Summary: The document outlines the CPC Central Committee and the State Council's comprehensive plan to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces, emphasizing innovation-led, reform-focused development in light of local conditions. It details measures across scientific and technological innovation, industrial upgrading, institutional reform, and talent mechanisms, including strengthening original innovation, accelerating breakthroughs in key core technologies, cultivating emerging industries, and forward-looking layout of future industries. The opinions also address advancing innovation in development models, such as building a green, low-carbon economy and actively advancing the energy revolution, alongside increasing the supply of innovative financial products. Furthermore, the document calls for allocating advanced production factors globally through expanded high-level opening up, including promoting the joint construction of Belt and Road Initiative joint laboratories. Finally, it stresses strengthening organization and implementation, warning against rushing in blindly or creating bubbles, with the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission Office and the National Development and Reform Commission tasked to coordinate the work.
Summary: The article reports on China's "Silver Age Action" initiative, which encourages elderly people to participate in volunteer services and contribute to society. It highlights General Secretary Xi Jinping's call for the elderly to maintain a healthy mindset and enterprising spirit, and his affirmation of elderly volunteers' role in serving the grassroots. The piece features examples of elderly volunteers across China, including mediators, agricultural experts, docents, and teachers, who apply their experience in fields such as grassroots governance, rural revitalization, and cultural inheritance. It also details government efforts to provide institutional safeguards, such as information service platforms, insurance, and rights protection mechanisms, to support elderly participation. The article concludes that these efforts embody a people-centered development philosophy and contribute "silver-haired strength" to advancing Chinese modernization.
Summary: Jinan is promoting integrated innovation among industry, academia, and research to develop new quality productive forces, following General Secretary Xi Jinping's May 2024 inspection instructions on advancing the deep integration of technological and industrial innovation. The city has built 16 concept verification centers, including one established by the University of Jinan with local enterprises to help transform frontier technologies like Professor Sun Dehui's 12-inch lithium niobate crystal into commercial products. Jigang Group, under Party Secretary Liu Shijun, has transformed from traditional industry into a satellite manufacturing hub with a complete industrial chain and 159 upstream and downstream enterprises. Jinan has also launched a "use first, pay later" school-enterprise patent cooperation model, which helped Shandong Lingxiyuan Technology Development Co., Ltd. achieve batch production in 45 days and save nearly one million yuan in costs. Last year, Jinan achieved a technology contract transaction volume of 102.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.7%.
Summary: The article is a commentary on developing new quality productive forces, following the issuance of the "Opinions on Developing New Quality Productive Forces" by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council. It emphasizes coordinating the cultivation of new growth drivers with the renewal of old ones, citing examples from Ansteel in Liaoning and Yuntianhua in Kunming, Yunnan. It also stresses the need to both strive for excellence through hard work and guard against impetuosity, highlighting Qingyang, Gansu's success with the "East Data, West Computing" project. The piece calls for establishing a correct view of political achievements and adhering to principles such as "innovation-led, reform-driven, in light of local conditions, and establishing the new before abolishing the old." The commentary concludes that new quality productive forces will flourish and high-quality development momentum will surge more powerfully.
Summary: Localities across the country are seizing the golden period of autumn construction, with engineering and construction sites in full swing, new technologies being rapidly implemented, construction milestones being completed in succession, and key engineering projects advancing steadily.
Summary: During the the 2026 National Day holiday, the national cultural and tourism market remained stable and orderly, with domestic trips nationwide reaching 826 million person-trips and total domestic travel spending of 738.375 billion yuan, representing year-on-year increases of 6.3% and 4.3% respectively compared with 2025 on a comparable basis. Product supply was rich, with red tourism highly favored by 40% of tourists, rural tourism gaining momentum, and 180 large-scale performances held nationwide. Benefit-oriented measures included localities distributing over 310 million yuan in consumption subsidies during the National Day Cultural and Tourism Consumption Month. The inbound tourism market was active, with 2.983 million inbound tourists received, representing increases of 19.0% and 6.5% compared with 2024 and 2025 respectively.
Summary: A symposium on studying Volumes I and II of *Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Culture* was held in Beijing on the 9th, with Li Shulei, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, attending and delivering a speech. Participating representatives held that the works vividly record the historical process led by the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, systematically present Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, and provide authoritative teaching materials for studying and practicing it. They stated that the most important thing is to profoundly comprehend the decisive significance of the Two Establishments, enhance the Four Consciousnesses, strengthen the Four Confidences, achieve the Two Upholds, and better shoulder the cultural mission of the new era, while also comprehending the Thought's role as a fundamental guideline, its original contributions via the Two Integrations, its strategic blueprint for a culturally strong country, its profound heritage and sentiments, and its ways of thinking and methods of work. The symposium was hosted by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, with responsible comrades from central departments, central publicity and cultural units, provincial-level publicity departments, and experts and scholars attending.
Summary: The National Development and Reform Commission official outlined four principles for developing new quality productive forces: innovation-led, reform-focused, in light of local conditions, and establish before breaking, warning against blind investment and homogeneous duplication. The "Opinions" requires coordinating government-market, quality form-business form, reform-development, self-reliance-opening up, and development-security relationships, with innovation-led as the first of five major tasks. The official emphasized strengthening enterprises' principal position in scientific and technological innovation, accelerating breakthroughs in key core technologies, and promoting the deep integration of the real economy with the digital economy, including implementing the "AI+" action. Reform efforts should focus on deepening reform around the close integration of science and technology with the economy, deploying science and technology tasks on demand in major national engineering projects, and deepening innovation in the talent work mechanism. The official also stressed advancing the energy revolution as part of green, low-carbon, and circular development, urging all regions to treat implementation as a major political task.
Summary: State Councilor Shen Yiqin met with the Chinese sports delegation to the 20th Asian Games in Beijing on October 9, conveying the Party Central Committee and the State Council's congratulations. She stressed bearing in mind General Secretary Xi Jinping's instructions, staying calm and avoiding arrogance, continuing to make persistent efforts, and solidly advancing preparations for the Los Angeles Olympic Games. Shen noted the delegation achieved its best-ever results at an Asian Games held outside China, achieving success in two aspects simultaneously, demonstrating winning glory for one's country, tenacious struggle, fighting or working side by side, confidence, optimism, fair competition, winning honor for the motherland and the people. She urged upholding the supremacy of the motherland, summarizing experience, identifying shortcomings, being down-to-earth and practical, forging ahead through hardships, completing preparation for Los Angeles, further consolidating China's status as a major Olympic power. She also stressed implementing Xi Jinping's expositions on sports work, strengthening coordination, reforming competitive sports management, accelerating reserve talent cultivation, strictly rectifying "fan circle" chaos, accelerating building a sporting powerhouse.
Summary: A new column, "Innovations Around Us," launches with a series report on specialized Chinese agricultural machinery, featuring a fresh-eating corn harvester that keeps ear damage rate stably within 3%. Developer Tang Wentao, section chief at Jiufang Taihe International Heavy Industry's Engineering Technology Research Institute, explains that his team simulated manual picking to design a non-row-aligned flexible stalk-dividing feeding system, hexagonal oblique-blade stalk-pulling roller, and soft rubber block conveying chain, achieving full-process low-damage harvesting. User Wang Tewei, a fresh-eating corn grower in Hanting District, Weifang City, reports that efficiency has gone up and damage has come down, but hopes for better adaptability to different varieties and row spacings, simpler operation, and faster after-sales service.
Summary: The article is a photo report on the 5652 public-welfare slow train from Kunming, Yunnan to Hongguo, Guizhou, which traveled through the region during the National Day holiday. The train covers 261 kilometers with a full-route fare of 36.5 yuan and minimum fares of only a few yuan, linking over 10 small stops as a "convenience public bus" for villagers. The photo, taken on October 7 by Xinhua reporter Chen Xinbo, shows a train attendant helping a passenger by looking after her child while she went to the restroom.
Summary: A reading exchange event for the German edition of Volume V of *Xi Jinping: The Governance of China* was held in Frankfurt, Germany, bringing together Chinese and German representatives from government, academia, business, and cultural circles to discuss Chinese modernization, global initiatives, and building a community with a shared future for mankind. Xie Gang, Deputy Director of the China International Communications Group, stated that the book provides an authoritative reading for German and European circles to understand Chinese modernization, and that China and Germany can deepen pragmatic cooperation in fields such as intelligent manufacturing and green energy. Helga Zepp-LaRouche, president of the German Schiller Institute, said China's success lies in the philosophical foundations and governance wisdom of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and that studying the book is the best way to understand the Chinese miracle. German historian Peter K. H. (Pei Gaode) argued that the so-called "China shock theory" stems from a lack of willingness to understand China, and that the work is an authoritative guide to China's path and governance philosophy. Michael Merz, Mayor of Ransbach-Baumbach, emphasized that President Xi Jinping's global initiatives inject certainty and stability into a world of turmoil and intertwined change, and that Germany-China pragmatic cooperation will continue to benefit the world.
Summary: Peng Liyuan, wife of President Xi Jinping and UNESCO Special Envoy for the Promotion of Girls' and Women's Education, delivered a video message to the 2026 UNESCO Prize for Girls' and Women's Education award ceremony held in Paris, congratulating winning institutions from Morocco and Peru. She stated that girls' and women's education is an important yardstick for measuring human civilization's progress, and that China has always attached great importance to it, empowering high-quality development in education with artificial intelligence technology and providing useful experience for Global South countries. She called on the international community to strengthen vocational education and training for women and develop digital-intelligent education oriented toward women, enabling them to become users and beneficiaries of such technology. She expressed willingness to work with all parties to promote greater development of the cause of girls' and women's education. The prize, jointly established by China and UNESCO in 2015, has received extensive attention and high praise from the international community.
Summary: Chinese modernization will continue to create development opportunities for all countries, including Kazakhstan, and bring more inspiration to humanity's exploration of diverse paths to modernization. Volume V of *Xi Jinping: The Governance of China* reveals that China plans development with a long-term perspective, coordinating reform, development, and stability, with governance wisdom grounded in the present while planning for the long term. A distinctive feature is adherence to following a single plan through to completion, with five-year plans and medium-and long-term goals organically linked, advancing step by step toward established goals. Putting the people first is the consistent essential requirement, as China has lifted nearly 100 million rural residents out of absolute poverty, promoting modernization achievements to benefit all the people more fairly. The author, Director of the "Eurasian Monitoring" Analytical Research Center of Kazakhstan, argues that China's exploratory spirit breaks with the Western modernization model, advocating that each country explore paths based on its own national conditions, and that Chinese modernization will bring more inspiration to humanity's exploration of diverse paths to modernization.
Summary: Malaysia's former Transport Minister and Asia-Pacific "Belt and Road" Co-Development Association President Ong Tee Keat said in an exclusive interview that China's four major global initiatives are practical solutions responding to the international community's aspiration for a more just and reasonable order, bringing certainty to a restless world. He noted the Global Governance Initiative, proposed last September, has received support from nearly 160 countries, and China's establishment of the International Organization for Mediation in Hong Kong is an important legal public good. Ong Tee Keat also highlighted deepened China-ASEAN economic cooperation, including the RCEP agreement and the upgraded China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0, as foundations for Asia-Pacific integration. He cited the East Coast Rail Link project and Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park as examples of bilateral cooperation, urging further people-to-people exchanges through films and other means to consolidate the high-level strategic Malaysia-China community with a shared future.
Summary: Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, met in Beijing on October 9 with a joint delegation of political leaders from Pacific island countries, headed by Tonga's Deputy Prime Minister Latu. Wang Yi stated that, under the joint guidance of President Xi Jinping and the leaders of Pacific island countries, the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the Pacific island countries has become more stable and sound. China is willing to work with the island countries to firmly support each other in following development paths that suit their respective national conditions, to strengthen party-to-party exchange and cooperation, and to join hands in building an even closer China–Pacific Island Countries community with a shared future. Latu and the others expressed gratitude for the tremendous assistance China has long provided for the economic and social development of the island countries, stated that they will firmly uphold the One-China policy, and expressed willingness to strengthen exchanges and interactions with the Communist Party of China.
Summary: He Lifeng, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, met with Maroš Šefčovič, European Commission Vice-President for Trade and Economic Security, in Beijing on October 9, and the two sides exchanged views on China-EU economic and trade relations. He Lifeng stated that China has always attached great importance to developing economic and trade relations with the EU and is willing to jointly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of both sides. The two sides should give full play to the role of the China-EU trade and investment consultation mechanism, adhere to the new positioning of a stable and balanced key trade partnership, continue dialogue, properly handle differences, and promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral economic and trade relations. Šefčovič stated that China is an important economic and trade partner of the EU and expressed willingness to continue advancing trade and investment consultations, strengthen communication, and jointly promote cooperation.
Summary: Botswana President Duma Gideon Boko will pay a state visit to China from October 12 to 17 at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, as announced by a Foreign Ministry spokesperson on October 9.
Summary: China and the EU held the second regular meeting of the China-EU Trade and Investment Consultation Mechanism in Beijing from October 8 to 9, co-chaired by Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and European Commission Trade and Economic Security Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, issuing a joint statement. The two sides formed 16 specific consensus outcomes around trade and investment balance, export controls, intellectual property rights, and WTO reform, including exploring tariff reductions, reaching an understanding on hybrid vehicle trade, continuing price undertakings in the EV anti-subsidy case, and technical dialogue on the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation. China will facilitate rare earth and permanent magnet export licensing to Europe via a "green channel," while the EU will work with member states to resolve key licensing cases for China in the dual-use field. The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to properly handle differences within WTO rules and stabilize bilateral economic and trade relations, agreeing to hold the third regular meeting in March 2027 with a ministerial video conference in January.
Summary: The Kilwa Masoko Fishing Port project in Tanzania, undertaken by China Harbour Engineering Company, recently passed its completion acceptance smoothly. The project covers an area of approximately 5.6 hectares and is designed with an annual fish unloading capacity of 60,000 tons. As Tanzania's first modern large-scale fishing port, once operational it will become the core hub for the development of Tanzania's marine fisheries and a national-level deep-sea fishing base. The photo shows an aerial view of the project, taken by Chen Zhifeng.
Summary: Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning announced that President Duma Gideon Boko of Botswana will pay a state visit to China from October 12 to 17 at the invitation of President Xi Jinping. During the visit, President Xi will hold a welcome ceremony, a welcome banquet, and talks with Boko, while Premier Li Qiang and Chairman Zhao Leji will meet with him separately, and Boko will also visit Fujian Province. Mao noted that China and Botswana are strategic partners, having upheld sincere friendship and mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation over 51 years of diplomatic relations. She expressed confidence that the visit will elevate bilateral ties and contribute to building a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.
Summary: The article reports on how Ye County's No. 1 Highway in Henan Province, which overlaps with the Long March route of the 25th Red Army, has become a road to prosperity for local villages. Chen Hanhan, mayor of Bao'an Town, noted that wind turbines built with central state-owned enterprise investment provide dividends to villages, while the Matoushan Lakeside Camping Base stages an immersive drama to tap red heritage. Villager Wan Hongrui returned in 2021 as tourism jobs grew, and Party branch secretary Li Weitong said village collective income reached over 700,000 yuan last year, covering villagers' medical insurance. The village developed a "village collective + farmers + third party" model, activating over 880 mu of land and building a 3A-level scenic area. The report highlights how local Party members and cadres led efforts, with villagers now earning from tourism and modern agriculture.
Summary: The article profiles the "Amala" Yellow River Women's Volunteer Patrol and River Protection Team, a group of 74 sisters in Zoigê County, Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, who guard the first bend of the Yellow River. Citing General Secretary Xi Jinping's point that protecting the mother river is a long-term plan of great importance, the piece recounts how the team, formed in 2022 with Party branch support, has conducted over 7,600 person-times of patrol, cleared over 270 tons of waste, planted over 14,600 seedlings, and launched a "garbage for handicrafts" activity. The team members, mostly Tibetan mothers, persist despite harsh weather and cynical remarks, believing that by guarding the river they ensure its peace and tranquility year after year.
Summary: The "Ama-la" team members have integrated guarding the Yellow River's ecological health into daily life through litter picking, patrolling, and planting greenery. Their perseverance is moving, as the vision of smooth-flowing rivers and green banks relies on accumulated individual efforts. More volunteers, including folk river chiefs and women river chiefs, are joining river patrol and protection ranks. With multiple forces participating together, a pattern of major protection and major coordination can build consensus for sustained, long-term effort. This ensures the Yellow River remains a river of happiness benefiting the people.
Summary: The General Offices of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance jointly issued a notice on implementing the 2026 "Three Regions" Talent Support Plan Special Teacher Program, targeting regions that have emerged from poverty with emphasis on national rural revitalization key assistance counties, ethnic counties, old revolutionary base area counties, and border counties, planning to select and dispatch 11,356 teachers. It requires localities to assess school-age population trends, optimize quota allocation, intensify cross-county and cross-prefecture selection, and strengthen support for key regions. Selection in principle requires backbone teachers with intermediate or higher professional titles, with kindergarten teachers' conditions appropriately relaxed, and school administrators possessing strong organizational leadership abilities; service shall be full-time for one year, with extensions encouraged. The notice emphasized improving policy and funding guarantees, with work expenses for compulsory education stage teachers in recipient counties jointly borne by central and local finance at an annual per-capita standard of 20,000 yuan.
Summary: The 35th China Television "Flying Apsaras Award" and the 29th National Television Literature and Art "Starlight Award" results were announced on the evening of the 9th at the awards ceremony held in Yantai, Shandong. The television documentary *The Power of Culture — The Origins and Practice of Xi Jinping's Cultural Thought in Zhejiang* and 13 other works won the "Starlight Award," and 16 works including *Northwest Years* and *All Things Born* won the "Flying Apsaras Award" for Outstanding Television Drama. Other winners were listed for both awards. This year's ceremony was hosted by the National Radio and Television Administration and the People's Government of Shandong Province, and organized by the China Television Artists Association, the Shandong Provincial Radio and Television Administration, the Yantai Municipal People's Government, among others.
Summary: The Ministry of Emergency Management reported that China has established 580 hazardous chemical emergency rescue teams with over 41,000 personnel, including 45 national-level teams, achieving full coverage of emergency rescue forces in key chemical industrial areas and major risk points. The team, institutional, and support systems have been continuously improved, with regulations such as the "Guidelines for Emergency Preparedness for Production Safety Accidents in Hazardous Chemical Enterprises" issued and central finance equipping the national-level teams with more than 1,000 sets of advanced equipment. Since the Third National Hazardous Chemical Rescue Skills Competition, these teams have cumulatively dispatched more than 41,000 person-times to participate in the rescue of 4,137 accidents and disasters, rescuing 674 people.
Summary: The document outlines the CPC Central Committee and the State Council's comprehensive plan to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces, emphasizing innovation-led, reform-focused development in light of local conditions. It details measures across scientific and technological innovation, industrial upgrading, institutional reform, and talent mechanisms, including strengthening original innovation, accelerating breakthroughs in key core technologies, cultivating emerging industries, and forward-looking layout of future industries. The opinions also address advancing innovation in development models, such as building a green, low-carbon economy and actively advancing the energy revolution, alongside increasing the supply of innovative financial products. Furthermore, the document calls for allocating advanced production factors globally through expanded high-level opening up, including promoting the joint construction of Belt and Road Initiative joint laboratories. Finally, it stresses strengthening organization and implementation, warning against rushing in blindly or creating bubbles, with the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission Office and the National Development and Reform Commission tasked to coordinate the work.
Summary: The new station building of Yiwu Railway Station was officially put into use on October 9 after three years and ten months of renovation and expansion, with the entire waiting area relocated from the comprehensive transportation hub building to the new station building. On the same day, the train named after the city's cultural brand "Affectionate and Righteous, World Yiwu" made its maiden departure from Yiwu Station. Starting October 11, after the implementation of the fourth-quarter railway operating diagram, the total number of trains handling passenger services at Yiwu Station will increase from 226 before the diagram adjustment to 272.
Summary: China's inspection and-testing industry is accelerating its shift from a quantity-and-scale model to a quality-and-efficiency model, with 54,340 institutions holding CMA qualification by the end of 2025 and 571 million reports issued that year. The article highlights how testing supports emerging fields like humanoid robots—citing the CR Certification for the Zhiyuan Expedition A2—and livestream e-commerce, where Zhuji's pearl industry uses pre-shipment testing to combat forged certificates. It also reports that 4,221 illegal institutions were investigated and punished in 2025, and that China has signed 170 mutual recognition agreements enabling "one evaluation, multiple countries accepted" for exports, including cables entering the EU, US, UK, and Belt and Road markets.
Summary: The Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission released its third-quarter 2026 list of heroes of righteous courage in Beijing on October 9, commending and rewarding a total of 79 heroes, of whom 13 sacrificed their lives. More than 30 of those honored spontaneously devoted themselves to rescue efforts during flood-season natural disasters, including He Qizhong, Wei Yongqing, Hou Kairong, He Guangxue, Gong Baodong, Ma Changquan, Guo Huangpeng, Bianma, Zhao Xinjun, and Zhao Longlong, whose deeds ranged from issuing warnings and evacuating residents to rescuing drowning victims and clearing mudslide-blocked roads. The list also recognized individuals who assisted police in stopping crimes, such as Zhao Shu, Liu Chang, Fei Fangfang, Sun Yichen, Feng Shipeng, Yan En, and He Linfeng, with the release activity hosted by the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission and undertaken by the China Foundation for Righteous Courage, marking the 15th quarterly release since September 2022, with a total of 886 heroes commended.
Summary: The Ministry of Finance has allocated 550 billion yuan from the local government debt balance limit, comprising 300 billion yuan of general debt for counties and districts to improve public budget guarantee capacity, and 250 billion yuan of special debt for regions with project funding needs, tilted toward major economic provinces. The funds support priority for projects under construction and new projects in key areas such as the "six networks," aiming to leverage government investment's driving role. The Ministry will guide localities to connect project reserves with bond issuance, accelerate issuance, smooth allocation, form physical workload promptly, and ensure policies achieve early results.
Summary: The article reports on China's "Silver Age Action" initiative, which encourages elderly people to participate in volunteer services and contribute to society. It highlights General Secretary Xi Jinping's call for the elderly to maintain a healthy mindset and enterprising spirit, and his affirmation of elderly volunteers' role in serving the grassroots. The piece features examples of elderly volunteers across China, including mediators, agricultural experts, docents, and teachers, who apply their experience in fields such as grassroots governance, rural revitalization, and cultural inheritance. It also details government efforts to provide institutional safeguards, such as information service platforms, insurance, and rights protection mechanisms, to support elderly participation. The article concludes that these efforts embody a people-centered development philosophy and contribute "silver-haired strength" to advancing Chinese modernization.
Summary: The 2026 China New Media Think Tank Report was released on October 9th in Fuzhou, comprising the *China New Media Yearbook 2026* and the *China New Media Research Report 2026*, jointly compiled by the New Media Professional Committee of the All-China Journalists Association and the Journalism Front magazine of People's Daily. The yearbook presents a panoramic view of new achievements in new media development in 2025, while the research report analyzes hot topics, judges development trends, and explores paths of transformation, both closely following the systemic transformation of mainstream media. The event was guided by the All-China Journalists Association and People's Daily, hosted by the New Media Professional Committee, the Journalism Front magazine, and the Publicity Department of the Fuzhou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, and undertaken by Fuzhou Radio and Television Station. More than 200 representatives from industry and academia attended the release event.
Summary: Jinan is promoting integrated innovation among industry, academia, and research to develop new quality productive forces, following General Secretary Xi Jinping's May 2024 inspection instructions on advancing the deep integration of technological and industrial innovation. The city has built 16 concept verification centers, including one established by the University of Jinan with local enterprises to help transform frontier technologies like Professor Sun Dehui's 12-inch lithium niobate crystal into commercial products. Jigang Group, under Party Secretary Liu Shijun, has transformed from traditional industry into a satellite manufacturing hub with a complete industrial chain and 159 upstream and downstream enterprises. Jinan has also launched a "use first, pay later" school-enterprise patent cooperation model, which helped Shandong Lingxiyuan Technology Development Co., Ltd. achieve batch production in 45 days and save nearly one million yuan in costs. Last year, Jinan achieved a technology contract transaction volume of 102.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.7%.
Summary: The CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission, upon approval of the CPC Central Committee, investigated Ding Yexian, former Deputy Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region, for serious violations of discipline and law. He was found to have lost his ideals and convictions, resisted organizational review, violated the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulation, and improperly sought benefits in cadre selection and appointment, among other infractions. Ding also turned public power into a tool for personal gain, amassing wealth through unscrupulous means and illegally accepting huge amounts of property in exchange for benefits in corporate listings, undertaking projects, and conducting business. He seriously violated political, organizational, and integrity discipline, constituted serious duty-related violations, and is suspected of bribery crimes, with a serious nature and adverse impact. It was decided to expel him from the Party, cancel his treatment, terminate his qualification as a delegate to the 10th Party Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region, confiscate his gains, and refer his criminal issues to procuratorial organs for review and prosecution.
Summary: Lian Ji, former president of the Chinese National Academy of Arts, was expelled from the CPC for serious discipline and law violations following an investigation by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission. The investigation found that Lian Ji lost his ideals and convictions, violated the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulation, lacked organizational principles, lost the bottom line of integrity, and was "extremely greedy and insatiable," engaging in large-scale power-for-money deals and illegally accepting huge amounts of property. He seriously violated the Party's organizational discipline, integrity discipline, and life discipline, constituted serious duty-related violations, and was suspected of the crime of bribery, with his conduct continuing after the 18th National Congress of the CPC. The decision to expel him, cancel his treatment, confiscate his gains, and transfer criminal suspicions to procuratorial organs was made after study by the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, reporting to the CPC Central Committee for approval.
Summary: Liu Cixin, reflecting on 20 years since *The Three-Body Problem* was serialized, attributed its success to professional teams, new media, and an era of rapid Chinese economic development that turned readers' gaze toward the starry sky. He noted that while his mentality toward the world has not changed, creation has become more difficult amid AI's advance and science fiction's generalization, and he is working on themes different from his earlier works. Expressing an "alternative kind of love" for AI, he argued AI can break through humanity's innate limitations and points toward Earth civilization's future, though he has not used it for writing; he also said the liberal arts will not be replaced and may become increasingly important in the AI era. On the technological singularity, he suggested human-machine integration and brain-computer interfaces may lead to mutual integration between humans and AI, adding that humanity still has "many cards to play." He stated Chinese science fiction lacks not good works but luck, and looked forward to Chinese science fiction film and television drawing the world's attention through the practice of advancing Chinese modernization. He hoped space exploration would be a voyage "with people," and that humanity could personally walk to distant celestial bodies, while noting that if AI crosses the singularity, it itself will have become the "alien" humanity must face.
Summary: The article discusses the gap between science fiction portrayals of "digital avatars" and current technological reality, noting that while personal intelligent agents and brain-computer interfaces like "Beiyi No.1" are advancing, existing tech can only decode simple brain signals. It highlights the accelerating industrial adoption of digital avatars, including AI artist libraries and "digital employees," alongside emerging legal and security concerns such as personality rights and operational permissions. The piece reflects on whether digital avatars could replicate human uniqueness, questioning if individuality reduces to bodily experience and emotions rather than knowledge. It concludes that science fiction serves to preview both the hopeful future and hidden crises of technology, framing digital avatars as humanity's latest attempt to expand the boundaries of the self.
Summary: Chinese researchers have successfully mapped a spatiotemporal cell atlas covering the entire life cycle of rice, systematically revealing how tens of thousands of genes regulate growth and development from seed germination to flowering and fruiting at the individual scale for the first time. The findings were published online in the international academic journal *Cell*, and the study was completed by the Yazhou Bay National Laboratory jointly with BGI Life Sciences Research Institute, Huazhong Agricultural University, and 12 other institutions. Using the japonica rice variety "Zhonghua 11" as material, the researchers integrated spatiotemporal omics technologies and established an atlas covering 10 types of rice organs or tissues and ̃61 developmental stages, obtaining over 850,000 high-quality single-cell nucleus data points and over 340,000 spatial data units, and annotating 119 cell types and 133 cell subtypes.
Summary: The article discusses lunar soil as a potential "time capsule" preserving early-solar-system organic matter, since the Moon's weak geological activity contrasts with Earth, where such records were lost. A research team, using microscopic and spectroscopic techniques on samples from Chang'e-5 and Chang'e--6, identified extremely low-abundance extraterrestrial organic matter dominated by carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, appearing as fragmented particles, mineral-included forms, or viscous imprints. The author, a Senior Engineer at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, argues this primordial information can fill the research gap of the"pre-life era" and clarify how solar-system organic matter arose and evolved. The piece concludes that studying these"time capsules" may ultimately reveal how the seeds of life arrived on Earth.
Summary: The author, an associate researcher at the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, argues that Mars is the most suitable target for humanity's deep-space expansion due to its relatively favorable conditions, including a thin atmosphere, water ice, and Earth-like rotation and seasons. To achieve Mars colonization, three major problems must be solved: information exchange, material exchange, and personnel survival. The VLBI orbit-determination system led by the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory has been preliminarily verified in the Tianwen-1 mission, while the Tianwen-3 mission is planned to return Mars samples to Earth around 2031. The author emphasizes that his team is making steady progress through consistent effort toward turning the round trip to Mars into reality. The article was compiled from an interview by People's Daily reporter Huang Xiaohui.
Summary: The article explains how China's new-generation synchrotron radiation light source, the Hefei Advanced Light Source, serves as a "big eye" to observe atomic arrangements, track electron motion, and uncover matter's internal mysteries. It delivers high-brightness X-rays to experimental stations, enabling research in new energy, catalysis, and life sciences by probing deep structures or surface electronic states. Using time-resolved techniques, it can record transient processes like chemical reactions and charge transfer frame by frame, akin to a "slow-motion movie at the atomic scale." The facility will provide new discovery tools for energy, materials, and life sciences, advancing humanity's exploration of the microscopic world. The author is Deputy Director of the Experimental Division of the National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory and Associate Professor, with the piece compiled from an interview by People's Daily reporter Xu Jing.
Summary: Chinese scientists from the China Atomic Energy Research Institute under the China National Nuclear Corporation, led by Researcher Li Xiaomei, collaborated internationally with Professor Zhou You’s team from the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and made a breakthrough in studying nuclear-structure-dominated collective flow in light-nucleus collisions of oxygen-16–oxygen-16 and neon-20–neon-20. Through precise experimental measurements, they confirmed that the geometric shape of the atomic nucleus directly affects material flow behavior during high-energy nuclear collisions, filling a key gap in theoretical understanding of collective effect formation mechanisms. The results were published in the international journal *Physical Review Letters*.
Summary: Chen Pingyuan, a Peking University professor, discussed urban cultural heritage preservation at the 2026 Beijing Cultural Forum, emphasizing that cities need "nurturing" rather than just building or operating, and that urban development must "go with the grain" of a city's existing character. He advocated for preserving ancient city layouts, as seen in his hometown Chaozhou, and criticized the demolition of exquisite ancient buildings, arguing against rebuilding replicas in favor of maintaining "authenticity." Chen also proposed that more scholars should write "city readers"—popular, illustrated books that excavate a city's historical significance and cultural connotations—as a more effective way to preserve historical memory and shape city image than policy propaganda or tourism promotion. He noted that while museums are flourishing, public attention is overly focused on star museums, leaving many unique collections unrecognized.
Summary: The Hubei "Jing-Chu Major Heritage Site Inheritance and Development Project" was selected as an important achievement at the 2026 Beijing Cultural Forum, with 5 national archaeological heritage parks and 18 provincial cultural heritage parks across the province serving as public spaces for dialogue between ancient and modern. The article highlights sites such as Xuetangliangzi, Qujialing, Panlongcheng, Tonglüshan, Xiongjiazhong, and the Ming Chu Princely Tombs, which use in-situ display, digital technology, and research-and-study courses to present archaeological findings like the "Yunxian Man" skull fossil and eggshell-thin painted pottery. It describes how damaged earthen sites are protected through innovations like modified-soil-wrapping-earth ramming and 3D printing, while documentaries, brand activities, and museum dramas such as *Because of Bronze* bring heritage to life. The piece also emphasizes how heritage parks nourish livelihoods and empower urban-rural development, citing examples like Xiangyang's Yanying Village becoming a "China Beautiful Leisure Village" and Jingzhou's Jinan Eco-Cultural Tourism Zone. The author is affiliated with the Cultural Heritage Administration of Hubei Province.
