People's Daily - August 16, 2026

Enhance capacity for disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 15 - The 16th issue of Qiushi journal, to be published on August 16, will carry an important article by Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the State, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, titled "Improving the Capacity for Disaster Prevention, Mitigation, and Relief."

The article emphasizes that our country's territory is vast, its geography is complex, and its climate is diverse, and natural disasters are prone to occur frequently. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee has insisted on treating disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief work as a major matter concerning the safety of the people and national security, making many deployments in conceptual transformation, institutional reform, system building, and capacity enhancement, leading the broad masses of cadres and the people to overcome a series of major and severe natural disasters and minimizing casualties and property losses, with achievements universally recognized by the world. To do disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief work well, we must uphold the Party's overall leadership, uphold putting the people first and life first, uphold respect for the laws of nature, uphold prevention as the priority, uphold reform and innovation, uphold a systems approach, and uphold social co-governance. These valuable experiences must be upheld and applied well, and continuously enriched and developed in light of new realities.

The article points out that at present, our country's disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief work faces many new situations and new problems. We must stand at the strategic height of coordinating high-quality development and high-level security, fully recognize the extreme importance of doing disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief work well, focus on leveraging strengths, shoring up weaknesses, and reinforcing weak links, continuously improve the capacity and level of preventing and responding to various natural disasters, effectively safeguard the safety of people's lives and property and social stability, and ensure that Chinese-style modernization proceeds steadily and goes far.

The article points out that we must promote the transformation of disaster governance toward pre-event prevention. Uphold source control, integrate safety and resilience requirements throughout territorial spatial planning and various construction plans, and effectively avoid natural disaster risks. Strengthen hidden danger investigation, systematically sort out and precisely identify various disaster risks. Strengthen engineering governance, reasonably raise the fortification standards for key infrastructure in important cities and disaster-prone areas, and step up efforts to shore up the weaknesses in flood control, waterlogging drainage, and disaster resistance infrastructure in northern regions. Strengthen key prevention and control of high-risk sections, effectively reduce existing risks and curb new risks.

The article points out that we must enhance the capacity to respond to and handle major and catastrophic disasters. Firmly establish bottom-line thinking and extreme thinking, deeply study and judge the risks of major and catastrophic disasters, continuously improve emergency plans, estimate difficulties and challenges more fully, and consider work measures more comprehensively. Improve the monitoring and early warning system, and enhance the timeliness, precision, and accessibility of early warnings. Improve the emergency command mechanism under the framework of comprehensive security and comprehensive emergency response, ensuring that at critical moments forces can be deployed, can charge forward, and can win. Coordinate comprehensive rescue, transitional resettlement, and recovery and reconstruction work, and prevent the transmission and spread of natural disaster risks. We are a socialist country, and we must deliver excellent answers in every major disaster and major test, fully demonstrating the superiority of the socialist system.

The article points out that we must strengthen scientific and technological support and legal safeguards. In science and technology, we must fully leverage the advantages of the new whole-nation system, promote scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation in the emergency response field, strengthen the development of emergency response disciplines and talent cultivation, carry out in-depth basic research on natural disasters, advance key technology breakthroughs, and deepen international scientific and technological exchange and cooperation on disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief. In the rule of law, we must improve the legal system in the emergency response field, combine improving legislation with strict law enforcement, and further raise the level of rule of law in disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief.

The article points out that we must consolidate the grassroots foundation for disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief. The grassroots are the first line of defense against natural disasters, and the work of strengthening the grassroots and consolidating the foundation must never be relaxed. We must improve the grassroots emergency rescue force system, strengthen the construction of emergency sites and the guarantee of materials and equipment. Encourage and support the development of social emergency response forces, and improve the system of mass monitoring, mass prevention, and mass governance. Increase efforts in science popularization and publicity on disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief, and raise the whole people's awareness and capacity for disaster prevention and risk avoidance.

The article points out that we must earnestly grasp the implementation of responsibilities. Disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief involves multiple departments, multiple disaster types, and multiple links; we must clarify the division of responsibilities, tighten the chain of responsibility, and clench fingers into a fist to form a combined force. All regions and relevant departments must fulfill their duties in guarding their territory, uphold the combination of unified command with division of labor, the linkage between prevention and rescue, and the coordination between upper and lower levels, and promote the formation of a work pattern of joint management and coordinated cooperation.

The article emphasizes that to do disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief work well, we must establish and practice a correct view of political achievements, and resolutely correct tendencies such as emphasizing development over safety and emphasizing disaster relief over prevention. We must strengthen education and training, focus on improving the disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief capabilities of cadres at all levels, and ensure that understanding is in place, responsibility is in place, and work is in place.

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Grand gathering held in Beijing to mark the 100th anniversary of Comrade Jiang Zemin's birth

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 15 — The conference commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Comrade Jiang Zemin will be solemnly held at 10 a.m. on August 17 at the Great Hall of the People. Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the People's Republic of China, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, will attend the conference and deliver an important speech.

At that time, China Media Group and Xinhua Net will provide live coverage of the conference, and key central news websites including People's Daily Online, CCTV.com, and China.org.cn, as well as new media platforms including the People's Daily client, Xinhua News Agency client, and CCTV News client, will simultaneously relay the broadcast.

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Effectively safeguard the safety of people's lives and property and maintain social stability

By: 本报记者 王 浩 刘温馨 张艺开

The Qiushi journal published on August 16 carried an important article by General Secretary Xi Jinping titled "Improving the Capability for Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Relief." The article emphasizes: "Focus on leveraging strengths, filling shortcomings, and strengthening weak links; continuously improve the capability and level of preventing and responding to various natural disasters; effectively safeguard the safety of people's lives and property and social stability."

On July 30, General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. The meeting emphasized: "Solidly carry out all work for flood prevention, emergency response, and disaster relief; make every effort to safeguard the safety of people's lives and property."

"This is one of the things I am most concerned about."

General Secretary Xi Jinping's repeated exhortations, unable to set his mind at ease: "Treat flood prevention, flood fighting, and disaster relief as a major task, and put ensuring the safety of the people's lives first"; "Party members and cadres must charge ahead, and grassroots Party organizations must play their role, so that the people feel they have someone to rely on."

In the wind and rain, the General Secretary has always had the people in his heart; the Party and the government have always stood with the people, sharing the same boat through wind and rain, advancing hand in hand.

"Deeply rooted in the people, always possessing a solid foundation." The key code to why the CPC can succeed has become clearer amid the wind and rain.

In the Heart: Concern for the People's Safety

"I have always been thinking of the people in the disaster-affected areas"

In the mud, clumps of jasmine plants sprout new buds.

Flushing silt, pruning, disinfecting — the flower fields that were flooded are recovering. Xie Shaokui, a flower farmer in Lingjiao Village, Xiaoyi Town, Hengzhou City, Guangxi, is busy with field management: "The buds have sprouted, so hope has returned."

Ma Jinsen, a senior agronomist at the Hengzhou Jasmine Flower Industry Service Center (横州市茉莉花产业服务中心), plunged into the farmland to teach farmers techniques: "No need to fear the flooding; as long as follow-up management is maintained, we can wait for the flowers to bloom."

Six out of every ten jasmine flowers in the world come from Hengzhou. The jasmine with its tenacious root system is a symbol of resilient vitality.

The floodwaters have receded, mountain roads are gradually opening, power supply has been restored... Guangxi is comprehensively restoring production and living order and solidly advancing post-disaster reconstruction.

In early July, Typhoon Maysak struck Guangxi with historically rare persistent heavy rainfall, causing reservoir breaches, urban waterlogging, and loss of contact with villages. The severe flood situation was deeply worrying.

General Secretary Xi Jinping was very concerned and very worried about the disaster-affected people, and made important instructions emphasizing: "Make every effort to organize rescue operations, treatment of the injured, and resettlement of the people; minimize casualties to the greatest extent; and prevent secondary disasters."

The flood situation is the command; responsibility is heavier than Mount Tai. Under the strong leadership and effective command of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, the National Commission for Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Relief, and the Ministry of Emergency Management strengthened overall coordination and command dispatch. Forces from all sides responded to the order and raced against the clock, making every effort in rescue and disaster relief.

Zhenlong Township in Hengzhou City, hidden in the folds of the mountains, became an "isolated island" in the flood.

He Chunhuan, head of the rescue coordination department of the China Anneng Nanning Detachment, thought: "Every meter we advance brings us one meter closer to the trapped people." More than a dozen excavators moved along steep mountain roads, their tracks almost hugging the cliff edges. Yang Guangchun, director of the Hengzhou Fire Rescue Bureau, led four team members on foot to break through and repair the roads... Six days and five nights, advancing against the wind and rain, the transportation lifeline was opened up inch by inch.

At the Xijiang Education Park in Guigang City, Guangxi, another "isolated island" surrounded by floodwaters appeared. The People's Liberation Army arrived, fire rescue personnel arrived, and "rescue aircraft carriers" — motorized pontoon bridges — arrived. All 12,000 teachers and students were safely evacuated.

From the "isolated island" rescue in response to Typhoon Maysak to the all-out emergency response to Typhoon Dolphin, the value foundation of "people first, life first" has grown ever more solid.

Since the start of this year's flood season, extreme weather has been frequent and intense, and the flood prevention situation has been severe and complex. No matter how busy, the General Secretary has kept disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief work close to his heart.

On June 30, the General Secretary presided over a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. The meeting studied and deployed flood prevention and drought relief work, emphasizing that the safety of people's lives must always be put first.

On July 15, during an inspection trip in Shanghai, the General Secretary urged: "Solidly carry out flood prevention, flood fighting, and rescue and relief work; effectively safeguard the safety of people's lives and property."

On July 30, the General Secretary presided over a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. The meeting made arrangements for solidly carrying out all work for flood prevention, emergency response, and disaster relief.

...

Governance is like farming — one thinks of it day and night. The concern of being "unable to set one's mind at ease at any moment" is the responsibility of having confidence in everything.

"When I worked at the local level, I had to be on duty during holidays and festivals, afraid that something might happen"; "Leading cadres must have a strong sense of responsibility," General Secretary Xi Jinping said with 语重心长 (yǔ zhòng xīn cháng - "words heavy, heart deep," sincere and earnest words).

When working in Fujian, Comrade Xi Jinping adhered to the principle of "better to prepare ten times and have nine come to nothing than to be unprepared when the need arises"; when preventing floods and typhoons in Zhejiang, he repeatedly promoted the "evacuation of one million people"; when working in Shanghai, he proposed "achieving zero deaths, fewer injuries, and fewer losses."

From local to central, this has been 一以贯之 (yī yǐ guàn zhī - "one thread running through," consistent throughout). Deploying monitoring, forecasting, and early warning, requiring "issuing early warning information in advance and activating emergency responses in a timely manner"; deploying patrol inspections and danger elimination, emphasizing "strengthening key defense of weak sections and dangerous reaches"; deploying evacuation and risk avoidance, urging "organizing the timely evacuation of people in dangerous areas"... Item by item, case by case, with careful guidance — all for the purpose of safeguarding the people's lives with thorough preparation.

I still recall in July 2021, during an inspection trip in Tibet, General Secretary Xi Jinping learned that Henan had been hit by extreme heavy rainfall and immediately made important instructions. Every day of the inspection, the flood situation and the progress of flood prevention and flood fighting were placed on the General Secretary's desk at the earliest opportunity.

I still recall in the 2023 flood season, when the Hai River experienced a basin-wide catastrophic flood. While inspecting Sichuan, General Secretary Xi Jinping required flood prevention preparations; on the way back to Beijing, he was anxious about the escalating rainstorm warnings across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region; when a train was stranded on the outskirts of Beijing, he worried about the passengers lacking food and clothing and instructed "mobilize every means to organize rescue."

The concern of being "unable to set one's mind at ease at any moment" is the sentiment of doing everything for the people.

By the Huai River, at Xitianpo Zhuangtai in Limin Village, Caoji Town, Funan County, Anhui, flowers are red and trees are green. Villager Gao Yufang said with emotion: "Now the zhuangtai is more solid, and the gorgon fruit and peanuts are very popular with tourists. Life is full of flavor."

In the 2020 flood season, Anhui fought on three fronts across the north and south. By the Huai River, along the Yangtze shoreline, on the Chaohu Lake embankments... Under the scorching sun, the General Secretary traveled from place to place, and one of his stops was Xitianpo Zhuangtai.

Seeing the General Secretary arrive, the villagers excitedly gathered around, vying to report. The General Secretary listened, sweat dripping down his cheeks into the soil beneath his feet, and urged: "Arrange production and life 因地制宜 (yīn dì zhì yí - "according to the land, devise what is suitable," adapt to local conditions), leveraging strengths and avoiding weaknesses."

From immediate relief to long-term development, the General Secretary carefully planned for this zhuangtai in the flood storage area. Caoji Town has kept the instructions in mind, implementing on one hand a resident relocation initiative and on the other hand improving the living environment and developing industries such as rural tourism. Today, the zhuangtai is becoming a "platform of happiness."

"I have always been thinking of the people in the disaster-affected areas"; "When the people are in their most difficult times, the Party and the government are everyone's strong support" — such deep concern, such profound feeling.

In mid-July this year, Typhoon Bavi made landfall in Zhejiang.

In Zhoudun Village, Zhourang Town, Wencheng County, Wenzhou, the wind and rain raged outside the windows, but inside the resettlement site it was warm and cozy. "Food and lodging are taken care of, and doctors come every day to check blood pressure." Villager Huang Caihong was brought down the mountain by village Party branch secretary Hu Zhixu before the typhoon made landfall.

Opening Hu Zhixu's phone memos: Uncle Lisu's chickens and ducks need to be fed on time; Aunt Cuihua's blood pressure medication is almost finished... "This temporary 'home' is also a warm 'home' for the villagers," Hu Zhixu said.

"Better to prepare ten times and have nine come to nothing than to fail in defense even once; better to hear complaints beforehand than to hear weeping afterward; better to believe it will come than to believe it will not; better to believe it will be severe than to believe it will be light." Facing frequent typhoon and flood disasters, Comrade Xi Jinping, then Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, after in-depth investigation and practical experience, clearly put forward the important concept of the "Four Rathers" (四个宁可), establishing a scientific methodology for flood and typhoon prevention, disaster prevention and mitigation, and grassroots risk governance.

The more violent the wind and waves, the more evident the pillar that stands in the current. "The lives of ordinary people are family matters, but they are also matters of state" — this is a promise as heavy as a thousand jun, and it is also the pure heart of the people's leader.

Underfoot: Measuring the Safety of Homes

"After major floods and major disasters, there must be major construction and major governance"

The rain has passed and the sky has cleared; the plums on the branches are fresh and glistening. In Zhujiagou Village, Mingshui Manchu Township, Suizhong County, Huludao City, Liaoning, Wang Baowei, who had just finished farm work, spoke briskly: "The drainage ditches are very effective; the orchard barely had any water accumulation."

In August 2024, Huludao City was hit by extreme heavy rainfall, and Zhujiagou Village was one of the hardest-hit villages. Disaster resistance, disaster relief, post-disaster reconstruction — in just 40 days, a "New Zhujia Village" rose miraculously from the ground.

"I have always been concerned, and during that period I was learning about the situation there every day." In January 2025, General Secretary Xi Jinping traveled by train and then by car to the village. "Your hopes are also our hopes. Let us work together to make a better life." The General Secretary's words were both a blessing and a promise.

In hope there is a stable life. Wang Baowei's new home is built with rubble-stone concrete and has running water. "This year, the plum harvest is good, and the agritourism business is booming." As he spoke, his phone rang — it was a food reservation call.

In hope there is a happy home. "The village collective has built 8 constant-temperature warehouses, 1 cold storage, and 5 greenhouse sheds; our family foundation is more solid," said village Party branch secretary Wang Lili.

A new life is a new starting point and new hope. "After major floods and major disasters, there must be major construction and major governance" — post-disaster recovery and reconstruction have been planned at the strategic height of being responsible to history and responsible to the people.

Before the Spring Festival of 2022, going deep into Shanxi's autumn flood disaster areas, emphasizing "filling the shortcomings in disaster prevention infrastructure and improving the capability for disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief."

In November 2023, when inspecting post-disaster recovery and reconstruction work in Beijing and Hebei, pointing out "adhering to a systematic approach, adhering to seeking truth from facts, scientific planning, and rational layout."

Before the Spring Festival of 2024, going to Tianjin to visit and comfort grassroots cadres and the masses, requiring "innovating urban governance and strengthening the construction of resilient and safe cities."

Underfoot, traversing fields and paths, treading across mountains and rivers — what is contemplated is the safe settlement of disaster-affected areas, and what is cared about is always the people's aspiration for a better life.

Emergency rescue and relief and assistance to the people are advanced together. "While doing a good job in rescue and relief work, we must also promptly restore production and living order."

The people's urgent difficulties and anxious concerns cannot be delayed or waited for. In September 2023, when visiting Longwangmiao Village, Laojieji Township, Shangzhi City, Heilongjiang, the General Secretary said with sincere and earnest words: "Food, drink, housing, transportation, employment, education, medical care and epidemic prevention — governments at all levels must handle all these matters one by one."

The recovery of agricultural production after disasters bears on food security. In November 2023, the General Secretary came to Zhuozhou, Hebei for an inspection. He got out of the vehicle midway, walked along the field ridges, and entered a farmland, urging: "Organize and arrange agricultural production for this winter and next spring, and strive for a good harvest next year."

"An important manifestation of the superiority of our socialist system lies in times of urgency, difficulty, and danger." In responding to this year's flood and disaster situations, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management together pre-allocated 1.7 billion yuan in central natural disaster relief funds to support local disaster emergency rescue and relief work. The National Development and Reform Commission arranged 30 million yuan to support Jilin's post-typhoon rainstorm and flood disaster emergency recovery. The National Financial Regulatory Administration promptly deployed work, requiring the entire system and the banking and insurance industries to optimize insurance survey and claims settlement and ensure basic financial services... Thinking ahead, moving ahead, one measure after another has been implemented.

Cities and villages, adapted to local conditions. "Urban recovery and reconstruction must do a good job in disaster prevention and mitigation feasibility planning"; "coordinate post-disaster recovery and reconstruction with rural revitalization."

From July 10 to 12 this year, Beijing experienced heavy rainfall, with the maximum precipitation in Pinggu District. "A 'highland fortress' (高地堡垒) has been built at the highest point of the village, and everyone quickly moved there. This place really comes through when it matters," said Li Na, a villager in Taoyuan Village, Zhenluoying Town, Pinggu District. In "peacetime" they serve as village committee office sites, and in "emergencies" they can be used for emergency shelter. Beijing has built 1,052 "highland fortresses" in mountainous villages.

From the "15th Five-Year Plan for Urban Renewal" deploying "advancing the construction of public infrastructure for dual peacetime-emergency use in cities," to the "15th Five-Year Plan for Accelerating Agricultural and Rural Modernization" proposing "comprehensively strengthening the capability for agricultural disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief" — the development of cities and countryside marks the warmth of people's livelihood.

The present and the long term, systematically planned. "Closely integrate recovery and reconstruction with promoting high-quality development, building resilient cities, advancing rural revitalization, and advancing ecological civilization construction."

At the Tuanzhou Yuan (团洲垸) by Dongting Lake, new events for farming families come one after another.

Li Faqian, a villager in Tuanzhou Community, counted on his fingers: "Rice-crayfish co-cultivation — one mu of field, two sources of income. The surrounding ditches and machine-plowed roads have all been repaired; farming is worry-free."

On July 5, 2024, a breach occurred in the first-line dike of the Tuanzhou Yuan at Tuanbei Village, Tuanzhou Township, Huarong County, Yueyang City, Hunan. After the danger occurred, General Secretary Xi Jinping made important instructions, requiring all-out efforts in rescue and relief operations.

Two years have passed, and Tuanzhou Yuan has been "reborn." Four resettlement communities have been built in three phases, with sports parks and senior activity centers following. "We are building a medium rice demonstration base and a ten-thousand-mu rapeseed flower sea, taking the path of integrating 'technology + agriculture, culture, and tourism,'" introduced Liu Ping, deputy secretary of the Tuanzhou Township Party Committee.

Plain promises contain the original aspiration of the leader of a major party and a major country: "Continue to implement post-disaster recovery and reconstruction work item by item, continue to strive to push people's lives in a better direction, and make the lives of ordinary people better in the future!"

In the Roots: Building a Solid Foundation for Development's Safety

"People's livelihood first, water management key"

Water is the foundation of survival; the tranquility of rivers and waterways is connected to development security.

In the 2023 flood season, the Hai River experienced a basin-wide catastrophic flood. "During that period, I paid attention to the disaster situation every day and directed the relief work." How to comprehensively improve flood prevention capability — General Secretary Xi Jinping pondered and planned.

The Yongding River is one of the seven major water systems of the Hai River basin. In November 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping came to the Sanjiadian water diversion hub on the Yongding River and emphasized: "After going through a disaster, we must summarize experience and 举一反三 (jǔ yī fǎn sān - "raise one, infer three," draw inferences from one instance), so that we have more complete contingency plans and better measures in disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief."

In that flood, Diliubu Village in Xinkou Town, Xiqing District, Tianjin, by the Ziya River in the Hai River basin, also suffered disaster.

Before the Spring Festival of 2024, the General Secretary came to Diliubu Village. At the home of villager Du Honggang, he calculated with the family, item by item, the disaster losses and the accounts of post-disaster production development and employment income.

The General Secretary's words were firm: "The Party Central Committee has made up its mind to build water conservancy and flood prevention projects better for the people's peaceful work and life."

Visiting Diliubu Village again, the embankments have been reinforced and thickened, the irrigation and drainage pumping stations have been upgraded, and the flood discharge channels have been widened. It is the critical period for flood prevention in the north, and village cadres are patrolling the embankments and visiting households one by one.

Hao Qingshui, Party secretary of Diliubu Village and director of the village committee, spoke of the changes: "Now that the flood prevention projects are built, rural development must keep pace. The village has established a 'wealth creation workshop' (创富工坊) to let 'Diliubu assured vegetables' (六埠放心菜) reach a broader market."

The Yangtze, the Yellow River, the Huai River, the Hai River... General Secretary Xi Jinping's footsteps across rivers and through mud embody his deep concern for the tranquility of rivers and waterways and are filled with the profound feeling of "people's livelihood first, water management key."

The way of water management is connected to the way of governing the country. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, among the things General Secretary Xi Jinping has inspected most, "water" has been one of the themes. The deep logic behind this 念兹在兹 (niàn zī zài zī - "thinking of this, dwelling on this," always mindful of) is precisely the governing philosophy that the people's happy life is "the great matter of the state."

Planning with a long-term perspective: "Chinese-style modernization also includes the modernization of water conservancy and the modernization of emergency management."

China is one of the countries in the world most severely affected by natural disasters. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out: "Water security is a major matter concerning the long-term stability of the country"; "be willing to spend money, be willing to invest effort."

Deploying the construction of a safe Yangtze, emphasizing "improving the Yangtze's water disaster monitoring and early warning, disaster prevention, and emergency rescue systems, and advancing comprehensive river channel management and embankment reinforcement." Traveling the entire upper, middle, and lower reaches of the Yellow River, 居安思危 (jū ān sī wēi - "dwelling in safety, think of danger," be vigilant in times of peace): "Based on preventing major floods and resisting major disasters, promptly 查漏补缺 (chá lòu bǔ quē - "check leaks, fill gaps," identify and fix shortcomings) in response to the weak links exposed in flood prevention and disaster relief."

...

The consideration of "being willing to spend money, being willing to invest effort" has been incorporated into the "15th Five-Year Plan" outline — strengthening the construction of the national water network, enhancing the capability for flood disaster defense, coordinated allocation of water resources, and urban-rural water supply security.

Planning with a systematic approach: "Adhere to the principle of prevention first, combining prevention, resistance, and relief"; "improve the emergency command mechanism under the framework of major safety and major emergency."

In fighting Typhoon Maysak, the Guangdong Fire Rescue Mobile Corps urgently dispatched 200 fire rescue personnel, 34 fire trucks, and 17 boats and rafts, carrying more than 600 sets of rescue equipment to support Hengzhou, Guangxi overnight.

In fighting Typhoon Bavi, Zhejiang completed risk screening of 11,500 key mountain flood villages; Hebei used SMS and phone calls to alert 57,000 responsible persons and safely evacuated 250,800 people in advance.

In fighting Typhoon Hongxia, water conservancy departments coordinated the dispatch of reservoir groups in the Pearl River basin to pre-release water and reserve storage capacity in advance, reserving 7.3 billion cubic meters of flood control storage. The Office of the National Commission for Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Relief, together with the Ministry of Emergency Management and the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, allocated 25,000 pieces of central disaster relief materials — folding beds, folding tables and stools, and towel blankets — to Guangdong, Jiangxi, Hunan, and other places.

In fighting Typhoon Dolphin, the National Development and Reform Commission arranged 200 million yuan to support Zhejiang's post-disaster emergency recovery; the Ministry of Water Resources strengthened monitoring, forecasting, and early warning, and strengthened unified and joint dispatch of water projects in the basin. In response to the severe disaster impact of Typhoon Dolphin's remnant vortex and heavy rainfall on Henan, relevant regions and departments raced against time to make every effort in rescue and disposal. At 20:29 on August 15, the breach of the Jialu River embankment was successfully closed.

Disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief "is an important aspect that measures the leadership capability of the ruling party, tests the executive capability of the government, evaluates the mobilization capability of the state, and reflects the cohesion of the nation." Since the new era, China's major-country emergency system with Chinese characteristics has been advanced in a coordinated manner, continuously building a solid foundation for development security.

The more one faces disasters, the more one is tested for responsibility. Adhering to achieving political achievements for the people and achieving political achievements through practical work embodies the unchanging original aspiration of Chinese Communists.

"Our Party bears in mind that the country is the people and the people are the country, adheres to building the Party for the public and governing for the people, consciously practices the fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, and firmly stands with the people, thinks with the people, and works with the people, possessing a solid foundation that no wind or wave can shake."

Fearless of dangers, united in heart through wind and rain, 众志成城 (zhòng zhì chéng chéng - "many wills form a city wall," unity is strength) and advancing bravely and resolutely: "We have always grown through the baptism of wind and rain and strengthened through the test of trials. Everyone should be full of confidence."

(Staff reporters Deng Jianyang, Pang Geping, Li Weijun, Zhu Jiaqi, Liu Junguo, Liu Jiahua, Xu Jing, Pan Junqiang, Yang Xun, and Jin Bo participated in the reporting.)

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Zhejiang accelerates breakthroughs in frontier technology fields (Vitality China Research Trip)

By: 本报记者 武少民 何 聪 齐志明

The land of Zhejiang in August is full of vitality everywhere, with innovation energy surging—

In Hangzhou, Zhejiang, the "Three-Body Computing Constellation" (三体计算星座) has added two new computing satellites stably in orbit. The research team at Zhejiang Lab (之江实验室) has been conducting on-orbit validation of space artificial intelligence models for days on end, further expanding innovation scenarios for space AI;

At the Ningbo Humanoid Robot Innovation Center (宁波人形机器人创新中心) training workshop, self-developed humanoid robots are continuously undergoing iterative debugging of flexible garment process steps, and the plan for mass production and deployment of 2,000 customized devices has entered the detailed advancement stage;

At the Zhoushan dock, the nationally produced hundred-ton-class unmanned vessel "6081" has completed its long-voyage data review. The technical team, relying on the massive samples accumulated from open-sea navigation, continues to optimize the autonomous control algorithm for severe sea conditions with 30-degree rolling;

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A set of data outlines Zhejiang's scientific and technological innovation foundation: regional innovation capability ranked fourth in the country for four consecutive years; 15,637 specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises; the number of key "little giant" enterprises ranking among the forefront nationally; in 2025, the province's core artificial intelligence industry revenue reached 713.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20%.

