Reading China news between the lines
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New article: Cheng Li-wun's mainland visit may be less historic, but more pressing
sinicalchina.com/p/cheng-li-…
The National Gallery of Australia (NGA) handed over two Chinese cultural relics to China.
The two relics are the head of a military official statue and the head of a civil official statue, both dating back to the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). According to the NGA, both relics are made of limestone and originated from central China's Henan Province.
They should have remained among the imperial mausoleum’s stone figures, keeping watch over the soil and seeing wheat ripen year after year.
Another European leader is in China — and where he goes beyond Beijing is worth paying attention to.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is visiting China this week. In Hefei, he stopped at Volkswagen’s China technology center and got behind the wheel of an EV equipped with a locally developed intelligent driving system.
And Hefei isn’t Germany’s only innovation stop this year. Back in February, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited Hangzhou, where he watched Unitree’s robots in action and toured a Siemens Energy facility.
Two German leaders, two Chinese innovation hubs. Hangzhou is pushing the boundaries of AI and robotics; Hefei has built strengths in quantum technology, advanced manufacturing and smart EVs.
For German businesses, China is both a fiercely competitive market and a place where important technological advances are happening at remarkable speed. The challenge is to understand that reality — and find practical ways to work with it.
These visits suggest that, whatever the differences between China and Europe, staying close to China’s innovation ecosystem remains essential to the future of their economic relationship.
The 7.0-magnitude quake that shook Baqen County in China's Xizang on Oct 22 hit a harsh highland, almost 4,800 meters up, where cold and strong winds make every hour count.
16 lives lost, 76 injured, and more than 12,000 local residents were safely evacuated.
Rescue teams moved incredibly fast: the first tents went up within five hours of the tremor. By Oct 23, every affected family had a tent to stay in. You can see firefighters running field kitchens out here, chopping meat and serving hot meals to people who’ve lost their homes.
Relief supplies keep pouring in — tents, beds, thick quilts and winter essentials. Crews and power staff have been working through the night building warmer prefabricated houses with chimneys for stoves. The first 60 units were ready early on Oct 25, with power switched on that same evening.
When you can’t travel to see the Great Wall, you can always “build” one of your own.
A man in a village in China’s Shanxi laid out this stunning Great Wall artwork using local grains and farm produce, just so his mother could “see” the landmark she has never visited.
One of the key events on China's political calendar this week is the fifth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of CPC, a four-day meeting in Beijing focused on a question central to the Party's long-term governance: how to keep its own ranks in check.
With more than 100 million members and the responsibility of governing a country of over 1.4 billion people, the CPC faces an enduring task: how to hold its members and officials accountable.
The meeting is scheduled to deliberate on a draft decision on several major issues on persistently advancing full and rigorous Party self-governance.
The agenda reflects a long-running priority: making internal oversight, discipline enforcement and anti-corruption efforts a sustained part of how the Party governs itself.
The scale of enforcement sends a message about how seriously the CPC takes this effort. In 2025, discipline inspection and supervisory authorities filed more than 1 million cases and placed 47,000 individuals under detention. A total of 983,000 people received Party disciplinary or administrative punishment.
The ongoing meeting underscores the ruling party's efforts to keep anti-corruption as a lasting institutional constraint, which will provide a guarantee for how the country governs itself in responding to new challenges ahead.
Ever seen a giant jellyfish floating across the sky? This one came straight from a rocket launch!
At 6:15 p.m. on October 23, China's Long March-6A rocket blasted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi Province, carrying the Yaogan-50 03 satellite into its planned orbit.
As the rocket climbed higher, its exhaust plume caught the fading sunlight, creating a spectacular glowing cloud that spread across the twilight sky.
Behind this breathtaking sight is a practical mission: the satellite will help with land surveys, crop-yield estimates and disaster prevention and relief.
"Every generation must undertake its own Long March."
As China marks 90 years since the Long March's victorious conclusion, its legacy continues to shape how the country sees its journey ahead.