Summary: The article reports on the tenth anniversary of the Advanced Seminar on Urban Archaeology Open Fieldwork, held at the Liao Shangjing ruins in Bairin Left Banner, Inner Mongolia, where a graduation ceremony featured remarks by Bao Guihong on behalf of the tenth cohort. Established in 2017 by the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the seminar has trained over a hundred students, who have spread new methods of urban archaeology nationwide. The piece explains why Liao Shangjing was chosen, highlighting its status as a well-preserved wilderness-type city site and the team's development of "three great magic weapons": refined excavation, key anatomical excavation, and systems thinking, led by team leaders Dong Xinlin and Wang Ying. It notes that the project was deemed an exemplary model of urban archaeology at the 2023 "Archaeological China" major progress work conference, and that students like Zhang Hongxing and Huang Xin credited the training with overturning their ideas and fostering exchange among archaeologists from different provinces.
Summary: The article discusses the protection and revitalization of the Ancient Post Roads of Southern Yue in Guangdong, which once served as military, trade, and migration routes integrating Lingnan into China. Since 2016, Guangdong has restored 46 sections totaling over 1,400 kilometers, repaired over 330 historical relics, and formed a "three horizontal and four vertical" corridor network, linking cultural tourism with rural revitalization. The *Theoretical Research on the Ancient Post Roads of Southern Yue* book series, published this March, was among 18 achievements released at the 2026 Beijing Culture Forum, marking a shift from practical exploration to theoretical construction. The article highlights how the ancient roads, integrated with ecology and culture, contribute to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area's "humanistic bay area" vision. It also credits Guangdong Province's "three divisions" professional volunteers for their decade of work safeguarding the routes.
Summary: The article recounts the story of Zhang Kaiyin, a Red Army veteran, whose family ferry boat on the Jialing River became a vessel for the Fourth Front Army during the Long March, crossing for 17 consecutive nights under enemy fire. Zhang Kaiyin later rose to regimental commander, and in 1941 rescued Chairman Mao during a mountain torrent in Yan'an, an act recorded on a stele at Huashan Martyrs' Cemetery. After the founding of the PRC, he lived at the Shaanxi Provincial Honorary Military Rehabilitation Hospital until his death in 1950, buried facing south toward his old home. The narrative concludes with local lore that on Qingming Festival, the river's waves sound like the boat convoy crossing, symbolizing his enduring connection to the Jialing River and his mother.
Summary: The article reflects on what constitutes a truly good book, prompted by an elementary school student's question. The author distinguishes between good books in a broad sense—any book with original insight—and a narrow sense requiring professional competence, with truly good books being rare and capable of majorly impacting one's life. He cites *Island Militia Women*, read in third grade, as his personal example of a truly good book for its role in starting his reading journey and dream of becoming a writer, despite its era-bound artistic flaws. The piece emphasizes that cultivating reading interest and habits outweighs the books themselves, and warns against rigid or mechanical reading.
Summary: The article celebrates Yangzhou's "Moon City" heritage, tracing its moon-themed culture from Tang Dynasty poetry to restored sites like the "Two Parts of the Bright Moon Pavilion." It describes the revival of the Mid-Autumn Moon-Worshipping Ceremony, where citizens in Hanfu offer traditional foods, and the phenomenon of "each cave holding a moon" at Slender West Lake's Lotus Flower Bridge. To protect moon-gazing views, planners release balloons to cap building heights along the skyline. The piece also highlights local claims to Zhang Ruoxu's "A Moonlit Night on the Spring River," with Guazhou Town and Daqiao Town each building cultural venues to honor the poet's legacy.
Summary: The Chinese painting *Scenery Beyond the Great Wall* (三边塞上风光), by Fang Jizhong, is in the collection of the National Art Museum of China.
Summary: The article is a poem titled "Above October," depicting scenes of national flag-raising on Tiananmen Square and a border patrolman tending a boundary marker in the snow. It describes crowds surging from all directions, a child seeing the five-starred red flag, and the national anthem halting movement while the flagpole's shadow stitches the crowd together. The second part follows a patrolman who wipes characters off a snow-covered boundary marker, with the national flag rolled up on his backpack, its red seeping out like fire. The poem emphasizes themes of patriotism, territorial integrity, and quiet duty, with no mention of the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: The article describes the historical and cultural luster of Huangyao, Guangxi, focusing on its jet-black bluestone lanes tied to the Song Dynasty general Di Qing, who reportedly named the place by combining local surnames Huang and Yao. It recounts how the town's layout followed the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams formation, with gates, bridges, and a Qing-era record of 11 provincial graduates and 7 metropolitan graduates, plus a delicacy called "Provincial Graduate's Trotter." The piece also details three rivers—Yaojiang, Xiao Zhujiang, and Xingning River—and a ceramics shop owner selling cups engraved with the Hundred Family Surnames, alongside a gentleman surnamed Gu whose ancestors moved from Gulao, Heshan, Guangdong, and who helped pave bluestone roads to draw foot traffic. The narrative concludes with reflections on the bluestone's luster in rain, shine, and darkness, noting that newly paved bluestone roads are still extending.
Summary: The article is a nostalgic essay about the gourd's role in autumn meals in the Yimeng mountain area, focusing on Grandma's cooking and the gourd's versatility as food. It recounts the author's childhood with Grandma, including fried gourd blossoms, gourd dumplings, and the gourd's vitality as a high-yielding, easy-to-store staple. The narrative shifts to the author's later life in the city, where gourds vanished from markets, but reappeared when he returned to his late Father's courtyard and found a surviving vine. He picked gourds from the old home and shared them with friends, framing the gourd as a gift from the land his loved ones had tended. The piece does not discuss officials, the United States, or U.S.-China relations.
Developing new quality productive forces is an inherent requirement and an important focal point for promoting high-quality development. To accelerate the development of new quality productive forces, the following opinions are hereby put forward.
I. Overall Requirements
Adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Party and the plenary sessions of the 20th Central Committee, earnestly implement the deployments of the Fourth Plenary Session, fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development philosophy, adhere to innovation-led, reform-focused, in light of local conditions, and establishing new systems before dismantling old ones (先立后破, xian li hou po - "first establish, later break"), adhere to high technology, high efficiency, and high quality, coordinating and managing (统筹处理, tong chou chu li - "together, manage, handle") well the relationships between government and market, quality and business forms, reform and development, and independence and opening up, coordinate development and security, take scientific and technological innovation as the guide, take the substantial increase in total factor productivity as the core indicator, promote revolutionary breakthroughs in technology, innovative allocation of production factors, and deep transformation and upgrading of industries, promote the optimized combination and upgraded leap of laborers, means of labor, and objects of labor, comprehensively advance scientific and technological innovation, industrial innovation, innovation in development models, innovation in institutional mechanisms, and innovation in talent work mechanisms, accelerate the formation of production relations more compatible with new quality productive forces, create a good development ecology conducive to the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, and better support high-quality development.
II. Vigorously Advance Scientific and Technological Innovation
(1) Strengthen original and disruptive scientific and technological innovation. Adhere to facing the world's scientific and technological frontiers, facing the main economic battlefield, facing the nation's major needs, and facing the people's life and health, and organize major scientific and technological projects focusing on strategic, landmark, and leading products. Adhere to both goal-oriented and free exploration, solve the weak problems of technical science and engineering science through organized basic research and applied basic research, and support free-exploration basic research to open up and innovate. Coordinate the construction of scientific and technological innovation platforms and bases, systematically lay out and build major scientific and technological infrastructure, strengthen openness and sharing, and avoid duplication and dispersion. Implement the breakthrough plan for basic disciplines and interdisciplinary disciplines. Strengthen original theoretical research and innovation in key common technologies, frontier leading technologies, modern engineering technologies, and disruptive technologies.
(2) Accelerate breakthroughs in key core technologies. Give play to the advantages of the new nationwide system for mobilizing resources, organize the implementation of actions for high-quality development of key manufacturing industry chains and industrial innovation projects in key fields, and strengthen whole-chain tackling, whole-factor support, and whole-ecology construction. Implement well the first-set (first-unit) and first-batch application policies to promote technology iteration and upgrading.
(3) Coordinate the building of national strategic scientific and technological strength. Give play to the role of national laboratories in organizing major national scientific and technological projects and building major national innovation platforms, and taking the lead in pilot programs (先行先试, xian xing xian shi - "first act, first try") in institutional mechanism reform. Guided by national strategic needs, optimize the positioning and layout of national research institutions, high-level research universities, and leading science and technology enterprises. Gradually establish a salary system for institutions of higher learning and scientific research institutes that stimulates innovation vitality, is oriented toward knowledge value, has standardized and effective management, and balances guarantees and incentives, while simultaneously advancing the reform of national research institutions and high-level research universities to mobilize the enthusiasm of research institutions and researchers. Allow scientific research public institutions to implement more flexible management systems. Fully give play to the key role of leading science and technology enterprises in promoting the deep integration of the innovation chain, industrial chain, capital chain, and talent chain.
(4) Strengthen the principal position of enterprises in scientific and technological innovation. Strengthen the supply of inclusive incentive policies, establish a system for enterprises' R&D reserve funds, and strengthen the leading role of enterprises in scientific and technological investment. Encourage small and medium-sized technology-based enterprises to increase R&D investment and raise the additional deduction ratio for enterprise R&D expenses. Upgrade enterprise R&D projects that meet national strategic needs to national projects according to procedures, encourage enterprises to lead national scientific and technological tasks, and support capable private enterprises to lead major national technological tackling tasks. Establish a mechanism for users to assess and evaluate results, and strengthen the principal position of enterprises in the transformation of results. Improve the institutional arrangements for state-owned enterprises to promote original innovation. Support the development of specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises.
(5) Accelerate the transformation of scientific and technological achievements into practical productive forces. Make good use of the advantages of the super-large market, promote efficient docking between technology and the market, and promote the large-scale development of new quality productive forces. Implement demonstration actions for large-scale application of new technologies, new products, and new scenarios. Lay out and build concept verification and pilot testing platforms, and increase the construction and opening of application scenarios. Explore the establishment of a whole-process evaluation mechanism for scientific and technological projects, deploy R&D and transformation tasks together at project initiation, assess practical application performance at acceptance, and solve the problem of disconnection between technology development and achievement transformation. Guide institutions of higher learning and scientific research institutes to license scientific and technological achievements to small, medium, and micro enterprises in a "use first, pay later" manner. Promote large enterprises to open supply chains to small, medium, and micro enterprises, and support small, medium, and micro enterprises in becoming an important force in the industrialization of achievements. Use artificial intelligence to lead the transformation of scientific research paradigms and help improve the efficiency of scientific research.
III. Promote the Deep Integration of Scientific and Technological Innovation and Industrial Innovation
(6) Transform and upgrade traditional industries. Hold firmly to the foundation of the real economy, consolidate and expand the hard strength of Made in China. Lead the optimization and upgrading of traditional industries with the upgrading of national standards, and support enterprises in using digital-intelligent technology and green technology to transform and upgrade traditional industries. Organize and implement actions to improve quality and upgrade key industries, and consolidate and enhance the position and competitiveness of mining, metallurgy, chemical, light industry, textile, machinery, shipbuilding, construction and other industries in the global industrial division of labor. Carry out the industrial foundation reengineering project, the major technical equipment tackling project, the major technological transformation and upgrading project of the manufacturing industry, and the large-scale equipment renewal project. Strengthen financial support for the technological transformation of manufacturing enterprises, implement tax and fee preferential policies related to technological transformation investment, promote the digital-intelligent transformation of the manufacturing industry, and develop intelligent manufacturing, green manufacturing, and service-oriented manufacturing. Enhance the capacity of the quality technology foundation and strengthen brand building. Deeply implement the new round of the action to increase grain production capacity by 100 billion jin, the seed industry revitalization action, the smart agriculture action, the high-quality development action of agricultural machinery and equipment, the action to modernize and upgrade facility agriculture, and the project to build conditions for agricultural scientific and technological innovation, and develop new forms such as agricultural factories. Implement actions to expand capacity and improve quality in the service industry, promote the extension of producer services to specialization and the high end of the value chain by field, and promote the high-quality, diversified, and convenient development of consumer services.
(7) Cultivate and expand emerging industries. Focus on building new pillar industries. Accelerate the development of strategic emerging industries such as the new generation of information technology, new energy, new materials, intelligent connected new energy vehicles, robots, biomedicine, high-end equipment, and aerospace, build strategic emerging industry clusters with distinctive features and complementary advantages in light of local conditions, and promote resource aggregation, subject concentration, achievement integration, and division of labor and cooperation. Deepen professional division of labor within industries and within products, promote cross-industry and cross-regional integration, and avoid "involution-style" competition. Establish cross-regional industrial collaboration mechanisms led by industrial chains and with enterprises as the main body, and support the eastern region in driving the central, western, and northeastern regions to develop emerging industries in light of local conditions. On the premise of ensuring safety, promote the healthy and orderly development of the low-altitude economy and commercial aerospace.
(8) Forward-looking layout of future industries. Explore multiple technology routes, typical application scenarios, feasible business models, and market regulatory rules, promote the development of future industries such as quantum technology, biological manufacturing, hydrogen energy and nuclear fusion energy, brain-computer interfaces, embodied intelligence, and sixth-generation mobile communications, and accelerate the formation of a relatively complete industrial ecology. Establish mechanisms for investment growth and risk sharing in future industries, make full use of existing fiscal policies to support the development of future industries, and guide social capital to continue to increase investment.
(9) Promote the deep integration of the real economy and the digital economy. Improve the systems for confirming data property rights ownership, market transactions, rights and interests distribution, and interest protection, implement pilot and demonstration projects related to data elements, and fully release the potential of data elements. Optimize the layout, construction, and operation of national data infrastructure, deeply carry out the digital transformation action of the manufacturing industry, implement projects such as "East Data, West Computing," intelligent manufacturing, and the innovative development of the industrial internet, and build a national integrated computing power network and a national blockchain network. Improve the policy system for promoting digital industrialization and industrial digitalization, and build digital industry clusters with international competitiveness.
(10) Fully implement the "Artificial Intelligence +" action. Promote the transformation of traditional industries by artificial intelligence, and accelerate the application of new-generation intelligent terminal scenarios such as intelligent connected new energy vehicles, AI-enabled mobile phones and computers, and humanoid robots. Accelerate innovation in digital-intelligent technologies such as artificial intelligence, break through basic theories and core technologies, and strengthen the efficient supply of computing power, algorithms, and data. Lay out national artificial intelligence industry application pilot testing bases and high-value application scenarios in light of local conditions and by industry, and vigorously promote the application of artificial intelligence in various industries. Build a system for technology monitoring, risk early warning, and emergency response to ensure that artificial intelligence is safe, reliable, and controllable.
IV. Focus on Advancing Innovation in Development Models
(11) Build an economic system for green, low-carbon, and circular development. Strengthen the green manufacturing industry, develop green services, and expand the green energy industry. Adhere to the combination of source reduction, process control, and efficient end-of-pipe treatment, coordinate the promotion of green transformation of key industries, and accelerate green scientific and technological innovation and the promotion and application of advanced green technologies. Improve the incentive mechanism for green consumption, strengthen the construction of the green product certification and labeling system, raise the level of green consumption, and drive the supply of green products through green consumption. Build a number of zero-carbon factories and parks. Improve the system for total resource management and comprehensive conservation, and improve the system for the recycling of waste.
(12) Optimize the policy toolbox for green development. Implement fiscal, tax, financial, investment, price, scientific and technological, and environmental protection policies that promote green and low-carbon development. Improve the mechanism for realizing the value of ecological products, fully implement the dual control system for total carbon emissions and carbon intensity, and improve the carbon emission statistical accounting system, the standard measurement system, the product carbon labeling certification system, and the product carbon footprint management system. Improve the carbon pricing mechanism with the national carbon market as the main body, expand the coverage of the national carbon emissions trading market, optimize the allocation plan for carbon emission allowances, accelerate the construction of the voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market, and improve the national unified green certificate market. Promote financial institutions to provide diversified green financial products. Optimize government green procurement policies and improve the green tax system. Implement an agricultural subsidy system oriented toward green ecology.
(13) Actively advance the energy revolution. Focusing on the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, orderly develop advanced nuclear fission energy, build a power system with a high proportion of renewable energy, improve policies and measures for the consumption and regulation of new energy, organize the demonstration and promotion of major application scenarios, accelerate the greening process of energy use in social production and life, promote the revolution in energy consumption, supply, technology, and institutions, and strengthen international cooperation in all aspects.
V. Solidly Advance Innovation in Institutional Mechanisms
(14) Focus on deepening reform for the close integration of science and technology and the economy. Deploy scientific and technological tasks on demand in major national engineering projects, improve the demand-oriented topic selection system, the management system with consistent responsibilities, rights, and interests, and the application-oriented evaluation system. Deepen the reform of empowerment and separate asset management for scientific and technological achievements from job duties. Allow eligible state-owned enterprises to carry out various forms of incentives. Build an open, shared, and secure national integrated data market, improve an efficient technology market for transformation, and promote the efficient aggregation and smooth flow of various advanced and high-quality production factors.
(15) Improve the market supervision system. Improve the market access system and strengthen anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition. Strengthen governance in fields such as artificial intelligence and biology. Strengthen cross-departmental joint supervision, innovate supervision methods, reduce the number of on-site inspections, explore the supervision model of "using data for decision-making and using data for management," and enhance the intelligence level of cross-departmental comprehensive supervision. Establish an efficient comprehensive intellectual property management system and improve the punitive damages system. Study tax systems compatible with new business forms.
(16) Increase the supply of innovative financial products. Encourage and regulate the development of angel investment, venture capital, and private equity investment, better give play to the guiding and driving role of government investment funds, improve support policies for long-term capital investing in early-stage and small-scale ventures (投早投小, tou zao tou xiao - "invest early, invest small"), investing in the long term, and investing in hard technology, and expand patient capital. Encourage banks to develop loan products that match the characteristics of new quality productive forces. Enrich the system of science and technology innovation bond products, support high-quality technology-based enterprises in listing and financing, and optimize systems for mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, and equity incentives for technology-based enterprises. Develop insurance products covering the entire chain of scientific and technological innovation, and explore businesses such as technology leasing.
(17) Allocate advanced production factors globally. Expand high-level opening up and explore and make good use of the global market. Encourage free trade pilot zones to gather domestic and foreign advanced production factors in light of their location characteristics, resource endowments, and industrial advantages. Give play to the role of various multilateral and bilateral cooperation mechanisms, promote the joint construction of platforms such as science and technology parks, Belt and Road Initiative joint laboratories, and international advanced technology application promotion centers, and actively build a global innovation cooperation network. Lead the implementation of and actively participate in international big science plans and big science projects. Encourage foreign venture capital institutions, international standards organizations, and others to develop in China. Establish an efficient, convenient, and secure mechanism for cross-border data flow.
VI. Deepen Innovation in Talent Work Mechanisms
(18) Cultivate talents urgently needed for the development of new quality productive forces. Coordinate and advance the integrated reform of the education, science and technology, and talent institutional mechanisms. Promote the improvement of quality and expansion of capacity in higher education, develop new-type research universities, and optimize the mechanism for adjusting disciplines and majors in institutions of higher learning according to industrial and scientific and technological development trends. Promote the high-quality development of modern vocational education and comprehensively advance the training model for skilled personnel that integrates work and study. Adhere to cultivating talents through practice. Encourage enterprises and institutions of higher learning to jointly customize talent training, and support master craftsmen and highly skilled talents in concurrently serving as internship and practical training teachers in vocational schools. Fully give play to the important role of science popularization in improving the quality of laborers.
(19) Improve policies for the use and flow of talents. Implement tax preferential policies, improve the lifelong vocational skills training system, implement the manufacturing talent support plan and the professional and technical talent knowledge updating project, and support employers in cultivating talents. Accelerate the appropriate decoupling of the assessment, evaluation, and incentives for scientific researchers from applying for projects, publishing papers, and evaluating awards, and prevent simply determining salaries, professional titles, and treatment according to talent "hats." Accelerate the removal of various hidden barriers and smooth the channels for talent exchange among institutions of higher learning, scientific research institutes, and enterprises. Improve the "new eight-level worker" vocational skill level system and smooth the upward development channels for industrial workers.
VII. Strengthen Organization and Implementation
All regions and relevant departments should, under the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, strengthen the thinking of the nation as one chessboard, adhere to in light of local conditions, strengthen classified guidance and coordination in key areas, and optimize the layout of major productive forces. Adhere to establishing new systems before dismantling old ones and seeking progress while maintaining stability (稳中求进, wen zhong qiu jin - "stability, seek, progress"), must not shift from the real economy to the virtual economy (脱实向虚, tuo shi xiang xu - "leave, solid, head towards, hollow"), pursue scale and completeness at any cost (贪大求全, tan da qiu quan - "greedy, big, seek, complete"), or create bubbles, must not allow industrial hollowing out or industrial fault lines to occur, and must not blindly seek novelty or fail to attend to both sides or lose one thing while attending to another (顾此失彼, gu ci shi bi - "look at this, lose that"). Leading cadres at all levels should establish and practice a correct view of political achievements, explore development paths in light of actual conditions, strictly prohibit the illegal abuse of policies in the name of developing new quality productive forces, and seriously pursue accountability for those who cause major losses through rushing in blindly or in a disorganized mass (一哄而上, yi hong er shang - "one, swarm, go up") or blind investment. Strengthen coordination and cooperation among departments to form a joint working force. The Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission Office and the National Development and Reform Commission should coordinate and do well the work of theoretical research, strategic planning, cross-regional and cross-departmental coordination, and follow-up monitoring and evaluation. Timely summarize experiences and practices, strengthen publicity and promotion, and create a good atmosphere. Major matters should be reported to the Party Central Committee and the State Council for instructions in a timely manner according to procedures.
(Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, October 9)
(See Page 2 for the responsible official of the National Development and Reform Commission answering reporters' questions)
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 吴储岐
In the golden autumn of October, when respect for the elderly runs deep, the national "Respect for the Elderly Month" activities are underway, with localities putting care into concrete action so that the vast number of elderly people can both enjoy their later years in peace and display their abilities in serving society. This year marks the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan. The outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan makes arrangements for actively responding to population aging and clearly proposes carrying out the "Silver Age Action" in depth.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must create conditions for the elderly to play their role, guide them to maintain a healthy mindset and enterprising spirit of having lofty ambitions despite old age (老骥伏枥, lao ji fu li - "old, horse, lie, stable") and remaining vigorous and energetic in old age (老当益壮, lao dang yi zhuang - "old, then, increase, vigorous"), give play to positive energy, and make new contributions."
In the magnificent picture of Chinese modernization, there is both the happiness of hundreds of millions of elderly people enjoying their later years in peace and their commitment to continuing the struggle. This silver-haired volunteer force has rich experience and unfulfilled ambitions. Under General Secretary Xi Jinping's earnest care, the vast number of elderly volunteers go to the grassroots and into the masses, channeling the wisdom and enthusiasm accumulated over the years into the tide of the times in serving the people and dedicating themselves to society.
A Loyal Heart Passes on the Torch
"We must ensure the elderly are provided for and enjoy themselves in old age, and also enable them to achieve something in old age"
With warm-toned furniture and a home-like layout, at the Yuanyang Subdistrict of Liangjiang New Area in Chongqing, Lu Peibao, chief mediator of the "Old Squad Leader" mediation room, hopes that the warm environment can help both parties in mediation relax.
After retirement, Lu Peibao applied the relevant work experience accumulated over many years to resolving neighborhood disputes. When a landlord and tenant had a dispute, he first clarified responsibilities, then appealed to mutual friendship, facilitating reconciliation between the two sides. After an agreement was reached, he would still conduct follow-up visits to see the subsequent results. "Serving the people with wholehearted devotion (全心全意, quan xin quan yi - "entire, heart, entire, intention") is my duty as a Communist Party member," Lu Peibao said.
"I hope that the vast number of elderly friends will maintain a healthy mindset and enterprising spirit of having lofty ambitions despite old age and remaining vigorous and energetic in old age, ensuring both that they are provided for and enjoy themselves in old age and that they achieve something in old age, contributing 'silver-haired strength' to advancing Chinese modernization." On October 9, 2024, General Secretary Xi Jinping replied to a letter from representatives of elderly volunteers in the "Silver Age Action," warmly encouraging them.
Do not say it is too late in life (莫道桑榆晚, mo dao sang yu wan - "do not, say, mulberry, elm, late"); the evening glow still fills the sky. The elderly are a valuable asset of the Party and the state. In recent years, the "Silver Age Action" of the new era has continuously expanded its scope and upgraded, improving quality and increasing efficiency (提质增效, ti zhi zeng xiao - "raise, quality, increase, efficiency"), with more and more elderly people devoting themselves to volunteer services.
Beijing's "Xicheng Dama," Zhejiang's "Wulin Dama"... In one volunteer service team after another well known to the masses, the figures of silver-haired volunteers are active.
In Pubei County, Qinzhou City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, retired agricultural technology expert Zhang Xingcai brings the "mobile classroom" to the fields. He compiles agricultural technology knowledge into books and distributes them free of charge to farming households, and has also established a fruit industry talent workstation. Technology is delivered to the fields, skills are left with the farmers, and the old expert's experience becomes support for more farmers to develop their industries.
The experience of one generation is linked to the growth of those who come after; the guardianship of one generation nourishes the spirit of a society.
"One door plank after another that protected small families formed a bridge for resisting Japan and saving the nation." At the Cemetery of Fallen Soldiers in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Shanggao County, Yichun City, Jiangxi Province, silver-haired volunteer Zan Hongxiang emotionally recounted the story of ordinary people removing their own door planks to build a pontoon bridge to carry anti-Japanese soldiers across the river.
Zan Hongxiang often gives voluntary explanations at the cemetery and also trains docents for local museums and memorial halls. He explains himself and also teaches others to explain, enabling more people to understand this period of history and allowing the spirit in the stories to be passed down from generation to generation (代代相传, dai dai xiang chuan - "generation, generation, mutually, pass down").
Grassroots governance, comprehensive rural revitalization, cultural inheritance... The service footprints of elderly volunteers cover both urban and rural areas. To date, more than 50 million elderly people nationwide have participated in volunteer services, playing an active role in resolving people's concerns and warming people's hearts.
Actively responding to population aging requires both responding to the living needs of the elderly and cherishing the rich resources contained in the elderly population. Knowledge and experience continue in teaching and passing on, fine character is inherited through dedication, and the learning and abilities of the older generation are continuously benefiting society through volunteer services, displaying the style of achieving something in old age.
A Richer Evening Scene
"Use what one has learned and is good at to serve the grassroots and the masses, and transmit positive energy to society"
In one legal history course, a student listened to the complete lecture twice. After class, some stayed to discuss questions, some invited the teacher to join a reading club, and some asked him to help revise articles.
This is the daily teaching routine of silver-age teacher Li Ming at Xinjiang University of Political Science and Law. After retirement, he joined the university silver-age teacher program supporting the western region, moving his podium from Beijing to Xinjiang. He conducts in-depth research at the grassroots, enriches his courses in light of local realities, brings his research findings into the classroom, and discovers new questions from teaching. "I am very grateful for such a platform that allows us older teachers to contribute our remaining energy and do things within our power (力所能及, li suo neng ji - "strength, what, can, reach")," Li Ming said.
General Secretary Xi Jinping affirmed that elderly volunteers "use what they have learned and are good at to serve the grassroots and the masses, transmit positive energy to society, and demonstrate the spiritual outlook of Chinese elderly people in the new era."
A happy old age has both the stability of life and the enrichment of the spirit. Continuing to learn, displaying one's strengths, and realizing value and gaining happiness through participation in social life are the aspirations of many elderly people.
There must be both the willingness to participate and the opportunity to display one's strengths. The Ministry of Civil Affairs, the National Working Commission on Aging, and the China National Committee on Aging are promoting the construction of a national "Silver Age Action" information service platform, providing services such as information inquiry, service links, and matter handling. The original work units, industry organizations, and local communities jointly build the stage, providing a field to display one's talents (用武之地, yong wu zhi di - "use, martial, place, land") for elderly people willing to participate.
Silver-haired talents in fields such as education, health, and science and technology display their strengths in projects with distinctive features. The "National Silver-age Teacher Action Plan" supports older teachers in returning to the classroom, the "Health Action of Old Experts Serving the Grassroots" brings diagnostic and treatment experience to the grassroots, and "Silver-age Assistance to Enterprises" organizes older scientific and technological workers to solve problems for enterprises. Provincial paired assistance such as Beijing-Inner Mongolia, Shanghai-Yunnan, and Zhejiang-Sichuan allows the expertise of elderly talents to transcend regions and play a role where it is needed more.
The stage extends to distant places and also grows at the doorstep. The participants in the "Silver Age Action" of the new era have expanded from elderly intellectuals to all elderly people. On the basis of intellectual assistance and technical support, the service content has further expanded to fields such as child care and mutual elderly care.
In the new community of Xiejia Village, Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, retired aunties from the "Qiaojie" volunteer service team became friends through dancing and then accompanied each other in serving neighbors. They move chairs, prepare tea, chat with the elderly, and take paired responsibility in shifts for caring for elderly and solitary neighbors; when they found that old neighbors had difficulty entering and exiting the unit building, they made suggestions to the community and promoted renovations.
From participating in community activities to proactively offering ideas and doing practical things for neighbors, elderly people have found new joy in building their homes. Localities rely on grassroots elderly associations and community volunteer service teams to organize more enthusiastic elderly people, allowing them to find opportunities to display their strengths at their doorstep.
Enjoying old age in peace and achieving something in old age go hand in hand, making later life increasingly rich; the individual and society integrate, adding vitality to the march of the times. Realizing value through participation and gaining growth through dedication, more and more elderly people are writing their aspirations for a better life into the daily practice of achieving something in old age.
Safeguards Protect Enthusiasm
"Ensure the elderly are well provided for in life, their roles are well played, and their rights and interests are well protected"
In Huangshan Community, Yong'an City, Fujian Province, retired Chinese language teacher Granny Chen is leading children in reciting ancient poems. Members of the "Shared Granny" volunteer service team help parents with pick-up and drop-off and accompany children, and the community also provides good service safeguards for the elderly. Signing an "Agreement of Love" with families clarifies the rights and responsibilities of all parties, purchases accident insurance uniformly for the "Shared Grannies," organizes first-aid training, and volunteer service hours can also be exchanged for housekeeping services or physical examination items. Arrangement after arrangement gives elderly people who enthusiastically help others a reliable foundation for worry-free participation.
The elderly look after children, and society looks after the elderly. Wherever the footsteps of dedication go, care and concern for the elderly follow.
"Ensure the elderly are well provided for in life, their roles are well played, and their rights and interests are well protected." General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward clear requirements for Party committees and governments at all levels.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Opinions on Deepening the Reform and Development of Elderly Care Services," deploying the deepening and expansion of the "Silver Age Action." The National Working Commission on Aging issued the "Guiding Opinions on Carrying Out the 'Silver Age Action' of the New Era in Depth," making arrangements for broadening participation channels and strengthening service safeguards. In 2025, 19 departments including the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Central Organization Department issued the "Guiding Opinions on Supporting Social Participation of the Elderly and Promoting the Realization of Achieving Something in Old Age," improving the work pattern of Party committee leadership, government leadership, departmental coordination, and participation by all parties. From expanding participation space to clarifying the responsibilities of all parties, the institutional safeguards supporting social participation of the elderly are continuously being improved.
Once organized, safeguards must be in place. Assessing volunteers' physical conditions, providing the materials and equipment needed for services, ensuring safety safeguards, and providing corresponding insurance — the requirement of "whoever recruits is responsible, whoever uses provides safeguards" runs through every link of elderly participation in volunteer services.
"It's my turn to be on duty today!" At the community canteen of Dan'ya Community in Wenling City, Zhejiang Province, resident Granny Chen cheerfully greeted people while deftly portioning out meals. With government subsidies, social donations, and other support, elderly people in the community enjoy free meals. Many retired elderly people have also spontaneously formed volunteer service teams. "I can still work now, so of course I should contribute my share!" Granny Chen said.
