The world's most advanced and China's first domestically developed ocean drilling vessel will commence its maiden voyage on Friday in South China's Guangdong Province, which marks an important step in China's deep-sea exploration capability, China Geological Survey said on Monday.

The vessel, which was developed by China Geological Survey and more than 150 research institutes and companies, was officially named "Mengxiang (Dream)" on Monday. 

Weighing about 33,000 tons, the ship can travel 15,000 nautical miles and operate for 120 days without returning to ports, CCTV News reported. It has the capability of operating in unlimited navigational areas worldwide and the ability to drill as deep as 11,000 meters in the sea.

Possessing deepest drilling depth in the world, the ship has the world's largest shipboard laboratory with more than 3,000 square meters, including nine major laboratories covering marine science, microbiology, and paleomagnetism. It integrates key technologies such as digital twinning to achieve comprehensive monitoring of drilling and mining operations and intelligent collaboration in scientific experiments.

Currently undergoing preparations at the dock in Nansha district of the city of Guangzhou, "Mengxiang" will set sail on Friday to complete its first trial voyage mission according to an official schedule. With construction beginning on November 30 2021, it is expected to be fully completed in 2024.

After completion, the ship will provide equipment support for the industrialization of natural gas hydrate exploration and exploitation, further enhancing China's energy self-sufficiency capability, according to officials from China Geological Survey.

The world's elite track and field competition is returning to China.

Xiamen, Southeast China's Fujian Province, will host a meeting of the 2023 World Athletics Diamond League on September 2, which will mark the world premier one-day athletics series' return to China for the first time in four years, according to a press conference held on Wednesday in Beijing.

The meeting, which will take place at Xiamen's newly built Egret Stadium, will be the only Diamond League event in China in 2023. Athletes will compete in 13 disciplines, with the men's 110m hurdle scheduled to be the finale of the day's competition.

Feng Bin, the women's discus gold medalist at the 2022 World's Athletics Championships, and Zhu Yaming, the silver medalist for the men's triple jump at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, are among the Chinese athletes who will participate in the Xiamen event.  

Starting from 2023, Xiamen will host the Diamond League for the next 10 years in a row, according to the press conference.

Inaugurated in 2010, the Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising 14 invitational athletics meetings across the world. The 14th edition of the Diamond League began on May 5 in Doha, Qatar. This year's Diamond League Final will take place in Eugene, the US in September.

Chinese tennis players got off to a strong start at the ongoing Hangzhou Asian Games as four participants in the women's and men's singles progressed to the third round on Monday. 

There are five golds on offer in the tennis events at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre, attracting 11 Chinese athletes to participate. The winners of the two singles events will qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. 

In the women's singles, top seed Zheng Qinwen breezed past Maralgoo Chogsomjav of Mongolia with a 6-0, 6-0 clean sweep. 

Earlier, second seed Zhu Lin also marched to the third round with a straight-sets victory over Ushna Suhail of Pakistan.Zheng, who made it to the US Open quarterfinal in September, and Zhu were tipped to continue China's grip on the women's singles title since the 2006 Doha Asian Games in Qatar. However, resting only three hours after the singles match, Zheng and Zhu suffered a 6-7, 3-6 defeat to Momoko Kobori and Ayano Shimizu of Japan in the first round of the women's doubles.

In Zhu's third match of the day, she and Buyunchaokete eased past Shakhnoza Marimova and Amir Milushev of Uzbekistan 6-0, 6-0 in the mixed doubles in 43 minutes.

Liu Yu, a Beijing-based sports commentator, told the Global Times that China has fielded its strongest team for this Asian Games and the top two singles players in the men's and women's singles will fight for a spot at the Paris Olympic Games. 

"Chinese players are a favorite to win the women's singles title. But playing on the home court, our players will be under enormous pressure. It's important for them to forget their world rankings, stay composed and take it one game at a time," she said.

