obstacles that restrict the development of new quality productive forces."

The four "news" point out the direction. In Jiangsu, "new" is not only new in technology, but also new in mechanisms; not only new in scenarios, but also new in concepts.

Tackling key problems — bravely scaling the technological commanding heights to achieve "new breakthroughs"

"From 0 to 1" is the most difficult.

Not long ago, Academician Ben De (贲德) received the State Preeminent Science and Technology Award. At the 14th Research Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (中国电子科技集团公司第十四研究所), where he works, there is an old photograph recording the leap of China's radar industry "from 0 to 1": the young Ben De stands beside an airborne pulse Doppler fire-control radar, and the equipment behind him filled a gap in the relevant field.

At that time, facing an urgent national need, the 14th Institute broke a large project into hundreds of research topics, testing them one by one and overcoming them one by one. On Yellow Sheep Mountain (黄羊山) at an altitude of 1,500 meters, researchers debugged equipment in the bitter cold of minus over 20 degrees Celsius. It was precisely this decade-long unremitting exploration that gave domestically produced fighter jets "eyes" that could see farther and more clearly.

"Core technologies cannot be asked for, bought, or begged for; they can only be obtained through self-reliance." Ben De's words reveal the simple truth of tackling key technological problems.

The baton of tackling key problems is passed from one hand to another.

Over the past five years, Jiangsu has accumulated eight achievements selected for the annual "Top Ten Scientific and Technological Advances of China." Purple Mountain Laboratories (紫金山实验室) built the country's first Pre6G test network, and Taihu Laboratory (太湖实验室) delivered the 7,000-ton class "Future" test ship.

Breakthroughs in laboratories have also extended to the front line of industry.

By the Yangtze River, a 9,000-TEU methanol dual-fuel container ship was undocked at the New Yangzi Shipyard (新扬子船厂). To meet the demand for green shipping, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (扬子江船业) independently tackled the manufacturing process for methanol and LNG fuel tanks, using 3D modeling and digital twins throughout the design and manufacturing process. Currently, the enterprise's orders are scheduled until 2030, with clean energy vessels accounting for 70%.

During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, Jiangsu supported scientists to lead the implementation of 209 key basic research projects and received over 25,000 projects from the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Breakthrough after breakthrough "from 0 to 1" continuously solidifies the innovation foundation of new quality productive forces.

Integration — connecting the innovation transformation chain to explore "new pathways"

Robotic arms rise, fall, turn, and flip, forming a car body skeleton that is "lighter in weight yet higher in strength." Inside the trial production workshop of Yangzhou Guoqu Lightweight (Jiangsu) Automotive Technology Co., Ltd. (扬州国汽轻量化（江苏）汽车技术有限公司), parts that originally required dozens of components to assemble are now merged into a single component through integrated casting.

This platform, jointly led by the China Society of Automotive Engineers and the city of Yangzhou, with participation from upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain, does not produce complete vehicles. Instead, it aggregates automakers' demands, university achievements, testing equipment, and industrial resources. "For common needs and key technologies, we organize enterprises to jointly develop them, and the results are shared by the industry," said Liang Dongming (梁东明), the company's director and general manager.

A high-strength steel thin-galvanizing technology developed by Yucaitang (育材堂), an enterprise incubated by this platform, increases the strength of steel plates of the same thickness from 1,000 MPa to 2,000 MPa. With the platform's help, Yangzhou Hengxin Seats (扬州恒新座椅) achieved a 15% weight reduction in its seat skeletons and entered the supply chains of six OEMs. To date, nine lightweight new material and new equipment projects have been incubated and landed here.

Pilot-scale platforms solve the question of "whether it can be manufactured," while application scenarios answer "whether it is good to use."

Inside the Nanjing "AI·Mirror Realm" Artificial Intelligence Ecological Block (南京"AI·镜界"人工智能生态街区), robotics, smart glasses, exoskeletons, and other products are showcased together; R&D companies are upstairs, and customers can directly negotiate after experiencing the products.

"Let those with technology find application scenarios, and let those with scenarios find technology," introduced Teng Liang (滕靓), deputy general manager of Nanjing Software Valley Scenario Innovation Development Co., Ltd. (南京软件谷场景创新发展有限公司). In February of this year, one enterprise that can quickly generate mini-programs through voice gained a tens-of-millions-yuan order with the help of the block.

Currently, Jiangsu has built 24 provincial-level manufacturing pilot-scale platforms; 18 high-tech zones have paired with 37 universities to carry out 779 tackling projects; the province has 13,000 technology managers; and in 2025, the technology contract transaction volume exceeded 560 billion yuan. Pilot-scale verification, scenario opening, talent matching, and capital support are interlinked in a chain, and the integration of the four chains is continuously deepening.

Deployment — driving industries to move toward the new and creating "new situations"

The pace of enterprises' intelligent transformation measures the progress of industries.

In Yancheng, inside the 100,000-spindle green intelligent factory of Jiangsu Yueda Textile Group (江苏悦达纺织集团), over 30 kilometers of intelligent track run through the workshop; robots automatically transport sliver cans and cone yarns; more than 300,000 tubes and bobbins with embedded "chips" record production information; the enterprise has also implanted sensors into fabrics to develop smart clothing. "There are no sunset industries, only sunset processes," said Han Dong (韩栋), president of the group's research institute.

Traditional industries are being renewed, and emerging industries are also growing within clusters.

In the Suzhou BioBay (苏州生物医药产业园), over 680 enterprises gather, with talent, platforms, upstream-downstream, and long-term capital in close synergy. "When a startup comes to the park, it can easily find the technology, talent, and upstream-downstream resources it needs," said Zhou Gang (周刚), general manager of Suzhou Industrial Park Biomedical Industry Development Co., Ltd. (苏州工业园区生物产业发展有限公司).

Inside the production base of Suzhou Innovent Biologics (苏州信达生物), cells go through cultivation, purification, formulation, and other steps to become biological drugs. The enterprise has built a 140,000-liter monoclonal antibody production line, accounting for 20% of the national total monoclonal antibody production capacity; 19 products have been approved for market, of which 13 have been included in the national medical insurance catalog. The self-developed sintilimab, through process optimization and large-scale production, has reduced its annual treatment cost from around one million yuan for similar drugs to 30,000-40,000 yuan.

Looking to the future, Jiangsu has not blindly followed trends but has leveraged its manufacturing foundation to push existing capacity toward new tracks.

At the Wuxi Kailong High-Tech (凯龙高科) factory, on one side is a diesel vehicle exhaust after-treatment system production line, and on the other side is an embodied intelligent robot training ground. A robot dog drags testing equipment close to a vehicle exhaust pipe, reducing the detection time to under ten minutes. The company's more than 20 years of accumulated technology are migrated into the robot's perception, control, and system integration.

In 2025, the output value of Jiangsu's industrial strategic emerging industries accounted for 42.1% of the province's industrial output above designated size; the province has nearly 3,100 core enterprises in future industries, with revenue exceeding 750 billion yuan. Traditional industries are being renewed, emerging industries are forming clusters, and future industries are gaining momentum — the modern industrial system is being rapidly reshaped.

Reform — removing institutional and mechanistic obstacles to obtain "new achievements"

Inside the production workshop of Changzhou Zhongjian Technology (中简科技), bundles of filaments pass through a high-temperature carbonization furnace and are wound up at a constant speed. Carbon fiber has a diameter less than one-tenth that of a human hair, yet its strength is several times that of ordinary steel.

This thin filament was long subject to the constraints of others. More than a decade ago, a research team from the Shanxi Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, came to Changzhou to start a business. In the most difficult times, the researchers slept next to the production line, monitoring equipment, adjusting processes, and calibrating parameters. After years of tackling, Zhongjian Technology built an independent and controllable production line with a design capacity of 5,000 tons of high-performance carbon fiber, and its products are widely used in aerospace and other key fields.

From technological breakthroughs to mass production requires not only long-term enterprise efforts but also the removal of institutional and mechanistic obstacles. When original technologies first leave the laboratory, they lack stable income and mature valuations, so social capital often "dares not invest"; and financial appropriations often end when projects conclude. Jiangsu explored a "combination of grants and investment (拨投结合)": in the early stage, fiscal funds support R&D and industrialization; after the project grows, it is converted into equity investment, which is then passed on to social capital and industry leaders.

Suzhou Yueheng Biosciences (苏州越质生物) mastered the core technology of miniaturized two-dimensional ion mobility mass spectrometry, but due to the lack of mature reference, industrialization once progressed slowly. The Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute (江苏省产业技术研究院) provided 8.05 million yuan in R&D support, helping the team iterate from research prototypes to clinical instruments; after the product matured, the medical device giant United Imaging Group (联影集团) carried out a strategic acquisition, and the Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute transferred its equity at the appropriate time. Thus, an original technology completed the path of R&D support, capital relay, and merger exit.

"Exit is not departure; it is forming a cycle," said Liu Qing (刘庆), president of the Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute. Fiscal funds are returned through market-based exits and then invested in new original technologies, forming a "sustainable cycle" of "support — growth — exit — re-support."

Amending laws on the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, advancing the reform of empowering job-related scientific and technological achievements; issuing a regulation to promote the development of the provincial industrial technology research institute, jointly building more than 500 enterprise joint innovation centers and transforming over 7,500 achievements; guiding long-term capital and patient capital to invest early, small, and in hard technologies… Jiangsu uses reform to solve problems in achievement transformation, capital support, and benefit distribution, enabling more innovation achievements to cross the "valley of death."

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South-to-North Water Diversion Middle Route transfers over 80 billion cubic meters of water

Beijing, August 8 (People’s Daily) — (Reporter Wang Hao (王浩)) The reporter learned from the China South-to-North Water Diversion Group Co., Ltd. (中国南水北调集团有限公司): As of August 7, the South-to-North Water Diversion Middle Route Project (南水北调中线工程) has cumulatively transferred over 80 billion cubic meters of water to the north, with the water quality of the Middle Route Project stably reaching Class II or above surface water standards, benefiting nearly 118 million people in Henan, Hebei, Tianjin, and Beijing, and delivering good water to 27 large and medium-sized cities and 243 counties and urban districts along the route.

Since the Middle Route Project began delivering water, the water supply volume has steadily increased, and the scope of water-receiving areas has continuously expanded. In Beijing’s central urban area, “southern water” accounts for nearly 80% of water use; in Tianjin’s main urban area, almost all water comes from the South-to-North Water Diversion; and in Hebei, the population receiving water accounts for approximately 70% of the province’s total population. Since the start of water delivery, the Middle Route Project has made full use of the surplus water from Danjiangkou Reservoir’s pre-flood drawdown and flood-season discharge, ecologically replenishing over 50 rivers and lakes along the route, and assisting in implementing the Mother River Revival Action (母亲河复苏行动). The Middle Route Project has helped achieve significant results in the comprehensive treatment of groundwater overexploitation in the North China region, and the long-term trend of groundwater level decline in North China has been fundamentally reversed.

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Experiential consumption boosts sports camera sales (Micro-perspective on high-quality development)

By: 本报记者 赵帅杰

21.4%

In the first half of the year, sales of action cameras on key platforms grew by 21.4%.

Gently nudging the joystick to watch the gimbal, flipping the lens to start a selfie, double-tapping the screen to try the intelligent tracking function... Over the weekend, inside the DJI store at Zhenghongcheng in Zhengzhou, Henan, pocket cameras and action cameras in diverse styles attracted many customers to come and experience them.

"The store has 4 series, with 8 portable imaging devices in total, priced from just over 1,000 yuan to more than 4,000 yuan, meeting the needs of customers with different budgets," said Qiao Hu (乔虎), the store manager.

Zhang Jingge (张静阁), 32, works in education and is an action camera enthusiast. "I bought one back in 2023, both to record teaching clips and to document daily life," she said. This time she came to select a new model with a dual-camera version; after trying it out, she found that not only was the zoom capability stronger, but an external fill light could also be attached. "In the future, I can also use it when going to concerts — even from a distance, the picture is clear."

"Young people are the main consumer group for portable imaging devices such as action cameras," Qiao Hu observed. In earlier times, this type of equipment was mostly a professional tool for practitioners in industries such as media and short video; in recent years, it has developed from a niche digital product into a mass consumer product, and students, outdoor sports enthusiasts, parents, and more types of people are willing to pay for it, achieving "circle-breaking" development.

A set of data confirms the market heat: during this year's "May Day" holiday, sales of DJI's pocket camera product line in the Henan market grew 255% year-on-year, action camera sales grew 118% year-on-year, and panoramic camera and thumb camera sales also achieved substantial growth.

"We launched a new promotional campaign during the summer vacation, cutting prices on entry-level pocket cameras by more than 30%, driving store sales to grow by multiples," Qiao Hu said. People are highly attentive to portable imaging devices; about 300 customers enter the store each workday to experience them, and during holidays customer traffic increases by more than 3 times.

Not only in offline stores — data from online platforms also reflect the consumption heat. In the first half of the year, the action camera category, including products such as gimbal cameras, saw its transaction volume on JD.com grow by multiples year-on-year.

"The advantage of the physical store lies in its ability to provide complete supporting value-added services," said Li Xiaoling (李晓玲), manager of the DJI Hecheng Waitan store in Jiaozuo, Henan. The store regularly carries out technical exchange and outdoor field trip activities, and also holds photography and videography competitions.

"We provide a trade-in service in which old machines are appraised and their value is discounted; when consumers buy a new machine, part of the payment can be directly deducted," Li Xiaoling said. In the past three years, the store's consumption growth rate for portable imaging devices such as action cameras has exceeded expectations.

At the Hecheng Waitan store, the reporter saw not only customers operating action cameras hands-on and directly experiencing effects such as image stabilization and zoom, but also dedicated staff providing instruction on shooting, video export, and other operations. Zhang Bo (张波), a local resident, was experiencing the devices with his daughter, who has just started junior high school. Taking advantage of the summer vacation, the whole family plans to travel to Yunnan and wanted to buy a camera to record the trip.

"An action camera can not only record the scenery, but also cultivate a child's interest in sports and photography," Zhang Bo said.

In addition to buying action cameras, renting cameras has also become a popular choice among consumers. Not long ago, Shen Xueran (沈雪苒), a 21-year-old university student, planned to travel to Zhengzhou and reserved a rental camera in advance on an online platform.

"After arriving at the pickup location, I scanned the code, entered my name and ID card number, and with my credit points I could rent it without a deposit," Shen Xueran said. The new models are priced on the high side for her, so she chose the rental model — the experience was convenient and affordable.

Wu Xiaocong (吴晓聪), who runs an imaging equipment rental business in Zhengzhou, told the reporter that after spotting a business opportunity at concerts, in recent years he has tested the waters in the portable imaging equipment rental business, and currently has more than a hundred machines in total. During the peak tourism season and concert periods, they are 供不应求 (gōng bù yìng qiú - "supply cannot meet demand," demand exceeds supply). Each camera comes with relevant insurance services; once there is damage, it can be replaced with a new machine without the renter having to pay compensation — both sides are worry-free.

Data from the Henan Provincial Bureau of Statistics (河南省统计局) show that in the first half of the year, retail sales of photographic equipment commodities in Henan grew 34.7%. Li Xiaomin (李晓敏), a specially appointed professor at Henan University (河南大学), believes that compared with mobile phones, domestically produced action cameras, which have recently achieved successive research and development breakthroughs, can shoot unobtrusively, with high-definition pixels and stable images, and in particular can record clearly even during movement. At the same time, more convenient services and the upgrading trend of lighter weight and greater intelligence have further lowered the threshold for operating the equipment.

"People's pursuit of a quality life, as well as the development of experience-based consumption such as immersive cultural tourism and outdoor sports, has driven action cameras to become the 'standard configuration' of more and more consumers," Li Xiaomin believes. In the future, this consumer market is expected to continue expanding.

(Wang Ke (王珂), reporter of this newspaper, participated in the reporting and writing.)

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Boosting new types of consumption from both supply and demand sides (Expert commentary)

By: 姜 照

Currently, China's new types of consumption are developing rapidly, exhibiting the characteristics of two-way adaptation between supply and demand and coordinated quality improvement. From the demand side, residents' consumption is accelerating its transformation from basic practical types to quality experience types; lifestyles such as outdoor sports and immersive leisure are becoming increasingly widespread, driving sustained growth in demand for personalized and scenario-based smart products, and the consumer base is expanding from digital enthusiasts to all age groups. From the supply side, relying on the advantages of a complete industrial chain and digital technology, the quality and cost-effectiveness of domestically produced smart products continue to improve, creating a virtuous cycle in which high-quality supply generates demand.

The recently released Fifteenth Five-Year Plan for Expanding Consumption (扩大消费“十五五”规划) clearly deploys measures such as "artificial intelligence + consumption" and cultivating experiential consumption, pointing the direction for cultivating and strengthening new types of consumption in the new stage. In the next step, it is necessary to coordinate policies from both the supply and demand sides, activate new demand with high-quality supply, release new consumption through diversified scenarios, and promote the expansion of new types of consumption.

Make efforts from the supply side to improve the high-quality smart consumption supply system. Centering on the diverse life scenarios of residents, guide enterprises to strengthen technological innovation, enrich the supply of products such as smart wearables, portable imaging, and smart homes, and fill the supply gaps in sinking markets and aging-adapted scenarios. Promote the coordinated upgrading of hardware R&D with content services and operations and maintenance services, and build a smart consumption ecosystem that integrates hardware and software. Advance the digital transformation of commercial circulation, open up the entire chain of services including display, experience, delivery, and after-sales, and help high-quality products reach consumers efficiently.

Make efforts from the demand side to expand the application scenarios of new types of consumption. Promote the integration of smart technology with culture, tourism, sports and other fields, and support commercial districts in laying out experience stores and brand flagship stores. Further optimize the policy of replacing old consumer goods with new ones, improve the recycling and reuse system, and promote the replacement of existing stock products. Advance the construction of county-level commercial systems, and promote smart consumer goods going to the countryside and entering villages. Improve the quality supervision and consumer rights protection mechanisms, strengthen data security protection, and stabilize residents' consumption expectations.

(The author is an associate researcher at the Institute of Circulation and Consumption, Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation (商务部研究院流通与消费研究所), Ministry of Commerce; the article was compiled from an interview by our reporter Wang Ke (王珂).)

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Not Only Can It Be Produced, But It Must Also Be Usable and Used More (Policy Interpretation: Q&A)

By: 本报记者 王云杉

The Implementing Measures for the Minimum Proportion Target of Renewable Energy Consumption and the Renewable Energy Power Absorption Responsibility Weight System (《可再生能源消费最低比重目标和可再生能源电力消纳责任权重制度实施办法》) (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures"), formulated and issued by the National Development and Reform Commission (国家发展改革委) and the National Energy Administration (国家能源局), have recently been implemented. What is the minimum proportion of consumption? How do the Measures promote the high-quality development of renewable energy? A reporter conducted an interview.

Q: What is the background and significance of the issuance of the Measures?

A: Simply put, the main objective of the Measures is to guide the whole society to prioritize the use and actively consume renewable energy, thereby helping to achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality (碳达峰碳中和).

For a long time, the development focus of China's renewable energy industry has been on supply-side expansion, driving the continuous increase in China's installed renewable energy capacity. As of the end of June this year, the national installed renewable energy capacity reached 24.55 billion kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 13.7%, accounting for approximately 60.7% of China's total installed capacity.

In contrast, consumption-side constraint mechanisms have long been relatively weak. Currently, the structural contradiction between being able to generate and being able to utilize well is becoming increasingly prominent. On the one hand, renewable energy absorption faces significant pressure. The "Three Northern" regions (三北) (Northeast, North, and Northwest China), rich in wind and solar resources, have limited absorption space, necessitating regionally differentiated guidance for the nationwide absorption of renewable energy to form a new pattern of nationally coordinated and optimally allocated absorption. On the other hand, due to the randomness, volatility, and intermittency of output, new energy has weak bargaining power in electricity market trading, bears more price fluctuation and revenue risks, and some enterprises experience "increased generation without increased revenue" or "increased revenue without increased profit." It is necessary to convey clear development expectations to the market through scientifically sound policy design, effectively transforming users' green consumption demand into long-term price support for new energy projects.

Against this backdrop, researching and formulating the Measures is both an inherent requirement for improving and perfecting the existing institutional system and a practical need for promoting the larger-scale and higher-quality development of renewable energy: it requires not only "being able to produce" but also "being able to be used" and "being used in greater quantities."

Q: How to understand the minimum proportion of consumption and the absorption responsibility weight?

A: Looking at the former first, the minimum proportion of renewable energy consumption refers to the minimum proportion of renewable energy that an energy user is required to consume relative to its total energy consumption, as stipulated by the state. The Measures specify that the energy主管部门 of the State Council, in conjunction with relevant departments, will set minimum proportion targets for renewable energy consumption and transition deadlines for key energy-consuming industries, and conduct assessments, upgrading from previous data statistics and monitoring to mandatory consumption, thereby guiding energy users to consume renewable energy.

Looking at the latter, the renewable energy power absorption responsibility weight refers to the proportion target set by the state for each provincial-level administrative region regarding the amount of renewable energy electricity it should absorb relative to the total social electricity consumption in that region.

The Notice on Establishing and Improving the Guarantee Mechanism for Renewable Energy Power Absorption, issued in 2019, formally established the renewable energy power absorption responsibility weight system. Since the implementation of the system, it has played a significant role in raising the level of renewable energy absorption and utilization and promoting the achievement of the target for the share of non-fossil energy consumption.

In recent years, influenced by the rapid development of new energy and the difficulty in keeping pace with the short-term construction of regulation capacity, the absorption situation in some provinces in the "Three Northern" regions with high new energy penetration rates has become relatively severe. There is an urgent need to further guide the nationwide absorption of new energy from the "Three Northern" regions through the absorption responsibility weight system, to maintain the national new energy utilization rate at a reasonable level.

Compared with previous policies, the innovation of the Measures lies in establishing a regional weight growth mechanism that precisely matches the inverse pattern of China's energy resource distribution and consumption demand: the eastern region is economically developed with high electricity demand but relatively scarce renewable energy resources; raising its weight target can promote cross-regional absorption of green electricity. The western region is rich in resources but has limited absorption capacity; a moderate increase in weight can alleviate the pressure of curtailment of wind and solar power, thereby promoting the optimal allocation of renewable energy across the country.

Q: What is the main consideration of the Measures in proposing the assessment of minimum proportion targets for renewable energy power consumption for key energy-consuming industries?