The stage for achieving something in old age stands on the foundation of being provided for in old age. Improving old-age insurance and medical security, advancing the construction of the elderly care service network, developing elderly meal assistance services, and strengthening health management for the elderly — all departments work together to make later life more secure.
With life guaranteed and rights and interests protected, the elderly have more confidence in enjoying their later years in peace, and family members have more peace of mind. In response to risks in fields such as financial management, seven departments including the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the National Working Commission on Aging issued special policies, promoting the establishment and improvement of working mechanisms for safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the elderly, enhancing the elderly's ability to identify and guard against fraud, forming a closed working loop of risk early warning and prevention, dispute discovery and reporting, and dispute resolution and handling, and continuously improving the quality of rights protection services for the elderly.
Being voluntary and within one's capacity is both a principle of carrying out the "Silver Age Action" and a respect for the life choices of the elderly. This year, in its implementation plan for building a social participation support system for the elderly, Shanghai proposed encouraging the establishment of a mechanism for honorary withdrawal and commendation of senior volunteers. When willing to continue serving, there is a world to display one's strengths; when needing to slow down, past contributions are still cherished.
Enabling elderly people who are willing and able to fully display their strengths, and enabling every elderly person to enjoy their later years in peace, concerns their today and also the tomorrow of the whole society. Implementing the safeguarding of life, support for participation, and protection of rights and interests in concrete terms embodies the people-centered development philosophy and also manifests the livelihood foundation of Chinese modernization.
Under General Secretary Xi Jinping's care and concern, the vast number of elderly volunteers, with the enterprising spirit of having lofty ambitions despite old age and remaining vigorous and energetic in old age, are using what they have learned in life to serve society, integrating personal pursuits into the cause of family and country, and contributing "silver-haired strength" to advancing Chinese modernization.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 李 波 侯琳良 王 者
In early October, walking through the spring city of Jinan, a sense of the "new" rushes forth—
New technologies are making breakthroughs: in the Jinan High-tech Zone, a particulate-matter photon-quantum lidar monitoring network assembled by local enterprises can complete a full-city scan in just a few minutes, with pollutant-source identification accuracy exceeding 95%;
New projects have landed: in the Jinan Start-up Area for the Replacement of Old Growth Drivers with New Ones, photovoltaic modules successively come off a 330-meter intelligent production line;
New industries are taking shape: the Jigang Group satellite final-assembly base has signed more than 20 aviation and aerospace projects cumulatively, and possesses the manufacturing and testing capability for an annual output of 100 satellites in the 500-kilogram class.
In May 2024, General Secretary Xi Jinping, during his inspection tour of Shandong, pointed out: "Shandong has great potential for advancing the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, developing new quality productive forces, and perfecting the modern industrial system." The outline of the "15th Five-Year Plan" proposes:"Promote the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, continuously give birth to new quality productive forces."
Thoroughly implementing General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions and the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, Jinan is striving to promote integrated innovation among industry, academia, and research, develop new quality productive forces in light of local conditions, and continuously perfect the modern industrial system.
Improving the pathway for the transformation of achievements.
Lithium niobate is the core substrate material for high-end optical chips.In 2024, after making unremitting efforts, Professor Sun Dehui of the Frontier Interdisciplinary Research Institute of the University of Jinan led his team to successfully develop a 12-inch lithium niobate crystal.
The breakthrough in results is inspiring, but whether it can open up the market remains unknown."Many frontier technologies stop short at the 'final step of verification' and find it difficult to fit with industry."Sun Dehui is deeply aware of the pain points in the transformation of achievements.
To this end, the University of Jinan, jointly with local enterprises, established a concept verification center, specially dedicated to diagnosing problems and providing solutions (把脉问诊, ba mai wen zhen - "feel the pulse, ask the illness") for frontier technologies.The center has completed verification of more than 20 technology products and has guided the building of a complete industrial chain from crystal materials to high-end optical chips.The lithium-niobate-based optical chip newly developed by Sun Dehui's team has already begun application verification here.
Jinan has now built 16 provincial-and municipal-level concept verification centers, covering fields such as the new generation of information technology, biomedicine, and integrated circuits, with a cumulative total of 376 science-and-technology innovation projects entered into the database, and 55 frontier technologies successfully achieving on-site transformation.It is expected that by 2028, Jinan will have built 20 municipal-level concept verification centers and more than 50 pilot-testing platforms, constructing a full chain of"R&D—verification—pilot testing—mass production," continuously raising the on-site transformation rate of scientific and technological achievements.
Promoting the replacement of old growth drivers with new ones.
In the satellite final-assembly workshop of Jigang Group, precision equipment stands in rows, and satellites about to be delivered are undergoing final environmental simulation testing.
"After its transformation, Jigang has continued to 'empty the cage, change the bird,' developing emerging industries."Liu Shijun, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Jigang Group, introduced that Jigang has already built a complete industrial chain covering satellite final assembly, core component manufacturing, and rocket propulsion testing, gathering 159 upstream and downstream enterprises, forming a cross-regional collaborative pattern of"R&D in Beijing, manufacturing in Jinan, launching in Yantai."
Based on its own realities, Jinan is accelerating the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, while emerging industries continuously take root and grow.
In the Jinan Start-up Area for the Replacement of Old Growth Drivers with New Ones, as the pilot production line for Shandong Energy Group's square-meter-scale, hundred-megawatt-class perovskite photovoltaic cells was completed and put into operation, the Xinyang Coal Mine, which had been closed and withdrawn from production for many years, also underwent a sudden and complete transformation, achieving a magnificent turn from"digging coal underground" to"generating electricity above ground."
Jinan is striving to optimize the city's industrial structure, guiding all districts and counties to develop through specialized differentiation and each playing to their respective strengths, promoting the formation of a modern industrial system across the entire region with a gradient layout and coordinated progress.
Cultivating a sound innovation ecosystem.
Hampered by shortcomings in high-end antibacterial modification technology, Shandong Lingxiyuan Technology Development Co., Ltd.'s independent research efforts repeatedly hit dead ends.
Just as the enterprise was stuck in a bottleneck, the new technology from the team of Yang Pengfei, a teacher at Qilu University of Technology, happened to be able to meet the demand.
"Although the technology is good, we fear it failing to adapt to local conditions, and the cost of trial and error is high."The concern of Qi Peng, deputy general manager of the company, is also the common feeling of numerous small-and micro-sized enterprises.
In response to the difficulties of small-and micro-sized enterprises, Jinan innovatively launched a new model of school-enterprise patent cooperation called"use first, pay later," in which enterprises can try the technology for free for one year, sign a contract only after it proves adaptable and lands successfully, and may withdraw if it is not suitable.
With zero-threshold trial use and full-chain support, the research team went down to the production line three times, and it took only 45 days to achieve batch production, with Lingxiyuan successfully signing contracts for two core patents."We saved nearly one million yuan in costs in one year, and the enterprise has genuinely benefited."Qi Peng candidly stated that policy support has made the enterprise's innovation path wider and wider.
Breaking down barriers through reform, optimizing the environment through services—Jinan is making precise, multi-dimensional efforts from the perspectives of patent transformation, financial empowerment, and assessment orientation, cultivating a sound ecosystem so that innovation factors can flow freely and aggregate efficiently.Last year, Jinan achieved a technology contract transaction volume of 102.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.7%, and ownership of valid invention patents per 10,000 people reached 87.2, a year-on-year increase of 17.8%.As of the end of last year, Jinan had more than 9,400 technology-based small-and medium-sized enterprises, and the outstanding loan balance for science-and-technology innovation enterprises exceeded 300 billion yuan.
Bearing in mind General Secretary Xi Jinping's earnest instructions, striving forward into the "15th Five-Year Plan," Jinan will continue to promote integrated innovation among industry, academia, and research, accelerate the cultivation of new quality productive forces, and continuously shape new momentum and new advantages for development.
Return to TopBy: 常 晋
Thoroughly studying and implementing General Secretary Xi Jinping's important discourses on developing new quality productive forces, all regions and departments have actively practiced and achieved fruitful results. Recently, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Opinions on Developing New Quality Productive Forces," transforming General Secretary Xi Jinping's original ideological and theoretical contributions into a guide for action, establishing a yardstick for unifying thought and action across the country in developing new quality productive forces.
To develop new quality productive forces, it is necessary to coordinate the cultivation of new drivers of growth with the renewal of old drivers of growth. At Ansteel in Liaoning, relying on intelligent large models, converter steelmaking can be completed with a single click, with real-time fault alerts and automatic defect detection, enabling simultaneous leaps in production efficiency and safety; at the Yuntianhua industrial park in Kunming, Yunnan, intelligent greenhouses, digital management, and other measures have been launched simultaneously, greatly increasing flower yield per mu... While pursuing future industries and emerging industries, transforming and upgrading traditional industries is how one can achieve long-term steady progress (行稳致远, xing wen zhi yuan - "walk steadily, reach far") in continuous advancement.
To develop new quality productive forces, one must both strive for excellence through hard work (实干争先, shi gan zheng xian - "do practical work, compete for the lead") and guard against impetuosity. Qingyang, Gansu, started late, but by seizing the strategic opportunity of the "East Data, West Computing" project, deeply tapping the rich potential of wind and solar resources, and promoting innovation through reform, it has risen to the forefront of the country's computing power hubs. By not blindly following trends or rushing ahead, and by doing solid foundational work in basic research, talent cultivation, and infrastructure development, one can also pick up speed even in "slowness."
Seek innovation with pragmatism; pursue quality in development. By establishing and practicing a correct view of political achievements, and adhering to the principles of "innovation-led, reform-driven, in light of local conditions, and establishing the new before abolishing the old," new quality productive forces will surely flourish, and the momentum of high-quality development will surely surge even more powerfully.
Return to TopIn recent days, localities across the country have been seizing the golden period of autumn construction, with engineering and construction sites in full swing (如火如荼, ru huo ru tu - "as, fire, as, water"), new technologies being rapidly implemented one after another, construction milestones being completed in succession, and key engineering projects advancing steadily.
Return to Top(People's Daily, Beijing, October 9) (Reporters Geng Lei, Wang Ke) During the 2026 National Day holiday, the national cultural and tourism market remained stable and orderly. According to calculations by the Data Center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, over the 7 days of the National Day holiday, domestic trips nationwide reached 826 million person-trips, with total domestic travel spending of 738.375 billion yuan, representing year-on-year increases of 6.3% and 4.3% respectively compared with 2025 on a comparable basis (daily average).
Product supply was rich and diverse. Red tourism was highly favored, with 40% of tourists visiting revolutionary venues, watching flag-raising ceremonies, and enjoying patriotic performances. Rural tourism gained momentum, with farming and fruit-picking, rural night tours, and bonfire markets proving widely popular. The performance market was brisk, with 180 large-scale performances held nationwide, including 125 concerts and 55 music festivals.
Benefit-oriented measures stimulated vitality. During the National Day Cultural and Tourism Consumption Month, localities held varied and colorful activities (丰富多彩, feng fu duo cai - "abundant, rich, many, colors") in cultural tourism, distributing over 310 million yuan in consumption subsidies to continuously unleash consumption momentum. The inbound tourism market was active, with a total of 2.983 million inbound tourists received nationwide, representing increases of 19.0% and 6.5% respectively compared with 2024 and 2025 on a comparable basis (daily average).
Return to Top(Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, October 9) A symposium to study Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Culture, Volumes I and II, was held in Beijing on the 9th. Li Shulei, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, attended and delivered a speech.
Participating representatives held that Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Culture, Volumes I and II, vividly record the great historical process in which the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core led cultural development in the new era, systematically present the basic spirit, basic content, and basic requirements of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, and provide authoritative teaching materials for deeply studying and practicing Xi Jinping Thought on Culture.
Participating representatives stated that in studying and reading Selected Works of Xi Jinping on Culture, the most important thing is to profoundly comprehend the decisive significance of the Two Establishments (两个确立), enhance the Four Consciousnesses (四个意识), strengthen the Four Confidences (四个自信), achieve the Two Upholds (两个维护), consciously study and practice Xi Jinping Thought on Culture,and better shoulder the cultural mission of the new era. It is necessary to further profoundly comprehend that Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is the fundamental guideline guiding propaganda, ideological, and cultural work in the new era; to profoundly comprehend that Xi Jinping Thought on Culture adheres to the Two Integrations (两个结合), making original contributions to Marxist cultural theory; to profoundly comprehend the strategic blueprint that Xi Jinping Thought on Culture draws for building a culturally strong country; to profoundly comprehend the profound heritage and broad and profound sentiments (博大情怀, bo da qing huai - "vast, wide; feeling, sentiment") of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture; and to profoundly comprehend the ways of thinking and methods of work embodied in Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, earnestly converting the results of study into concrete actions to accelerate the building of a culturally strong country.
The symposium was hosted by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee. Responsible comrades from relevant central departments, central publicity and cultural units, party committee publicity departments of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, as well as experts and scholars from the theoretical and academic circles of philosophy and social sciences, attended the meeting.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 刘志强
Recently, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Opinions on Developing New Quality Productive Forces" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions"). A responsible comrade from the National Development and Reform Commission accepted an interview regarding the "Opinions" and answered reporters' questions.
Keyword: Principles
Adhere to "innovation-led, reform-focused, in light of local conditions, establish before breaking"
Reporter: The "Opinions" proposes adhering to "innovation-led, reform-focused, in light of local conditions, establish before breaking." How should we understand these four principles for developing new quality productive forces?
Reply: The "Opinions" putting forward these four principles reflects the Party Central Committee's profound grasp of the objective laws governing the development of new quality productive forces, and serves as a correction to problems that have emerged in practical exploration, such as blind layout and investment divorced from reality, rushing forward blindly in a disorganized manner (一哄而上, yi hong er shang - "one, flood, up") in developing emerging industries and future industries, neglecting the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, and emphasizing development while neglecting reform.
In practice, these four principles must always be upheld to ensure that the development of new quality productive forces does not deviate from the right track, does not advance rashly, and does not become bubble-prone.
Adhering to innovation-led means taking innovation as the logical starting point for developing new quality productive forces. It is necessary to do well both innovation at the level of technology and business models, and innovation at the level of management and institutions.
Adhering to reform-focused means taking reform as the key move for developing new quality productive forces. It is necessary to further deepen reforms of the economic system, science and technology system, and other systems, make every effort to remove the bottlenecks and obstacles constraining the development of new quality productive forces, establish a high-standard market system, innovate the ways of allocating production factors, and enable all kinds of advanced and high-quality production factors to flow smoothly toward the development of new quality productive forces.
Adhering to in light of local conditions means taking the foundation of resource endowments as the practical guideline for developing new quality productive forces. Our country has a vast territory, and conditions in different places are vastly different (千差万别, qian cha wan bie - "thousand, difference, ten thousand, distinction"). Different regions have notable differences in natural resources, industrial foundations, and conditions for scientific and technological innovation. In developing new quality productive forces, we must absolutely not engage in doing things in an unrefined and uniform manner (上下一般粗, shang xia yi ban cu - "above, below, same, general, coarse") or adopt the same model everywhere, and absolutely must not cause huge waste of resources through homogeneous duplicate construction. The "Opinions" emphasizes developing new quality productive forces in light of local conditions, precisely to guide everyone to carry out work in a scientific, rational, and truth-seeking manner, and to prevent rushing forward blindly and bubble formation.
Adhering to establish before breaking means taking the smooth transition between old and new growth drivers as the methodological path for developing new quality productive forces. Developing new quality productive forces is not only about cultivating emerging industries and future industries; the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries can also develop new quality productive forces. In the process of developing new quality productive forces, it is necessary not only to coordinate well the relationship between cultivating new growth drivers and renewing old ones, but also to handle well the sequence of establishing and breaking. What should be established must be actively established; what should be broken must be resolutely broken on the basis of what has been established. That is, only after new growth drivers have grown and become stable should old ones be phased out in an orderly manner, so as to avoid economic discontinuity and passive employment situations.
Keyword: Overall Requirements
Coordinate and handle well the relationships between government and market, quality form and business form, and others
Reporter: The "Opinions" proposes to "coordinate and handle well the relationships between government and market, quality form and business form, reform and development, self-reliance and opening up, and coordinate development and security." How should this be specifically grasped in practice?
Reply: This is the overall requirement for the practice of developing new quality productive forces. In practice, it is necessary to adhere to dialectical thinking and a systematic approach, and prevent one-sidedness, absolutism, and a one-size-fits-all approach.
First, coordinate well the relationship between government and market. New quality productive forces require both the government's forward-looking planning and guidance and scientific policy support, and the regulation of market mechanisms and continuous innovation by micro-entities such as enterprises. The key to coordinating the relationship between government and market lies in the government doing what it should do and not doing what it should not do. Doing what it should do means focusing work on optimizing the market environment, correcting market failures, and regulating competition order. Not doing what it should not do means strictly prohibiting, in the name of developing new quality productive forces, vicious investment attraction, blindly "following the trend" in launching projects, and recklessly "burning money."
Second, coordinate well the relationship between quality form and business form. New quality productive forces have the characteristics of high technology, high efficiency, and high quality, and are an advanced form of productive forces quality that conforms to the new development philosophy. Quality form is the intrinsic quality and development quality of productive forces; business form is the external manifestation and carrier support of productive forces. Coordinating the relationship between quality form and business form means taking quality excellence as the orientation for the development of all business forms, not simply equating new quality productive forces with certain business forms, promoting the linked development of future industries, emerging industries, and traditional industries, and preventing acting in isolation without coordination (单兵突进, dan bing tu jin - "single, soldier, thrust, advance").
Third, coordinate well the relationship between reform and development. Adhere to giving equal importance to multiple tasks simultaneously (并举并重, bing ju bing zhong - "together, lift, together, heavy") for reform and development, run the deepening of institutional and mechanism reforms and institutional supply through all aspects and the entire process of development, and fully mobilize the enthusiasm and creativity of the whole society in developing new quality productive forces.
Fourth, coordinate well the relationship between self-reliance and opening up. Attract globally advanced and high-quality production factors, enhance the linkage effect of both domestic and international markets and both types of resources, enhance our own economic strength and capacity for independent innovation through opening up and cooperation, and create a favorable international environment for developing new quality productive forces.
Fifth, coordinate well development and security. On the one hand, focus efforts on developing new quality productive forces, cultivating and strengthening new growth drivers, and promoting high-level security through high-quality development; on the other hand, conduct forward-looking research and judgment on various hidden risks such as technology ethics, data security, and industrial risks, improve relevant laws and regulations, ethical review rules, and regulatory frameworks, and safeguard high-quality development with high-level security.
Keyword: Innovation
Placing "vigorously advancing scientific and technological innovation" as the first of the five major tasks
Reporter: Scientific and technological innovation is the core element of developing new quality productive forces. What considerations were there in the "Opinions" when deploying the five key measures for "vigorously advancing scientific and technological innovation"?
Reply: Scientific and technological innovation can give rise to new industries, new models, and new growth drivers, and is the core element of developing new quality productive forces. The "Opinions" places "vigorously advancing scientific and technological innovation" as the first of the five major tasks precisely to emphasize its importance. This section arranges five key measures according to the logic of "what to do," "who does it," and "what results to achieve" in scientific and technological innovation.
First, deploy "what to do" from the two aspects of focusing on the long term and basing on the current situation. Focusing on the long term, the "Opinions" deploys "strengthening original and disruptive scientific and technological innovation." Basing on the current situation, the "Opinions" deploys "accelerating breakthroughs in key core technologies."
Second, deploy "who does it" from the combination of an effective government and an efficient market. From the perspective of an effective government, the "Opinions" deploys "coordinating the building of national strategic scientific and technological strength." Over the years, we have leveraged the advantages of the new system for mobilizing resources nationwide and accumulated considerable experience in systematic tackling of key problems. The "Opinions" summarizes successful experience and makes arrangements for building strong national strategic scientific and technological strength from aspects such as institutional and mechanism reform, major science and technology projects, and major innovation platforms, with the aim of enhancing the capacity for systematic tackling of key problems in scientific and technological innovation. From the perspective of an efficient market, the "Opinions" deploys "strengthening the principal position of enterprises in scientific and technological innovation."
Third, deploy "what results to achieve" from the goal of real productive forces. The "Opinions" takes "accelerating the transformation of scientific and technological achievements into real productive forces" as one of the key measures, precisely to guide everyone to pay more attention to application orientation and anchor the goals of scientific and technological innovation on developing new quality productive forces.
In addition, in the section "promoting the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation," the "Opinions" mainly deploys content such as "transforming and upgrading traditional industries," "cultivating and strengthening emerging industries," "forward-looking layout of future industries," and "promoting the deep integration of the real economy and the digital economy." The "Opinions" prominently emphasizes "comprehensively implementing the 'AI+' action," in order to promote the deep integration of artificial intelligence with the real economy, promptly apply innovative achievements in the intelligent field to specific industries and specific industrial chains, drive the high-end and green development of industries through intelligentization, and empower the all walks of life and various industries (千行百业, qian hang bai ye - "thousand, profession, hundred, industry") to transform and upgrade.
Keyword: Reform
Make every effort to advance innovation in development modes, solidly advance innovation in institutional and mechanism, and deepen innovation in the talent work mechanism
Reporter: Why does the "Opinions" emphasize "focusing on deepening reform around the close integration of science and technology with the economy"?
Reply: In developing new quality productive forces, reform must be taken as the key move. The "Opinions" emphasizes "focusing on deepening reform around the close integration of science and technology with the economy," which answers that the main direction of the reform of the science and technology system is to continue focusing on the close integration of science and technology with the economy, solve the problem of science and technology and the economy being "two separate skins," and deepen the reform of the science and technology system.
Although the goals and problems to be solved in deepening the reform of the science and technology system have not changed, there have been considerable changes in the path of implementation. For example, in the past, to solve the problem of science and technology and the economy being "two separate skins," more emphasis was placed on supply-side reform, stressing that scientific and technological innovation achievements should be transformed into real productive forces and that industry, academia, and research should be closely integrated, with relatively more emphasis on laying out industrial chains around innovation chains. While continuing to emphasize supply-side reform, the "Opinions" pays more attention to exerting effort on the demand side. At the very beginning of this key reform measure, the "Opinions" requires "deploying science and technology tasks on demand in major national engineering projects," placing more emphasis on laying out innovation chains around industrial chains.
Reporter: The "Opinions" makes systematic arrangements for deepening innovation in the talent work mechanism. How should these reform tasks be implemented?
Reply: Talent is the primary resource and the most active and decisive dynamic subject in developing new quality productive forces. The "Opinions" makes systematic arrangements for deepening innovation in the talent work mechanism.
In practice, efforts should focus on three aspects. First, pay more attention to the independent cultivation of talent, earnestly implement major tasks such as the integrated reform of the education, science and technology, and talent institutional mechanisms, the improvement and expansion of higher education and the setup of academic disciplines and majors, and the high-quality development of modern vocational education, and cultivate urgently needed talent. Second, pay more attention to talent incentive and evaluation, fully mobilizing the enthusiasm of all kinds of talent. Third, pay more attention to the rational flow of talent, accelerate the removal of various hidden barriers, smooth the channels for talent exchange among institutions of higher learning, scientific research institutes, and enterprises, improve the "new eight-grade worker" vocational skill level system, and smooth the channels for industrial workers to move upward in their development.
At the same time, in "making every effort to advance innovation in development modes," the "Opinions" proposes key measures such as "building an economic system for green, low-carbon, and circular development" and "optimizing the policy toolbox for green development." Among them, it prominently emphasizes "actively advancing the energy revolution," which is the inevitable path to achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and is also an important security guarantee for developing new quality productive forces.
For the current period and the period ahead, all regions and relevant departments should treat the implementation of the "Opinions" as a major political task, explore development paths in light of actual conditions, promptly summarize experiences and practices, strengthen publicity and promotion, and create a favorable atmosphere.
Return to Top(Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, October 9) State Councilor Shen Yiqin on the 9th in Beijing met with the Chinese sports delegation to the 20th Asian Games, which had returned with honors, and conveyed to all athletes, coaches, and staff the warm congratulations and cordial greetings of the Party Central Committee and the State Council. She stressed the need to bear in mind General Secretary Xi Jinping's instructions, staying calm and avoiding arrogance (戒骄戒躁, jie jiao jie zao - "guard against pride, restrain impetuousness"), continuing to make persistent efforts (再接再厉, zai jie zai li - "again, continue, again, exert effort"), and solidly advancing preparations for the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Shen Yiqin pointed out that the Chinese sports delegation achieved its best-ever results at an Asian Games held outside China, achieving success in two aspects simultaneously (双丰收, shuang feng shou - "double, bumper harvest") in athletic performance and spiritual civilization, demonstrating the childlike devotion of winning glory for one's country (为国争光, wei guo zheng guang - "for, country, strive for, glory"), the conviction of tenacious struggle, the spirit of fighting or working side by side (并肩作战, bing jian zuo zhan - "side by side, fight/work"), the youthful bearing of confidence and optimism, and the moral style of fair competition, winning honor for the motherland and the people. On the new journey, she expressed the hope that everyone would uphold the supremacy of the motherland, summarize successful experience, identify shortcomings and weaknesses, being down-to-earth and practical (脚踏实地, jiao ta shi di - "foot, tread, solid, ground") and forging ahead through hardships (砥砺前行, di li qian xing - "grind and polish, move forward"), successfully complete the preparation and competition tasks for the Los Angeles Olympic Games, and further consolidate China's status as a major Olympic power.
Shen Yiqin stressed that the sports front must thoroughly study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions on sports work, strengthen organizational coordination and service guarantees, reform and improve the management system and operational mechanisms of competitive sports, accelerate the cultivation of reserve talents, enhance the overall strength of competitive sports, strictly rectify in accordance with the law chaos such as the "fan circle" (饭圈), and accelerate the pace of building a sporting powerhouse.
Return to TopThe ear damage rate is stably kept within 3%; a fresh-eating corn harvester featuring light feeding, gentle ear picking, and slow conveying;a tomato harvester that harvests 80 tons per hour and can precisely remove green fruit within 0.15 seconds; a rice harvester that is not afraid of lodging, can "lift up" the crop for a steady cut, and does not clog, jam, or drop ears... Starting today, the "Innovations Around Us" column on this page launches the "Unimaginable Chinese Agricultural Machinery" series report, focusing on specialized agricultural machinery that excels in different working conditions, interviewing R&D developers to talk about innovation and listening to users to share their experiences.
—Editor
What the developer says
Simulating manual picking to develop the harvester
Tang Wentao
Harvesting fresh-eating corn is different from harvesting ordinary grain corn: the former must be harvested at the milk-ripe stage, when the ears are high in moisture and the kernels are delicate; once bumped, their commercial value is greatly affected. Manual harvesting is the most reliable, but it is inefficient and labor is expensive; traditional harvesters are too "rough," ill-matched to the "delicate" ears.
Our team has gone through much hardship and experience (摸爬滚打, mo pa gun da - "crawl, climb, roll, struggle") in the field of mechanized fresh-eating corn harvesting for many years, and our R&D approach from the very beginning was not to patch up traditional harvesters, but to switch to a different logic—simulating manual picking. When people pick corn by hand, they first gently hold the ear, then separate it from the stalk, with gentle, cushioned movements. We wondered: could a machine realize this kind of movement logic?
Actually doing it proved harder than imagined. First, fresh-eating corn planting patterns are not uniform, row spacings vary, and the traditional row-aligned harvesting mode cannot adapt. We designed a non-row-aligned flexible stalk-dividing feeding system, attempting to have the machine first gently guide the stalks in. Second, the ear-picking stage fears pulling breaks and tearing most, so we chose a hexagonal oblique-blade stalk-pulling roller, which both ensures stalk-pulling efficiency and can precisely cut off the ear stem; the force and angle were adjusted nearly a hundred times. In addition, the conveying stage is also prone to bumping; using a flexible conveying chain fitted with soft rubber blocks allows the ears to "walk gently" from picking to storage, forming a full-process low-damage system of light feeding, gentle ear picking, and slow conveying.Impurities on the header also need handling; a multi-stage impurity-removing fan can noticeably improve the cleanliness of the ears.
On the intelligence front, we also put in considerable effort: to adapt to undulating field terrain, we developed an intelligent profiling leveling system; since equipment overload carries risk, we equipped it with a fault detection and early warning system that can identify issues in advance and protect the equipment. These innovations, in actual field operations, can reduce losses and extend equipment service life.
After multiple rounds of field testing, this fresh-eating corn harvester's ear damage rate is stably kept within 3%, and for some fresh-eating corn varieties it even falls below 1%. This means domestic fresh-eating corn harvesters are no longer merely "able to harvest," but are beginning to "harvest well," blazing a viable path for technological R&D.
(The author is section chief of the Vehicle Models Section at the Engineering Technology Research Institute of Jiufang Taihe International Heavy Industry (Qingdao) Co., Ltd.; compiled from an interview by People's Daily reporter Wang Zhe)
What the user says
Efficiency has gone up; now we hope operation can be simpler
Wang Tewei
Our cooperative plants more than 1,000 mu of fresh-eating corn every year, and harvesting has always been a difficult problem.
In the past it was all manual labor: picking quality was uneven, time-consuming and laborious, and during the busy farming season it was hard to find workers and wages were expensive. Later we used traditional machinery to harvest, but the damage rate and impurity rate were high again, the harvested ears did not look good for sale, and we lost a lot.
Since using the fresh-eating corn harvester, the most direct feeling is that efficiency has gone up and the damage rate has come down. Scratches and compression on the ears have noticeably decreased, and cleanliness has improved.
However, there are many varieties of fresh-eating corn, and planting patterns also differ; across different plots and varieties, the machine's adaptability still needs improvement. For some special varieties or plots with special row spacings, the machine needs to be readjusted and re-broken in. In addition, the equipment is highly intelligent, and we hope operation can be simpler, fault warnings more intuitive, so that ordinary machine operators can also get up to speed quickly. We also hope after-sales service and parts supply can be faster, so as not to delay the busy farming season.
For fresh-eating corn to be industrialized, the harvesting hurdle must be overcome. We look forward to more machine models suited to different varieties and planting patterns in the future, pushing the damage rate even lower, raising adaptability even higher, so that more farmers dare to use them, can afford to use them, and can use them well.
(The author is a fresh-eating corn grower in Hanting District, Weifang City, Shandong Province; compiled from an interview by People's Daily reporter Wang Zhe)
Layout design: Cai Huawei
This issue coordinated by: Lü Li
Return to TopThe 5652 public-welfare slow train, running from Kunming in Yunnan to Hongguo in Guizhou, traveled through the mountains and waters of Yunnan and Guizhou during the National Day holiday. This green-skinned slow train covers a total distance of 261 kilometers, with a full-route fare of 36.5 yuan and a minimum fare of only a few yuan between stations, linking up more than 10 small stops. It serves as a "convenience public bus" for villagers going to market with goods, visiting relatives, and traveling. The photo shows that on October 7, a train attendant on board helped a passenger who had gone to the restroom by looking after her child.
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Xinbo
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 刘仲华 郭梓云
A reading exchange event for the German edition of Volume V of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China was recently held in Frankfurt, Germany. The event, themed "Mutual Learning Among Civilizations and Pragmatic Collaboration: New Practices in China-Germany Cooperation in the New Era," brought together representatives from the Chinese and German governments, academia, business, and cultural circles, who engaged in in-depth exchanges around the important expositions in Volume V of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China concerning Chinese modernization, global initiatives, and building a community with a shared future for mankind, jointly exploring new pathways and new opportunities for China-Germany pragmatic cooperation. Participating guests believed that Volume V of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China has opened a window for German readers to further understand China's development path and policy concepts, and has also injected new momentum into China-Germany civilizational exchange and mutual learning.
"A Key to Objectively Viewing and Understanding the Real China"
In 2014, the multilingual book launch of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China was held in Frankfurt; in 2025, the English edition promotional event for Volume V of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China was also held here. Today, the reading exchange event for the German edition of Volume V of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China not only continues this profound bond of thought, but also adds contemporary significance of transcending national borders and learning from each other.