In September 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized during his inspection of Zhejiang: "Zhejiang must take the lead in creating new development advantages through scientific and technological innovation. The enhancement of scientific and technological innovation capability must be placed in a more prominent position, integrating scientific and technological innovation forces and advantageous resources, and accelerating breakthroughs in frontier fields of science and technology."

Keeping the entrustment in mind, working hard and advancing with determination. Zhejiang is accelerating breakthroughs in frontier fields of science and technology, forging an all-chain innovation path of "from laboratory directly to production line," with scientific and technological achievements moving from single-point breakthroughs to full-domain coverage, transforming technological advantages into industrial competitiveness.

Building nests to attract talent, constructing a first-class innovation ecosystem across the entire region

Walking into Zhejiang Lab on the West Science and Technology Innovation Corridor in Hangzhou, on the large screen of the "Three-Body Computing Constellation" command center, the stable operating trajectories of more than 10 computing satellites are clearly displayed, with returned telemetry data scrolling in real time; in the open public spaces, young researchers can be seen everywhere conducting "brainstorming sessions."

Zhejiang Lab focuses on "the one thing of intelligent computing," twisting internal and external innovation resources into a single rope, jointly building a thousand-satellite-scale space computing constellation with global partners, achieving "computing power going to space, satellites interconnected, models going to space." To date, the constellation has completed the on-orbit deployment of 20 artificial intelligence models.

"It is precisely this efficient collaboration that allowed the constellation's 'one rocket, twelve satellites' maiden mission to be completed in 287 days," said Li Chao (李超), chief technical director of the Computing Constellation Scientific Mission Overall Department.

"The most important value of infrastructure lies in the enormous innovation space it leaves behind," said Wang Jian, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of Zhejiang Lab. "We adhere to the positioning of a non-profit new-type research institution. We do not produce satellites, nor do we compete with business entities for profit. Instead, we use scientific and technological innovation as a fulcrum to leverage the deep participation of diverse innovation entities in commercial aerospace, artificial intelligence, and other fields."

Moving the view from the sky to the earth, inside the "Light of Wuzhen" supercomputing center in Tongxiang (桐乡), Jiaxing, peak computing power of 181.9 quadrillion operations per second surges ceaselessly. Computing resources radiate across the Yangtze River Delta, with enterprises in Shanghai, Suzhou, Huzhou and other places sharing the national-level computing infrastructure, supporting collaborative innovation in the regional digital industry.

From "collaboration in the sky" to "sharing on the ground," Zhejiang is weaving a three-dimensional innovation infrastructure network, creating an excellent ecosystem of "building nests to attract talent" across the entire region. Adhering to the philosophy of "I am responsible for sunshine and rain; you are responsible for thriving growth," Zhejiang uses high-energy-level science and technology innovation platforms as the skeleton, cross-regional collaborative innovation as the bond, and a full-cycle policy and talent system as support, continuously nurturing soil suitable for innovation to grow, allowing all types of scientific and technological innovation entities to take root, develop, and grow.

Building a provincial strategic scientific and technological force matrix. Zhejiang coordinates the layout of major innovation carriers such as Zhejiang Lab and Yongjiang Lab (甬江实验室), focusing on frontier fields including artificial intelligence, advanced optoelectronics, and space-ground computing for original innovation. In recent years, national laboratories, national major scientific installations, and international major scientific programs have achieved breakthroughs from zero; national key laboratories have leaped to 38; 280 provincial key laboratories have completed restructuring and accreditation, forming a science and technology innovation platform system with differentiated coordination and full-domain coverage.

Deepening cross-regional university-local collaborative innovation. Zhejiang proactively undertakes high-quality science and education resources from Beijing and Shanghai, promoting the nearby transformation and application of high-end achievements through jointly built research institutes and industry-university-research bases. The Yangtze Delta Region Institute of Tsinghua University, Zhejiang (浙江清华长三角研究院), the Institute of Flexible Electronics Technology of Tsinghua University (清华柔性电子技术研究院), and the Yangtze River Delta Research Institute of Beijing Institute of Technology (北京理工大学长三角研究院) have successively settled in Jiaxing; the Moganshan Research Institute of Zhejiang University of Technology (浙工大莫干山研究院) has taken root in Huzhou; the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (杭州光学精密机械研究所) has settled in Fuchun Bay New City (富春湾新城) in Fuyang District (富阳区) after the comprehensive retreat of the traditional papermaking industry, incubating a number of "optics"-branded enterprises... Innovation resources are surging and accelerating along both banks of the Qiantang River.

Improving the all-factor innovation guarantee system. Zhejiang connects the entire chain of talent "introduction, cultivation, retention, and utilization"; has issued the "Double 12 Articles" policies for scientific and technological research and achievement transformation; accredited the first batch of 20 provincial-level concept verification centers; and built a full-lifecycle service network covering R&D, incubation, and industrialization.

"Zhejiang will consistently build a first-class innovation ecosystem, focus on the real needs of innovation entities such as talents, enterprises, and platforms, and promote the efficient flow and precise matching of various innovation factors," said Zhou Tufa (周土法), deputy director of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Science and Technology (浙江省科技厅).

Mutual advancement, accelerating the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation

Technology empowers industry; industry feeds back science and technology. Breaking through the bottleneck of achievement transformation, strengthening the chain-leading enterprises that pull the industrial chain, and expanding the cluster of science and technology innovation enterprises—in Zhejiang, a leapfrog path from scientific research advantages to industrial victory is becoming increasingly clear.

In Wenling (温岭), Taizhou, the Zhejiang provincial pilot-scale testing platform for high-end CNC machine tools and key technologies is running at full capacity: precision parameters are repeatedly debugged, process solutions are iteratively optimized. After laboratory prototypes undergo extreme testing, working condition simulation, and stability verification, they shed their experimental attributes and gain the conditions for industrialized mass production.

As a national-level pilot-scale testing platform key-cultivated by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (工业和信息化部), it directly faces the challenge of transforming achievements in the field of industrial mother machines, solving the bottlenecks of high costs for enterprises to build their own pilot-scale testing and the lack of verification scenarios. Relying on this platform, Zhejiang Haideman Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. (浙江海德曼智能装备股份有限公司) has completed deep adaptation of domestically produced artificial intelligence CNC systems, with machining precision improved by 30%, accelerating the localization of core technologies.

For scientific and technological innovation to land, the hurdle of pilot-scale testing must be crossed. Frontier achievements from the laboratory often get stuck at the gateway of process scale-up and stable mass production, struggling to move from the "bookshelf" to the "shelf." Adhering to the two-way resonance of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, Zhejiang concentrates on supplementing and strengthening the chain, laying out a batch of high-level pilot-scale testing platforms, building a complete closed loop of "basic research—technological breakthrough—pilot-scale verification—scale production," precisely clearing the blockage points of the "last mile" of achievement transformation, and continuously converting laboratory technologies into market competitiveness.

Inside the workshop of Shining 3D (先临三维) in Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou, self-developed 3D scanning equipment can complete workpiece shape acquisition in minutes, with measurement precision up to 4 microns. "High-end 3D vision equipment was long dependent on imports. We have continuously tackled key problems to achieve complete machine localization and technological self-reliance, and our products are now sold worldwide," said Huang Baochang (黄宝婵), director of the Development Department of Shining 3D.

Taizhou Xingkong Zhilian (台州星空智联) is deeply engaged in the R&D and manufacturing of satellite-borne intelligent equipment, driving the clustering of aerospace science and technology innovation enterprises and building a distinctive space intelligent manufacturing industry echelon; low-altitude logistics drones equipped with satellite communication links solve the problem of signal blind zones over islands, improving the efficiency of civilian logistics while also ensuring the transport of emergency medicines, broadening the application boundaries of scientific and technological achievements.

Beyond this, looking across the province, the scene of industrial chain leading enterprises' scientific research achievements landing in mass production can be seen everywhere—in Jiaxing, on the new materials production line of Huayou Cobalt (华友钴业), self-developed high-end lithium battery materials are coming off the line in batches; in Huzhou, Jiuli Special Materials (久立特材) has 16 new products breaking foreign monopolies, widely applied in the field of national energy security; in Shaoxing, Jingsheng Mechanical & Electrical (晶盛机电) has broken through foreign technological blockades and achieved domestic substitution... Chain-leading enterprises spearhead breakthroughs, driving the industrial chain to accelerate its leap toward the high end. Enterprises pose the questions, the government provides assistance, platforms answer the questions, workshops verify the answers, and the market evaluates—one industrial chain after another improves in quality through technological breakthroughs, gains efficiency through collaborative innovation, and becomes stronger through iterative upgrading.

At the same time, Zhejiang adheres to the integrated development of large, medium, and small enterprises, both strengthening the 顶天立地 (dǐng tiān lì dì - "head in the sky, feet on the ground," standing tall and upright) chain leaders and cultivating the 铺天盖地 (pū tiān gài dì - "spread across the sky, cover the earth," overwhelming and everywhere) seedlings, with the echelon of science and technology innovation enterprises rising in both quantity and quality.

Innovation data bears witness to the quality of development. In the first half of this year, the added value of high-tech industries above designated size in Zhejiang increased by 8%, with the number of key "little giant" enterprises ranking among the forefront nationally.

"The deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation is the key lever for cultivating new quality productive forces and reshaping industrial competitive advantages," said Huang Xurong (黄旭荣), deputy director of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Economy and Information Technology (浙江省经信厅). Zhejiang will continue to open up the entire innovation chain, promote the efficient transformation of scientific research achievements and the overall leap of the industrial chain, making science and technology a truly hardcore support for high-quality development.

Forward-looking layout, seizing the first opportunity in frontier tracks

In Hangzhou High-tech Zone (Binjiang) (杭州高新区（滨江）), a scenario experiment about future life is unfolding. Popcorn cup filling and delivery, kitchen cooking and recycling, logistics handling—these scenarios are being repeatedly tested at the National Artificial Intelligence Application Pilot-scale Testing Base (Embodied Intelligence) (国家人工智能应用中试基地（具身智能）). As the only national-level application pilot-scale testing base facing the embodied intelligence field in the national "AI+" strategic deployment, it has gathered more than 140 embodied intelligent robots, presenting nearly 40 application scenarios, and is known as the robots' "national-level vocational skills training ground."

"For cooking robots to truly achieve application, they must at least cross three thresholds: mobile positioning, precise operation, and human-robot interaction," said Yang Jiandang (杨建党), co-founder of Hangzhou Dashu Yunzhi Technology Co., Ltd. (杭州大数云智科技有限公司). "We jointly conduct R&D and testing with the pilot-scale testing base in real constructed scenarios, helping enterprises complete the full process from ordering, food retrieval, to recycling."

Artificial intelligence is a new engine for economic growth and an accelerator for the conversion of old and new drivers. Currently, Zhejiang is continuously promoting intelligent technology into real scenarios, seizing the first opportunity in frontier tracks. From January to June this year, the core artificial intelligence industry revenue of Zhejiang Province reached 429.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 25%; at present, the number of core artificial intelligence enterprises in the province has increased to 2,080, initially forming a full industrial chain pattern covering chips, large models, intelligent agents, and application services.

For humanoid robots to move toward industrial application, the key lies in continuously breaking through key core technologies and running out a commercial closed loop. In Ningbo, Xiong Rong (熊蓉), chief scientist and general manager of Zhejiang Humanoid Robot Innovation Center Co., Ltd., leads the team to explore a full-chain independent R&D path around robot body, perception, decision-making, control, and other links. In May this year, the company reached cooperation with Jack Technology (杰克科技), signing a contract for 2,000 customized humanoid robots for garment scenarios, moving from prototype verification to scaled application, creating the first batch-landing project record for humanoid robots in the global garment industry.

"We hope to use humanoid robot product development as a driver to drive the core component supply chain, allowing humanoid robots to land in more real scenarios," said Xiong Rong.

Intelligent technology is also releasing value in traditional industries. In April this year, China's first fully domestically produced hundred-ton-class unmanned vessel "6081," led by Zhejiang Beikun Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. (浙江北鲲智能科技有限公司), completed an autonomous voyage of 2,271 nautical miles round trip from Zhoushan to Sanya, lasting 248 hours round trip, with autonomous navigation time accounting for as high as 96.57%, setting a new domestic record for open-sea autonomous navigation of unmanned vessels.

"Under severe sea conditions, the hull may experience 30-degree rolling, greatly increasing the difficulty of manual control, while the unmanned vessel, relying on its autonomous control capability, can still maintain stable navigation," said Shao Junwei (邵俊玮), assistant general manager of Beikun Intelligent. Intelligent technology is extending into traditional marine industries. In the renovation of traditional fishing vessels, by adding functions such as intelligent navigation, remote control, and situational awareness, the safety and intelligence level of fishing vessels have been greatly improved.

From building the first national-level application pilot-scale testing base for the embodied intelligence field, to breaking through key core technologies of humanoid robots, to promoting intelligent technology to empower traditional industries, Zhejiang is accumulating new advantages for the development of frontier tracks.

"In the future, we will persist in treating artificial intelligence as the core variable for winning the future, accelerate the building of an intelligent economy industrial cluster with international competitiveness, and strive to reach 1.2 trillion yuan in core artificial intelligence industry revenue for the province by 2030," said Yan Xi'an (闫西安), deputy director of the Zhejiang Provincial Development and Reform Commission (浙江省发展改革委).

(Our reporters Liu Junguo (刘军国), Li Junqiang (李君强), and Dou Hao (窦皓) participated in the writing)

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Volunteers patrol river to protect ecology

August 15 is National Ecology Day. Across the country, activities of various forms and with local characteristics were organized to mark National Ecology Day, studying, publicizing, and implementing the ecological environment code, strengthening ecological civilization publicity and education, spreading the values of ecological civilization, popularizing and promoting green and low-carbon lifestyles, raising people's awareness of ecological civilization, and thickening the green foundation of Chinese-style modernization. (Related coverage on page 4)
　　Pictured is that day, volunteers patrolling and protecting the water along the Taihe River in Lizicun Village, Taiji Township, Qianjiang District, Chongqing.
　　Photo by Yang Min (Image China)

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Ancient City, New Trends

By: 本报记者 吴齐强 李 纵

Hand-pulled teapots, woodcarving, Chaozhou embroidery, ceramics, Gongfu tea... Outside the east gate of the ancient city of Chaozhou in Guangdong, along both sides of the 800-year-old Guangji Bridge, exhibition rooms of intangible cultural heritage stand in a row, with many citizens and tourists stopping to experience Chaozhou culture.
　　Chen Jia, a post-90s Chaozhou woodcarving artisan, was giving a live demonstration on site. As the carving knife moved, a piece of wood gradually revealed the outline of a lobster, a crab, and a bamboo basket. Surrounding tourists held up their phones and kept taking photos. Li Yan, who had brought her child out for the summer vacation, exclaimed: "Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times — this is truly masterful work!"
　　In October 2020, during an inspection tour in Chaozhou, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "It is necessary to strengthen the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage, actively cultivate inheritors, and let intangible cultural heritage radiate even more enchanting brilliance." "In the process of renovating the old city and developing the new city, it is necessary to protect the city's historical and cultural relics, continue the city's cultural lineage, and enable history and the contemporary era to complement each other."
　　Keeping the General Secretary's earnest instructions firmly in mind, Chaozhou has advanced the conservation and revitalization of the ancient city and the living inheritance of intangible cultural heritage skills, ensuring that old houses have people living in them and old crafts have people practicing them — inheriting through protection and innovating through inheritance.
　　Protection first, safeguarding the cultural roots.
　　Wiping the old patterned tiles, watering the green plants... At 6 a.m., on the Archway Street of the ancient city of Chaozhou, Zhang Qingchun, the owner of "Xue Ju" (Snow Residence), began his busy day: "My most important task every day is to 'nurse' the old house." This old residence has been transformed into a composite space of "coffee + Gongfu tea," attracting numerous tourists.
　　Stained glass windows, Chaozhou woodcarving, Nanyang patterned tiles... "Xue Ju" is a representative of the architectural style combining Chinese and Western elements. As time passed, the old residence's ceiling aged, the patterned tiles were damaged, and the walls peeled.
　　Under the guidance of the relevant departments of Chaozhou, Zhang Qingchun insisted during the restoration that the ceiling be repaired rather than demolished wherever possible, and that the patterned tiles be patched rather than replaced. "Try to keep the old objects as much as possible — even if they are incomplete, they still have their meaning."
　　Chaozhou has implemented the "a hundred families repair a hundred houses" (百家修百厝) initiative, refraining from large-scale demolition and construction, adhering to minimal intervention, mobilizing the masses to participate in the restoration of ancient dwellings, and applying targeted policies of "one policy per household."
　　To date, most of the over a thousand ancient buildings and old residences in the ancient city have been restored. The ancient city still houses 58,000 residents, who brew Gongfu tea in the morning and sing Chaozhou opera in the evening — full of the vitality of everyday life.
　　Cultivating talent, inheriting intangible cultural heritage skills.
　　In the hand-pulled teapot workshop of Zhang Haiyuan in Xitang Village, Zhang Haiyuan was guiding his son in making a hand-pulled teapot. As the clay teapot blank was kneaded, pressed, pulled, and shaped, a hand-pulled teapot gradually took form. Born in 1975, Zhang Haiyuan is the fifth-generation inheritor of the "Lao Anshun" hand-pulled teapot, having learned the craft from his grandfather and father since the age of 8.
　　Today, Zhang Haiyuan's son has also inherited the craft of his forebears. In Zhang Haiyuan's workshop are displayed four teapots, called "four generations under one roof" — one made by his grandfather, one by his father, one by Zhang Haiyuan himself, and one by his son. "Several generations making the same teapot — this is inheritance," said Zhang Haiyuan.
　　Since 2020, Chaozhou has continuously strengthened the tiered development of intangible cultural heritage inheritors, adding 83 new representative inheritors at the municipal level.
　　Innovating business forms, radiating cultural vitality.
　　Today, in the ancient city covering an area of approximately 2.33 square kilometers, business forms such as intangible cultural heritage workshops, cultural homestays, and immersive performances are emerging one after another. Featured programs including Chaozhou big gongs and drums, Chaozhou opera, cloth-horse dance, Yingge dance, dragon dance, and lion dance are embedded throughout various activities across the year, and multiple projects have been selected as typical cases of the revitalization and utilization of cultural relics and historic sites in Guangdong Province.
　　Painting on facial makeup, putting on opera costumes, learning Yingge dance movements... Walking to the northern section of the ancient city's Archway Street, inside the Chaozhou Fucheng Yingge Dance Immersive Experience Hall, the walls are hung with historical photographs of Yingge dance and costume exhibits. Visitors can admire the costume exhibits, learn about Yingge culture, sit around tea tables to watch a professional performance, and then participate in interactive experiences.
　　"We have created an immersive experience project integrating Yingge dance costume display, movement instruction, and live-scene performance, allowing visitors to move from 'watching' to 'participating' and truly feel the unique charm of intangible cultural heritage," introduced Hong Fang, the person in charge of the experience hall.
　　In the first half of this year, Chaozhou's tourist reception volume increased by 25.5% year-on-year, and domestic tourism revenue increased by 33.9% year-on-year.
　　Thoroughly studying and implementing Xi Jinping's cultural thought, Chaozhou is doing the work of conserving and revitalizing the ancient city of Chaozhou with the effort of 绣花功夫 (xiù huā gōng fu - "embroidery skill," meticulous and painstaking effort), allowing the thousand-year-old ancient city to radiate the new charm of the era.

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Calculate Three Accounts Well, Steadily Advance the Green Path (Today's Talk)

By: 高世林

This year on August 15, the Ecological Environment Code of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国生态环境法典) began implementation. Good laws promote good governance; the key lies in grasping the main thread in implementation and enforcement — promoting high-quality development with high-level rule of law.

The Ecological Environment Code is an important support for taking the path of ecological priority and green development. In implementation, it should be grasped from the height of serving the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development, organically unifying the purpose of law enforcement with the form of law enforcement. While calculating the ecological account well, one must also calculate the economic account and the livelihood account well, making green waters and green mountains become the "mountain of happiness to lean on."

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Law enforcement must have both strength and warmth." The process of "treating the disease" of the Yangtze River is a vivid example: chemical enterprises along the river were cleared out, but not by simply shutting them down — instead, support and policies were simultaneously provided, promoting industries to move toward green and climb toward new heights; the ten-year fishing ban was launched, but not by simply sealing off — instead, tens of billions of yuan in compensation and subsidies were implemented, jobs were developed to arrange employment, and more than 200,000 fishermen withdrew from fishing and transitioned to other industries... While strictly abiding by the law, practical and feasible governance plans were introduced, holding the bottom line while also opening up new paths.

Making good use of the Code, achieving 刚柔并济 (gāng róu bìng jì - "firmness and gentleness combined," to balance strictness with flexibility), combining guidance and blocking, will surely better realize the coordinated improvement of ecological benefits with economic benefits and social benefits.

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How a jar of sour soup travels from the mountains to the table (Striving for the 15th Five-Year Plan: Reports from the Frontline)

Adapting to the consumption needs of different groups to expand high-quality supply, and promoting relatively rapid growth in the consumption of goods and services across the whole of society.
　　——Excerpted from the Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan
　　
　　"Emerging from the Mountains" —
　　Exploring the Flavor Code, Achieving Standardized Production
　　By our reporter Su Bin
　　After traveling around the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture in Guizhou Province, Zhejiang tourist Chen Mingjie was still drawn back by that sour aroma that goes straight up the nose, and once again checked in at a sour soup hotpot restaurant in Kaili City. The bright red soup bubbled and churned, the pungent fragrance of litsea cubeba mixed with the sweet-and-sour taste of fermented tomatoes, carrying heat that brushed against the face.
　　Chen Mingjie picked up a piece of beef, swished it in the pot, and rolled it in the dipping sauce bowl — the smoky aroma of crushed chili, the crisp freshness of fish mint, the crunch of fried soybeans, all mixed with the umami of the sour soup. The moment it hit his mouth, he could not help slapping the table: "The sourness is mellow, the spiciness is gentle, and the freshness of the beef is completely brought out by the sour soup!" He also drank two bowls of the sour soup, fine sweat beading on his forehead.
　　"Go three days without sour food, and you'll stagger when you walk." Because of a long historical shortage of salt, sour soup became the local people's traditional food of "using sourness to replace salt." Every household has an earthen jar, and every household knows the traditional method: mash tomatoes, red chili, litsea cubeba, ginger, and other ingredients in a certain proportion, seal them in a jar, and ferment for 3 to 6 months to obtain a sour-and-spicy, delicious red sour soup. With the development of tourism, this home-style flavor of an ethnic minority has gradually won over more diners' taste buds.
　　Constrained by factors such as the need for natural fermentation in the production process and reliance on experience, once produced on a large scale, the taste and flavor of sour soup could not be guaranteed. This made it, for a long time, merely a local delicacy, difficult to "emerge from the deep mountains." In recent years, however, from finished soup bases, instant noodles and rice noodles, to freshly made dishes in restaurants... its presence has been seen more and more in supermarkets and commercial districts across the country. How did Guizhou sour soup "emerge from the mountains"?
　　"We have more than 100 sour soup products in 9 major categories, supplying the whole country and even markets in Europe, America, and Southeast Asia." At Guizhou Yumei Food (Group) Co., Ltd., the reporter saw bottled sour soup, bagged sour soup base, boxed sour soup rice noodles, and other products. The company's deputy general manager, Zhong Dingjiang, introduced that the company has achieved scaled production of sour soup, with 2025 production capacity of nearly 40,000 tons and output value of 534 million yuan.
　　"To become a national delicacy, we must use technological innovation to promote the transformation of traditional sour soup techniques, lock in the distinctive flavor, and achieve standardized production." Huang Yongguang, dean of the School of Liquor and Food Engineering at Guizhou University, believes that technology is the key to Guizhou sour soup achieving "local characteristics + global market."
　　But achieving a technological breakthrough is not easy. How can a production technique passed down by word of mouth and by hand from master to apprentice be standardized and replicable?
　　"We have long cooperated with more than 10 universities including Southwest University and Guizhou University, established a Sour Soup Research Institute, and formed an innovation team of more than 20 people. In 2020, we found 2 core fermentation strains from a microbial flora of over a hundred strains, ensuring stable flavor, standard controllability, and no longer limited production capacity." Zhong Dingjiang said the company invests more than 5 million yuan in research and development each year, cracking the "flavor code" of sour soup.
　　But a new problem emerged: the main raw materials of sour soup are seasonal vegetables, with obvious seasonality. How to solve fresh supply?
　　"If the raw materials are not fresh, no matter how good the technique, it's useless." Zhong Dingjiang explained that the company developed cellar storage preservation and secondary brewing technology. "After the raw materials are picked the same day, they are first stored in the cellar for 3 months, then undergo the first fermentation; 3 months later, they are mixed in a certain proportion into jars, with auxiliary ingredients and strains added, for a 6-month secondary fermentation. This ensures that while sour soup is industrially produced, its distinctive flavor is preserved — more stable, more mellow, and more gentle."
　　Having overcome the technical challenge of "being able to produce," sour soup also needs to "sell well." Zhong Dingjiang conducts market research every year, segmenting the market according to the eating habits of different regions and different groups — sour soup sold to Guangdong should have less litsea cubeba to reduce pungency; sour soup going to Shanghai gets a bit more sugar; that for Henan, a bit more salt. As for sourness and spiciness, these can also be controlled in the fermentation stage to achieve customized production.
　　"Sour soup is a seasoning. I hope that wherever there is a kitchen, there is sour soup." Zhong Dingjiang said. The company cooperates both with large supermarkets such as Yonghui and China Resources, and with catering enterprises such as Haidilao, embedding itself in the national catering consumer goods industry chain by supplying raw materials.
　　Grinding, stir-frying, sterilizing, filling... In the Yumei Food production workshop, bags of sour soup products labeled "Yonghui Customized" were conveyed off the assembly line. "Today's consumers pursue health, convenience, and deliciousness. Developing products oriented to market demand, the sour soup industry still has great potential." Huo Huawei, chief adjustment and renovation coach for Yonghui Supermarket's Yunnan-Guizhou region, explained that Yonghui and Yumei Food use a customized production cooperation model. "We send a quality control team to the factory to strictly control quality and safety according to consumer demand."
　　From a jar of sour soup to an industry, Guizhou has gradually formed a complete upstream and downstream sour soup industry chain, with more than 70 production enterprises, annual production capacity of 270,000 tons, and annual comprehensive output value exceeding 10 billion yuan. Some enterprises adhere to the traditional earthen jar fermentation technique, while others use technology to shorten the fermentation cycle, jointly promoting sour soup's "emergence from the mountains."
　　
　　"Entering the Cities" —
　　Creating Consumption Scenarios, Innovating Product Supply
　　By our reporter Ji Juesu
　　"Let's just sit outside — it's comfortable!" On a weekend evening, on the first floor of the Raffles City in Changning District, Shanghai, at the entrance of Meiguo bistro, many customers were eating and chatting, occasionally raising their phones to take photos. The evening breeze blew gently, and the green plants and flowers at the door swayed. The hurried footsteps of the commercial district suddenly slowed down here.
　　Bringing distinctive southwestern regional flavors into popular commercial districts of first- and second-tier cities, and transforming traditional dining into more relaxed and pleasant gathering scenes — in recent years, this type of bistro has become popular among young consumers. Among them, Guizhou flavors, with their relatively rare dishes in the past and highly recognizable tastes such as sour soup, fermented chili, and litsea cubeba, carrying a natural wildness, have attracted particular attention.
　　How did a jar of Guizhou sour soup go from a local niche cuisine to a new source of foot traffic in big-city commercial districts?
　　During visits, the reporter found that Guizhou bistros are mostly located on the first floor of commercial districts, with outdoor seating areas reserved, plants extending from outside the store to inside, decor incorporating natural materials such as thatch, stone, and wood, and tables and chairs arranged loosely — many even using roll-up tables and outdoor folding chairs, suitable for two or three people to sit and chat... These designs are all redefining the consumption scenario of Guizhou cuisine. Consumers are not just buying food; they are also paying for the rustic ambiance and emotional value.
　　"This coincides with consumption trends in recent years." Meiguo's person in charge, Yuan Jiahao, found that after camping, city walking, and outdoor lifestyles became popular, young people's acceptance of a sense of wilderness has grown. Guizhou bistros combine the natural atmosphere of the southwest with the relaxed feel of an urban bistro, meeting consumers' needs for dining, socializing, relaxation, and sharing.
　　A person who has long followed catering investment and recruitment told the reporter that because they offer both a sense of novelty and visual appeal, and can bring a new consumption narrative, bistros have been quite welcomed by commercial district investment recruiters in the past two years.
　　What makes a store able to stop people is the scene; what makes them come again still depends on the dishes.
　　"The characteristics of Guizhou sour soup are very distinct — fermented aroma, sharp sourness — but when entering a new market and facing many customers trying this flavor for the first time, the proportions need to be re-calibrated." Meiguo's executive chef Li Shuang said he often goes to Guizhou, Yunnan, and other places, not only to select raw materials but also to study how locals make sour soup and use spices. After returning to Shanghai, he adjusts the dishes round after round, and the final adjusted sourness is brighter, with a cleaner finish, and the freshness of the fish can be brought out more completely.
　　Some traditional dishes also incorporate Western cooking methods, using techniques such as baking, simmering, and slow reduction. The presentation of dishes has also changed — portions are more moderate, suitable for two or three people to order several dishes and share; tableware is more varied, with copper pots, shallow plates, and stemmed glasses coming to the table together. It is still the taste of sour soup, but placed on different tables, it takes on new presentations.
　　Meiguo alone has more than 200 stores nationwide. Li Shuang has calculated that all stores consume 1 to 2 tons of sour soup base daily, or 50 to 60 tons a month. Benefiting from the improvement of the industry and supply chain and the efficiency of transportation and logistics, the materials are all directly supplied from Kaili City, Guizhou.
　　Liu Huan, founder of Shanshiliu Guizhou Cuisine, explained that in the past, local cuisine easily fell into the predicament of "changing flavor once leaving its place of origin." Now, raw materials such as chili, tomato, and litsea cubeba can be purchased centrally, sour soup undergoes more stable fermentation and processing at the place of origin, is delivered to stores across the country via cold chain, and is then cooked by chefs. Differences between regions and between stores are minimized as much as possible. As a result, shopping malls dare to introduce it, franchisees dare to expand, and consumers can more easily form stable expectations and taste local-flavored cuisine.
　　This is precisely the key to Guizhou sour soup's ability to "enter the cities" and spread across the length and breadth of the country. The more modern catering industry chain is continuously improving: the front end involves commercial district recruitment, store location selection, space design, and brand operation; the back end involves raw material procurement, base processing, cold-chain distribution, and standardized output. Sour soup is transforming from a local method of the deep mountains and kitchen stoves into a product system that can be stably produced, transported, and delivered.
　　Guizhou bistros may seem like a dining trend, but behind them lies an industrial upgrade aimed at expanding high-quality supply. The dining tables of the cities and the places of origin in the villages are thus connected by a jar of sour soup.