A: On the one hand, key energy-consuming industries have a large electricity consumption base, wide coverage, and involve many industrial chains. Setting minimum proportion consumption targets for them can effectively drive the consumption of renewable energy across the whole society and promote the low-carbon transformation of energy. On the other hand, key energy-consuming industries are not only major energy consumers but also main sources of carbon emissions. Setting relevant targets for them also facilitates subsequent alignment with related policies such as energy conservation and carbon reduction.

Currently, green electricity consumption proportion requirements have been established for industries such as electrolytic aluminum, steel, cement, polysilicon, and new data centers at national hub nodes (国家枢纽节点新建数据中心). The National Energy Administration, together with relevant industry authorities, will jointly determine the specific scope, indicator setting, and assessment requirements for key energy-consuming industries. In the future, key energy-consuming industries will mainly focus on key consumption-side areas such as industry, construction, and transportation.

Q: In terms of institutional design, what other highlights does the Measures have?

A: The rigidity of policy constraints has been enhanced. The Measures strengthen assessment rewards and penalties. For enterprises in key energy-consuming industries that fail to meet the minimum proportion target for renewable energy consumption, they will be interviewed, notified, and included in credit records for enhanced key supervision. For provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) that fail to meet the renewable energy power absorption responsibility weight target, they will be interviewed and notified as appropriate. Provinces and enterprises with outstanding performance will be notified and commended, receiving priority support from relevant policies.

The policy gap in the non-electricity field has been filled. After years of cultivation, China's green hydrogen, green ammonia, green methanol, and other industries have developed rapidly, initially laying the foundation for large-scale development and utilization. As of the first quarter of this year, China's annual production capacity for green hydrogen, green ammonia, green methanol, and sustainable aviation fuel was approximately 250,000 tons, 700,000 tons, 380,000 tons, and 1.7 million tons, respectively. At the same time, the market competitiveness of non-electricity utilization of renewable energy remains weak, with the scale of non-electricity utilization of new energy accounting for less than 1% of total national energy consumption. The green value lacks effective transmission and market reflection, and further policy guidance is needed to form stable demand.

Compared with the previous single assessment of green electricity consumption, the Measures include non-electricity consumption for the first time in the assessment of the minimum proportion target for renewable energy consumption, which helps expand the space for renewable energy absorption and enhance the capacity for energy security assurance.

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Summer outings full of fun

Since the summer vacation period, the tourism market has been hot. Leveraging natural and cultural resources, various localities have introduced diverse ways to play through cultural and tourism integration and technology empowerment, allowing tourists to fully enjoy the fun.

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Saving time and money for biopharmaceutical innovation (New economic horizons: expanding and improving service industries)

By: 本报记者 邵玉姿 陆凡冰

In the Shijiazhuang International Biopharmaceutical Park (石家庄市国际生物医药园) in Hebei Province, a cream product took less than one year from R&D to market launch. "This is the new speed and the new record that the company has run out through innovation in recent years," said Yu Yuexin (于月欣), quality director of Hebei Nake Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (河北纳科生物科技有限公司).

So fast — how was it done? The answer lies in the Shijiazhuang Laboratory of the Hebei Provincial Institute for Drug and Medical Device Inspection and Testing (河北省药品医疗器械检验研究院石家庄实验室), located less than 100 meters from Nake Biotechnology.

"Pre-market inspection is a key link for a product to go from R&D to market, and it takes a long time," said Gao Jian (高健), deputy director of the park's management committee. Before the laboratory was established, enterprises in the park whose medical device products were to go on the market had to send samples on their own to Luquan District (鹿泉区) of Shijiazhuang for testing, and the round trip alone took two hours.

Not to mention the back-and-forth travel. What gave Yu Yuexin a headache was that, when filing an application, if it did not conform to the testing procedures or standards, the work had to be redone and the experiments run again.

Gao Jian noted that if professional testing institutions were involved during product R&D and provided technical guidance before market launch, it would greatly improve enterprises' R&D efficiency and the success rate of product market launches.

In response to enterprises' needs, the park decided to invite testing institutions in, providing professional guidance in such links as front-loaded services, technical support, and inspection and testing. The Shijiazhuang High-tech Zone (石家庄高新区) provided the funds, the park provided the site and equipment, and the testing institutions provided the personnel. In October 2024, the shared laboratory in the park was officially inaugurated.

"The laboratory is set up at our 'doorstep,' and during the product testing stage the two sides often communicate face to face, avoiding many detours," Yu Yuexin said.

"For enterprises' product R&D, we both participate in technical services related to front-end quality research and provide back-end product testing services," said Li Xianghe (李香荷), the person in charge of the laboratory. Through front-loaded technical services and the like, links such as inspection and safety evaluation that previously took three to four months to complete can now be completed in just 45 to 60 days.

Since the laboratory was established, 11 products of Nake Biotechnology alone have been successfully launched on the market through the front-loaded technical services provided by the laboratory. "Such efficiency is beyond imagination and further stimulates our motivation to innovate." Yu Yuexin was greatly invigorated. Inside the company's R&D laboratory, the R&D of several new products is also advancing.

Not only front-loaded technical services — the shared laboratory in the park also helps enterprises shorten the R&D cycle and accelerate the process of launching new drugs on the market.

Nuo'aoyuan Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (诺澳原生物技术有限公司) moved into the park in March 2024. "For innovative drug enterprises, time and funds are the lifeline," said Lei Tao (雷涛), general manager of the company, adding that the shared laboratory has solved the development difficulties of start-up pharmaceutical enterprises.

Why don't pharmaceutical enterprises set up their own laboratories? "The equipment required for R&D is expensive; if purchased on our own, equipment investment alone would require four to five million yuan, and an R&D laboratory takes at least half a year to complete interior decoration, equipment procurement, environmental impact assessment, and the like." Lei Tao said frankly that the shared laboratory has a total of 80 sets of R&D equipment, with an annual rental fee of less than 200,000 yuan, and the team, from deciding to move in to starting R&D, got everything done within one week.

"Focusing on demand as the theme, the park has formulated an industrial map, sorted out product categories, and implemented measures by category, providing enterprises with a low-cost innovation environment," Gao Jian said. Low cost is not only about saving money, but even more about saving time in terms of efficiency.

Mechanism innovation leads the industry's high-quality development. From 2023 to 2025, the annual operating revenue of Shijiazhuang's biopharmaceutical industry surpassed 100 billion yuan, 120 billion yuan, and 140 billion yuan respectively, and the industry's development momentum is strong.

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Turning Innovation 'Breaking Points' into Service 'Pivot Points' (Reporter's Notes)

By: 陆凡冰

Front-loaded technical services enter the industrial park, and the originally scattered innovation resources are integrated into a single service chain.

Service front-loading brings not only an improvement in efficiency, but also a reduction in innovation costs. Costs include both explicit costs such as equipment investment and site rent, and implicit costs such as communication and coordination, repeated trial and error, and waiting for approvals. For innovative drug R&D, saving one month of time may mean seizing a market opportunity; reducing one instance of rework may mean saving a large amount of R&D investment.

The competitiveness of industrial parks is increasingly reflected in their service capability. Whatever enterprises lack, services fill; wherever innovation is blocked, services follow up. Turning the 'broken points' in the innovation chain into 'fulcrums' in the service chain, and turning enterprises' searching for resources everywhere into resources proactively approaching enterprises, can continuously stimulate the vitality of industrial development.

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Hangzhou-Taizhou High-Speed Railway Wenzhou-Yuhuan Section Opens for Operation

Beijing, August 8 (Our Newspaper) — (reporters Li Xinping (李心萍) and Dou Hanyang (窦瀚洋)) On the 8th, the Wenling (温岭) to Yuhuan (玉环) section of the Hangzhou-Shaoxing-Taizhou high-speed railway (hereinafter referred to as the "Hangzhou-Taizhou High-Speed Railway Wenyu Section" (杭台高铁温玉段)) opened for operation, and Yuhuan (玉环) from then on ends its history of having no railway and steps into the high-speed rail era.

The Hangzhou-Taizhou High-Speed Railway Wenyu Section is an extension line of the Hangzhou-Taizhou High-Speed Railway, located in the southern part of Taizhou City. The newly built main line is approximately 37 kilometers long, with a designed speed of 350 kilometers per hour, and sets up three stations: Wenling (温岭), Wenling West (温岭西), and Yuhuan (玉环). After the opening of the Hangzhou-Taizhou High-Speed Railway Wenyu Section, Taizhou City achieves "every county has railway" (县县通铁路).

The line started full construction in November 2022, adhered to the concepts of ecological priority, green and low-carbon, with a bridge-tunnel ratio as high as 90.34%, and built 17 bridges and 13 tunnels.

The Hangzhou-Taizhou High-Speed Railway is China's first privately invested and controlled high-speed railway. The Wenyu Section adopts the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) mode of operation, is jointly financed by the social capital party headed by China Railway Construction Investment Group (中国铁建投资集团) together with the Wenling city and Yuhuan city governments, and is entrusted to China Railway Shanghai Group Co., Ltd. (中国铁路上海局集团有限公司) for construction and operation.

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Touching the Pulse of the Global Auto Industry's Future Development (2026 China-Africa Cultural and People-to-People Exchange Year)

By: 本报记者 郑 翔

"The time I spent studying in China gave me a deeper understanding of the meaning of cultural exchange." "My trip to China was fruitful; we are willing to be envoys of South Africa-China vocational education cooperation." ... Recently, at a symposium held at the Chinese Embassy in South Africa, 36 South African trainees shared their experiences and feelings from participating in training in China. These trainees come from six public vocational and technical colleges in South Africa and, with full funding from South Africa's Department of Higher Education and Training, completed an 18-week training program in new energy vehicle technology at Beijing Polytechnic (北京工业职业技术学院), finishing their studies in January this year.

Immersive hands-on training opens new horizons

"From the roar of the internal combustion engine to the hum of the electric motor is a leap in technology. In China, I touched the pulse of the future development of the global automotive industry," said trainee Itumeleng Masina, still unable to hide her excitement when speaking of her trip to China.

"When I learned that I had the opportunity to come to China to study new energy vehicle technology, I was very excited," Masina said. Studying at the intelligent new energy vehicle training center co-built by Beijing Polytechnic and BYD was highly rewarding for her. "In China, we were able to study on real vehicles in complete configurations. This allowed everyone to systematically master the whole-vehicle core technical system, including safety diagnosis, power batteries, charging systems, and hybrid engine structures, accumulating valuable experience for future work practice," Masina said.

Trainee Siphihle Mndawe believes that, besides the advanced training hardware, the rigorous and efficient teaching of the Chinese side is equally admirable. "The Chinese teachers often told us, 'Practice yields true knowledge' (实践出真知), and to 'unite and work in solidarity.' In every class, we would have group discussions and work together to find solutions to problems such as vehicle faults," Mndawe said. "The Chinese side emphasizes communication between teachers and students. The teachers took the initiative to follow up on everyone's learning progress and, through one-on-one Q&A sessions, ensured that every trainee could keep up."

To help the South African trainees better integrate into their studies and life in China, Beijing Polytechnic specially offered practical Chinese courses, adopting the teaching model of "offline instruction + online consolidation" to raise the trainees' Chinese proficiency. "Each of us has a Chinese name," Mndawe said. "The teachers address us by our Chinese names, which made everyone feel closer to one another. Learning Chinese provides more possibilities for our career development. We look forward to the continued deepening of vocational education cooperation between South Africa and China, and I hope to have the opportunity to go to China again for further study."

Building a more resilient transportation and energy system

"I never imagined that I would have the opportunity to go to China and enter an engineering college to study the frontier technology of new energy vehicles. This was once a 遥不可及 (yáo bù kě jí - "too distant to reach," unattainable) dream," said trainee Innocent Meyer. "The automotive and engineering fields have traditionally been dominated by men. For me, every step into this industry required great courage and confidence. I am proud — not only for myself, but also for all women who dare to imagine and strive to turn their dreams into reality."

After returning to South Africa, Meyer hopes to help more people understand the advantages of new energy vehicles. "In South Africa, there are still many people who have not realized the epoch-making significance of new energy vehicles. I try to tell them in the most intuitive way: fewer exhaust emissions mean cleaner air and environment; driving vehicles with electricity costs far less per kilometer than with fuel, and this can genuinely save families money," Meyer said.

Masina believes that the entry of Chinese automakers such as BYD into the South African market will help promote the construction of the local new energy vehicle industry chain, including supporting local assembly, training technical personnel, and building renewable energy charging networks that integrate solar energy, and can thus build a more resilient transportation and energy system. She said that this study tour broadened her horizons and strengthened her conviction — "to contribute 绵薄之力 (mián bó zhī lì - "the strength of silk floss," one's meager strength) to building a more prosperous and greener South Africa."

Creating a new model for cultivating overseas technical and skilled talent

In recent years, under the guidance of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation (一带一路), the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the BRICS cooperation mechanism, and other frameworks, China-South Africa vocational education cooperation has flourished. The two countries are closely aligning with future-oriented core industrial needs and, with the digital economy and green energy as the focus, are continuously advancing the joint construction of curricula and the joint cultivation of talent.

China's Ministry of Education (教育部) has established a regular dialogue mechanism with South Africa's Department of Higher Education and Training, promoting the building of platforms such as the China-Africa (South Africa) Vocational Education Cooperation Alliance (中非（南）职业教育合作联盟) and facilitating the connection between colleges and enterprises. For more than five years, many Chinese enterprises in Africa have cooperated with local colleges to jointly offer training programs in fields such as big data, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing.

Taking as platforms the South African wind power and photovoltaic projects in which Chinese enterprises participated in construction, operation, and maintenance, the school-enterprise collaborative training model has been continuously deepened. Some enterprises, through the linked mechanism of "internship + further study in China," lock in early and systematically cultivate South Africa's local technical and skilled talent, reserving strength for the long-term development of the projects.

South Africa's first Luban Workshop (鲁班工坊) was launched and put into operation at Durban University of Technology, focusing on fields such as the Internet of Things, new energy, and mechanical automation and introducing curricula and practical training systems based on Chinese standards; the CNC machining skills training project for teachers of South African vocational and technical colleges was officially launched, jointly implemented by South Africa's Department of Higher Education and Training, the South Africa-China Cultural and International Education Exchange Center (南非中国文化和国际教育交流中心), and Chinese colleges, with more than 100 teachers participating in the training; during the 2025 G20 (Group of Twenty) education working group meeting, China Yalong Intelligent Equipment Group Co., Ltd. (中国亚龙智能装备集团股份有限公司) signed a donation agreement with South Africa's Department of Higher Education and Training, further deepening the two countries' cooperation in vocational education equipment and resources... China-South Africa vocational education cooperation has formed a three-in-one (三位一体) deep cooperation model of "standard export, teacher training, and resource support."

Liu Chang'an (柳长安), president of Beijing Polytechnic, said that under the framework of the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges (中非人文交流年), the Chinese side will continue to take the "Chinese + vocational skills" (中文+职业技能) talent cultivation model as the cornerstone and, joining hands with partners, create a new model for cultivating overseas technical and skilled talent with demonstration significance, promoting the quality improvement and upgrading of China-South Africa vocational education cooperation.

Wu Peng (吴鹏), Chinese ambassador to South Africa, said that vocational education is an important support for promoting employment and driving industrial upgrading. He expressed the hope that the trainees who participated in the program can translate the knowledge and skills they have learned into momentum for career development and contribute wisdom and strength to South Africa's industrial development and technological innovation.

"The training program is an important measure for South Africa and China to expand vocational education cooperation in multiple fields," said Nomusa Dube-Ncube, Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training of South Africa. Studying in China will help more South African youth master advanced skills and accumulate practical experience in fields such as science, engineering, and digital technology, realize personal development, and make positive contributions to the country's development and construction.

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Building a Bridge of Mutual Understanding and Affinity Between the Peoples of Brazil and China (International Forum)

By: 玛西娅·梅尔基奥尔

Although Brazil and China are separated by tens of thousands of miles, the common aspiration of our two peoples for a better life, our shared cherishing of cultural heritage, and our joint pursuit of friendship and cooperation give us an 取之不尽 (qǔ zhī bù jìn - "take it without end," inexhaustible) common language.

In November 2024, President Xi Jinping replied to a letter from friendly personages from all walks of life in Brazil, encouraging them to continue contributing to the cause of Brazil-China friendship. This reply deeply inspired all members of the Rio de Janeiro Copacabana Fortress Orchestra, and also strengthened our confidence in deepening mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples through cultural exchanges. This year is the Brazil-China Culture Year, and I am once again leading the Rio de Janeiro Copacabana Fortress Orchestra to tour China in April, performing and engaging in exchanges in Beijing, Tianjin, Nanning, Guilin, Guangzhou and other cities.

Two years is not a long time, but the bond between the peoples of our two countries has visibly deepened, especially among the younger generation, who are drawing closer to each other on the wings of music. In every city we visited, we were greeted with sincere smiles; after every performance, we saw more young people drawing closer through art. This enthusiasm that transcends language touches the heart more than any applause. In Beijing, the orchestra held pop-up performances at Wanping City (宛平城) and Sanlitun, where the Brazilian piece Tico-Tico no Fubá and the Chinese folk song Jasmine Flower were played in succession, echoing each other. At Renmin University of China, we participated in the Brazil-China Youth Grand Gathering and the Youth Concert for the 40th Anniversary of the Sister City Relationship between Beijing and Rio de Janeiro, where young people from both countries performed together on stage, conveying friendship through melody. During the exchange rehearsal at the Tianjin Conservatory of Music, no extensive translation was needed; solely through melody and chords, the two sides achieved artistic rapport.

This vivid picture of the integration of civilizations also appeared in the itinerary of several southern cities. At the "March 3rd" festival site in Nanning, local people enthusiastically invited the musicians to join in song and dance interactions, where Brazilian brass music and Zhuang mountain songs responded to each other, and everywhere was filled with joy that knows no borders. The landscape of the Li River in Guilin left a deep impression on the many young musicians who were traveling abroad for the first time, allowing them to intuitively appreciate China's natural and cultural charm. Through institutionalized arrangements, we promote youth visits, joint performances, and talent development, accumulating youth strength for the continued development of Brazil-China friendship.

The growth of this orchestra itself is a true story of the affinity between the Brazilian and Chinese people. Most of the orchestra members come from public schools in Rio de Janeiro, and for many children, their first-ever international trip was to China. The orchestra once encountered operational difficulties; at a critical moment, CNOOC Brazil Company (中国海油巴西公司) extended a helping hand to help the orchestra through the difficulties, allowing more young people who love music to continue chasing their dreams. Now an orchestra of 50 young musicians, it has been listed as an intangible cultural heritage of the state of Rio de Janeiro. The support from China has become a source of confidence for us to persist in promoting Brazil-China cultural exchanges.

This visit to China has also given me a more three-dimensional perception of the country. I have not only witnessed with my own eyes the vigorous vitality brought by China's modernization and its convenient and efficient public services, but also truly experienced the value and protection this country has for its own traditional culture. Folk festivals are passed down from generation to generation, historical relics radiate new vitality, and the speed of development forward intermingles with the cultural thickness rooted in history — such a development path has given me much inspiration.

What moves people most is always the sincere and simple interactions between ordinary people. After every performance, Chinese youth always take the initiative to approach our musicians to exchange musical ideas; Brazilian members are also happy to introduce samba and Brazilian drum music to their Chinese friends. Handshake after handshake, smile after smile, impromptu jam session after jam session, they make me deeply feel that mutual learning among civilizations is not a concept suspended on paper; it happens in such face-to-face interactions. A 15-year-old flutist from the orchestra said that the trip to China inspired her to practice her skills more diligently; a 17-year-old cellist, after returning home, is already looking forward to her next trip to China. The personal experiences of young people fully demonstrate that culture is a solid bridge of friendship linking the two peoples, and that youth are the most vivid envoys of Brazil-China friendship.

Although Brazil and China are separated by tens of thousands of miles, the common aspiration of our two peoples for a better life, our shared cherishing of cultural heritage, and our joint pursuit of friendship and cooperation give us an inexhaustible common language. I believe that as exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations deepen, the friendship between the Brazilian and Chinese people will surely grow even stronger. In the future, we are willing to continue using culture as a bond, actively implement the important consensus reached by our two heads of state, deepen youth exchanges and people-to-people and cultural exchanges, so that more Brazilian youth can understand a real, three-dimensional, and comprehensive China, and also let more Chinese friends experience a warm and colorful Brazil, contributing our share of light and heat to enhancing the mutual understanding and affinity between the two peoples, deepening exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, and promoting the building of a Brazil-China community with a shared future.
(The author is Director of the Brazil-Shanhe Cultural Promotion Center (巴西山河文化促进中心) and Artistic Director of the Rio de Janeiro Copacabana Fortress Orchestra.)

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"Our bond with China will continue to grow" (Yuanqi China)

By: 汉南·吉拉尼 孟祥麟

At the construction site of the Karakoram Highway Dasu Section realignment project in the mountainous region of northern Pakistan, the site doctor Lei Matt Ali (Chinese name: Ruhan (茹涵)) arrived at the clinic early in the morning. The construction site has steep mountain slopes, fragmented rock masses, and narrow roads. Before every blasting operation begins, Ruhan always checks the ambulance, first-aid kit, and medicines in advance. He and his colleagues have maintained this work rhythm for 11 years. In 2022, Ruhan received the honorary title of the second "Silk Road Friendly Envoy" (丝路友好使者), jointly sponsored by the China International Cultural Exchange Center (中国国际文化交流中心) and People's Daily's Global People magazine (《环球人物》杂志社).

“I have never had the thought of backing out due to the harsh and dangerous working environment.” Speaking in an interview in Beijing a few days ago, Ruhan said, “Chinese people can leave their hometowns to help Pakistan build roads, so why can’t I do the same thing for my own country?”

“I am the only doctor on the project,” Ruhan said. “When Chinese colleagues feel unwell, they come to me. I diagnose and treat them. The moment I learn that they have recovered, I am especially happy.”

Ruhan’s connection with China began when he was a child. When Ruhan’s father was young, he once participated in the construction of the Karakoram Highway, working shoulder-to-shoulder with Chinese builders. This highway has a more affectionate name — the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway. When he was little, Ruhan often heard his father tell stories about Chinese road construction workers: they left their hometowns far behind, came to the mountainous region of northern Pakistan, built roads and bridges in extremely harsh natural environments, expended great effort, and also made many sacrifices.