As the women's doubles champion in 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, Yang Zhaoxuan will team up with new partner Wang Xinyu to have a crack in the women's doubles this year.

Liu Feng, head coach of the Chinese national women's tennis team, said forging the new partnership is a bold attempt to prepare for the Paris Olympic Games. 

"We want to try and find the best partners for the Paris Games. Wang is skilled in serving and baseline rallies, while Yang is good at attacking the net. The Asian Games is like a trial run for this new pair," said the coach. 

In the men's singles, Zhang Zhizhen coasted to a 7-5, 6-2 win over Faleh Alhogbani of Saudi Arabia. 

Wu Yibing, who won the men's singles silver medal in the Jakarta Games, edged past Justin Barki of Indonesia 7-5, 6-1. The Hangzhou native has set his sights on becoming the first man from the Chinese mainland to win the singles title since the 1990 Beijing Asian Games.

Meanwhile in the men's doubles, Zhang and Wu reached the men's doubles quarterfinals after overpowering Mashari Naif and Mubarak Alharrasi of Qatar 6-3, 6-4. The Chinese duo seeks to become the first pair from the Chinese mainland to claim the men's doubles title since China's last triumph in 1990. 

In addition to the men's singles and doubles, Zhang, who reached the third round at this year's French Open and US Open, also competes in the mixed doubles with Yang.

China won two golds and two silvers in tennis events at the Jakarta Games in 2018. 

At the recent 2023 Dalian International Marathon that was recently held in Dalian Northeast China's Liaoning Province, an atypical yet dangerous scene took place when a random pickup truck accidentally ran onto the competition's racetrack.

While no one was physically hurt, the accident had major repercussions for veteran Chinese marathon athlete Yin Shunjin. The pickup truck drove uncontrollably onto the track and blocked Yin's way just as the athlete was heading toward the finish line. 

Yin managed to beat his best personal record despite the accident, finishing with a time of 2 hours and 11 minutes and 50 seconds. Although he did not manage to win the championship, his record was merely 30 seconds behind the competition's gold medal winner. 

Taking into consideration the fact that Yin had to go an "extra mile" to avoid the truck, Xiao Bingxin, a sports expert in Shanghai, told the Global Times that the accident may lead to "a re-evaluation of Yin's record and performance." 

The organizing committee of the current Dalian International Marathon quickly made a public announcement following the incident. It revealed that an investigation found that the accident was caused by the vehicle's driver. The organizing committee also apologized to the runners and guaranteed it would work to prevent similar accidents in the future. 

Following the organizing committee's announcement, a representative of the Chinese Athletics Association (CAA), also said that the CAA noticed the incident and has organized meetings aimed at "finding solutions for the accident." 

"The final resolution to the incident will be announced through the official platform of the CAA. The competition's organizing committee will also provide related information to the public," the CAA member said. 

Having its first game organized in 1987, the Dalian International Marathon is one of the most mature marathons in China. The 2023 session has attracted athletes from 25 countries and regions around the world, including Russia, Belgium and Australia. The competition embraces runners of a wide age range, with the oldest competitor 78 years old and the youngest runner just 6 years old. 

Chinese competitor Yin Shunjin is 38 years old. He has won multiple championships at marathons, including the marathon competition at the Jiayuguan Great Wall that was held merely two weeks before the Dalian competition.  

The incident has also sparked criticism from netizens concerning the "professionalism" of the marathon organizers. 

On China's X-like Sina Weibo, some netizens expressed their concern for the runners' safety and more people have said that they 'felt sorry for Yin.'

"The whole thing wasn't a mere accident; it speaks a lot about how professionalism and a good attitude are critical to sports competitions. Athlete don't get a second chance," a netizen posted on Sina Weibo. 

There is a saying that a history of Zhejiang's literature is half a history of Chinese literature.

In Beijing's National Museum of Modern Chinese Literature (NMMCL), the permanent exhibition about the contemporary Chinese literature is dominated by writers and works from East China's Zhejiang Province.