This event was guided by the China International Communications Group and the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Frankfurt, and hosted by China International Book Trading Corporation. Xie Gang, Deputy Director of the China International Communications Group, stated that Volume V of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China centrally presents the latest achievements of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, providing an authoritative reading for German and even European circles of all kinds to understand Chinese modernization. China and Germany can draw on the ideological wisdom contained in the book to explore new paradigms of mutual learning among civilizations; rely on complementary industrial advantages to deepen pragmatic cooperation in fields such as intelligent manufacturing and green energy; uphold multilateralism to continuously consolidate the comprehensive strategic partnership. The two countries joining hands to expand two-way opening-up and jointly shoulder global responsibilities will inject positive force of cooperation and development into Europe's prosperity and stability and the world's peace and development.
Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder and president of the German Schiller Institute, believed that the achievements of Chinese modernization have been attracting worldwide attention (举世瞩目, ju shi zhu mu - "raise, world, gaze, eye"). China has not only risen to become a globally leading economy, but has also achieved historic leaps in fields such as deep-space exploration and innovation in key core technologies. The code to China's success lies embedded in the philosophical foundations and governance wisdom of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. "Studying Volume V of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, it is not difficult to discover that China's development has always been oriented toward enhancing the well-being of the people. Studying this authoritative work is precisely the best way to understand the Chinese miracle and comprehend the logic of China's governance."
German historian and professor at the University of Bonn, Peter K. H. (transliterated as Pei Gaode in Chinese sources), stated that the publication of the German edition of Volume V of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China helps enhance the level of German society's understanding of China. "This work systematically presents China's policy orientation, governance logic, and international positioning, and is an authoritative guide for German circles of all kinds to understand China's path and governance philosophy." In his view, the so-called"China shock theory""stems from the lack of proactive, in-depth willingness and action by the outside world to understand China. Studying this work is precisely the key to objectively viewing and understanding the real China."
Waldemar Pelz, tenured professor at Leipzig University in Germany, believed that Volume V of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China not only helps the outside world understand China, but also conveys to the outside world a sincere willingness to enhance mutual trust and deepen cooperation. He hoped that more German people, by studying this book, would break down cognitive barriers and further enhance their understanding of China.
"Injecting Certainty and Stability into a World of Turmoil and Intertwined Change"
In recent years, the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind has been written multiple times into important resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly and other bodies, and global initiatives have received broad response and support from the international community. The relevant expositions in Volume V of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China sparked heated discussion among participating guests.
Huang Yangyang, Consul General of the People's Republic of China in Frankfurt, stated:"In the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, China is vigorously developing new quality productive forces, advancing green transformation, and continuously expanding high-standard opening-up. Global initiatives contribute Chinese wisdom to all countries jointly meeting challenges. Mutual learning among civilizations and pragmatic cooperation are important foundations for China-Germany relations to maintain steady progress to achieve long-term success; we welcome German friends to use reading as a medium to deepen mutual learning among civilizations and enhance mutual understanding."
Michael Merz, Mayor of the German town of Ransbach-Baumbach, stated that studying Xi Jinping: The Governance of China has enabled him to understand more deeply the exploratory journey and successful experience of the path of Chinese modernization. "Opening-up breeds infinite opportunities, and only cooperation can open up the future. In the current international situation of turmoil and intertwined change, upholding genuine multilateralism is particularly crucial. The Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping inject certainty and stability into a world of turmoil and intertwined change." He emphasized that China is a key partner worthy of trust and advancing hand in hand;a stable, vibrant Germany-China relationship will surely inject strong momentum into safeguarding the world's peace, stability, and prosperity.
"Building a community with a shared future for mankind is the core concept of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy. President Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out that facts have again shown that amid the turbulent and dangerous situations of global crises, all countries are not riding in over 190 small boats, but rather in one big boat sharing a common destiny. This highly insightful metaphor of the era clarifies the future direction of human development." Zepp-LaRouche stated that, facing the intertwined and surging tests of the era, breaking down the barriers of zero-sum games and Cold War mentality, and placing the overall interests of humanity in the foremost position, are a historical necessity concerning the survival and continuation of civilization and the progress of development. The four major global initiatives possess strong appeal to the international community, especially the Global South, inspiring them to blaze a new path of modernization that is independent, self-reliant, mutually beneficial, and win-win.
Pei Gaode stated that Volume V of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China closely follows the pulse of the times. Taking the artificial intelligence topic as an example, the entire book not only attends to technological innovation in AI and industrial implementation, but also profoundly perceives its long-term impact on the landscape of global governance. In November 2024, at the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech on jointly building a fair and reasonable global governance system, elaborating China's propositions and actions on strengthening international AI governance and cooperation, demonstrating profound global vision.
"Germany-China Pragmatic Cooperation Will Continue to Benefit the World"
China and Germany are both major economies of global importance; the relationship between the two countries not only concerns the well-being of the people, but also has profound implications for Europe and even the global landscape. Participating guests believed that mutual respect, mutually beneficial and win-win outcomes, maintaining open dialogue, and jointly addressing global challenges are the cornerstones for promoting the healthy and stable development of China-Germany relations.
Elmar Stumpf, chairman of the Germany-Baden-Württemberg China Economic Association, stated that studying Xi Jinping: The Governance of China helps understand China's development philosophy of adhering to open cooperation, inclusive benefits, and shared gains. "Germany-China economic and trade cooperation is based on mutual respect and mutually beneficial win-win outcomes, and its significance transcends the bilateral scope. The Germany-Baden-Württemberg China Economic Association is willing to help enterprises of the two countries develop steadily in each other's markets, enhancing the well-being of the people of both countries through pragmatic cooperation."
Martina Guther, liaison officer for China affairs of the German town of Königstein, stated that in the economic and trade field, German and Chinese enterprises have obvious complementary advantages: Germany possesses profound technological accumulation and strict quality standards, while China demonstrates strong innovation vitality in digitalization, intelligent manufacturing, green low-carbon, and other fields. Youth exchange is a cornerstone oriented toward the future;young people of the two countries should candidly view objective differences, fully respect each other's concerns, eliminate prejudice and accumulate trust through normalized interaction, and use vibrant people-to-people forces to build a solid bond for long-term Germany-China cooperation.
Taking the ceramic industry exchange between Ransbach-Baumbach and the Chinese side as an example, Merz shared local people-to-people cooperation practices:"Ransbach-Baumbach has formally established a friendly relationship with Dehua County, Quanzhou, Fujian Province, using ceramics as the medium; we have joined hands with Guangxi to hold ceramic industry promotion conferences, relying on high-quality Belt and Road Initiative cooperation to explore new cooperation opportunities;we also actively integrate into the European-Chinese scholar exchange network, committed to deeply integrating Europe's exquisite traditional craftsmanship with China's vigorous innovation and creativity." He believed that Germany's current strategic layout in technological innovation and digital transformation highly aligns with the high-quality development direction anchored by China's 15th Five-Year Plan, especially possessing enormous cooperation space in fields such as intelligentization, greening, and cross-industry integration. "Whether it is promoting the transformation and upgrading of traditional advantageous industries or jointly pioneering future emerging tracks, Germany-China pragmatic cooperation will continue to benefit the world."
(People's Daily, Frankfurt, October 9)
Return to Top(Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, October 9) On October 9 local time, the 2026 UNESCO Prize for Girls' and Women's Education award ceremony was held in Paris, France. Peng Liyuan, wife of President Xi Jinping and UNESCO Special Envoy for the Promotion of Girls' and Women's Education, delivered a video message to the ceremony.
Peng Liyuan extended warm congratulations to the winning institutions from Morocco and Peru. She stated that the level of girls' and women's education is an important yardstick for measuring the progress of human civilization. In recent years, with the strong advocacy of UNESCO and the joint efforts of the international community, gratifying progress has been made in the global cause of girls' and women's education.
Peng Liyuan pointed out that China has always attached great importance to girls' and women's education, actively carried out practical cooperation with UNESCO and relevant parties, benefiting many women in various countries. In recent years, China has empowered high-quality development in education with artificial intelligence technology, effectively promoting gender equality in education and the comprehensive development of women, providing useful experience that countries of the Global South can draw upon. The development of the cause of girls' and women's education faces a long and arduous task ahead (任重道远, ren zhong dao yuan - "task, heavy; road, far"). As UNESCO Special Envoy for the Promotion of Girls' and Women's Education, I call on the international community to join hands in strengthening vocational education and training for women, vigorously developing digital-intelligent education oriented toward women, enabling them to become users and beneficiaries of digital-intelligent technology, and building ladders for them to shine in life.
Peng Liyuan stated that developing the cause of girls' and women's education sows hope, nurtures dreams, and reaps happiness. I am willing to work with all parties to promote greater development of the cause of girls' and women's education and contribute to a brighter tomorrow for more women!
Since China and UNESCO jointly established the Prize for Girls' and Women's Education in 2015, the prize has continued to exert a positive influence and has received extensive attention and high praise from the international community.
Return to TopBy: 阿里别克·塔日巴耶夫
Chinese modernization will continue to create development opportunities for all countries of the world, including Kazakhstan, and bring more inspiration to humanity's exploration of diverse paths to modernization.
When Chinese modernization is mentioned, people first think of the continuously expanding economic aggregate, the increasingly complete industrial system, the vigorous and growing capacity for scientific and technological innovation, and the infrastructure network extending in all directions (四通八达, si tong ba da - "four, pass; eight, reach"). Volume V of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China profoundly reveals that behind these development achievements runs a clear main thread: China is adept at planning development with a long-term perspective, coordinating and advancing reform, development, and stability, and optimizing policies in response to circumstances while maintaining strategic focus. This governance wisdom of grounding itself in the present while planning for the long term is precisely the key to understanding why Chinese modernization can achieve maintaining steady progress to achieve long-term success (行稳致远, xing wen zhi yuan - "walk, steady; reach, far").
A distinctive feature of Chinese modernization is the adherence to following a single plan through to completion (一张蓝图绘到底, yi zhang lan tu hui dao di - "one, sheet, blueprint, draw, to the end"). Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, five-year plans and medium-and long-term development goals are organically linked, breaking down national strategies into industrial layouts, regional deployments, and pragmatic measures, and relying on systematic arrangements and dynamic adjustments to advance continuously. Whether in establishing special economic zones or in advancing the construction of pilot free trade zones, once China establishes a development goal, it will advance toward achieving that goal step by step. Coordinating the integration of top-level design with pilot-first experimentation can both fully release the vitality of reform and effectively prevent and defuse risks, ensuring that undertakings requiring long-term investment—such as infrastructure construction, scientific and technological innovation, industrial upgrading, and ecological governance—continue to advance without interruption.
Putting the people first is the consistent from beginning to end (一以贯之, yi yi guan zhi - "one, continuously, through") essential requirement of Chinese modernization. When evaluating development results, one cannot look only at macroeconomic indicators, but must also look at whether the lives of thousands of households are continuously improving and whether the people's right to development is fully guaranteed. China has lifted nearly 100 million rural residents out of absolute poverty, with steady improvements in education, healthcare, transportation, housing, and social security levels. Economic growth targets are coordinated with comprehensive rural revitalization, infrastructure construction, employment support, and the improvement of public services, promoting the achievements of modernization to benefit all the people more and more fairly.
At present, China's economy has shifted from the stage of high-speed growth to the stage of high-quality development, focusing on key directions such as scientific and technological innovation, the real economy, green transformation, and expanding domestic demand, advancing steadily. From artificial intelligence to clean energy, from high-speed railways to digital infrastructure, the government relies on strategic planning and policy guidance to create a sound development environment and stabilize long-term market expectations, while the market relies on technological innovation and healthy competition to optimize resource allocation, jointly cultivating new drivers of development. Facing real issues such as demographic structural changes, unbalanced regional development, and the need to fully unleash the potential of domestic demand, China insists on diagnosing problems, optimizing policies, and accumulating experience in the practice of reform. This ability to proactively identify changes and respond scientifically is an important pillar supporting the strong resilience of China's economy.
For Kazakhstan, the development concepts and practical paths embodied in Chinese modernization have important reference value. National development strategies should be matched with implementable mechanisms, transforming macro goals into specific industrial projects, regional layouts, and fiscal investments. Major reforms can rely on local pilot projects to accumulate experience, creating test carriers for institutional innovation, industrial integration, and talent cultivation. As connectivity continues to deepen, Kazakhstan-China cooperation can further extend toward industrial synergy and innovation collaboration, cultivating with great care and attention to detail (深耕细作, shen geng xi zuo - "deep, plow; fine, work") in fields such as equipment manufacturing, green energy, agricultural product processing, and digital technology, relying on investment to help Kazakhstan improve its industrial chains and cultivate local talent, promoting the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative to become a long-term cooperation platform for both sides to jointly enhance development capacity and share modernization opportunities.
The world significance of Chinese modernization does not lie in providing a development template that can be directly copied, but rather in its exploratory spirit that breaks with the Western modernization model. China has not copied the development models of other countries, nor does it ever require other countries to replicate its own path, but rather advocates that each country, based on its own national conditions and historical and cultural endowments, explore modernization development paths with its own distinctive features. The practice of Chinese modernization has fully proven that openness and cooperation and independence and self-reliance can complementing each other to achieve a better result (相辅相成, xiang fu xiang cheng - "mutually, assist, mutually, complete"), that market vitality and strategic guidance can exert force in the same direction, and that deepening reform and long-term stability can promoting each other to advance together (互促共进, hu cu gong jin - "mutually, promote, together, advance"). What development path a country chooses, in the final analysis, depends on whether it can rely on its own historical culture and basic national conditions to activate the momentum for modernization, and whether it can use development results to continuously improve people's livelihoods and maintain social stability.
Adhering to a people-centered approach, adhering to basing itself on its own national realities, and adhering to the continuous struggle of generation after generation are the fundamental driving forces behind China's continuous pioneering progress. Looking to the future, Chinese modernization will continue to create development opportunities for all countries of the world, including Kazakhstan, and bring more inspiration to humanity's exploration of diverse paths to modernization.
(The author is Director of the "Eurasian Monitoring" Analytical Research Center of Kazakhstan)
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 于景浩
"The four major global initiatives are practical and feasible solutions proposed by China to safeguard world peace, stability, development, and prosperity and to address global challenges. They respond to the aspiration of the international community, especially the vast number of developing countries, to build a more just and reasonable international order." Ong Tee Keat, former Minister of Transport of Malaysia and President of the Asia-Pacific "Belt and Road" Co-Development Association, said in an exclusive interview with our reporter, "China brings certainty to a restless world."
Ong Tee Keat said that in today's world, the profound transformation of a century is evolving deeply, geopolitical conflicts occurring one after another (此起彼伏, ci qi bi fu - "this, rise; that, fall"), unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, bringing enormous impact to world stability and economic recovery, and the international community expects Chinese solutions. Following the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative, China proposed the Global Governance Initiative in September last year. The four major global initiatives provide a pragmatic framework that fits the vision of Global South countries. At a time when the existing international system faces increasingly severe challenges, these initiatives help promote the building of a more constructive and inclusive international order.
"The Global Governance Initiative responds to the call of the international community for establishing a more just and reasonable global governance system." Ong Tee Keat said that since the Global Governance Initiative was proposed a year ago, it has received support and response from nearly 160 countries and international organizations, demonstrating strong vitality and appeal. In October last year, China established the International Organization for Mediation in Hong Kong, which is an important legal public good China has provided for improving global governance, and has received recognitionand support from many developing countries.
Ong Tee Keat believes that in recent years, China has upheld its neighborhood diplomacy concept of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit, and inclusiveness (亲诚惠容), deepened economicand trade cooperation with ASEAN. The two sides have already deeply integrated their production and supply chains, which has laid a solid foundation for Asia-Pacific regional cooperation. China has promoted the conclusionand high-level implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, signed the Protocol to Upgrade the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0, providing important support for further promoting Asia-Pacific regional economic integrationand advancing the process of an Asia-Pacific free trade area, among others.
Ong Tee Keat said that at present, the construction of the East Coast Rail Link project in Malaysia, in which Chinese enterprises participate, has entered the sprint stage, and the agglomeration effect of the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park has been continuously enhanced. The two sides are expanding cooperation in emerging fields such as digital economy, new energy, cross-border e-commerce, and electric vehicles. Measures such as mutual visa exemption between Malaysiaand China and the expansion of direct flight routes between the two countries have allowed the people of the two countries, especially young people, to get closer and closer to each other's historyand culture. In the future, the two countries can further promote people-to-peopleand cultural exchanges through means such as co-producing films, continuously consolidating the public opinion foundation for bilateral friendship, and contributing culturaland people-to-people strength to building a high-level strategic Malaysia-China community with a shared future.
Return to Top(People's Daily, Beijing, October 9) (Reporter Chen Shangwen) Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, met in Beijing on October 9 with a joint delegation of political leaders from Pacific island countries, headed by Tonga's Deputy Prime Minister Latu.
Wang Yi stated that, under the joint guidance of President Xi Jinping and the leaders of Pacific island countries, the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the Pacific island countries has become more stable and sound (成熟稳健, cheng shu wen jian - "mature, stable, steady"). China is willing to work with the island countries to firmly support each other in following development paths that suit their respective national conditions and are independently chosen by their own peoples, to strengthen party-to-party exchange and cooperation, and to join hands in building an even closer China–Pacific Island Countries community with a shared future.
Latu and the others expressed gratitude for the tremendous assistance China has long provided for the economic and social development of the island countries, stated that they will firmly uphold the One-China policy, and expressed willingness to strengthen exchanges and interactions with the Communist Party of China.
Return to Top(People's Daily, Beijing, October 9) He Lifeng, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, met with Maroš Šefčovič, European Commission Vice-President for Trade and Economic Security, in Beijing on the afternoon of the 9th. The two sides exchanged views on China-EU economic and trade relations.
He Lifeng stated that China has always attached great importance to developing economic and trade relations with the EU and is willing to work with the European side to jointly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of both sides. The two sides should give full play to the role of the China-EU trade and investment consultation mechanism, adhere to the new positioning of a stable and balanced key trade partnership between China and the EU, continue dialogue, properly handle differences, and promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral economic and trade relations.
Šefčovič stated that China is an important economic and trade partner of the EU, and expressed willingness to continue advancing trade and investment consultations, strengthen communication, and jointly promote cooperation.
Return to Top(Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, October 9) A Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced on the 9th: At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, President Duma Gideon Boko of the Republic of Botswana will pay a state visit to China from October 12 to 17.
Return to Top(Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, October 9) (Reporters Xie Xiyao, Wang Yuhao) From October 8 to 9, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and European Commission Trade and Economic Security Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič co-chaired the second regular meeting of the China-EU Trade and Investment Consultation Mechanism in Beijing and issued a joint statement. The two sides conducted practical and productive discussions and formed a list of consensus outcomes.
The list formed 16 specific consensus outcomes around trade and investment balance, export controls, intellectual property rights, and WTO reform. These include: the two sides will continue to explore the possibility of lowering tariffs on certain goods within the framework of WTO rules; the two sides reached an understanding on hybrid vehicle trade in a manner consistent with WTO rules; the two sides will continue the corporate price undertaking and review procedures in the anti-subsidy case on electric vehicles; the two sides agreed to conduct technical dialogue on the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR); China is willing to continue facilitating the licensing and approval of rare earth and permanent magnet exports to Europe through the "green channel" mechanism, and the EU will continue to work with member states to facilitate the resolution of key licensing cases for China in the dual-use field; the two sides agreed to explore investment cooperation to promote mutual economic development and to discuss future-oriented cooperation, among other matters.
The two sides reaffirmed that, as key trading partners, within the framework of WTO rules, they will properly handle their differences and remain committed to continuing to stabilize bilateral economic and trade relations and make them more balanced. The two sides agreed to hold the third regular meeting of the mechanism in March 2027, and before that, the two sides will maintain close communication, including a ministerial video conference in January.
Both sides believe that the second regular meeting is a new starting point for deepening China-EU cooperation, and they instructed the working teams to continue advancing follow-up work, promote the early implementation of the relevant consensus outcomes, and make preparations for the third regular meeting of the China-EU Trade and Investment Consultation Mechanism.
Return to TopThe Kilwa Masoko Fishing Port project in Tanzania, undertaken by China Harbour Engineering Company, recently passed its completion acceptance smoothly. The project covers an area of approximately 5.6 hectares and is designed with an annual fish unloading capacity of 60,000 tons. As Tanzania's first modern large-scale fishing port, once operational it will become the core hub for the development of Tanzania's marine fisheries and a national-level deep-sea fishing base. The photo shows an aerial view of the project.
Photo by Chen Zhifeng
Return to Top(Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, October 9) (Reporters Wu Mengtong, Shao Yibo) At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, President Duma Gideon Boko of the Republic of Botswana will pay a state visit to China from October 12 to 17. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning introduced the arrangements for the visit at a regular press conference on the 9th.
"This visit is President Boko's first visit to China since taking office," Mao Ning said. President Xi Jinping will hold a welcome ceremony and a welcome banquet for President Boko, and the two heads of state will hold talks. Premier Li Qiang and Chairman Zhao Leji will meet with President Boko respectively. President Boko will also visit Fujian Province.
Mao Ning stated that China and Botswana are strategic partners. Over the 51 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries have upheld sincere friendship and mutually beneficial and win-win (互利共赢, hu li gong ying - "mutual benefit, win-win") cooperation, supported each other on major issues involving each other's core interests, helped each other in times of need (守望相助, shou wang xiang zhu - "guard, watch, help each other") in the face of disasters and epidemics, worked together for common progress (携手共进, xie shou gong jin - "hold hands, advance together") on the journey of advancing the cause of modernization, and stood firmly on the right side of history in international affairs.
"We believe this visit will promote the development of China-Botswana relations to a higher level and make greater contributions to building a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era," she said.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 王乐文 方 敏
The car drove onto No. 1 Highway in Ye County, Pingdingshan City, Henan Province. Outside the window, on the mountain ridges, rows of white wind turbines spun at the wind gap where the Funiu Mountains and the Tongbai Mountains meet.
This 94-kilometer No. 1 Highway of Ye County beneath our feet happens to overlap with the Long March route that the 25th Red Army took through Ye County.
In the early winter more than 90 years ago, wind and snow swept across the land. The 25th Red Army fought for many days at Wulipo in Yanglingzhuang Village, Bao'an Town, Ye County, using the terrain to hold off pursuing troops while the main force seized the opportunity to advance westward, tearing open a path of survival along the Funiu Mountain range. This unit later arrived in northern Shaanxi, laying the groundwork for the Central Red Army to establish itself there.
Today, a monument stands at the site of the battlefield. On the memorial wall behind the monument, the words "The Long March, the Eternal Red Ribbon" shone brightly in the sunlight.
The mountains are still the same mountains. But with the opening of No. 1 Highway, the once rugged mountain paths have become roads to prosperity.
Pointing at the wind turbines on the mountain, Chen Hanhan, mayor of Bao'an Town, introduced: "The wind turbines were built with investment from central state-owned enterprises. Once the turbines start turning, the village gets dividends."
Continuing along No. 1 Highway, we arrived at the Matoushan Lakeside Camping Base, where the base's person in charge, Li Jinquan, was greeting guests. During the National Day holiday that had just passed, quite a few tourists had come here\
To fully tap into the red heritage, the base staged an immersive situational drama titled "Follow the Regiment Commander into Battle." When tourists arrive, they can change into costumes and play various roles, experiencing the spirit of the Long March in a real-life setting. Villagers put on Red Army uniforms and take part in the drama, earning labor income for each performance\
Beside the road at the camping base, a row of sightseeing bicycles was parked, and Wan Hongrui, a villager from Yanglingzhuang Village, was pumping air into a tire. She had previously worked in a factory and returned to the village in 2021. "Once the tourist route opened up, the scenic area got more and more visitors, and job opportunities have also grown."
With convenient transportation, beautiful mountains and waters, and abundant red resources, and through the efforts of local Party members and cadres, Yanglingzhuang Village has become a somewhat famous "internet-famous village," and many villagers now make a living off the "tourism bowl of rice."
In recent years, Yanglingzhuang Village has also developed a "village collective + farmers + third party" business model, activating more than 880 mu of land and building the Matoushan 3A-level scenic area. Projects such as lakeside homestays and the camping base have landed one after another\
"There are also income sources like wind power equity dividends, photovoltaic power generation, national reserve forest leasing, land transfer, and fixed asset leasing. Last year, village collective income reached more than 700,000 yuan. Apart from village maintenance and office expenses, we also pay medical insurance for the villagers." Said Li Weitong, Party branch secretary of Yanglingzhuang Village\
"The villagers don't even have to pay their own medical insurance?" asked the reporter\
Li Weitong nodded: "No need. The village collective pays it uniformly; the villagers don't have to shell out a single cent."
With fuller money bags, the Party organization's prestige has also risen. In previous years, when the village widened roads, the project had to pass through villagers' homestead land. The two village committee bodies and Party members took the lead in vacating the land first, then did ideological work with the masses. "Once we did the persuasion work, everyone agreed." Said Li Weitong\
"This year's harvest isn't bad!" A villager who was drying corn straightened up and wiped the sweat off his brow. "Now that the roads are easy to travel, we all ride electric bikes to work, and the fields have all been switched to large agricultural machinery."
The wind blows across Wulipo, and the wind turbines keep spinning merrily. On No. 1 Highway, several more tourist buses came driving over\
Return to TopBy: 讲述人：“阿妈啦”黄河巾帼志愿巡河护河队执行队长 斯红英
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Protecting the mother river is a long-term plan of great importance (千秋大计, qian qiu da ji - "thousand, autumn, great, plan") that bears on the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and its sustainable development."
Setting out from the northern foothills of Bayan Har Mountains, gathering a hundred tributaries, surging through gorges, and flowing eastward into the sea, the Yellow River above and below is a scene of boundless scenery (风光无限, feng guang wu xian - "wind, light, no, limit").
The year 2026 marks 80 years since the Communist Party of China led the people in harnessing the Yellow River. Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, focusing on the overall picture of ecological civilization construction, has elevated ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin to a national strategy, and defined the water governance approach of "prioritizing water conservation, achieving spatial balance, pursuing systematic governance, and leveraging both government and market forces," providing fundamental guidance for water governance in the new era.
Surging Yellow River waters, deep and enduring Yellow River sentiments. The "A River Flows by My Home" column focuses on the Yellow River, following its course, listening to governance stories, and witnessing together with our readers the drastic changes over time (沧桑巨变, cang sang ju bian - "mulberry, mulberry, great, change") of the mother river.
—Editor
My hometown is in Zoigê County, Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, where the wetland grassland spreads like a "green carpet" stretching to the horizon. The Yellow River makes a nearly 180-degree turn here, known as the first of the Yellow River's ninety-nine bends.
Our 74 sisters jointly guard this bend of the Yellow River. Most of this team are Tibetan sisters who are mothers, and we have given ourselves a resounding name — the "Amala" Yellow River Women's Volunteer Patrol and River Protection Team. "Amala" means "mother" in Tibetan, and we often say, "'Mothers' guard the 'Mother River.'"
Among the sisters, some are herders, and others run small supermarkets; everyone is busy with household chores and careers in daily life. What brings us together is one shared goal.
Before 2021, garbage would often appear along the Yellow River and at grazing sites. On windy days, plastic bags and beverage bottles could easily be blown into the river channel, getting stuck in the crevices of rocks on the riverbank. Having grown up by the Yellow River, seeing this garbage made me and a few close friends unable to sit still; we agreed to pick up the trash, persisted for a period of time, and the results were quite good.
In 2022, with the support of the Party branch of Baihe Community in Tangke Town, we formed a patrol and river protection team, and the sisters elected me as executive team leader. At the beginning, the team had only seven or eight volunteers. To be honest, we heard some cynical remarks: "You pick it up today, and others will throw it again tomorrow — wasted effort." "You can manage heaven and earth, but can you manage others throwing things?!" But we held a stubborn conviction in our hearts: the Yellow River is so beautiful, we must protect it well. By persisting day after day, we can make the mother river clean.
Don't underestimate picking up garbage — it is not easy work. In summer, the plateau weather changes at a moment's notice; after rain, the grassy flats turn muddy and walking is laborious. In winter, the weather is bitterly cold (天寒地冻, tian han di dong - "sky, cold, earth, freeze"), and the strong wind stings the face. Every time we go out, we work for a full day, eating instant noodles and steamed buns we bring along when hungry. We go in groups of three or five, one hand holding a bag and the other a pair of tongs, patrolling on foot along the river, catching all the garbage in one go (一网打尽, yi wang da jin - "one, net, hit, end"). When we see someone throwing garbage, we step forward to patiently advise them; when we find damaged riverbanks, we promptly report to the relevant departments. Seeing the Yellow River beautiful, our hearts feel beautiful too.
More and more "Amala" are joining the volunteer team. Dangmo, now 84 years old, is the oldest on the team. During patrols, she often holds the volunteer service flag and walks at the front of the line. Lamu Zhuoma, who had been watching from the sidelines, one day quietly stepped into the ranks and took a woven bag... Today, the team has carried out more than 7,600 person-times of patrol and river inspection, clearing more than 270 tons of household and construction waste from the river channel and its banks.
Besides patrolling the river and picking up garbage, we have also participated in riverbank greening work, cumulatively planting more than 14,600 soil-and-water conservation seedlings such as plateau willows and shrubs, and restoring and greening more than 750 mu of riverside land. Seeing the saplings grow tall fills us with a strong sense of accomplishment. We have innovatively launched a "garbage for handicrafts" public welfare activity, where tourists only need to take away their garbage to exchange for handicrafts handmade by our team members. We have also become "ecological advocates," going into villages and courtyards, scenic spots, and herders' tents to popularize knowledge about river and lake protection among the public.
At home, we are mothers and wives; by the river, we are volunteers protecting the Yellow River's ecology. In the future, we will continue to walk side by side, guarding the mother river's peace and tranquility year after year (岁岁安澜, sui sui an lan - "year, year, peace, wave") and its long-flowing happiness.
(Compiled and arranged by People's Daily reporter Deng Jianyang)
Return to TopBy: 邓剑洋
For the "Ama-la" team members, guarding the ecological health of the Yellow River has become part of daily life. Bending down to pick up litter, patrolling the river to protect it, wielding shovels to plant greenery... day after day (日复一日, ri fu yi ri - "day, repeat, one, day"), they use their actions to protect the Mother River, making the banks of the Yellow River cleaner and more beautiful.
The power of perseverance is moving. The beautiful vision of smooth-flowing rivers and green banks cannot be achieved without the accumulated efforts of every individual. Folk river chiefs, women river chiefs... more and more volunteers are joining the ranks of river patrol and protection. With multiple forces participating together, forming a pattern of major protection and major coordination, we can build consensus and make sustained, long-term effort, ensuring that the Yellow River remains a river of happiness that benefits the people.
Return to Top(People's Daily, Beijing, October 9) (Reporter Ding Yasong) The General Office of the Ministry of Education and the General Office of the Ministry of Finance recently jointly issued the "Notice on Doing a Good Job in Implementing the 2026 'Three Regions' Talent Support Plan Special Teacher Program," clarifying that in the 2026–2027 school year, the "Three Regions" Talent Support Plan Special Teacher Program will mainly target regions that have emerged from poverty, with emphasis tilted toward national rural revitalization key assistance counties, ethnic counties, old revolutionary base area counties, border counties, and other such areas, with a plan to select and dispatch 11,356 teachers. It requires all localities to comprehensively assess regional trends in school-age population changes, optimize the allocation of quotas within provinces, intensify efforts in cross-county and cross-prefecture selection and dispatch, fully mobilize high-quality resources, and strengthen support for key regions.
In terms of selection requirements, in principle, backbone teachers with intermediate or higher professional and technical titles shall be selected; kindergarten teachers may have their conditions appropriately relaxed; school administrators should possess strong organizational and leadership abilities and rich school management experience. Services shall be provided to the recipient localities in the form of full-time work, with a duration of one year, and extending the teaching support period or remaining on to work is encouraged.
The notice emphasized that policies and funding guarantees must be improved, and the legitimate rights and interests of teachers supporting education must be effectively safeguarded. The work expenses for the selection and dispatch of teachers in the compulsory education stage in recipient counties shall be jointly borne by the central finance and local finance according to the standard of an annual per-capita amount of 20,000 yuan.
Return to Top(Xinhua News Agency, Jinan, October 9) (Reporters Bai Ying, Shao Kun) The results of the 35th China Television "Flying Apsaras Award" and the 29th National Television Literature and Art "Starlight Award" were announced on the evening of the 9th at the awards ceremony held in Yantai, Shandong. The television documentary The Power of Culture — The Origins and Practice of Xi Jinping's Cultural Thought in Zhejiang and 13 other works won the "Starlight Award," and 16 works including Northwest Years and All Things Born won the "Flying Apsaras Award" for Outstanding Television Drama.