“Father always told me that Chinese people are our brothers,” Ruhan said. In 2008, encouraged by his father, he came to Xi’an Jiaotong University to study medicine. In order to integrate into the completely new study and living environment as quickly as possible, he repeatedly pondered over Chinese tones, often practiced until late at night, and applied the words he learned in class to daily life. To this day, he still clearly remembers the tolerance and encouragement Chinese friends gave him when he first started learning Chinese — even if his expression was not accurate enough, they always listened patiently and corrected him in time, using sincerity and goodwill to help him little by little build up confidence.

After graduating in 2013, Ruhan returned to Pakistan. He could have stayed to work in a hospital with relatively comfortable conditions, but in 2015, he chose to join the China Civil Engineering (中国土木) Dasu Highway Project team to participate in the Karakoram Highway Dasu Section realignment project.

In Ruhan’s view, the Dasu Highway Project camp is not just a workplace, but more like a small shared home — Chinese colleagues and Pakistani colleagues work and live together, face difficulties together, and also share joys together. Ruhan said that from hearing his father tell stories about Chinese road construction workers as a child, to later studying in Xi’an, and now to taking root in the Dasu Highway Project and safeguarding the safety of Chinese and Pakistani employees, his personal development has been tightly intertwined with the Karakoram Highway.

Ruhan said that one of the key words of China-Pakistan friendship is “trust.” In his view, this trust exists in his father’s exhortations, in the teachings of Chinese teachers, in the ambulance standing by at the mountain construction site, and in the laughter and joyful voices of Chinese and Pakistani employees celebrating holidays together at the camp.

“I am willing to be a bridge of people-to-people connectivity (民心相通) between Pakistan and China,” Ruhan said. “Our connection with China will continue to extend.”

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"Believing There Will Be More Tangible Cooperation Outcomes" (China-Kyrgyzstan Media Joint Interview on High-Quality Belt and Road Cooperation)

By: 本报记者 白 阳 曲 颂 崔 琦

August 8, the China-Kyrgyzstan high-quality Belt and Road joint interview results sharing meeting was held in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek. Representatives from People’s Daily, Kyrgyzstan’s Banner (旗帜报), Kyrgyzstan Opinion (吉尔吉斯斯坦言论报), Kyrgyzstan’s Kabar National News Agency (卡巴尔国家通讯社), Kyrgyzstan National Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (吉尔吉斯斯坦国家电视广播公司), Bishkek Evening News (比什凯克晚报), Kyrgyzstan Institute of World Politics (吉尔吉斯斯坦世界政治研究所), and other Chinese and Kyrgyzstani media and think tanks engaged in dialogue and exchanges on jointly telling the story of China-Kyrgyzstan high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, strengthening media cooperation, and promoting people-to-people bonds.

From August 1 to 7, media reporters from China and Kyrgyzstan visited multiple cooperation projects on the ground in Kyrgyzstan, covering areas such as infrastructure construction, economic and trade cooperation, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges. Walking along, exchanging along, and reflecting along, everyone jointly recorded the vivid practices of China-Kyrgyzstan hand-in-hand development and mutually beneficial cooperation, and during the joint interview learned from each other and forged deep friendship.

Altynbek Jerkenbaev (阿尔腾贝克·杰尔肯巴耶夫), Advisor to the General Manager of the Information Publishing Group of Kyrgyzstan’s Banner (旗帜报), said, thanking People’s Daily for organizing this joint interview activity, giving Kyrgyzstan reporters the opportunity to visit multiple important project sites. The Barskoon-Bedel highway will become the third land international transport channel between Kyrgyzstan and China; the 100-MW photovoltaic power station in Chu River Region is the first large-scale PV station completed and put into operation in Kyrgyzstan… “These all make us realize the great pioneering nature and development potential of Kyrgyzstan-China cooperation. I believe we will have more tangible cooperation results.”

Andrei Tokombaev (安德烈·托科姆巴耶夫), reporter from Kyrgyzstan Opinion (吉尔吉斯斯坦言论报), said, Chinese often say, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” This joint interview team visited cooperation projects in different regions and fields. As one project after another is implemented and achieves results, Kyrgyzstan will gain stronger development momentum. “As a media reporter, I will certainly continue to follow up and report on these progresses.”

Ruslan Mashrapov (鲁斯兰·玛什拉波夫), reporter from Banner (旗帜报), shot many video materials along the way. He said: “At road construction sites, high mountain tunnels, and village irrigation canals, I saw the changes that Kyrgyzstan-China cooperation has brought to the lives of ordinary people — people are more convenient and smooth when taking vehicles to go out, the living environment is greener and cleaner, and there are more smiles on their faces.”

Qu Pei (屈佩), reporter from People’s Daily who came to Kyrgyzstan for the second time, said it is gratifying to see the new development appearance of Kyrgyzstan. The high-quality Belt and Road cooperation between China and Kyrgyzstan is flourishing, providing rich and vivid material for media reports. “We should persist in going deep into the front line, approaching the people, and presenting more cooperation results of the China-Kyrgyzstan community with a shared future from multiple perspectives.”

Since entering the Kyrgyzstan market in 2001, China Road and Bridge Corporation (中国路桥) has undertaken 54 projects including road network paving, urban upgrading, and water conservancy benefiting the people, creating over 100,000 jobs in total. Li Zhiqiang (李志强), Deputy General Manager of the Kyrgyzstan Office of China Road and Bridge Corporation, said: “We are willing to continue to help enhance mutual understanding and friendship between China and Kyrgyzstan, and strive to be a practitioner of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and a promoter of Kyrgyzstan’s economic development.”

“No matter how big an economic cooperation project, it must start from trust between people.” Siyagul Karaman (西雅古尔·卡拉曼), column head of Kum Communications Agency (库姆通讯社), lived in China for a long time. In her view, China maintains a leading position in frontier technology fields such as big data, artificial intelligence, and electric vehicles, and related cooperation can bring more development opportunities to Kyrgyzstan. She said that media cooperation is of great significance, not only to transmit information, but more importantly, to help people better understand each other through truthful reports and in-depth interpretation.

Li Qiang (李强), reporter from People’s Daily, said that China and Kyrgyzstan are connected by mountains and rivers, and their friendly exchanges have a long history. Under the framework of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, bilateral relations continue to deepen, with fruitful results in connectivity and collaborative innovation. “During the joint interview, I deeply realized that strengthening media exchanges and telling the story of the Silk Road well is of great significance for promoting all-round cooperation and development between the two countries.”

Sheradil Baktygulov (舍拉迪尔·巴克特古洛夫), Director of Kyrgyzstan Institute of World Politics (吉尔吉斯斯坦世界政治研究所), said that the friendship between the two countries has lasted for a thousand years, and building a closer Kyrgyzstan-China community with a shared future is radiating new vitality. The 26th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will be held in Kyrgyzstan. He looks forward to all parties further carrying forward the Shanghai Spirit (上海精神) and making greater contributions to maintaining regional and world peace, stability, and development.

(Our newspaper Bishkek, August 8)

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Cuban fishing village "lights up" (Creating a new era of shared prosperity and development)

By: 本报记者 王骁波

On August 7, a handover ceremony for the first batch of a new batch of household solar equipment donated by China to Cuba was held in Havana, the capital of Cuba. Previously, the 5,000 sets of household photovoltaic power generation equipment that China donated to Cuba in November 2025 had already been put into use in remote villages and towns in multiple provinces such as Holguín, as well as at grassroots public service institutions such as medical clinics, maternal and child health centers, and local radio stations, providing electricity assistance to remote mountainous areas and island rural households that have not yet connected to the national grid and face energy shortages.

On the shore of Tanamo Bay in Frank País Municipality, Holguín Province, eastern Cuba, on the rooftops of two-story houses in Boca de Tanamo Village, dark blue photovoltaic panels shimmer under the sunlight against the blue sea and sky, like the sparkling waves on the sea.

Twenty-seven sets of Chinese-donated household photovoltaic power generation equipment were installed here. The stable and continuous electricity has "lit up" this small fishing village with only a little over 70 residents. "In the past, after nightfall, we could only rely on a generator to barely supply electricity for a little over four hours. If fuel was in short supply, the entire village would be plunged into darkness," recalled fisherman Manuel Pérez.

Boca de Tanamo Village is remote, with inconvenient transportation, and equipment transport relied mainly on waterways. To bring the photovoltaic equipment to the village, technicians from the power company rented three boats and traveled back and forth for several days through mangroves and between reefs before completing the entire transport task.

After the equipment arrived, in order to get electricity as soon as possible, all 27 households in the village mobilized everyone and joined the installation team. The villagers, together with the technicians, carried metal brackets and photovoltaic components onto the rooftops one by one, adjusted angles, and fixed the structures. The villagers also proactively learned about the daily use and maintenance methods of the photovoltaic system.

The stable power supply has improved the livelihoods and living conditions of the local villagers. Most villagers in Boca de Tanamo have made a living by fishing for generations. In the past, because there was no continuous power supply, the caught seafood and the bait needed for going out to sea often spoiled in the high temperatures. Now, refrigerators in every household can operate around the clock. "After a day of exposure to the sun out at sea, we can come home and drink cold water and use electric fans. The hard-earned seafood will no longer go to waste," Pérez said.

Villager Yaniukska Rubio Lamoru and other housewives in the village have added electric stoves, multifunctional electric pressure cookers, rice cookers and other appliances to their homes, replacing the wood-fired stoves and charcoal stoves they had used for most of their lives. "Children can do homework and watch TV at night. The housewives are also thinking about buying a straightening iron to style their hair," Rubio said.

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"Sing Africa" Season 2 Launches in Nairobi

Our newspaper Nairobi, August 8 (Dispatch) — (Reporter Huang Weixin) The launching ceremony of the second season of the music talent show Sing Africa (唱响非洲) was held on the 7th in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. This program is one of the boutique activities of the China-Africa People-to-People Exchange Year (中非人文交流年). The first season was recorded and broadcast in Kenya from the end of last year to the beginning of this year.

Anne Wambe, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality, Culture and Child Services of Kenya, stated that the cultural and creative industries are an important force for promoting social and economic development. Sing Africa provides a platform for African youth to display their talents and realize their dreams.

Noah Otiende, Acting Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports of Kenya, expressed the hope that Sing Africa will inspire more young people to boldly pursue their creative dreams, build friendships, and showcase Africa's cultural diversity and the creativity of its youth to the world.

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Weekend Drama Gathering: People's Stage, People's Perform (Striving for the 15th Five-Year Plan: Frontline Reports)

By: 本报记者 施 钰

Broadly carry out mass cultural activities, strengthen the construction of mass literary and artistic teams.
- Excerpted from the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan

"On the faraway horizon, daylily flowers bloom..." The melodious melody flowed from the electronic keyboard keys. Xie Wenhui (谢文慧), dressed in a white dress, stood on the stage, focused intently on the conductor, and sang the piece Daylily Flower (xuān cǎo huā - "daylily flower") in harmony with the other members of the choir, her body swaying with the melody.

In the evening, Fresh Fujian·Mountains and Seas in Harmony (清新福建·山海和鸣) — a youth concert titled "Weekend Play Encounters" (周末戏相逢) by the Fujian Songs Chamber Choir (福建歌声室内合唱团) began singing at Zexu Square (则徐广场) of the Fujian Museum (福建博物院). This public welfare mixed chamber choir, sponsored by the Fujian Provincial Art Museum (福建省艺术馆), was established in December 2024. Its members come from all walks of life, including college students and retired workers. Twenty-five-year-old Xie Wenhui is a member of the alto section of the choir's women's chorus.

"This is my first time stepping onto the 'Weekend Play Encounters' stage. I didn't expect such a great live response!" After finishing several songs, during the break before returning to the stage for the encore, Xie Wenhui shared her feelings about being on stage just now: "Seeing the audience below waving glow sticks to the rhythm, and many children singing along with us, I felt more confident as I sang."

Before, Xie Wenhui was also a member of the audience.

Since New Year's Day 2025, Fujian has launched a province-wide public welfare performance activity bringing high-quality cultural resources directly to the grassroots, called "Weekend Play Encounters," making it one of the provincial party committee and provincial government's projects to deliver practical benefits to the people (为民办实事项目). Every weekend and on statutory holidays, professional art troupes and mass literary and artistic teams are organized to perform in places with high foot traffic. The Fujian Songs Chamber Choir is one of the participating mass literary and artistic teams.

At the end of last year, Xie Wenhui, who loves singing, saw a live broadcast of a "Weekend Play Encounters" performance online and, with a try-it-and-see attitude, signed up to join the Fujian Songs Chamber Choir. Xie Wenhui attended every weekly lesson, rehearsal, and voice exercise assignment. "It's not easy to learn to use your breath to sing, and you also have to pay attention to blending into the sound of the entire group," Xie Wenhui said. She spends one to two hours at home practicing two or three days a week. "For this concert, we even stepped up rehearsals a month in advance, which is why today's performance went smoothly."

On stage, the singing was melodious and lingering; off stage, the audience either clapped along with the rhythm or softly hummed along and swayed their bodies. "I love every song. This choir performance got my heart racing." Ms. Xu, a Fuzhou citizen who came specially with her family to watch the performance, occasionally raised her phone to take videos and hummed along with the melody: "Being able to enjoy such a wonderful performance at my doorstep truly enriches our daily cultural life."

"We carefully selected a batch of classic songs familiar to the masses and popular songs liked by young people. The arrangements are more dynamic, and we especially used an electric band to play live, in order to shorten the distance with the audience." This was the third time Lu Changlong (陆长龙), artistic director and resident conductor of the Fujian Songs Chamber Choir, had stepped onto the "Weekend Play Encounters" stage. He mentioned that during previous performances, audience members had even applied on-site to join the choir.

"Platforms like 'Weekend Play Encounters' give us more opportunities to showcase ourselves. The organizers provide performance venues and professional stage equipment, and the number of performances is more stable," Lu Changlong said. Now, the Fujian Songs Chamber Choir has over a hundred members. "When passion has a platform and support, even amateur literary and artistic teams can keep shining on stage."

"The two-way engagement between performances and the masses keeps the activity fresh and keeps it being performed." Huang Min (黄敏), director of the Public Service Department of Fujian Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism (福建省文旅厅公共服务处), introduced: On the one hand, the "Weekend Play Encounters" activity organizes professional troupes to deliver performances to the grassroots, allowing high-quality cultural resources to reach the grassroots directly and benefit more people; on the other hand, it encourages the cultivation and nurturing of new mass literary and artistic groups, turning audience members into protagonists, letting the people's stage be performed by the people, so that literature and art truly integrate into the daily lives of the masses. As of the end of June, Fujian's cultural and tourism departments have deeply cultivated the "Weekend Play Encounters" brand, organizing 464 performances, with live audiences exceeding 1.2 million person-times and online audiences exceeding 50 million person-times.

As the last song drew to a close, Lu Changlong faced the audience and raised his hand to conduct. The people on stage and off stage sang together in a grand chorus. The sounds of the keyboard, singing, and applause interwove and echoed... "See you at the next stage!" the choir members shouted loudly.

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From Subsidized Performances to Public Participation (Editor's Note)

By: 张雪妍

Unlike one-way "opera delivery to the countryside" and "opera delivery to the community," Fujian's Weekend Opera Encounter (周末戏相逢) activity hands the stage over to the masses, turning the audience below the stage into protagonists under the spotlight. How do grassroots participants get on stage? This relies on supporting safeguard measures.

The stage opens its doors wide to the masses. Literary and art enthusiasts of all ages and from all walks of life may join the choir, and citizens watching the performance on site can also register on the spot, unlocking the stage experience with zero threshold.

Supporting literary and artistic training follows up in tandem. Once-a-week centralized rehearsals and voice homework help amateur enthusiasts consolidate their singing foundation, refine professional skills, and cultivate artistic specialties through sustained practice.

These thoughtful measures not only mobilize the masses' enthusiasm for participating in performances but also ensure program quality, attracting more people to take part in literary and artistic showcases. This helps realize a virtuous cycle from "sending culture" to "planting culture."

From universally benefiting opera delivery to fill the cultural supply gap, to mass participation activating the endogenous driving force of culture, the "Weekend Opera Encounter" makes the grassroots cultural atmosphere richer. We also look forward to various localities launching more cultural activities that are highly participatory for the masses and close to daily life.

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2026 National Fitness Day Main Venue Event Held

This newspaper, Guangzhou, August 8 (Reporter Qi Yukun (亓玉昆)). On August 8, the 2026 National Fitness Day (全民健身日) themed event national main venue and Guangdong Province National Fitness Day launching ceremony was held at the Nanhai Sports Center (南海体育中心) in Foshan City, Guangdong. This event was guided by the Department of Mass Sports, General Administration of Sport of China (国家体育总局群众体育司) and the Guangdong Provincial Sports Bureau (广东省体育局). In conjunction with the work of handling suggestions from deputies to the National People's Congress (全国人大代表), the Department of Mass Sports, General Administration of Sport of China invited deputies to the National People's Congress from Qinghai and other places to participate in the main venue event and conducted research on national fitness work.

This event created a comprehensive sports carnival integrating “launch, performance, competition, industry, and leisure,” with over 5,000 person-times participating. At the launching ceremony, featured programs such as Wing Chun, lion dance, and dragon dance took the stage in turn, showcasing Lingnan cultural and sports elegance. After the launching ceremony, the Greater Bay Area lion dance competition and others began successively. The event site set up over 30 cultural and creative market stalls, and carried out activities such as free physical fitness testing, intangible cultural heritage dragon-lion interaction, sports photography exhibitions, and concurrently conducted mass competitions and experience activities in basketball, badminton, tennis, and others.

“The series of activities transforming traditional folk customs into regular national fitness projects, driving the economy through competitions and rallying the masses through culture, left a deep impression on me,” said Renqing Zhaxi (仁青扎西), a deputy to the National People’s Congress and deputy county head of Madoi County (玛多县), Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (果洛藏族自治州), Qinghai Province. He stated that he will go deeper into the grassroots to conduct research, collect the fitness demands of the masses, and continuously follow up on the effectiveness of this year’s deputy suggestions being implemented on the ground.

This year’s National Fitness Day set two main venues: Foshan, Guangdong and Hegang (鹤岗), Heilongjiang. The Hegang main venue event had already started on August 7.

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Providing Guarantee for Sustained Advancement of Comprehensive Rural Revitalization

By: 本报记者 朱 隽 郁静娴

"In the past, for building approval, submitting materials required several trips; now applications can be submitted on a mobile phone, and materials only need to be uploaded once—no worries." "In the past, if you wanted to find a large agricultural machine to help with work, you had to ask around; now, by opening a mobile phone app, nearby available machines and cooperative contact information are clear at a glance, and you can even book with one click—convenient." Today in Jiangxi's rural areas, more and more villagers are experiencing the convenience of the "Cloud Jiangxi Agriculture" (云上赣农) platform.

It is understood that the "Cloud Jiangxi Agriculture" platform has aggregated over 50 service scenarios including administrative approval, project declaration, expert Q&A, agricultural machinery subsidy application, and homestead declaration. It not only helps grassroots entities benefit enterprises and people through online services, but also facilitates grassroots operations and use through system integration, reduces grassroots form-filling and data reporting through intelligent analysis, and improves grassroots work efficiency through data sharing.

The "Cloud Jiangxi Agriculture" platform is a microcosm of the work to rectify formalism and reduce burdens at the grassroots level in the field of agriculture and rural affairs. In August 2024, the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council (中办、国办) issued the Several Provisions on Rectifying Formalism and Reducing Burdens at the Grassroots Level (hereinafter referred to as the Several Provisions). Over the past two years, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (农业农村部), in combination with conducting study and education on deeply implementing the Central Committee's Eight-Point Regulation spirit and on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance, has taken the work of rectifying formalism and reducing burdens at the grassroots level as an important lever for promoting high-quality development of agriculture and rural affairs. It has vigorously grasped the implementation of the Several Provisions, solidly advanced the work of reducing burdens at the grassroots level to go deeper and become more solid (走深走实), and provided a strong guarantee for doing a good job in agriculture and rural affairs.

In the past two years, in areas such as high-standard farmland construction, management of agricultural-related funds and projects, rural construction—especially rural toilet renovation—there have been many complaints and concentrated opinions from the masses. By focusing on these key areas and highlighting targeted treatment, the aim has been to push grassroots entities to put real effort into practical results rather than wasting thought on formalism, and the work style of cadres has notably improved.

In the area of high-standard farmland construction, the Gansu Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (甘肃省农业农村厅) established a special supervision task force and a special work task force; as of the end of 2025, 89.2% of problems identified through investigation and inventory have been rectified. In the area of rural construction, the Sichuan Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (四川省农业农村厅), focusing on solving the problem of "rural human settlement environment improvement treating symptoms without curing root causes," guided all localities to establish a long-term construction and management mechanism of "the masses build, the masses manage, the masses enjoy," normalized village cleaning campaigns, and put an end to whitewashing walls and stacking potted plants. In the area of fund and project supervision, the Heilongjiang Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (黑龙江省农业农村厅), relying on the National Anti-Poverty Monitoring Information System, established a real-time fund project supervision module to dynamically track the flow, expenditure progress, and performance targets of rural revitalization project funds, effectively avoiding the problem of duplicate form-filling and data reporting by county, township, and village cadres.

"Thousands of threads above, one needle below." Townships (sub-districts) and villages (communities) already have many responsibilities and extremely complex affairs, but in recent years they have also borne a large number of directives, tasks, and assessment pressures, to a certain extent exacerbating the grassroots governance predicament of "小马拉大车" (xiǎo mǎ lā dà chē - "small horse pulling a big cart," a situation where limited capacity is stretched to handle excessive burdens). Zhejiang Province's agriculture and rural affairs field has improved the list of powers and responsibilities, promoted full coverage of the list system for matters entering villages (communities), sorted out positive and negative lists for rural construction, advanced the "only report once" approach for grassroots report data, etc., thus straightening out the "thousands of threads" of grassroots duties, and continuously using the "small incision" of burden reduction to promote comprehensive rural revitalization to enhance capacity and efficiency.

Not only in Zhejiang, but agriculture and rural affairs fields across various regions have insisted on benchmarking and systematically advanced rectification. The awareness of actively referring to and implementing the Several Provisions and not stepping on "red lines" when deploying tasks and promoting work has continuously strengthened. The atmosphere of resolutely opposing formalism and bureaucratism has become thicker, and the ways and methods of working and grasping implementation have further transformed.