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Effectively safeguard the safety of people's lives and property and maintain social stability

By: 本报记者 王 浩 刘温馨 张艺开

The Qiushi journal published on August 16 carried an important article by General Secretary Xi Jinping, "Enhancing the Capacity for Disaster Prevention, Mitigation, and Relief." The article emphasizes: "Strive to give play to strengths, shore up weaknesses, and reinforce weak links, continuously improving the capacity and level of preventing and responding to various natural disasters, and effectively safeguarding the safety of people's lives and property and social stability."

On July 30, General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. The meeting emphasized: "Solidly carry out all work for flood prevention, emergency response, and disaster relief, and make every effort to safeguard the safety of people's lives and property."

"This is one of the things I am most concerned about."

General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly urged with concern: "We must treat flood prevention, flood fighting, and disaster relief as a major task, and place ensuring the safety of the people's lives first" and "Party members and cadres must charge ahead, and primary-level Party organizations must play their role, so that the people feel they have someone to rely on."

In the midst of wind and rain, the General Secretary has always had the people in his heart; the Party and the government have always stood with the people, 风雨同舟 (fēng yǔ tóng zhōu - "same boat in wind and rain," standing together through adversity) and walking hand in hand.

"Deeply rooted in the people, always possessing a solid foundation." The key code to why the CPC can do it has become even clearer in the wind and rain.

In the Heart: Concern for the People's Safety

"I have always been thinking of the people in the disaster-affected areas"

In the mud, clumps of jasmine plants are putting forth new buds.

Flushing silt, pruning, disinfecting — the flower fields that were soaked by floodwaters are recovering. Xie Shaokui, a flower farmer in Lingjiao Village, Xiaoyi Town, Hengzhou City, Guangxi, is busy with field management. "The buds have sprouted, so hope has returned."

Ma Jinsen, a senior agronomist at the Hengzhou Jasmine Flower Industry Service Center, has plunged into the farmland to teach farmers techniques. "No need to fear the flooding — as long as follow-up management is in place, we can wait for the flowers to bloom."

Six out of every ten jasmine flowers in the world come from Hengzhou. The jasmine with its tenacious root system is a symbol of resilient vitality.

The floodwaters have receded, mountain roads are gradually reopening, and power supply has been restored... Guangxi has fully resumed production and living order and is solidly advancing post-disaster reconstruction.

In early July, Typhoon Maysak struck Guangxi with historically rare persistent heavy rainfall, causing reservoir breaches, urban waterlogging, and loss of contact in villages. The severe flood situation was deeply worrying.

General Secretary Xi Jinping was very concerned and very worried about the disaster-affected people, and made important instructions emphasizing: "Make every effort to organize rescue operations, treatment of the injured, and resettlement of the people, minimize casualties to the greatest extent, and guard against secondary disasters."

The flood situation is a command, and responsibility is heavier than Mount Tai. Under the strong leadership and effective command of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the National Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, the National Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Relief Commission, and the Ministry of Emergency Management strengthened overall coordination and command dispatch. All forces moved upon receiving orders, racing against time (争分夺秒, zhēng fēn duó miǎo - "race for minutes, seize seconds," every moment counts), and made every effort to carry out disaster relief.

Zhenlong Township in Hengzhou City, hidden in the folds of the mountains, became an "isolated island" in the flood.

He Chunhuan, director of the Rescue Coordination Department of China Anneng Nanning Detachment, thought: "Every meter we advance brings us one meter closer to the trapped people." More than a dozen excavators moved along steep mountain roads, their tracks almost hugging the cliff edges. Yang Guangchun, director of the Hengzhou Fire and Rescue Bureau, led four team members on foot to break through and repair the roads... For six days and five nights, they marched against the wind and rain, and the lifeline of transportation was opened up inch by inch.

At the Xijiang Education Park in Guigang City, Guangxi, another "isolated island" surrounded by floodwaters appeared. The People's Liberation Army arrived, fire and rescue personnel arrived, and the "rescue aircraft carrier" — the powered pontoon bridge — arrived. All 12,000 teachers and students were safely evacuated.

From the "isolated island" rescue in response to Typhoon Maysak to the all-out emergency response to Typhoon Dolphin, the value foundation of "people first, life first" has become ever more solid.

Since the start of this year's flood season, extreme weather has been frequent and recurrent, and the flood prevention situation has been severe and complex. No matter how busy, the General Secretary has kept disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief work close to his heart.

On June 30, the General Secretary presided over a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. The meeting studied and deployed flood prevention and drought relief work, emphasizing that the safety of people's lives must always be placed first.

On July 15, during an inspection trip to Shanghai, the General Secretary urged: "Solidly carry out flood prevention, flood fighting, and disaster relief work, and effectively safeguard the safety of people's lives and property."

On July 30, the General Secretary presided over a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. The meeting made arrangements for solidly carrying out all work for flood prevention, emergency response, and disaster relief.

…………

Governing is like farming — one thinks of it day and night. The concern of "always unable to set aside worries" (时时放心不下) is the sense of responsibility of having everything settled in one's mind.

"When I worked at the local level, I had to be on duty during holidays and festivals, afraid that something might happen" and "Leading cadres must have a strong sense of responsibility" — General Secretary Xi Jinping spoke with 语重心长 (yǔ zhòng xīn cháng - "words weighty, heart deep," sincere and earnest).

When working in Fujian, Comrade Xi Jinping already adhered to the principle "Better to prepare ten times and have it be in vain nine times than to be unprepared when needed." When preventing typhoons and floods in Zhejiang, he repeatedly promoted the "evacuation of one million people." When working in Shanghai, he put forward the requirement "to achieve zero deaths, fewer injuries, and fewer losses."

From local to central, this has been 一以贯之 (yī yǐ guàn zhī - "one thread running through," consistent throughout). He deployed monitoring, forecasting, and early warning, requiring "advance issuance of early warning information and timely activation of emergency responses"; he deployed patrol and danger elimination, emphasizing "strengthening key defense of weak sections and dangerous works"; he deployed evacuation and risk avoidance, urging "timely organization of evacuation of personnel in dangerous areas"... Item by item, case by case, with meticulous guidance — all for the purpose of safeguarding the people's lives and safety with thorough preparation.

One recalls that in July 2021, during an inspection trip to Tibet, General Secretary Xi Jinping learned that Henan had been hit by extreme heavy rainfall and immediately made important instructions. Every day of the inspection, the flood situation and the progress of flood prevention and fighting were placed on the General Secretary's desk at the earliest opportunity.

One recalls that during the 2023 flood season, the Hai River experienced a basin-wide catastrophic flood. While inspecting Sichuan, General Secretary Xi Jinping already required flood prevention preparations; on the way back to Beijing, he worried about the escalating rainstorm warnings over the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region; when a train was trapped on the outskirts of Beijing, he thought of the passengers lacking food and clothing and instructed "mobilize every possible means to organize rescue."

The concern of "always unable to set aside worries" is the sentiment of doing everything for the people.

By the Huai River, at Xitianpo Elevated Village Terrace (庄台), Limin Village, Caoji Town, Funan County, Anhui, flowers are red and trees are green. Villager Gao Yufang said with emotion: "Now the terrace is more solid, and the gorgon fruit and peanuts are very popular with tourists. Life is full of flavor."

During the 2020 flood season, Anhui fought on three fronts across the north and south. By the Huai River, along the Yangtze shoreline, on the Chao Lake embankments... Under the scorching sun, the General Secretary traveled tirelessly, and one of his stops was Xitianpo Elevated Village Terrace.

Seeing the General Secretary arrive, the villagers excitedly gathered around, vying to report. The General Secretary listened, sweat dripping down his cheeks into the soil beneath his feet, and urged: "Arrange production and living according to local conditions, 因地制宜 (yīn dì zhì yí - "adapt measures to local conditions"), promoting strengths and avoiding weaknesses (扬长避短, yáng cháng bì duǎn - "promote strengths, avoid weaknesses")."

From solving immediate difficulties to long-term development, the General Secretary carefully planned for this terrace in the flood storage area. Caoji Town has kept the instructions in mind, implementing on one hand the relocation of residents and on the other hand improving the living environment and developing rural tourism and other industries. Today, the terrace is becoming a "terrace of happiness."

"I have always been thinking of the people in the disaster-affected areas" and "When the people are in their most difficult times, the Party and the government are everyone's strong support" — such is the depth of his concern and affection.

In mid-July this year, Typhoon Bavi made landfall in Zhejiang.

In Zhoudun Village, Zhourang Town, Wencheng County, Wenzhou, violent wind and rain raged outside the windows, but inside the resettlement site it was warm and cozy. "Food and lodging are taken care of, and doctors come every day to check blood pressure." Villager Huang Caihong was brought down the mountain by Party branch secretary Hu Zhixu before the typhoon made landfall.

Opening Hu Zhixu's phone memos: Uncle Lisou's chickens and ducks need to be fed on time, Aunt Cuihua's blood pressure medication is almost finished... "This temporary 'home' is also a warm 'home' for the villagers," Hu Zhixu said.

"Better to prepare ten times and have it be in vain than to be caught unprepared even once; better to hear complaints beforehand than to hear weeping afterward; better to believe it will come than to believe it will not; better to believe it will be severe than to believe it will be mild." Comrade Xi Jinping, then Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, faced the frequent typhoon and flood disasters, and after in-depth investigation and practical experience, clearly put forward the important concept of the "Four Rathers" (四个宁可), which established a scientific methodology for flood and typhoon prevention, disaster prevention and mitigation, and grassroots risk governance.

The more violent the wind and waves, the more clearly one sees the 砥柱中流 (dǐ zhù zhōng liú - "a pillar in the midstream," a stabilizing force). "The lives of ordinary people are family matters, but they are also affairs of the state" — this is a promise as heavy as a thousand jun, and it is also the pure heart of the people's leader.

Underfoot: Measuring the Safety of Homes

"After a major flood and major disaster, there must be major construction and major governance"

The rain has passed and the sky has cleared; the plums on the branches are fresh and glistening. In Zhujiagou Village, Mingshui Manchu Township, Suizhong County, Huludao City, Liaoning, Wang Baowei, who had just finished farm work, spoke briskly: "The drainage ditches are very effective — the orchard barely had any water accumulation."

In August 2024, Huludao City was hit by extreme heavy rainfall, and Zhujiagou Village was one of the villages hardest hit. Through disaster resistance, disaster relief, and post-disaster reconstruction, a "New Zhujia Village" rose miraculously in just 40 days.

"I have always been concerned, and during that period I was learning about the situation there every day." In January 2025, General Secretary Xi Jinping traveled by train and then by car to the village. "Your hopes are also our hopes. Let us work together to make a better life." The General Secretary's words were both a blessing and a promise.

In hope there is a stable life. Wang Baowei's new home is built with rubble concrete, with running water piped in. "This year, the plum harvest is good, and the farmhouse restaurant is also thriving." As he spoke, his phone rang — it was a reservation call.

In hope there is a happy home. "The village collective has built 8 constant-temperature storage facilities, 1 cold storage facility, and 5 greenhouse sheds — our family foundation is stronger." said Wang Lili, Party branch secretary of the village.

A new life is a new starting point and new hope. "After a major flood and major disaster, there must be major construction and major governance" — post-disaster recovery and reconstruction have been planned at the strategic height of being responsible to history and responsible to the people.

Before the Spring Festival of 2022, he went deep into Shanxi's autumn flood disaster areas and emphasized "shoring up shortcomings in disaster prevention infrastructure and enhancing disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief capacity."

In November 2023, when inspecting post-disaster recovery and reconstruction work in Beijing and Hebei, he pointed out: "Adhere to a systematic approach, adhere to seeking truth from facts, scientific planning, and rational layout."

Before the Spring Festival of 2024, he went to Tianjin to visit and express sympathy to grassroots cadres and the masses, requiring "innovating urban governance and strengthening the construction of resilient and safe cities."

Underfoot, he has walked across fields and paths, traversed mountains and rivers — what he contemplates is the safe settlement of disaster-affected areas, and what he cares about is always the people's aspiration for a better life.

Emergency rescue and disaster relief and assistance to the affected people are advanced as one. "While doing a good job in emergency rescue and disaster relief, we must also promptly resume production and living order."

The people's urgent difficulties and anxieties cannot be delayed or waited for. In September 2023, when he came to Longwangmiao Village, Laojieji Township, Shangzhi City, Heilongjiang, the General Secretary said with 语重心长: "Food, drink, housing, transportation, employment, education, medical care and epidemic prevention — governments at all levels must handle all these things one by one."

The recovery of agricultural production after disasters bears on food security. In November 2023, the General Secretary came to Zhuozhou, Hebei for an inspection. He got out of the vehicle midway, walked along the field ridges, and entered a farmland, urging: "Organize and arrange agricultural production for this winter and next spring, and strive for a good harvest next year."

"An important manifestation of the superiority of our socialist system lies in times of crisis and danger." In responding to this year's flood situation and disasters, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management together pre-allocated 1.7 billion yuan in central government natural disaster relief funds to support local disaster emergency rescue and relief work. The National Development and Reform Commission arranged 30 million yuan to support Jilin's post-typhoon and rainstorm flood disaster emergency recovery. The National Financial Regulatory Administration promptly deployed requirements for the entire system and the banking and insurance industries to optimize insurance survey and claims settlement and ensure basic financial services... Thinking ahead, acting ahead, item after item of measures has been implemented.

Cities and villages, adapted to local conditions. "Urban recovery and reconstruction should do a good job in disaster prevention and mitigation feasibility planning" and "coordinate post-disaster recovery and reconstruction with rural revitalization."

From July 10 to 12 this year, Beijing experienced heavy rainfall, with the maximum precipitation in Pinggu District. "At the high point of the village there is a 'highland fortress.' Everyone quickly moved there — this place really comes through when it matters." said Li Na, a villager in Taoyuan Village, Zhenluoying Town, Pinggu District. In "peacetime" it serves as the village committee office; in "emergencies" it can be used for emergency shelter. Beijing has built 1,052 "highland fortresses" in mountainous villages.

From the "15th Five-Year Plan for Urban Renewal" deploying "advancing the construction of dual-use public infrastructure for peacetime and emergency in cities," to the "15th Five-Year Plan for Accelerating Agricultural and Rural Modernization" proposing "comprehensively enhancing agricultural disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief capacity," the development of both cities and countryside marks the warmth of people's livelihood.

The present and the long term, planned systematically. "Closely integrate recovery and reconstruction with promoting high-quality development, building resilient cities, advancing rural revitalization, and promoting ecological civilization construction."

At the Tuanzhou polder (团洲垸) by Dongting Lake, new stories of farm households come one after another.

Li Faqian, a villager from Tuanzhou Community, counted on his fingers: "Rice-crayfish co-cropping — one mu of field, two sources of income. The surrounding ditches and machine roads have all been repaired, so farming is worry-free."

On July 5, 2024, a breach occurred in the Dongting Lake first-line embankment at the Tuanzhou polder in Tuanbei Village, Tuanzhou Township, Huarong County, Yueyang City, Hunan. After the danger occurred, General Secretary Xi Jinping made important instructions, requiring all-out efforts to carry out rescue and relief operations.

Two years have passed, and the Tuanzhou polder has been "reborn." Four resettlement communities have been built in three phases, with sports parks and senior activity centers following. "We are building a medium-rice demonstration base and a ten-thousand-mu rapeseed flower sea, taking the path of integrating 'technology + agriculture, culture, and tourism.'" said Liu Ping, deputy secretary of the Tuanzhou Township Party Committee.

Plain promises contain the original aspiration of the leader of a major party and major country: "Continue to implement post-disaster recovery and reconstruction work item by item, continue to strive to push people's lives toward a better direction, and let the common people live even better lives in the future!"

In the Roots: Building the Safety of Development

"People's livelihood is paramount; water management is essential"

Water is the foundation of survival, and the tranquility of rivers concerns the safety of development.

During the 2023 flood season, the Hai River experienced a basin-wide catastrophic flood. "During that period, I paid attention to the disaster situation every day and directed the disaster relief work." How to comprehensively enhance flood prevention capacity — General Secretary Xi Jinping pondered and planned.

The Yongding River is one of the seven major water systems of the Hai River basin. In November 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping came to the Sanjiadian Water Diversion Hub on the Yongding River and emphasized: "After going through a disaster, we must sum up experience and 举一反三 (jǔ yī fǎn sān - "from one example infer three," draw inferences from one instance), so that we have more complete plans and better measures in disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief."

In that flood, Diliubu Village, Xinkou Town, Xiqing District, Tianjin, by the Ziya River in the Hai River basin, also suffered disaster.

On the eve of the Spring Festival of 2024, the General Secretary came to Diliubu Village. At the home of villager Du Honggang, he calculated the disaster losses and post-disaster production development and employment income accounts line by line with the family.

The General Secretary's words were resolute: "The Party Central Committee has made up its mind to work hard to build water conservancy and flood prevention projects better for the people's peaceful settlement and happy work."

Revisiting Diliubu Village, the embankments have been reinforced and thickened, irrigation and drainage pumping stations have been upgraded, and flood discharge channels have been widened. It is now the critical period for flood prevention in the north, and village cadres are patrolling the embankments on duty and visiting households one by one.

Hao Qingshui, Party branch secretary and village committee director of Diliubu Village, spoke of the changes: "Now that the flood prevention projects are built, rural development must keep up. The village has set up 'wealth creation workshops' to let 'Diliubu assured vegetables' reach a broader market."

The Yangtze, the Yellow, the Huai, the Hai... General Secretary Xi Jinping's footsteps across rivers and through mud embody his deep concern for the tranquility of rivers and his profound sentiment of "people's livelihood is paramount; water management is essential."

The way of water management is connected to the way of governing the country. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, among the things General Secretary Xi Jinping has inspected most, "water" has been one of the themes. The deep logic behind this constant attention (念兹在兹, niàn zī zài zī - "ever mindful of this," constantly attentive) is precisely the governing philosophy that the people's happy life is "the great affair of the state" (国之大者).

Planning with a long-term perspective: "Chinese-style modernization also includes the modernization of water conservancy and the modernization of emergency management."

China is one of the countries in the world most severely affected by natural disasters. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out: "Water security is a major matter concerning the long-term stability of the country" and "be willing to spend money, be willing to put in effort."

In deploying the construction of a safe Yangtze, he emphasized: "Improve the Yangtze's water disaster monitoring and early warning, disaster prevention and control, and emergency rescue systems, and advance comprehensive river channel management and embankment reinforcement." Traveling the entire length of the Yellow River from upper to lower reaches, he maintained vigilance in times of peace (居安思危, jū ān sī wēi - "in safety think of danger," be prepared for crisis): "Based on preparedness for major floods and major disasters, promptly identify and fill gaps in response to the weak links exposed by flood prevention and disaster relief."

…………

The consideration of "willing to spend money, willing to put in effort" has been incorporated into the "15th Five-Year Plan" outline — strengthening the national water network construction, enhancing flood disaster defense, water resources coordinated allocation, and urban-rural water supply guarantee capacity.

Planning with a systematic approach: "Adhere to the principle of prevention first, combining prevention, resistance, and relief" and "improve the emergency command mechanism under the framework of major safety and major emergency."

In responding to Typhoon Maysak, the Guangdong Fire and Rescue Mobile Corps urgently dispatched 200 fire and rescue personnel, 34 fire trucks, and 17 boats and rafts, carrying more than 600 sets of rescue equipment, to support Hengzhou, Guangxi overnight.

In responding to Typhoon Bavi, Zhejiang completed risk screening of 11,500 key mountain flood villages; Hebei used SMS and phone calls to notify responsible persons 57,000 person-times, and safely evacuated 250,800 people in advance.

In responding to Typhoon Noul, water conservancy departments coordinated the dispatch of reservoir groups in the Pearl River basin for advance pre-release and storage, reserving 7.3 billion cubic meters of flood control storage capacity. The Office of the National Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Relief Commission and the Ministry of Emergency Management, together with the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, allocated 25,000 pieces of central disaster relief materials — folding beds, folding tables and stools, and towel blankets — to Guangdong, Jiangxi, Hunan, and other places.

In responding to Typhoon Dolphin, the National Development and Reform Commission arranged 200 million yuan to support Zhejiang's post-disaster emergency recovery; the Ministry of Water Resources strengthened monitoring, forecasting, and early warning, and strengthened unified and joint dispatch of water projects across the basin. In response to the severe disaster impact of Typhoon Dolphin's remnant vortex and heavy rainfall on Henan, relevant regions and departments raced against time and made every effort to carry out emergency response and disposal. At 20:29 on August 15, the breach of the Jialu River embankment was successfully closed.

Disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief "is an important aspect that measures the leadership capacity of the ruling party, tests the executive capacity of the government, judges the mobilization capacity of the state, and reflects the cohesion of the nation." Since the new era, China's major-country emergency management system with Chinese characteristics has been advanced in a coordinated manner, continuously building the safety of development.

The more severe the disaster, the more it tests responsibility. Adhering to creating achievements for the people and creating achievements through practical work embodies the unchanging original aspiration of Chinese Communists.

"Our Party firmly remembers that the country is the people and the people are the country, adheres to building the Party for the public and exercising power for the people, consciously practices the fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, and firmly stands with the people, thinks with the people, and works with the people — possessing a solid foundation that no wind or wave can shake."

Fearing no danger, standing together through wind and rain, united in purpose (众志成城, zhòng zhì chéng chéng - "unity of will becomes a city wall," solidarity is strength) and advancing courageously — "We have always grown through the baptism of wind and rain and grown stronger through trials and tests. Everyone should be full of confidence."

(Reporters of this newspaper Deng Jianyang, Pang Geping, Li Weijun, Zhu Jiaqi, Liu Junguo, Liu Jiahua, Xu Jing, Pan Junqiang, Yang Xun, and Jin Bo contributed to this report.)

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Medical testing fees get unified national standard

Beijing, August 15 (Reporter Sun Xiuyan) — The National Healthcare Security Administration recently officially released the "Guidelines for the Establishment of Pricing Projects for Laboratory Testing Medical Services (Trial)," covering the main segments of clinical testing, blood transfusion and blood typing, microbiology and parasites, molecular diagnostics, biochemistry, immunology, and others, totaling 662 main projects, 114 additional charge items, and 7 extension items. The release of the guidelines marks the comprehensive completion of the compilation work of 40 batches of medical service pricing project establishment guidelines, and the basic formation of a nationally unified and standardized medical service pricing project system.
　　A relevant official of the National Healthcare Security Administration introduced that from routine blood tests and routine urine tests to microbiological screening and genetic testing, laboratory medicine is an indispensable and important support for clinical diagnosis and treatment, providing an important basis for disease diagnosis, therapeutic monitoring, and prognostic assessment. As medical demand continues to be released and testing technology iterates and develops, China's in vitro diagnostic reagent market has continued to grow in recent years. According to statistics, the market size in 2025 will be approximately 130 billion yuan, becoming an important segment of the pharmaceutical and health industry. The nationwide standardization and unification of laboratory testing pricing projects will powerfully lead the high-quality development of the laboratory discipline and effectively promote the mutual recognition of testing results.
　　The guidelines released this time highlight a service-output-oriented approach, focusing on resolving the issue of price differentiation in testing methodology; respect the objective reality of clinical operation and development, and determine the granularity of pricing project establishment by category; standardize the establishment of additional charge items to reasonably reflect quality-based pricing; unify the definition of pricing units to promote more convenient pricing and charging; clarify tiered discounts for combined testing to make every effort to reduce patient burden; support the functioning of clinical decision-making and reflect the value of testing diagnosis; clarify the "reduction for missing data" pricing policy to promote the digital-intelligent construction of universal health; support technological innovation and uniformly add certain testing projects.
　　The official stated that the National Healthcare Security Administration will guide provincial healthcare security administrations to accelerate the alignment and implementation of the 40 batches of project establishment guidelines, scientifically calculate pricing levels, promote relative balance in regional price levels, and achieve a national "one ruler" in the field of medical service pricing.

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China-EU Arctic Express Shipping Becomes Regular Service

At approximately 19:00 on August 15, the "Burj Khalifa" vessel of Hai Jie Shipping slowly departed from the container terminal of Chuanshan Port Area at Ningbo Zhoushan Port in Zhejiang, marking the regular operation of the China-Europe Arctic container shipping route (hereinafter referred to as the "China-Europe Arctic Express Shipping"), opening a fast, efficient, green, and low-carbon northbound logistics corridor for China-Europe trade.