Now Zhejiang has its own venue to showcase its profuse literary resources.

On September 25, 2023, two important events in the history of Chinese literature were celebrated: the birthday of Lu Xun, a 20th century literary giant from Shaoxing, Zhejiang, and the establishment of Zhejiang Literary Center (ZLC) in Hangzhou. It was the 142nd anniversary of Lu Xun's birthday. 

Opening to the public in late October, ZLC is the second largest literature museum in China with a total of nine exhibition halls, only surpassed by the capital's NMMCL.

As a new landmark of Zhejiang, the museum is the brainchild of generations of people in Zhejiang's literary sector as it carries the responsibility of cultural inheritance and promotion of Zhejiang literature, whose writers takes up over 60 percent of the exhibitions at the NMMCL.

More importantly, the museum is designed to meet the public's needs for literature. Its big data platform and use of digital technologies brought classic literature scenes to life and added new dimensions to literature appreciation. 

Cheng Shiqing, curator of ZLC, told the Global Times that the museum is committed to creating a year-round literature-sharing platform that caters to individuals of all ages.

"We will try to host themed lectures every week and curate featured exhibitions every quarter of the year to foster a love for literature among the public, and deepen their understanding and appreciation of the literary world," said Cheng. 

On the one hand, the museum will bring together excellent literary resources from home and abroad. On the other hand, it will promote more outstanding Zhejiang writers to the national and international stage. These are the two missions of the museum. 

In a bid to bring the development of literature to a new height, the museum is on course to build three research centers, one dedicated to Chinese literature big data, one to contemporary children's literature research, and one to China's international collaborative translation.

"The translation center is dedicated to promoting exchanges with foreign writers and we welcome foreign counterparts to Hangzhou to experience the rich history of Chinese literature," Cheng said.  

Three-dimensional exhibits

In addition to the conventional way of displaying exhibits, one of the highlights of the museum is to present classic scenes of literary works by means of digital technology, giving readers an immersive experience into the process of creation.

Having refined 129 photos from Lu Xun's life, the modern literature hall of the museum pulled together a dynamic view of the literary giant's journey in writing.

A towering 14-meter-high space is meticulously designed to connect the four distinct landscapes of Zhejiang with their corresponding poems and poets. This provides visitors with a poetic perspective of how the region's breathtaking natural beauty inspired a series of classic rhymes. 

Paintings in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) were used as symbols to show the boldness and gracefulness of the poems written in that period.

Scenes from some classic works such as Lu Xun's Hometown, Mao Dun's Spring Silkworms, and Dai Wangshu's Alley in the Rain, were reproduced and presented at the museum.

"Leveraging the massive amount of data, we have applied digital technology in presenting a Chinese literary geography and various informational graphs. The smart devices added a new dimension to the conventional exhibits," said Cheng.

"Taking a big step in the application of digital innovations, we are trailblazers in digitizing Chinese literature. We hope to set an example for the industry," the curator said. 

Interactive space

Since its official opening on October 28, the museum has received about 3,000 daily reservations, and some well-designed events and exhibitions have drawn floods of visitors on weekends. 

One of the most popular exhibitions pays tribute to Louis Cha (Cha Leung-yung), also known as Jin Yong, another literary legend from Zhejiang. 

The show is dedicated to commemorating Jin's 100th birthday in 2024. Born in Haining in 1924, Jin was regarded as one of the greatest and most popular martial arts writers.

Xu Jing, an official with ZLC's publicity department, told the Global Times that the exhibition sheds light on Jin's life and works, and it's also the first time that some manuscripts of the writer has been presented to the public.

Swords, bows and arrows, which are featured in Jin's novel, were replicated and installed in the hall to give visitors an interactive experience of Jin's "martial arts world," and a digital reading space was set up to allow people to read or listen to his novels. 