In regulating supervision, inspection, and assessment, agriculture and rural affairs departments in provinces such as Fujian, Inner Mongolia, and Shaanxi have based themselves on source governance and source burden reduction, comprehensively integrating supervision, inspection, and assessment matters within the agriculture and rural affairs system, achieving a transformation from multi-headed assessment to comprehensive coordination. In streamlining documents and reducing meetings, agriculture and rural affairs departments in provinces such as Tianjin, Hebei, Jiangxi, and Xinjiang have strictly implemented planned management, total volume control, and dynamic monitoring. Compared with 2024, documents have been reduced by more than 10%, and meetings have been reduced by more than 30%. A system for assessing consistency between document issuance and grassroots burden reduction has been established and implemented. In coordinating research, agriculture and rural affairs departments in provinces such as Hubei and Hainan have established research coordination mechanisms, formulating annual research plans, clarifying research themes, division of responsibilities, and timelines to prevent multiple batches and same-theme clustered research.

A relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs stated that the next step will continue to grasp the work of rectifying formalism and reducing burdens at the grassroots level in the field of agriculture and rural affairs, strengthen the prevention and rectification of prominent problems, and promote the establishment and improvement of long-term mechanisms.

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Photo Report

As Typhoon Baihaitun (白海豚) approaches, Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province, has activated primary schools, middle schools, and other facilities as temporary disaster-shelter sites, providing bedding, straw mats, food, and drinking water, while for the elderly, infirm, sick, and disabled, it has adopted measures such as dedicated vehicle transport or ambulance transfer to ensure that all who should be evacuated are evacuated, not one person is left behind. The image shows residents of Dongqian Village (洞前村), Luodian Town (罗店镇), Wucheng District (婺城区), Jinhua, being evacuated on August 8.
Photo by Li Jianlin (李建林) (People's Visual)

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Two Ministries Jointly Issue Red Alert for Mountain Torrents

Our Beijing, August 8 (reporters Jiang Xuehong (蒋雪鸿) and Deng Jianyang (邓剑洋)). At 17:00 on August 8, the center of this year's 13th typhoon, "White Dolphin" (strong typhoon level), was located on the southern East China Sea about 440 kilometers east-southeast of Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, with a maximum wind force of Force 14 near the center. It is expected that "White Dolphin" will make landfall along the coast from Zhoushan, Zhejiang to Fuding, Fujian on the night of the 9th to the morning of the 10th. After landfall, it will continue moving west-northwest, gradually weakening.

The National Meteorological Center (中央气象台) forecasts that over the next three days, under the influence of Typhoon "White Dolphin," areas including Zhejiang, Shanghai, northern Fujian, northern Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Anhui, eastern Hubei, central and eastern Henan, and southern Shandong will experience heavy rain to extremely heavy rain, with locally extremely heavy rain, and some areas will also have severe convective weather such as thunderstorms and gales.

The Ministry of Water Resources (水利部) and the China Meteorological Administration (中国气象局) jointly issued a red meteorological warning for mountain torrent disasters at 18:00 on August 8. It is forecast that from 20:00 on August 8 to 20:00 on August 9, there is a high probability of mountain torrent disasters in parts of eastern Zhejiang (orange alert), and a very high probability of mountain torrent disasters in local areas (red alert).

Our Beijing, August 8 (reporter Liu Wenxin (刘温馨)). On August 8, the Office of the National Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (国家防总办公室) and the Ministry of Emergency Management (应急管理部) organized a joint consultation with multiple departments and with Zhejiang, Fujian, and other provinces that may be affected. The National Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (国家防总) activated a Level IV emergency response for flood control and typhoon prevention for Jiangsu and Anhui, maintained a Level III emergency response for flood control and typhoon prevention for Zhejiang and Fujian, and a Level IV emergency response for flood control for Heilongjiang, and dispatched working groups that are already in Zhejiang and Fujian assisting and guiding flood control and typhoon prevention work. The Office of the National Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters issued a notice on the 8th, deploying all regions and all river basin flood control headquarters to refine and implement the "12 measures" for typhoon prevention (12条措施), comprehensively and thoroughly evacuate offshore workers, resolutely hold the bottom line of reservoir safety during flood season, closely monitor and guard key areas such as mountain gully mouths, narrow river channels, and areas adjacent to cliffs and slopes, and strengthen flood control safety management for non-regular scenic spots and construction sites, among other things.

Our Beijing, August 8 (reporter Deng Jianyang (邓剑洋)). The reporter learned from the Ministry of Water Resources that on the morning of August 8, the Ministry of Water Resources organized rolling consultations to analyze and assess the movement path, scope of influence of the 13th typhoon "White Dolphin," and the national rain, water, and flood situation, and dispatched three Ministry of Water Resources working groups to Zhejiang, Fujian, and Shanghai to assist and guide typhoon rainstorm and flood defense work. Based on the 24-hour rainfall forecast, the Ministry of Water Resources issued a "one-province-one-sheet" targeted warning (一省一单) to nine provinces including Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Zhejiang, Chongqing, Hainan, Sichuan, Yunnan, Shaanxi, and Gansu, reminding them to ensure the safety of reservoirs and warping dams during flood season, and to defend against floods in small and medium rivers and mountain torrent disasters.

Our Beijing, August 8 (reporter Han Xin (韩鑫)). The Ministry of Transport (交通运输部) maintained a Level II defense response for typhoons and activated a Level II defense response for heavy rainfall. On August 8, the Ministry of Transport conducted point-to-point dispatch with the Department of Transport of Zhejiang Province and Zhejiang Maritime Safety Administration, the Shanghai Municipal Transportation Commission and Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration, and the Department of Transport of Fujian Province and Fujian Maritime Safety Administration. The dispatch demanded resolutely achieving all that should be stopped must be stopped, all that should be closed must be closed, and all that should be evacuated must be evacuated; it insisted on life paramount and safety first, and resolutely held the bottom line of avoiding major and serious safety accidents.

Our Fuzhou, August 8 (reporter Fu Wen (付文)). At 17:00 on the 8th, the Fujian Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (福建省防指) maintained a Level III emergency response for typhoon prevention. As of 18:00 on the 8th, 17,800 individuals responsible for flood control guarantee duties in the province have gone down to the front line, and a total of 98,900 people have been evacuated and relocated; all 115 hydraulic engineering projects have been stopped, and 290 construction vessels have been evacuated to safe waters.

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Jiangsu's "New" Wave Drives Manufacturing Upgrades (Vibrant China Research Tour)

By: 本报记者 杨 凯 王汉超 白光迪

Walking through Jiangsu, a "new" tide surges; technology empowers a hundred boats racing forward.

In Nanjing, an old photograph records the difficult start of China's radar industry from nothing, displaying an unyielding innovation gene; in Yangzhou, a robotic arm assembles a car body from multiple materials, new tools bring new surprises; in Yancheng, silver yarn flies between smart tracks, weaving "perceptive" smart fabric... Innovation accelerates, one new scene after another leaves people 应接不暇 (yìng jiē bù xiá - "too many to attend to").

During this year's National Two Sessions, when participating in the deliberation of the Jiangsu delegation, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must integrally advance the development of education, science and technology, and talent, strive to achieve new breakthroughs in strengthening original innovation and tackling key core technologies, and seizing the commanding heights of science and technology; explore new pathways in promoting the deep integration of innovation chains, industrial chains, capital chains, and talent chains, and driving the efficient transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements; create new prospects in optimizing and upgrading traditional industries, cultivating and strengthening emerging industries, and laying out future industries in advance; and obtain new results in further deepening reform and removing institutional and mechanism obstacles that constrain the development of new quality productive forces."

The four "new"s point the direction. In Jiangsu, "new" is not only new in technology, but also new in mechanisms; not only new in scenes, but also new in concepts.

Breakthroughs — Bravely scale the commanding heights of science and technology, achieve "new breakthroughs"

"From 0 to 1" is the most difficult.

Not long ago, Academician Ben De (贲德) received the State Preeminent Science and Technology Award. At the 14th Research Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (中国电子科技集团公司第十四研究所) where he works, there is an old photograph that records the leap of China's radar industry "from 0 to 1": a young Ben De stands beside an airborne pulse Doppler fire control radar, and the equipment behind him filled a gap in the relevant field.

At that time, facing urgent national needs, the 14th Research Institute broke down a large project into over a hundred topics, testing and conquering them one by one. On Yellow Sheep Mountain at an altitude of 1,500 meters, researchers debugged equipment in the bitter cold of over minus 20 degrees Celsius. It was precisely this unremitting exploration decade after decade that gave domestically produced fighter jets "eyes" that could see farther and more clearly.

"Core technologies cannot be obtained by asking, buying, or begging; we can only rely on 自力更生 (zì lì gēng shēng - 'self-reliance')." Ben De's words articulate the simple truth of tackling key scientific and technological problems.

The baton of tackling key problems is passed from one to another.

Over the past five years, Jiangsu has cumulatively had eight achievements selected for the annual "China's Top Ten Scientific Advances"; Zijinshan Laboratory (紫金山实验室) built the country's first Pre6G test network; Taihu Laboratory (太湖实验室) delivered the 7,000-ton-class "Future" test ship.

Breakthroughs in the laboratory also extend to the front line of industry.

On the banks of the Yangtze River, a 9,000-TEU methanol dual-fuel container ship was undocked at the New Yangzijiang Shipyard. To meet green shipping demand, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (扬子江船业) independently tackled the manufacturing process for methanol and LNG fuel tanks, using 3D modeling and digital twins throughout the design and manufacturing process. Currently, the company's orders are scheduled until 2030, with clean energy ships accounting for 70% of the total.

During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, Jiangsu supported scientists leading the implementation of 209 key basic research projects, and obtained over 25,000 projects from the National Natural Science Foundation. Breakthroughs "from 0 to 1" one after another continuously consolidate the innovation foundation of new quality productive forces.

Integration — Connect the innovation transformation chain, explore "new pathways"

Mechanical arms rise and fall, and a car body frame that is "lighter in weight but higher in strength" gradually takes shape. In the trial production workshop of Yangzhou Guogi Lightweight (Jiangsu) Automotive Technology Co., Ltd. (扬州国汽轻量化（江苏）汽车技术有限公司), parts that originally required dozens of components to assemble are now merged into a single component through integrated casting.

This platform, jointly led by the China Society of Automotive Engineers and Yangzhou City, with participation from enterprises in the industrial chain, does not produce complete vehicles. Instead, it gathers vehicle manufacturer demands, university achievements, test equipment, and industrial resources. "For common needs and key technologies, we organize joint development by enterprises, and the results are shared by the industry," said Liang Dongming (梁东明), company director and general manager.

The high-strength steel thin-coating technology developed by the incubated enterprise Yucaitang (育材堂) increased the strength of steel plates of the same thickness from 1,000 MPa to 2,000 MPa; Yangzhou Hengxin Seats (扬州恒新座椅), with the platform's help, reduced seat frame weight by 15% and entered the supply chains of six OEM manufacturers. Currently, nine lightweight new material and new equipment projects have been incubated and launched here.

Pilot platforms solve "whether it can be made," while application scenarios answer "whether it works well."

Inside the Nanjing "AI·Mirror World" Artificial Intelligence Ecological Block (南京“AI·镜界”人工智能生态街区), robots, smart glasses, exoskeletons and other products are displayed together; upstairs are R&D companies, and after customer experience, direct negotiations can take place.

"Let those with technology find application scenarios, let those with scenarios find technology," introduced Teng Liang (滕靓), deputy general manager of Nanjing Software Valley Scenario Innovation Development Co., Ltd. (南京软件谷场景创新发展有限公司). In February this year, a company that can quickly generate mini-programs through voice obtained a multi-million yuan order with the help of the block.

Currently, Jiangsu has built 24 provincial-level manufacturing pilot platforms; 18 high-tech zones have paired with 37 universities to carry out 779 projects; the province has 13,000 technology managers, and in 2025, technology contract turnover exceeded 560 billion yuan. Pilot verification, scenario opening, talent matching, and capital support are all 环环相扣 (huán huán xiāng kòu - "rings interlocking," closely linked), and the integration of the four chains is continuously deepening.

Layout — Promote industries moving towards the new, open up "new prospects"

The pace of enterprise intelligence measures the progress of industry.

In Yancheng, inside the 100,000-spindle green smart factory of Jiangsu Yueda Textile Group (江苏悦达纺织集团), over 30 kilometers of smart tracks run through the workshop; robots automatically transport sliver cans and cone yarn; over 300,000 core-embedded tubes record production information; the company also embeds sensors into fabric to develop smart clothing. "There are no sunset industries, only sunset processes," said Han Dong (韩栋), director of the group's research institute.

Traditional industries are renewed, and emerging industries are also growing in clusters.

In the Suzhou BioBay (苏州生物医药产业园), over 680 enterprises gather, with talent, platforms, upstream and downstream, and long-term capital collaborating closely. "A startup coming to the park can easily find the technology, talent, and upstream/downstream it needs," said Zhou Gang (周刚), general manager of Suzhou Industrial Park Biotech Development Co., Ltd.

Inside the production base of Suzhou Innovent Biologics (苏州信达生物), cells go through culture, purification, formulation, etc., to become biological drugs. The company has built 140,000 liters of monoclonal antibody production lines, accounting for 20% of the national total mAb capacity; 19 products have been approved for marketing, of which 13 have entered the national medical insurance catalog. Its self-developed sintilimab, through process optimization and large-scale production, has reduced annual treatment costs from around one million yuan for similar drugs to 30,000–40,000 yuan.

Facing the future, Jiangsu has not blindly followed trends, but instead, based on its manufacturing foundation, pushes existing capabilities to extend into new tracks.

Inside the factory of Wuxi Kailong High-Tech (无锡凯龙高科), on one side is a production line for diesel vehicle exhaust after-treatment systems, and on the other is a training ground for embodied intelligent robots. A robot dog drags testing equipment close to a vehicle exhaust pipe, reducing detection time to under ten minutes. The company's accumulated technology of over 20 years is transferred to the robot's perception, control, and system integration.

In 2025, the output value of Jiangsu's industrial strategic emerging industries accounted for 42.1% of the total above-scale industrial output; the province's future industry core enterprises numbered nearly 3,100, with revenue exceeding 750 billion yuan. Traditional industries are renewed, emerging industries cluster into chains, future industries take shape, and the modern industrial system is accelerating its reshaping.

Reform — Break down institutional barriers, achieve "new results"

In the production workshop of Changzhou Zhongjian Technology (常州中简科技), bundles of silk thread pass through a high-temperature carbonization furnace, taking up at a constant speed. The carbon fiber is less than 1/10 the diameter of a human hair, but its strength is several times that of ordinary steel.

This fine thread was long subject to foreign control. More than ten years ago, a research team from the Shanxi Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (中国科学院山西煤化所) came to Changzhou to start a business. At the most difficult time, R&D personnel slept next to the production line, monitoring equipment, adjusting processes, and calibrating parameters. After years of effort, Zhongjian Technology built an independent and controllable production line, forming a 5,000-ton-grade high-performance carbon fiber design capacity, with products widely used in aerospace and other key fields.

From technological breakthrough to mass production requires both long-term enterprise effort and breaking down institutional barriers. When original technology first leaves the lab, lacking stable income and mature valuation, social capital often "dares not invest"; fiscal allocations often end when projects conclude. Jiangsu explored a "grant-investment combination": in the early stage, fiscal funds support R&D and industrialization; after the project grows, it is converted into equity investment, then social capital and industry leaders take over.

Suzhou Yuezhishi Bio (苏州越质生物) mastered the core technology of miniaturized two-dimensional ion mobility mass spectrometry, but lacking mature reference, industrialization progressed slowly. The Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute (江苏省产业技术研究院) provided 8.05 million yuan in R&D support to help the team iterate from research prototype to clinical device; after product maturity, the medical device leader United Imaging Group (联影集团) carried out a strategic acquisition, and the Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute transferred its equity at the appropriate time. Thus, an original technology completed the path of R&D support, capital relay, and acquisition exit.

"Exit is not leaving the scene, but forming a cycle," said Liu Qing (刘庆), president of the Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute. Fiscal funds return through market-based exits and are reinvested in new original technologies, forming a "sustainable cycle" of "support—grow—exit—re-support."

Revised regulations on the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, promoted the empowerment reform of job-related scientific and technological achievements; issued the provincial industrial technology research institute development promotion regulations; cumulatively built over 500 enterprise joint innovation centers and transformed over 7,500 achievements; guided long-term capital and patient capital to invest early, invest small, invest in hard technology... Jiangsu uses reform to solve problems in achievement transformation, capital support, benefit distribution, etc., and is enabling more innovation achievements to cross the "valley of death."

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Xi Focus: Xi Jinping's special representative to attend inauguration of Namibia's president

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Go, Spend Summer Vacation at Cultural and Museum Venues (In-Depth Focus)

How to spend summer vacation? Shake hands with the acrobatic music-child of the Northern Wei period, take a group photo with the Anomalocaris from over 500 million years ago, listen in on "dialogues" within yellowed qiaopi (overseas Chinese remittance) archives… This summer vacation, many young people have entered museums, science and technology museums, art galleries, and similar venues for tours and study trips, touching history, approaching science, and cultivating aesthetic appreciation in the "great school" that nurtures people and enriches the heart.

How can visiting exhibitions return to its original purpose, rather than becoming merely a check-in summer task? How can we stimulate young people’s interest in visiting exhibitions, shifting from passive viewing to active exploration? This edition’s Education section focuses on the educational practices of venues in three locations, examining how these venues use creativity and technology to attract the attention of young people, allowing them to accumulate strength for growth while 鉴往知来 (jiàn wǎng zhī lái – “reflect on the past to know the future,” to learn from history to understand the present and future).

— Editor

Datong Museum, Shanxi

Hands-on experience makes textbook knowledge “come alive”

By our reporter Zheng Yangyang (郑洋洋)

“Everyone, look: what is the difference between the pipa held by the music-child acrobat of the Northern Wei period and the pipa we have today?” Inside the science popularization base on the first basement level of Datong Museum (大同市博物馆), the public benefit social education activity “Echoes of Refined Sound – The Imprint of the Pipa Player” was held as scheduled. Twenty young “archeology apprentices” sat around the table, holding special bamboo pens, finely tracing on scratch art paper.

A gentle tap on the screen, and a cute child holding a pipa appeared vividly before the eyes. The children held their breath, their gazes following the child’s arm, falling upon that instrument that had traversed a thousand years.

This summer vacation, relying on its precious collected cultural relics, Datong Museum meticulously planned social education activities on different themes in its main museum and several branch museums, including the Mingtang Site Museum (明堂遗址博物馆) and the Liang Sicheng Memorial Hall (梁思成纪念馆).

From “Northern Wei Music and Dance – Rebirth of Imprints” to “Silk Road ‘Music’ Travelogue,” from “Ink Imitate Rhyme, Tracing Construction” to “Universe in Ornament – China in Jewelry”… a series of brilliant activities broke down the barriers between exhibition halls and classrooms, making static cultural relics “come alive.”

“I had only seen it on TV before, but today I drew the child playing the pipa with my own hands, letting us feel the thousand-year cultural vein.” After completing her scratch art work, Liu Entong (刘恩彤), a third-grade student from the Eighteenth Primary School in Pingcheng District, Datong, spoke with a tone full of gain.

“Museums are important public cultural spaces and also the second classroom for young people.” Wen Hui (文慧), director of the Public Service Department of Datong Museum, introduced that since this summer vacation, Datong Museum has received a total of 1,275 visits from young people and parent-child families. It has connected 28 mature study-trip sites operating on a regular basis across the city, equipped with 125 standardized study courses. The museum receives an average of 120,000 study-trip student visits per year.

“We have always insisted on using cultural relics as educational materials, designing tiered and adapted practical courses, avoiding the traditional model of one-way lecturing, guiding young people to observe actively, create with their hands, and 潜移默化 (qián yí mò huà – “silently influence and gradually transform,” to exert a subtle influence and bring about gradual change) come to understand Datong’s history of more than 2,000 years as a city, and to comprehend the profound heritage of Chinese civilization’s diversity in unity, mutual learning and exchange.” Wen Hui said.

From the 方寸天地 (fāng cùn tiān dì – “a small square-inch space,” a tiny area) of a single museum to the “social classroom” of an entire ancient city, Datong is transforming its rich historical resources into vivid educational advantages. More and more young people are reading here the history of interactions, exchanges, and integration among all ethnic groups, and drawing the strength of cultural confidence. This ancient capital, with an open and inclusive attitude, is making every effort to build a national high-quality cultural study-trip highland for young people, allowing the thousand-year cultural lineage to be passed on continuously from generation to generation, living on endlessly and keeping the torch alight forever.

(Our correspondent Yan Chang (闫昌)contributed to this report)

Chengjiang Fossil Site World Natural Heritage Museum, Yunnan

Technology interaction makes practice have both “depth” and “learning”

By our reporter Ye Chuanzeng (叶传增)

The nearly 2-meter-long Anomalocaris flaps its appendages overhead, trilobites crawl slowly at the feet… At the Chengjiang Fossil Site World Natural Heritage Museum (澄江化石地世界自然遗产博物馆) in Yuxi City, Yunnan, after passing through the introduction hall and entering the “undersea tunnel,” students from the Primary School Affiliated with Shanghai No. 2 Normal School (上海市第二师范学校附属小学) could not move their feet.

This panoramic tunnel constructed with flexible screens surrounding it recreates the Cambrian marine ecosystem from over 500 million years ago. Third-grade student Xiao Junze (萧君泽) said, “It feels like we have really dived into the ancient seabed.”

This museum, built on a fossil site, houses over 60,000 rare specimens in its collection, including 50,000 Chengjiang biological fossils. What makes it a popular choice for summer study trips are the technological means that make the fossils “move.”

At the fossil-sensing interactive booth on the first floor, a chip is hidden beneath the simulated Myllokunmingia fossil. When the docent placed it on the booth, the ancient fish, only 3 centimeters long, appeared in a three-dimensional form magnified dozens of times—its brain, heart, and spine were clearly visible.

“The fossils of the Chengjiang biota have extremely high scientific value, but they have a characteristic – they are very small, even shorter than a finger. The details of their soft tissues and internal organs simply cannot be seen clearly with the naked eye.” Zhang Xilin (张溪琳), deputy director of the Chengjiang Fossil Site World Natural Heritage Museum, explained that with the aid of technological means such as 3D restoration and multimedia interaction, the fine structures of the fossils are magnified and restored, presented intuitively to visitors.

“When teaching length in math class, some lower-grade students had no intuitive concept of ‘2 meters.’ Today, seeing the nearly 2-meter-long Anomalocaris with their own eyes, that knowledge point became deeply imprinted in their minds.” Xu Yiling (许轶凌), a teacher from the Primary School Affiliated with Shanghai No. 2 Normal School, exclaimed that museums are inherently cross-disciplinary – the measurement units from math class, the observation and expression from Chinese class, the evolution of life from science class – all can find a foothold here. This study trip was a beneficial supplement to classroom teaching.