Other works that won the "Flying Apsaras Award" for Outstanding Television Drama include When Mountain Flowers Bloom、I Am a Criminal Police Officer、City of Sunlight、Sea and Sky Eagles、nurturing and influencing people through subtle education (春风化雨, chun feng hua yu - "spring breeze, transform, rain")*、My Altay、Southbound and Northbound、A Small Alley、The Splendor of National Beauty、Silent Glory、Return to the Ranks、Baptized in Blood and Glory、Atrocities Against Humanity、Our Rivers and Mountains。
Other works that won the "Starlight Award" include the television variety program China's Academies、China's Kao Gong Ji、New Folk Song Gala (Season 2); the television opera program Yue Rhymes of Chinese New Year — 2025 Yue Opera Spring Festival Gala; the television literature and art column Biographies of Grand Masters; the television documentaries Zuo Zongtang Recovers Xinjiang、The Potala Palace (Season 2)、Lugou Bridge: Our Commemoration、Letters Between Families Across the Strait、National Treasure Moments (Season 1)、Victory; the television animation program Tea, Ah, No. 2 Middle School (Season 5); and the children's television program Nature Open Class。
This year's "Flying Apsaras Award" and "Starlight Award" awards ceremony was hosted by the National Radio and Television Administration and the People's Government of Shandong Province, and organized by the China Television Artists Association, the Shandong Provincial Radio and Television Administration, the Yantai Municipal People's Government, among others.
Return to Top(People's Daily, Beijing, October 9) (Reporter Liu Wenxin) The reporter learned from the Ministry of Emergency Management: As of now, the country has built 580 hazardous chemical emergency rescue teams with more than 41,000 personnel, and at the national level has built 45 national-level hazardous chemical emergency rescue teams, basically achieving full coverage of emergency rescue forces in key chemical industrial areas and major risk points.
The team system has been continuously improved. Hazardous chemical enterprises form emergency rescue forces in accordance with laws and regulations, local governments at all levels build local rescue teams based on the actual risks in their jurisdictions, and the state plans and builds national-level emergency rescue teams in key industries and fields.
The institutional system has been continuously improved. Regulations, rules, and standards such as the "Guidelines for Emergency Preparedness for Production Safety Accidents in Hazardous Chemical Enterprises" have been issued.
The support system has been continuously strengthened. Hazardous chemical enterprises have continued to increase investment in the construction of emergency rescue teams, strengthening and fully equipping their forces and improving equipment configuration; local governments have continuously strengthened local support, effectively promoting team construction and management; the state provides support in talent, technology, and equipment. In recent years, central finance has equipped the 45 national-level hazardous chemical emergency rescue teams with more than 1,000 sets of advanced and applicable rescue equipment.
Since the Third National Hazardous Chemical Rescue Skills Competition, the national hazardous chemical emergency rescue teams have cumulatively dispatched more than 41,000 person-times to participate in the rescue of 4,137 accidents and disasters, rescuing 674 people in distress or trapped.
Return to TopDeveloping new quality productive forces is an inherent requirement and an important focal point for promoting high-quality development. To accelerate the development of new quality productive forces, the following opinions are hereby put forward.
I. Overall Requirements
Adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Party and the plenary sessions of the 20th Central Committee, earnestly implement the deployments of the Fourth Plenary Session, fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development philosophy, adhere to innovation-led, reform-focused, in light of local conditions, and establishing new systems before dismantling old ones (先立后破, xian li hou po - "first establish, later break"), adhere to high technology, high efficiency, and high quality, coordinating and managing (统筹处理, tong chou chu li - "together, manage, handle") well the relationships between government and market, quality and business forms, reform and development, and independence and opening up, coordinate development and security, take scientific and technological innovation as the guide, take the substantial increase in total factor productivity as the core indicator, promote revolutionary breakthroughs in technology, innovative allocation of production factors, and deep transformation and upgrading of industries, promote the optimized combination and upgraded leap of laborers, means of labor, and objects of labor, comprehensively advance scientific and technological innovation, industrial innovation, innovation in development models, innovation in institutional mechanisms, and innovation in talent work mechanisms, accelerate the formation of production relations more compatible with new quality productive forces, create a good development ecology conducive to the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, and better support high-quality development.
II. Vigorously Advance Scientific and Technological Innovation
(1) Strengthen original and disruptive scientific and technological innovation. Adhere to facing the world's scientific and technological frontiers, facing the main economic battlefield, facing the nation's major needs, and facing the people's life and health, and organize major scientific and technological projects focusing on strategic, landmark, and leading products. Adhere to both goal-oriented and free exploration, solve the weak problems of technical science and engineering science through organized basic research and applied basic research, and support free-exploration basic research to open up and innovate. Coordinate the construction of scientific and technological innovation platforms and bases, systematically lay out and build major scientific and technological infrastructure, strengthen openness and sharing, and avoid duplication and dispersion. Implement the breakthrough plan for basic disciplines and interdisciplinary disciplines. Strengthen original theoretical research and innovation in key common technologies, frontier leading technologies, modern engineering technologies, and disruptive technologies.
(2) Accelerate breakthroughs in key core technologies. Give play to the advantages of the new nationwide system for mobilizing resources, organize the implementation of actions for high-quality development of key manufacturing industry chains and industrial innovation projects in key fields, and strengthen whole-chain tackling, whole-factor support, and whole-ecology construction. Implement well the first-set (first-unit) and first-batch application policies to promote technology iteration and upgrading.
(3) Coordinate the building of national strategic scientific and technological strength. Give play to the role of national laboratories in organizing major national scientific and technological projects and building major national innovation platforms, and taking the lead in pilot programs (先行先试, xian xing xian shi - "first act, first try") in institutional mechanism reform. Guided by national strategic needs, optimize the positioning and layout of national research institutions, high-level research universities, and leading science and technology enterprises. Gradually establish a salary system for institutions of higher learning and scientific research institutes that stimulates innovation vitality, is oriented toward knowledge value, has standardized and effective management, and balances guarantees and incentives, while simultaneously advancing the reform of national research institutions and high-level research universities to mobilize the enthusiasm of research institutions and researchers. Allow scientific research public institutions to implement more flexible management systems. Fully give play to the key role of leading science and technology enterprises in promoting the deep integration of the innovation chain, industrial chain, capital chain, and talent chain.
(4) Strengthen the principal position of enterprises in scientific and technological innovation. Strengthen the supply of inclusive incentive policies, establish a system for enterprises' R&D reserve funds, and strengthen the leading role of enterprises in scientific and technological investment. Encourage small and medium-sized technology-based enterprises to increase R&D investment and raise the additional deduction ratio for enterprise R&D expenses. Upgrade enterprise R&D projects that meet national strategic needs to national projects according to procedures, encourage enterprises to lead national scientific and technological tasks, and support capable private enterprises to lead major national technological tackling tasks. Establish a mechanism for users to assess and evaluate results, and strengthen the principal position of enterprises in the transformation of results. Improve the institutional arrangements for state-owned enterprises to promote original innovation. Support the development of specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises.
(5) Accelerate the transformation of scientific and technological achievements into practical productive forces. Make good use of the advantages of the super-large market, promote efficient docking between technology and the market, and promote the large-scale development of new quality productive forces. Implement demonstration actions for large-scale application of new technologies, new products, and new scenarios. Lay out and build concept verification and pilot testing platforms, and increase the construction and opening of application scenarios. Explore the establishment of a whole-process evaluation mechanism for scientific and technological projects, deploy R&D and transformation tasks together at project initiation, assess practical application performance at acceptance, and solve the problem of disconnection between technology development and achievement transformation. Guide institutions of higher learning and scientific research institutes to license scientific and technological achievements to small, medium, and micro enterprises in a "use first, pay later" manner. Promote large enterprises to open supply chains to small, medium, and micro enterprises, and support small, medium, and micro enterprises in becoming an important force in the industrialization of achievements. Use artificial intelligence to lead the transformation of scientific research paradigms and help improve the efficiency of scientific research.
III. Promote the Deep Integration of Scientific and Technological Innovation and Industrial Innovation
(6) Transform and upgrade traditional industries. Hold firmly to the foundation of the real economy, consolidate and expand the hard strength of Made in China. Lead the optimization and upgrading of traditional industries with the upgrading of national standards, and support enterprises in using digital-intelligent technology and green technology to transform and upgrade traditional industries. Organize and implement actions to improve quality and upgrade key industries, and consolidate and enhance the position and competitiveness of mining, metallurgy, chemical, light industry, textile, machinery, shipbuilding, construction and other industries in the global industrial division of labor. Carry out the industrial foundation reengineering project, the major technical equipment tackling project, the major technological transformation and upgrading project of the manufacturing industry, and the large-scale equipment renewal project. Strengthen financial support for the technological transformation of manufacturing enterprises, implement tax and fee preferential policies related to technological transformation investment, promote the digital-intelligent transformation of the manufacturing industry, and develop intelligent manufacturing, green manufacturing, and service-oriented manufacturing. Enhance the capacity of the quality technology foundation and strengthen brand building. Deeply implement the new round of the action to increase grain production capacity by 100 billion jin, the seed industry revitalization action, the smart agriculture action, the high-quality development action of agricultural machinery and equipment, the action to modernize and upgrade facility agriculture, and the project to build conditions for agricultural scientific and technological innovation, and develop new forms such as agricultural factories. Implement actions to expand capacity and improve quality in the service industry, promote the extension of producer services to specialization and the high end of the value chain by field, and promote the high-quality, diversified, and convenient development of consumer services.
(7) Cultivate and expand emerging industries. Focus on building new pillar industries. Accelerate the development of strategic emerging industries such as the new generation of information technology, new energy, new materials, intelligent connected new energy vehicles, robots, biomedicine, high-end equipment, and aerospace, build strategic emerging industry clusters with distinctive features and complementary advantages in light of local conditions, and promote resource aggregation, subject concentration, achievement integration, and division of labor and cooperation. Deepen professional division of labor within industries and within products, promote cross-industry and cross-regional integration, and avoid "involution-style" competition. Establish cross-regional industrial collaboration mechanisms led by industrial chains and with enterprises as the main body, and support the eastern region in driving the central, western, and northeastern regions to develop emerging industries in light of local conditions. On the premise of ensuring safety, promote the healthy and orderly development of the low-altitude economy and commercial aerospace.
(8) Forward-looking layout of future industries. Explore multiple technology routes, typical application scenarios, feasible business models, and market regulatory rules, promote the development of future industries such as quantum technology, biological manufacturing, hydrogen energy and nuclear fusion energy, brain-computer interfaces, embodied intelligence, and sixth-generation mobile communications, and accelerate the formation of a relatively complete industrial ecology. Establish mechanisms for investment growth and risk sharing in future industries, make full use of existing fiscal policies to support the development of future industries, and guide social capital to continue to increase investment.
(9) Promote the deep integration of the real economy and the digital economy. Improve the systems for confirming data property rights ownership, market transactions, rights and interests distribution, and interest protection, implement pilot and demonstration projects related to data elements, and fully release the potential of data elements. Optimize the layout, construction, and operation of national data infrastructure, deeply carry out the digital transformation action of the manufacturing industry, implement projects such as "East Data, West Computing," intelligent manufacturing, and the innovative development of the industrial internet, and build a national integrated computing power network and a national blockchain network. Improve the policy system for promoting digital industrialization and industrial digitalization, and build digital industry clusters with international competitiveness.
(10) Fully implement the "Artificial Intelligence +" action. Promote the transformation of traditional industries by artificial intelligence, and accelerate the application of new-generation intelligent terminal scenarios such as intelligent connected new energy vehicles, AI-enabled mobile phones and computers, and humanoid robots. Accelerate innovation in digital-intelligent technologies such as artificial intelligence, break through basic theories and core technologies, and strengthen the efficient supply of computing power, algorithms, and data. Lay out national artificial intelligence industry application pilot testing bases and high-value application scenarios in light of local conditions and by industry, and vigorously promote the application of artificial intelligence in various industries. Build a system for technology monitoring, risk early warning, and emergency response to ensure that artificial intelligence is safe, reliable, and controllable.
IV. Focus on Advancing Innovation in Development Models
(11) Build an economic system for green, low-carbon, and circular development. Strengthen the green manufacturing industry, develop green services, and expand the green energy industry. Adhere to the combination of source reduction, process control, and efficient end-of-pipe treatment, coordinate the promotion of green transformation of key industries, and accelerate green scientific and technological innovation and the promotion and application of advanced green technologies. Improve the incentive mechanism for green consumption, strengthen the construction of the green product certification and labeling system, raise the level of green consumption, and drive the supply of green products through green consumption. Build a number of zero-carbon factories and parks. Improve the system for total resource management and comprehensive conservation, and improve the system for the recycling of waste.
(12) Optimize the policy toolbox for green development. Implement fiscal, tax, financial, investment, price, scientific and technological, and environmental protection policies that promote green and low-carbon development. Improve the mechanism for realizing the value of ecological products, fully implement the dual control system for total carbon emissions and carbon intensity, and improve the carbon emission statistical accounting system, the standard measurement system, the product carbon labeling certification system, and the product carbon footprint management system. Improve the carbon pricing mechanism with the national carbon market as the main body, expand the coverage of the national carbon emissions trading market, optimize the allocation plan for carbon emission allowances, accelerate the construction of the voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market, and improve the national unified green certificate market. Promote financial institutions to provide diversified green financial products. Optimize government green procurement policies and improve the green tax system. Implement an agricultural subsidy system oriented toward green ecology.
(13) Actively advance the energy revolution. Focusing on the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, orderly develop advanced nuclear fission energy, build a power system with a high proportion of renewable energy, improve policies and measures for the consumption and regulation of new energy, organize the demonstration and promotion of major application scenarios, accelerate the greening process of energy use in social production and life, promote the revolution in energy consumption, supply, technology, and institutions, and strengthen international cooperation in all aspects.
V. Solidly Advance Innovation in Institutional Mechanisms
(14) Focus on deepening reform for the close integration of science and technology and the economy. Deploy scientific and technological tasks on demand in major national engineering projects, improve the demand-oriented topic selection system, the management system with consistent responsibilities, rights, and interests, and the application-oriented evaluation system. Deepen the reform of empowerment and separate asset management for scientific and technological achievements from job duties. Allow eligible state-owned enterprises to carry out various forms of incentives. Build an open, shared, and secure national integrated data market, improve an efficient technology market for transformation, and promote the efficient aggregation and smooth flow of various advanced and high-quality production factors.
(15) Improve the market supervision system. Improve the market access system and strengthen anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition. Strengthen governance in fields such as artificial intelligence and biology. Strengthen cross-departmental joint supervision, innovate supervision methods, reduce the number of on-site inspections, explore the supervision model of "using data for decision-making and using data for management," and enhance the intelligence level of cross-departmental comprehensive supervision. Establish an efficient comprehensive intellectual property management system and improve the punitive damages system. Study tax systems compatible with new business forms.
(16) Increase the supply of innovative financial products. Encourage and regulate the development of angel investment, venture capital, and private equity investment, better give play to the guiding and driving role of government investment funds, improve support policies for long-term capital investing in early-stage and small-scale ventures (投早投小, tou zao tou xiao - "invest early, invest small"), investing in the long term, and investing in hard technology, and expand patient capital. Encourage banks to develop loan products that match the characteristics of new quality productive forces. Enrich the system of science and technology innovation bond products, support high-quality technology-based enterprises in listing and financing, and optimize systems for mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, and equity incentives for technology-based enterprises. Develop insurance products covering the entire chain of scientific and technological innovation, and explore businesses such as technology leasing.
(17) Allocate advanced production factors globally. Expand high-level opening up and explore and make good use of the global market. Encourage free trade pilot zones to gather domestic and foreign advanced production factors in light of their location characteristics, resource endowments, and industrial advantages. Give play to the role of various multilateral and bilateral cooperation mechanisms, promote the joint construction of platforms such as science and technology parks, Belt and Road Initiative joint laboratories, and international advanced technology application promotion centers, and actively build a global innovation cooperation network. Lead the implementation of and actively participate in international big science plans and big science projects. Encourage foreign venture capital institutions, international standards organizations, and others to develop in China. Establish an efficient, convenient, and secure mechanism for cross-border data flow.
VI. Deepen Innovation in Talent Work Mechanisms
(18) Cultivate talents urgently needed for the development of new quality productive forces. Coordinate and advance the integrated reform of the education, science and technology, and talent institutional mechanisms. Promote the improvement of quality and expansion of capacity in higher education, develop new-type research universities, and optimize the mechanism for adjusting disciplines and majors in institutions of higher learning according to industrial and scientific and technological development trends. Promote the high-quality development of modern vocational education and comprehensively advance the training model for skilled personnel that integrates work and study. Adhere to cultivating talents through practice. Encourage enterprises and institutions of higher learning to jointly customize talent training, and support master craftsmen and highly skilled talents in concurrently serving as internship and practical training teachers in vocational schools. Fully give play to the important role of science popularization in improving the quality of laborers.
(19) Improve policies for the use and flow of talents. Implement tax preferential policies, improve the lifelong vocational skills training system, implement the manufacturing talent support plan and the professional and technical talent knowledge updating project, and support employers in cultivating talents. Accelerate the appropriate decoupling of the assessment, evaluation, and incentives for scientific researchers from applying for projects, publishing papers, and evaluating awards, and prevent simply determining salaries, professional titles, and treatment according to talent "hats." Accelerate the removal of various hidden barriers and smooth the channels for talent exchange among institutions of higher learning, scientific research institutes, and enterprises. Improve the "new eight-level worker" vocational skill level system and smooth the upward development channels for industrial workers.
VII. Strengthen Organization and Implementation
All regions and relevant departments should, under the centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, strengthen the thinking of the nation as one chessboard, adhere to in light of local conditions, strengthen classified guidance and coordination in key areas, and optimize the layout of major productive forces. Adhere to establishing new systems before dismantling old ones and seeking progress while maintaining stability (稳中求进, wen zhong qiu jin - "stability, seek, progress"), must not shift from the real economy to the virtual economy (脱实向虚, tuo shi xiang xu - "leave, solid, head towards, hollow"), pursue scale and completeness at any cost (贪大求全, tan da qiu quan - "greedy, big, seek, complete"), or create bubbles, must not allow industrial hollowing out or industrial fault lines to occur, and must not blindly seek novelty or fail to attend to both sides or lose one thing while attending to another (顾此失彼, gu ci shi bi - "look at this, lose that"). Leading cadres at all levels should establish and practice a correct view of political achievements, explore development paths in light of actual conditions, strictly prohibit the illegal abuse of policies in the name of developing new quality productive forces, and seriously pursue accountability for those who cause major losses through rushing in blindly or in a disorganized mass (一哄而上, yi hong er shang - "one, swarm, go up") or blind investment. Strengthen coordination and cooperation among departments to form a joint working force. The Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission Office and the National Development and Reform Commission should coordinate and do well the work of theoretical research, strategic planning, cross-regional and cross-departmental coordination, and follow-up monitoring and evaluation. Timely summarize experiences and practices, strengthen publicity and promotion, and create a good atmosphere. Major matters should be reported to the Party Central Committee and the State Council for instructions in a timely manner according to procedures.
(Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, October 9)
(See Page 2 for the responsible official of the National Development and Reform Commission answering reporters' questions)
Return to Top(People's Daily, Yiwu, October 9) (Reporter Dou Hanyang) On the 9th, after three years and ten months of renovation and expansion, the new station building of Yiwu Railway Station was officially put into use, with the entire waiting area relocated from the comprehensive transportation hub building to the new station building. Yiwu, the "world's supermarket," has welcomed a modern new gateway that is comfortable, convenient, and connecting all directions (连通八方, lian tong ba fang - "connect, through, eight, directions"). On the same day, the train named after the city's cultural brand "Affectionate and Righteous, World Yiwu" made its maiden departure from Yiwu Station. Starting October 11, after the implementation of the fourth-quarter railway operating diagram, the total number of trains handling passenger services at Yiwu Station will increase from 226 before the diagram adjustment to 272.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 林丽鹂
Are humanoid robots safe and reliable? Are the jewelry sold in livestream rooms genuine or fake? When products go overseas, how can companies prove they meet local standards? These questions are all closely related or intimately connected (息息相关, xixi xiangguan - "breath, breath, closely, related") to inspection and testing.
Countries around the world generally adopt certification, accreditation, inspection, and testing methods to strengthen market regulation and promote economic and trade development. These conformity assessment activities are called the "physical examination certificate" of quality management, the "letter of credit" of the market economy, and the "passport" of international trade.
In recent years, China's inspection and testing industry has achieved steady and rapid progress (长足发展, chang zu fa zhan - "long, foot, development"), and is accelerating its transformation from a quantity-and-scale model to a quality-and-efficiency model. As of the end of 2025, there were 54,340 inspection and testing institutions in China that had obtained qualification accreditation (CMA), a year-on-year increase of 2.42%. In 2025, a total of 571 million inspection and testing reports were issued to society throughout the year. These inspection and testing reports are helping to improve product and service quality, unleash consumption potential, serve enterprises going overseas, and add momentum to economic development.
Promoting Industrial Optimization and Upgrading
Number of Inspection and Testing Institutions in Emerging Fields Increased 8.44% Year-on-Year
Holding a cat teaser wand in the right hand and gently stroking a cat's back with the left hand, in a simulated living room, a humanoid robot can not only help with household chores but also pet and feed the cat. Humanoid robots have also officially "taken up their posts" in factories, capable of material replenishment, sorting and plating, palletizing and packing, and other tasks. Industry insiders believe that 2026 marks the critical window period for the domestic humanoid robot track to formally enter industrial-scale implementation, and the safety of robots, especially humanoid robots, has attracted much attention.
"Without a unified third-party testing and evaluation system, relying solely on enterprises' self-developed test data or demonstration videos for publicity is far from convincing enough." Zhu Xiaopeng, director of the Robot Testing and Certification Center of Shanghai Electrical Apparatus Research Institute (Group) Co., Ltd., said that in order to scientifically test and certify the safety of robots, the National Certification and Accreditation Administration and other departments have publicly issued and implemented the China Robot Certification (hereinafter referred to as "CR Certification") to society. This is the only voluntary high-end certification in the world promoted by a national government.
"Taking the Zhiyuan Expedition A2 humanoid robot, which obtained the first domestic CR Certification certificate for humanoid robots, as an example, it must undergo multi-dimensional standardized testing including mechanical and electrical safety tests, functional safety assessments, and operational reliability tests. The certification process places very high requirements on product quality." A relevant person in charge of Zhiyuan's general business department said. Using testing standards as an important logic, polishing products with higher requirements, and making safety and trustworthiness the core requirement of products, the humanoid robot industry continues to develop.
As of the end of 2025, the number of inspection and testing institutions in emerging fields in China increased 8.44% year-on-year. Compared with 2020, the proportion of operating revenue of institutions in emerging fields increased by 4.50 percentage points. Since 2025, the action to promote industrial optimization and upgrading through inspection and testing has continued to be implemented, making precise efforts in emerging fields such as integrated circuits, high-end equipment, the low-altitude economy, and energy conservation and environmental protection, as well as in traditional livelihood fields such as agricultural products and rail transit. A total of 20 key project acceptance tasks have been completed, breaking through a number of key technical bottlenecks in inspection and testing, providing strong support for the high-quality development of the industry.
According to a relevant person in charge of the State Administration for Market Regulation, the next step will be to deeply implement the three-year action to improve quality and optimize national quality inspection centers, improve the dynamic evaluation and exit mechanism, and newly establish national quality inspection centers with a focus on connecting with strategic emerging industries such as integrated circuits and artificial intelligence, putting an end to low-level duplicate construction; and to forward-deploy high-energy quality inspection technology platforms for strategic emerging industries such as integrated circuits, new energy, biomedicine, and humanoid robots, strengthening the technical support for new quality productive forces.
Winning Trust and Activating Consumption
Last Year, 4,221 Illegal Inspection and Testing Institutions Were Investigated and Punished to Maintain the Healthy Development of the Industry
"I saw pearl necklaces in a livestream room at a very good price, but how can I tell whether they are genuine? Are the testing certificates reliable?" Zhou Xiaoyun, a Beijing resident who likes livestream shopping, has such doubts.
"In the jewelry industry, winning customer trust is particularly important. But the high cost and long cycle of testing also worry us." At the East China International Jewelry City in Zhuji, Zhejiang, many merchants have such concerns. Shanxiahu Town in Zhuji City handles 80% of the national and 70% of the global pearl trading volume, making it a pearl distribution center famous both at home and abroad (闻名海内外, wenming hai nei wai - "hear, name, sea, inside, outside"). Improving inspection and testing efficiency is a common demand of local merchants.
"In order to shorten inspection and testing time, our laboratory is equipped with more than 200 advanced testing devices, building a '4-hour express certificate issuance' service system. The in-warehouse shipping efficiency has been improved to 4 to 8 hours, significantly reducing merchant costs and effectively increasing the transaction rate." Que Liming, general manager of Zhejiang Fangyuan Testing Group Co., Ltd., said.
In order to solve consumption pain points in livestream e-commerce such as goods that do not match the description (货不对板, huo bu dui ban - "goods, not, correct, board") and "forged certificates" at the source, testing parties have directly settled into the integrated quality inspection warehouse operation center of a livestream e-commerce platform in Zhuji, East China International Jewelry City, building a full-chain closed-loop management system of "consumer places order — merchant delivers goods to warehouse — pearl quality inspection and control — qualified products connected to logistics for shipping," transforming traditional post-hoc supervision into pre-shipment testing. This not only reassures consumers but also greatly increases product sales.
Authentic and reliable inspection and testing is an important technical support for ensuring consumption safety and maintaining market order, and is also a key means of boosting consumption confidence and optimizing the consumption environment. In order to effectively rectify prominent problems in the traditional crafts market such as forged certificates, forged institutions, forged products, and forged websites for jewelry, jade, precious metal ornaments, rosewood products, and other items, the State Administration for Market Regulation, together with the Ministry of Public Security, carried out a joint law enforcement operation to "crack down on counterfeits and clean up the source" in the traditional crafts market.
In 2025, the national market regulation system inspected a total of 23,900 practicing institutions, investigated and punished 4,221 illegal institutions, revoked or cancelled the qualifications of 574 institutions, collected fines and confiscated funds totaling 40.046 million yuan, and transferred 203 cases to public security organs, safeguarding the healthy development of the inspection and testing industry with forceful measures.
One Evaluation, Multiple Countries Accepted
China Has Signed a Total of 170 Multilateral and Bilateral Mutual Recognition Agreements
In the Marine Cable Laboratory of the National Marine Equipment Quality Inspection and Testing Center (Shandong), a giant Faraday cage looks like a large iron box. "This is our high-voltage shielding room, simulating the working scenario of submarine cables transmitting electricity in offshore wind farms. Over the next 20 days, the submarine cables inside will undergo rigorous tests such as thermal cycling voltage tests." Hong Xiaoli, chairman of Haijian Testing Co., Ltd., said.
Submarine cables must work for long periods in complex marine environments. Once a fault occurs, the economic and environmental costs of repair are very high. Therefore, wire and cable products are listed as mandatory certification products in most countries and regions around the world, meaning that they must meet national or regional standard requirements and obtain corresponding product certification before they can be sold and used in that country or region.
"For example, for a high-voltage cable product to enter the European market for sale, in addition to fully complying with the international standards of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), its technical indicators may also need to comply with European harmonized standards, British national standards, German national standards, and the technical specifications of the grid enterprises in the customer's country. If repeated testing is carried out according to all standards and specifications, the testing cost could reach over one million yuan, and the testing cycle would also increase by several months or even a year." A relevant person in charge of a cable manufacturer introduced.
Focusing on the pain points of high international certification thresholds, long cycles, and high costs faced by cable exports, the National Marine Equipment Quality Inspection and Testing Center (Shandong) has built a one-stop service of "one test, multiple countries accepted" through standard mutual recognition, result acceptance, and technology export, achieving remarkable results — benchmarking against IEC international standards, its testing reports are directly accepted by the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, and more than 40 countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, achieving an average reduction of 15% in the testing cycle and an average saving of 10% in testing costs for export enterprises.
From the perspective of international trade, standards and conformity assessment affect 80% of global trade. The testing results issued by national quality inspection centers have gained broad international mutual recognition, providing testing convenience for more than 2 million batches of export products each year. At present, China has joined a total of 21 international conformity assessment organizations and signed 170 multilateral and bilateral mutual recognition agreements. The mutual recognition mechanism of "one evaluation, multiple countries accepted" can cover regions accounting for more than 95% of the global economic aggregate.
A relevant person in charge of the State Administration for Market Regulation said that in the future, it will continue to give play to the role of international mutual recognition of accreditation, promote mutual recognition and acceptance of inspection and testing results between domestic and foreign institutions, promote domestic institutions to join relevant international conformity assessment organizations and industry alliances, and encourage inspection and testing institutions to go overseas together with and accompanying domestic manufacturing enterprises, playing a greater role.
Return to Top(People's Daily, Beijing, October 9) (Reporter Qi Yukun) On October 9, the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission released in Beijing the third-quarter 2026 list of heroes of righteous courage. Based on the prominence of typical deeds of righteous courage, online attention, and the opinions of local authorities' lawful confirmation and recommendation, a comprehensive review and evaluation was conducted, and a total of 79 heroes of righteous courage received commendation and reward visits, of whom 13 unfortunately sacrificed their lives in acts of righteous courage.
During this quarter, many parts of the country were in the flood season, with typhoons, heavy rainfall, surging rivers, and landslides occurring frequently. Among the heroes of righteous courage on the list, more than 30 spontaneously devoted themselves to rescue and life-saving efforts during flood-season natural disasters, accounting for about 40 percent of the total number on the list. He Qizhong and Wei Yongqing of Guangxi, Hou Kairong, He Guangxue, and Gong Baodong of Chongqing, and Ma Changquan of Guizhou, among others, rushed to issue warnings when disasters struck, going door to door to persuade residents to evacuate, and made their way against the current of danger amid torrents and landslides to carry out rescues. He Qizhong, Wei Yongqing, and Gong Baodong were unfortunately buried by floodwaters and mudslides, giving their precious lives. Guo Huangpeng of Fujian jumped into the swift floodwaters and, braving the dangers of branches striking him and the current dragging him, brought an unconscious girl who had fallen into the water safely to shore. Bianma of Tibet voluntarily rushed to a road section blocked by a mudslide, drove a loader to clear the road obstacles, and on the way encountered falling rocks, plunged off a cliff, and died a heroic death. Zhao Xinjun and Zhao Longlong, a father-and-son pair from Qingdao, rescued three people who had fallen into the water from the surging sea within the space of just over a month, carrying forward a family tradition of goodness and passing on the traditional virtue of righteous courage through simple and sincere good deeds. In the face of sudden disasters and accidents, the people's helping and looking out for one another (守望相助, shou wang xiang zhu - "guard, watch, mutually, assist") and acts of righteous courage constitute an irreplaceable frontline rescue force.
The deeds of the heroes of righteous courage on the list who stepped forward bravely to take action (挺身而出, ting shen er chu - "straight, body, emerge") in struggle against illegal and criminal acts vividly interpret the principle of "combining professional forces with the masses and relying on the masses." More and more ordinary people dare to stand up and rush forward, promptly preventing the expansion of harm and powerfully deterring illegal and criminal activity. Zhao Shu and Liu Chang, students at Hebei University, witnessed police officers pursuing a theft suspect, took the initiative to give chase and cooperate, and assisted the police in successfully subduing him. Fei Fangfang, a supermarket owner in Anhui, actively cooperated with public security organs in arresting a telecommunications fraud gang, recovering economic losses of more than 100,000 yuan for the victimized masses. Sun Yichen, Feng Shipeng, Yan En, and He Linfeng of Yunnan, faced with a criminal suspect who continued to commit violent acts with a knife, used stools to block the attack, pursued and intercepted him, and assisted police officers in stopping the crime. In the face of illegal and criminal acts, the people's working together with one heart and mind (齐心协力, qi xin xie li - "together, heart, cooperate, strength") and acting righteously together is precisely the vivid practice of social governance through joint construction, joint governance, and shared benefit.
