Tag Archives: China

This year Beijing has excavated and protected more than 1,300 ancient tombs of different times in history, unearthing over 3,000 pieces or sets of cultural relics as of May 30.

From February 2 to May 14 this year, the capital city’s sub-center in Tongzhou District has seen 276 ancient tombs excavated over a total area of 99,884 square meters for archaeological prospection. More than 1,000 pieces or sets of cultural relics were unearthed, including pottery, porcelain, bronze, gold and silver wares.

In Yanqing District, on the 2.54 million-square-meter area of archaeological prospection, a total of 1,100 tombs have been discovered, 845 of which have been dug out, including the brick-chambered tombs of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wei and Jin Dynasties, Tang Dynasty and Jin Dynasty as well as the earth pit tombs of the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty. Among them, seven were well-preserved family cemeteries of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, which are rare in Beijing.

In the first half of this year, during the archaeological excavation of the Ruyuan Garden in the Old Summer Palace, the overall layout including the pavilions, open halls, rockery and roads have been uncovered for the first time. Nearly 1,000 pieces of cultural relics have been discovered in the garden, such as gold bricks, tiles and the stone inscription of Emperor Jiaqing’s handwriting.

read more

The 20th China Beijing International High-Tech Expo (CHITEC) ended in the Chinese capital on June 10, attracting more than 200,000 attendees. A total of 82 projects of technology trading and industrial cooperation contracts have been signed with the total amount of 73.326 billion yuan (about US$10.8 billion) during the three-day expo.

CHITEC, first launched in 1998, has witnessed the transformation of Chinese sci-tech innovation from the low-end industrial value chain to a higher sci-tech power in the past two decades. This year’s expo featured a number of technologically sophisticated projects such as top-notch Tiangong-2 and COMAC C919, graphene waterborne paint which is a technological breakthrough in the field, and QD image sensor and so on. These original achievement showcase that China is on course to become a world-class sci-tech powerhouse.

According to the organizing committee, deals in the aerospace industry, new generation of information technology and new material amounted to 49.5 billion yuan, while projects aimed at improving people’s lives totaled 20.8 billion yuan.

read more

Beijing has arranged 255 major engineering projects this year to accelerate the construction of its sub-center. By now, the overall design of the sub-center and the detailed design of six key areas have been reviewed by experts.

By the end of April, a total of 27 new projects have been launched, and 140 projects worth 16.35 billion yuan (US$2.41 billion) are under construction. The first-phase construction of the sub-center’s administrative area is speeding up, and the city’s major departments are expected to begin relocation by the end of this year.

Shi Weiliang, chief planner of Beijing’s urban planning and land resources authority, revealed that the plan of the six-square-kilometer administrative office area of the sub-center has been completed. He said that the overall plan of the entire Tongzhou District was rolled out last year, with the focus on the planning of the peripheral towns with unique characteristics and their coordination with the sub-center, surrounding cities and downtown Beijing.

read more

Liu Xianlin, a well-known scientist on surveying and mapping, focuses on his work on a high-speed train, June 12, 2017. [Photo from the Weibo account of People’s Daily] Liu Xianlin, an expert on surveying and mapping, was seen being preoccupied wit… read more

South China’s Guangdong Province signed three agreements with the University of Birmingham recently in the UK.

Hu Chunhua, Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Guangdong Provincial Committee, and Wen Guohui, Mayor of Guangzhou City, joined China’s UK Ambassador Liu Xiaoming to lead the 20-strong delegation.

The leaders and their fellow delegates attended a special ceremony hosted by Birmingham City Council, where the University of Birmingham Provost Professor Tim Jones signed agreements with three partners from Guangzhou to further strengthen the university’s research and teaching presence in the province.

Professor Jones signed an agreement with senior leaders from Sun Yat-Sen University (SYSU) to establish a primary care training centre at the First Affiliated Hospital of SYSU that will help to boost the numbers of Chinese doctors in general practice. The University of Birmingham will help to provide high-quality training, education and academic projects.

He joined academics from the Guangdong Academy of Sciences (GDAS) to launch a partnership that will see Chinese research students joining their Birmingham counterparts to explore a range of areas in metallurgy and materials, as well as mechanical engineering.

The Provost also formalized a new partnership with Jinan University that will allow students to study in China and receive degrees from each university. Students will be able to take dual degrees in economics, information computer science, pure mathematics, and statistics – taught by both Jinan and Birmingham academics on site.

Professor Jones said: “I am delighted to meet the delegation from Guangdong, the region in which the University of Birmingham has particularly strong links with China.

“Today marks another milestone of the university’s development in Guangzhou, as we are signing three major projects with our partners, which allow us to bring both our research and teaching excellence into Guangzhou.

“Through these projects, we are pleased to contribute to Guangdong’s regional social and economic development by nurturing talent for the big data economy, upgrading manufacturing technologies, and enhancing innovation for health.

“The University of Birmingham is playing a pivotal role in helping to deliver China’s £85 billion health reform investment, which is focused on developing primary care and training an extra 300,000 GPs by 2020.”

Under the leadership of Professor KK Cheng, Director of the Institute of Applied Health Research, the University of Birmingham has delivered training programmes, both locally and in the UK, to some 500 senior managers, over 4,000 doctors and 1,000 GP trainers.

It has also jointly established six “China-UK Collaborating Centres for General Practice Training” in Guangzhou, three of which are officially listed among the “Best 100 Community Health Centres” in China.

The university has been participating in joint research programmes with GDAS since 2013, especially in the fields of new materials, advanced manufacturing, and hydrogen storage.

GDAS is the largest research-focused academy in Guangdong province, with six major institutes. Its main research areas include: resources and environment, materials and chemical industries, advanced manufacturing, electronics and IT, biotechnology and health, and industrial services.

The launch of dual degrees with the Jinan University further expands the University of Birmingham’s global teaching offer, with academic partnerships already well established with institutions in China and Singapore. Birmingham has also recently unveiled plans to develop a branch campus in Dubai.

Birmingham City Council Leader, Councillor John Clancy, said: “We’ve forged many links between Birmingham and Guangdong province over the last decade, working together in the world of business, local government, culture and, of course, education. So I’m delighted to welcome such a high profile delegation to the city.

“The three agreements with the University of Birmingham further cement those strong ties and I have no doubt that this special relationship will continue to deliver for both Birmingham and Guangdong province.”

Professor Jon Frampton, Director of the university’s China Institute and Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor (China), said: “The University of Birmingham has achieved a great deal since opening our Guangzhou office in 2011. We’ve launched 28 joint research projects with our Guangzhou partners and established collaborations with all major education institutions in Guangdong.

“We look forward to bringing our collaboration with Guangzhou to a new level in research, education and public health, as well as expanding our impact wider in the Guangdong region thanks to the continued support of the Guangzhou and Guangdong governments.”

read more