This year, the first vessel of the China-Europe Arctic Express Shipping made its first domestic call at Ningbo Zhoushan Port, and after departing Chinese waters will successively call at ports including Felixstowe in the United Kingdom, Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Hamburg in Germany, and Gdynia in Poland. This voyage carries high-value-added heat-sensitive cargo such as energy storage cabinets, power batteries, photovoltaic modules, and new energy components, with cargo sources concentrated from manufacturing clusters in the Yangtze River Delta region including Ningbo and Yiwu in Zhejiang, precisely matching the peak-season export delivery demand of the European market.

According to reports, the China-Europe Arctic Express Shipping has outstanding advantages in timeliness and safety. Compared with the traditional Suez Canal route of approximately 40 days' voyage, this route takes only 20 days one way, reducing the voyage by nearly half, and can effectively avoid problems such as unstable schedules and rising costs caused by geopolitical conflicts.

(Reported by our reporters Dou Hanyang and Jiang Yushi, with photography)

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Chinese-brand cars enter African households

By: 本报记者 黄培昭

In recent years, Chinese-brand automobiles, through localized intelligent manufacturing, scenario-based adaptation, and win-win cooperation, have become deeply integrated into the development of the African continent, achieving an upgrade from complete-vehicle export to local assembly, and from single-channel sales to full-chain services. From Cairo, the capital of Egypt, to Luanda, the capital of Angola, high-cost-performance, high-reliability Chinese-brand automobiles are entering millions of African households. At the same time, Chinese enterprises, together with local partners, have built a complete industrial system covering production, sales, and maintenance, injecting momentum into the development of Africa's automotive industry and manufacturing sector, and becoming a vivid practice of China-Africa cooperation in the new era.

"Many of my fellow drivers have switched to Chinese cars — worry-free, money-saving, and reliable"

At Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, traffic flows endlessly. Taxi driver Wael's brand-new Geely Emgrand is parked by the roadside. This model, locally assembled at Egypt's BAMC factory, has become a mainstay of Cairo's taxi and ride-hailing market.

"This car is durable, fuel-efficient, and has a low failure rate — it fits my driving needs very well," Wael said. He noted that the model remains stable and reliable even in Cairo's 40-degree-Celsius heat and under prolonged low-speed operation.

What made Wael firmly choose a Chinese-brand car is also its complete localized supporting services, with more flexible purchase plans and a 7-year warranty policy. "Minor faults can be fixed on the spot and I can get back on the road — it doesn't hold up my work," he said. Geely has set up a central parts warehouse in Egypt, where consumable parts such as brake pads and oil filters can be replaced the same day, with parts prices 30 percent lower than comparable joint-venture models. In addition, this model's chassis has been specifically optimized for Cairo's old, potholed road conditions. With smooth handling and comfortable rides, it has won praise from many passengers. Wael said with a smile: "Many of my fellow drivers have switched to Chinese cars — worry-free, money-saving, and reliable."

Sofia, a primary school teacher living in Kilamba New City near Luanda, Angola, recently bought a Jetour vehicle to solve her daily commute problem — it is also her family's first car. "The interior is spacious — it works for daily commuting and also suits multi-member family travel. The monthly installment is even lower than what I used to spend on taxis," Sofia told reporters.

Walking into Luanda's large automobile trading market, Chinese brands — Jetour, Changan, Geely, and others — account for half of the offerings. Customers coming to inquire and purchase are in an endless stream. Fernando, head of the Angola Automobile Dealers Association, said that five years ago, the local auto market was mostly dominated by European, American, and Japanese cars, and even entry-level SUVs were prohibitively expensive — ordinary families simply could not afford them. "The entry of Chinese-brand automobiles has made car prices much more affordable. At present, the market share of Chinese-brand automobiles has exceeded 60 percent, rewriting the pattern of the local auto market."

Data show that in 2025, Chinese automobiles accounted for 39 percent of sales in the Egyptian market; in the Angolan market, Chinese-brand automobiles cover diverse scenarios including commuting, family travel, and commercial operation. Egypt's Al-Ahram newspaper commented that Chinese-brand automobiles, with their high cost performance and strong road-condition adaptability, have fulfilled the "car dream" of many Africans, turning automobiles from luxury goods into a means of transport for the general public.

"Comprehensively empowering African countries with technology, production capacity, and management experience"

On July 3, the launch ceremony for Chery Automobile's Rosslyn plant was held in Pretoria, South Africa's administrative capital. Built in 1963, the Rosslyn plant is one of South Africa's oldest automobile manufacturing bases. The plant was previously operated by Japan's Nissan Motor Company and was recently acquired by Chinese automaker Chery Automobile. Chery will advance localized procurement and supply-chain development, turning the Rosslyn plant into a comprehensive automotive industry hub integrating R&D, manufacturing, supply chain, skills training, and exports.

South African Deputy President Paul Mashatile said at the launch ceremony that the automotive industry is an important pillar of South Africa's industrial development, and expressed confidence that this investment will accelerate the building of South Africa's automation, digitalization, and advanced manufacturing systems, raise the level of local industry and manufacturing competitiveness, create more job opportunities, and contribute to economic growth.

At the Jetour assembly plant in Helwan, Egypt, automated equipment operates at high efficiency, with new models continuously rolling off the line.

"The Chinese partner has brought advanced automotive technology and mature management experience, helping our assembly craftsmanship achieve a leapfrog improvement," said plant manager Ahmed. The Jetour Egypt plant provides 1,500 local jobs and, through systematic training, has cultivated nearly 200 skilled technical workers. At the plant's dedicated technical training center, Chinese engineers provide hands-on instruction, teaching local youth skills in vehicle assembly, fault diagnosis, and electrical circuit repair.

In May 2025, witnessed by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Jetour signed an agreement with a local enterprise to launch a CKD (completely knocked down) assembly project, completing the key transformation from complete-vehicle export to local intelligent manufacturing. At present, the plant's products not only supply the Egyptian domestic market but are also exported to Sudan, Libya, and other countries, making it an important automobile production base radiating across North Africa.

The Changan assembly plant in Cairo is likewise deeply rooted in localized production. Its locally assembled models, with high cost performance, consistently rank among the top sellers in Egypt's compact SUV segment. "We are actively promoting the localization of talent — many Egyptian workers have grown from ordinary operators into backbone team members, with significant income increases," said Xiao Feng, General Manager of Changan Automobile's Middle East and Africa Business Unit. According to the plan, Changan will launch a second Egypt-locally-assembled model this year, with five localized models planned by 2028, and will build an all-around industrial base integrating production, R&D, and sales.

The Jornal de Angola commented: "The localized layout of Chinese automakers is not just product export, but a comprehensive empowerment of African countries with technology, production capacity, and management experience, promoting the transformation of Africa's automobile industry toward an intelligent manufacturing market — this is a vivid manifestation of mutually beneficial win-win cooperation between Africa and China."

"Achieving economic win-win while building a bridge of friendship"

The Jetour exhibition and sales center in Luanda covers 3,260 square meters and is currently the largest automobile exhibition and sales center in Africa. During the reporter's visit, Ying Huiren, General Manager of Zhejiang Zhongsheng Industrial, was discussing market strategy with the local sales team. This industry veteran, who has worked in Angola for 20 years, has witnessed the rise of Chinese-brand automobiles there: "We have laid out 12 large stores in Luanda and 2 direct-sales outlets in other provinces, with a sales network covering Angola's major cities, and our sales volume ranks first in the market."

"Adapting to local needs is the core of establishing a foothold in the market," Ying Huiren said. The brand has strengthened off-road performance for Angola's complex road conditions, upgraded interior space for local multi-member families, and optimized engine fuel consumption. In 2025, Jetour's annual sales in Africa exceeded 30,000 vehicles.

Comprehensive after-sales service is the core competitiveness of Chinese automakers. Chinese-brand 4S stores are densely distributed in cities such as Cairo and Luanda, with complete equipment and ample parts, and local technicians can quickly handle vehicle faults. Geely's Angola stores have launched round-the-clock two-hour express road rescue; Chery has built a global warranty system, relying on a large parts warehouse in Dubai, UAE, to ensure parts supply across Africa.

While deepening their presence in the African market, Chinese automakers are also actively fulfilling social responsibilities. Jetour participates in African ecological conservation public welfare projects, Changan has built an automobile culture experience center, and Geely carries out education assistance activities — deeply integrating into local society and cementing the foundation of China-Africa friendship. Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Samir said: "Chinese automobile brands have injected new momentum into the development of Africa's automotive industry. Africa-China automotive industry cooperation achieves economic win-win while building a bridge of friendship."

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Advancing the China-Ecuador Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Sustained Depth and Substance (Ambassador's Essay)

By: 孙向阳

At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, President Daniel Roy-Gilchrist Noboa Azín of the Republic of Ecuador will pay a state visit to China from August 16 to 23. This visit is President Noboa's first state visit to China, and President Xi Jinping will hold talks with President Noboa. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Ecuador. Both sides look forward to using this visit to further consolidate political mutual trust between the two countries, carry forward the traditional friendship, and continuously achieve new progress in the China-Ecuador comprehensive strategic partnership, so as to better benefit the two peoples.
Ecuador is an important country in Latin America. In recent years, under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-Ecuador relations have maintained a sound momentum of development, with increasingly consolidated political mutual trust, fruitful results in practical cooperation, and China-Ecuador friendship taking ever deeper root in the hearts of the people, writing a vivid example of China-Latin America friendship. In November 2016, President Xi Jinping paid a successful state visit to Ecuador, during which the two sides unanimously decided to elevate the positioning of bilateral relations and establish the China-Ecuador comprehensive strategic partnership. In June 2025, when President Xi Jinping met with President Noboa of Ecuador, who was in China to attend the Summer Davos Forum, he pointed out that China has always viewed and developed its relations with Ecuador from a strategic height and a long-term perspective, and is willing to work with the Ecuadorian side to continuously deepen and solidify the China-Ecuador comprehensive strategic partnership so as to better benefit the two peoples. Close high-level exchanges have consolidated mutual trust and support between the two countries and promoted the steady and enduring development of bilateral relations.
Practical cooperation has injected momentum for development. The economies of China and Ecuador have notable complementary advantages. In the more than two years since the bilateral free trade agreement took effect, trade volume has risen steadily, reaching 9.831 billion US dollars in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 20.1 percent. High-quality Ecuadorian products such as whiteleg shrimp, roses, and tropical fruits have entered thousands of Chinese households, while Chinese automobile brands such as BYD, Dongfeng, and JAC are highly favored by Ecuadorian people. In the field of infrastructure and transportation, the Coca Codo Sinclair Hydroelectric Project has been officially handed over to the Ecuadorian side, and its power generation can meet approximately 30 percent of Ecuador's electricity demand. Recently, the 1A section of the Guayaquil Fifth Bridge, undertaken by a Chinese company, commenced construction and will become a transportation "main artery" driving the development of southern Ecuador. Not long ago, the inauguration ceremony of the photovoltaic power generation system aided by China was held at the Guayasamín House Museum. From trade to finance, from infrastructure to energy transition, cooperation projects one after another have helped improve the lives of the Ecuadorian people and contributed to social progress.
People-to-people and cultural exchanges have enhanced mutual understanding between the peoples. Although China and Ecuador are far apart geographically, the friendship between the two peoples has a long history. More and more Ecuadorian young people are learning Chinese and taking a liking to China, and the historical sites and ecological wonders of this Latin American country are also attracting increasing numbers of Chinese tourists and scholars. Since the beginning of this year, the Chinese Embassy in Ecuador has held art exhibitions in multiple places across Ecuador, setting off a wave of cultural exchange. The two sides have jointly implemented the Global Civilization Initiative, and the two peoples have deepened mutual understanding through ever more frequent exchanges.
Jointly advancing the building of a China-Latin America community with a shared future. In 2014, President Xi Jinping first proposed the initiative of building a China-Latin America community with a shared future. In 2025, President Xi Jinping announced that China and Latin America would jointly launch the five projects of unity, development, civilization, peace, and people's well-being for jointly building a community with a shared future. The Ecuadorian people are industrious and enterprising, and the country has outstanding resource endowments. It is a country with distinctive development characteristics in Latin America and a natural partner of China in jointly advancing the building of a China-Latin America community with a shared future. In 2018, China and Ecuador signed a memorandum of understanding on jointly building the Belt and Road. In 2019, Ecuador became the first Latin American country to formally join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. In 2025, the two heads of state jointly witnessed the signing of the Cooperation Plan between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Ecuador on Jointly Advancing the Belt and Road Cooperation, which is of great significance for deepening political mutual trust, aligning development strategies, and practical cooperation in various fields between the two sides, and will vigorously promote new progress in the high-quality Belt and Road practical cooperation between China and Ecuador. It is believed that with the continuous deepening of cooperation between China and Ecuador in various fields, the two countries will continue to contribute to the deepening and solidification of the five projects for jointly building a China-Latin America community with a shared future and better benefit the two peoples.
This year marks the opening year of China's 15th Five-Year Plan. The innovative vitality and open attitude of Chinese-style modernization will provide strong momentum for the development of China-Ecuador relations and bring unprecedented broad opportunities for developing countries, including Ecuador. China is willing to work with the Ecuadorian side to implement the important consensus of the two leaders, further deepen mutual trust, expand cooperation, and promote mutual understanding, so as to continuously deepen and solidify the China-Ecuador comprehensive strategic partnership, jointly seek development and revitalization, and jointly write a new chapter in the China-Latin America community with a shared future.
(The author is the Chinese Ambassador to Ecuador)

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China makes important contributions to global desertification control

By: 本报记者 张朋辉

"During my visit to China in July this year, I witnessed the country's achievements in combating desertification and restoring degraded land." Yasmin Fouad, Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, said in a recent interview with our reporter that China's experience shows that, with policy support, scientific and technological innovation, and sustained investment, it is entirely possible to reverse large-scale desertification.

China is the first country in the world to achieve "zero growth" in land degradation and a "dual reduction" in desertified and sandified land. Speaking of China's work in combating desertification, what impressed Fouad most was its "massive scale," "long-term planning," and "mutual reinforcement between ecological restoration and economic development." She said that China has incorporated ecosystem protection and restoration into its national development planning, consolidated the foundation of food security, optimized its water resource management systems, injected new momentum into comprehensive rural revitalization, and enhanced the resilience of long-term economic development. Successful ecological restoration lies not only in the restoration of the ecosystem itself, but also in building a resilient development environment—one that safeguards the well-being of the people in the present while supporting sustainable development for the future. "For many other countries facing similar challenges, China's experience in combating desertification provides valuable reference."

At present, the global situation for desertification control remains severe. Fouad noted that the latest assessments show that up to 40 percent of the Earth's land is degraded, affecting nearly half of the global population. "Every US$1 invested in sustainable land management can yield US$7 to US$30 in returns; every US$1 invested in drought resilience capacity-building can yield US$10 in returns." Fouad said that investing in desertification control can generate significant economic and social benefits. Currently, global annual investment toward achieving the goals of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification is only about US$77 billion, with a funding gap of as much as US$278 billion.

Fouad said that combating desertification has become a global consensus, with more than 130 countries having committed to restoring degraded land under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, and more than 70 countries having formulated national drought response plans. In her view, in the face of the desertification challenge, the world does not lack solutions but rather the capacity for implementation. "We already know which approaches work. The real test is whether we can mobilize the funding, partnerships, and innovative resources needed to scale up these solutions."

"The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification is committed to addressing desertification, land degradation, and drought. It is the only legally binding international agreement in this field, providing a platform for countries to strengthen scientific research, share knowledge, mobilize resources, and translate commitments into action." Fouad said that the seventeenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification will soon be held in Mongolia, and she hopes that this conference will serve as an opportunity to push all parties to turn their commitments into concrete actions.

"China has made important contributions to global desertification control, not only through sharing its own experience, but also through active participation in projects such as the 'Silk Road Journey' under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification." Fouad said that desertification affects food security, water resources, people's livelihoods, and economic stability, making international cooperation on desertification control crucial. "The challenges we face are global, and the responses must also be global."

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Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Answers Questions on Japanese Political Figures’ Visit to Yasukuni Shrine, Which Honors Class-A War Criminals

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 15 — In response to a question on Japanese political figures paying homage on the 15th to the Yasukuni Shrine, which enshrines Class-A war criminals, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that China strongly condemns Japan's negative moves concerning the Yasukuni Shrine and has made solemn representations and strong protests to the Japanese side.

A reporter asked: August 15 is the anniversary of Japan's defeat and surrender in the war. Today, Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae offered ritual fees to the Yasukuni Shrine, and a few individual cabinet members paid homage at the Yasukuni Shrine. What is China's comment on this?

The spokesperson stated that China strongly condemns Japan's negative moves concerning the Yasukuni Shrine and has made solemn representations and strong protests to the Japanese side.

The spokesperson pointed out that during World War II, Japan launched wars of external aggression and committed crimes of extreme cruelty. The so-called "Yasukuni Shrine" is the spiritual tool and symbol of Japanese militarism, and the 14 Class-A war criminals it enshrines are the chief culprits who launched the wars of aggression, making it a de facto "shrine of war criminals." No matter what excuses Japanese politicians fabricate, they cannot hide their true attempt to rehabilitate war criminals, cover up war crimes, distort historical facts, and pave the way for accelerated "re-militarization." Such erroneous actions are a desecration of historical justice, a challenge to the bottom line of civilization, and a provocation against the post-war international order, which the international community unanimously and resolutely opposes.

The spokesperson said that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Trial. Correctly understanding and treating history is an important prerequisite for Japan's return to the international community after the war, the political foundation for Japan's development of relations with neighboring countries, and an important criterion for testing whether Japan can abide by its commitment to peaceful development. "We urge the Japanese side to deeply reflect on its history of aggression, completely break with militarism, and win the trust of Asian neighbors and the international community through concrete actions."

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Defense Ministry Spokesperson Answers Reporter's Question on Japanese Political Figures' Visit to Yasukuni Shrine

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 15 (Reporter Wang Chuntao) — Defense Ministry spokesperson Jiang Bin answered reporters' questions on the 15th regarding Japanese political figures paying homage at Yasukuni Shrine.

A reporter asked: According to reports, on the day of Japan's defeat and surrender in the war, Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae offered ritual tribute fees to Yasukuni Shrine, and Japanese Defense Minister Koizumi Shinjiro and others went to pay homage. What is your comment on this?

Jiang Bin stated: Yasukuni Shrine is the spiritual tool and symbol of Japanese militarism's war of aggression against foreign countries, enshrining war criminals whose hands are stained with the blood of the people of Asia-Pacific countries. The relevant actions of Japanese politicians openly blaspheme historical justice and seriously hurt the feelings of the people of the Asia-Pacific victimized countries. In essence, this is to cover up and deny the crimes of aggression and to challenge the victorious achievements of the World Anti-Fascist War and the post-war international order.

"While paying lip service to the pursuit of peace on the one hand, and 顶礼膜拜 (dǐng lǐ mó bài - "prostrate in worship," to worship devoutly) the chief culprits of war on the other, this hypocritical conduct fully exposes the severely distorted view of history of Japan's right-wing forces and their sinister plot to raise banners and summon souls for militarism," Jiang Bin said.

"Facing up to the history of aggression and deeply reflecting on the crimes of war is the political foundation for Japan's development of relations with Asian neighbors," Jiang Bin stated. "This year marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Trial. We demand that the Japanese side earnestly draw lessons from history and stop its 倒行逆施 (dào xíng nì shī - "go against the times and act perversely," to act against the trend of the times). If it 一意孤行 (yī yì gū xíng - "act willfully," to insist on one's own way) in advancing a 'new-type militarism' and becomes a root of disaster and source of chaos endangering regional peace, it will inevitably face righteous judgment and historical reckoning again."

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Ecuadorian President Noboa to Pay State Visit to China Starting Today

At the invitation of President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China, President Daniel Roy-Gilchrist Noboa Azín of the Republic of Ecuador will pay a state visit to China from August 16 to 23.

Daniel Roy-Gilchrist Noboa Azín, male, born November 30, 1987. Served as a member of the National Assembly of Ecuador from May 2021 to May 2023. Ran for president for the first time in October 2023 and won, taking office in November of the same year. Won the presidential election again in April 2025, taking office on May 24 of the same year.

(Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 15)

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Photo Report

Since the start of this year, overseas discussion of "China Travel" has continued to heat up. Chongqing, with its unique mountainous terrain and urban landscape, has gone viral on overseas social media platforms and become a favored travel destination for many foreign tourists. In the photo, foreign tourists are seen tasting hotpot at a hotpot restaurant in Liangjiang New Area, Chongqing, recently.
　　Photo by Xinhua reporter Huang Wei

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Salvadoran Legislative Assembly President to Visit China

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 15 — At the invitation of Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Castro, President of the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador, will lead a delegation to visit China from August 17 to 22.

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Cairo Declaration Monument Opens to the Public

Our newspaper Cairo, August 15 (Reporter Huang Peizhao) — According to information from the Chinese Embassy in Egypt on the 15th, the monument to the Cairo Declaration established by the Chinese side at the Mena House Hotel in Egypt opened to the public on the 15th.
The Mena House Hotel is located in Giza Governorate, Egypt, and the Cairo Declaration was reached here in 1943. The Cairo Declaration made important contributions to bringing an end to the Second World War; it is an important historical and legal basis confirming Taiwan as inalienable territory of China, and, together with the Potsdam Proclamation and a series of other legally binding documents that reaffirmed the provisions of the Cairo Declaration, it constitutes a component of the post-World War II international order.

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2026 National Ecological Day Main Event Held in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia

This August 15 marks the first day of implementation of the Ecological Environment Code of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国生态环境法典). On the same day, the 2026 National Ecology Day main event was held in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia, under the theme "Thickening the Green Foundation of Chinese Modernization."

The main event was co-hosted by the National Development and Reform Commission (国家发展改革委) together with relevant departments and the People's Government of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. During the event, the Department of Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection of the National Development and Reform Commission interpreted policies related to the circular economy; the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (全国人大常委会法工委), the Supreme People's Procuratorate (最高人民检察院), the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League (共青团中央), the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (工业和信息化部), the Ministry of Natural Resources (自然资源部), the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (生态环境部), the Ministry of Water Resources (水利部), the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (国家林草局), and the Development and Reform Commission of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region respectively interpreted relevant laws and policies for advancing ecological civilization construction, released the achievements of ecological civilization construction in their respective fields or regions, and fully demonstrated the accomplishments of building a Beautiful China. Relevant industry associations released the 2026 National Ecology Day Green and Low-Carbon Action Initiative, and Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia, released the 2026 National Ecology Day Hulunbuir Initiative, mobilizing all sectors of society to practice the concept of green development and jointly build a beautiful homeland. Grassroots representatives, local representatives, and representatives of international organizations respectively exchanged and shared on the themes of grassroots stories of ecological civilization construction, experiences in ecological civilization construction, and the international significance of China's ecological civilization construction and green development philosophy. In addition, the main event also set up exhibition areas for displaying the achievements of ecological civilization construction and promoting ecological products.

On the same day, localities across the country carried out National Ecology Day activities with local characteristics around the theme of the event. The Water Resources Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (广西壮族自治区水利厅) held the 2026 National Ecology Day Guangxi soil and water conservation publicity and the "Cherish Rivers and Mountains, Advance Soil and Water Conservation" volunteer service activity in Baise City, and launched the Guangxi "Clear Waters and Green Mountains" green certificate trading platform.

China Post issued a set of one commemorative stamp on the 15th for the implementation of the Ecological Environment Code of the People's Republic of China, using philatelic culture as a vehicle to popularize the concept of ecological rule of law.

(Compiled from reports by our correspondents Liu Zhiqiang (刘志强), Wu Yong (吴勇), Li Zhiyao (李祉瑶), Pang Geping (庞革平), and Han Xin (韩鑫))

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Streamline Procedures, Simplify Metrics, Add Warmth

By: 本报记者 李心萍

The basic indicators for urban physical examination were adjusted from 60 items to 55; 378 government information systems were optimized and integrated, with 249 systems achieving interconnection and sharing; supervision and inspection items were reduced from 2 to 1... Since the beginning of this year, centering on implementing the Several Provisions on Rectifying Formalism to Reduce Burdens on Grassroots Units (《整治形式主义为基层减负若干规定》), the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (住房城乡建设部) has closely combined rectification work with the study and education of establishing and practicing a correct view of political achievements, effectively reducing the burden on grassroots units.

Removing complexity and seeking simplicity: shedding burdens from assessment and evaluation

"Now, the garbage classification assessment has abolished street and town rankings; everyone no longer worries about rankings and has more energy to focus on concrete work," said Ju Huan (居欢), director of the Urban Operation Center of Gonghexin Road Subdistrict (共和新路街道), Jing'an District, Shanghai.

Since 2025, Shanghai has optimized the "comprehensive assessment" of garbage classification into a "situation evaluation," abolishing separate rankings for streets and towns. Evaluation data is collected through "unobtrusive monitoring," and grassroots personnel no longer run around chasing after it.

From "facing examinations under heavy burden" to "performing duties with light equipment," work results have reached a new level. This is mainly due to more scientific and precise evaluation indicators. Higher-level departments use the evaluation to produce physical examination reports, telling everyone where the problems are and how to rectify them, making it convenient for grassroots units to 对症下药 (duì zhèng xià yào - "prescribe medicine according to the illness," to take targeted measures) and improve practical results.

Looking across the country, after rectification, the frequency of domestic waste classification evaluation was adjusted from once per quarter to once per year, and the evaluation details were streamlined from three-level indicators to two-level indicators, with first- and second-level indicators streamlined by 58.8% and 65.3% respectively.

This is a microcosm of standardizing supervision, inspection, and assessment in the housing and construction field: in strictly controlling items and scope, in 2026 compared with the previous year, supervision and inspection items were reduced from 2 to 1, and the scope of on-site supervision and inspection was reduced from 16 to 8; in strictly controlling scale and frequency, each province is required to conduct on-site inspections in no more than 3 cities, with inspection time in principle not exceeding 7 days, eliminating accompaniment at every level and escalation at each level.

From point to surface: service efficiency is further improved

"Previously, handling housing provident fund business required going to several places. Now, it can be done on a mobile phone, which is very convenient." Mr. Wang, an employee from Jiangsu working in Shanghai, completed the business of withdrawing provident fund for purchasing a house in another location in just a few minutes through the Yangtze River Delta "one-stop online service" platform.

A light tap of the fingertip and quick completion benefit from Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui signing cooperation agreements around "efficiently accomplishing one thing," integrating information resources, and expanding the service radius from a single city to the Yangtze River Delta.

The masses run fewer errands, and grassroots workload is also reduced. Management departments, through cross-regional and cross-departmental information sharing, real-time verification, and online review, have truly achieved reductions in materials, procedures, and time. Taking the withdrawal of provident fund for house purchase in the Yangtze River Delta as an example, application materials have been reduced from requiring purchase contracts, purchase invoices, etc. for offline processing to "zero materials."

Nationwide, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has actively promoted government service reform, deepening the "efficiently accomplish one thing" reform; issued the Notice on Preventing "Face Projects" in Government Information Construction (《关于在政务信息化建设中防止"面子工程"的通知》), organizing housing and construction departments everywhere to investigate and optimize government information systems, which, while reducing burdens on grassroots units, has also greatly improved service efficiency.

In Rizhao, Shandong, the integration of related matters for the "one thing" of housing provident fund loans for house purchase has unblocked data exchange channels among 10 departments, and the masses only need to run once; processing materials were streamlined from 22 to 7, freeing grassroots units from affairs such as repeated data entry, photocopying, paper archiving, and manual verification.

In Fuzhou, Fujian, the integrated processing model of "one-time application, parallel verification, and special team agency" has precisely broken through the bottlenecks and blockages in project acceptance, the number of grassroots review materials has been streamlined, and the acceptance time limit for residential projects has been compressed by 86%.

Digital empowerment: more efficient urban governance

Urban physical examination: how to achieve both burden reduction and efficiency?