In Zhang Xilin’s view, children of different ages have different “ways to open” the museum. “Lower-grade students can do puzzles and coloring, getting to know ancient creatures through games; upper-grade students can enter the fossil restoration room, training their hands-on ability and deepening their understanding of ancient creatures through practical experience.” Zhang Xilin said.

As an extension of the study activities, the museum has also launched a “little docent” activity. From explanation etiquette, standing posture and gestures to paleontology knowledge, after one to two weeks of training, the children can give independent explanations. The explanation method is flexibly adjusted according to the understanding ability of different age groups: lower grades focus on intuitive feelings, while upper grades focus more on guiding thinking.

“Making ancient fossils ‘move’ and ‘telling’ the story of life evolution is the original intention of the museum in nature education.” In Zhang Xilin’s view, for children, the gain from study trips is not just how many knowledge points they remember, but also truly feeling that the life evolution from over 500 million years ago is closely related to life today.

Fujian Provincial Archives

Immersive puzzle solving makes qiaopi stories tangible and touchable

By our reporter Shi Yu (施钰)

“Clues for solving the puzzle will be mentioned during the explanation. Everyone listen carefully, and observe the content on the exhibition walls and showcases. After the explanation, form groups of two or three, scan the QR code in the puzzle-solving booklet with your phone, and receive your ‘tasks.’” At the entrance of the “A Century of Letters Across Borders – Fujian Qiaopi” exhibition hall of Fujian Provincial Archives (福建省档案馆), docent Chen Jiaye (陈佳烨) distributed puzzle-solving booklets while guiding seven students from the School of Information Engineering of Sanming University (三明学院信息工程学院) into the exhibition hall.

Qiaopi (侨批) is the collective name for letters and remittances sent by overseas Chinese to their families and loved ones in their hometowns in China. It carries the perseverance and commitment to faith of overseas Chinese, and also records their patriotic feelings. Since 2024, relying on the abundant qiaopi archive resources, Fujian Provincial Archives has developed four types of qiaopi archive puzzle-solving games with varying levels of difficulty and diverse puzzle-solving methods, widely favored by university, secondary, and primary school students.

Zhu Xiaoxiao (朱肖肖), fourth-level researcher of the Research and Development Division of Fujian Provincial Archives, introduced that the qiaopi puzzle-solving games launched by the archives integrate history and puzzle-solving, transforming static archive documents into dynamic deduction content, breaking down linear history into individual riddles, and reconstructing the qiaopi narrative through puzzle-solving interaction.

“We are no longer just listening and watching; instead, through team collaboration and exploration, we gradually understand the stories behind the qiaopi and the family-country sentiments.” Chen Zhejun (陈哲俊), a student from the School of Information Engineering of Sanming University, was deeply touched: “Each qiaopi is a link connecting overseas Chinese and their families, and also records a period of eventful years. The messengers who traveled back and forth delivering qiaopi also deserve our respect.”

Exploring all the way, feeling all the way. One qiaopi letter preserves the resounding words: “Because now we are in the midst of the War of Resistance, it is of course the duty of every Chinese national to contribute money if you have money, and contribute effort if you have strength.” A certificate of “monthly donation” shows the determination of overseas Chinese that “as long as the War of Resistance continues one day, the monthly donation will not stop for one day”… “During the process of viewing the exhibition and solving the puzzles, I settled down to read these documents carefully, and I understood the great righteousness of family and country in the hearts of overseas wanderers.” Lin Ruiqi (林瑞棋), a student from the School of Information Engineering of Sanming University, said.

Zhu Xiaoxiao introduced that Fujian Provincial Archives has jointly established “Great Ideological and Political Course” practical teaching bases with schools including Fuzhou University, Fujian Normal University, and Fujian Medical University, using the qiaopi archive themed immersive and interactive cultural products as an important teaching content of the “Great Ideological and Political Course.” The qiaopi hall of Fujian Provincial Archives has become a popular social practice classroom for young people and a popular study-trip destination for cultural root-seeking tours of students from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. As of July this year, nearly 10,000 people have experienced and checked in.

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Choose a major on its own merits—don’t let “trends” narrow your “passion” (Education Commentary)

By: 雅 言

Over the past few days, one after another admission notice has set out from campuses and arrived in the hands of young students. The institutions and majors on the notices carry expectations for growth, opening doors for young students to explore new knowledge.

Flipping through detailed major directories and weighing and deliberating repeatedly is the norm for many examinee families when filling out their志愿 (preference forms). What, exactly, are they choosing when they choose a major? What considerations lie behind the dynamic adjustments made to the major directories every year? Perhaps some answers can be found in the latest published directories of undergraduate programs at regular institutions of higher learning and of vocational education programs.

First, look at the signals from adjustments. In 2026, 38 new undergraduate majors — including embodied intelligence, brain-computer science and technology, and marine intelligence and unmanned technology — and 27 new vocational education majors — including technology brokerage services and infant and toddler home-based parenting and guidance — have been added. These new majors proceed from the "big logic" of national and social development, focusing on optimizing and upgrading traditional industries, cultivating and expanding emerging and future industries, and promoting high-quality and efficient development of the service sector, placing the coordinates of talent cultivation on the main battlefield of economic and social development.

Next, look at the majors that have been retained in the directory. While the major directory is rapidly being "refreshed with new additions," the Ministry of Education has made clear the strengthening of basic-discipline talent cultivation. Basic disciplines such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology are the underlying support for solving "bottleneck" problems. Humanities and social science majors such as philosophy, history, and literature cultivate critical thinking, aesthetic ability, and ethical judgment, injecting important humanistic qualities into the era of artificial intelligence. They may lack the halo of being "new," but they are essential for the long-term and stable talent needs of all industries.

In fact, some disciplines once regarded as "unpopular" are being re-evaluated and even pursued. On July 23, at the opening ceremony of the 2026 International Congress of Mathematicians, Deng Yu and Wang Hong received the Fields Medal — the first time mathematicians of Chinese nationality have won this award. This historic breakthrough has made people marvel at the extraordinary achievements of the two scholars in the field of mathematics and has also ignited discussion about mathematics majors across society, drawing attention to the intellectual challenges and scientific pursuits that basic disciplines embody. When love is deep enough, even a "cold bench" can be sat "hot," radiating dazzling brilliance.

At the same time, disciplinary crossover and integration are giving majors more possibilities. When agronomy meets artificial intelligence, new majors such as agricultural robotics and smart fisheries are born; when archaeology crosses with digital technology, archaeology moves from "hand trowel" to "the cloud," enabling 3D modeling, virtual restoration, and big-data analysis. These traditional majors, empowered by technology, are radiating stronger vitality.

From the college-admissions season to the employment season, topics about disciplines and majors receive widespread attention. People are accustomed to capturing trend information from major adjustments and using it to guide preference filing and career planning. The public's heated discussion about "popular" and "unpopular" majors often focuses on the market's demand for talent. To put it bluntly, a popular major seems to be equated with good job prospects and high salaries, while an unpopular major is inevitably linked to words like "marginal" and "narrow path." This way of judging narrows "passion" down to a chase for the "trend" and limits people's diverse judgment of a major's value and their long-term pursuits.

Looking at the adjustments to disciplines and majors in recent years, the interaction between education and real society has become closer. On the one hand, one of the guiding principles for setting up majors is to directly face real-world difficulties and respond to social needs. For example, a legal English major has been established to cultivate composite talent who understand law, are proficient in English, and know the world. On the other hand, a consensus is forming around the talent cultivation method behind majors — letting students develop real skills in real scenarios. If an antique qin cracks, what material should be used for repair, and by what procedure should the repair be done? The musical instrument intelligent manufacturing major directly moves some of its courses to the instrument workshop, where students follow master craftsmen step by step in hands-on operations. Real problems are complex and comprehensive, and the ability and competence to deal with these problems must precisely be honed through practice.

In today's era, science and technology change with each passing day, continuously reshaping people's understanding of careers and industries. The specialized knowledge accumulated during university is certainly important, but looking to the long term, higher-order cognitive ability, continuous learning skills, and a broad knowledge horizon often determine how far a person can go. The deep value of a major does not lie in whether it is popular or unpopular, but in whether it enables a person to be passionate about it, to study it solidly, to work at it with energy, and to do something truly meaningful through deep cultivation.

To some extent, choosing a major is choosing a way of relating to the world — using what kind of skills to respond to those concrete, real needs. And this choice is not a final decision; life is a long journey. Every exploration can become a new starting point, and every effort is a way of building momentum for the future.

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Nourishing the Beauty of Life (Teacher's Perspective)

By: 闫 伟

The "Ten Measures to Further Strengthen Mental Health Work for Primary and Secondary School Students" (进一步加强中小学生心理健康工作十条措施) proposes to strengthen life education, puberty education, and frustration education for students, to enhance students' abilities in adapting to the environment, regulating emotions, coping with pressure, and other aspects, and to strengthen mental resilience and mental immunity.

Carrying out life education concerns the physical and mental health of young people, the integrity of their personality, and the cultivation of their sense of social responsibility. It is a concrete lever for implementing the educational concept of "health first." It should promote the integration of life education into curriculum teaching, practical activities, and the collaborative education of home, school, and community.

Enrich students' life experiences. Perceiving positive emotions, engaging in meaningful activities, and establishing warm and stable interpersonal relationships in daily learning and life helps students feel the beauty of life and cultivate positive life experiences. Schools can carry out themed class meetings, mental health courses, and various practical activities. Parents should engage in more listening, encouragement, and companionship, helping children gain positive experiences through understanding, respect, and support.

Stimulate students' growth motivation. Education should cultivate abundant lives, not unilaterally pursue high or low scores or compare the strength of cognitive abilities. Schools and families should not focus only on students' shortcomings and deficiencies, but should explore their positive qualities and potential. For example, give play to students' interests and strengths, create more opportunities for students to show themselves, and see more of their strengths, efforts, and progress. When students learn to identify and make good use of their own advantages, they can better recognize their own value.

Understand the meaning of life through action. Happiness comes from down-to-earth struggle, from specific life and practice. Students can be guided to start from small things around them, actively participate in housework, class service, social practice, volunteer activities, etc., allowing students to better comprehend responsibility and understand value through caring for family members, helping classmates, and serving the collective, thereby forming a positive attitude towards life.

Cultivate character through mental resilience. Facing squarely and accepting the storms and challenges in the journey of life, and cultivating the resilience to grow upward in adversity, are required courses in the growth of young people. Teachers can teach methods of emotional regulation in class, guiding students to perceive emotions, express themselves reasonably, seek help proactively, and sum up experiences; parents should also be good at listening, accompany patiently, and guide scientifically, helping students learn to adjust and continue to grow through experience.

Life education emphasizes nourishing the beauty of life. It not only requires helping students master knowledge and skills such as life safety and emergency rescue, but also, more importantly, awakening students' passion for life, guiding students to revere life, cherish the present, pursue meaning, shape a positive mindset, and confidently pursue their own brilliance of life.

(The author is a teacher at the School of Education of Renmin University of China; compiled by this newspaper's reporter Wu Yue (吴月).)

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Nurturing fertile ideological soil for the growth of medical talent (on the front line)

By: 本报记者 丁雅诵

Early in the morning, a long queue had already formed in front of the Fulai Home (福来家园) convenience service center in Guiding County, Guizhou (贵州贵定县). "We heard that the free clinic is being run by the Capital Medical University (首都医科大学) medical team, so we want to take this opportunity to have a thorough check-up."

Teachers and students from the Capital Medical University social practice team quickly set up tables and arranged equipment. Measuring blood pressure, testing vision, taking medical histories, and conducting screenings — a "diagnosis and treatment line" was soon up and running.

"Traveling thousands of li to provide health services for everyone is a test of our professional competence, and also a vivid lesson in growth, allowing the principles of putting the people first and life first to be internalized in the mind and externalized in action," said Shang Yueyang (尚岳洋), a student majoring in optometry and visual science.

Journeys that cross mountains and seas are a tradition of Capital Medical University. Every winter and summer vacation, the university organizes more than 20 practice teams and over 300 teachers and students to go into villages and communities, marketplaces, and continue to carry out health services, research and education, and policy popularization, cumulatively serving tens of thousands of people.

For medical students, understanding the question of why they study medicine and for whom they practice medicine is especially important. How can medical schools in the new era use their medical characteristics as a starting point to promote the connotative development of ideological and political education? Capital Medical University has made explorations:

At the curriculum education level, the university integrates the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important discourses on building a Healthy China into ideological and political course teaching, carefully designs 10 special topics, matches them with vivid cases, and transforms the grand narrative of Healthy China construction into a tangible warmth that students can feel in their hearts;

At the platform building level, it takes the lead in establishing the Capital Medical University "Grand Ideological and Political Courses" Research Center, breaking down disciplinary and inter-institutional barriers, pooling high-quality resources, and constructing a large-teacher-system and educational community with medical characteristics;

At the research layout level, it establishes a Healthy China Research Center, launches the "Healthy China Lecture Hall," and conducts focused research on the basic theories, policy systems, and implementation paths of Healthy China, promoting two-way empowerment between theory and practice...

"The university proactively aligns with the strategic needs of Healthy China, takes deepening medical education reform as the main line, promotes the coordination of ideological and political education and professional education, organic integration of theoretical teaching and social practice, and deep integration of knowledge transmission and value guidance, and strives to build an educational pattern that integrates medicine and humanities, coordinates university and hospital, and connects internal and external, to cultivate a fertile ideological soil for the growth of medical talents," said Wang Dapin (王达品), Secretary of the Party Committee of Capital Medical University.

The reach of ideological and political education also extends to the broader social soil beyond the classroom. In Yalin Yuan (亚林苑) Community One, Fengtai District, Beijing, Hou Shiyuan (侯师远), a pediatric student wearing a Red Cross vest, knelt beside a mannequin, guiding residents hand-by-hand in practicing chest compressions, explaining the Heimlich maneuver, and popularizing easy-to-understand first-aid tips. Capital Medical University's "From Campus to Every Home" medical-university-community coordinated full-population health protection volunteer service has been regularly implemented at 16 fixed service points in Beijing, cumulatively conducting over 1,850 activities, involving 3,680 volunteer participants, and accumulating more than 33,000 hours of service.

"In the past, we were accustomed to explaining to patients 'what treatments I can provide'; this time, we carefully recorded 'what patients are worried about.'" The neurosurgery team of Capital Medical University's Xuanwu Hospital (宣武医院) spent two years working with patients and their families to jointly compile the book Tongxin (同心, "One Heart"). The book is called by students "the most vivid medical humanities textbook."

"The real and warm stories in the book let me understand the warmth of medicine and the responsibility borne by medical practitioners," said Geng Haoming (耿浩铭), a doctoral student in neurosurgery, deeply moved and even more determined in his resolve to practice medicine. "We must cultivate superb skills, harbor the great love of a doctor, and use concrete actions to safeguard the life and health of the people."

(Li Xiaoxi (李晓曦) contributed to this article)

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Layout Editor: Yan Yiqiao

Layout design: Zhang Danfeng (张丹峰)

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Greater Bay Area's Sci-Tech Innovation "Chemical Reaction" (Tides Surge in the Greater Bay Area)

"Hengqin attracted me to try"
Our reporter Li Zong (李纵)

In June this year, a piece of news drew attention in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area — the "Container Simulation Environment Runtime Parameter Data Set" of Macau Malt Technology Co., Ltd. (澳门麦芽科技有限公司) received a data intellectual property registration certificate on the Guangdong Province Data Intellectual Property Deposit and Registration Platform. This is the first time a Hong Kong or Macao business entity has obtained a data intellectual property registration in Guangdong Province through a cross-border registration method, marking an important breakthrough in the compliance confirmation of rights and cross-border flow of data elements in the Greater Bay Area.

"This certificate is the legal 'identity card' for data assets, and it is crucial for us to carry out technical cooperation and commercial licensing in the mainland," said Cai Siwei (蔡思伟), a Macao youth and CEO of Malt Technology. "In this data registration, departments such as the Guangdong Provincial Market Supervision Administration and the Intellectual Property Protection Office supported us in overcoming obstacles such as subject qualification verification for Hong Kong and Macao enterprises, cross-border data compliance, and no precedent for account registration, so that we could move to a broader stage."

According to reports, in April 2025, the Joint Laboratory for Data Circulation Security and Compliance Governance, co-established by Malt Technology, the School of Data Science of the City University of Macau (澳门城市大学数据科学学院), and Maibo Yuntong (Zhuhai Hengqin) Technology Co., Ltd. (麦博云通（珠海横琴）科技有限公司), was launched, focusing on cutting-edge fields such as trustworthy artificial intelligence and data circulation security, and tackling directions such as cross-border data security compliance detection, dynamic monitoring of encrypted data flow risks, and multimodal intelligent auditing algorithms. "Through the construction of technical standardization and risk prevention and control systems, the laboratory strives to solve the pain points of enterprises not daring to use or not knowing how to use data, and to provide compliance support for smart cities, cross-border e-commerce, and other areas," Cai Siwei said. A relevant person in charge of the City University of Macau stated that the joint laboratory will become an important fulcrum for Macao to integrate into the national digital construction, and through the synergy of government, industry, academia, research, and application, it will help Macao achieve moderate and diversified economic development.

Recalling the past, Cai Siwei was deeply moved. From his first visit to Hengqin in 2012 to now commuting daily between Hengqin and Macao; a Macao person starting a business in Hengqin has now become a member of the Hengqin Macau New Neighbourhood (横琴澳门新街坊) — Cai Siwei has witnessed and participated in the magnificent journey of the Greater Bay Area from blueprint to reality. In his view: "It is not that I chose Hengqin, but Hengqin attracted me to try."

In September 2025, Malt Technology received certification as a "Potential-type Technology Enterprise" from the Economic and Technological Development Bureau of the Macao SAR Government. This year, its independently developed "Kuntu Claw Overseas Service Platform" (鲲图Claw出海服务平台) represented Macao, China, in the 2026 BRICS Industrial Innovation Competition, stood out from 1,428 participating projects worldwide, and won the second prize, demonstrating the company's international competitiveness in artificial intelligence and cross-border digital infrastructure. "Macao youth developing in the Greater Bay Area can give priority to choosing Hengqin. I hope my experience can inspire everyone. I will also continue to work hard, using data as a bridge, to contribute to the vigorous development of the Greater Bay Area," Cai Siwei said.

"DreamWorks competes on enterprise growth"
Our reporter Cheng Yuanzhou (程远州)

Spreading out the map of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Mo Weixuan (莫伟轩), the first Hong Kong-born general manager of Shenzhen Qianhai DreamWorks Operation Co., Ltd. (深圳市前海梦工场运营有限公司), circled and marked: "On this Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao Science and Technology Innovation Corridor, Qianhai is an important bridge connecting the mainland with the technological innovation of Hong Kong and Macao. And I hope to be a 'bridge builder.'"

Before coming to the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth DreamWorks (hereinafter referred to as "DreamWorks"), Mo Weixuan, who is already over 60, had worked at the Hong Kong Science Park for 10 years. In September 2024, Mo Weixuan was invited to the DreamWorks for a "second venture." "Hong Kong has top-tier research capabilities but lacks pilot-scale production sites and a complete industrial chain; Shenzhen has a relatively complete manufacturing system and a broad market, but overseas research teams wanting to land lack connection channels. Opening up a two-way channel for Shenzhen-Hong Kong technological innovation resources to go both ways is the direction of my efforts," Mo Weixuan said.

Mo Weixuan likened the DreamWorks to an international entrepreneurial prestigious school. "DreamWorks competes on enterprise growth, not on the number of settled enterprises." It is reported that the DreamWorks has established a project review system benchmarking venture capital, screening projects from four dimensions: team qualifications, hard-core technology, market prospects, and financing ability, implementing annual assessments and a last-place elimination system. In one and a half years, it orderly replaced a group of enterprises, precisely introduced more than 200 high-quality Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan scientific innovation teams, and reduced the number of enterprises in the park to 389.

The number decreased, but the quality increased. Take Dayi Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd. (大乙半导体科技有限公司), founded by University of Hong Kong professor Huang Mingxin (黄明欣), as an example. The company delves deeply into new materials for third-generation semiconductor heat dissipation, directly targeting the "bottleneck" of heat dissipation in new energy and computing equipment. The enterprise and the DreamWorks jointly built the Qianhai Third-Generation Semiconductor Innovation Service Center, established class 10,000 and class 100,000 clean laboratories, and formed a model where the Hong Kong headquarters focuses on basic scientific research, Qianhai undertakes pilot-scale production and mass production, the Greater Bay Area realizes large-scale production, and global markets are expanded. Related projects were selected for the Hong Kong "Industry-Academia-Research 1+ Program" (产学研1+计划). Now, many Hong Kong universities have set up innovation carriers in Qianhai. From the third quarter of 2025, high-quality scientific innovation teams have been lining up to apply for settlement, with a project approval rate of about 20%.

In Mo Weixuan's view, the DreamWorks should act as a "translator" for scientific innovation collaboration — reading the language of cutting-edge technology, connecting with industrial, capital, and market needs. To solve the financing difficulties of start-ups, in March this year, the DreamWorks built a global investor network to open up multi-level capital channels; to address the problems of non-interoperable credit reporting for cross-border capital flows and long cross-border credit granting cycles, it matched and connected with the Qianhai Cross-border Data Verification Platform and implemented "Hong Kong Enterprise Loans" (港企贷); to promote technology landing, it collaborated with large enterprises to open up real-scenario testing environments for start-ups... Now, the DreamWorks' scientific innovation ecosystem is increasingly mature. As of July 31, among the teams in the DreamWorks, there were 363 teams from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and overseas; it has cumulatively cultivated and incubated 92 national high-tech enterprises and 25 specialized and new enterprises, with a total financing amount of approximately 9.65 billion yuan from incubated teams.

"HKUST's two campuses 'join hands' to tackle tough problems"
Our reporter Jiang Xiaodan (姜晓丹)

How can micron-scale robots precisely move within the human body and deliver drugs on demand? Assistant Professor Chen Mojun (陈模军) of the Thrust of Smart Manufacturing at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) (香港科技大学（广州）) and his team have recently achieved phased results — completing temperature-controlled drug release experiments in living animals, with the targeted drug delivery effect of the micro-robots verified experimentally.