The activity of releasing the list of heroes of righteous courage is hosted by the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission and undertaken by the China Foundation for Righteous Courage. Since September 2022, quarterly lists of heroes of righteous courage have been released 15 times, with a total of 886 heroes of righteous courage receiving commendation and rewards.
Return to Top(People's Daily, Beijing, October 9) (Reporter Qu Zhehan) In accordance with the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, recently, the Ministry of Finance arranged to use 550 billion yuan from the local government debt balance limit, to be used for improving the general public budget guarantee capacity of counties and districts and supporting localities in expanding effective investment.
Of the 550 billion yuan of local government debt balance limit allocated to localities, the general debt balance limit is 300 billion yuan, all of which is distributed for use by counties and districts, specifically for improving the general public budget guarantee capacity of counties and districts; the special debt balance limit is 250 billion yuan, distributed to regions with actual project funding needs in the fourth quarter of this year, with a tilt toward the major economic provinces, supporting priority guarantee of funding needs for projects under construction, with new projects focusing on key areas such as the construction of the "six networks," effectively bringing into play the driving role of government investment.
The Ministry of Finance will guide and urge all localities to better connect project reserves with bond issuance, accelerate the pace of issuance, smooth the allocation chain, form physical workload as soon as possible, and promote policies to land early and achieve results quickly.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 吴储岐
In the golden autumn of October, when respect for the elderly runs deep, the national "Respect for the Elderly Month" activities are underway, with localities putting care into concrete action so that the vast number of elderly people can both enjoy their later years in peace and display their abilities in serving society. This year marks the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan. The outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan makes arrangements for actively responding to population aging and clearly proposes carrying out the "Silver Age Action" in depth.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must create conditions for the elderly to play their role, guide them to maintain a healthy mindset and enterprising spirit of having lofty ambitions despite old age (老骥伏枥, lao ji fu li - "old, horse, lie, stable") and remaining vigorous and energetic in old age (老当益壮, lao dang yi zhuang - "old, then, increase, vigorous"), give play to positive energy, and make new contributions."
In the magnificent picture of Chinese modernization, there is both the happiness of hundreds of millions of elderly people enjoying their later years in peace and their commitment to continuing the struggle. This silver-haired volunteer force has rich experience and unfulfilled ambitions. Under General Secretary Xi Jinping's earnest care, the vast number of elderly volunteers go to the grassroots and into the masses, channeling the wisdom and enthusiasm accumulated over the years into the tide of the times in serving the people and dedicating themselves to society.
A Loyal Heart Passes on the Torch
"We must ensure the elderly are provided for and enjoy themselves in old age, and also enable them to achieve something in old age"
With warm-toned furniture and a home-like layout, at the Yuanyang Subdistrict of Liangjiang New Area in Chongqing, Lu Peibao, chief mediator of the "Old Squad Leader" mediation room, hopes that the warm environment can help both parties in mediation relax.
After retirement, Lu Peibao applied the relevant work experience accumulated over many years to resolving neighborhood disputes. When a landlord and tenant had a dispute, he first clarified responsibilities, then appealed to mutual friendship, facilitating reconciliation between the two sides. After an agreement was reached, he would still conduct follow-up visits to see the subsequent results. "Serving the people with wholehearted devotion (全心全意, quan xin quan yi - "entire, heart, entire, intention") is my duty as a Communist Party member," Lu Peibao said.
"I hope that the vast number of elderly friends will maintain a healthy mindset and enterprising spirit of having lofty ambitions despite old age and remaining vigorous and energetic in old age, ensuring both that they are provided for and enjoy themselves in old age and that they achieve something in old age, contributing 'silver-haired strength' to advancing Chinese modernization." On October 9, 2024, General Secretary Xi Jinping replied to a letter from representatives of elderly volunteers in the "Silver Age Action," warmly encouraging them.
Do not say it is too late in life (莫道桑榆晚, mo dao sang yu wan - "do not, say, mulberry, elm, late"); the evening glow still fills the sky. The elderly are a valuable asset of the Party and the state. In recent years, the "Silver Age Action" of the new era has continuously expanded its scope and upgraded, improving quality and increasing efficiency (提质增效, ti zhi zeng xiao - "raise, quality, increase, efficiency"), with more and more elderly people devoting themselves to volunteer services.
Beijing's "Xicheng Dama," Zhejiang's "Wulin Dama"... In one volunteer service team after another well known to the masses, the figures of silver-haired volunteers are active.
In Pubei County, Qinzhou City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, retired agricultural technology expert Zhang Xingcai brings the "mobile classroom" to the fields. He compiles agricultural technology knowledge into books and distributes them free of charge to farming households, and has also established a fruit industry talent workstation. Technology is delivered to the fields, skills are left with the farmers, and the old expert's experience becomes support for more farmers to develop their industries.
The experience of one generation is linked to the growth of those who come after; the guardianship of one generation nourishes the spirit of a society.
"One door plank after another that protected small families formed a bridge for resisting Japan and saving the nation." At the Cemetery of Fallen Soldiers in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Shanggao County, Yichun City, Jiangxi Province, silver-haired volunteer Zan Hongxiang emotionally recounted the story of ordinary people removing their own door planks to build a pontoon bridge to carry anti-Japanese soldiers across the river.
Zan Hongxiang often gives voluntary explanations at the cemetery and also trains docents for local museums and memorial halls. He explains himself and also teaches others to explain, enabling more people to understand this period of history and allowing the spirit in the stories to be passed down from generation to generation (代代相传, dai dai xiang chuan - "generation, generation, mutually, pass down").
Grassroots governance, comprehensive rural revitalization, cultural inheritance... The service footprints of elderly volunteers cover both urban and rural areas. To date, more than 50 million elderly people nationwide have participated in volunteer services, playing an active role in resolving people's concerns and warming people's hearts.
Actively responding to population aging requires both responding to the living needs of the elderly and cherishing the rich resources contained in the elderly population. Knowledge and experience continue in teaching and passing on, fine character is inherited through dedication, and the learning and abilities of the older generation are continuously benefiting society through volunteer services, displaying the style of achieving something in old age.
A Richer Evening Scene
"Use what one has learned and is good at to serve the grassroots and the masses, and transmit positive energy to society"
In one legal history course, a student listened to the complete lecture twice. After class, some stayed to discuss questions, some invited the teacher to join a reading club, and some asked him to help revise articles.
This is the daily teaching routine of silver-age teacher Li Ming at Xinjiang University of Political Science and Law. After retirement, he joined the university silver-age teacher program supporting the western region, moving his podium from Beijing to Xinjiang. He conducts in-depth research at the grassroots, enriches his courses in light of local realities, brings his research findings into the classroom, and discovers new questions from teaching. "I am very grateful for such a platform that allows us older teachers to contribute our remaining energy and do things within our power (力所能及, li suo neng ji - "strength, what, can, reach")," Li Ming said.
General Secretary Xi Jinping affirmed that elderly volunteers "use what they have learned and are good at to serve the grassroots and the masses, transmit positive energy to society, and demonstrate the spiritual outlook of Chinese elderly people in the new era."
A happy old age has both the stability of life and the enrichment of the spirit. Continuing to learn, displaying one's strengths, and realizing value and gaining happiness through participation in social life are the aspirations of many elderly people.
There must be both the willingness to participate and the opportunity to display one's strengths. The Ministry of Civil Affairs, the National Working Commission on Aging, and the China National Committee on Aging are promoting the construction of a national "Silver Age Action" information service platform, providing services such as information inquiry, service links, and matter handling. The original work units, industry organizations, and local communities jointly build the stage, providing a field to display one's talents (用武之地, yong wu zhi di - "use, martial, place, land") for elderly people willing to participate.
Silver-haired talents in fields such as education, health, and science and technology display their strengths in projects with distinctive features. The "National Silver-age Teacher Action Plan" supports older teachers in returning to the classroom, the "Health Action of Old Experts Serving the Grassroots" brings diagnostic and treatment experience to the grassroots, and "Silver-age Assistance to Enterprises" organizes older scientific and technological workers to solve problems for enterprises. Provincial paired assistance such as Beijing-Inner Mongolia, Shanghai-Yunnan, and Zhejiang-Sichuan allows the expertise of elderly talents to transcend regions and play a role where it is needed more.
The stage extends to distant places and also grows at the doorstep. The participants in the "Silver Age Action" of the new era have expanded from elderly intellectuals to all elderly people. On the basis of intellectual assistance and technical support, the service content has further expanded to fields such as child care and mutual elderly care.
In the new community of Xiejia Village, Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, retired aunties from the "Qiaojie" volunteer service team became friends through dancing and then accompanied each other in serving neighbors. They move chairs, prepare tea, chat with the elderly, and take paired responsibility in shifts for caring for elderly and solitary neighbors; when they found that old neighbors had difficulty entering and exiting the unit building, they made suggestions to the community and promoted renovations.
From participating in community activities to proactively offering ideas and doing practical things for neighbors, elderly people have found new joy in building their homes. Localities rely on grassroots elderly associations and community volunteer service teams to organize more enthusiastic elderly people, allowing them to find opportunities to display their strengths at their doorstep.
Enjoying old age in peace and achieving something in old age go hand in hand, making later life increasingly rich; the individual and society integrate, adding vitality to the march of the times. Realizing value through participation and gaining growth through dedication, more and more elderly people are writing their aspirations for a better life into the daily practice of achieving something in old age.
Safeguards Protect Enthusiasm
"Ensure the elderly are well provided for in life, their roles are well played, and their rights and interests are well protected"
In Huangshan Community, Yong'an City, Fujian Province, retired Chinese language teacher Granny Chen is leading children in reciting ancient poems. Members of the "Shared Granny" volunteer service team help parents with pick-up and drop-off and accompany children, and the community also provides good service safeguards for the elderly. Signing an "Agreement of Love" with families clarifies the rights and responsibilities of all parties, purchases accident insurance uniformly for the "Shared Grannies," organizes first-aid training, and volunteer service hours can also be exchanged for housekeeping services or physical examination items. Arrangement after arrangement gives elderly people who enthusiastically help others a reliable foundation for worry-free participation.
The elderly look after children, and society looks after the elderly. Wherever the footsteps of dedication go, care and concern for the elderly follow.
"Ensure the elderly are well provided for in life, their roles are well played, and their rights and interests are well protected." General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward clear requirements for Party committees and governments at all levels.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Opinions on Deepening the Reform and Development of Elderly Care Services," deploying the deepening and expansion of the "Silver Age Action." The National Working Commission on Aging issued the "Guiding Opinions on Carrying Out the 'Silver Age Action' of the New Era in Depth," making arrangements for broadening participation channels and strengthening service safeguards. In 2025, 19 departments including the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Central Organization Department issued the "Guiding Opinions on Supporting Social Participation of the Elderly and Promoting the Realization of Achieving Something in Old Age," improving the work pattern of Party committee leadership, government leadership, departmental coordination, and participation by all parties. From expanding participation space to clarifying the responsibilities of all parties, the institutional safeguards supporting social participation of the elderly are continuously being improved.
Once organized, safeguards must be in place. Assessing volunteers' physical conditions, providing the materials and equipment needed for services, ensuring safety safeguards, and providing corresponding insurance — the requirement of "whoever recruits is responsible, whoever uses provides safeguards" runs through every link of elderly participation in volunteer services.
"It's my turn to be on duty today!" At the community canteen of Dan'ya Community in Wenling City, Zhejiang Province, resident Granny Chen cheerfully greeted people while deftly portioning out meals. With government subsidies, social donations, and other support, elderly people in the community enjoy free meals. Many retired elderly people have also spontaneously formed volunteer service teams. "I can still work now, so of course I should contribute my share!" Granny Chen said.
The stage for achieving something in old age stands on the foundation of being provided for in old age. Improving old-age insurance and medical security, advancing the construction of the elderly care service network, developing elderly meal assistance services, and strengthening health management for the elderly — all departments work together to make later life more secure.
With life guaranteed and rights and interests protected, the elderly have more confidence in enjoying their later years in peace, and family members have more peace of mind. In response to risks in fields such as financial management, seven departments including the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the National Working Commission on Aging issued special policies, promoting the establishment and improvement of working mechanisms for safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the elderly, enhancing the elderly's ability to identify and guard against fraud, forming a closed working loop of risk early warning and prevention, dispute discovery and reporting, and dispute resolution and handling, and continuously improving the quality of rights protection services for the elderly.
Being voluntary and within one's capacity is both a principle of carrying out the "Silver Age Action" and a respect for the life choices of the elderly. This year, in its implementation plan for building a social participation support system for the elderly, Shanghai proposed encouraging the establishment of a mechanism for honorary withdrawal and commendation of senior volunteers. When willing to continue serving, there is a world to display one's strengths; when needing to slow down, past contributions are still cherished.
Enabling elderly people who are willing and able to fully display their strengths, and enabling every elderly person to enjoy their later years in peace, concerns their today and also the tomorrow of the whole society. Implementing the safeguarding of life, support for participation, and protection of rights and interests in concrete terms embodies the people-centered development philosophy and also manifests the livelihood foundation of Chinese modernization.
Under General Secretary Xi Jinping's care and concern, the vast number of elderly volunteers, with the enterprising spirit of having lofty ambitions despite old age and remaining vigorous and energetic in old age, are using what they have learned in life to serve society, integrating personal pursuits into the cause of family and country, and contributing "silver-haired strength" to advancing Chinese modernization.
Return to Top(People's Daily, Fuzhou, October 9) (Reporter: Fu Wen) The 2026 China New Media Think Tank Report was released on the 9th in Fuzhou City, Fujian Province. The report comprises the China New Media Yearbook 2026 and the China New Media Research Report 2026, jointly compiled by the New Media Professional Committee of the All-China Journalists Association and the Journalism Front magazine of People's Daily.
The China New Media Yearbook 2026 covers content ranging from mainstream media to commercial platforms, and from traditional business forms to technological applications, presenting a panoramic view of the new achievements and new explorations in new media development in 2025, forming a panoramic map of media convergence development; the China New Media Research Report 2026 uses vivid cases, solid research, and theoretical distillation to analyze hot topics, judge development trends, and explore paths of transformation. The two books closely follow the systemic transformation of mainstream media, connecting with each other seamlessly (相互衔接, xiang hu xie jie - "mutually connect; join") and supporting each other; they are both an annual answer sheet for new media development and a reference reader for glimpsing the future, striving to provide practical inspiration and intellectual support for the high-quality development of mainstream media.
This event was guided by the All-China Journalists Association and People's Daily, hosted by the New Media Professional Committee of the All-China Journalists Association, the Journalism Front magazine of People's Daily, and the Publicity Department of the Fuzhou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, and undertaken by Fuzhou Radio and Television Station. More than 200 representatives from industry and academia attended the release event.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 李 波 侯琳良 王 者
In early October, walking through the spring city of Jinan, a sense of the "new" rushes forth—
New technologies are making breakthroughs: in the Jinan High-tech Zone, a particulate-matter photon-quantum lidar monitoring network assembled by local enterprises can complete a full-city scan in just a few minutes, with pollutant-source identification accuracy exceeding 95%;
New projects have landed: in the Jinan Start-up Area for the Replacement of Old Growth Drivers with New Ones, photovoltaic modules successively come off a 330-meter intelligent production line;
New industries are taking shape: the Jigang Group satellite final-assembly base has signed more than 20 aviation and aerospace projects cumulatively, and possesses the manufacturing and testing capability for an annual output of 100 satellites in the 500-kilogram class.
In May 2024, General Secretary Xi Jinping, during his inspection tour of Shandong, pointed out: "Shandong has great potential for advancing the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, developing new quality productive forces, and perfecting the modern industrial system." The outline of the "15th Five-Year Plan" proposes:"Promote the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, continuously give birth to new quality productive forces."
Thoroughly implementing General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions and the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, Jinan is striving to promote integrated innovation among industry, academia, and research, develop new quality productive forces in light of local conditions, and continuously perfect the modern industrial system.
Improving the pathway for the transformation of achievements.
Lithium niobate is the core substrate material for high-end optical chips.In 2024, after making unremitting efforts, Professor Sun Dehui of the Frontier Interdisciplinary Research Institute of the University of Jinan led his team to successfully develop a 12-inch lithium niobate crystal.
The breakthrough in results is inspiring, but whether it can open up the market remains unknown."Many frontier technologies stop short at the 'final step of verification' and find it difficult to fit with industry."Sun Dehui is deeply aware of the pain points in the transformation of achievements.
To this end, the University of Jinan, jointly with local enterprises, established a concept verification center, specially dedicated to diagnosing problems and providing solutions (把脉问诊, ba mai wen zhen - "feel the pulse, ask the illness") for frontier technologies.The center has completed verification of more than 20 technology products and has guided the building of a complete industrial chain from crystal materials to high-end optical chips.The lithium-niobate-based optical chip newly developed by Sun Dehui's team has already begun application verification here.
Jinan has now built 16 provincial-and municipal-level concept verification centers, covering fields such as the new generation of information technology, biomedicine, and integrated circuits, with a cumulative total of 376 science-and-technology innovation projects entered into the database, and 55 frontier technologies successfully achieving on-site transformation.It is expected that by 2028, Jinan will have built 20 municipal-level concept verification centers and more than 50 pilot-testing platforms, constructing a full chain of"R&D—verification—pilot testing—mass production," continuously raising the on-site transformation rate of scientific and technological achievements.
Promoting the replacement of old growth drivers with new ones.
In the satellite final-assembly workshop of Jigang Group, precision equipment stands in rows, and satellites about to be delivered are undergoing final environmental simulation testing.
"After its transformation, Jigang has continued to 'empty the cage, change the bird,' developing emerging industries."Liu Shijun, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Jigang Group, introduced that Jigang has already built a complete industrial chain covering satellite final assembly, core component manufacturing, and rocket propulsion testing, gathering 159 upstream and downstream enterprises, forming a cross-regional collaborative pattern of"R&D in Beijing, manufacturing in Jinan, launching in Yantai."
Based on its own realities, Jinan is accelerating the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, while emerging industries continuously take root and grow.
In the Jinan Start-up Area for the Replacement of Old Growth Drivers with New Ones, as the pilot production line for Shandong Energy Group's square-meter-scale, hundred-megawatt-class perovskite photovoltaic cells was completed and put into operation, the Xinyang Coal Mine, which had been closed and withdrawn from production for many years, also underwent a sudden and complete transformation, achieving a magnificent turn from"digging coal underground" to"generating electricity above ground."
Jinan is striving to optimize the city's industrial structure, guiding all districts and counties to develop through specialized differentiation and each playing to their respective strengths, promoting the formation of a modern industrial system across the entire region with a gradient layout and coordinated progress.
Cultivating a sound innovation ecosystem.
Hampered by shortcomings in high-end antibacterial modification technology, Shandong Lingxiyuan Technology Development Co., Ltd.'s independent research efforts repeatedly hit dead ends.
Just as the enterprise was stuck in a bottleneck, the new technology from the team of Yang Pengfei, a teacher at Qilu University of Technology, happened to be able to meet the demand.
"Although the technology is good, we fear it failing to adapt to local conditions, and the cost of trial and error is high."The concern of Qi Peng, deputy general manager of the company, is also the common feeling of numerous small-and micro-sized enterprises.
In response to the difficulties of small-and micro-sized enterprises, Jinan innovatively launched a new model of school-enterprise patent cooperation called"use first, pay later," in which enterprises can try the technology for free for one year, sign a contract only after it proves adaptable and lands successfully, and may withdraw if it is not suitable.
With zero-threshold trial use and full-chain support, the research team went down to the production line three times, and it took only 45 days to achieve batch production, with Lingxiyuan successfully signing contracts for two core patents."We saved nearly one million yuan in costs in one year, and the enterprise has genuinely benefited."Qi Peng candidly stated that policy support has made the enterprise's innovation path wider and wider.
Breaking down barriers through reform, optimizing the environment through services—Jinan is making precise, multi-dimensional efforts from the perspectives of patent transformation, financial empowerment, and assessment orientation, cultivating a sound ecosystem so that innovation factors can flow freely and aggregate efficiently.Last year, Jinan achieved a technology contract transaction volume of 102.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.7%, and ownership of valid invention patents per 10,000 people reached 87.2, a year-on-year increase of 17.8%.As of the end of last year, Jinan had more than 9,400 technology-based small-and medium-sized enterprises, and the outstanding loan balance for science-and-technology innovation enterprises exceeded 300 billion yuan.
Bearing in mind General Secretary Xi Jinping's earnest instructions, striving forward into the "15th Five-Year Plan," Jinan will continue to promote integrated innovation among industry, academia, and research, accelerate the cultivation of new quality productive forces, and continuously shape new momentum and new advantages for development.
Return to Top(People's Daily, Beijing, October 9) (Reporter: Shi Yiqi) Upon approval of the CPC Central Committee, the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission conducted an investigation and review into the serious violations of discipline and law by Ding Yexian, former Deputy Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
The investigation found that Ding Yexian lost his ideals and convictions, betrayed his original aspiration and founding mission, and resisted organizational review; violated the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulation, improperly occupied guest rooms for personal use, and improperly accepted banquets; violated organizational principles, improperly sought benefits for others in cadre selection and appointment work, and failed to report personal matters as required; lost the bottom line of integrity, improperly accepted gifts, and improperly engaged in profit-making activities; turned the public power entrusted by the Party and the people into a tool for seeking personal gain, amassing wealth through unscrupulous means (大肆收钱敛财, dashi shouqian liancai - "greatly, collect, money, amass, wealth"), and used his official position to seek benefits for others in corporate listings, undertaking projects, conducting business, and other matters, illegally accepting huge amounts of property.
Ding Yexian seriously violated the Party's political discipline, organizational discipline, and integrity discipline, constituted serious duty-related violations and is suspected of bribery crimes, and did not restrain himself or stop his wrongdoing after the 18th National Congress of the CPC, with serious nature and adverse impact, warranting serious handling. In accordance with relevant provisions of the Regulations of the Communist Party of China on Disciplinary Actions, the Supervision Law of the People's Republic of China, the Law of the People's Republic of China on Administrative Discipline for Public Officials, and other relevant regulations, after deliberation at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and upon approval by the CPC Central Committee, it was decided to expel Ding Yexian from the Party; cancel the treatmentsthat he enjoyed as provided; terminate his qualification as a delegate to the 10th Party Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region; confiscate his disciplinary and illegal gains; and refer his suspected criminal issues to procuratorial organs for review and prosecution according to law, with the involved property transferred along with the case.
Return to Top(People's Daily, Beijing, October 9) (Reporter Shi Yiqi) With the approval of the CPC Central Committee, the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission conducted an investigation and review into Lian Ji, former president of the Chinese National Academy of Arts, for serious violations of discipline and law.
The investigation found that Lian Ji lost his ideals and convictions, abandoned his original aspiration and founding mission, violated the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulation, improperly accepted banquets, and improperly received money from others under the guise of "calligraphy remuneration"; he lacked organizational principles and improperly sought benefits for others in work such as the selection and appointment of cadres; he lost the bottom line of integrity, improperly accepted gifts and money, and had others pay expenses that should have been paid by himself; he had no concept of discipline or law, was extremely greedy and insatiable (贪婪无度, tan lan wu du - "greedy, without limit"), engaged in large-scale power-for-money deals, used his position to seek benefits for others in business operations, project contracting, and position adjustments, and illegally accepted huge amounts of property.
Lian Ji seriously violated the Party's organizational discipline, integrity discipline, and life discipline, constituted serious duty-related violations and was suspected of the crime of bribery. Moreover, after the 18th National Congress of the CPC, he did not restrain himself or stop his actions. His conduct was serious in nature and had a bad influence, and he should be dealt with severely. In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Regulations of the Communist Party of China on Disciplinary Actions, the Supervision Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Law of the People's Republic of China on Administrative Discipline for Public Officials, and after study by the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and reporting to the CPC Central Committee for approval, it was decided to expel Lian Ji from the Party; cancel the treatment he enjoyed in accordance with regulations; confiscate his disciplinary and illegal gains; and transfer the issues suspected of criminal offenses to the procuratorial organs for review and prosecution according to law, with the involved property transferred along with the case.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 陈圆圆
In 2006, Liu Cixin's full-length science fiction novel The Three-Body Problem was first serialized in Science Fiction World. Looking back twenty years later, this work not only shines on the world stage, but also illuminates real-world developments — artificial intelligence (AI), commercial aerospace, interstellar exploration and other technologies are changing with each passing day (日新月异, ri xin yue yi - "day, new, month, change"), and the course of civilization points toward deeper space. The future has already arrived; how should humanity embrace the new mutations of science and imagination?
The 37th Galaxy Awards were recently presented in Zigong, Sichuan Province. During the event, our reporter conducted a dialogue with science fiction writer Liu Cixin, setting out from science fiction literature to envision the future voyage of human civilization.
— Editor
Trying to create works on themes different from The Three-Body Problem and earlier works
Question: How do you view the achievements of The Three-Body Problem in the field of science fiction literature at home and abroad since its publication 20 years ago?
Liu Cixin: The Three-Body Problem is a very fortunate work. From domestic to overseas publication, the entire process was handled by professional teams; it coincided with the communication wave of new media and received broad exposure; there was also a "supernatural" piece of luck — among the five nominated candidate works for the Hugo Award that year, one withdrew, and The Three-Body Problem ultimately filled the vacancy as an alternate and successfully won the award.
Of course, the greatest fortune of The Three-Body Problem is its era. Its publication coincided with the period of rapid economic development in China, when people turned their gaze toward broader reaches of time and space. After a long period of silence, Chinese science fiction gradually revived, and people yearned to see good works.
At that time, world science fiction literature underwent great changes — people withdrew their gaze from the starry sky and began to pay more attention to humanity itself, to race, gender, and technology's alienation of the human, among other things. Yet The Three-Body Problem, which still looked up at the starry sky, evoked among readers a strong nostalgia for the golden age of science fiction.
Question: What was your state of mind when you first created The Three-Body Problem? What has changed compared with now?
Liu Cixin: Twenty years ago, when I typed out The Three-Body Problem on a computer in my office deep in the mountains, I absolutely could not have imagined reaping so many readers. The Three-Body Problem is first and foremost popular literature; its primary purpose was to create a story that would shock readers. If I could ride a time machine back 20 years, I would be very hesitant about whether I really wanted to put certain dark things into the work. They were originally a creative strategy to attract readers, but now they are being interpreted as expressing some kind of real laws of cosmic sociology. Today, facing a huge readership, I have a feeling of "having lit a fire yet being unable to control it myself."
Over the past 20 years, my mentality toward the world has not changed. But as for my creative state, I do feel it has become more difficult. Nowadays, creative ideas in science fiction are increasingly difficult. On the one hand, AI is advancing very quickly; there is no worry yet about being replaced, but what about 10 years from now? If AI can generate a work in 5 minutes that is better than what a human writes in 5 months, then what is the meaning of a writer's existence? On the other hand, science fiction culture has already permeated all aspects of (方方面面, fang fang mian mian - "every, every, side, side") our lives and society, but invisibly science fiction literature itself has been diluted — surviving under conditions of "science fiction's generalization" is difficult.
Now the styles of Chinese science fiction are very diverse. The new generation of authors may possess broader knowledge and broader horizons, and regarding the impact of modern technology on social life, they have keener and deeper perceptions.
Question: Do you have new creative plans?
Liu Cixin: I have been working hard at creation, wanting to try themes different from The Three-Body Problem and my earlier works, but progress is relatively slow, and what I write does not quite satisfy me either. If a writer feels that a new work is very good, very classic, it is most likely an illusion; if he feels the new work is very bad, that is certainly a true feeling.
Having an "alternative kind of love" for AI
Question: How do you view AI?
Liu Cixin: Most people would agonize over whether AI will replace or conquer humanity, but my attitude is somewhat unconventional: my attitude toward AI is one of "very much loving" it.
Humanity has "ceilings" in intelligence, physical strength, and every other respect. Human evolution was meant for survival in the wilderness, not for the cosmos. If human civilization is to expand from Earth to the entire universe, with our current capabilities it can never be done.
But AI can break through humanity's innate limitations. Humanity's grandest ideals and ultimate goals may ultimately have to be realized by AI. AI points toward the future of Earth civilization; this future may not belong to humanity, but it still has meaning.
In daily life, I do not use AI in many places — I treat it as a more powerful search engine. I have not used AI for writing; most of my time is spent conceiving writing ideas, and when it comes to conceiving top-tier, unprecedented creative ideas, AI cannot help in this regard yet.
Question: Will the jobs of liberal arts graduates be replaced by AI?
Liu Cixin: The liberal arts will not be replaced; on the contrary, they may become increasingly important in the AI era. When AI gradually replaces humans in the technical field, then in the humanities field — especially in domains concerning humanity's most fundamental values — in the end it will still have to be realized through the humanities. In the future, humanity may shed most of its work, leaving it to AI. In such a social environment, judging the basic values of our existence and life can only be answered by the humanities.
Question: How should we respond to the possibly arriving technological singularity?
Liu Cixin: The singularity as I understand it is that AI's level of intelligence rapidly surpasses humanity to such a degree that all existing forms of human society, politics, and economy undergo unimaginable changes. But this conjecture may be oversimplified.
Even if AI really develops at that speed, humanity still has many cards to play and can adopt various measures to guard against negative effects. The more likely scenario is that, as AI develops, human-machine integration, brain-computer interfaces, and other related technologies are also developing at tremendous speed. At that time, a trend of mutual integration between humans and AI may appear — if we cannot defeat it, we can join it.
The next breakout work of Chinese science fiction requires opportunity
Question: Science fiction elements are presented in diverse forms such as film and television dramas, animation, and games. How do you view the adaptation of your works?
Liu Cixin: The only works of mine that have met audiences so far are the series and films such as The Three-Body Problem and The Wandering Earth. In adaptations, investment in commercial value occupies a key position. Science fiction always faces the general public; to succeed, it must have a certain level of public acceptance — no matter how high the acclaim of academic circles is, it cannot substitute for that. And achieving commercial success may be more difficult than achieving critical height. So far, I am satisfied with all the adaptations, and I hope they can achieve success in the future as well.
Question: How can Chinese science fiction break out to the wider world in the future?
Liu Cixin: Whether before or after The Three-Body Problem, Chinese science fiction has produced a large number of good works. What we lack is not good works that break out — what we lack is luck. The content of a work is X, the opportunity is Y, and the relationship between X and Y is not addition but multiplication. If either one is zero, the result is all zero. It is possible that everything was done right, but it still did not succeed — what was lacking was opportunity.
Question: There are multiple science fiction IPs globally. What unique value can Chinese science fiction provide to the world?
Liu Cixin: We can place more of our hopes on science fiction film and television. In the near future, Chinese science fiction film and television will further draw the world's attention — on the one hand, this stems from its own breakthroughs; on the other hand, in the practice of advancing Chinese modernization, our culture will become more influential.
Looking forward to space exploration being a voyage "with people"
Question: The International Academy of Astronautics has released its latest guidelines on exploring extraterrestrial life, stating that one must not reply to alien signals without authorization. Have you ever thought that the "Do not answer!" from The Three-Body Problem might come true?
Liu Cixin: This regulation means that private individuals or groups should not reply without authorization without consultation through all of humanity. Whether humanity as a whole should reply to aliens is a matter of common sense. It is like how we often teach children: do not open the door to strangers, do not casually talk to strangers. But the operability of this regulation is not strong — if some individual or group really does reply to aliens, it would be very difficult to detect.
If extraterrestrial civilization is truly discovered, whether we make contact depends on the other side's level. But one thing is certain: if they really could fly from thousands of light-years (千百光年, qian bai guang nian - "thousand, hundred, light, year") away to Earth, then the gap between the two sides in technology and biology would both be enormous, and you might even find it hard to judge whether the other side has intelligence, let alone communicate. AI's current intelligence is not higher than humanity's; perhaps when the singularity arrives, we may be able to use AI to communicate with aliens.
But that said, AI is a philosophical Other, just as aliens are the Other in the universe. If AI crosses the singularity while humanity remains at its current level, then AI itself will have already become the Other, become the "alien" — at that time, humanity will first have to face the existential proposition posed by AI.
Question: What new expectations do you have for space exploration?