Quzhou, Zhejiang, relying on the local "Linlitong" (邻礼通) grassroots governance digital platform, dynamically collects information on people, houses, households, vehicles, etc. within its jurisdiction. The basic data needed for urban physical examination is retrieved with one click from the platform, achieving "one-click collection and automatic generation" of urban physical examination data, reducing the burden of grassroots collection.

Quzhou also encourages citizens to use the "casual photo" and "report matters and repairs" functions to upload daily problems to the platform in real time, reducing repetitive visits by grassroots cadres. After problems are submitted, the urban physical examination expert team provides diagnostic results, and government departments plan and coordinate projects such as the renovation of old residential communities, the renewal and installation of residential elevators, and the construction of public service facilities accordingly.

The ultimate goal of reducing burdens on grassroots units is to improve people's livelihood and well-being. Urban governance work has 千头万绪 (qiān tóu wàn xù - "a thousand heads, ten thousand threads," extremely complicated and numerous), requiring good "embroidery work," grasping the establishment of rules and systems, promoting normalization and long-term effectiveness, and improving the level of intelligent and refined governance.

Reducing burdens on grassroots units requires 久久为功 (jiǔ jiǔ wéi gōng - "persist over time to achieve success," sustained and unremitting effort). The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has continuously focused on streamlining documents and reducing meetings, maintaining a reduction trend for 5 consecutive years, firmly holding the "burden reduction gate" at the source of document formulation; in addition, in terms of meetings, "combining similar items," the total number of meetings has decreased year by year.

"We are focused on rectifying formalism to reduce burdens on grassroots units, this important political task, grasping deeply and solidly the 'six rectifications' (六个纠治), and solidly promoting the rectification work in the housing, construction, and urban management fields to go deep and solid," said a relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

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Batch of Japanese Invasion of China Materials Donated to Nanjing

Nanjing, August 15 (Reporter Yin Xiaoyu) — On August 15, more than 150 pieces (sets) of cultural relics and historical materials and more than 100 pieces (sets) of documentary materials were deposited into the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders (侵华日军南京大屠杀遇难同胞纪念馆), located in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, covering private letters of Japanese invading soldiers, battlefield postcards, poison gas warfare education materials, wartime news collections, and French diplomatic archives, adding ironclad evidence of the Nanjing atrocities committed by the Japanese invaders.

Among this batch of materials, a set of private letters from soldiers of the 20th Infantry Regiment of the 16th Division of the Japanese invading army corroborates the atrocities committed by that division in the Nanjing Massacre, including the large-scale killing of Chinese prisoners of war; a battlefield postcard written by a soldier of the 66th Infantry Regiment of the 114th Division of the Japanese invading army records the details of that unit's attack on the Jinling Arsenal near Zhonghua Gate in Nanjing. In addition, there are two educational materials on the systematic poison gas warfare training conducted by the Japanese invading army, a news collection jointly published by the Nagasaki Nichinichi Shimbun and the Sasebo Shimbun on February 27, 1939, illustrated albums of the invasion of China drawn by Japanese army accompanying artists, private photo albums of the Japanese invading army, and copies of materials on Japan's invasion of China from the Nantes Diplomatic Archives Center of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On August 15, the Memorial Hall also held the inauguration ceremony for the fifth batch of inheritors of the historical memory of the Nanjing Massacre, with the roster including descendants of survivors and victims, descendants of civilian guardians of physical evidence, and descendants of international friends.

On August 14, a batch of precious materials on victims of the Japanese military's "comfort women" (慰安妇) system was deposited into the Nanjing Liji Alley Comfort Station Site Memorial Hall (南京利济巷慰安所旧址陈列馆). This batch of materials covers images of surviving victims, documentary photographs, and field research records accumulated through years of field visits and follow-up filming, truthfully restoring their life trajectories and later years.

Li Xiaofang (李晓方), a member of the China Photographers Association, has visited more than 100 surviving victims over the years, and this time donated photographs of surviving victims, copies of handprints, and other items. Yan Meihua (晏美华), a photojournalist from the Xiaogan Converged Media Center in Hubei Province, has followed and filmed Korean surviving victims, and this time donated the compiled photographs and videos. It is understood that among the surviving victims of the Japanese military's "comfort women" system registered in mainland China, only 6 are still alive.

Nanchang, August 15 (Reporter Zhou Huan) — On August 15, the New Fourth Army Headquarters Site Memorial Hall (新四军军部旧址陈列馆) in Nanchang, Jiangxi, held a themed activity, "Remember History, Our Generation Strives for Self-Improvement" (铭记历史 吾辈自强). Participants from all sectors of society lined up neatly in the square in front of the Memorial Hall, sang the national anthem in unison, stood in silent mourning, and presented flower baskets, expressing their lofty tribute and profound remembrance for the martyrs.

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First-Line Classes Put Learning into Practice (On Site · Ideological and Political Lessons During Summer Vacation)

By: 本报记者 孙 超

After heavy rain, in Huaqiao Community (花桥社区), Shuangjing Town (双井镇), Xupu County (溆浦县), Hunan, a drone lifted off from a field ridge, sweeping over waterways, rice paddies, and residential houses to collect images.

"Be careful to avoid power lines, maintain a certain angle to facilitate oblique image collection." Wang Zhongwei (王中伟), supervising teacher of the Hunan Communications Polytechnic (湖南交通职业技术学院) summer "Three Trips to the Countryside" (三下乡) practice team, kept a close eye on the screen, guiding student Lei Kai (雷凯) to operate the drone.

Huaqiao Community and the neighboring Caihua Village (彩花村) are low-lying. When the practice team, composed of 5 teachers and 7 students, had just arrived, a cadre told them: "Previously we had no accurate terrain data; flood prevention relied mainly on experience, and we felt uneasy at heart."

The practice team set a goal: they had to help cure this "heart ailment" here.

No sooner said than done. Team members followed local cadres on field visits, recording the conditions of major water systems and low-lying areas. Which houses were on low ground, which river sections might overflow the embankment, which farmland was prone to waterlogging — everyone noted these as they walked. After completing the preliminary work, everyone discussed and deliberated, and on the premise of avoiding dangerous areas such as power lines and large trees, planned out a safe surveying and filming route.

The surveying operation then unfolded. On the ground, team members made point markers in advance to ensure the filmed images corresponded one-to-one with the actual site. After each round of filming, everyone checked on the spot, re-shooting any missed or blurry images. In one day, the drone flew 6 sorties in total, capturing nearly 2,000 high-definition photos. At nightfall, everyone imported the photos into professional modeling software, piecing together a three-dimensional realistic scene step by step. The three-dimensional appearance of houses, waterways, roads, and embankments appeared one by one on the screen.

Wang Zhongwei explained that establishing the three-dimensional realistic scene can help the locality combine common rainfall scenarios to conduct waterlogging simulations. "We marked out key dangerous areas to form a flood prevention map, convenient for the locality to consult and use."

"Textbook surveying knowledge really works." Seeing local cadres using the simulation map to arrange flood prevention work, Lei Kai said with emotion, "This practice of ours has done a real thing for the masses."

"Professional skills can be cultivated in the course of serving society." Wang Zhongwei said that discovering and solving problems in real scenarios is precisely a great opportunity for students to understand national conditions and public sentiment and to increase their knowledge and abilities.

The value orientation of the "big ideological-political course" (大思政课) in establishing virtue and nurturing people runs through practice rooted in the front line. Apart from surveying and mapping, the practice team also carried out red-themed lectures, fire safety training, and drowning prevention safety education for villagers during the day, and held review meetings in the evening to exchange work and reflections. Cui Jian'e (崔建娥), deputy party secretary of the School of Road and Bridge Engineering (路桥工程学院) at Hunan Communications Polytechnic, said: "Using one's own specialty to help safeguard the peace of a locality — this is the proper meaning of 学以致用 (xué yǐ zhì yòng - "learn in order to apply," to put learning into practice)."

This educational approach has been sustained for many years at Hunan Communications Polytechnic. From the village-access roads of Shibadong Village (十八洞村) in western Hunan to the Hengyang-Yongzhou Expressway (衡永高速) and the Shanghai-Kunming Expressway, the school has regularly opened "construction site classrooms" at multiple transportation project front lines, cumulatively conducting more than 50 on-site ideological-political teaching sessions.

"Fields and ridges are the classroom, urgent difficulties and anxious longings (急难愁盼) are the teaching materials, and the recognition of fellow villagers is the best report card." Qin Zuoyuan (覃佐媛), party secretary of Hunan Communications Polytechnic, said that the school will continue to expand the field of practice-based education, guiding youth to combine personal growth with the needs of national development, combine professional study with social reality, and continuously improve their competence and sense of social responsibility.

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National first case tried under the Ecological Environment Code pronounced in Quzhou, Zhejiang

BEIJING, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- (Reporters Feng Jiashun, Wu Shuaishuai) The reporter learned from the Supreme People's Court on Aug. 15 that on the day the Ecological Environment Code took effect, the nation's first noise pollution liability dispute case tried under the Ecological Environment Code was heard and pronounced in court on the same day at the Qujiang District People's Court of Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province.

The plaintiff, Ms. Zhang, is a resident of the second floor, adjacent to the ground-floor aquatic products shop that is the defendant. For business purposes, the ground-floor aquatic products shop had arranged multiple rows of fish tanks inside the premises and installed multiple water pumps and aerators. The relevant equipment operated continuously 24 hours a day, persistently generating low-frequency vibration noise, which was transmitted upward through the building's floor slabs and was especially noticeable at night, causing severe damage to Ms. Zhang's sleep.

In March 2026, Ms. Zhang sought medical treatment at a hospital due to sleep disorders. Thereafter, Ms. Zhang negotiated with the shop operator on multiple occasions, but the noise problem could not be effectively resolved. Disturbed beyond endurance, Ms. Zhang filed a lawsuit with the Qujiang District People's Court, requesting a judgment ordering the ground-floor aquatic products shop to dismantle the relevant equipment, cease the infringement, and compensate for losses.

The dispute in the case focused on the determination of infringement by commercial low-frequency vibration noise, as well as the balance between the business operator's operational rights and interests and residents' rights to peaceful habitation. During the court hearing, the court held that where a business entity continuously emits noise and causes harm to others, this shall be determined as environmental pollution tort, and the operator bears the burden of proof with respect to causation and grounds for exemption from liability. At the same time, the court further clarified the adjudication rule: even if noise monitoring values do not exceed national standards, as long as no effective prevention and control measures have been taken, causing persistent low-frequency noise to exceed the tolerance limit of ordinary persons and harming the people's right to peaceful habitation, the operator must still bear civil liability.

During the trial of the case, the Qujiang District People's Court organized multiple on-site inspections and consulted experts on rectification opinions. In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Ecological Environment Code, and in light of evidence including on-site investigations and medical records, the court pronounced its judgment in court according to the principle of economic efficiency and the principle of minimizing harm: the defendant was ordered to carry out noise reduction and vibration reduction rectification within a specified period, and to compensate the plaintiff for medical expenses and damages for mental distress.

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Jialu River levee breach in Zhoukou, Henan successfully closed

Beijing, August 15 (Reporters Liu Wenxin (刘温馨), Deng Jianyang (邓剑洋)) — Affected by the continuous heavy rainfall brought by Typhoon Dolphin and its residual cloud system, at around 23:00 on August 13, a breach occurred in the left embankment of the Jialu River, a tributary of the Shaying River, in the Zhoukou section of Henan, with a maximum breach width of about 117 meters. After all-out emergency rescue and disposal efforts, at 20:29 on August 15, the breach of the Jialu River embankment was successfully closed.

The Office of the National Flood Control Headquarters (国家防总) and the Ministry of Emergency Management (应急管理部) continued to handle the emergency response to the Jialu River embankment danger, dispatched working groups to the site for guidance, deployed China Anneng (中国安能) engineering rescue teams and large mechanical equipment to carry out the sealing task, and mobilized disaster relief supplies to support Henan's flood rescue and disaster relief. The Ministry of Emergency Management has dispatched 13 teams of various drainage forces from Henan, Shaanxi, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, Hunan and other places, carrying professional drainage equipment to rush to Zhoukou City.

At present, the flood peak of the Shaying River has passed through the Zhoukou section, but the water level of the Shaying River in the Zhoukou section will remain above the guaranteed level. The Ministry of Water Resources (水利部) will continue to guide local authorities to carry out anti-seepage and leak-proofing, heightening and thickening of the closed embankment section, strengthen embankment patrol and defense, make every effort to do a good job of drainage in the flooded area, promptly investigate and eliminate hidden risks and dangers, and ensure flood control safety.

From 8:00 on the 14th to 8:00 on the 15th, heavy to torrential rain occurred in eastern and northern Zhejiang, Shanghai, southern Jiangsu, eastern Anhui, central-southern and western Jiangxi, and central-northern and eastern coastal areas of Guangdong. A relatively large basin-wide flood occurred in the Taihu Lake basin. Eleven rivers, including the Jinhua River, a tributary of the Qiantang River in Zhejiang, the Changle River, a tributary of the Cao'e River, the Yongning River, a tributary of the Jiao River, the Chu River and its tributary the Xiang River in Anhui, and the Reshui River, a tributary of the Gan River in Hunan, experienced floods above the warning level.

On the 15th, the Ministry of Water Resources organized rolling consultations to analyze and judge the national rainfall, water and flood situation, and arranged and deployed key defense work. Based on the 24-hour rainfall forecast, the Ministry of Water Resources issued "one province, one list" (一省一单) targeted warnings to 8 provinces including Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Sichuan, Tibet, Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang, notifying the list of counties (cities, districts) covered by heavy rainfall, the list of reservoirs, and the risk areas and points of mountain torrent disasters, reminding them to do a good job in reservoir safety during flood season and defense against floods in small and medium-sized rivers and mountain torrent disasters. The Ministry of Water Resources maintained the Level III flood defense emergency response for Zhejiang and the Taihu Lake basin, and the Level IV flood defense emergency response for Heilongjiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui and Henan.

On the 15th, the Office of the National Flood Control Headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management continued to organize joint consultations with multiple departments and provinces including Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Henan and Guangdong, to analyze and judge the impact of recent heavy rainfall, and to study and deploy flood prevention and rescue work in key areas.

The National Flood Control Headquarters, in response to the flood situation in the Taihu Lake basin, raised the flood prevention emergency response for Jiangsu to Level III, activated a Level IV flood prevention emergency response for Zhejiang, and sent additional working groups to Jiangsu to assist and guide flood fighting and rescue work; continued to maintain the Level III flood prevention emergency response for Henan and the Level IV flood prevention emergency response for Anhui. The National Commission for Disaster Prevention, Reduction and Relief (国家防减救灾委) maintained the national Level IV disaster relief emergency response for Zhejiang, Henan, Shaanxi and Heilongjiang. The Ministry of Emergency Management maintained the Level IV geological disaster emergency response for Zhejiang, Anhui, Henan and Hubei.

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Page One Editors: Hu Anqi, Xu Nuo, Zhang Yujie | Page Two Editors: Lü Li, Guo Xueyan, Cui Bin | Page Three Editors: Wu Gang, Zhou Zhou, Xie Jianing | Page Four Editors: Liu Nian, Han Chunyao, Chen Zhen

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Continuously achieve new accomplishments worthy of the times and the people on the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics

By: 中共中央党史和文献研究院

Comrade Jiang Zemin was an outstanding leader of our Party, our military, and the people of all ethnic groups in our country who enjoyed high prestige, a great Marxist, a great proletarian revolutionary, statesman, military strategist, and diplomat, a tested communist fighter, an outstanding leader of the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the core of the Party's third generation of central collective leadership, and the principal founder of the important thought of Three Represents. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Comrade Jiang Zemin's birth, recalling his great achievements and learning from his noble demeanor is of great significance for Party members, cadres, and the masses to closely unite around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, to promote a good start and solid beginning for the 15th Five-Year Plan, and to comprehensively advance the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese-style modernization.
Comrade Jiang Zemin's life was a glorious and militant life. During more than 70 years of revolutionary career, he remained unswervingly loyal to the communist ideal, infinitely loyal to the Party and the people, and unwaveringly fought for the cause of the Party and the people.
From his youth, Comrade Jiang Zemin was determined to pursue truth, actively participated in the torrent of the people's revolutionary movement, and joined the Communist Party of China in April 1946. After the founding of New China, Comrade Jiang Zemin successively worked in enterprises, scientific research institutions, and national ministries and commissions. In every post, he fulfilled his duties with due diligence and hard work, dedicating his vigorous years to the cause of socialist revolution and construction, and doing a great deal of pioneering work in reform and opening up. In June 1985, Comrade Jiang Zemin became deputy secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, in July he became mayor of Shanghai, and in 1987 he became secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, making outstanding contributions to opening up a new situation in Shanghai's reform, opening up, and socialist modernization.
In June 1989, Comrade Jiang Zemin was elected member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and General Secretary of the Central Committee at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 13th Central Committee of the Party. In November of the same year, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 13th Central Committee decided that he would serve as Chairman of the Central Military Commission, forming the Party's third generation of central collective leadership with Comrade Jiang Zemin at its core. When Comrade Jiang Zemin assumed major leading positions in the Party and the military, our country was facing a severe test of extremely complex domestic and international situations and serious setbacks in world socialism, and the development of our country's socialist cause faced unprecedented difficulties and pressures. At this major historical juncture determining the future and destiny of the Party and the country, Comrade Jiang Zemin led the Party's central collective leadership, closely relying on the entire Party, the entire military, and the people of all ethnic groups across the country, clearly and unequivocally upholding the Four Cardinal Principles, safeguarding national independence, dignity, security, and stability, unswervingly adhering to economic development as the central task, upholding reform and opening up, defending the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and opening up a new situation in our country's reform, opening up, and socialist modernization.
During the 13 years from the Fourth Plenary Session of the 13th Central Committee to the 16th National Congress of the Party, the international situation was volatile and the process of our country's reform, opening up, and socialist modernization was magnificent. Under extremely complex domestic and international circumstances, Comrade Jiang Zemin led the Party's central collective leadership, holding high the great banners of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, and Deng Xiaoping Theory, unswervingly adhering to the Party's basic line, uniting the entire Party and the people of all ethnic groups across the country, seizing opportunities, deepening reform, expanding opening up, promoting development, and maintaining stability. He established the Party's basic program for the primary stage of socialism, established the reform goal and basic framework of the socialist market economy, established the basic economic system of public ownership as the mainstay with diverse forms of ownership developing together in the primary stage of socialism, and the distribution system of distribution according to work as the mainstay with multiple modes of distribution coexisting. He formulated and implemented a series of principles, policies, and major strategies to promote reform, development, and stability, vigorously advanced economic system reform, political system reform, cultural system reform, and reforms in other aspects, opened up a new situation of comprehensive reform and opening up, implemented the basic strategy of governing the country according to law, adhered to the principle of "peaceful reunification and one country, two systems," achieved the smooth return of Hong Kong and Macao, adhered to the independent foreign policy of peace, opened up a brand-new situation in diplomatic work, advanced the great new project of Party building, and promoted new progress in socialist material civilization, political civilization, spiritual civilization, and Party building that attracted worldwide attention, successfully bringing socialism with Chinese characteristics into the 21st century.
Under the leadership of the Party's third generation of central collective leadership with Comrade Jiang Zemin at its core, we calmly responded to a series of international emergencies related to our country's sovereignty and security, overcame difficulties and risks in the political, economic, and natural realms, especially successfully withstanding the impact of the Asian financial crisis and overcoming the severe flood disaster of 1998, ensuring that the ship of reform, opening up, and socialist modernization always sailed forward in the correct direction through the waves. During his tenure as Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Comrade Jiang Zemin deeply observed and grasped major changes in domestic and international situations and the development trends of the world's new military revolution, put forward a series of new judgments and new measures for strengthening national defense and military modernization, and led the modernization of national defense and the military to achieve tremendous accomplishments.
Comrade Jiang Zemin adhered to emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts, and advancing with the times. Centering on the theme of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, he put forward a series of new thoughts, new viewpoints, and new judgments in various aspects such as reform, development, and stability, internal and foreign affairs, national defense, Party governance, and military governance, making outstanding contributions to upholding and developing the Party's basic theory, basic line, basic program, and basic experience. In particular, he pooled the wisdom of the entire Party to create the important thought of Three Represents, further answering the question of what socialism is and how to build it, creatively answering the question of what kind of Party to build and how to build it, and deepening our understanding of the laws of advancing the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics and strengthening Party building under new era conditions. The important thought of Three Represents both upheld the basic principles of Marxism and reflected the new requirements of contemporary world and Chinese development and change for the work of the Party and the state. With new thoughts, viewpoints, and judgments, it inherited, enriched, and developed Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, and Deng Xiaoping Theory, and is a guiding ideology that the Party must uphold for a long time.
After stepping down from leading positions, Comrade Jiang Zemin firmly supported and endorsed the work of the Party Central Committee, cared about the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and firmly supported the building of Party conduct and integrity and the fight against corruption. In 2006, Comrade Jiang Zemin personally presided over the editing and reviewed article by article the first, second, and third volumes of the Selected Works of Jiang Zemin, providing important teaching materials for us to continue advancing the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the great new project of Party building.
The great man has passed away, but his demeanor endures forever. Comrade Jiang Zemin devoted all his life's energy and effort to the Chinese people, working tirelessly and fighting his entire life for national independence, people's liberation, national prosperity, and people's happiness, leaving behind a revolutionary spirit and revolutionary demeanor that will forever be remembered by posterity. He was far-sighted, assessed situations judiciously, firm in conviction, decisive in handling affairs, respected practice, advanced with the times, respected the masses, and cared about the masses. These distinct revolutionary spirits and revolutionary demeanors are forever engraved in our hearts and forever educate and inspire us to move forward.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics is a great article. Comrade Deng Xiaoping established its basic ideas and basic principles for it. The Party's third generation of central collective leadership with Comrade Jiang Zemin at its core and the Party Central Committee with Comrade Hu Jintao as General Secretary all wrote splendid chapters in this great article. Now, the task of our generation of Communists is to continue writing this great article." After long-term efforts, we have embarked on a new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country. The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is unstoppable, showing unprecedented bright prospects. Today, the best commemoration of Comrade Jiang Zemin is to unswervingly follow the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, maintain the determination of not changing the path and not changing the will, strengthen confidence, continue to strive, comprehensively advance the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese-style modernization, and continuously create new achievements worthy of the times and the people.
Uphold and strengthen the Party's overall leadership, and resolutely safeguard the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee. Comrade Jiang Zemin once said with deep feeling: "As an old Communist Party member, I sincerely hope that all comrades of the Party, especially comrades of the Central Committee, will always place the Party in the highest position in their hearts, and always consciously uphold and maintain the Party's leadership in all work. This is where the hope of our Party and our country lies." He consistently emphasized that upholding the Party's leadership is a political advantage, "on this issue, we must have a clear head and a clear-cut attitude, and resolutely safeguard the leadership authority of the Party Central Committee." In the 13 years after the Fourth Plenary Session of the 13th Central Committee, the Party and the country were able to withstand one severe test after another and achieve tremendous accomplishments, inseparable from Comrade Jiang Zemin's great talent and bold vision as a Marxist statesman, his key role, and his superb political leadership art. History has repeatedly proven that the entire Party must have a core, and the Party Central Committee must have a core. Leadership without a core is unreliable. Upholding the authority of the Party Central Committee and centralized, unified leadership is the highest principle of the Party's leadership. Since the new era, the reason our country has been able to withstand impacts and challenges rarely seen in history, and the reason the cause of the Party and the state has achieved historic accomplishments and undergone historic changes, fundamentally lies in the helm-steering of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core and in the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Practice has proven that the "Two Establishments" are the most significant political achievement, the most precious historical experience, and the most objective practical conclusion of the Party in the new era, and are the greatest certainty, the greatest confidence, and the greatest guarantee for the Party and the people to cope with all uncertainties. On the new journey, the more critical the period and the more turbulent the winds and waves, the more we must give full play to the Party's core leadership role in overall planning and coordinating all parties, and the more we must unswervingly safeguard the authority of the Party Central Committee and centralized, unified leadership. We must deeply understand the decisive significance of the "Two Establishments" and resolutely achieve the "Two Upholds," ensuring that the Party always remains a vibrant Marxist governing party that is at the forefront of the times, sincerely supported by the people, able to withstand various storms and tests, and always remains the strong leading core of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Uphold the "Two Combinations" and continuously open up new realms of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times. The most precious wealth Comrade Jiang Zemin left us is the important thought of Three Represents, which he created by pooling the wisdom of the entire Party. He stated, "The thought of Three Represents did not emerge from thin air, but was the result of our continuous exploration and pioneering in theory and practice over the past 13 years," emphasizing that "emancipating the mind and theoretical innovation are powerful forces guiding society forward," and that "practice has no end, and innovation has no end. We must surpass our predecessors, and future generations will inevitably surpass us. This is the inevitable law of social progress." Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has adhered to combining the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific realities and with China's excellent traditional culture, correctly answering the major questions raised by the times and practice, deepening understanding of the laws of Communist Party governance, socialist construction, and human social development with a brand-new perspective, creating Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and achieving a new leap in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context. On the new journey, we must unswervingly use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to forge souls, unify upholding Marxism with developing Marxism, carry forward the past and open up the future, uphold fundamental principles and break new ground, focus on new problems encountered in practice, deep-seated problems in reform, development, and stability, problems of urgent concern to the people, major problems in international changes, and prominent problems facing Party building, continuously make correct answers that conform to China's actual conditions and the requirements of the times, and let contemporary Chinese Marxism and 21st-century Marxism radiate even more brilliant light of truth.
Adhere to the people-centered development thought and continuously realize the people's aspiration for a better life. Comrade Jiang Zemin emphasized that the starting point and foothold of all work in building socialism with Chinese characteristics is to continuously realize, safeguard, and develop the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people; all work and policies of the Party must take whether they conform to the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people as the highest standard, and whether the broadest masses of the people are satisfied as the fundamental criterion. Throughout the entire process of reform, opening up, and socialist modernization, we must strive to enable workers, farmers, intellectuals, and other masses to jointly enjoy the fruits of economic and social development. He required leading cadres at all levels to deeply cherish love for the people, faithfully fulfill their responsibilities to the people, be good at devising strategies to enrich the people, and do more things that benefit the people, always keeping the safety and well-being of the people in mind. Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, we have won the largest battle against poverty in human history, built the world's largest education system, social security system, and medical and health system, and the people's sense of gain, happiness, and security has become more substantial, more guaranteed, and more sustainable. On the new journey, we must take realizing the people's aspiration for a better life as the starting point and foothold of modernization, take bringing benefits to the people as the greatest achievement, focus on ensuring and improving people's livelihood through development, develop whole-process people's democracy, and promote more obvious substantive progress in common prosperity for all people.
Strive to promote high-quality development and ensure decisive progress in basically realizing socialist modernization. Comrade Jiang Zemin emphasized that development is the absolute principle, that wealth makes one bold, and that backwardness invites beating. We must place concentrating on developing social productive forces in the primary position. He conducted forward-looking strategic thinking on comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society and achieving the third-step strategic goal, proposed the "small three-step" development strategy, and emphasized the need to concentrate on comprehensively building a higher-level moderately prosperous society benefiting more than one billion people in the first 20 years of this century. Comrade Jiang Zemin emphasized that the first 20 years of the 21st century are an important period of strategic opportunity that our country must firmly grasp and in which much can be accomplished. We must concentrate on construction and devote ourselves wholeheartedly to development, correctly understand and handle the relationship between reform, development, and stability, and unify the intensity of reform, the speed of development, and the degree of social acceptability. He attached great importance to the important role of science and technology in promoting the development of social productive forces, proposed implementing the strategy of rejuvenating the country through science and education, vigorously promoted knowledge innovation and scientific and technological innovation, built a national knowledge innovation system, enhanced independent innovation capabilities, and achieved leapfrog development in technology. Realizing socialist modernization is a historical process of step-by-step progression and continuous development and progress. Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, on the basis of long-term exploration and practice since the founding of New China, especially since reform and opening up, through theoretical and practical innovation and breakthroughs, our Party has successfully advanced and expanded Chinese-style modernization, and basically realizing socialist modernization has entered a critical period of consolidating the foundation and making comprehensive efforts. On the new journey, we must deeply grasp the historical position and stage characteristics of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, firmly focus on the theme of promoting high-quality development, fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development concept, accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, develop new quality productive forces according to local conditions, accelerate high-level self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology, better coordinate the domestic and international situations, coordinate development and security, improve the ability to scientifically foresee changes, promptly discern risks, and effectively respond to challenges, promote major breakthroughs in strategic tasks related to the overall situation of Chinese-style modernization, and continuously write new chapters in the two miracles of rapid economic development and long-term social stability.
Further deepen reform comprehensively and expand high-level opening up. Comrade Jiang Zemin pointed out that innovation is the soul of a nation's progress and an inexhaustible motive force for a country's prosperity. We must unswervingly advance reforms in all aspects. Reform must proceed from reality, advance comprehensively, make breakthroughs at key points, progress step by step, and pay attention to institutional construction and innovation. He closely grasped the trend of accelerating economic globalization, emphasizing that for China to develop, progress, and become prosperous and strong, it must open up to the outside world, strengthen economic, scientific, technological, and cultural exchanges and cooperation with countries around the world, and absorb and learn from all advanced things. He proposed adhering to the combination of "bringing in" and "going out," led us in joining the World Trade Organization, and formed a new pattern of opening up. Chinese-style modernization has been continuously advanced through reform and opening up, and will surely open up broad prospects through reform and opening up. On the new journey, we must actively recognize changes, respond to changes, and seek changes, forge ahead with determination, anchor the overall goal of continuing to improve and develop the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and advancing the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, take economic system reform as the driving force, coordinate and advance reforms in all fields and aspects, improve the systems and mechanisms for high-level opening up, promote better adaptation between production relations and productive forces, between the superstructure and the economic base, and between national governance and social development, and provide strong momentum and institutional guarantees for Chinese-style modernization.
Deeply advance major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. Comrade Jiang Zemin emphasized that our reform, opening up, and socialist modernization require a peaceful international environment. He always observed the general trend of world development with a broad world vision and put forward a series of diplomatic and international strategic thoughts. He emphasized that peace and development remain the themes of our times, that no matter how the international situation changes, China unswervingly pursues an independent foreign policy of peace, and that the purpose of China's foreign policy is to maintain world peace and promote common development. He actively promoted the world toward multipolarity, advanced the democratization of international relations, respected the diversity of the world, promoted the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and led us in opening up a brand-new situation in diplomatic work. Chinese-style modernization is modernization that follows the path of peaceful development and modernization that both develops itself and benefits the world. As major changes unseen in a century accelerate, the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation, and humanity once again stands at a crossroads of where to go. On the new journey, we must firmly stand on the correct side of history and on the side of human civilization progress, hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit, promote the common values of all mankind, promote the building of a new type of international relations, promote the implementation of the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative, promote the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative, and inject more positive energy into world peace and development.
Persist in comprehensively governing the Party with strict discipline and ensure that the Party never changes its nature, never changes its color, and never changes its flavor. Comrade Jiang Zemin pointed out that to govern the country well, the Party must first be governed well, and governing the Party must be strict. He clearly proposed the two major historical subjects of improving leadership and governance levels and enhancing the ability to resist corruption and prevent degeneration and withstand risks, requiring the entire Party to seriously study and solve them so that the Party always maintains its advanced nature and purity and is full of creativity, cohesion, and combat effectiveness. He emphasized studying, politics, and healthy tendencies, strengthening and improving Party conduct, and deeply carrying out the fight against corruption, always maintaining the Communists' vigor, high morale, and upright spirit. Running China's affairs well depends on the Party, and on comprehensively governing the Party with strict discipline. Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, with tremendous political courage and a strong sense of responsibility, has unswervingly comprehensively governed the Party with strict discipline, opened up a new realm of self-revolution for a century-old major party, and promoted historic accomplishments and historic changes in the cause of the Party and the state, and the Party and the people have won the historical initiative to strengthen the Party and the country. At the same time, as the world situation, national conditions, and Party conditions undergo profound changes, comprehensive governance of the Party with strict discipline also faces many new situations and new problems. On the new journey, we must implement the general requirements for Party building in the new era, focus on improving the Party's long-term governance capacity, maintaining the Party's advanced nature and purity, and maintaining the Party's flesh-and-blood ties with the masses, improve the system for comprehensively governing the Party with strict discipline, take the Party's political construction as the guide to strengthen all aspects of Party building, resolutely fight the tough battle, protracted battle, and overall battle against corruption, continuously enhance the Party's political leadership, ideological guidance, mass organization, and social appeal, and enable our Party to remain invincible forever amid volatile changes.
At the turn of the century, Comrade Jiang Zemin once reviewed the past and looked forward to the future: From the middle of the 20th century to the middle of the 21st century, all the struggles of the Chinese people are for realizing the prosperity and strength of the motherland, the well-being of the people, and the great rejuvenation of the nation. "This great historical feat, our Party has led the people in striving for it for fifty years and has made tremendous progress. After another fifty years of struggle, it will surely be accomplished victoriously." Now, there are less than 10 years before basically realizing socialist modernization, and only more than 20 years before realizing the goal of comprehensively building a great modern socialist country. Time waits for no one, and every moment counts. Let us unite even more closely around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, fully implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, deeply study and implement Xi Jinping's thought on Party building, strengthen confidence, continue to strive, and bravely advance toward the grand goal of comprehensively building a great modern socialist country and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation!