This exploration originated from a cross-campus joint project between HKUST and HKUST(GZ) in 2024, and is also an innovative practice of the "One HKUST, Two Campuses Complementary" model. "What we do is act as 'delivery workers' for microscopic drugs inside the human body," Chen Mojun explained. The team's self-developed micro-nano 3D printing processes, such as meniscus-guided and electrohydrodynamic printing, can fabricate multi-material composite micro-nano devices. "Relying on external light for temperature control, the robot can deliver drugs in sections precisely, and after use it can degrade, suitable for minimally invasive medical scenarios."

The technical route took initial shape, but technical bottlenecks followed one after another. Traditional micro-robots face high resistance and unstable trajectories in human bodily fluids, making it difficult to reach lesions precisely. Chen Mojun admitted: "HKUST(GZ) has advantages in precision processing and process iteration, but fluid simulation and large-scale numerical modeling belong to the realm of basic theory. Relying solely on the engineering team's own exploration makes it hard to break through the sticking points."

The technical bottlenecks precisely became an opportunity for the two HKUST campuses to complement each other. Relying on the research collaboration mechanism between the two campuses, the team of Assistant Professor Fu Lin (傅林) from HKUST joined the cooperation. The two young research teams worked closely together. The Hong Kong team focused on theoretical simulation and deduction, using massive data calculations to overturn traditional structures and design a biomimetic conical configuration with hollow holes, theoretically solving the problem of unstable swimming of micro-robots. The team at HKUST(GZ) in Nansha was responsible for engineering implementation, repeatedly debugging printing parameters against the simulation model, iterating over ten versions of samples, overcoming the challenge of fabricating high-precision micro-robots of 8 to 10 micrometers, and transforming the theoretical solution into physical devices usable for animal experiments.

"The Guangzhou-Shenzhen high-speed rail connects in one hour, making cross-campus research much more convenient," Chen Mojun said with emotion. "HKUST's two campuses 'join hands' to tackle tough problems." Hong Kong students often come to the Nansha lab to check data, and he has also been to Hong Kong many times to refine technical details with the Hong Kong team. Cross-campus joint research and development has greatly improved efficiency. The micro-nano 3D printing technology used for microsphere manufacturing has received funding from the National Key Research and Development Program (国家重点研发计划), and the core preparation technology has obtained a patent for invention.

Such cooperation is not an isolated case. The Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology, together with HKUST and HKUST(GZ), has implemented a "1+1+1" tripartite collaborative Guangdong-Hong Kong university joint funding program. In two years, nearly 500 professors have formed pairs, and 56 high-quality projects have received funding, covering cutting-edge fields such as biomedicine, new materials, and artificial intelligence. The exchange of resources and complementary advantages have injected a source of living water into scientific innovation development.

"Enterprises make demands, we tear down walls"
Our reporter Li Gang (李刚)

Recently, Sun Ziwen (孙子雯), Chief Operating Officer of Gaozhan Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. (高瞻创新科技有限公司) from Hong Kong, passed through the No. 1 Passage (一号通道) of the Shenzhen Futian Bonded Zone in Guangdong, entered the Shenzhen Park (深圳园区) of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone (河套深港科技创新合作区), and headed straight to the Huaqiangbei commercial district in Shenzhen. On this trip, she came to purchase electronic components needed for the lab, and also brought items for Hong Kong colleagues. "Done in two hours. In the past, it would have taken a whole day."

At the same time, in the laboratory of the Hong Kong Science Park Shenzhen Branch (香港科学园深圳分园) in Hetao, engineers from Gaozhan Innovation were working hard to "squeeze" a three-axis anti-shake gimbal into a space the size of a "sugar cube." This mobile phone equipped with the "sugar cube" is planned to be launched in the fourth quarter of this year.

Starting from Hong Kong and developing in Shenzhen, Sun Ziwen has a deep feeling about Hetao's role as a "connector." "When Hong Kong people first come to the mainland, they are unfamiliar with policies. Hetao allows us to adapt to the mainland using familiar logic," Sun Ziwen said. Lu Weiqiang (卢伟强), Deputy Director of the Science and Technology and Talent Department of the Shenzhen Park Development署 (Development Administration) of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone, explained that the Hong Kong Science Park Shenzhen Branch is the first science park in the mainland operated by a Hong Kong party, continuing the service system of the Hong Kong Science Park.

With these conveniences, Gaozhan Innovation has built a division of labor system of "Hong Kong headquarters + Shenzhen R&D + Greater Bay Area transformation + global promotion": Hong Kong is responsible for cutting-edge algorithms and international patent layout, Shenzhen focuses on structural optimization, engineering drawings, and supply chain connections, and the Greater Bay Area handles mass production of precision components. This model has increased product iteration efficiency by 3 to 5 times. "Overseas, mold modifications often take weeks; here, we can go to the factory on the same day to observe and adjust on site," Sun Ziwen exclaimed.

On the path of Shenzhen-Hong Kong collaborative innovation, some liken Hetao to a "conversion plug": in physical connection, it "welds" the two scientific innovation circles of Shenzhen and Hong Kong together geographically; in rule conversion, it adjusts and synchronizes the two different innovation "formats"; in ecological reconstruction, it concentrates the advantages of both sides on one platform. "Hong Kong universities have irreplaceable advantages in basic research and international talent introduction. Hetao's pilot-scale platform and supply chain ecosystem can enable rapid verification and landing of technologies. R&D in Hetao, headquarters in Hong Kong Science Park — the two sides complement each other and bring out the best in each other," said Chen Chao (陈超), Deputy Director of the Advanced Technology Research Institute of China Merchants Group.

Lu Weiqiang pointed to a list of institutional arrangements on a display board and introduced: the "No. 1 Passage" white list allows efficient cross-border travel for research personnel; scientific research goods are subject to "first-line liberalization, second-line control, free movement within the zone," with cross-border commuting time only 30 minutes; the "Kehuitong" (科汇通) solves the problem of overseas fund remittance channels for non-enterprise research institutions... "Enterprises make demands, we tear down walls. In the 15th Five-Year Plan period (十五五时期), we will leverage the platform's role as a pilot and pioneer, promoting two-way adaptation and complementary interaction of major platforms, major projects, and major policies," he said.

Now, this "institutional innovation experimental field" of less than 4 square kilometers has gathered more than 200 high-end scientific research projects and over 110 specialized and new enterprises.

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Acting as the Vanguard of Collaborative Innovation (Short Commentary)

By: 贺林平

Hengqin, Qianhai, Nansha, and Hetao — the four major cooperation platforms in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area — serve as pilot demonstrations, injecting strong impetus into scientific research innovation and the transformation of achievements. Although the four platforms cover only a small geographic area, they play a key role as the “experimental field” (试验田) and “window” for collaborative innovation in the Greater Bay Area, smoothing the flow of factors across the entire region, unleashing synergy effects, and surging with innovation momentum. To drive collaborative innovation in the Greater Bay Area using major platforms as “experimental fields,” efforts must be made on multiple fronts.

The first priority is to gather pioneers. Platforms should make good use of national policies, create a more open environment, build a stage for undertaking endeavors and starting undertakings, improve fault-tolerance and error-correction mechanisms, attract talented people to gather, promote the free and efficient flow of personnel within the region, and unite practical efforts to forge an “Innovation Bay Area.”

The key lies in rule alignment. Scientific and technological innovation and institutional innovation require a “two-wheel” interaction. The three places of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao must use “reform in opposite directions” (相向改革) to break down barriers to the flow of factors such as people, finance, and goods, turning “differences in institutions” into “benefits from institutions,” with policy coordination driving research coordination.

The ultimate goal lies in the replication of experience. The significance of the “experimental field” is to first explore and blaze a trail, using partial institutional innovation to reduce the cost of overall reform, and ultimately drive common development across the board. Since the construction of the four platforms, hundreds of pilot experiences and reform achievements have been promoted nationwide. On this basis, Guangdong is continuing to support qualified cities and prefectures to jointly build distinctive cooperation platforms with Hong Kong and Macao, collectively forging new paths and creating the future.

Each platform leverages its own strengths, and multiple points bloom. The four platforms, together with the various distinctive platforms in the Greater Bay Area, are the “vanguard” (先行军) in the integrated development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and are even more so vivid footnotes to the continuous progress of Chinese-style modernization (中国式现代化).

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Blocking "Zhang Xue Motorcycles," What Is the DPP Authorities Afraid Of? (View from the Sea)

By: 凌 锋

For some time now, "Zhang Xue (张雪) motorcycles" have been continuously achieving good results in global professional competitions. This mainland-brand motorcycle has sparked a craze on the island of Taiwan. From the first Taiwanese owner, who spared no effort in disassembling the entire motorcycle into parts to ship them across the sea, to the Taipei Heavy Motorcycle Exhibition attracting large crowds of visitors taking photos, and to the calls from netizens on the island to "knock on bowls and demand its introduction"—all of this highlights Taiwanese compatriots' genuine desire for high-quality mainland products. The brand's founder, Zhang Xue (张雪), publicly stated that he very much wants to open a store in Taiwan and promised that his future Taiwanese owners will enjoy exactly the same after-sales service guarantees as mainland owners.

However, this reasonable demand that aligns with the expectations of people on both sides of the strait has been brutally blocked by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities. Taiwan's economic affairs department stated that mainland-made motorcycles (complete vehicles) fall under the "mainland goods not permitted for import" category and, according to regulations, are not allowed to be imported into Taiwan, and even threatened with heavy fines. On one side, Taiwanese motorcycle enthusiasts are willing to spend about a month and a half, breaking the whole into parts for batch shipment by sea and assembling them themselves out of passion; on the other side, there is the ban by the Taiwan authorities—once again exposing the true face of the DPP authorities of "opposing whatever comes from China."

And what is kept outside the door is not just "Zhang Xue motorcycles." The DPP authorities stubbornly cling to a "Taiwan independence" stance, exhaust their minds to set up obstacles, maliciously obstruct and undermine normal cross-strait economic and trade exchanges and cooperation, and vainly attempt to create economic "decoupling and severing of supply chains" between the two sides. In December 2023, the Ministry of Commerce published the Final Conclusion of the Trade Barrier Investigation on the Trade Restrictive Measures Implemented by the Taiwan Region against the Mainland, which clearly determined that the trade restrictive measures of the Taiwan region against the mainland constitute trade barriers. The investigation showed that at the time the investigation was initiated, the number of mainland products banned from import by the Taiwan region was 2,455, and during the investigation period it was adjusted to 2,509. As of the end of July this year, the Taiwan region had banned as many as 2,513 mainland products. On this long "ban list," there are not only daily necessities such as rice, flour, oil, fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products, and eggs, but also industrial products such as new energy vehicles, motorcycles, and household appliances.

These cold trade barriers have turned into heavy living costs for people on the island. In terms of "food," due to the lack of high-quality mainland products as a supplement, the Taiwan market not only has significantly higher prices for similar goods but also faces the predicament of limited choices. Not only do eggs and milk frequently rise in price, but apples, grapes, garlic, and other items in supermarkets are mostly high-priced imports, even giving rise to a helpless joke: "When a Shandong person arrives in Taiwan, they lose the freedom to eat garlic." In terms of "transportation" and "daily appliances," according to reports from many Taiwanese motorcycle enthusiasts, the price of the same class of mainland-made vehicles is only about half that of similar imported vehicles on the Taiwan market. Consumers are not only forced to endure the pain of high prices but are also deprived of the right to choose high-quality mainland products such as new energy vehicles.

In fact, high-quality mainland products such as new energy vehicles, air conditioners, and refrigerators are favored worldwide, and many Taiwanese compatriots lament that mainland products are of excellent quality and low price, yet they can only gaze at the ocean and sigh. To buy the mainland goods they desire, people on the island have to resort to third-party transshipment, purchases through friends and relatives, and other methods. This "curved purchasing" increases logistics, time, and transaction costs. The Taiwanese people's longing for high-quality mainland products, which should be a bridge for cross-strait economic and trade exchanges and cooperation, has been forcibly turned into a high wall by the DPP authorities using political bias.

Why are the DPP authorities so alarmed in the face of mainland products? What they fear is by no means merely the flimsy excuse of a so-called "impact on local industries." What they fear is that Taiwanese compatriots will personally experience the advanced and powerful nature of mainland manufacturing, made concrete through one high-quality product after another, bursting the information cocoon of "mainland backwardness" that they have painstakingly woven; what they fear is that compatriots on both sides of the strait will narrow the psychological distance between them through sharing high-quality products, so that the political manipulations of the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces will lose their soil; what they fear, even more, is the comprehensive rise of the mainland's overall strength, turning the delusion of "relying on foreign powers to pursue independence" into a bubble. To safeguard the selfish interests of their party, the DPP authorities do not hesitate to go against the tide of the times, artificially block market ties, sacrifice the well-being of the people as a political offering, severely damage the vital interests of Taiwanese enterprises and people, and expose their deep-seated fear.

We advise the DPP authorities to recognize the historical trend, align with the will of the people on both sides of the strait, remove these trade barriers that harm both sides as soon as possible, and do more practical and good things that benefit the people. The historical trend of national reunification and national rejuvenation is surging forward and is unstoppable. The political calculations of the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces are nothing more than 螳臂当车 (táng bì dāng chē - "mantis arm stopping a chariot," overestimating one's own strength to try to stop an unstoppable force), and are doomed to face the judgment of justice and the scorn of history!

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A Walk on the Long March, a Search for Chinese Sentiment (Micro Commentary)

By: 张 烁

This summer, multiple places held summer camp activities themed on the Long March spirit called the "Affection for China · China Root-Seeking Journey" (亲情中华·中国寻根之旅), attracting overseas Chinese youth from the United States, Canada, Pakistan, and other countries. The children listened to Long March stories and felt the Long March spirit during on-site study tours.

Root-seeking begins with walking a stretch of road. The overseas Chinese youth traced the Red Army's footsteps all the way. At the ancient ginkgo tree at Hejiachong (何家冲) in Xinyang, Henan Province, the departure site of the Red 25th Army's (红二十五军) Long March, they listened to descendants of Red Army soldiers tell of the "child army with an average age of fifteen or sixteen." Beside the Luding Bridge in Sichuan, they were shocked by the turbulent Dadu River and the swaying iron chains, and marveled at the Red Army soldiers' bravery and fearlessness, and their willingness to 舍生取义 (shě shēng qǔ yì - "sacrifice life for righteousness"). In Gaotai (高台), Gansu, they heard the heroic deeds of the West Route Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army… The campers marched on foot, sang Red Army songs, tasted a "meal recalling past bitterness" (忆苦餐), and in an immersive experience, history became weighty and warm. As a Finnish-born Chinese girl said: "In the past, stories about the Red Army and the Long March all came from my mother's tales and books. Now coming to Hejiachong, I can almost feel everything that happened back then."

This year marks the 90th anniversary of the Red Army's Long March victory. The great Long March spirit shines brightly and becomes more vibrant with time. For overseas Chinese youth, going from "hearing others talk about it" to "measuring it with their own steps," from "knowing" to "feeling," is precisely the meaning of the root-seeking journey. This red root-seeking route, spanning north and south, connects revolutionary memories from different periods, allowing overseas Chinese youth to truly feel the revolutionary forebears' fearless defiance of hardship and their 矢志不渝 (shǐ zhì bù yú - "vow never to change") ideals and beliefs, and from this to understand the suffering and glory of the Chinese revolution, as well as the Chinese nation's 自强不息 (zì qiáng bù xī - "self-improvement without cease") and forging ahead through hardship.

This root-seeking journey not only opens a window for overseas Chinese youth to "understand China," but also gives them the opportunity to become a bridge to "spread China." It is hoped that more and more overseas Chinese youth will measure history with their steps, feel culture with their hearts, and grow into the youthful force that jointly realizes and shares the Chinese Dream.

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Layout Editor: Jiang Lin

Layout Design: Zhang Fangman (张芳曼)

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Ancient Rhymes, New Voices: Guardianship and Breakthrough of Rare Opera Genres (Cultural China Tour · Humanities Observation · Drama Revitalization Series Investigation ④)

By: 本报记者 王 珏

In the water towns of Jiangnan, the ancient charm of Xinchang Tiaoqiang (新昌调腔) winds from old stages into modern theaters; on the Central Plains, the rugged bold songs of Luojuanxi (罗卷戏) spread from fields to farther places; in Shanwei of Lingnan, the "a-yi-ai" supporting syllables and drawn-out cavity of Baizixi (白字戏) drift through phone screens to domestic and overseas audiences.

Data show that there are 348 opera genres currently existing in China, of which about 65% are rare opera genres. These rare opera genres scattered across the land of China, with unique local dialects, diverse performance forms, and rich emotional expression, carry the memories of their native regions, and are a vivid manifestation of cultural diversity.

However, as times change, rare opera genres face difficulties such as loss of audience, talent gaps, and weak inheritance, with some even on the verge of extinction.

Today, groups of opera workers who adhere to their original aspirations, by creating repertoires to preserve the cultural lineage, by cultivating talent to continue the torch, and by innovating in dissemination to expand the audience, hope to let the ancient rare opera genres both take root in the fertile soil of traditional culture and embrace the era and the future.

Preserve Roots

Retaining the Memory of Vocal Styles

Entering the Yin Guifang Grand Theater in Xinchang (新昌), Zhejiang, the sounds of strings and woodwinds are melodious, gongs and drums are sonorous. Actors of the Xinchang Tiaoqiang Troupe (新昌调腔剧团) are gathered in the rehearsal ground, busily polishing a new play. As water sleeves flutter and bodies turn gracefully, and as singing rises and falls, ancient charm lingers; the old Tiaoqiang vocal style stirs up fresh vitality in the modern theater.

Xinchang, with its layered green hills, has a lineage of opera vocal styles flowing for 600 years that cuts through the mists of history and is reborn on contemporary stages. Xinchang Tiaoqiang's singing is high-pitched and desolate, passionate and undulating; it is one of China's oldest opera genres, having a profound influence on the development of Chinese drama, and is praised as the "living fossil of Chinese opera".

To preserve the torch of Tiaoqiang, the Xinchang Tiaoqiang team diligently sorts through old scripts treasured in the archives, advancing rescue excavation and systematic organization simultaneously. Chen Xudong (陈旭东), director of the Business Department of the Xinchang Tiaoqiang Troupe, says that old artists have passed down orally from generation to generation, copying by hand, preserving over 500 scripts for Tiaoqiang. Currently, the Xinchang County Archives (新昌县档案馆) preserves a total of 384 volumes of Tiaoqiang art archives, including both handwritten copies of ancient plays from the late Qing and Republic periods, and compiled works, scores, and melodies from after the founding of New China. Most of these archives were copied by old artists, and many are unique copies, recording over 600 years of artistic accumulation of Tiaoqiang.

At the same time, Xinchang excavates artistic treasures from old Southern opera and traditional highlights, rehearsing them one by one and carefully polishing, letting more than ten classic works such as "Northern Western Chamber" and "Chaos in Jiujiang" return to the stage.

In Henan, the protection of Luojuanxi similarly begins with salvaging the memory of vocal styles. Luojuanxi is a collective name for Luoxi (罗戏) and Juanxi (卷戏). Luoxi is good at performing martial plays, with a rough and bold, passionate and vigorous vocal style; Juanxi is good at performing civil plays, with a gentle and lingering, beautiful and pleasant vocal style. The history of these two genres performing on the same stage dates back to the Qing dynasty.

However, with the development of the times, Luojuanxi has become increasingly desolate, even reaching the brink of interruption. On the one hand, there are no successors for the plays; on the other hand, a large number of audiences have been lost. Currently, of over 300 traditional plays of Luojuanxi, less than 30 can be staged.

Jiang Yuhong (蒋愈红), member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Chairperson of the Henan Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles (河南省文联), says that in recent years, the inheritors of Luojuanxi have spontaneously taken action, raising funds from multiple sources to purchase costumes and props, sorting and collecting over 20 scripts, compiling and publishing monographs, and also opening training classes and conducting campus activities, racing against time to rescue this endangered genre.

At the end of 2024, the China Theatre Association (中国剧协) rare opera genre protection and inheritance project was launched, and Luojuanxi was listed among the first batch of supported genres. This national-level intangible cultural heritage with over 400 years of history has encountered a historic opportunity for a turning point in its fate.

With nearly 300 days of continuous support, 15 experts deeply involved, and nearly 100 drama people relaying online, Luojuanxi revived 4 plays, completing the transformation from an endangered local art to stepping onto the national stage. "Newly created based on the story of Fan Zhongyan (范仲淹) serving as an official in Dengzhou (邓州), Henan, the short play 'Fan Zhongyan Refuses Wine' became the troupe's 'bread-and-butter play', not only appearing at the National Short Play and Skit Exhibition of Excellent Works, but also stepping onto the stage of the National Grand Theatre," said Jiang Yuhong.

Baizixi flowed into eastern Guangdong at the end of the Yuan and beginning of the Ming, known for its "a-yi-ai" supporting syllables and drawn-out cavity, was listed in the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2006, and is also one of Guangdong Province's endangered genres.

Wu Peijin (吴佩锦), representative inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage project Baizixi, says that the Shanwei City Haifeng County Baizixi Art Inheritance Center (汕尾市海丰县白字戏艺术传承中心) continuously rescues and organizes endangered traditional plays from older-generation artists, carefully reviving and polishing a series of classic handed-down plays such as "Golden Leaf Chrysanthemum" and "White Silk Garment".

The rehearsal hall floor has been polished bright by time. Old artist Ye Bennan (叶本南) leans on a cane, tapping the beat, humming the "a-yi-ai" drawn-out cavity. The revial of "White Silk Garment" began. Several old artists over seventy like Zhong Zhiming (钟芝铭) and Xu Zaiming (徐再明) arrive punctually every day, teaching orally and demonstarting physically, not letting a single glance or a single dragged cavity slip by.

Every effort of Wu Peijin gradually improved in the process of old artists correcting him hand by hand. A few months later, the revived version of "White Silk Garment" appeared at the 9th Guangdong Provincial Art Festival, with thunderous applause, winning multiple awards at once.

From comprehensive optimization and quality improvement in 2022, to a long trip to Singapore in 2025, and then to the highlight "Inquiry about Tao" selected for the National High Cavity Exhibition in 2025 — Baizixi for the first time stepped onto a national-level stage. Now, the full play "White Silk Garment" has been selected for the China Opera Image and Sound Project (中国戏曲像音像工程), preserved as images. An old play, lifted up by several generations, makes Baizixi's roots grow deeper and deeper.

Cultivate Talent

Cultivating Youth Strength

The key to the inheritance of a genre is the inheritance of people.