Liu Cixin: I hope humanity can fly farther and farther into space. Since the Apollo moon landing, the distance humanity has traveled into space has shrunk considerably. I hope humanity can explore deep space, heading for Mars, the asteroid belt, and even more distant celestial bodies such as Jupiter's moons — looking outward, looking toward the distance.
Some people would say, isn't it enough to send robots and AI to explore? But from a philosophical, sociological sense, and even from the feelings of all humanity, "the arrival of humans" still has unique significance. I hope humanity can personally walk to that place, and I look forward to space exploration being a voyage "with people."
If I went to space, what I would most want to do is press myself against the porthole and look back at Earth. If I could witness a single moment in the universe, I would hope to see a truly intelligent civilization emerge, to see that besides humanity, there are other civilizations in the universe with which we can communicate.
This year is 2026. In The Three-Body Problem's 2026, "Luo Ji" has already entered hibernation, precisely the era when humanity is most lost and fearful amid the alien crisis. Today, we are fortunate that civilization's catastrophe has not arrived, but real-world challenges are still occurring across the globe.
There is a line in the book: humanity's ship sails into the deep sea — behind it, the golden coast has already vanished, and ahead, it is unknown whether the far shore truly exists. Looking around in all directions (举目四望, ju mu si wang - "lift, eye, four, look"), everywhere is a vast ocean. On the voyage toward the future, The Three-Body Problem has become a page in history; we look forward to more outstanding science fiction works that, standing at the height of the new era, look toward the future and set course for the boundless sea of stars.
(Shang Dan and Sun Xi of People's Daily participated in the reporting and writing of this article)
Return to TopBy: 超 侠
In the film The Wandering Earth II, researchers upload their daughter's consciousness to a quantum computer, granting her new life in the form of digital life. This scene moved countless viewers, and also brought the concepts of "digital avatars" and "digital life" increasingly into the public eye.
Science fiction has long envisioned copying a person's consciousness, sealing it in hardware, letting it handle one's schedule, manage one's life, and even extend one's life in the digital world. From the intelligent robot in the domestic sci-fi film Mistake that develops self-will and attempts to replace humans, to the digital copies of human consciousness that can be extracted and stored at any time in the British TV series Black Mirror, one sci-fi work after another keeps posing the question: can we create another "self" in the digital world?
This romantic yet speculative imagination does not remain merely on the silver screen and between book pages. As artificial intelligence (AI), computer graphics, big-data modeling, and other technologies iterate at breakneck speed, digital avatars are accelerating their landing in the real world. Unlike simple virtual-image modeling or the piling up of personal data, a true digital avatar is an anthropomorphic intelligent autonomous agent built through deep learning, semantic analysis, and association modeling; it can independently complete a series of operations such as interactive communication, affairs processing, and intelligent decision-making.
In reality, we already possess the prototype of the digital avatar—the personal intelligent agent. In early 2026, open-source personal intelligent agent frameworks sparked a wave of enthusiasm; agents are no longer limited to simple chat conversations, but can directly execute local applications, learn to imitate users' behavioral habits, and autonomously complete concrete tasks such as organizing files, sending and receiving emails, and scheduling itineraries.
To reach the grand vision of science fiction, there remains a long scientific research road ahead. For instance, as a supporting technology for digital life research, the current brain-computer interface field has already formed a development landscape in which multiple technical routes—invasive, semi-invasive, and non-invasive—advance in parallel. The "Beiyi No.1" system has completed human implantation, with rehabilitation training scenarios being deployed in practical applications, and the country's first invasive brain-computer interface system with over one hundred channels has initiated registered clinical trials. But objectively speaking, existing technology can only decode simple brain signals, and is still far from the science-fiction level of scanning consciousness and fitting human thought patterns.
Alongside technological breakthroughs, digital avatars are also accelerating their entry into industrial application scenarios. Some film and television companies and video platforms are building AI artist libraries, with multiple actors authorizing AI works to use their digital avatars in participating in filming and production; "digital employees," "cyber colleagues," and "robot bosses" have emerged one after another, bringing entirely new possibilities to office models. But behind the convenience, new issues also arise. Previously, a company attempted to replicate a departed employee into an AI digital employee, sparking public discussion over personality rights and personal information protection. As AI face-swapping, voice imitation, and even "avatars" grow increasingly mature, the boundary of information rights extending from the physical world into digital space encounters an unprecedented (前所未有, qian suo wei you - "before, has, not, yet") challenge.
The digital avatar itself harbors security risks that cannot be ignored. On the one hand, to let intelligent agents help us read and write files, call up cameras and microphones, and complete payments, we must grant them extremely high operational permissions—equivalent to handing the "keys" to digital life over to AI. On the other hand, at the current stage, AI's understanding of human intent remains limited, making it prone to accidents such as mistakenly deleting files, ignoring stop commands, and randomly sending messages to contacts.
A deeper line of reflection lies in this: if a digital avatar could replicate all of humanity's talents, where exactly does human uniqueness anchor itself? Is the foundation of individual existence reduced to nothing more than bodily experience, random emotions, and non-replicable choices, rather than knowledge and thought? Even a highly realistic AI companion, though it can dissolve loneliness, can it replicate the "troubles" of friction, compromise, and conflict interwoven in real interpersonal relationships—and does it possess the complexity of human nature?
The significance of science fiction lies in that, on the one hand, it lets humanity gaze toward a beautiful future and see bright hope, and on the other hand, it rehearses in advance the hidden difficulties and crises of technology, prompting us to remain prudent. The digital avatar is yet another attempt by humanity to expand the boundaries of the self. Pushing open the door to the future, a transformation concerning the mode of human existence is quietly taking place.
(The author is a council member of the China Science Writers Association and deputy director of its Science Fiction and Science Art Committee.)
Return to Top(People's Daily, Sanya) (Reporter Sun Haitian) The reporter learned from the press conference on the joint research achievements of Yazhou Bay held in Sanya, Hainan, that Chinese researchers have successfully mapped a spatiotemporal cell atlas covering the entire life cycle of rice. This study, for the first time at the individual scale, systematically reveals how tens of thousands of genes "where and when" participate in regulating growth and development throughout the entire process from seed germination to flowering and fruiting in rice. The relevant findings were published online in the international academic journal Cell.
This study was completed by the Yazhou Bay National Laboratory jointly with BGI Life Sciences Research Institute, Huazhong Agricultural University, and 12 other institutions, constructing a three-dimensional spatiotemporal cell atlas covering the entire process of rice from seed germination to flowering and fruiting, providing new research resources for understanding rice growth and development and exploring grain quality improvement.
Using the japonica rice variety "Zhonghua 11" as material, the researchers integrated spatiotemporal omics technologies independently developed by the BGI Life Sciences Research Institute, among others, and established an atlas covering 10 types of rice organs or tissues and 61 developmental stages. During this process, the researchers obtained over 850,000 high-quality single-cell nucleus data points, as well as over 340,000 spatial data units, and annotated 119 cell types and 133 cell subtypes.
Return to TopBy: 郝佳龙
In the early solar system, asteroids and comets acted like "couriers," continuously delivering organic matter and elements closely related to life chemistry—carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur, and others—to Earth-like planets. However, because Earth has long undergone active geological evolution and biological activity, the relevant early records have become difficult to preserve.
To catch a glimpse of the true appearance of early-solar-system organic matter, one might turn one's gaze toward the Moon, some 380,000 kilometers away. The Moon, whose geological activity is relatively weak, resembles a"time capsule"; compared with other Earth-like planets, it is more likely to preserve records of the input and subsequent evolution of extraterrestrial organic matter.
Using multiple microscopic and spectroscopic techniques to conduct correlative analysis, the research team captured extremely low-abundance extraterrestrial organic matter in lunar soil particles brought back by Chang'e-5 and Chang'e-6. Their chemical composition is dominated by carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, and their forms are being all different in form (各不相同, ge bu xiang tong -"each, not, same, different"); some are fine fragmented particles, some are wrapped within mineral interiors, and others resemble viscous imprints, adhering to rock surfaces. The primordial information preserved in the lunar soil can fill the research gap of the"pre-life era," helping us clarify how organic matter in the solar system arose and how it evolved, providing key clues for cracking the mystery of life's origin.
Studying the"time capsules" that the universe has left us may, ultimately, one day allow us to unravel: how, exactly, did the seeds of life arrive on Earth?
(The author is a Senior Engineer at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences; this article was compiled from an interview by People's Daily reporter Wu Yuehui.)
Return to TopBy: 张佳骏
Mars is a target that humanity can reach with a hard jump as it leaves the Earth-Moon system and heads into deep space. Mercury is too close to the Sun, Venus has a harsh environment, and the other celestial bodies are too far away. By comparison, Mars's conditions are much better — it has a thin atmosphere, water ice, and its rotation period and seasonal changes are close to Earth's. Therefore, Mars is quite suitable as a stop for humanity's march toward interstellar civilization.
To realize Mars colonization, three major problems still need to be solved. The first is information exchange between Earth and Mars. The very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) orbit-determination system led by the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory can precisely measure the orbit of spacecraft heading to Mars, ensuring smooth orbit insertion, and it has been preliminarily verified in the Tianwen-1 mission. The second is material exchange between Earth and Mars — we can send spacecraft to Mars, but at present we still cannot collect material on Mars and return it. The Tianwen-3 mission is planned for launch around 2028 and to return Mars samples to Earth around 2031. The third is ensuring personnel survival. Mars's surface has low temperature, high radiation, low gravity, low atmospheric pressure, water scarcity, and oxygen scarcity — how to use Mars's resources on the spot still needs exploration.
My work is researching cosmology, and my colleagues and I are precisely working toward a dream that can be realized, making steady progress through consistent effort (一步一个脚印, yi bu yi ge jiao yin - "one step, one footprint"), striving to turn the round trip to Mars into reality. When the starry seas turn into voyages that can be traveled back and forth, they are no longer just poetry and the distant horizon, but a vessel of civilization that the next generation is willing to board.
(The author is an associate researcher at the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences; this article was compiled from an interview by People's Daily reporter Huang Xiaohui.)
Return to TopBy: 叶逸凡
From gazing up at the vast universe to peering into the microscopic world, none of this is possible without large-scale scientific facilities. China's new-generation synchrotron radiation light source — the Hefei Advanced Light Source, this "big eye" — can help us "see" atomic arrangements, track electron motion, and uncover the mysteries hidden inside matter.
The synchrotron radiation light source exploits the synchrotron radiation produced by high-speed moving electrons in a magnetic field to deliver X-rays of high brightness, high collimation, and broad energy range to experimental stations. In new-energy research, it can track state changes during battery charge-discharge cycles; in catalysis research, it can reveal the formation mechanisms of active sites; in the life sciences, it can resolve the fine structures and dynamic changes of complex biomolecules… This benefits from the flexible probing capabilities of synchrotron radiation: hard X-rays penetrate deep into materials to reveal atomic structures; soft X-rays focus on surfaces and interfaces to resolve electronic states and chemical changes.
Advanced light sources are helping us move from observing the "starting point and endpoint" toward understanding the "process." Using time-resolved synchrotron radiation techniques, transient processes such as chemical reactions, charge transfer, ion migration, and structural evolution can be recorded frame by frame, much like shooting a "slow-motion movie at the atomic scale."
This "big eye" will provide new discovery tools for the development of fields such as energy, materials, and life sciences, propelling humanity ever deeper into the microscopic world.
(The author is Deputy Director of the Experimental Division of the National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory and Associate Professor; compiled and edited from an interview by People's Daily reporter Xu Jing)
Return to Top(People's Daily, Beijing) (Reporter Gu Yekai) The reporter learned from the China Atomic Energy Research Institute under the China National Nuclear Corporation: recently, relying on the Large Ion Collider Experiment at the Large Hadron Collider in Europe, the research team of Researcher Li Xiaomei from the National Key Laboratory of Nuclear Data of the institute, in international cooperation with the research team of Professor Zhou You from the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, made a breakthrough in the study of nuclear-structure-dominated collective flow in light-nucleus collisions of oxygen-16–oxygen-16 and neon-20–neon-20.
Through precise experimental measurements, they confirmed that the geometric shape of the atomic nucleus directly affects the material flow behavior during high-energy nuclear collisions, filling the key gap in existing theoretical understanding of the formation mechanism of collective effects in relativistic nuclear collisions, and providing high-precision experimental constraints for research on the fundamental internal structure of the atomic nucleus. The relevant results have been published in the international journal Physical Review Letters.
Return to TopBy: 对话人：陈平原（北京大学中文系教授） 杨雪梅 阮可欣（本报记者）
Opening Remarks for the Column
Cultural heritage has emerged from the depths of history, settling into the cultural background of our present day, and also endowing us with the confidence and direction to face the future.This section newly opens the column "Inquiring into the Ancient and the Modern" (问道古今, inviting experts and scholars to converse, distinguishing origins and currents, analyzing inner structures, exploring values, using dialogue to interrogate the road we have come, using reflection to respond to the times, so that the continuous cultural lineage may be接续 and grow.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized, "We must protect a city's historical and cultural heritage as we cherish our own lives," and must"pay attention to the inheritance of civilization and the continuation of culture, letting cities retain memories, letting people remember nostalgia." In 2025, the Central City Work Conference further emphasized the need to improve the system for protecting and inheriting historical culture, and to attach importance to protecting a city's unique historical cultural lineage, human geography, and natural landscape.
The 2026 Beijing Cultural Forum took"Cultural Heritage and Mutual Learning among Civilizations" as its theme. At the main forum, Peking University Professor Chen Pingyuan, with his presentation titled"Visible Cultural Heritage and Invisible Historical Memory," expressed concern for the inheritance of urban cultural lineage.
Historical culture is the soul of a city; protecting and inheriting a city's historical cultural lineage, in the final analysis, is to meet the people's needs for a better life. A reporter from this newspaper engaged in dialogue with Chen Pingyuan, exploring how urban cultural lineage is passed down in people's daily lives.
Protecting a city's historical cultural lineage is a historical responsibility
Reporter: Literati have a long literary tradition of writing about their hometowns and of writing about cities, which also constitutes an important component of urban cultural lineage. Since 2001, you have offered related courses at Peking University, guiding students to"read cities," shifting from"rewriting literary history"to"rebuilding urban cultural lineage and historical memory." What does such an extension and expansion mean for a scholar?
Chen Pingyuan: As a professor in the Chinese Department, in the 1980s and 1990s, I mainly focused on the construction of the concept of"twentieth-century Chinese literature" and on how to"rewrite literary history." Entering the new century, I only then began to concern myself with the intricate relationships between"the metropolis of literature" and"the literature of the metropolis." In my view, research and writing on the entire history of Chinese literature has emphasized, with palaces or villages as the primary settings, sentiments of the times and concern for the country, and, with mountains and waters or fields and gardens as the primary settings, reclusion and transcendence, while relatively neglecting, with markets or alleys as the primary settings, the present world and desire. Therefore, I very much wanted to also cover architecture, history, the ways of the world, local customs, writers, works, and so forth, and, within the multiple perspectives of political history, cultural history, and literary history, to unfold a discussion of"this one" city across ancient and modern times. Thus came the passage in the general preface to the"Urban Imagination and Cultural Memory" book series:"Such cities as Chang'an of the Han and Tang dynasties, Luoyang of the Han and Wei dynasties, Jinling of the Six Dynasties, Kaifeng of the Northern Song, Lin'an of the Southern Song, Suzhou and Yangzhou of the Ming and Qing, Guangzhou and Shanghai of the late Qing, Tianjin, Hong Kong, and Taipei of the modern era, as well as Beijing, the ancient capital of eight hundred years, and Chongqing and Kunming during the War of Resistance, all deserve serious attention from researchers."
The making rapid progress (突飞猛进, tū fēi měng jìn - "sudden, fly, rapid, advance") of urbanization, its gains and losses, advantages and disadvantages, requires careful analysis, and experts and scholars have an obligation to do what they can for"rebuilding urban cultural lineage and historical memory." Although I know that my writings, which resemble miscellaneous essays, may not truly be able to play a role, I still find great joy in doing them without tiring.
Reporter: Your hometown Chaozhou has now become extremely popular. We know that when the tide of economic development rose in the 1980s, Chaozhou chose to seek development outside the old city, and therefore the internal layout of the ancient city was preserved. This forms a sharp contrast with the old city renovation, large-scale demolition and construction, of some cities in the early stage of urbanization. Today's urban renewal advocates"embroidery-like effort" and"micro-circulation" to protect spatial texture, historical appearance, and cultural ecology. You must have experienced these changes deeply while walking through cities, right?
Chen Pingyuan: The reason I wrote articles praising Chaozhou's approach of preserving the ancient city's layout and seeking development outside the city was that I fully understood that"for those in leadership, building a new city is easy, but guarding an ancient city is very difficult." This involves the assessment of leading cadres, the demand for return on investment, as well as the strong desire of the common people to rapidly improve their standard of living. All of these are not very easy to coordinate. Even today, Chaozhou's economic indicators are also not ideal; there are constraints from various internal and external factors here, but insisting on micro-renovation in urban construction, not relocating original residents, preserving the vitality of everyday life, may also be an important reason.
In recent years, Chaozhou has indeed become popular. That ancient city, which was preserved with great difficulty, now welcomes visitors from all directions, and during holidays it is especially crowded with surging crowds, but the government's fiscal revenue has not increased significantly. That is because tourism is a project benefiting the people; its main function is to promote employment and protect people's livelihoods, not to increase GDP. Therefore, in urban renewal, protecting the ancient city's appearance and improving its cultural ecology should mainly focus not on economic indicators, but on historical responsibility, that is, how to reserve for future generations the possibility of social transformation and cultural renewal.
Urban development must emphasize"going with the grain" (顺势而为)
Reporter: You mentioned that ancient buildings that have already disappeared should not be rebuilt. How should we understand"authenticity" in the protection of urban cultural heritage?
Chen Pingyuan: In the boom of urban construction in previous years, we demolished, for considerations of transportation, urban construction, economy, and so forth, a number of exquisite ancient buildings, for which we now feel deep regret. The problem is that it was a great pity that they could not be preserved back then, but that does not mean it is necessary to restore and rebuild them. With today's economic strength and craftsmanship, it is not at all difficult to build, within a short period of time, a number of antique-style buildings of varying heights, resplendent and magnificent. But not everyone has piercing eyes capable of seeing at a glance the difference between"genuine relics" and"counterfeits." The reason why replicas in museums must be specially noted, why the repair of ancient artifacts preserves their incompleteness, and why old city renovation emphasizes"restoring the old as it was old," is all to highlight"authenticity."
Reporter: Beyond"building cities,""operating cities," and"crafting cities," you have proposed the concept of"nurturing cities." How should we understand this concept?
Chen Pingyuan: From the relatively plain"building cities," to"operating cities," and then to"crafting cities," the change in these concepts, on the surface, is a choice of verb, but behind it lies the replacement of an entire set of urban development thinking. The reason I advocate adopting the"nurturing" that is like spring breeze and gentle rain is that, in my view, people need nurturing, and cities also need nurturing—including care, protection, and support. This is where humanities scholars differ from engineers or economists. I hope to highlight such a line of thinking: a city itself has its own life, deserving of respect from you and me, and urban development must emphasize"going with the grain." First understand the city's previous life and present life, and only then discuss development and the future. Also, just as when treating a child, have expectations, but do not pull up seedlings to help them grow. Give the city time and space to grow, observe at all times, and constantly revise expectations.
Telling China's urban stories well
Reporter: You once said that a city with good writers is truly"blessed," because they can write out the city's temperament. At the same time, you have also noted that in the past, the spokespersons of cities were poetry, ci, fu, and prose, were literary figures, whereas now they may be new carriers such as music, songs, film and television dramas. How do you view the internet-famous model emerging in various places of"traveling to a city for the sake of..."?
Chen Pingyuan: To say that a city with good writers is"blessed" is because, regarding a city's previous life and present life, its seven emotions and six desires, as well as its hidden desires and accumulated potential, it is often only writers who can sensitively perceive them and accurately express them, which requires intuition, requires imagination, as well as very good means of expression. Of course, today the positioning of"writer" and the concept of"literature" have both undergone great changes. A more appropriate expression might be"writing" or"presentation," which can be in text, or in images or sound; can be fictional, or documentary; can be literary and artistic, or academic. In my view, rather than concerning ourselves with those internet-famous"check-in spots" that may well be a flash in the pan, it is better to pay attention to those faintly visible"literary maps."
In today's China, any city with a slightly deeper cultural foundation has very good museums, art museums, science and technology museums, and so forth, but it is not necessarily the case that they all have literary museums that encompass literature and art, history and geography, urban architecture, as well as local customs and practices. Take Beijing for example: the National Museum of Modern Chinese Literature, located at No. 45 Wenxueguan Road, Shaoyaoju, Chaoyang District, is certainly grand in scale, but its focus is the entire"history of modern Chinese literature," not the"urban imagination and cultural memory" of the capital Beijing. In this sense, some major metropolises should build another literary hall, similar to the"Shanghai Museum of Literature," that integrates collection, exhibition, reading, research, and exchange in one
Reporter: At present, museums at all levels and of all types are developing rapidly. How can museums better become places that connect"visible cultural heritage" and"invisible historical memory"? You once said that it is easy for a city to build a museum, but it is not easy to cultivate citizens' habit of visiting museums and to nurture their appreciation for good exhibitions. Regarding the current museum fever and the building of"cities of museums," what new feelings do you have?
Chen Pingyuan: Museum architecture and museum culture, which combines collection, exhibition, and research, do not proceed in tandem. Many years ago, I once lamented: museum architecture is better than its collections, collections are better than exhibitions, and exhibitions are better than audiences. What should be most vigorously worked on is how to increase the public's desire to visit museums, as well as their ability to read museums. Fortunately, in recent years, the public's enthusiasm for viewing museums has noticeably increased, and the permanent exhibitions of large museums in various provinces and cities are all crowded with visitors. But I have noticed one point: the public's attention is excessively focused on star museums, causing many museums with unique collections and exhibitions with distinctive features to remain"raised in deep chambers, unrecognized by the world."
Reporter: In your view, to tell China's urban stories well, and to seek, interpret, and even rebuild urban cultural lineage, what contributions can literati, scholars, and the public make? You advocate that more people write a city reader for their own city. What do you think a good city reader looks like?
Chen Pingyuan: Many years ago, I said that, in a sense, cities are built up, but they are also"spoken" into being—especially a city's historical significance and cultural connotations, that is, its inner strength and beauty, need humanities scholars to help excavate them before they can be accepted by the public. When history turns a new page, skyscrapers are no longer the key indicator that Chinese people diligently pursue, and urban renewal and the continuation of cultural lineage have become the main battlefield, at this time, the concern, learning, and taste of humanities scholars finally have greater space to play a role. What method can enable the research results, deeply cultivated by Chinese and foreign academic circles for many years, to be readily accepted by ordinary readers? I believe that compiling"city readers" that are richly illustrated and appreciated by both refined and popular tastes is a good method. As I said at the end of my speech at the main forum of this session of the Beijing Cultural Forum,"I truly hope that more great experts, who possess both literary talent, learning, reader appeal, and market insight, would be willing to bend down and write such popular reading materials, which do not count for scores in academy evaluations. Solely in terms of preserving historical memory and shaping city image, such books are more effective than serious policy propaganda or lively cultural and tourism promotion, and they also last longer."
Return to TopBy: 张 炎
How do people today obtain an experience of traveling through time and space? Heritage parks provide the answer.
Hubei's "Jing-Chu Major Heritage Site Inheritance and Development Project" was recently selected as one of the important achievements released at the 2026 Beijing Cultural Forum. Across the province, 5 national archaeological heritage parks and 18 provincial cultural heritage parks are becoming public spaces for dialogue between ancient and modern. Why not choose a day of clear skies and fresh air (天朗气清, tian lang qi qing - "sky, bright, air, clear"), walk into a heritage park, and return to the scene of history?
An archaeological trowel, layer by layer brushing away the dust, has lifted the veil on "What Made Jing-Chu," threading together the lineage of the origin and development of civilization in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. The Xuetangliangzi site's "Yunxian Man" skull fossil reveals the traces of human evolution over a million years; the Qujialing site records the agricultural civilization of the middle Yangtze River 5,000 years ago; the Panlongcheng site displays the glory and splendor of a southern central city of the Shang Dynasty... Generations of archaeologists have cultivated the fertile soil of Jing-Chu, and their abundant achievements have become the most solid academic support for heritage parks.
Walk into a heritage site museum and listen to the silent stories told by cultural relics. The Qujialing eggshell-thin painted pottery cup, the carbonized rice grains representing agricultural civilization, the Shijiahe warm and spirited jade phoenix and solemn jade deity-head figurine, the Daye Tonglüshan great bronze axe witnessing a thousand years of mining and smelting history, the blast-and-bellows copper-smelting shaft furnace... Relying on refined exhibition design and digital technologies such as motion-sensing interaction and holographic projection, these cultural relics spanning thousands of years vividly unfold the life scenes and spiritual world of the ancient Jing-Chu ancestors.
The most moving scenery of a heritage park lies in the site exhibition areas. These are the native places of the artifacts in museum collections, the actual scenes where history truly happened. At the Tonglüshan National Archaeological Heritage Park's Sifangtang tomb exhibition area, a public cemetery of pre-Qin mining and metallurgy workers rarely seen in China is on display, allowing people today to touch the vivid traces of life of the ancestors who mined ore and smelted copper. At the Xiongjiazhong National Archaeological Heritage Park, the No. 1 chariot-and-horse pit is protected and displayed in situ and in its original condition, with more than 130 meters of real chariots and real horses, directly reproducing the awe-inspiring majesty of the Chu state as a "state of a thousand chariots." At the Ming Chu Princely Tombs Archaeological Heritage Park, the tomb gardens of Prince Zhao and Prince Min are open to the public, clearly presenting the rigorous regulations and spatial layout of Ming Dynasty princely mausoleums.
The humid and rainy climate of the south poses a natural challenge to the protection of earthen sites. Panlongcheng has innovatively adopted a modified-soil-wrapping-earth ramming technique, developed a glass-fiber-reinforced concrete with excellent corrosion resistance and weather resistance, and combined 3D printing technology with intangible-heritage clay-sculpture techniques, allowing the palace district to be vividly presented before visitors. Relying on systematic cultural-relic protection projects, through multiple means such as in-situ display, simulated display, and symbolic interpretation, damaged sites have regained vitality, and silent history now shines into the present.
If you still feel unsatisfied or wanting more (意犹未尽, yi you wei jin - "meaning, still, have, not, end"), the rich array of audiovisual works and brand activities allows you to fully appreciate the splendor of Jing-Chu heritage sites. Documentaries such as The Excavation of the No. 3 "Yunxian Man", The Yangtze River Reaches the Horizon — Jing-Chu's Million Years, and Shijiahe present a panoramic view of the long and continuous history (源远流长, yuan yuan liu chang - "source, distant, stream, long") of Jing-Chu culture. The "Super Cultural Tourism Day — Cultural Relics Tell the Story of Jing-Chu" brand activity is carried out on a regular basis, with experts explaining profound concepts in simple terms (深入浅出, shen ru qian chu - "deep, enter; shallow, come out") in guided interpretation, creating a cultural-and-museum feast linking online and offline, making the weighty heritage visible, audible, and tangible.
Heritage parks can be toured and viewed, and even more, personally experienced. Panlongcheng's "Little Archaeologists — Excavating Panlongcheng," Qujialing's "Golden Agricultural Valley Study Tour," and Tonglüshan Sifangtang's study workshop have created a variety of distinctive research-and-study courses. Visitors can experience archaeological excavation in simulated exploration pits, personally make rubbings of bronze inscriptions, replicate prehistoric pottery, participate in ore sorting and simulated ancient mine-shaft support construction, and come to understand the wisdom of the ancestors through hands-on work. The richly varied cultural creative products, extracting decorative patterns from cultural relics and symbols from heritage sites, are transformed into canvas bags, refrigerator magnets, artistic ornaments, and other fine goods, allowing memories of the heritage sites to be carried along and endure for a long time. Moving to the site theater, the Tonglüshan Museum drama Because of Bronze and the Shijiahe digital archaeological live-action drama Seeing Shijiahe recreate a thousand years of mining-and-smelting civilization and the grandeur of a prehistoric ancient state, allowing people to encounter ancient civilizations amid the play of light and shadow.
The value of heritage parks lies even more in nourishing people's livelihoods and empowering urban and rural development. At the Shijiahe National Archaeological Heritage Park, you may discover that the staff member chatting with you is a local resident. At the Qujialing National Archaeological Heritage Park, you will encounter villagers practicing tai chi in the park. Xiangyang, relying on the protection of the Fengjiazui site, has driven Yanying Village to transform into a "China Beautiful Leisure Village"; Jingzhou, with important sites such as the ancient Chu capital Jinan as its core, has built the Jinan Eco-Cultural Tourism Zone, empowering the city's cultural tourism upgrade; beside the Longwan site in Qianjiang, shrimp-and-rice fields stretch in connected expanses, clear waters surround, and the cultural lineage of the thousand-year-old Chu royal garden coexists with the industries of the contemporary water-town, painting a harmonious picture of cultural-tourism integration and rural revitalization.
The heritage parks scattered across the land of Jing-Chu are three-dimensional historical books spread out between mountains and rivers, important windows for tracing the cultural lineage of Jing-Chu and the civilization of the Yangtze River. Ancient ancestors once dwelt, labored, and created civilization here; today, the mountains and rivers remain as before, and the cultural lineage continues unbroken.
(Author affiliation: Cultural Heritage Administration of Hubei Province)
Return to TopBy: 周飞亚
"The teacher led us in conducting refined excavation and key anatomical probing, protecting the remains of the late period while also clarifying the layout and construction sequence of the early-period remains. This is not only technique and method, but also the gentlest respect for history."
On September 21, at the site of the Liao Shangjing ruins in Bairin Left Banner, Inner Mongolia, a special graduation ceremony was being held. Bao Guihong, from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, with excitement,on behalf of the tenth cohort of students of the Advanced Seminar on Urban Archaeology Open Fieldwork,delivered graduation remarks.
In 2017,commissioned and guided by the National Cultural Heritage Administration,the Institute of Archaeology,Chinese Academy of Social Sciences,relying on the archaeological excavation site of the Liao Shangjing ruins,established the Advanced Seminar on Urban Archaeology.Today,the seminar has been held continuously for ten years,training over a hundred students.They,like seeds one by one,carrying new methods and new concepts of urban archaeology,have taken root and sprouted at major site excavation grounds across provinces and cities nationwide.
From Erlitou to Yinxu,from Chang'an to Luoyang,from Yecheng to Kaifeng...Ancient Chinese capital city sites are numerous in quantity,among them there are no lack of city sites with higher name recognition,deeper historical and cultural accumulation,and longer excavation histories.Why Liao Shangjing?
The story must begin 15 years ago.
In 2011,the Second Inner Mongolia Team of the Institute of Archaeology,Chinese Academy of Social Sciences,jointly with the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology,formed the Liao Shangjing archaeological team,and began systematic scientific excavation of the imperial city site of Liao Shangjing.
Ancient Chinese city sites,for the most part,were used successively across multiple dynasties,hence the phrases "capital of ten dynasties" and "ancient capital of six dynasties" arose.Some city sites have been used continuously to the present day,known as overlapping ancient-modern city sites,such as Beijing,Nanjing,Xi'an,etc.;some city sites were used for a period of time and then abandoned,known as wilderness-type city sites,which are often more conducive to excavation.The Liao Shangjing ruins belong to the latter category,and the city site is relatively well preserved.
The west gate of the imperial city,the Buddhist temple on the western hillside,the east gate of the palace city...Under the leadership of Dong Xinlin,the then archaeological team leader,the Liao Shangjing ruins,sleeping for many years,were gradually unveiled,one layer after another,of their mysterious veil.A set of new methods and new paradigms for urban archaeology gradually took shape.At the 2023 major progress work conference on the "Archaeological China" major project of the National Cultural Heritage Administration,the archaeological excavation project of Building Foundation No.1 in the southern part of the Liao Shangjing imperial city was deemed to have demonstrated China's advanced technology and concepts in urban archaeology,and to be one of the exemplary models of archaeological excavation of China's historical periods.
The students of the seminar joked that here they learned the "three great magic weapons" of urban archaeology.