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Zhejiang accelerates breakthroughs in cutting-edge technology fields (Vitality China Research Trip)

By: 本报记者 武少民 何 聪 齐志明

The land of Zhejiang in August is full of vitality and surging innovative energy everywhere—
In Hangzhou, Zhejiang, the "Three-Body Computing Constellation" has added two new computing satellites stably in orbit, and the research team at Zhijiang Laboratory has been conducting on-orbit validation of space-based artificial intelligence models for several days, further expanding innovative scenarios for space AI;
At the Ningbo Humanoid Robot Innovation Center's training workshop, self-developed humanoid robots are continuously undergoing iterative debugging of flexible garment processes, and the plan for mass production and implementation of 2,000 customized devices has entered the detailed advancement stage;
At the Zhoushan dock, the domestically produced 100-ton-class unmanned vessel "6081" has completed its long-voyage data review, and the technical team, relying on the massive samples accumulated from open-sea navigation, is continuously optimizing the autonomous control algorithm for severe sea conditions with 30-degree rolling;
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A set of data outlines Zhejiang's scientific and technological innovation foundation: regional innovation capability has ranked fourth in the country for four consecutive years; there are 15,637 specialized and sophisticated small and medium-sized enterprises that produce novel and unique products, with the number of key "little giant" enterprises ranking among the forefront nationwide; in 2025, the province's core artificial intelligence industry revenue reached 713.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20%.
In September 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized during his inspection of Zhejiang: "Zhejiang must take the lead in creating new development advantages through scientific and technological innovation. The enhancement of scientific and technological innovation capability must be placed in a more prominent position, integrating scientific and technological innovation forces and advantageous resources, and accelerating breakthroughs in frontier fields of science and technology."
Keeping the entrustment in mind, working hard and forging ahead. Zhejiang is accelerating breakthroughs in frontier fields of science and technology, blazing a whole-chain innovation path of "direct connection from laboratory to production line," transforming scientific and technological achievements from single-point breakthroughs to full-coverage advancement, and converting technological advantages into industrial competitiveness.
Building nests to attract talent, constructing a first-class innovation ecosystem across the entire region
Walking into Zhijiang Laboratory, located in the Hangzhou West Science and Technology Innovation Corridor, on the large screen of the "Three-Body Computing Constellation" command center, the stable operating trajectories of more than 10 computing satellites are clearly displayed, with returned telemetry data scrolling in real time; in the open public spaces, young researchers can be seen everywhere engaged in "brainstorming."
Zhijiang Laboratory focuses on "the one thing of intelligent computing," pooling internal and external innovation resources into a single force, and jointly building a thousand-satellite-scale space computing constellation with global partners, achieving "computing power going to space, satellite interconnection, and models going to space." To date, the constellation has completed the on-orbit deployment of 20 artificial intelligence models.
"It is precisely this efficient collaboration that enabled the constellation's first launch mission of 'one rocket with twelve satellites' to be completed in 287 days," said Li Chao, chief technical director of the overall mission department for the computing constellation.
"The most important value of infrastructure lies in the enormous innovation space it leaves behind," said Wang Jian, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of Zhijiang Laboratory. "We adhere to our positioning as a non-profit new-type research institution. We do not produce satellites, nor do we compete with business entities for profit. Instead, using scientific and technological innovation as a fulcrum, we leverage the deep participation of diverse innovation entities in fields such as commercial aerospace and artificial intelligence."
Shifting the view from the sky to the earth, at the "Light of Wuzhen" supercomputing center in Tongxiang, Jiaxing, peak computing power of 181.9 quadrillion operations per second surges ceaselessly, with computing resources radiating to the Yangtze River Delta. Enterprises in Shanghai, Suzhou, Huzhou and other places share the national-level computing infrastructure, supporting collaborative innovation in the regional digital industry.
From "collaboration in the sky" to "sharing on the ground," Zhejiang is weaving a three-dimensional innovation infrastructure network and creating an excellent ecosystem of "building nests to attract talent" across the entire region. Adhering to the philosophy of "I am responsible for sunshine and rain; you are responsible for thriving growth," Zhejiang uses high-energy-level science and technology innovation platforms as the skeleton, cross-regional collaborative innovation as the link, and a full-cycle policy and talent system as support, continuously nurturing soil suitable for innovation to grow, allowing various scientific and technological innovation entities to take root, develop, and thrive.
Building a provincial strategic scientific and technological force matrix. Zhejiang has made coordinated arrangements for major innovation carriers such as Zhijiang Laboratory and Yongjiang Laboratory, focusing on original innovation in frontier fields such as artificial intelligence, advanced optoelectronics, and space-ground computing. In recent years, national laboratories, national major scientific installations, and international major science programs have achieved breakthroughs from zero, the number of national key laboratories has jumped to 38, and 280 provincial key laboratories have completed restructuring and accreditation, forming a science and technology innovation platform system with differentiated coordination and full regional coverage.
Deepening cross-regional school-local collaborative innovation. Zhejiang proactively undertakes high-quality science and education resources from Beijing and Shanghai, promoting the nearby transformation and application of high-end achievements through jointly built research institutes and industry-university-research bases. The Yangtze Delta Region Institute of Tsinghua University, Zhejiang, the Institute of Flexible Electronics Technology of Tsinghua University, and the Yangtze River Delta Research Institute of Beijing Institute of Technology have successively settled in Jiaxing; the Moganshan Research Institute of Zhejiang University of Technology has taken root in Huzhou; the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics has settled in the Fuchun Bay New City of Fuyang District after the complete phase-out of the traditional papermaking industry, incubating a number of "optics"-branded enterprises... Innovation resources are accelerating their surge along both banks of the Qiantang River.
Improving the all-factor innovation guarantee system. Zhejiang has connected the entire chain of talent "introduction, cultivation, retention, and utilization"; issued the "Double 12 Articles" policies for scientific and technological research and achievement transformation; accredited the first batch of 20 provincial-level concept verification centers; and built a full-lifecycle service network covering research and development, incubation, and industrialization.
"Zhejiang will consistently focus on building a first-class innovation ecosystem, centering on the real needs of innovation entities such as talent, enterprises, and platforms, and promoting the efficient flow and precise matching of various innovation factors," said Zhou Tufa, deputy director of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Science and Technology.
Two-way empowerment, accelerating the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation
Technology empowers industry, and industry feeds back science and technology. By unblocking the bottlenecks in achievement transformation, strengthening the chain-leading enterprises that pull the industrial chain, and expanding the cluster of science and technology innovation enterprises, a leapfrog path from scientific research advantages to industrial superiority is becoming increasingly clear in Zhejiang.
In Wenling, Taizhou, the Zhejiang provincial pilot-scale testing platform for high-end CNC machine tools and key technologies is running at full capacity: precision parameters are repeatedly debugged, and process solutions are iteratively optimized. After undergoing extreme testing, working condition simulation, and stability verification, laboratory prototypes shed their experimental attributes and become qualified for industrial mass production.
As a national-level pilot-scale testing platform key-cultivated by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, it directly addresses the difficulties in transforming achievements in the field of industrial mother machines, solving the bottlenecks of high costs for enterprises to build their own pilot-scale testing facilities and the lack of verification scenarios. Relying on this platform, Zhejiang HDM Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. has completed deep adaptation of a domestically produced artificial intelligence CNC system, increasing machining precision by 30% and accelerating the localization of core technologies.
For scientific and technological innovation to land on the ground, the hurdle of pilot-scale testing must be crossed. Frontier achievements from the laboratory often get stuck at the stage of process scale-up and stable mass production, finding it difficult to move from the "bookshelf" to the "store shelf." Adhering to the two-way resonance of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, Zhejiang is concentrating efforts on strengthening and extending the chain, laying out a batch of high-level pilot-scale testing platforms, building a complete closed loop of "basic research—technological research—pilot-scale verification—mass production," precisely unblocking the pain points of the "last mile" of achievement transformation, and continuously converting laboratory technologies into market competitiveness.
In the workshop of Shining 3D in Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou, self-developed 3D scanning equipment can complete workpiece shape acquisition in minutes, with measurement precision up to 4 microns. "High-end 3D vision equipment was long dependent on imports. We have continuously tackled key problems to achieve complete machine localization and technological self-reliance, and our products are now sold worldwide," said Huang Baochang, director of the Technology Development Department of Shining 3D.
Taizhou Xingkong Zhilian is deeply engaged in the research and development and manufacturing of satellite-borne intelligent equipment, driving the clustering of a number of aerospace science and technology innovation enterprises and building a distinctive space intelligent manufacturing industry echelon; low-altitude logistics drones equipped with satellite communication links solve the problem of signal blind zones over islands, improving the efficiency of civilian logistics while also ensuring the transport of emergency medicines, broadening the application boundaries of scientific and technological achievements.
Beyond this, looking across the province, the scene of industrial chain leading enterprises' scientific research achievements landing in mass production can be seen everywhere—in Jiaxing, on the new materials production line of Huayou Cobalt, self-developed high-end lithium battery materials are coming off the line in batches; in Huzhou, Jiuli Special Materials has 16 new products that have broken foreign monopolies, widely applied in the field of national energy security; in Shaoxing, Jing Sheng Machinery has broken through foreign technological blockades and achieved domestic substitution... Chain-leading enterprises spearhead breakthroughs, driving the industrial chain to accelerate its leap toward the high end. Enterprises pose the questions, the government provides support, platforms answer them, workshops verify them, and the market evaluates them—one industrial chain after another is improving in quality through technological breakthroughs, increasing efficiency through collaborative innovation, and growing stronger through iterative upgrading.
At the same time, Zhejiang adheres to the integrated development of large, medium, and small enterprises, both strengthening the "towering" chain leaders and cultivating the "ubiquitous" seedlings, with the echelon of science and technology innovation enterprises improving in both quantity and quality.
Innovation data bears witness to the quality of development. In the first half of this year, the added value of high-tech industries above designated size in Zhejiang increased by 8%, and the number of key "little giant" enterprises ranked among the forefront nationwide.
"The deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation is the key lever for cultivating new quality productive forces and reshaping industrial competitive advantages," said Huang Xurong, deputy director of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Economy and Information Technology. Zhejiang will continue to unblock the entire innovation chain, promote the efficient transformation of scientific research achievements and the overall leap of the industrial chain, and make science and technology a truly solid support for high-quality development.
Advance layout, seizing the first opportunity on frontier tracks
In Hangzhou High-tech Zone (Binjiang), a scenario experiment about future life is unfolding. Popcorn cup filling and delivery, kitchen cooking and recycling, logistics handling—these scenarios are being repeatedly tested at the National Artificial Intelligence Application Pilot Base (Embodied Intelligence). As the only national-level application pilot base oriented toward the field of embodied intelligence among the national "AI+" strategic deployments, it has gathered more than 140 embodied intelligent robots and presents nearly 40 application scenarios, and is known as the "national-level vocational training ground" for robots.
"For cooking robots to truly achieve application, they must at least cross three thresholds: mobile positioning, precise operation, and human-robot interaction," said Yang Jiandang, co-founder of Hangzhou Dayun Shuzhi Technology Co., Ltd. "We jointly conduct research and development experiments with the pilot base in real constructed scenarios, helping enterprises complete the entire process from ordering, to food retrieval, to recycling."
Artificial intelligence is a new engine for economic growth and an accelerator for the conversion of old and new driving forces. At present, Zhejiang is continuously promoting intelligent technology to enter real scenarios and seizing the first opportunity on frontier tracks. From January to June this year, the core artificial intelligence industry revenue of Zhejiang Province reached 429.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 25%; at present, the number of core AI enterprises in the province has increased to 2,080, initially forming a full industrial chain pattern covering chips, large models, intelligent agents, and application services.
For humanoid robots to move toward industrial application, the key lies in continuously breaking through key core technologies and running out a commercial closed loop. In Ningbo, Xiong Rong, chief scientist and general manager of Zhejiang Humanoid Robot Innovation Center Co., Ltd., is leading the team to explore a whole-chain independent research and development path around robot body, perception, decision-making, control, and other links. In May this year, the company reached a cooperation with Jack Technology, signing a contract for 2,000 customized humanoid robots for garment scenarios, moving from prototype verification to large-scale application, setting the record for the first batch implementation project of humanoid robots in the global garment industry.
"We hope to use the development of humanoid robot products as a driver to drive the core component supply chain and enable humanoid robots to land in more real scenarios," Xiong Rong said.
Intelligent technology is also releasing value in traditional industries. In April this year, "6081," China's first fully domestically produced 100-ton-class unmanned vessel, independently developed under the leadership of Zhejiang Beikun Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., completed an autonomous voyage of 2,271 nautical miles round trip from Zhoushan to Sanya, lasting 248 hours round trip, with autonomous navigation time accounting for as high as 96.57%, setting a new domestic record for open-sea autonomous navigation of unmanned vessels.
"Under severe sea conditions, the hull may experience 30-degree rolling, greatly increasing the difficulty of manual control, yet the unmanned vessel, relying on its autonomous control capability, can still maintain stable navigation," said Shao Junwei, assistant general manager of Beikun Intelligent. Intelligent technology is extending into traditional marine industries. In the renovation of traditional fishing vessels, the addition of functions such as intelligent navigation, remote control, and situational awareness has greatly improved the safety and intelligence level of fishing vessels.
From building the first national-level application pilot base oriented toward the field of embodied intelligence, to breaking through key core technologies of humanoid robots, to promoting intelligent technology to empower traditional industries, Zhejiang is accumulating new advantages for the development of frontier tracks.
"In the future, we will persist in treating artificial intelligence as the core variable for winning the future, accelerate the building of an intelligent economy industrial cluster with international competitiveness, and strive to reach a core artificial intelligence industry revenue of 1.2 trillion yuan for the whole province by 2030," said Yan Xi'an, deputy director of the Zhejiang Provincial Development and Reform Commission.
(Staff reporters Liu Junguo, Li Junqiang, and Dou Hao of this newspaper participated in the reporting)

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Ancient City, New Trends

By: 本报记者 吴齐强 李 纵

Hand-pulled pots, woodcarving, Chaozhou embroidery, ceramics, Gongfu tea... Outside the east gate of the ancient city of Chaozhou in Guangdong, along both sides of the 800-year-old Guangji Bridge, exhibition rooms for intangible cultural heritage line up in a row, with many citizens and tourists stopping to experience Chaozhou culture. Chen Jia, a post-90s Chaozhou woodcarving artisan, was demonstrating on site; as the carving knife moved, a piece of wood gradually revealed the outlines of lobsters, crabs, and a bamboo basket. Tourists gathered around, filming nonstop with their phones. Li Yan, who had brought her child out for the summer vacation, marveled: "Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times — this is truly masterful work!"

In October 2020, during his inspection tour in Chaozhou, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must strengthen the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage, actively cultivate inheritors, and let intangible cultural heritage radiate even more enchanting brilliance." "In the process of renovating the old city and developing the new city, we must protect the city's historical and cultural remains, continue the city's cultural lineage, and enable history and the contemporary era to complement each other."

Bearing in mind the General Secretary's earnest instructions, Chaozhou has advanced the conservation and revitalization of the ancient city and the living transmission of intangible cultural heritage skills, ensuring that old houses have people living in them and old crafts have people practicing them — inheriting through protection and innovating through inheritance.

Protection first, safeguarding the cultural lifeline. Wiping old patterned tiles, watering the greenery... At 6 a.m. on the Archway Street of Chaozhou's ancient city, Zhang Qingchun, owner of "Xue Ju" (Snow Residence), began his busy day: "My most important task every day is to 'nurse' the old house." This old residence has been transformed into a "coffee + Gongfu tea" composite space, attracting numerous tourists.

Stained glass windows, Chaozhou woodcarvings, Nanyang patterned tiles... "Xue Ju" is a representative of the Sino-Western eclectic architectural style. As time passed, the old residence's ceiling aged, patterned tiles were damaged, and walls peeled. Under the guidance of relevant Chaozhou municipal departments, Zhang Qingchun insisted during the restoration that the ceiling be repaired rather than demolished wherever possible, and that patterned tiles be patched rather than replaced. "Try to keep all the old objects; even if they are incomplete, they still have their meaning."

Chaozhou has implemented the "a hundred families repair a hundred houses" initiative — no large-scale demolition or construction, adherence to minimal intervention, mobilizing the public to participate in the restoration of ancient dwellings, and applying targeted measures "one policy per household." To date, most of the over a thousand ancient buildings and old residences in the ancient city have been restored. The ancient city still houses 58,000 residents — brewing Gongfu tea in the morning, singing Chaozhou opera in the evening — full of the vitality of everyday life.

Cultivating talent, inheriting intangible cultural heritage skills. In Zhang Haiyuan's hand-pulled pot workshop in Xitang Village, Zhang Haiyuan was guiding his son in making hand-pulled pots; as the clay pot blank was kneaded, pressed, pulled, and shaped, a hand-pulled pot gradually took form. Born in 1975, Zhang Haiyuan is the fifth-generation inheritor of the "Lao Anshun" hand-pulled pot, having learned the craft from his grandfather and father since age eight. Today, Zhang Haiyuan's son has also inherited the craft of his forebears. Four pots sit in Zhang Haiyuan's workshop, called "four generations under one roof" — one made by his grandfather, one by his father, one by Zhang Haiyuan himself, and one by his son. "Several generations making the same pot — this is inheritance," Zhang Haiyuan said.

Since 2020, Chaozhou has continuously strengthened the echelon building of intangible cultural heritage inheritors, adding 83 new municipal-level representative inheritors.

Innovating business forms, radiating cultural vitality. Today, in the ancient city covering approximately 2.33 square kilometers, intangible cultural heritage workshops, cultural homestays, immersive performances, and other business forms are emerging one after another. Chaozhou big gong and drum, Chaozhou opera, cloth-horse dance, Yingge dance, dragon and lion dances, and other signature programs are embedded throughout the year's various events, and multiple projects have been selected as exemplary cases of revitalization and utilization of cultural relics and historic sites in Guangdong Province.

Painting on facial makeup, donning opera costumes, learning Yingge dance movements... Walking to the northern section of the ancient city's Archway Street, inside the Chaozhou Fucheng Yingge Dance Immersive Experience Hall, the walls are hung with historical photographs of Yingge dance and costume exhibits. Visitors can admire the costume displays, learn about Yingge culture, sit around tea tables to watch a professional performance, and then participate in interactive experiences. "We have created an immersive experience project integrating Yingge dance costume display, movement instruction, and live-scene performance, allowing visitors to move from 'watching' to 'participating' and truly feel the unique charm of intangible cultural heritage," said Hong Fang, head of the experience hall.

In the first half of this year, Chaozhou's tourist visits increased by 25.5% year-on-year, and domestic tourism revenue increased by 33.9% year-on-year.

Thoroughly studying and implementing Xi Jinping's cultural thought, Chaozhou is doing the work of conserving and revitalizing the ancient city with the meticulous craft of embroidery, letting the thousand-year-old city radiate the new charm of the era.

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Young Farmers of the Taklamakan (Dream Chasers·Youth Makes Ideals Shine)

By: 本报记者 李亚楠

At the edge of the Taklamakan Desert, wind-blown sand is the only "constant" here. The groundwater is bitter and saline, annual precipitation is scant, and evaporation is many times the precipitation — this place was once considered a forbidden zone for agriculture.

In 2024, the Taklamakan Desert completed its "edge-locking" project. During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, Xinjiang has opened a new stage of transitioning from "edge-locking closure" to "expanding the edge and increasing green." To demand grain and returns from the desert, crop root systems can fix sand and protect the soil, and after harvest, decaying stalks return to the fields as fertilizer, continuously improving the poor sandy soil.

Several young people who have been rooted at the desert edge for years are developing cultivation and broadening income channels while also building a solid ecological barrier against wind and sand. Standing at the head of the fields, there is wind-blown sand in their eyes, but even more, there is hope brought by waves of wheat and cotton fields. Behind them, wheat, triticale, and cotton are quietly rewriting the "underlying logic" of this land.

Man-high triticale grows out of the desert

Heat waves roll down from the sand dunes, and the air is full of the scorching taste of dust.

On a newly reclaimed plot at the edge of the Taklamakan Desert, Kuang Feiting (邝翡婷), general manager of Xinjiang Maishengdao Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (新疆麦生道生物技术有限公司), squats on the ground, her fingernail crevices filled with white powder from saline-alkali crust. Her hands are chapped. She pinches a hard clod of soil, brings it close to her eyes to examine the texture, then puts it under her nose and smells it. "Next year we're planting triticale here. We're checking the environment in advance and doing a pre-trial."

The triticale Kuang Feiting speaks of had just achieved a bumper harvest not long ago in the saline-alkali land comprehensive utilization pilot project area of Bachu County (巴楚县). From the photos and videos on her phone: at the desert edge, rows of triticale stand uniformly taller than a person, with thick stalks and ears hanging heavy with plump kernels; when the wind passes, it looks like a sea of interwoven green and yellow waves. "Harvested in early June, 240 kilograms per mu." She flips through the yield measurement records on her phone, her tone calm but her eyes bright. "If water and fertilizer keep up, exceeding 300 kilograms is not a problem."

Kuang Feiting graduated from the Longping Branch of Central South University and is an academic "grand-disciple" of Academician Yuan Longping. The turning point from plunging out of the land of 鱼米之乡 (yú mǐ zhī xiāng - "land of fish and rice," a fertile, prosperous region) into the desert edge was a research trip to a Xinjiang pastoral area. At that time, herders surrounded her and said anxiously: "Every April and May, forage can't keep up, cattle and sheep lose condition. Buying forage has to be hauled in from outside, and the freight per ton equals the price of the grass." She went to search through the "gene treasure house" that breeding scientists had accumulated over decades — hidden there were many "treasures" 束之高阁 (shù zhī gāo gé - "tied up on a high shelf," to shelve something and leave it unused) because their short-term market returns were low.

Triticale caught her eye: it is a "hybrid" refined by several generations of breeders crossing wheat and rye, combining wheat's high-yield genes with rye's stress resistance — tolerant of poor soil, saline-alkali, and wind-blown sand. More importantly, it hits the timing precisely — harvested as fresh forage in April and May, it exactly plugs the gap when forage is 青黄不接 (qīng huáng bù jiē - "green and yellow do not meet," when the old crop is exhausted and the new crop has not yet ripened).