Various versions of Jin's novels are on display, including the earliest versions originally serialized in newspapers, which were widely circulated in the Chinese mainland, as well as abroad through versions in English, French and Japanese.

Younger readers have been captivated by a space dedicated to children's literature. 

"We wish to make the children's literature space into a parenting space, where adults and children can interact and develop a love for reading and writing. It will also evoke adult readers' childhood memories," said Cheng. 

"We want to have relics find their home in our museum. Most importantly, we want literature lovers to find their home in the museum," Cheng said. 

Three scientists, Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L'Huillier, won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics "for experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in matter," the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced Tuesday.

South Africa's mining production, one of the country's pillar industries, decreased by 2.5 percent year on year in August, with diamonds, manganese ore and other metallic minerals being the main contributors, data have shown.

In August, the production of diamonds dropped by 54.6 percent, becoming the largest negative contributor to the country's mining sector, while the production of manganese ore and other metallic minerals went down 7.9 percent and 17.6 percent in August, respectively, according to data released by Statistics South Africa Thursday.

In the three months ended August, seasonally adjusted mining production in South Africa decreased by 2 percent compared with the previous three months, with the largest negative contributors being gold, coal and manganese ore.

Gold production went down 6.5 percent in the three months ended August, and the production of coal and manganese ore dropped by 2.8 percent and 6 percent, respectively, Statistics South Africa said.

"We are disappointed that Japan still wants to go ahead and dump the nuclear polluted water into the Pacific, because we are not convinced by the scientific reports that it will be safe for marine life, or for communities who are going to be affected," former prime minister of Papua New Guinea Peter O'Neill told the Global Times in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.

He told the Global Times that efforts will continue to ask international agencies including the United Nations to attend to the concerns of people in the Pacific region.

On July 4, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and announced the final safety review report for the release of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The report stated that Japan's plan for dumping the nuclear-contaminated wastewater "meets safety standards," but it also emphasizes that the report cannot serve as the standard for Japan's approval of the policy.

Japan's plan to dump the nuclear-contaminated wastewater has been met with strong protests and concerns from the international community since it was first proposed in 2021. According to the plan, Japan intends to discharge 1.3 million tons of treated nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean over the next 30 to 40 years.

In addition to neighboring countries such as China and South Korea, many Pacific island nations, which are ecologically vulnerable and heavily reliant on ocean fisheries, are also affected. Earlier this year, the Pacific Island Forum collectively opposed Japan's plan to dump the nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the ocean and sent a delegation to Japan for talks on the issue.

O'Neill was talking to the Global Times after attending an event organized by the think tank Center for China and Globalization (CCG). He said Japan owes it to the international community and to the Pacific to take the issue seriously, adding that they should not dump the nuclear-contaminated wastewater and should find other ways of trying to treat the water or to manage the problem.

He stressed that it isn't the Pacific that started the problem of the nuclear-contaminated wastewater in Japan.

"It is their own issue and they need to manage it better. Many countries in the Pacific are very disappointed. They do not support Japan in doing this," he said.

"We all know from experience that for nuclear waste of any form, it takes time, it takes years, it takes decades [to resolve]. It's not resolved in a few years. Over time you will still have the presence of nuclear content within the waste that has been disposed of," he said.

As Japan continues with its plan despite the protests from Pacific Island countries, O'Neill told the Global Times that they will raise their questions to international organizations including the UN.

"Is this water safe? Will this water affect marine life? Is this water not going to affect individuals who have to drink water in the Pacific? These are questions that need to be answered," he said.

On the IAEA's release of a comprehensive report on the dumping of nuclear-contaminated wastewater at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday that the report "failed to fully reflect views from experts that participated in the review." Also, "the conclusion was not shared by all experts. The Chinese side regrets the hasty release of the report," the spokesperson said.

