Residents dance to welcome visitors to Awat Township of Korla City in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on April 10.
　　Located on the northern edge of the Taklimakan Desert， Korla is dubbed as the City of Pears. Its pear flower season attracts tourists from across the country. Visitors can also enjoy local cultural activities， produce and folk customs.

Salt Harvest

　　A view of a salt stack in the Changlu Hangu salt fields in Tianjin Municipality on April 13. Spring harvest season has recently started and is expected to last until mid-May.

Natural Gas Pipeline

　　China commenced the construction of its first natural gas pipeline bound for the Xiongan New Area on April 13， according to the China Oil & Gas Piping Network Corporation.
　　Running a total length of 413.5 km， the pipeline begins in Tianjin Municipality and stretches all the way to neighboring Hebei Province， where the new area is located， the company said.
　　Designed to have an annual transmission capacity of 6.6 billion cubic meters， the pipeline will require a total investment of 8.6 billion yuan （$1.31 billion）.
　　China announced its plan to establish the Xiongan New Area on April 1， 2017， aiming to relieve Beijing of functions non-essential to its role as national capital and to advance the coordinated development of the Beijing-TianjinHebei region.

New Energy

　　An offshore wind power project with an installed capacity of 400，000 kW started operations on April 12 in the Yangtze River Delta region in east China， an economic powerhouse of the country.
　　The project in Yancheng City， Jiangsu Province， has brought the city’s total installed capacity of new energy power generation to 10.04 million kW， making Yancheng the first city in the region to possess an installed new energy power generation capacity exceeding 10 million kW.
　　The Yangtze River Delta is one of the country’s most economically active regions and produces about one-fourth of the national GDP. Power consumption in the region has been long dependent on transmission from other areas because of its limited power resources.
　　The development of offshore wind power projects will greatly increase the proportion of new energy power consumption in the region and help China attain its carbon emission targets， according to Yan Huaidong， General Manager of State Grid Yancheng Power Supply Company. 　　At the end of 2020， the total installed capacity of new energy power generation in Jiangsu Province surged to 34.96 million kW， up 369.9 percent from the end of 2015.

Sports Competition

　　China is integrating technologies of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System （BDS） into youth sports to inspire the sporting and scientific spirit of the younger generations， Xinhua News Agency reported on April 12.
　　The newly launched BeiDou Cup China Youth Sports Competition targets developing a new model of nationwide youth sports event empowered by BeiDou technologies， according to the organizer.
　　The competition is an innovative move to enhance people’s physical fitness and scientific literacy， also in the meantime furthering the popularization of science as part of the upcoming 12th China Satellite Navigation Conference in 2021 （CSNC2021）， Yang Jian， Vice Director of the China Satellite Navigation Office， said.
　　“It is expected to integrate BeiDou technologies and sports， as well as boost the potential of the innovative development of both sectors，” Yang said.
　　All three competition rounds are designed to highlight the BDS and related technologies， including a science camp， smart running and orienteering. Thus， the positioning， navigation， timing and other functions of the BDS will merge with the world of sports.
　　The final of the CSNC2021 will take place on May 23 in Nanchang， Jiangxi Province. The CSNC2021 will focus on the most recent technological and industrial application achievements of the BDS and development trends of global navigation satellite systems.
　　China officially commissioned the BDS on July 31， 2020， opening the new BDS-3 system to global users.

Fish Reappearing

　　It had been almost one decade since Wang Shengbian， an aquatic animal specialist， last saw an ochetobius elongatus in Poyang Lake， China’s largest freshwater lake.
　　The fish， about 23 cm long and weighing 47.4 grams， was spotted during a routine check.
　　Ochetobius elongatus used to be a common fish species in the Yangtze River basin. However， due to environmental destruction， overfishing and human disturbance， the fish stock has reduced rapidly. It has become a critically endangered species.
　　On January 1， 2020， a 10-year fishing ban took effect in the pivotal waters of the Yangtze， after 332 conservation areas along the river enforced the fishing ban a year ago， to help the river recover from dwindling aquatic resources and degrading biodiversity. 　　“Ochetobius elongatus is back just one year after the fishing ban was implemented， which means it’s really worked，”said Zhan Shupin， a professional with the department of agriculture and rural affairs in Jiangxi Province.
　　In June last year， scientists also saw a school of over 100 ribbonfish， the first time in nearly a decade that such a large population of the species had been identified.

Unique Library

　　People reading at the Wormhole Library in the Haikou Bay in Haikou， capital city of Hainan Province on April 13. The Wormhole Library， designed as a landmark building in the Haikou Bay area， opened to the public on April 13.

Vocational Education

　　China is home to 30.88 million students currently acquiring skills across 11，300 vocational education institutions， according to statistics from the Ministry of Education.
　　The ministry has approved 27 institutions offering vocational education at the undergraduate level since 2019 when the State Council released a plan to reform the vocational education system.
　　Among the 1，349 majors listed in a new catalog of vocational majors released by the ministry this year， 247 are undergraduate majors， it added.
　　The ministry has been working to promote the fair treatment of students receiving vocational education， ensuring they enjoy opportunities equal to those available to students of regular schools in terms of enrollment， employment and job promotions.

Rural Tourism

　　A villager arranges the traditional costumes of the Miao ethnic group in Huawu Village， Qianxi County of Bijie City， Guizhou Province， on April 13. With its beautiful natural scenery and distinctive ethnic features， Huawu Village has seen a continuous boom in tourism since this year’s Spring Festival.