After obtaining the variety's operating rights, Kuang Feiting began trial planting and promotion in Xinjiang. Just when everything was ready, the forage market fluctuated, demand decreased, and prices fell. She paced anxiously through the fields, but unexpectedly discovered that several rows of triticale beside the salt drainage canal were growing especially wildly — that was the "dead land" with the heaviest salinity. "Triticale is a dual-use crop for grain and forage. If the grass can't be sold, grow it as grain. Planting grain on desertified saline-alkali land has both ecological and economic benefits." She suddenly saw the light — 豁然开朗 (huò rán kāi lǎng - "suddenly open and clear," to have a sudden flash of insight).

Last autumn, the saline-alkali land comprehensive utilization pilot project area of Bachu County needed plants that could survive the winter, and triticale seeds were sown into 9,700 mu of land where germination seemed almost impossible. On the fourth day, a hint of green was faintly visible in the fields — the triticale had actually sprouted! Half a month later, the green seedling coverage far exceeded the project target of "67% green coverage in the first year." After overwintering, the wheat seedlings seemed to have been hit by magic, shooting up to man-height in one go.

The yield measurement data was even more surprising: water usage and fertilizer application were far lower than for ordinary wheat, and after half a year of planting, the soil salt content plummeted from 1.4% before improvement to 0.76%, with organic matter visibly recovering — it "washes" the land as it grows.

As she speaks, Kuang Feiting squats down again on another patch of wasteland and digs at the soil. Her phone rings without stopping — all calls from growers in various places: "Save enough seeds for us next year!" She stands up, pats the alkali dust off her hands, and looks toward the end of the Gobi: "Triticale took decades to go from the laboratory to saline-alkali land. What I need to do now is pave that last kilometer, so that research results truly become harvests in the farmers' fields."

Drawing a harvest scene in "concentric circles"

Kuang Feiting answers the question of "what to plant," while Xu Zhaoyang (徐朝阳) spent 8 years solving the question of "how to grow it successfully."

"I'm just a farmer planting in the Taklamakan Desert!" At the 2026 Xinjiang Online Culture Theme Event, Xu Zhaoyang, chairman of Xinjiang Zhaoyang Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. (新疆朝阳农业发展有限公司), opened with this line, making the audience below the stage laugh. His skin is dark and shiny, and when he smiles, the corners of his eyes are creased with wrinkles far deeper than his actual age. When he extends his hands, they are like two pieces of coarse sandpaper.

"You can grow wheat in the desert?" This is the doubt Xu Zhaoyang has heard who knows how many times. He pointed at the large screen behind him — in the image, above the vast yellow sand, more than a dozen giant center-pivot sprinkler irrigation machines rotate slowly, water mist weaving rainbows in the scorching sun, and the wheat fields under the water circles look like enormous green "concentric circles," neatly arranged. The camera zooms in: awns golden, kernels plump.

In 2019, Xu Zhaoyang was 24, just out of university, carrying his luggage into a patch of heavily saline-alkali land in Yuyuan Town, Kunyu City (昆玉市). Almost all his relatives and friends said he was "crazy." Xu Zhaoyang said nothing. "Our country has large amounts of medium- and low-yield farmland and saline-alkali land," Xu Zhaoyang said. He wanted to find a path that balanced ecological and economic benefits, transforming the poor land at the desert edge into fertile fields. Facts have proven this path viable: after years of cultivation, the sandy soil here has begun to soften, its color shifting from yellow to brown, with obvious effects in soil improvement and wind and sand prevention.

In the first year, he contracted 375 mu of heavily saline-alkali land and experimentally planted more than 60 forage varieties, screening for varieties tolerant of poor soil, drought, and salinity suitable for the desert, ultimately selecting alfalfa. The second year, he expanded planting to 500 mu. "Supporting irrigation is the hard problem of planting in the desert." Xu Zhaoyang found that drip irrigation couldn't hold down the sand — just after seedlings emerged, a gust of wind would blow sand onto the tender seedlings, often damaging crops and reducing yields. Having tried drip irrigation, standing-pipe sprinklers, and micro-spray belts, he finally settled on large center-pivot sprinkler irrigation machines. "Sprinkler irrigation lets plants grow evenly, with no missing seedlings. One rotation, and one circle turns green. Also, the spray wets the surrounding sand, preventing it from rising with the wind and damaging crops."

After gaining a foothold, he turned his gaze to a harder challenge — wheat. In April 2025, Kunyu Guotou Group (昆玉国投集团) launched an 8,000-mu wheat demonstration planting base at the southern edge of the desert. Xu Zhaoyang was hired as a technical consultant, cooperating with Kunyu Guotou Group in planting, providing on-site guidance on center-pivot sprinkler layout, planting, and soil improvement. He brought over the experience he had gained through years of hard knocks in the alfalfa fields, and together with his team planned out circular planting zones one after another.

From a college student to a young entrepreneur and industry leader, Xu Zhaoyang now contracts and provides technical support for more than 23,000 mu of land. From 寸草不生 (cùn cǎo bù shēng - "not even an inch of grass grows," barren and lifeless) to waves of wheat rolling, Xu Zhaoyang set up his phone at the head of the field and started shooting short videos: "I want this exciting good news to spread across the country, so more people can see the sea of sand turned into fertile fields!"

This June, the wheat was harvested at 398 kilograms per mu! Standing at the head of the field, watching the harvester draw golden tracks through the "concentric circles," holding up wheat ears, Xu Zhaoyang's hands were trembling, but he couldn't hold back the smile on his face: "To produce this yield in the first year on newly reclaimed desert land, I think the effort was worth it."

After the wheat harvest, oats were re-sown in the fields, and the "concentric circles" turned green again, drawing the rings of a bountiful harvest year by year.

Two people managing a "super cotton field"

At the northern edge of the Taklamakan Desert, in Yuli County (尉犁县), cotton seedlings are growing robustly across 3,000 mu of cotton fields. A drone passes low over the cotton field, emitting a low hum. Ai Haipeng (艾海鹏) and Ling Lei (凌磊) stand side by side on the field ridge, answering the question of "how to grow it well."

In 2021, XAG (极飞科技) in Guangzhou launched the "Super Cotton Field" project — the goal was for two people to manage 3,000 mu of cotton fields with unmanned operation. XAG employees Ai Haipeng and Ling Lei were sent to carry out this seemingly crazy plan. The two had only ever given talks about intelligent agricultural machinery at promotional events; they couldn't even say for sure when cotton needed topping. When local cotton-growing veterans heard about it, they shook their heads: "I've grown cotton for 30 years, and 300 mu takes the whole family. You two kids are going to manage 3,000 mu? One gust of wind and the seedlings are gone — and you call that unmanned?"

In the first year, the Taklamakan's spring gale arrived on schedule. Wind carrying sand grains ground the earth like sandpaper, and the cotton seedlings that had just broken through the soil were pulled up by the roots, blown into flying fragments of withered green. The two stood at the head of the field, watching helplessly as nearly half the cotton field turned into bare white ground.

In the second year, they changed the planting sequence — in mid-March, they first laid mulch and planted wheat, then in early April interplanted cotton between the wheat rows. By the time the cotton seedlings emerged, the wheat seedlings had already grown to more than 10 centimeters tall, like a dense green windbreak wall. When the Taklamakan wind came again, the cotton seedlings hid behind the wheat stalks, only trembling slightly. That year, the harvestable area rose to nearly 100%. "We found the rhythm of coexisting with wind and sand," Ai Haipeng said.

Now, their "arsenal" is even richer. The seeder is equipped with a BeiDou autopilot system, keeping row spacing error within 2.5 centimeters; soil sensors are buried in the fields, uploading temperature, humidity, and electrical conductivity every 10 minutes; a small weather station stands in the middle of the cotton field, with wind speed, light, and evapotranspiration visible in real time. Drones are not only for spraying pesticides — they also automatically patrol the fields every day, taking off on schedule and scanning every inch of land according to a preset grid. Missing seedlings, broken rows, pest spots, weed clusters — all data is transmitted to the backend. The first thing Ai Haipeng does every morning is not go to the fields, but open the mobile app to look at the intelligence reports sent back by the "aerial scouts."

"Farming is getting more and more intelligent." He opens the wireless intelligent irrigation interface; the screen displays the open/closed status of each solenoid valve. With a swipe of his finger, he sets the duration and flow rate, and the underground drip irrigation tape begins silently soaking the cotton roots; fertilization parameters are also adjusted on the phone. The "Super Cotton Field" has become a reality — unmanned management has reached 75%, with the remaining 25% mainly concentrated in manual maintenance and repair of the required equipment.

As data accumulates ever thicker, the AI agricultural decision-making system has entered the validation stage — it is like a brain growing in the field, "swallowing" weather forecasts, soil data, crop growth status, and pest and disease models, and "spitting out" precise agricultural instructions that are directly synchronized to two fully automated agricultural robots about to come online. Farming is about to become even smarter.

The "Super Cotton Field" has reached a maximum yield of more than 500 kilograms per mu; in 2025, despite climate impacts, the per-mu yield still reached 470 kilograms, 50 kilograms higher than surrounding plots. What gives Ai Haipeng even more of a sense of achievement is that the "Super Cotton Field" model is being accepted by more and more people, with application area exceeding 2 million mu across crops including corn, grapes, and soybeans.

The field classroom the two run is often full of farmers coming to learn. "Before, they said we were fooling around. Now they chase after us asking how to download the app. We hope that through our promotion and technical training, more and more farmland will achieve unmanned management," Ai Haipeng said. When more and more people use their phones to farm, the desert will no longer be the desert that swallows hope.

Kuang Feiting's roots are planted in the "gene treasure house" watered by the painstaking efforts of several generations of breeders; Xu Zhaoyang's roots are planted in his determination to turn the desert into fertile fields; Ai Haipeng and Ling Lei's roots are planted in soil empowered by data and algorithms. When triticale joints and grows on saline-alkali land, when giant sprinkler irrigation machines draw green "concentric circles" in the yellow sand, when the data streams on phone screens quietly command every breath of 3,000 mu of cotton fields — the sea of sand is being redefined: this is not agriculture's dead end, but a "proving ground" of technology and courage.

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Touching the Texture of Youth in the Wind and Sand (Reporter's Notes)

By: 李亚楠

Interviewing several new-generation farmers, every time I shake their hands, I can feel the roughness of their palms, and when I look up, I see the traces of sweat running across their faces. These traces tell the weight of the two characters "taking root" (扎根) more honestly than any résumé.

What moved me most was Kuang Feiting (邝翡婷) crouching in the saline-alkali land to dig at the soil with her hands, the pride in the fine lines at the corners of Xu Chaoyang's (徐朝阳) eyes, and the hands-on guidance Ai Haipeng (艾海鹏) and Ling Lei (凌磊) gave to farmers who came to learn from them. These young people touch the texture of youth amid wind and sand, and through hard work earn their understanding of this land.

I have been pondering one question: what makes them stay? Kuang Feiting pointed into the distance and said, "Look, those places that have turned green were all white before." The white she spoke of was the white hard crust rising from the saline-alkali soil. In that instant, I understood the reason they had taken root — it is very simple: because they saw change happening, they could not bear to leave. The wind and sand remain, but the green is spreading — this is the meaning of growth.

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Workplace "Newcomers": Take the First Step Well (Youth Perspective)

By: 文 月

The admonitions from the graduation ceremony seem still to echo in one's ears, yet a new stage of life has already begun — it is now the season for starting work, and another batch of graduates are moving from campus to the workplace, becoming "fresh people" in the professional world.

Several years on, I still remember the scene of starting work: before leaving home, deliberating over what to wear to be more presentable; meeting colleagues, thinking about how to address them; arriving at my workstation and taking out the items from my bag, gradually feeling a sense of familiarity... New employees starting work may all have similar experiences, with both anticipation in their hearts and anxiety about adapting to and competently handling future work.

How to take the first step toward society well? It is worth looking at the moments when our predecessors were newcomers in the workplace.

How did a young teacher manage to stand firm on the podium? "People's Educator" Yu Yi (于漪) also once encountered difficulties. After graduating from university, she initially taught history, then later switched to teaching Chinese language and literature, and her early Chinese classes were not successful. To this end, she studied the curriculum on her own, was diligent in seeking advice, and sometimes spent more than ten hours preparing a single lesson. Relying on painstaking effort, the young teacher once evaluated as "not having entered the door" finally became a 行家里手 (háng jiā lǐ shǒu - "expert of the trade," a seasoned professional) in teaching.

How did a young worker hone his skills? National Model Worker (全国劳动模范) He Xiaohu (何小虎), after graduating from a vocational college, entered Xi'an Aerospace Engine Co., Ltd. of the Sixth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (中国航天科技集团第六研究院西安航天发动机有限公司). At the beginning of his work, he did mechanical processing every day — drilling, cutting, filing, grinding — sometimes repeating a single motion hundreds of times. He never complained of fatigue, often arrived at the workshop early to familiarize himself with the equipment, took the initiative to participate in training, and gradually grew into a technical backbone, participating in important missions such as the manned spaceflight program and the lunar exploration program.

It can be seen that feeling somewhat unaccustomed upon first entering the workplace is a common starting point for many people. Even if one has made preparations, encountering new challenges is inevitable: not knowing how to write emails, failing to format documents properly, projects not producing results... The key lies in how to face difficulties and transform setbacks into opportunities for growth. Ask about what you do not understand, learn what you do not know how to do, love labor, and be 脚踏实地 (jiǎo tà shí dì - "step on solid ground," to be down-to-earth and practical) — you will surely grow step by step through practice.

On the road of growth, on the one hand, do not fear difficulties; on the other hand, do not 妄自菲薄 (wàng zì fěi bó - "rashly belittle oneself," to underestimate oneself) either — the advantages of young people can inject much strength into the workplace. Academician Ben De (贲德), winner of the State Supreme Science and Technology Award (国家最高科学技术奖), recalled the first task upon entering work after graduating from university: within one month, develop the oscillator, a key component of the power spectral density analyzer. It had not been taught in class, and no one around him had done it before — what to do? Biting through foreign-language books, designing schemes, and debugging repeatedly, Ben De, in his twenties, ultimately completed the task on time. Expending effort and putting in hard work is often the fastest shortcut.

Predecessors laid the foundation; our generation takes up the relay. Overcoming challenges to complete the emergency launch mission of the Long March 2F carrier rocket, innovatively presenting the craftsmanship of the Longmen Grottoes through digital means, independently developing the production process for 35K carbon fiber precursor... Reading through the stories of the 2026 China Youth May Fourth Medal (中国青年五四奖章) collective, one can also feel the strength of young people in the workplace. 逢山开路 (féng shān kāi lù - "open roads when meeting mountains," to overcome obstacles) and 遇河架桥 (yù hé jià qiáo - "build bridges when encountering rivers," to find ways forward), the "fresh people" of the workplace are nurturing an extraordinary future.

Beyond exerting effort, do not forget to take care of your own life either. For many young people, entering the workplace also means starting a new way of life. Renting a place for the first time and moving into one's own small room, taking care of one's own three meals and daily routine for the first time, even moving to a new city for the first time — none of these are easy. Starting with "do not stay up late all the time," try to balance work and life as much as possible, which can accumulate more energy for one's life and career.

The road of life must be walked steadily and solidly, step by step. Looking back many years later, the colleagues who started work alongside you today may become precious "workplace childhood friends," the career goals you set may be realized before long, and the experience of striving for your ideals in youth will surely become a fulfilling, warm, lasting, and regret-free memory of youth.

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A "green microgrid" rises on the Gobi Desert

By: 本报记者 赵景锋

At 2 p.m., in Ejin Banner, Alxa League, Inner Mongolia, the air rushed at one's face with dry heat. Hu Yanjun, an employee of the Inner Mongolia Power Group's Alxa Power Supply Company, wearing insulated shoes and a full-cotton work uniform, headed to the energy storage battery compartment to carry out routine inspection.
"In battery compartment No. 6, one cooling fan has malfunctioned and stopped rotating properly." Hu Yanjun reported the abnormality promptly. Maintenance personnel arrived with tools, and before long, the cooling fan was rotating normally again. To ensure the normal operation of the new-type power system, Hu Yanjun and his colleagues carry out such routine inspections at least three times every day.
Hu Yanjun, 35 years old this year, joined the Ejin Banner "source-grid-load-storage" new-type power system construction team in 2022. This team, with an average age of under 35, focuses on the power supply difficulties of remote areas and has successfully constructed and operates a "green microgrid" covering the entire territory of Ejin Banner.
Why build a "green microgrid"? Hu Yanjun explained that Ejin Banner is located at the westernmost end of Inner Mongolia. For a long time, the entire banner has relied on only a single-circuit line to connect with the main grid of western Inner Mongolia, giving it a weak capacity to withstand sudden risks.
After discussion, two solution paths lay before everyone — one was to adopt conventional power transmission and transformation projects, solving the single-circuit power supply problem by building new power supply lines; the other was to rely on wind power and photovoltaic equipment to construct a "source-grid-load-storage" new-type power system, which, when the main grid experiences a fault, can seamlessly switch to an independent power supply mode.
"Adopting conventional power transmission and transformation projects has mature experience, but the construction cost is high and the cycle is long; choosing to build a 'source-grid-load-storage' new-type power system can effectively utilize the local advantages of wind and solar resources, but this model lacks mature experience," Hu Yanjun said.
Organizing experts for assessment and demonstration, using simulation systems for model verification... After a series of analyses and demonstrations, the company ultimately chose that "hard-to-chew" plan — building a "source-grid-load-storage" new-type power system.
After the project was launched, the team organized more than 40 special meetings, participated in executing more than 50 plans, and completed more than 20 preparatory tests. Members installed equipment, debugged lines, and conducted field tests during the day, and reviewed data, optimized control procedures, and rectified technical problems at night, building an "innovation laboratory" on the Gobi Desert.
"For grid-forming energy storage to operate successfully, it needs to undergo a large number of tests and verifications; pure new-energy black start is a key link." Hu Yanjun explained that the so-called black start refers to the situation where, after a power system has completely shut down due to special circumstances such as extreme disasters, the generator unit system can be started without relying on external power, thereby driving the restoration of grid power supply.
Facing the energy storage challenge, team members bit through the "hard bones" bit by bit. "At 14:34, the black start system successfully achieved load transfer; at 15:32, the photovoltaic power station and wind farm successively connected to the grid and generated power normally, and after 22 minutes of continuous stable operation, they successfully synchronized with the grid." Recalling the details of the test, Hu Yanjun remembered it vividly: "At the moment the test succeeded, everyone was too excited to speak. After more than 300 days and nights of continuous hard work, we finally breathed a sigh of relief."
The value of the new-type power system has also been continuously proven in actual combat. Not long ago, the only line connecting the Ejin Banner grid with the main grid suddenly tripped. The "source-grid-load-storage" new-type power system immediately came into play, automatically switching to off-grid operation mode, operating independently for 57 minutes, comprehensively safeguarding important loads in the jurisdiction, and finally smoothly completing automatic synchronized grid connection. Today, with the joint efforts of the team, this "green microgrid" has been operating safely for more than two years, has successfully operated off-grid 7 times, and provides continuous and stable power guarantees for the broad masses of residents.
On the Gobi Desert, wind turbine blades rotate slowly, and the power supply is stable and orderly. This team of nearly 100 people is quietly guarding the operational safety of this "green microgrid."

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Liu Botong

Layout Design: Zhang Danfeng

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Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai writes a new chapter of high-quality development

The Kunlun Mountains tower in majesty, and the vast desert stretches boundlessly. The Qaidam Basin, known as the "treasure bowl of the motherland," extends between snow-capped mountains and the Gobi Desert, its salt lakes mirroring drifting clouds and distant peaks.
Since 2021, the Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province has consistently upheld the Party's overall leadership, using high-quality Party building to lead high-quality development. Party organizations at all levels have fully played their role as fighting fortresses, completely, accurately, and comprehensively implemented the new development philosophy, anchored on Qinghai's "three greatest" provincial conditions, deeply integrated into the province's "four bases" industrial development framework, and united and led cadres and people of all ethnic groups in tackling difficulties, working hard, and striving to be first, writing an outstanding answer sheet for high-quality development in the Gobi desert. Over the past five years, the prefecture's gross regional product has successively crossed the 70 billion yuan, 80 billion yuan, and 90 billion yuan thresholds, exceeding 90 billion yuan in 2025 to reach 91.729 billion yuan. Per capita gross regional product has historically exceeded 190,000 yuan, and multiple core economic indicators rank first in the province. In the first half of this year, the prefecture achieved a gross regional product of 57.554 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.7%, ranking first in the province in growth rate.
This weighty report card embodies the sweat and wisdom of the sons and daughters of all ethnic groups in Haixi Prefecture and bears witness to the vigorous vitality of this land.

Building a solid ecological barrier and guarding the "Chinese Water Tower"

Qinghai's greatest value lies in ecology, its greatest responsibility lies in ecology, and its greatest potential also lies in ecology. Haixi Prefecture has always treated ecological civilization construction as a major political task and a bottom-line task. In the north, it guards the Qilian Mountains; in the south, it protects the Three-River-Source region; in the center, it nurtures the eight-hundred-li vast desert. The unique plateau ecosystem plays a special and important role in water conservation, wind and sand prevention, climate regulation, and biodiversity maintenance. Within its vast geographical coordinates, Haixi Prefecture has built a solid ecological security barrier.
Over the past five years, Haixi Prefecture has completed a total of 4.6229 million mu of land greening; ecological rangers have been employed to manage designated zones, achieving full grid-based coverage for the management and protection of 9.1707 million mu of state-owned forests, 120,400 mu of non-state-owned forests, and 181.6314 million mu of grassland. The integrated protection and systematic governance of mountains, waters, forests, farmlands, grasslands, and deserts have been promoted in a coordinated manner. Key projects such as the "Three-North" Shelterbelt Program and desertified land closure protection have been deeply implemented, and a governance model of "closure protection + scientific restoration + regional coordination" has been innovated. In the past 10 years, Haixi Prefecture has treated nearly 8 million mu of desertified land, and key desert areas have achieved a historic transformation from "desert advancing, people retreating" to "green advancing, desert retreating."
From an "ecological scar" to a "green model," the green rebirth of the Muli mining area (木里矿区) is a vivid footnote to Haixi Prefecture's practice of the "Two Mountains" concept. After three years of comprehensive ecological environment remediation and more than two years of consolidation and improvement, the former mine pits and slag heaps are now covered with lush grass and full of vitality. The pilot task for the Qilian Mountain National Park system has been successfully completed, and the "appearance rate" of rare wild animals such as snow leopards, Tibetan foxes, argali, and white-lipped deer has continued to rise.

Expanding the salt lake industry and honing scientific and technological innovation capabilities

Salt lake resources are a strategic resource for Qinghai and also a strategic resource for the country. Haixi Prefecture adheres to ecological priority and green development, takes promoting the orderly development of salt lake resources and green industrial development as the main line, and accelerates the cultivation of new quality productive forces.
The industrial scale continues to expand. The prefecture has built production capacity of over 10 million tons of potash fertilizer, 5 million tons of soda ash, 190,000 tons of magnesium hydroxide, 100,000 tons of metallic magnesium, 258,000 tons of lithium carbonate, and 1.02 million tons of polyvinyl chloride, forming a comprehensive salt lake resource development and utilization industrial system centered on the cascade development of potassium, sodium, magnesium, lithium, and chlorine resources. In 2025, the prefecture's salt lake chemical industry achieved an output value of 44.486 billion yuan, producing 7.5754 million tons of potash fertilizer, 5.5337 million tons of soda ash, 166,800 tons of lithium carbonate, and 1,206.24 tons of metallic lithium. Potash fertilizer, soda ash, and lithium carbonate production accounted for more than 77%, 14%, and 17% of national total output respectively, strongly safeguarding national food security and providing hard support for the development of the new energy industry.
Development quality and efficiency have improved significantly. A prefecture-level science and technology innovation special fund has been established, and key processes such as lithium extraction from brine with ultra-high magnesium-to-lithium ratios and preparation of anhydrous magnesium chloride from salt lake old brine have been successfully overcome. The direct lithium extraction technology from raw brine at Minmetals Salt Lake has reached the world's advanced level. The 5G smart salt lake and intelligent mining equipment of Salt Lake Industry Co., Ltd. have become industry demonstration benchmarks. CITIC Guoan Lithium's "battery-grade lithium carbonate green energy-saving intelligent factory" has been selected for the first batch of excellence-level intelligent factory lists by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the Golmud salt lake chemical industry characteristic industrial cluster has been recognized as a 2025 Qinghai Province SME characteristic industrial cluster. The prefecture has cultivated 13 innovative SMEs in the salt lake field, 1 national-level specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative "little giant" enterprise, 10 provincial-level specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative enterprises, and 2 listed companies.

Deeply cultivating clean energy and laying out the "dual carbon" track

As one of the main fronts for Qinghai Province to build a clean energy industry highland, Haixi Prefecture relies on its unique solar, wind, thermal, and storage resources to deeply integrate into the national "dual carbon" strategy. The total solar radiation on horizontal surfaces in the prefecture reaches 6,500–7,400 MJ/m², with an average annual sunshine duration of over 3,500 hours; the annual effective wind energy utilization duration is 3,500–5,000 hours. The theoretical developable capacity of new energy reaches 2.1 billion kilowatts.
As of now, the prefecture's total grid-connected clean energy installed capacity is 30.5058 million kilowatts, with new energy grid-connected installed capacity of 29.9758 million kilowatts, accounting for 47.6% of the province's total new energy installed capacity. The prefecture's solar thermal installed capacity is 560,000 kilowatts, with 1.05 million kilowatts under construction. Relying on salt lake resources to guarantee the supply of molten salt raw materials and using advanced molten salt thermal storage technology to smooth out fluctuations in wind and solar power generation, a "photovoltaic + wind power + solar thermal" multi-energy complementary and coordinated peak-shaving model has been formed, and the "China's Solar Thermal Capital" industry brand continues to be polished.
The energy storage industry layout continues to optimize. Over the past five years, the prefecture's energy storage installed capacity has reached 1.8058 million kilowatts, accounting for 43.4% of the province's total installed capacity. The world's first 100 MWh intelligent string-type grid-forming energy storage project has been completed, and the world's largest liquid air compressed energy storage project is about to be put into operation. The backbone power grid architecture continues to optimize, with an "8"-shaped backbone grid already formed, possessing 6 750 kV and 51 330 kV substations.

Strengthening green agriculture and animal husbandry and polishing the golden signboard

Based on its plateau-specific resource endowments, Haixi Prefecture continues to advance the construction of a pilot demonstration prefecture for the export of green and organic agricultural and livestock products, basically forming a "5+5+N" characteristic industrial system and blazing a path of agricultural and animal husbandry modernization with plateau characteristics.
Systematically building policy safeguards. Documents including the "Implementation Plan for Deepening the Construction of the Green and Organic Agricultural and Livestock Product Export Base in Haixi Prefecture (2025–2030)" have been formulated and issued, forming a coordinated, interconnected, and vertically integrated policy system. Over the past five years, a cumulative total of 3.6 billion yuan in fiscal funds at all levels has been implemented to fully support the upgrading of agricultural and livestock product foundations, deep processing, and brand building.
Chain-driven industrial development. Over the past five years, the prefecture's total crop planting area has reached 1.1282 million mu, with grain crop planting area reaching 340,200 mu and output reaching 97,700 tons. The goji berry planting area has reached 437,300 mu, with green and organic food certified planting area reaching 250,400 mu, and the prefecture has built a national characteristic agricultural product advantage zone and a national-level export quality safety demonstration zone. The quinoa planting area is 88,500 mu, an increase of 160.85% compared with the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period, making it an important plateau quinoa production area in the country.
Standardization drives green production, with a cumulative certification of 9 national geographical indication protection products including Tianjun yak and Qaidam goji berry. Led by the "Magical Qaidam" regional public brand, the brand value of "Qaidam Goji Berry" has exceeded 19.675 billion yuan, and "Tianjun Tibetan Sheep" and "Tianjun Yak" have been designated as products for China's North and South Pole expeditions. Over the past five years, Haixi Prefecture has cumulatively exported 1.1285 million tons of various agricultural and livestock products, with an export value of 23.982 billion yuan.