The first "magic weapon" is refined excavation.This sounds not particularly novel,nor does it seem difficult,but at the Liao Shangjing ruins,refinement has been pushed to the extreme,"for every piece of soil,which unit it belongs to,and when it was formed,must all be clarified."
"When I came,I thought I was a 'veteran' and would learn quickly;only when I actually got my hands dirty did I realize it wasn't that simple."Zhang Hongxing,a student with over 20 years of frontline archaeological work,said with emotion that the training had overturned many of his ideas.
The second "magic weapon" is key anatomical excavation.Because remains from multiple dynasties are superimposed, in the past,urban archaeology generally followed the strategy of"stopping upon seeing the surface"—that is,stopping as soon as the latest-period remains phenomena were excavated,unwilling to"damage"the overlying remains.This certainly can preserve information from the late period to the greatest extent,but it also leaves people unable to solve the historical mysteries of the construction of earlier buildings.
The Liao Shangjing archaeological team boldly chose key nodes for anatomical probing,achieving academic goals with the smallest excavation area,protecting the late-period remains while also clarifying the construction sequence of early buildings.This requires that the selection of anatomical locations must be extremely precise,just as acupuncture must locate the acupoints accurately.Therefore,knowledge of ancient architecture is crucial.At the start of the project,Dong Xinlin brought Wang Ying,who had a background in ancient architecture knowledge,into the archaeological team.Later,she became the second team leader of the Liao Shangjing archaeological team.
In Wang Ying's view,the biggest difference in urban archaeology lies in"systems thinking,"which requires"having a holistic perspective.""A city,several generations,a lifetime."For such a vast site,it is impossible to excavate everything,nor can one dig whenever remains are seen.Before starting work,one must have a macro-level grasp."There are two key words:one is layout,and the other is evolution."
These two words are deeply imprinted in every student's heart—in their view,they are the third,and most important,"magic weapon."
It is not only these."The introduction of multiple disciplines,the management methods of archaeological projects,and the extremely dedicated attitude of the teachers—for me,these were all important gains."Huang Xin,a 2021 cohort student and director of the Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology,said as much.
During the period of about three months,the students spent their days moving earth,drawing maps,and conducting surveys,and their evenings attending theory lectures,organizing materials,and discussing plans...Archaeologists from different provinces and different institutions,here,exchanged ideas and shared experiences.Even after"graduating"many years ago,this exchange continues.
Why Liao Shangjing?The answer perhaps lies hidden among those rammed-earth platform foundations,inhidden in the sun-darkened faces of the students,inhidden in the unwavering persistence over a long period (十年如一日, shi nian ru yi ri -"ten years, like one day")of their efforts.The Liao Shangjing ruins are not the most dazzling site,but it happens to possess all the conditions of an ideal"testing ground":well preserved,clear stratigraphy,typical problems,and coincidentally blessed with a team willing to devote itself,willing to cultivate deeply,and an open platform.Thus,here became the incubator of new concepts in urban archaeology,the training ground for young archaeologists.The landscape and ecology of urban archaeology across the country have also been quietly undergoing change.
Ten years,over a hundred people,one city.The story continues.
Return to TopBy: 曹 劲
Lingnan is a land of many mountains, where ridges and seas connect. A thousand years ago, the sound of horse hooves broke the silence of the Five Ridges, and waterways linked the mountains with the sea. These routes, used before 1913 within Guangdong for transmitting documents, transporting goods, and facilitating the movement of people, are collectively known as the Ancient Post Roads of Southern Yue. They were once military roads and trade routes, and above all, roads of ethnic migration and cultural integration, carrying the historical memory of Lingnan's integration from a frontier region into the territory of China.
As time passed, railways and highways replaced the clamor of the ancient roads, and many sections were lost among deep mountains and wild grass. Meanwhile, the protection of cultural route heritage has become a global trend, driving cultural exchange and regional development. How to bring the cultural heritage scattered across the land of Southern Yue back to life has become a question posed by the times.
Since 2016, Guangdong has launched the protection and utilization of the Ancient Post Roads of Southern Yue, adhering to the principle of protection first, maintaining authenticity and integrity, and avoiding destructive construction. After nearly a decade of effort, as of now, the province has completed the restoration of 46 sections totaling more than 1,400 kilometers of key routes, repaired over 330 historical relics, and connected 18 prefecture-level cities, forming an overall pattern of "three horizontal and four vertical" corridors. Trunk routes such as the Meiguan Ancient Road, Xijing Ancient Road, and Chaohui Ancient Road have completed supporting facilities including signage systems, post station services, and ecological trails, and a network of boutique cultural tourism routes spanning the entire province has taken considerable shape.
Culture is the soul of tourism, and tourism is the carrier of culture. Walking the Ancient Post Roads of Southern Yue is like entering a museum of Lingnan civilization without walls: the stone tablet on the Meiguan Ancient Road in Shaoguan marking "one step across two provinces" records a thousand-year dialogue between the Central Plains and Lingnan; the dock ruins of Zhanglin Ancient Port in Shantou tell the story of the Maritime Silk Road, when red-headed junks sailed across the oceans. Through the model of "ancient road + ecology + culture," the ancient post roads link scattered fragments of history into a cultural tourism string of pearls, becoming a historical and cultural space that is "readable, visitable, and perceptible." The Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area proposes "jointly building a humanistic bay area," and the distinctive tourism routes created by organically integrating the ancient post road network with the resources of the three regions are injecting cultural momentum into the construction of the Greater Bay Area. Even more gratifying is that the revival of the ancient roads has driven the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas—70 percent of the villages along the routes have regained vitality through approaches such as "post road + homestay" and "post road + study tours," confirming the principle of "revitalizing villages through roads, revitalizing Guangdong through roads."
As a systematic summary and academic distillation of nearly a decade of practice, the Theoretical Research on the Ancient Post Roads of Southern Yue book series was published in March this year. Ranging from historical archaeology and settlement construction to natural ecology and cultural industries, the series systematically reviews the protection and utilization of the Ancient Post Roads of Southern Yue, distills experience in heritage discovery, value recognition, top-level design, protection and restoration, revitalization and utilization, and integrated development, providing an important methodological model for the construction of cultural heritage-themed trails and the revitalization and utilization of cultural heritage. The compilation of the series also embodies the hard work of Guangdong Province's "three divisions" (architects, planners, and engineers) professional volunteers. Over the past decade, they have trekked through mountains and fields, guiding the restoration of ancient roads, ancient bridges, and old houses, safeguarding the thousand-year-old post roads with professional expertise.
At the 2026 Beijing Culture Forum, the Theoretical Research on the Ancient Post Roads of Southern Yue book series became one of 18 achievements released in a concentrated manner, marking a new stage in which work on the Ancient Post Roads of Southern Yue has moved from practical exploration toward theoretical construction. The Ancient Post Roads of Southern Yue are a three-dimensional epitome of Lingnan history, an economic and cultural bond linking cities and countryside, and a natural and historical museum that never closes. This thousand-year cultural vein of endless and vigorous development (生生不息, sheng sheng bu xi - "birth, birth, not, cease") will, under our guardianship, continue continuing without end (绵延不绝, mian yan bu jue - "stretch, extend, not, cut off").
(Author's affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology)
Return to TopBy: 杨光明
The water of the Jialing River was muddy. Every year, once spring had passed, the snowmelt from upstream surged down carrying silt, the river surface was flecked with yellow turbid foam, and wave after wave slapped against the banks.
That year, the spring was especially cold.
In the museum of the Shaanxi Provincial Honorary Military Rehabilitation Hospital, there is an oral account left by the old Red Army veteran Zhang Kaiyin. The record mentions a boat, a wooden boat, a ferry boat that had plied the Jialing River for generations. The boat was left by Zhang Kaiyin's father. The year his father left, the boat was beached by the riverside, the smell of tung oil had dissipated, anda thin layer of green moss had grown on the boat's sides, feeling slippery to the touch. His mother said, this boat is our family's lifeline; when Yinzi grows up, he will take over the pole. But no one could have foreseen that this boat would later carry not a family's livelihood, but the fate of an entire army.
That year Zhang Kaiyin was only eighteen or nineteen, so thin that his ribs stuck out on both sides. He remembered clearly that in the middle of that night someone pounded on the door. His mother trembled with fear, crouched by the door crack to look out, and outside stood two mud-caked silhouettes, water dripping from head to toe, their trouser legs going drip-drip. In fact, this group of people had come three days earlier—a round-faced young soldier carrying half a sack of coarse rice, set it down on the stove, grinned, and left. That rice was reddish, mixed with sorghum, and the porridge made from it was thick enough to cling to the bowl.
"Auntie, lend us your boat."
His mother said nothing, her hand gripping the door frame, her fingernails turning white. Zhang Kaiyin, shuffling into his shoes, got off the kang, grabbed the straw rain cape from the corner of the wall, threw it over his shoulders, and pulled his mother outside with him. All along the way, the river wind poured into his collar, cold enough to make him shrink his neck. When they reached the riverside, his mother stopped, her hands trembling like leaves in the wind, her fingers gripping the boat rope one by one, white marks squeezed into the gaps between her fingers. Zhang Kaiyin lowered his eyelids, walked over, bent down, and pried apart his old mother's fingers, one by one. When he had pried open the third finger, his mother burst into loud sobs. His hand paused a moment, but he did not stop. He slung the boat rope over his shoulder, jumped onto the boat; the hull rocked twice, water splashed up, cold enough to make him shiver.
At the helm was an old boatman, a local man, over sixty years old, whom the Red Army had invited from a village upstream. The old boatman bellowed "Steady," swung the tiller, and the bow split through the waves. Gunfire rang out from the opposite bank. Bullets whizzed past the boatman's ears, cracking and popping against the boat's planking. After the old boatman shouted his second"Steady," a wave crashed down over their heads, and the tiller went slack in his hand.
Zhang Kaiyin lunged forward, both hands seizing the tiller, his fingernails digging entirely into the grain of the wood. The boat was spun sideways by a whirlpool, water gushing in with a roar. A Red Army soldier on board lunged over, bracing the tiller alongside him. Two men, four hands, veins bulging up one by one on their arms. Bullets were still flying. He felt the hull shudder, something soft collapsing against his back, warm liquid running down his neck. He did not turn around.
At last the bow crashed with a bang into the rocky shoal of the south bank, and everyone was thrown falling in all directions or in a disheveled manner (东倒西歪, dong dao xi wai -"east, fall; west, slant"). Zhang Kaiyin rolled off the boat, his knees scraping against the rocks, skin and flesh turning up. He lay prone on the ground gasping for breath, his mouth tasting both salty and fishy.
After that, his family's boat became a ferry boat of the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army. For 17 consecutive nights, they crossed secretly at midnight. The boat's awning was soaked blackish-red with blood and tung oil; approaching it, one could smell an iron-rust odor. On the most critical night, five Red Army soldiers shielded the helmsman with their bodies; bullets struck their backs, blood trickling down the planking.
Later, Zhang Kaiyin followed the troops. From a ferry boatman he rose to company commander, then to battalion commander. On his right leg was a scar the size of a palm, which ached to the bone when the weather was overcast or rainy. By the time he reached northern Shaanxi, he had already become a regimental commander.
As for that boat, the museum record ends here. What happened after Zhang Kaiyin left the Jialing River was supplemented in another archive. In 1941, a mountain torrent burst in Yan'an, water flooding over the bridge deck, mud rolling thick, washing the bridge pillars until they swayed. Zhang Kaiyin happened to be passing by, caught sight of a group of people standing at the other end of the bridge, unable to cross. The one at the head was tall, head bowed, examining the force of the water. Zhang Kaiyin, without a second word, jumped into the water. The current was so swift he could barely stand; the old wound on his leg, struck by the cold water, ached so badly he nearly sank to his knees. He gritted his teeth and waded across, hoisted that man onto his back, and walked back step by step. The water reached his chest, mud pouring into his mouth, choking him into repeated coughs. He delivered the man to the bank; the man patted him on the shoulder and said something, but the water was too loud—he did not hear it.
Only later did he learn that man was Chairman Mao. The inscription on the stele at Huashan Martyrs' Cemetery states clearly: Zhang Kaiyin, the old regimental commander who bravely rescued Chairman Mao during the 1941 mountain torrent in Yan'an.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, dragging his body full of wounds, he came to live at the Shaanxi Provincial Honorary Military Rehabilitation Hospital at the foot of Mount Hua. The hospital was founded in 1938 during the Yan'an period, and his name is recorded in its museum. On a late autumn afternoon, old locust tree leaves falling with a rustle, he moved a rattan chair out to sit beneath the tree, hands resting on his knees, gazing southward in a daze. Someone asked him, "Old Zhang, what are you thinking about?" He smiled, and said nothing.
At the foot of Mount Hua there was a small stream, its water murmuring, not loud, but never drying up through all four seasons. He had listened to it all his life, and always felt that sound resembled the Jialing River. It was not that the sound of the water was similar—it was that in that murmuring there was the sound of boat oars slapping the water, and the cadence of his mother calling his soul home.
In the autumn of 1950, he passed away, just as the old locust tree's leaves were falling. He was buried in Huashan Martyrs' Cemetery, his tombstone facing south.
To the south lay the Jialing River, his old mother, and that wooden boat full of holes or riddled with flaws (千疮百孔, qian chuang bai kong -"thousand, wounds; hundred, holes"). The wooden boat had long since rotted away. Old people by the riverside said that every year on the night of Qingming Festival, the sound of the waves was different from other nights.
It was the boat convoy crossing the river.
Return to TopBy: 安武林
What is a truly good book?
Standing on the playground of an elementary school, an elementary school student posed to me a question that seemed simple but was difficult to answer. Several thousand elementary school students, along with their teachers, all turned curious and puzzled gazes toward me.
My mind went "boom," and I felt sweat beginning to form on my head and my back. Although I had encountered all sorts of tricky and odd questions during the interactive segments with audiences, this was the first time I had faced this particular question. It reminded me of a question I had posed to a famous professor many years ago.
At the time I asked: "From studying Chinese language in elementary school, to majoring in Chinese in university, up to now, one question I still cannot figure out is: does 'Chinese' (yuwen) refer to language and script, or language and literature?" This elementary school student's confusion is probably the same as mine was back then, and I am now in the same position as that professor was.
We often encourage elementary school students to "read good books." So what is a good book? For an adult, the criteria for a good book are quite complex. Because he has his own thinking and judgment, he has his own understanding and evaluation standards. In addition, he has an advantage that children do not: the right to choose good books, and the right to read freely. We are facing elementary school students, who do not have much reading experience and lack discernment and judgment. So, for them, what counts as a good book?
What are the criteria for a good book? I think the least controversial are the classics and masterpieces.
In my view, good books can also be divided into a broad sense and a narrow sense. In the broad sense, any book that does not imitate, does not plagiarize, does not follow trends, and has its own insights counts as a good book. Just as reading books is always beneficial (开卷有益, kai juan you yi - "open, book, have, benefit"), every book has its own unique value. In the narrow sense, the evaluation system for good books should belong to the realm of professional fields. For example, it requires a certain level of reading competence, and even professional competence.
My understanding is that a good book in the true sense is the best among good books. Like a thousand-year-old wild ginseng, a great pearl in the sea, or gold in the sand, it is extremely precious and rare, even scarce. For some people, even in their entire lifetime, they may never get to read a book that is good in the true sense. This statement sounds a bit exaggerated, but in fact it is very easy to understand.
A truly good book, in my view, is one that can have a major impact on oneself and bring about major changes in one's life.
The example I gave the elementary school students was a novel called Island Militia Women that I read in the third grade of elementary school. In my eyes, it is a good book in the true sense; its influence on me exceeds that of any other book I have read. It was not only the first extracurricular book I read in my life, but it also opened the door to reading for me, started my reading journey, cultivated my strong interest in reading, and helped me form good reading habits, to the point that I later developed the dream of becoming a writer. The value of this book cannot be replaced by any other book. But objectively speaking, this book is a product of its era, bearing a distinct mark of the times, and artistically it is not perfect in every respect (尽善尽美, jin shan jin mei - "reach, perfection, reach, beauty").
A person's history of growth is closely related to a person's reading. In our elementary school years, we read all kinds of recommended good books. These recommended good books are not necessarily the books we like. However, through extensive and broad reading, we can find the books we truly like. From unfreedom to freedom, from society to the individual, this kind of growth and even leap in the mind and spirit leaves distinct traces in the course of reading.
Classics, masterpieces, good books, truly good books, all books — for a person who does not love reading or does not enjoy reading, they exist just the same as a stone or a blade of grass. The difference between books can only be revealed through the act of reading. Therefore, the cultivation of reading interest and the formation of reading habits outweigh the value of the books themselves.
Reading, from a certain angle, is also a double-edged sword. Being blinded by a single detail (一叶障目, yi ye zhang mu - "one, leaf, obstruct, eye") and clinging to outdated or imperfect things (抱残守缺, bao can shou que - "embrace, broken, guard, flaw") — I think these are both portrayals of reading books rigidly and reading books mechanically. And truly good books, naturally, have no connection with those who read books rigidly and read books mechanically.
Return to TopBy: 袁益民
"The bright moon divides the world into three parts, and two parts are the rogues of Yangzhou." (Xu Ning, Tang Dynasty, "Memories of Yangzhou"). Yangzhou enjoys the reputation of being the "Moon City," where the moon can be seen everywhere: Moon Bridge, Moon-Grabbing Bridge, Bright Moon Bridge, Moon-Chanting Bridge, Moon-Obtaining Bridge, Bright Moon Lake, Moon-Climbing Lake, Moon-Viewing Pavilion, Moon-Waiting Pavilion, Moon-Dwelling Garden, Moon Garden, Moon-Watching Road, Guangyue Road... "Two parts of the bright moon" has become a cultural factor etched into the very bones of this ancient city. On Guangling Road, there is a garden built during the Qing Dynasty Daoguang era called "Two Parts of the Bright Moon Pavilion," originally purchased by the Jia family salt merchants. After the descendants of the family left Yangzhou, the garden fell into disrepair over the years, with tilting walls and damaged structures. The people of Yangzhou have been constantly thinking about it, and after reporting it to the cultural relics department, it received meticulous restoration. The buildings within the garden are themed around the moon, featuring the Moon-Accompanying Pavilion, Moon-Welcoming Tower, Moon Bridge, and so on; shapes of crescents, new moons, and full moons can be seen everywhere. The moon in the sky and the moon in the garden reflect each other, making this the most intuitive display site of moon culture.
The people of the "Moon City" possess a profound moon sentiment. In 2006, the Mid-Autumn Festival was included in the first batch of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List, and Yangzhou subsequently restored the Mid-Autumn Moon-Worshipping Ceremony. People place mooncakes, water caltrops, lotus seeds, persimmons, pomegranates, Gorgon fruit, chestnuts, taro, pumpkins, apples, and "descendant lotus roots" (whole lotus roots with many sprouts) on their altars... Citizens dress in Hanfu and, under the guidance of folk experts, solemnly and devoutly burn incense, offer wine, and recite prayers. Mid-Autumn Moon-Worshipping embodies beautiful wishes for reunion, peace, health, and auspiciousness. The items used for moon-worshipping are not fixed; during harvest seasons, everything that grows underwater, in the fields, on trees, and is made at home is laid out. With the most simple and sincere affection, people express their gratitude for the prosperous age and pay their respects to the moon.
Li Dou, a person of the Qing Dynasty, said in "Record of Yangzhou Painted Pleasure Boats": "The Lotus Flower Bridge... features five pavilions, with four wings of caves below, totaling fifteen in the center and sides. When the moon is full, each cave holds a moon, with golden light shimmering." Among the 15 bridge arches, every single one holds a moon. Every Mid-Autumn Festival, local citizens and tourists from all over flock to Slender West Lake to catch a glimpse of the wonder of "each cave holding a moon" and to appreciate the craftsmanship that is man-made but appearing as if naturally formed (虽由人作，宛自天开, sui you ren zuo, wan zi tian kai - "although, by, person, make; as if, from, heaven, open").
"Raising one's head to gaze at the bright moon" is normally an ordinary matter, but in the city, moon-gazing is not easy; buildings arranged in neat, dense rows (鳞次栉比, lin ci zhi bi - "scale, order, comb, teeth") of high-rises block the view. In most cases, only when the moon has moved directly overhead can people catch a glimpse of its "countenance." How can the city's visual space be protected? Planners and builders adopted an old-fashioned but effective method: releasing balloons. Wherever a building is being constructed, balloons are released into the sky at a certain location, and specialists are sent to observe them from Slender West Lake. If the balloon is seen, then that building cannot be built any higher. By strictly controlling the skyline, moon-gazing in Yangzhou becomes less difficult. On a night of a full moon, no matter where one stands, raising one's head reveals a full moon—so large, so near, magnificent, complete, elegant, and quiet, harboring the charm of all growing things.
"The spring river tide connects to the sea, and the bright moon rises with the tide from the sea." Zhang Ruoxu, one of the "Four Scholars of Wuzhong" of the early Tang Dynasty, was a native of Yangzhou, whose poem "A Moonlit Night on the Spring River" stands as a single, peerless literary masterpiece (孤篇横绝, gu pian heng jue - "solitary, piece, traverse, cut"). There are differing accounts of where Zhang Ruoxu observed the moon; there are two mainstream views: one is Guazhou Town in Hanjiang District, and the other is Daqiao Town in Jiangdu District. Unlike those who "compete" with various places over the attribution of famous people or famous works, Guazhou and Daqiao each possess their own unique methods and staggered creativity. Guazhou Town has built the "Spring River Moonlit Night Art Museum," which uses modern audiovisual technology to present the charming scenes and rich connotations of spring, river, flowers, moon, and night. Daqiao Town has built the "Ruoxu Culture and Art Center," which displays exquisite works of art and provides experiences with the guzheng and guqin, deeply cultivating the local cultural soil. Guazhou Town and Daqiao Town closely follow "A Moonlit Night on the Spring River"; one excels at "preserving the image" while the other excels at "preserving the roots," appreciating individual beauties and sharing them together (各美其美，美美与共, ge mei qi mei, mei mei yu gong - "each, beautiful, its, beauty; beauty, beauty, with, share"), working together to enrich, promote, and expand the beauty of Yangzhou's moon.
Return to TopThe Chinese painting Scenery Beyond the Great Wall (三边塞上风光), by Fang Jizhong, is in the collection of the National Art Museum of China.
Return to TopBy: 黄俊涛
The wind unfurls the red flag, then lets it slacken
Like a hand that opens, then clenches
Testing the thickness of the sky
The people on Tiananmen Square
Surge in from all directions (四面八方, si mian ba fang - "four, sides, eight, directions")
The soles of their shoes carry soil from different cities
A child rides on his father's shoulders
And sees the five-starred red flag higher up
Facing the morning sun, quietly spreading its wings
When the national anthem sounds
We stop in our tracks
We keep moving forward
The shadow of the flagpole stretches across the ground
Gently stitching together
The scattered crowd
The Boundary Marker
The boundary marker stands in the snow
Half buried, half exposed
Like a person standing here
Who has stood for a very long time
A patrolman approaches from afar
His footprints are quickly filled in by the wind
He does not stop
He wipes the characters on the marker with his sleeve
When he finishes wiping, he moves on
The national flag is rolled up on his backpack, not unfurled
Red seeps out from the edge of the canvas
A small clump of blazing fire
The snow falls on it and melts
The snow itself does not know why
Return to TopBy: 汪 泉
The bluestone pavement of the lanes and alleys in Huangyao, Guangxi, is low-key and quiet.
The bluestone slabs are not blue but jet-black; in ancient times this was called "black-blue," and so it remains today.
On a late-summer morning, I walked through the lanes and alleys. The stone slabs beneath my feet were as warm and moist as ink jade; sunlight fell directly on the stone-paved road, and one seemed to walk along an ancient bamboo slip covered in ink marks. Here, I thought of a general who wore a bronze mask—Di Qing of the Song Dynasty—whose face shimmered with the stern gleam of metal and the glint of blades. According to the "Biography of Di Qing" in the History of the Song, when he fought in battle he "faced the enemy with hair unbound, wearing a bronze mask, charging in and out among the rebels—unstoppable in battle (披靡莫敢当, pi mi mo gan dang - "collapse, not dare resist")".
According to tradition, Di Qing once led troops to recover Zhaozhou, and as they passed through the Huangyao area, they found the place nameless, which was unfavorable for military operations, so they combined the local surnames Huang and Yao into a place name, naming it "Huangyao." Later, officials and commoners laid out the lanes and alleys according to the formation of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, paved roads and built bridges with bluestone slabs, and gradually opened one gate after another: Yong'an Gate, Xin'an Gate, Shengping Gate, Jielong Gate, Sanxing Gate, Huangyao East Gate—many of various kinds (不一而足, bu yi er zu - "not one,and sufficient")". With gates open to receive light, business had wide-ranging connections or extensive trade reach (通江达海, tong jiang da hai - "connect, river, reach, sea")"; with gates closed to light lamps, books possessed profound knowledge of both the past and the present (博古通今, bo gu tong jin - "extensive, ancient, understand, present")".
From then on, Huangyao was lit up, business gradually prospered, and literary fortune gradually flourished. According to records, during the Qing Dynasty, this tiny village produced a total of 11 provincial graduates (juren) and 7 metropolitan graduates (jinshi).. Huangyao has a delicacy called "Provincial Graduate's Trotter," which is clear proof of this.
Huangyao's luster also lies in the three rivers that have flowed since time immemorial. Yaojiang is the main river of Huangyao, originating from Wujianchong, Jietang Village, Gongqiao Township, Zhaoping County, Guangxi, entering the ancient town's old streets at the foot of Zhenwu Mountain, and finally joining Zhaoxian River, the upper reaches of Fuqun River. Dailong Bridge spans Yaojiang, and the local Mid-Yuan Festival pomelo-lantern festival is held on the waters of Yaojiang. There is also Xiao Zhujiang, which enters the ancient town from Xigong Bridge, flows past Sanxing Gate and Baozhu Mountain, and finally joins Yaojiang at Longmen Pool. In addition, Xingning River emerges from a stone cave in Longtang Village, flows past the Immortal's Ancient Well, and finally joins Yaojiang near Hulong Bridge.
Stepping into a ceramics shop, the owner was skilled at business, having the Hundred Family Surnames engraved on the cups for sale, which greatly won customers' favor. At the tea table sat a gentleman surnamed Gu, who was talkative, saying that their ancestors had moved here during the Qing Dynasty from today's Heshan, Jiangmen, Guangdong. I asked whether they came from Gulao Water Town, and he said exactly so—the Gu and Lao families here both came from Gulao, Heshan. When their ancestors first arrived in Huangyao, they had no place to settle in the busiest old commercial district, so they had to temporarily lodge in the relatively remote Yingxiu Street. But business was still best on the old street; their forebears, moved by the old street's black-blue stone-paved road, gathered their clansmen and used bluestone slabs to repair roads and build bridges, intending to draw the old street's foot traffic over—in reality, paving the way for themselves. Without a road, no one comes; with no one coming, how can there be business? Once the newly built roads and bridges were open, foot traffic indeed came in considerable numbers, business gradually began to improve, the bluestone slabs also developed a mellow patina, and the foot traffic even surpassed that of the old street.
The bluestone slabs have been worn jet-black, with a warm, moist luster. On rainy days the stone road surface shines; raindrops strike the stone slabs, patter-patter, full of poetic charm, and rainwater flows away through the gaps between the slabs, without wetting one's shoes. On clear days the road surface shines even more; on overcast days it also shines, and even in the dark night, as long as a tiny bit of light is cast over, the bluestone beneath one's feet has luster. I stayed at a homestay, located exactly between Sanxing Tower and Yingxiu Street—the nameless little alley was dim and cramped, but with lanterns hung high, they could reflect light onto the bluestone road surface. The little alley was very quiet—one could hear the sound of cats leaping across the rooftops.
In Huangyao, newly paved bluestone roads are still extending.
Return to TopBy: 高 方
In late summer and early autumn, the mud walls of every farmhouse in the Yimeng mountain area are covered with climbing gourd vines. When they bloom, the flowers are a bright, vivid orange-yellow, as large as a rice bowl, tilting their heads up toward the sky.
At this time of year, Grandma's dining table would always have an extra plate of fried gourd blossoms. She would pick the flowers that were about to open, and while mixing batter in a coarse porcelain bowl, she would toss corncobs into the earthen stove; the flames licked the bottom of the wok, and the oil inside gradually gave rise to fine, dense bubbles. The blossoms, dragging their batter, slid into the bottom of the wok; the petals instantly set their shape in the roiling oil, their edges rimmed with a band of gold. Grandma's deft hands and the autumn wind of our hometown, working together, brought forth this delicacy of the world.
The blossoms were merely the overture; what followed was the gourd's grand debut on the dining table, occupying the stomach for the entire autumn. Its seeds could be dry-roasted into melon seeds; its flesh could be steamed, or cut into fine dice and simmered with porridge, or stir-fried. You might find it hard to imagine that a sweet, clear gourd, meeting salt and oil, could actually strike up a savory, umami, palate-pleasing flavor. Stir-fried together with the equally abundant long beans of autumn, needing not a trace of meat or fish, it becomes a fresh, fragrant dish that sends rice down.
When used as filling, the gourd has even more of a place where one can display their talent or skills (有用武之地, you you wu zhi di - "have, use, martial, place"), for steamed buns, dumplings, hebing griddle cakes, and the like all pair well with it. Father loved eating dumplings the most; he warmed his wine not with hot water, but with dumplings. With his chopsticks he would clear a small opening among a plate of dumplings, set his pewter wine flask into it, and before long the warmth of the dumplings would seep, thread by thread, into the wine.
The gourd and the pumpkin belong to the same family but different genera. In an era of material scarcity, the gourd was high-yielding, easy to store, and endlessly versatile — it was, beyond any doubt, the deserving of the title or reputation without doubt (当之无愧, dang zhi wu kui - "be, deserve, no, shame") golden-autumn leading role on the farmhouse table. When I was young, I was frail, and my parents sent me to stay with Grandma in the countryside. After eating a full autumn of gourd meals, I day by day grew rosy and sturdy. Also fattening up alongside me was Grandma's little native dog, which, after a full autumn of gourd porridge meals, had turned from a scrawny frame into a round, barrel-shaped body, its belly nearly dragging along the ground.
The gourd has tenacious vitality; as long as you scatter the seeds, with no need for painstaking care, it will grow vigorously and boldly, its flowering and fruiting period stretching continuously from July all the way to November. Plant one or two vines in the courtyard, and that is enough to feed one household for a long autumn. Grandma's house had two gourd vines, planted beneath the courtyard wall. The tender vines could wind their arduous way a dozen or more meters, climbing all the way up to the rooftop. Grandpa would set the wooden ladder against the eaves, climb upward step by slow step, and standing on the ladder, size up the gourds for a good long while, not knowing which one to pick first. Grandma, steadying the ladder below, grew so anxious that she shouted at the top of her voice: "Hurry up! I still have to go feed the chickens, the rabbits, and the sheep."
When I was little, I often did not understand: why must the gourd climb high? Perhaps they like to proclaim triumphantly into the wind: Look, this vast sky — it is all my stage!
Later, I left the little village, going into the city to study and work. Grandfather and Grandma passed away one after another, and that little courtyard of curling cooking smoke and winding gourd vines gradually sank to the bottom of memory's river. The city's farmers' markets offer abundant ingredients in all four seasons; even rare southern vegetables can fly north overnight. A fruit as ordinary and cheap as the gourd was hardly worth the vegetable vendors' trouble of long-distance hauling, and so it quietly vanished from the city's flowing vegetable baskets.
I saw the gourd again one late autumn, deep into the season. I returned to the little village courtyard where Father had lived alone before his death, and found that the carefully cultivated flowers and plants, left untended for two months, had for the most part withered and faded away (枯萎凋零, ku wei diao ling - "wither, fade; wither, fall"). Only one gourd vine by the corner of the wall grew on, minding its own business, its deep-green and orange-yellow gourds hidden among the green leaves, displaying a kind of almost arrogant, full-bodied vitality. This was hardly just a vine of gourds — it was plainly a gift left to me by the land that my loved ones had once caressed with their hands. That day, the trunk of our car was stuffed full of gourds picked from our old home. Back in the city, we shared them out among many friends, and thus their dining tables gained the clear sweetness of this autumn gourd.
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