Ramadan

　　Muslims in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region began observing Ramadan on April 13 under anti-COVID-19 measures.
　　Approximately 300 Muslims visited the Ak Mosque in the regional capital of Urumqi， said the mosque’s Imam Abduxukur Rahmutula on April 13， noting that the mosque is disinfected three times each day.
　　Attendees have their body temperatures taken before entering the mosque and are advised to maintain social distance， according to the mosque. 　　Fruits， hot tea and naan are provided after the evening prayer， said Mamatimin Rexit， Imam of a mosque in the city of Kashgar.
　　Ramadan is also observed in other regions of China such as Beijing， Gansu Province and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Smart Manufacturing

　　Large manufacturing firms with an annual business turnover of at least 20 million yuan （$3.06 million） will have all introduced digitalization by 2035， according to a draft on intelligent manufacturing development issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology （MIIT） for public feedback on April 14.
　　By 2025， these firms will basically have achieved digitalization， while leading firms in key industries will basically have achieved intelligent transformation， the document read.
　　The intelligent manufacturing equipment will meet 70 percent of domestic demand， while the industrial software manufacturing will meet half of domestic demand by 2025， it added.

Residential PV

　　In order to reach the goal of carbon neutrality， China’s residential photovoltaic （PV） industry will embrace huge growth in the next five years and beyond， Wang Bohua， an official with the China Photovoltaic Industry Association， said at an industry forum on April 9.
　　The residential PV systems are expected to set a new record for total installation volume this year. It improved 48.2 gigawatts last year， with the volume for residential use accounting for 21 percent of the total， Wang said.
　　China has announced that it will bring its carbon emissions to a peak before 2030 and become carbon neutral before 2060. Therefore， with less than 10 years to go before hitting its first goal， emission control efforts in the next five years have become especially crucial.
　　Further efforts include the implementation of the rural vitalization strategy， which is expected to generate faster growth for the residential PV industry.

Industrial Uptrend

　　The electronic information manufacturing sector logged steady expansion in revenues and profits in the first two months of the year， according to the MIIT.
　　Combined operating revenues of firms with an annual operating revenue of at least 20 million yuan rose 55.8 percent year on year.
　　Profits of these firms amounted to 77.9 billion yuan（$11.9 billion）， 60 times the reading of the same period last year.
　　The added value of major electronic information manufacturers soared 48.5 percent year on year in the January-February period， and fixed assets investment in the industry registered a 41.6-percent year-on-year growth. 　　During the period， the output of smartphones rose 48.8 percent year on year， while that of integrated circuits jumped 79.8 percent from a year earlier， MIIT data showed.

NEV Battery

　　The output of storage batteries to power new-energy vehicles（NEVs） rose 151.9 percent year on year in March， according to the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance.
　　The output stood at 11.3 gigawatt-hours in March. In the first quarter， total output reached 32.8 gigawatt-hours， up 296.5 percent year on year.
　　In March， the installed capacity of the batteries came in at 9 gigawatt-hours， soaring 224.8 percent from the same period last year.
　　Sales of NEVs in China increased by 2.8 times year on year in the first quarter to 515，000 units amid the steady recovery of the automobile sector， the latest data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed.
　　In March alone， NEV sales surged by 2.4 times year on year to 226，000 units.

Aerospace Growth

　　China will continue to exert great efforts to boost aerospace as a strategic emerging industry in the next five years， Zhang Kejian， head of the China National Space Administration （CNSA）， said.
　　The CNSA is drawing up a plan for space development in the 2021-25 timeframe. Priority projects will be promoted. These will include the lunar exploration program’s fourth phase， interplanetary exploration such as asteroid reconnaissance， heavylift carrier rockets， and reusable space transportation systems， Zhang told Xinhua.
　　China will also build a space infrastructure system for communication， navigation， and remote sensing that is accessible worldwide， better contributing to humanity’s peaceful use of space， he added.

ICV Facilitation

　　The Beijing Municipal Government has designated a demonstration zone for boosting the development of intelligent connected vehicles （ICVs）.
　　According to a blueprint， a planned area of 225 square km in Yizhuang New Town， the Daxing International Airport area， and six highway sections in Yizhuang， Daxing District in south Beijing， will serve as a pilot zone for the initiative.
　　The zone is the first of its kind in China in terms of testing a series of management policies suitable for ICVs， which involve road testing， demonstration application， commercial operation service and roadside infrastructure construction.
　　The innovation will also include traffic rules and the traffic management of unmanned vehicles on the road. 　　There are 200 public road sections in Beijing open for testing smart vehicles， totaling 699.58 km with the safety test mileage exceeding 2.68 million km in total.
　　The designation of the new zone is expected to help promote new applications， technologies， products and new models of intelligent network connections.

Land Port

　　The number of China-Europe freight trains traveling via Manzhouli， China’s largest land port in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region， reached 10，000 on April 13， according to local railway authorities.
　　In the first quarter of the year， 951 such trains passed through the port， up 60.4 percent year on year， according to the Manzhouli branch of China Railway Harbin Group Co. Ltd.
　　Currently， Manzhouli is the border crossing point for 52 China-Europe freight train routes reaching 28 cities across 13 countries.

PC Shipments

　　The Chinese personal computer（PC） market improved 70 percent year on year in the first three months of the year， data from global research and advisory firm Gartner showed.
　　China-based PC giant Lenovo remained the world’s top vendor by shipments in the period， with its global market share reaching 25.1 percent and shipments totaling around 17.55 million units.
　　In the first quarter， worldwide PC shipments totaled 69.9 million units， up 32 percent year on year. The growth was the highest since the company first began tracking the PC market in 2000， Gartner said.

NUMBERS