"We believe that the IAEA report should not be a 'shield' or 'greenlight' for Japan's discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean. Due to its limited mandate, the IAEA failed to review the justification and legitimacy of Japan's ocean discharge plan, assess the long-term effectiveness of Japan's purification facility and corroborate the authenticity and accuracy of Japan's nuclear-contaminated water data. Therefore, the conclusion is largely limited and incomplete. We noted that Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi stated that the IAEA conducted the review at the request of the Japanese government and the report is neither a recommendation nor an endorsement of Japan's ocean discharge policy," said the spokesperson.

The UAE Ambassador to China Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi met with the Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wang Zhigang, on July 19, to discuss strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the fields of science, technological development and innovation.
The ambassador gave a positive evaluation of the effectiveness of China-Arab cooperation in science and technology. He affirmed his willingness to work together with the Chinese side to further deepen cooperation in the field of science and technology innovation.

Wang said that China and the UAE have a long history of relations and technical that are constantly being strengthened. 

During Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the UAE in 2018, the two countries announced the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership, which opened a new chapter in China-Arab relations.

Wang said that scientific and technological progress is the key driving force of human progress, noting that China-Arab scientific and technological cooperation benefits both countries and peoples, and he is willing to work together with the UAE Ambassador to continue to deepen China-Arab scientific and technological innovation cooperation.

After enduring a bumpy 3.5-hour-long highway ride and a bout of traffic congestion, we finally arrived in Indonesian famous tourism city Bandung by car, which was only 130 kilometers from the capital Jakarta, during a fieldtrip to the Tegalluar Station, the last point on the Jakarta-Bandung HSR in July. 

Locals told us that the same journey sometimes takes up to six or seven hours during peak commuting hours, and the rainy weather only makes matters worse. 

Compared with the hustle and bustle of Jakarta, Bandung, nestled in the mountains, is calm, humid, and has an abundance of fresh air, making it a very popular weekend escape for Jakartans. 

Taking a trial ride on the train to Bandung was fairly a pleasant experience. On the trial run, and at a speed of approximately 180km/h, one could effortlessly balance a coin on its edge on the windowsill of the carriage without it falling, thanks to its smooth operation, which is also almost entirely silent. 

We learned that the train is equipped with intelligent sensor technology and a seismic monitoring and warning system. With over 2,500 detection points throughout the train, all critical systems can be monitored in real time. 

Facilities for those living with disabilities and an SOS call button, braille guide signs, and vending machines are easily found in the train's carriages. 

The train's design has also incorporated amenities that cater to local Indonesian customs such as a temporary prayer room. The train, both in its exterior and interior design, showcases a rich and distinctive representation of Indonesian local symbols and elements.

The HSR includes four stops - Halim, Karawang, Padalarang, and Tegalluar. Halim is the inaugural station located in the capital of Jakarta, and Tegalluar sits in Bandung. The other two stations are located near Indonesia's industrial bases, home to a number of foreign enterprises and industrial parks. 

During a visit, we were captivated by the modern and grand atmosphere of the Tegalluar Station. 

The overall design incorporates fluid curves to channel the elements of mountains and water, symbolizing Indonesia's emphasis on harmonizing development with nature. 

The extensive glass curtain walls reflect the boundless green fields and mountains in the distance, creating a soothing and pleasant ambiance. 

The waiting area at the station includes space for commercial shops and restaurants. The station is equipped with both manned ticket offices and unmanned ticket machines, mirroring the basic configuration of high-speed railway stations in China. 

With a building area of 15,000 square meters, the Tegalluar Station features two platforms and 4-5 railway lines, accommodating up to 1,500 passengers simultaneously, with a peak hourly capacity of 3,200 people. Departing from the station, travelers can easily access the renowned attractions of Bandung, such as the Asian-African Conference Museum and the Bandung Zoo.

During the visit to Tegalluar Station, local residents and employees would occasionally greet us with enthusiastic smiles and thumbs-ups, seemingly expressing their expectations for the railway project and their dreams for a new transportation dawn.