Prospering cultural tourism and singing the "poetry and distance"

Based on its unique plateau ecological foundation, Haixi Prefecture coordinates ecological protection, cultural heritage, and industrial development, achieving remarkable results in building an international eco-tourism destination.
The "Regulations of Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture on Promoting the High-Quality Development of Eco-Tourism" has been promulgated, using the power of law to safeguard the eco-tourism industry. Over the past five years, the prefecture has cumulatively completed 3.237 billion yuan in cultural tourism investment, implementing 251 key projects. As of the end of 2025, the prefecture has 22 A-level tourist attractions. In 2025, Chaka Salt Lake, Sky No.1, Dachaidan Emerald Lake, Chaerhan Salt Lake, and Water Yadan cumulatively received over 2.898 million, 1.2502 million, 2.2388 million, 1.4371 million, and 1.0042 million visitors respectively, and among the province's scenic areas with over one million visitors, Haixi Prefecture has 5.
The Reshui Tomb Group (热水墓群) Archaeological Site Park has been included in the national archaeological site park project list, and the Xiari Yamakebu Site has been selected for the "2023 China Archaeological New Discoveries." The prefecture currently has 7 national-level and 30 provincial-level intangible cultural heritage projects. Brand events such as the "Qaidam Planet Challenge" and "Roadside Volleyball" have been innovatively held, with agriculture, sports, culture, tourism, and commerce advancing in coordination and deep integration. Over the past five years, the prefecture has cumulatively received over 80 million visitors, with total tourism revenue exceeding 40 billion yuan. The brand influence of "Treasure Bowl of the Motherland · Magical Qaidam" continues to expand, and Haixi Prefecture is becoming the "poetry and distance" in more and more people's hearts.

Cultivating people's well-being and sharing the fruits of development

Development is for the people, development relies on the people, and the fruits of development are shared by the people. Over the past five years, Haixi Prefecture has continuously increased investment in people's livelihoods, effectively secured the bottom line of people's livelihoods, and made development warmer and happiness more tangible.
Social assistance is precise and powerful. Over the past five years, the urban minimum living security standard in the prefecture has been raised from 643 yuan per person per month to 906 yuan, and the rural minimum living security standard has been raised from 400 yuan per person per month to 595 yuan. A cumulative total of 22,000 person-times of temporary assistance have been implemented, with 76.3253 million yuan in assistance funds disbursed. The basic living standard for persons in extreme difficulty has been raised to 1,195 yuan per person per month, with the level of protection continuing to rank among the forefront of the province.
Elderly care services have been improved and expanded. Over the past five years, the prefecture has accurately and fully disbursed 153 million yuan in elderly subsidies, benefiting more than 25,000 elderly people. The number of elderly care beds per 1,000 elderly people has increased from 39 to 40, and the proportion of nursing-type beds has increased from 50% to 72.6%. The protection system for children in difficult circumstances continues to improve, and the protection standards for orphans continue to rise.

Building a strong talent team and consolidating the foundation for development

In building a strong cadre team, Haixi Prefecture has deployed 2,025 cadres under prefecture management in 53 batches over the past five years, and dispatched more than 600 cadres to the front line for training; in consolidating grassroots fortresses, it has promoted Party building quality improvement in all fields, completed 946 items of institutional establishment, amendment, and abolition, and resolved more than 15,000 urgent and difficult issues for the people; in strengthening talent support, it has flexibly introduced 583 talents and 46 teams, overcoming more than 50 key technologies. It has deeply advanced full and strict Party governance, normalized warning education, improved the supervision system, guided Party members and cadres to work cleanly and take responsibility, continuously created a clean and upright political ecosystem, and provided protection for the development of the entire prefecture.
The journey of ten thousand li is driven by a strong wind; with responsibilities weighing a thousand jun, we set out anew. Striving forward in the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, Haixi Prefecture will continue to anchor on the "four bases" industrial construction goals, focus on the ecological civilization highland and high-quality industrial development, and with a more spirited attitude and more pragmatic work style, strive to write an even more splendid Haixi chapter in the magnificent journey of building a new socialist modern Qinghai.
Data source: Publicity Department of the CPC Haixi Prefecture Committee

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Human warmth in a mundane world

By: 许 江

In20th-century China, Feng Zikai was a painter deeply imbued with the spirit of the human world. Why do I say this?

Recently, at the exhibition "Knowing the Painting Is the Heart — An Artistic Study Exhibition of Feng Zikai's Husheng Huaji (Painting Collection on Protecting Life)" held in the East Building of the China National Academy of Painting, I carefully savored this masterpiece completed over 46 years by the founder of modern Chinese caricature, essayist, and educator. This is the first time that all 450 works across 6 volumes of this precious surviving legacy have been presented completely and systematically. For this exhibition, Liu Wanming, President of the China National Academy of Painting, traveled extensively, not only upgrading the exhibition hall and improving protective facilities such as the constant-temperature and constant-humidity system, but also launching a new deluxe collector's edition of Husheng Huaji, striving to display the cultural value of the work comprehensively from exhibition space, academic organization, to derivative cultural products. The Zhejiang Provincial Museum also generously lent its full collection of Husheng Huaji for display. Everyone joined forces to present this exhibition, I believe, all for a common aspiration — to stand in the present era, inherit the cultural lineage, deeply interpret the ideological connotations and simple-hearted sentiments of Husheng Huaji, and enable more readers to appreciate the philosophy of cherishing life through the painting collection.

Feng Zikai's paintings depict the myriad forms of the human world. Among them are the four seasons of ordinary households, stories of life that urge people toward goodness, but most of all, they depict the affections of the human world and the love of human society. What is most precious in the human world? It is life. Therefore, in 1927, Feng Zikai and Master Hongyi, with "protecting life" as their mission, agreed to create Husheng Huaji through poetry and painting. To "protect life," one must gather within it the myriad postures of human existence. These myriad postures include blooming flowers and green willows, scenes that shock the eye, and also boundless melancholy and ten thousand kinds of suffering. Feng Zikai always used sparse brushwork, concise composition, and poetic, insightful captions to filter out the vexations of sorrow and suffering, veiling them with the compassion of an enlightened mind. After Master Hongyi passed away in 1942, Feng Zikai adhered to the promise "as long as my life permits, I shall surely follow the instruction," continuing to create for over 30 years, devoting nearly half a century of effort to absorbing the myriad forms of the human world, completing the creation of 450 paintings across 6 volumes of Husheng Huaji, creating a world of bright moon and clear breeze, appreciated by both refined and popular tastes — a poetic landscape belonging to the Chinese people, where life is tenderly protected.

Feng Zikai's paintings are filled with the love of the human world. Feng Zikai's grandson Feng Yu once said that Mr. Feng Zikai painted with "three hearts" — the poetic heart, the childlike heart, and the Buddhist heart. The poetic heart attains painting, the childlike heart reveals life, and the Buddhist heart bestows universal love. These three hearts are precisely the artistic form, the life form, and the caring form of human love. Their core lies in the vastness and sincerity of this love, the supreme goodness and spiritual root of this love, and the boundless, ever-present breathing and harmony of this love. This is precisely what is meant by "knowing the painting is the heart"! Feng Zikai's paintings are simple in brushwork yet profound in meaning. Though only a few strokes — a bamboo curtain, a wooden table, a vase of flowers, a pot of wine — they gaze from afar at a crescent moon in the sky, always carrying the vast poetic flavor of "the sky is like water." Feng Zikai's paintings are plain in form yet rich in flavor. The people and scenery in his works all carry an honest, straightforward quality, meticulous in every detail, yet always grasping what is essential, displaying the simple love of animals and ordinary folk, setting off the charm of priceless scenery and sentient mountains and rivers. Feng Zikai's paintings appear clumsy yet are actually ingenious. His paintings have no majestic brushstrokes, no flowing lines; he earnestly writes each character and object, paints each blade of grass and tree. Their wonder lies in ease and spontaneity — like the blue sky and white clouds, unfurling and curling freely, not seeking artifice, yet artistry arrives of itself! Such simplicity of brush with depth of meaning, plainness of form with richness of flavor, apparent clumsiness with actual ingenuity, combining honesty and gentleness with distance and serenity, combining warmth and elegance with zest — the root of this transformation lies entirely in his abundant love. With this love, he distilled the goodness of Chinese people's life-world, shaping the beauty of the human world through the poetry and character of painting. To know this art of painting, one must surely possess such a loving heart and divine brush! Protecting life is protecting the heart — Feng Zikai, through the method of protecting life by painting, revealed the original heart of the Chinese people.

Feng Zikai's paintings bring us endless edification. For nearly a century, his paintings have always served as educational models, included in primary and secondary school textbooks. Why? First, these paintings are all declarations of "manifesting bright virtue" — not aggressive indoctrination, but a poetic illumination, a confession of life's wisdom. He tells you what equality means, what fraternity means. With simple compositions, witty figures, and poetic overtones, in heartfelt delight we receive the absolution of the soul. What is displayed here is not a fairyland of romantic scenery and gentle breezes, nor simple sermons urging goodness and warning against evil, but rather the growth and joy of a healed soul, of knots untied, of strings understood. Therefore, we say that what Feng Zikai painted is not ordinary painting, but a portrait of the Chinese people's love, the aspiration of the Chinese nation to accumulate goodness and move toward goodness. Hence his paintings do not age after a hundred years, grow fresher across generations, and remain for the human heart an eternal poetic nourishment.

Knowing the painting is the heart — in today's words, this is an artistic project upheld for nearly half a century, a pure gathering of the world's compassion and sorrow. It includes the refugee flights and flames of war in troubled times, the torment of poverty, illness, and suffering, the unbearable costs of printing and dissemination, and even the suspicion and reproach that protecting life and protecting the heart might face. But Feng Zikai never stopped his brush; when his paintings were lost, he searched for them; when they were burned, he repainted them. His heart of protecting life always won him the selfless dedication and joint efforts of those who shared the same aspiration. In the 1970s, lying on a small bed only 1.58 meters long, Feng Zikai completed "The Head and Tail Are Cooked": that creature called the eel, to protect the life in its belly, arched its body to shield its young. This was the last painting of the sixth volume of his Husheng Huaji, and the most intense portrayal of his heart of protecting life.

Beyond the long pavilion, beside the ancient road, green grass stretches to the sky. Mr. Feng Zikai sits alone beside an old table, in a small room, the Milky Way in sight, compassion in his heart, the myriad forms of the human world vividly before his eyes. He caresses all things, observes the sun and moon, stands firm between heaven and earth, gazes at the stars; he experiences sorrow and joy intermingled, love surging within, teaching humanity to advance daily, protecting the eternity of human nature.

(The author is Vice Chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles)

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Digital Art Museum: Building a New Landscape for Art Communication (Art Circle Notes)

By: 屈 健

At present, digital technology is transforming the ecology of artistic creation and dissemination. The Digital Art Museum of the China Artists Association (中国美术家协会), which was officially launched recently, is a landmark practice in the digital transformation of China's fine arts undertaking. It signifies that the modes of art dissemination, viewing, resource management, and value generation are undergoing systematic, deep-level changes, profoundly affecting all aspects of artistic creation, academic research, aesthetic education popularization, and cultural dissemination.

The value core of the digital art museum lies in its response to the practical needs of fine arts development in the new era, filling the structural shortcomings that traditional art dissemination has long faced.

Breaking the constraints of space, it expands the temporal and spatial boundaries of art dissemination. Traditional art museums are essentially physical cultural facilities; exhibitions, research, collections, public education, and other activities are all built upon the physical space of the "venue." Audiences must be present in person to closely view original works and experience the works' aura and on-site atmosphere. This immersive experience, while irreplaceable by online dissemination, also has obvious limitations. For art enthusiasts in remote areas, it is difficult for them to frequently access national-level exhibitions and classic art works. The narrow coverage of high-quality artistic resources has long been a practical problem difficult to solve in the public services of the fine arts field.

The completion of the China Artists Association's Digital Art Museum, relying on mature digital technologies such as high-definition image capture, three-dimensional modeling, and virtual exhibition display, extends many functions of the physical art museum to the cloud space. The museum systematically aggregates the achievements of national-level major exhibitions over the past 30 years, including the 9th through 14th National Art Exhibitions and multiple National Youth Art Exhibitions, collects more than 40,000 pieces (sets) of high-definition art work images and archival footage, and simultaneously enters the basic academic materials of more than 8,000 exhibiting artists and over 21,000 members of the China Artists Association, integrating originally scattered resources into a comprehensive digital art resource database that can be viewed at any time, accessed anywhere, and is searchable, researchable, and shareable, promoting high-quality cultural resources to step out of the halls and toward the public.

Transforming the viewing mode, it reshapes the connection between art and the public. For a long time, traditional art exhibitions have mostly been one-way dissemination, with a lack of deep interaction between audiences and works. On the China Artists Association's Digital Art Museum, however, audiences can not only view exhibitions online but also trace artists' creative trajectories through knowledge graphs, and examine work details from different angles through digital twin technology, opening more space for exhibition viewing to become a process of aesthetic education involving independent exploration, active thinking, and deep participation, helping audiences better engage in dialogue with works, with academia, and with the era.

This change reshapes the underlying logic of art dissemination. Cultural dissemination in the new era is no longer simply content display; it must also activate the public's aesthetic initiative, participation, and creativity. The digital art museum breaks down the barriers among works, historical materials, academia, and the public, forming a new ecology in which the public participates in interpretation, interacts and communicates, and jointly enriches artistic value, allowing art to truly enter daily life, permeate people's hearts, and become an engine for the vigorous development of new mass literature and art in the Internet age.

Activating collection resources, it realizes the continuous inheritance of the artistic lineage. Classic art works, archives of major exhibitions, and the growth imprints of older-generation artists are precious assets of Chinese fine arts. But physical collections have always faced practical problems such as oxidation and aging, environmental wear, limited preservation, and limited dissemination; many precious historical materials and documents have long been 束之高阁 (shù zhī gāo gé - "tied up and placed on a high shelf," shelved and unused), making it difficult to realize their academic and aesthetic education value.

The launch of the digital art museum provides support for the continuous inheritance of the artistic lineage. Through high-precision digital capture and reliance on blockchain technology, it constructs a safe, standardized, and trustworthy digital asset system for fine arts, providing detailed, authoritative, and systematic foundational materials for art research and teaching, greatly releasing the academic and social value of fine arts.

Empowering cultural construction, it builds a new pattern of art dissemination in the new era. The launch of the China Artists Association's Digital Art Museum is a concrete practice of the cultural digitalization strategy in the fine arts field, and an important exploration by the China Artists Association in responding to the construction of a culturally strong nation and building a Chinese-style modernization cultural dissemination system. In the future, relying on technological upgrades, resource expansion, and functional improvement, the China Artists Association's Digital Art Museum will further stimulate artistic creation vitality, consolidate the foundation of art research, broaden the paths of aesthetic education popularization, enhance the dissemination power and influence of Chinese fine arts, allow the Chinese artistic lineage to thrive 生生不息 (shēng shēng bù xī - "to grow and multiply without cease," to flourish continuously) in the digital age, and inject lasting artistic strength into building a socialist cultural power.

(The author is Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Executive Vice Chairman of the China Artists Association)

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Wax knives trace verses in blue and white

By: 陈一墨

From online livestreams to appearances at domestic and international fashion weeks, in recent years, Danzhai (丹寨) Miao batik from the deep mountains of southwestern Guizhou has won the affection of many young people with its blue-and-white interlaced, plain and elegant aesthetic charm, as well as its rich and diverse forms.

The artistic beauty of Danzhai Miao batik originates from the dialogue between artisans and nature and materials. Local artisans use the wax knife as a brush, dipping it into melted wax liquid, and carefully draw patterns on cotton and linen fabrics that have been soaked in plant-ash water, rinsed, and ironed smooth; afterward, the fabric is placed into an indigo dye vat, and the dyeing duration is controlled according to the desired depth of color; finally, the fabric is placed in boiling water to remove the wax, and after rinsing and drying, patterns of blue background with white flowers or white background with blue flowers are formed, carrying an ancient charm. According to Miao customs, women all must learn the batik craft, and through generations of 口传心授 (kǒu chuán xīn shòu - "oral transmission, heart-to-heart instruction," passing down knowledge through both words and personal teaching), clothing adornments, festival rituals, and social customs led by batik art have been formed.

The ice crack pattern is the soul of Danzhai Miao batik, a unique visual aesthetic jointly created by nature's work and human skill. Artisans are deeply familiar with the characteristic that wax liquid naturally cracks on the fabric surface when it meets cold, and by regulating the wax liquid temperature, the ratio of beeswax to paraffin wax, the folding method of the fabric, and the force of rubbing during wax removal, they actively guide the direction and texture of the ice cracks, allowing the dye to seep in along the crack lines, forming effects like ice flowers blooming, naturally formed, agile and distinctive. A thousand people produce a thousand different patterns, each piece unique, achieving the moving aesthetic meaning of Danzhai Miao batik.

Danzhai Miao batik patterns are rich and varied, possessing the dual value of semantic narrative and visual decoration, and are "living fossils" recording the evolution of Miao civilization. The patterns are not merely decorative; they are also poetic interpretations and living memories of the Miao people's 万物有灵 (wàn wù yǒu líng - "all things have spirits," the animist worldview that all things possess a soul) cosmology, as well as carriers of people's 祈福纳祥 (qí fú nà xiáng - "pray for blessings, receive auspiciousness," to seek good fortune and auspicious signs), mainly including butterfly patterns, bird patterns, dragon patterns, fish patterns, and Wotuo patterns (窝妥纹). Among them, the Wotuo pattern is a classic pattern in Danzhai Miao batik, with a fixed form, often decorating the shoulder and sleeve areas of Miao formal attire, displaying solemnity. Artisans are skilled at using composite patterns to construct the beauty of order. This artistic expression not only displays exquisite craftsmanship but also reflects local people's reverence for life, worship of nature, and longing for a better life.

With the development of the times, artisans continuously update pattern designs, innovate language expression, and enrich product types, making Danzhai Miao batik a cultural element that combines ethnic charm with fashionable texture. Young creators use artificial intelligence technology to rapidly deduce new variants of traditional patterns and test the dyeing effects of different dye ratios, which both improves production efficiency and enhances the freedom of pattern design. Old artisans also do not 故步自封 (gù bù zì fēng - "to be stuck in old ways, self-limiting," to refuse to improve or change), as they incorporate classic patterns into modern designs and develop derivative products such as dolls, hanging ornaments, and stationery. There are also some designers who apply Danzhai Miao batik to clothing fabrics, home soft furnishings, and artistic hanging paintings, giving rise to a batch of popular products. No matter how the forms change, artisans always insist on preserving the handmade original texture and cultural roots of batik, allowing the life charm and beautiful blessings carried by batik to be passed down from generation to generation.

From a folk craft of the agricultural era to a cultural calling card that now possesses both aesthetic value and industrial vitality, Danzhai Miao batik, in the life connection from the heart to the hands of artisans, continuously writes the cultural charm and aesthetic ideals of Qiandongnan (黔东南).

(The author is an associate professor at Sichuan Fine Arts Institute)

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Photo Report

Chinese painting Green Shadows (翠影), by Wang Laiwen (王来文).

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Maritime Creation in Modern Illustration

By: 金江波

Images are the direct imprint of civilizational inheritance; illustration is the vivid language of contemporary narrative. At a time when visual culture deeply empowers social communication, urban construction, and cultural exchange, modern illustration has long since transcended the single medium attribute of traditional decoration and illustration, becoming an important vehicle for carrying the spirit of the times, shaping public aesthetics, and empowering cultural innovation.
Recently, the "First Modern Illustration Art Exhibition of the China Artists Association" opened in Shanghai, co-hosted by the China Artists Association, the Shanghai Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Shanghai University, and the Jing'an District People's Government of Shanghai. Nearly 300 selected works, chosen from more than 4,200 submissions, come from illustration practitioners of different age groups and creative fields, presenting the developmental landscape and innovative vitality of modern Chinese illustration art in the new era through diverse creative media and rich artistic expression.
Shanghai is the birthplace of China's modern visual culture and a fertile ground where modern illustration art has taken root, grown, and iteratively developed. Over the past century, from lithographic pictorials and calendar posters to comics, serial picture books, and commercial art design, visual art has always resonated at the same frequency as Shanghai's urban development. Rooted in Shanghai's visual cultural lineage, this exhibition builds a narrative framework connecting history, the present, and the future, systematically sorting through the century-long developmental thread of modern Chinese illustration so that it radiates new life in contemporary artistic creation.
The value core of modern illustration lies not only in aesthetic expression but also in reshaping the mode of production and dissemination of urban culture. As an art form of cross-boundary integration, modern illustration breaks traditional artistic boundaries, possessing unique advantages across media, across scenes, and across industries, deeply integrating into publishing and communication, public art, digital media, cultural tourism development, urban renewal, and many other fields, achieving the organic unity of artistic creation, social communication, and industrial development. This exhibition places its main venue at Sihang Warehouse, while linking landmark spaces along Suzhou Creek such as Guang'er Warehouse (光二仓库), allowing modern art and century-old architecture to engage in a dialogue across time and space — this both facilitates the adaptive reuse of historic buildings and provides citizens with a public cultural platform for touching history and encountering art.
The foundation of cultural innovation lies in talent; the soul of artistic development lies in youth. The vigorous growth of modern illustration art cannot be separated from the innovative vitality and continuous cultivation of young creators. Launched in conjunction with this exhibition, the China Artists Association's "Youth Partner Program — Illustration 100" project focuses on the discovery and cultivation of young illustration talent. Through diverse measures such as exhibitions, academic education, practical empowerment, and industry exchange, it guides young creators to step out of the narrow perspective of individual creation, to build a broad framework rooted in the times and serving society, and to promote the transformation of young creators from technical refinement to cultural expression, and from self-expression to expression of the times.
The innovation of AI (artificial intelligence) and digital technology has opened an entirely new development track for modern illustration. In this exhibition, faculty and students of Shanghai University, together with illustration artists, used original illustrations as a foundation and relied on AI technology to create a series of "AI comic dramas," transforming static illustrations into dynamic audiovisual works with both narrative and观赏 value, vividly demonstrating the innovative possibilities of deep integration between art and technology, and also showcasing the imagination and creativity of young creators.
The development of modern illustration requires the coordinated efforts of universities, government, and industry. Only by taking the city as the creative classroom and projects as the practical vehicle, guiding creators to root themselves in real life and deeply excavate cultural heritage, can original visual works with Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese bearing be refined. The deep integration of the education chain, talent chain, innovation chain, and industry chain not only helps build a new path for cultivating artistic talent in the new era but also promotes the transformation of original artistic resources into public cultural achievements of the city, continuously enhancing the city's cultural soft power.
The First Modern Illustration Art Exhibition is not only an artistic feast but also a deep exploration of urban cultural innovation and the growth of youth art. It is hoped that this will serve as an opportunity to promote modern Chinese illustration art to construct a Chinese visual cultural discourse system in the exchange and mutual learning of civilizations, and to manifest the contemporary charm of Chinese culture through vivid artistic expression.
(The author is Executive Dean of the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, Shanghai University)

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Animated Sequels Breathe New Life into Ancient Art (Reading Paintings)

By: 廖向荣

In the last phase of the dog days, residual heat lingers. People's longing for "coolness" during the hot season is no different in ancient and modern times. Shen Zhou's Ming Dynasty fan painting "River Pavilion Summer Retreat" (《江亭避暑图》) (see figure) resembles a cool, refreshing quatrain. In the painting, a lofty scholar with a staff walks slowly toward a small pavilion by the river; the rocks and trees are all rendered in pale, elegant flower blue, ochre, and mineral green. The scenery is extremely simple, yet it creates a sense of the river's breadth and the clarity of heaven and earth. An inscribed poem on the painting points to the true meaning within: "A fine pavilion by the pond, in the sunset and pine shadows. Just when there is no place to escape the heat, one takes it to be a crystal palace." The sunset and pine shadows in the poem are not directly depicted, which precisely embodies the subtlety of literati painting: using poetry to complete the painting's imagery. Shen Zhou does not paint a figure waving a fan or drinking ice, but uses the bright, clean tones of blue-green landscape painting and ethereal scenery to evoke a realm of refined ease—dispelling heat depends not on external things, but on the state of mind.

Such restrained, implicit artistic conception may feel somewhat distant to contemporary young viewers. Between the visual language of ancient painting and the reading habits of modern people lies a river that must be crossed. People's Daily's "Daily Painting Appreciation" (每日读画) column made an interesting attempt: turning this fan painting into an animation, truly bringing the tranquil image to life.

At the opening of the animation, a golden sunset slowly emerges, its afterglow spilling down, instantly drawing viewers into a dusk when the humid heat has not yet dissipated. A lofty scholar appears leaning on a staff—not strolling leisurely as in the original painting, but vigorously climbing onto a rock, raising a hand to shade his eyes and gazing into the distance. This gesture both conveys the unbearable scorching heat and reveals an urgency: he is seeking a place of coolness. When he spots the pine-shaded hillside across the river, an idea strikes him.

The next scene is arguably the most spirited passage of the entire animation. The scholar steps back a few paces, then charges forward, leaping into the air like a martial arts master, landing steadily on the opposite bank. This leap completely breaks free of the restrained grammar of literati painting; with the exaggerated dynamism of a wuxia film, it turns "escaping the heat" into a 酣畅淋漓 (hān chàng lín lí - "drinking freely, dripping wet," describing doing something thoroughly and with great satisfaction) action. The lofty scholar under Shen Zhou's brush is endowed with new vitality—he is not "walking toward" coolness, but "rushing toward" it. Through exaggerated body language, the animation completes for the viewer a full release of imagination.

After leaping across the river, the scholar casually waves his staff, and the pine grove and small pavilion rise up from the ground along with it, 拔地而起 (bá dì ér qǐ - "rising straight up from the ground," to emerge or spring up abruptly). This nearly "creation-like" act elevates the scholar from a "staffage figure" (点景人物) to a "director," as if the entire scene of riverside pavilion summer retreat were the embodiment of his own mind. When the scholar nods in satisfaction and a red heart lights up in the frame, the emotional channel between ancient painting and contemporary young people is thoroughly opened. Is there any essential difference between the joy and contentment the ancients felt before beautiful scenery and the feeling modern people have when they tap "like"?

The inscription emerges, and the sunset instantly transforms into a seal stamp, bringing the animation to a close. The sunset becoming a seal preserves the formal DNA of the fan painting's calligraphy and imagery, while using animation's distinctive transformational grammar to stamp the work with a contemporary mark. One could say the entire animation retells an ancient story in the visual language of this era. The core of the story has not changed: seeking a place of coolness amid the heat, to settle body and mind. But the manner of telling has shifted from implicit suggestion to direct participation. This is the special significance of animation for ancient painting. When animation, with its exaggerated motion, fantastical transitions, and internet-savvy symbols, flings open the door between ancient painting and young people with a "bang"; when young people are deeply drawn in by the animation, Shen Zhou's poetic heart quietly arrives.

Forms may constantly renew; the heart's intent has never been far away. Animation continues the ancient spirit—what it continues is not brushwork and technique, but that shared heart which seeks coolness amid summer heat and tranquility amid clamor. When the lofty scholar makes his leap, when the red heart lights up in the sunset, that wisp of cool breeze from Shen Zhou's brush once again sweeps across this world, in a form that young people 500 years later can understand.

(The author is deputy dean of the School of Visual Arts and Design, Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts (广州美术学院))

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Xu Hongmei, Ma Suwei

本版邮箱：msfk@peopledaily.cn
题图设计：赵偲汝

This edition's email: msfk@peopledaily.cn
Title image design: Zhao Cairu (赵偲汝)

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