Xinchang Tiaoqiang once faced a serious talent gap crisis. To build a solid foundation, as early as 2007, Xinchang, with the support of the county party committee and county government, established the Tiaoqiang Art School (调腔艺术学校), abandonning the traditional social recruitment model and carrying out targeted talent cultivation, specifically reserving backup forces for the Tiaoqiang genre. The growth story of the troupe head Yu Zhenjie (俞臻杰) is a microcosm of Tiaoqiang talent cultivation.

When he was in junior high school, he was selected by the Tiaoqiang Art School. Young as he was, harboring a vague love for opera, he embarked on the path of learning art. Day after day of basic training, tedious and strict vocal exercises, once made him think of giving up several times. "Every time I felt the unique artistic charm of Tiaoqiang and thought of the heavy responsibility of inheriting this rare genre, I grited my teeth and persisted," said Yu Zhenjie. In 2024, he became the head of the troupe, shouldering the heavy responsibility of the troupe's development.

The troupe recruited 33 sixth-grade students. After years of careful cultivation, now 31 have smoothly entered the interniship stage. The current Tiaoqiang troupe has formed a benign talent ladder of old artists passing on skills, middle-aged and young backbones taking the lead, and the new generation relaying.

In Shanwei, Baizixi similarly faces a severe shortage of young talent.

A turning point is coming. Before the Spring Festival this year, the opera talent entrusted cultivation project was successfully implemented. The measure of targetted cultivation of professional new forces connects the talent bloodline for Baizixi inheritance. With the gradual improvement of the cultivation system, the effectiveness of Baizixi talent ladder construction has become prominent, with frequent fruits.

In March this year, the second China Opera Rare Genre Excellent Works Exhibition was held in Boxing County (博兴县), Binzhou City, Shandong. Baizixi young actors Wu Qingjian (吴庆坚) and Lin Nashan (林娜珊) stepped onto the stage. Halfway through the highlight "Chaos in Yan's Mansion: Interrogating the Husband", someone in the audience lightly applaused. When the curtain fell, applause surged over, and the two stood on stage and bowed. "A genre is the root of a place, the soul of a place," said Baizixi actor Lin Nashan. She grew up in a "opera nest" and now has become a person on stage. "I will continue to settle down and delve into research, strive to improve my performance level, and perform, protect, and inherit the plays well," said Lin Nashan.

In Dengzhou, the talent cultivation of Luojuanxi similarly welcomed a turning point. Just after the Spring Festival in 2025, 15 artists organized by the Henan Provincial Theatre Association (河南省剧协) entered Dengzhou in batches. Among them were playwrights, vocal designers, and famous performers. They moved into the village and rehearsed together with the actors of the Luojuanxi troupe.

In the rehearsal ground, experts Jia Lu (贾璐) and playwright Liu Hongtao (刘洪涛) continuously revised the script. In the recording studio, expert Tang Qihe (汤其河) led music designer Liu Yongqiang (刘永强) to extract the essence of Luojuanxi's vocal styles, enriching the vocal system. Famous performers such as Wang Quanzhen (汪荃珍), Yan Yongjiang (颜永江), and Zhang Suzhen (张素真) opened master classes to improve the overall quality of the actors. Band quhu player Zhao Changxin (赵长新) received one-on-one guidance from performer Zhang Fuzhong (张付中)...

Four plays were created and rehearsed simultaneously. The young people practiced during the day and memorized lines at night, and in just three months they were on stage.

Jiang Yuhong said that the local area also helped the new generation of Luojuanxi inheritors shine in the Henan Provincial Children's Opera Little Plum Flower Competition (河南省少儿戏曲小梅花大赛), gradually strengthening the foundation for the troupe's independent creation and sustainable development.

Expand Innovation

Encountering Contemporary Audiences

Preserving roots does not mean being conservative. To let rare opera genres "live" in the present, one must open up their connection with the audience.

Every time the "Ten Thousand People Enter the City to Watch Grand Opera" (万人进城看大戏) activity is held, the Xinchang Yin Guifang Grand Theatre becomes a busy place in the whole city. Buses one after another carry fellow villagers from remote mountain villages into the urban area. In the fully occupied audience, white-haired elderly people listen intently, occasionally nodding lightly to the rhythm; children open their eyes wide, deeply attracted by the movements and singing on stage. When the familiar Xinchang Tiaoqiang sounds, applause and cheers rise one after another. The ancient vocal style that once only circulated in the countryside harvests warm echoes in this modern grand theatre.

Liang Junying (梁军英), a villager from Xiayanbe Village (下岩贝村), watched without blinking: "Previously, watching opera was always in the small square in the village. This time, being able to enter such an impressive grand theatre to watch professional performances lets us mountain folk fully satisfy our opera craving!"

A responsible person from the Publicity Department of the Xinchang County Party Committee (新昌县委宣传部) said that Xinchang Tiaoqiang combines down-to-village performances with into-city exhibitions, on the one hand sending good plays to the fields, on the other hand inviting fellow villagers into professional theatres, continuously innovating the ways to reach the audience.

In Shanwei, the hometown of Baizixi, a "cloud-based breakthrough" is quietly happening.

For a long time, Baizixi mainly circulated locally, with few opportunities for performances outside the province. From 2020 onwards, the Haifeng County Baizixi Art Inheritance Center took the lead in trying online live streaming, moving the stage from village entrances and theatre stages into online live rooms. Young actor Yu Haiping (余海平) has lost count of how many performances he has sung in front of the camera. During the day, he rehearses and polishes at the troupe; at night, he returns home, sets up equipment, connects microphones to perform, and as the "a-yi-ai" supporting syllable drawn-out cavity is sent out, a danmu comment immediately floats up: "Hearing this line makes me homesick."

Relying on new media empowerment, Baizixi's inheritance and dissemination continuously breaks through circles. The Haifeng County Baizixi Art Inheritance Center, together with 18 literary and art troupes in the province, leverages digital platforms to regularly conduct online exhibitions and cultural dissemination, boldly exploring new models of digital dissemination for traditional opera. Wu Peijin's live room is even more lively. "The interactive model of fans requesting songs in the live room can precisely meet the needs of fans at home and abroad, letting the unique ancient local accent of Shanwei cross mountains and seas and go overseas," said Wu Peijin.

Liu Jingren (刘敬仁), the ninth-generation inheritor of Fan County Luojuanxi, is already 64 years old. He is both the head of the troupe and serves as the conductor and drum player of the band. His troupe is a private performance group, and everyone is a "multi-skilled person". Whether director or production manager, they either double as an actor or as a musician. But Liu Jingren does not retreat, because "seeing the masses come early and wait, and from time to time bursts of applause, this is our motivation."

To adapt to the modern communication context, the troupe also actively carried out activities such as "Opera Entering Campuses" (戏曲进校园), letting these ancient genres that were once possibly facing extinction plant seeds of inheritance in the hearts of young people. As Liu Jingren said, as long as the enthusiasm of the masses remains and the support of the government continues, this genre that originates from and takes root in the local soil can survive through innovations such as "intangible cultural heritage + tourism" and "opera + study tours".

Jiang Yuhong said that Henan launched a cultural gene recombination rescue operation for Luojuanxi, and explored a new path of quantifiable and replicable rescue protection for rare opera genres: "precise support + theoretical research + digital innovative dissemination + sustainable development."

From Xinchang, Zhejiang to Dengzhou and Fan County in Henan, and then to Haifeng in Guangdong, rare opera genres have similar difficulties and also similar persistence. People believe that rare opera genres will surely be passed down and sung widely.

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A Small Dictionary Holds Great Power (Cultural Reflections)

By: 康 辉

The Xinhua Dictionary is a “national dictionary” that has accompanied several generations of Chinese people in their growth, and it is also an important tool for journalists, one that is 不可或缺 (bù kě huò quē - “cannot be lacking,” indispensable) even for a moment. Whether in the office or in the studio, broadcasters and hosts almost all have a copy in hand.

Language reflects the changes of society. At present, the language environment is undergoing profound changes: omnimedia communication is penetrating deeply, artificial intelligence has entered content production, and everyone is not only a user and disseminator of language, but also a creator and producer of language. The Xinhua Dictionary, 一如既往 (yī rú jì wǎng - “just as in the past,” as always), records the changes in social life through the norms of written language, and has further set up an authoritative yardstick for the standard spoken and written Chinese language, better supporting basic education and reading for all. No matter how the environment changes, the authoritative status of the Xinhua Dictionary as “the first normative dictionary of modern Chinese in New China” has never changed; it remains the desk reference book of every one of us engaged in language-and-script work, and remains the “family heirloom” for inheriting and developing Chinese culture.

For the application and promotion of the standard spoken and written Chinese language and the in-depth development of reading for all, 2026 is a crucial year. In January of this year, the newly revised Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language officially took effect; in February, the Regulations on Promoting Reading for All officially took effect; in April, the Ministry of Education (教育部) officially released the China Youth Reading Literacy Framework; in June, the Xinhua Dictionary (13th edition) was published and released. All of these have provided authoritative and concrete levers for the application and promotion of the standard spoken and written Chinese language and the in-depth development of reading for all. This year, The Commercial Press (商务印书馆) also published the Comprehensive Dictionary of Modern Chinese; together with the Xinhua Dictionary (13th edition) and the Modern Chinese Dictionary (7th edition), these have all become standard equipment for our work. As for the differences and changes among the different editions of these dictionaries, we still need to continue to research, compare, and study them in depth — this is both a necessity of our work and a necessity that runs through the growth of our entire lives.

A small dictionary has great power. Starting in 2014, when we went to the Qinba Mountain area in Shaanxi, over these 12 years, the News Broadcasting Department of the News Center of China Media Group (中央广播电视总台) and The Commercial Press have persisted in jointly carrying out the “Spread the Wings of Dreams” (放飞梦想的翅膀) Xinhua Dictionary public welfare activity. We have successively gone to Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, Fujian, Gansu, Jiangxi, Jilin, and other provinces and regions, entering old revolutionary base areas, remote mountainous areas, and ethnic minority areas, and going to schools, villages, military camps, households, and bookstores, covering a total distance of more than 30,000 kilometers. We have directly served nearly 10,000 teachers and students, given more than 40 reading lessons to children, donated more than 40,000 volumes of essential reference books and classic masterpieces including the Xinhua Dictionary, and built nearly 10 rural reading centers. Last year, when we held an event in Jilin, I said with emotion, “In every person’s life, there must be a Xinhua Dictionary.” Because every time we put the Xinhua Dictionary into the hands of children and hear them talk about how they learned to use the dictionary, the light in their eyes deeply moves us, and it also makes us more keenly aware of the weighty responsibility we shoulder in the application and promotion of the standard spoken and written Chinese language and in the inheritance and development of Chinese culture.

Some time ago, the film Love Letter to A-ma (《给阿嬷的情书》) was a box-office hit, and the pronunciation of “A-ma” sparked heated discussion. I exchanged views with everyone through short videos. This is precisely a typical example of how the Chinese language and script have always been able to retain their vibrant vitality. Not long ago, I went to the Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture (克孜勒苏柯尔克孜自治州) in Xinjiang and shared the story of the heroic epic Manas with the local ethnic minority children, exchanging views on the family-and-country sentiments of generation after generation of frontier guardians. We completed an in-depth dialogue on the standard spoken and written Chinese language and the spirit of patriotism. This is precisely a vivid embodiment of the significance of the standard spoken and written Chinese language for forging a strong sense of community of the Chinese nation.

I have come to deeply realize: language and script is no trivial small matter; it is the face of a nation, a necessity of a country, and a true mirror of an era. The Xinhua Dictionary (13th edition) includes many new characters, new words, and new meanings. It appears to be merely the addition, deletion, and revision of individual characters and words, but in reality it is a record of an era’s civilization and the inheritance of its culture. The normative use of the standard spoken and written Chinese language is not only a habit of expression, but also a concrete practice of cultural confidence and civilizational inheritance.

On the new journey of the new era, as Party journalists and language-and-script workers, we must continue to make good use of all kinds of reference books, including the Xinhua Dictionary; continue to do a good job publicizing “speak Putonghua well, write standard characters well” (讲好普通话，写好规范字); and, with rigor in every character and every sentence, uphold the correctness of language, transmit the charm of the cultural lineage, and carry forward the spirit of the times.

(The author is the director of the News Broadcasting Department of the News Center of China Media Group.)

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Ancient Mansions Pass Down Cultural Heritage, Recitation Enriches the Countryside (Inheritance)

By: 本报记者 徐 靖

The horse-head walls are gracefully staggered, the ancient alleys quiet and long. In the height of summer, near dusk, the oppressive heat of southern Anhui finally slowly dissipates. In Ruichuan Village (瑞川村), Shangzhuang Town, Jixi County, Xuancheng City, Anhui Province, the village children, while playing and laughing, make their way toward the Dongchang Coffee Shop (东场咖啡店) east of the village.

Stepping into the Dongchang Coffee Shop, the refined, antique elegance of Hui-style architecture — carved wooden beams, blue-stone courtyards — greets the face. Besides coffee, the shop contains mostly all kinds of books. And the children who come here sit around tables in small groups, reading and practicing calligraphy.

Hou Xianmin (侯宪民), the person in charge of Dongchang Coffee Shop, explains that this place was originally an abandoned village residence, dating back to the late Qing dynasty and early Republic of China. At the end of 2024, he rented it and started a coffee business; and because he also loves reading, he purchased some books and picture-story books. Now, not only do tourists come to check in, but it has also become the village library and reading room.

Shangzhuang is a fertile cultural soil in the core area of Hui culture, and has been famous since ancient times for the tradition of "cultivating the land and transmitting it through reading" (耕读传家). The tradition of farming and reading — "in a village of ten households, none neglects recitation" (十户之村、不废诵读) — has extended here for a thousand years. This land has produced a great number of famous figures and worthies: Hu Shi (胡适), pioneer of the New Culture Movement; Hu Kaiwen (胡开文), master ink-maker; Wang Jingzhi (汪静之), lakeside poet; Cao Chengying (曹诚英), China’s first female agronomist; and many others. The ancient maxim "the very best thing is only to read" (第一等好事只是读书) has been passed down from generation to generation here, and clan-run schools and ancestral-hall-established academies have become a prevailing custom, forming a distinctive regional cultural marker.

In recent years, Shangzhuang Town, rooted in its thousand-year farming-and-reading tradition, has deeply excavated the heritage of Hui culture. By revitalizing idle historical buildings, residences, schoolhouses, etc., it has built a batch of high-quality reading venues and normalized cultural activities, exploring a distinctive development path of "ancient building preservation + book heritage + rural revitalization."

"You stand on a bridge watching the scenery; the one watching the scenery watches you from the upper story. The bright moon adorns your window; you adorn another’s dream."

On July 18, a new session of the Orchid Grass Poetry Recital (兰花草诗歌朗诵会) opened at Shangzhuang Academy (上庄学堂). Those who attended the recital included not only local villagers but also students and parents who had traveled from afar for a summer study tour.

The village library, renovated from an old ancestral hall, is connected to the former site of Shangzhuang Central Primary School — gray tiles, white walls, quaint and elegant — with a collection of more than 3,000 books. The Shangzhuang Academy, operating in concert with it, links reading sharing, aesthetic education classes, parent-child reading, and more, and is becoming the benchmark of Shangzhuang’s book-oriented cultural base.

Hu Shuyan (胡书岩), a third-grade student from Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, said: "These days I visited the former residences of famous figures and Shangzhuang Academy, met many new friends, and studied and played together with everyone — I was very happy."

Now, at the regularly monthly classic reading recitals, the sound of reading aloud echoes through the village. Various themed reading salons are held each quarter as scheduled, inviting literary and historical scholars to sit with villagers and discuss rural and educational development. Inclusive activities such as parent-child reading classes and agricultural-technology book salons balance cultural heritage with practical needs and are deeply popular among local people.

According to statistics, Shangzhuang Town has organized more than 30 book-oriented cultural activities over the year, benefiting over 20,000 villagers and tourists; the new civilized trend of reading to understand reason and respecting culture and pursuing goodness has taken root in people’s hearts.

As of now, the town has revitalized idle ancient building resources and built 16 distinctive reading venues, including Shangzhuang Academy, Shangzhuang Bookstore (上庄书局), and Jinshan Tea and Book Space (金山茶书空间), enabling villagers to conveniently enjoy high-quality public cultural services right at their doorstep.

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Wang Jue

Layout design: Cai Huawei

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Revitalizing the Spirit of Xieyi (Art Commentary)

By: 徐福山

The freehand spirit (写意精神) is deeply rooted in the Chinese philosophical system in which Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism are fused in thorough comprehension — 融会贯通 (róng huì guàn tōng - "to fuse and comprehend thoroughly," to attain holistic mastery). It distilled and constructed the spiritual paradigm of Chinese art, both manifesting the Chinese aesthetic pursuit of "establishing images to fully express meaning" (立象以尽意) and laying a solid foundation and gathering strength for the rectification of roots and tracing of origins (正本溯源) and the contemporary reconstruction of the Chinese aesthetic spirit in the new era.

Freehand painting is a particularly original, concentrated, and typical artistic form of the Chinese freehand spirit. Its history is of long standing and deep origin — 源远流长 (yuán yuǎn liú cháng - "source distant, flow long," to have a long history and deep roots) — and it integrates poetry, calligraphy, painting, and seal carving into one, making it an outstanding representative of China's excellent traditional culture. The freehand works handed down through the ages are brilliant as a sky full of stars — 灿若繁星 (càn ruò fán xīng - "brilliant like a multitude of stars," numerous and splendid). Treasured in major art institutions at home, they have also spread far overseas, contributing a unique aesthetic and wisdom to the artistic exchange between East and West. The freehand spirit has been passed down from generation to generation. It not only achieved the highest aesthetic realm of Chinese painting, but also nourished calligraphy, opera, poetry, architecture, and many other art categories, and came to form a style of its own — 自成一格 (zì chéng yī gé - "form a style of one's own," to be distinct in style) — within the world aesthetic system.

Since modern times, under the impact of diverse cultural currents and the changes of the times, the ecology of freehand art has been damaged, and freehand painting has gradually declined. How to revive the freehand spirit and resolve the crux of its development has become a question of the times that art theory research and creative practice urgently need to answer.

In recent years, many creative and research institutions have taken freehand painting as their vehicle, sorting through its practical difficulties and value logic and exploring paths for revitalization, in the hope of achieving two-way mutual verification between "spiritual substance" and "artistic practice," making up for academic shortcomings, and providing theoretical ideas for the construction of a Chinese indigenous fine arts theory system. Take the Chinese National Academy of Arts (中国艺术研究院) as an example: in 2021, its Academy of Freehand Painting (写意画院) was established, the first national-level academic institution in China devoted to research on freehand theory, creation of freehand art, and construction of the freehand cultural system. It not only gathers renowned masters to conduct teaching and research and to cultivate professional talent, but also participates in organizing exhibitions such as "Freeing the Spirit — Exhibition of Chinese Freehand Paintings" (畅神——中国写意画作品展) and "Odes in Painting — Touring Exhibition of Freehand Paintings of the Chinese National Academy of Arts" (丹青诗颂——中国艺术研究院写意绘画作品巡展), promoting the spread of the freehand spirit. In 2025, Studies on Freehand Painting (《写意画研究》) was founded. As the first academic journal in China devoted specifically to freehand art, it has continued to exert sustained effort in carrying on the freehand tradition, promoting the freehand spirit, and constructing a modern freehand art system; it has already achieved some results, discovered and nurtured some new forces, and injected vigorous vitality into the revitalization of the freehand spirit.

The inheritance and development of freehand painting still face multiple practical difficulties. First, the core concept of the freehand spirit is difficult to truly put into practice. The core concept of the freehand spirit is rooted in the three-dimensional system of "idea" (意), "spirit" (神), and "Way" (道), advocating using the idea to command form, using form to convey spirit, and borrowing images to awaken to the Way; its internal logic is expressed as making the idea primary, making the conveyance of spirit the essential, and making unity with the Way the aim. Since modern times, the two inner cores of the freehand spirit, "idea" and "Way," have not received sufficient attention in the modern fine arts education system, have had difficulty entering exhibition review mechanisms, and have been hard for the public to understand accurately; thus, in creation, they have gradually been alienated and dissolved. "Idea" is often misread as "arbitrariness" or "crudeness," or degenerates into a pile-up of formal techniques; the philosophical connotations and humanistic feelings borne by "Way" have been hollowed out by utilitarian creative orientations.

Second, creative practice is inadequate. Some creators either mechanically imitate tradition, reducing their works to "copies"; or talk emptily about innovation, blindly grafting Western forms; or follow trends to cater to the market, falling into the mistaken paths of utilitarianism and formalism. Still other creators neglect the tempering of brush and ink, so that the function of brush and ink in "carrying the Way" fails; creative paths become rigidified, detached from life or dependent on tools, and the works lack vitality. In addition, the impact of Western ideological trends and the anomie of current evaluation mislead the direction of creation and weaken the value of the freehand spirit, making it difficult for the development of contemporary freehand art to break through its bottleneck.

Third, theoretical research is deficient. In recent years, although research on the freehand spirit has accumulated, there are obvious shortcomings: research on its ontological substance lags behind, and the academic community has not yet been able to construct a systematic theoretical framework. Existing research mostly focuses on a single dimension and lacks the support of systematic monographs; it emphasizes theory over practice, pays insufficient attention to real difficulties, and research is disconnected from practice; research methods are singular, based mainly on the analysis of documents and works, lacking interdisciplinary perspectives and empirical investigation, with the result that research outcomes are weak in pertinence and operability and cannot meet the needs of the times.

How should these challenges be addressed? In my view, we may start from constructing a theoretical framework for the ontological structure of the Chinese freehand spirit, proceeding from seven dimensions, namely: upholding the historical view of "learning from the ancients" (以古为师), the philosophical view of "carrying the Way through culture" (以文载道), the brush-and-ink view of "bringing calligraphy into painting" (以书入画), the cosmological view of "taking images as the pulse" (以象为脉), the developmental view of "putting people first" (以人为本), the educational view of "educating people through beauty" (以美育人), and the value view of "taking truth as the soul" (以真为魂).

Grounded in the historical inheritance and cultural depth of the Chinese freehand spirit, and using "learning from the ancients" and "carrying the Way through culture" as the key anchor points, we should consolidate the ontological foundation. "Learning from the ancients" does not mean restoring antiquity, but rather rationally holding fast to the cultural lineage, tracing ancient methods, and absorbing nourishment, so as to make the past serve the present (古为今用) and solve the predicament of creation's detachment from tradition. "Carrying the Way through culture" aims to combine artistic creation with the transmission of values, guiding creators to express humanistic philosophical reflection through brush and ink, reversing the tendency to emphasize form over content, and achieving the unity of aesthetic and spiritual value.

To strengthen the technical support and systematic understanding of the Chinese freehand spirit, and using "bringing calligraphy into painting" and "taking images as the pulse" as the paths of practice, we should manifest cultural characteristics. "Bringing calligraphy into painting" highlights the essential truth that calligraphy and painting share the same origin (书画同源): it integrates calligraphic brushwork into painting, endows brush and ink with independent aesthetic value, and helps realize the contemporary innovation of brush and ink. "Taking images as the pulse" is rooted in the concept of the "unity of Heaven and humanity" (天人合一), focusing on grasping the essential nature of objects and images, providing inspiration for creation, and helping to resolve the problem of insufficient spirit resonance (气韵).

To focus on the subjective value and social function of the Chinese freehand spirit, and using "putting people first" and "educating people through beauty" as the orientation for development, we should bloom with the vitality of the times. "Putting people first" emphasizes respecting the individuality of creators and the needs of audiences, guiding works to be close to life, and realizing the all-round development of art and personality. "Educating people through beauty" means taking freehand art as a vehicle of aesthetic education, cultivating the public's aesthetic literacy and humanistic character, and laying the aesthetic-education cornerstone for building a culturally strong country.

To uphold the value core of the Chinese freehand spirit, and using "taking truth as the soul" as the main thread, we should govern the joint efforts of all dimensions. "Taking truth as the soul" encompasses true temperament, true artistic conception, and true brush and ink, focusing on guiding creators to abandon utilitarian and formalist tendencies, hold fast to the original heart of art, and transmit the beauty of authenticity. It runs through the ontological structure of the Chinese freehand spirit, helping to calibrate the direction of practice, resolve the predicament of lost values, promote mutual support and organic unity among all dimensions, and realize the contemporary transformation and sustained development of the freehand spirit.

Freehand expression is the freest spiritual expression of the Chinese people between Heaven and Earth. Promoting the revitalization of the contemporary Chinese freehand spirit and the construction of its ontological substance is an inevitable choice for safeguarding the Chinese cultural lineage and reshaping the traditional aesthetic paradigm. Numerous theories and practices have proven that only by deeply rooting in the traditional cultural lineage, scrupulously adhering to artistic authenticity, and persisting in inheriting the old and bringing forth the new can we break the predicament of freehand painting's decline, enable it to radiate the vitality of the times, and lay a solid foundation for the contemporary transmission of China's excellent traditional culture and the construction of an independent knowledge system of Chinese aesthetics.

(The author is Vice President of the Chinese National Academy of Arts and concurrently Dean of its Academy of Freehand Painting.)

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Accumulating Color Like Lighting a Lamp (On Art)

By: 张友宪

"Binhong accumulated ink, I accumulate color; ancient and modern, East and West, refract upon each other." This line of verse can be seen as my reflection on the innovative development of Chinese painting, and it also contains my attitude toward life.

I am a serious person, especially where art is concerned. My seriousness is hidden in the sweeping of brush and ink, hidden in the revelry of color, hidden in line after line that looks relaxed yet has in truth been through 千锤百炼 (qiān chuí bǎi liàn - "a thousand hammerings, a hundred temperings," long and arduous forging). I have two teachers. One is Mr. Liu Haisu; in my creative work I have always scrupulously adhered to the upright and grand bearing (正大气象) that he advocated. The other is Mr. Dong Xinbin (董欣宾); from the images and lines of his art I saw the spiritual resonance of Jiangnan. On the foundation of this inheritance, I have continued to innovate in brush and ink, and in recent years have created many large paintings. Most of these works do not present concrete forms, because in my view form is no longer the most important vehicle; what I want to present is a joy that need not rely on concrete form — to paint the composure of life through the fortuities of nature.

Red is the distinct hue that my artistic creation has taken on as I have entered my later years: one glance, and a startling red fills the eyes. In my youth I also painted red, but the red I paint now is another red — silver cinnabar (银朱). Unlike "cinnabar," which draws the spiritual vitality of nature, silver cinnabar — also one of China's traditional pigments — was, because of its bright, lasting color and complex production process, once the principal pigment for architectural polychrome painting and religious murals. The first time I used silver cinnabar, I was struck by it. It is like pure fire; it can almost burn on the surface of the painting, dispersing the twilight air in the heart and detonating the realm of life I most look forward to — radiance.

Since then, I have used silver cinnabar to accumulate color (积色), attempting to create a new visual sensation. Mr. Binhong accumulated ink (积墨), layer upon layer, achieving deep substance and luxuriant moisture (浑厚华滋); that is the principle of ink. I accumulate color; the principle is connected, and yet different. Accumulating ink is like 水滴石穿 (shuǐ dī shí chuān - "dripping water pierces stone," steady persistence prevails in the end): it is time depositing itself on paper. Accumulating color is like lighting lamps: one stroke goes down, and it brightens; another stroke goes down, and it brightens further — one must accumulate this brightness until it is no longer light, but light itself burning; only then does the painting breathe.

Outsiders see the great swaths of red in my paintings and take it that the color was laid down in one pass. In fact it is not so; my color is "accumulated" into being. One pass, the ground color; two passes, bone and sinew; three passes, spirit... until that red is no longer painted on but has grown out of the paper and burned out of the heart — only then do I stop. Among the techniques of traditional Chinese painting are the "accumulated-dyeing method" (积染法), in which thin coats are superimposed layer by layer, and the "covering-dyeing method" (罩染法), in which color is applied uniformly over dried brushwork and ink to unify the tonality. I fuse these traditional coloring techniques with the accumulated-ink technique, advancing layer by layer, dotting and washing to heighten the resonance, without clinging to fixed formulas, seeking only to attain the artistic effect of "brilliant yet not vulgar, dense yet not stagnant."

Accumulated ink, accumulated to the very end, is "light shining through blackness"; my accumulated color, accumulated to the very end, is "life seen within color." The splashing, heaping, and flowing of color — for me these are not technique; they are the scorching heat of surging blood, the irrepressible bursting forth of life. The freedom of life lies not only beyond distant mountains and clouds, but also in the collision between these intense color masses and this free-flowing brush momentum — accumulating color is like accumulating fire, burning away stale rules and old molds, leaving only true temperament breathing in and out upon the paper.

Some say the red in my paintings is too fierce, too full. They see the surface, but do not know that what I accumulate is not color, but heat. It is like firing a kiln: if the temperature is insufficient, that red cannot come out; if the temperature is excessive, it scorches. The difficulty of accumulating color lies in this: every pass must carry the same full joy, and yet one must not be impatient, must not press too hard. This is even more grinding than the "every stroke reveals the brush" of accumulating ink. Red in particular is the hardest to command: at the slightest hesitation, it becomes vulgar floridity; at the slightest force, it becomes overbearing ferocity.

Ink accumulation has the subtlety of ink accumulation; color accumulation has the principle of color accumulation. Ancient and modern, Chinese and Western, converge and refract each other between color and ink, presenting a self-forgetting joy. In the paintings, silver cinnabar no longer hides behind ink lines as it does in traditional painting, but has become the main body of the picture. Those red pines and cypresses, those crimson plantains — like surging blood, like sunset-dyed clouds — are the primal vital energy itself gushing forth from the depths of life.

Traditional Chinese painting stresses "applying colors according to category" (随类赋彩): color attaches to the object-image and serves formal likeness. In my artistic practice, "accumulated color" forms a contrast to this — letting color break free from the bonds of the object-image and become the vehicle of emotion and philosophical reflection. In layer upon layer of accumulated dyeing, color is no longer a flat color block but acquires a quality of growth. It records the trace of each superimposition, the rise and fall of each emotion. The blending and collision of colors in turn injects searing life-energy into the picture.

When painting reaches the realm of transformation (化境), form and spirit alike carry my intent. I will continue to pursue the realm of transformation in Chinese painting. My practice of accumulating color with silver cinnabar not only illuminates the neglected tradition of color, but also leads me toward the freedom of life. I hope to return to the realm of "clouds-and-water breadth of mind" (云水襟怀) advocated by my late teacher Liu Haisu — clouds and water and breadth of mind: these are the great Way; this is the true life.

(The author is a professor at Nanjing Academy of Arts (南京艺术学院).)

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Appreciating the Painting "Wang Xizhi's Love for Geese" (Reading Paintings)

By: 李柏林

"Wang Xizhi's Love of Geese (羲之爱鹅)" is a classic theme in traditional Chinese culture. Since the Book of Jin recorded anecdotes such as Wang Xizhi writing the Dao De Jing in exchange for geese, scholars and poets have ceaselessly intoned it, and painters have repeatedly depicted it, using the encounter between the white goose and the Sage of Calligraphy to convey their own state of mind. Among the many artistic creations, Qian Xuan's Wang Xizhi Watching Geese from the Yuan dynasty and Ren Yi's Hanging Scroll of Wang Xizhi's Love of Geese (see illustration) from the Qing dynasty are relatively well known; with utterly different brush-and-ink artistic conceptions, they illuminate the shift in Chinese painting aesthetics from the Yuan dynasty's "venerating antiquity and seeking detachment" to the Shanghai School's (海派) "freehand style conveying the spirit (写意传神)."

Why did an ordinary white goose stir the Sage of Calligraphy's emotions? Successive generations of literati each offered their own interpretation. Song dynasty scholars believed that Wang Xizhi's love of geese was related to his enlightenment in calligraphy; Guo Xi and Lu Dian both said that a goose's neck, curving and stretching, is exactly like the method of holding the brush and moving the wrist – watching geese is to grasp the flow of qi in calligraphy. Ming and Qing calligraphers continued this discussion, using the momentum of a flock of geese swimming in water to explain the sinews and bones of the five fingers moving the brush. The historian Chen Yinke blazed a new trail by approaching the topic from the perspective of the health-preserving customs of the Wei-Jin period, providing a new angle for the study of "Wang Xizhi's Love of Geese." In addition, the goose's pure white body and its serene, graceful posture of roaming leisurely in ponds and marshes also accord with the spiritual pursuit of Wei-Jin scholars who kept their distance from worldly clamor and purified their minds to guard themselves. The layering of multiple interpretations has turned "Wang Xizhi's Love of Geese" not merely into a piece of literati lore but into a composite image that carries calligraphy, Daoist learning, and reclusive culture, leaving vast expressive space for later generations of painting.

Qian Xuan's Wang Xizhi Watching Geese is a classic work on the theme of "Wang Xizhi's Love of Geese" and is now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the United States. The entire handscroll adopts a level-distance composition (平远构图), with no elaborate carving; distant mountains are outlined with light ink, lightly coated with thin layers of azurite and malachite green, creating a landscape mood of gentle, simple elegance. In the near foreground, bamboo groves shade a waterside pavilion; Wang Xizhi, dressed in plain robes, stands quietly by the railing, his gaze cast upon two white geese swimming leisurely in the water, while a boy attendant stands behind him with hands clasped. Qian Xuan's self-inscribed poem reads: "In the midst of tall bamboo groves, refreshingly abundant, / In a leisurely pavilion, baring the belly, what intent? / To write the Dao De Jing for a Daoist, / Leaving behind a romantic air, a love of geese." This directly points to the allusion of "Wang Xizhi's Love of Geese." In the entire painting, the human figure is an embellishment; the landscape is the true protagonist. Living in the turbulent transition from the Southern Song to the early Yuan, Qian Xuan championed "antique intent (古意)," using the story of Wang Xizhi's love of geese and his dwelling among forests and springs, with a calm landscape and elegant coloring, to recreate the Sage of Calligraphy's state of mind of withdrawing from the world and retreating into seclusion. This embodies the Yuan dynasty aesthetic pursuit of expressing feelings through landscape, venerating detachment and avoiding vulgarity.

As time passed, painters' pictorial representations of "Wang Xizhi's Love of Geese" also constantly changed. Ren Yi, a late-Qing Shanghai School painter, painted several versions of "Wang Xizhi's Love of Geese." The Hanging Scroll of Wang Xizhi's Love of Geese, now in the Shanghai Museum, reshapes the scene of Wang Xizhi's love of geese, fully displaying the vivid and lively temperament of the era in freehand figure painting. Unlike Qian Xuan, who uses landscape to set off the figure, Ren Yi discards the elaborate backdrop of streams, mountains, pavilions, and terraces, leaving large areas blank to virtualize the space. He connects a complete narrative using only Wang Xizhi, the boy attendant, and four geese, relying on the purity of the imagery to act out the allusion of his willingness to write sutras in exchange for geese. The brush-and-ink of this work is strongly characteristic of the Shanghai School: the drapery lines on Wang Xizhi's clothing use the powerful, abrupt 钉头鼠尾描 (dīng tóu shǔ wěi miáo - "nail-head, rat-tail stroke," a descriptive technique with a sharp start and tapered end), with alternating dry and wet ink; the wide robe and broad sleeves float ethereally; his downward gaze at the geese reveals a composed and tranquil expression, hinting at the literatus's inner thoughts of watching geese to grasp brushwork. The drapery lines of the boy attendant are comparatively soft, and his childish face is innocent and ingenuous. The contrast between firm and soft lines makes the personalities of the two figures clear at a glance. The flock of geese is rendered with light washes of ink to suggest fluffy white feathers, and light gray texture strokes (皴擦) are used to outline the structure of their backs; with just a few brushstrokes the geese are depicted in a lively, charmingly naive posture, their necks curved gracefully. In Qian Xuan's work, Xizhi watching geese is a quiet, reclusive contemplation amid the landscape; in Ren Yi's work, Xizhi's love of geese is a vivid moment full of the flavor of everyday life, with a touch more worldly warmth.

From the antique landscape of the Yuan dynasty to the freehand figure painting of the late Qing, the same allusion takes on entirely new visual expressions in different eras, precisely manifesting the enduring vitality of traditional Chinese culture. Faced with the allusion of "Wang Xizhi's Love of Geese," each generation of painters uses brush and ink to reinterpret the ancient story, injecting their own state of mind and aesthetic sensibilities into the picture, constantly renewing the literary and historical imagery that has been passed down for a thousand years. In the flow of brush and ink, they carry forward the cultural backbone, from the Wei-Jin period onward, of purifying the mind to observe things and nurturing the spirit through art.

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Opening the Youth Narrative of Art Museums

By: 王 萌

At the National Art Museum of China (中国美术馆), a national exhibition full of youthful passion and innovative vitality — the National Young and Middle-Aged Innovation Art Exhibition 2026 (2026全国中青年创新艺术展) — is on display. 155 works in different forms and media reflect each other, taking "youth power" and "artistic innovation" as the academic main line, and presenting the individual creative thinking of young and middle-aged artists through four units: "Tradition and Translation," "Crossover and Integration," "Concepts and Themes," and "Language and Materials," outlining a vibrant artistic landscape of the new era.

Artistic innovation is essentially a breakthrough in the creator's thinking, an iteration of cognition, and an active exploration that jumps out of established creative paradigms and remains faithful to the expression of art itself. This continuous source of creativity is precisely the original driving force supporting the sustained forward development of art. This exhibition does not understand "innovation" as a fixed stylistic label, but regards it as an open, pluralistic, and overall-oriented large ecology of fine arts — the works cover multiple forms such as painting, sculpture, installation, and digital art, constructing an innovative ecology composed of different art types. In order to fully display current artistic exploration and stimulate the innovation and creative vitality of young and middle-aged artists, the selection of exhibits adopted three parallel paths: nominations by curators, extensive solicitation, and selections from the museum’s collection, and established a multi-level review mechanism, opening up the organic connection between the museum’s collection system and the current artistic ecology.

Letting young people play the leading role is reflected not only at the creative level, but also in the curation. This exhibition formed a curatorial team composed of 22 young and middle-aged curators from within the museum and active in the industry, who collaborated with an open vision, ensuring both the academic rigor of the exhibition and giving it vitality in sync with creation. This mechanism enables the artistic practices conducted by artists in their studios within a wider range to have the possibility of being viewed by the public and discussed by academia, allowing the constantly innovative ideal pursuits of contemporary young and middle-aged artists to coalesce into a vibrant youthful landscape in the exhibition halls of the museum.

The vitality of innovation is especially evident in the works. Two new trends in creation can be observed from the exhibited works. First, traditional artistic resources are being continuously activated in contemporary translation. Some creators either integrate traditional aesthetic spirit into contemporary material language, or connect individual life experience with the cultural roots of the nation, constructing a spiritual dialogue that spans time and space. Second, the consciousness of materials and the cross-border integration of media open new spaces for artistic expression. Many works break through the limitations of a single media language, merging the aesthetics of other painting types. The integration of technology further expands the boundaries of creation, endowing art with more possibilities.

The four units of the exhibition provide different viewing experiences: some focus on transformation of tradition, others delve into material language, some question image concepts, and others explore immersive experiences. Multiple creative faces dialogue with each other in the same context, generating novelty in viewing and attracting many new audiences. Some young audiences and members of the public who rarely came to the museum before step into the exhibition halls to feel the contemporary atmosphere of artistic creativity. New growth points have emerged in the structure of the audience, providing new possibilities for expanding social aesthetic education.

As the first national large-scale exhibition launched by the National Art Museum of China focusing on the innovative development of young and middle-aged fine arts, this exhibition is an effective measure by the museum to actively respond to the growing spiritual and cultural needs of the public and to comply with the laws of artistic innovation and development. It is also the latest progress in the museum’s continuous optimization of curatorial mechanisms and promotion of exhibition system upgrades. Taking innovation as its coordinate and focusing on young and middle-aged people, the exhibition has achieved valuable explorations at multiple levels, including curatorial concepts, exhibition structure, work features, organizational methods, and audience composition. It not only presents the new trends of current artistic expression and the diverse possibilities of youth creation, but also provides a sustainable deepening path for how national-level large exhibitions can better connect artistic creation with the public.

(The author is a research curator of the National Art Museum of China)

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Photo Report

Oil painting Red Sand Slope, by Zhang Hongwei (张宏伟).

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Stuffing the Boundless Cosmos into a Palmful of Soil

By: 黄 山

Do you want to know what the inner world of children looks like? You might as well step into the Sculpture Museum in the ancient city of Datong, where at this time each year there is a sculpture exhibition exclusively for children. Strolling through the exhibition hall, you will see that children under age 8 stuff the boundless universe into the clay in their palms; children aged 8 to 12 weave the warmth of the world into three-dimensional sculptures; children aged 12 to 18 hide the thoughts of youth inside delicate portraits...

This "pact of childlike innocence" began in 2018. To support the healthy physical and mental growth of adolescents and children, the Central Academy of Fine Arts (中央美术学院), the Sculpture Committee of the China Artists Association (中国美术家协会雕塑艺委会), and the Datong Municipal People's Government (大同市人民政府) jointly organized the "Youth Sculpture Works Exhibition" (青少年雕塑作品展览), with the intent of using sculpture to stimulate creativity, using art to perfect character, and using aesthetic education to shape the soul. Over eight years, the exhibition has grown from a single seed into a towering tree—children from all over the country have continuously brought mud, stone, metal, and dreams together into this ancient city, making the "Youth Sculpture Works Exhibition" a stage where dreams blossom. Using sculpture as its medium, the exhibition safeguards this 天马行空 (tiān mǎ xíng kōng - "heavenly horse galloping through the void," free-spirited and wildly imaginative) innocence.

Sculpture is "three-dimensional poetry,凝固 (solidified) music." Sculpture training helps improve children's spatial imagination and their ability to control physical materials. Pinching a lump of clay, carving a piece of stone—this is not only learning a craft, but also training children's abilities in observation, cognition, imagination, hands-on work, and emotional expression. When they use their own hands for the first time to turn the unspeakable things in their hearts into visible shapes, the seed of art has already broken through the soil. Children under age 8 are simply wildly imaginative: mosquitos might be stronger than elephants, candy spaceships float above the clouds; children aged 8 to 12 begin to observe life: a mother unpacking express packages, a father on the toilet, a happy and harmonious whole family; children aged 12 to 18 hide their feelings in their sculptures: the small troubles of a pimple, the little perplexities in dreams. In this "magical world" built of childlike innocence, from traditional clay sculpture, wood carving, stone carving, to installation works, to 3D printing and AI creations, the works are full of fantastic ideas, allowing the audience to see the future possibilities of Chinese sculpture. Even more movingly, children from Mount Ma'er (马耳山) in Shandong came, the young artists from the Beijing School for the Blind (北京市盲人学校) came, and the little sculptors fighting disease in hospital wards also came... The moment they touched the soil with their hands, distance, obstacles, and pain all turned into joy. From then on, art acquired warmth, and innocence was protected.

During the exhibition period, the square in front of Cave 20 of the Yungang Grottoes (云冈石窟) becomes an open-air classroom. Children sit 席地而坐 (xí dì ér zuò - "sit on the ground," sitting casually on the floor) together with nationally renowned sculptors and aesthetic education scholars, engaging in face-to-face interactive exchanges. This format breaks the teaching model of the traditional classroom, using an equal posture to move education from one-way instruction toward two-way dialogue, allowing children to build confidence and gain inspiration through conversation. When a child holding a carving knife looks up and sees that open-air giant Buddha that has weathered 1,500 years of wind and rain, the weight of history and the vitality of youth meet in that moment—it is a dialogue across time and space between the "craftsman's mind" of the Northern Wei artisans and the "child's heart" of contemporary young people. Such dialogue has continued to expand over more than ten years: from the "Datong International Sculpture Biennale" (大同国际雕塑双年展) to the annual finalist exhibition of the "Zeng Zhushao Sculpture Art Scholarship" (曾竹韶雕塑艺术奖学金), from the "Steel Summer" (钢铁之夏) International Youth Metal Sculpture Creation Camp to the "Youth Sculpture Works Exhibition," the name card of the "Capital of Chinese Sculpture" has grown ever brighter, and the cultural lineage of Chinese sculpture has deeply merged with the bloodline of Chinese civilization.

Eight years—in the long river of history it is but an instant, yet it is enough for a cause to take root, sprout, and grow 枝繁叶茂 (zhī fán yè mào - "branches dense, leaves luxuriant," to flourish and thrive). As this year's "Youth Sculpture Works Exhibition" opens, the seeds of aesthetic education are planted in the hearts of more children; the children's wildly imaginative visions are engraved with genuine feeling, and the spirit of Chinese aesthetic education also moistens the path of growth for more children.

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本版责编：徐红梅 吴艳丽

Email for this edition: msfk@peopledaily.cn

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