Forget Area 51 — the real UFO just took off here in China
The E-Hawk Flying Car looks like a sci-fi saucer, but it's a ton-class eVTOL: 8 hidden rotors, 3-second takeoff, 4 seats, lands in 4 parking spots.
And yeah — it gives off the same vibe as Tesla's Roadster 2 thruster-hop clips.
Sci-fi is real. And it's disc-shaped.
China launched a CERES-1 Y8 rocket from waters near Rizhao, Shandong today, placing a new satellite into orbit.
The satellite will mainly serve commercial remote sensing for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and low-latitude regions along the Maritime Silk Road.
The mission marked the seventh sea-based flight of the CERES-1 sea-launched series, and developer Galactic Energy has now completed 23 orbital launches, sending 90 commercial satellites into orbit.
A man who couldn't walk on his own stood up at Canton Fair thanks to a Chinese exoskeleton.
RoboCT CEO Wang Tian says the endgame isn't replacing humans but becoming "a new organ for humans."
That vision is already moving fast in China: the country's exoskeleton market hit roughly ¥1.6 billion in 2025, with medical rehab still anchoring revenue while consumer assist explodes, online sales surging 458% in the first half of 2026 and over 50 mountain scenic spots rolling out rentals this National Day alone.
From rehab wards to living rooms, these machines are quietly turning sci-fi into everyday mobility.
What can one bottle of essential oil tell us about U.S.-China business ties? More than you might think.
At doTERRA’s first overseas R&D center in Shanghai, an ingredient sourced in China has found its way into products sold around the world. It’s a small example of how cross-border collaboration can turn local resources into global value.
Thousands of mirrors. One giant tower. And sunshine turned into electricity!
This is China’s 100-MW molten-salt solar thermal power plant in Dunhuang, Gansu, where sunlight heats molten salt to generate power—even after the sun goes down.
Now that’s a bright idea!
At first it looks like someone dropped a UFO landing pad in the middle of the desert. Then you get closer: it's China's first three-tower solar thermal + PV base. 60,000 heliostats, all swiveling to chase the sun, bouncing light onto three receivers. Molten salt inside soaks up the heat by day and keeps generating power after dark. Add a PV field on top, and the whole thing pushes 2.53 billion kWh onto the grid every year—equal to burning 794,000 tonnes less standard coal. The gobi just became a power plant that looks like it landed from another planet.
That's LandSpace's Zhuque-2E Y7, off the pad at Dongfeng, carrying ten satellites in one go. Not a test anymore but a private Chinese company hauling real infrastructure into orbit!
Meet the “Shandong Morgan Freeman”.
This 74-year-old farmer from rural Shandong speaks his local dialect with a rich, velvety voice. Many viewers hear a surprising elegant rhythm and joke it sounds like a London accent.
Without any script, he shares gentle life wisdom forged by years of rural living. Simple words, profound reflections on time and life.
Captured by a local documentary maker.
A rocket with a panda painted on it！
October 14, 2026. Zhuque-2E Y4 lifted off from Dongfeng at 19:40 Beijing time. Ten satellites, one ride. Eight for Guoxing Aerospace. Two for Lanta Intelligence. Tenth flight of the series. All good.
But the panda stole the show. It's Menglan. Beijing Zoo's escape artist！
“See you in Quzhou...” — a line from the 2019 film Midway captures a remarkable chapter of China-U.S. wartime history.
After the 1942 Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, American airmen stranded in China were rescued and sheltered by Chinese villagers who risked their lives to help. Many also helped pilots of the Flying Tigers, the American Volunteer Group that fought alongside Chinese forces against Japanese aggression.
Japan retaliated with the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign, bringing widespread destruction and horrific suffering. Around 250,000 Chinese people died, including from disease and biological warfare.
At their recent meeting in Washington, Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump both recalled the two countries’ shared fight against fascism in World War II, including the sacrifices of Chinese civilians and the contributions of the Flying Tigers.
More than 80 years later, these stories remain a powerful reminder that the bonds between nations are forged not only on battlefields, but also through the courage and humanity of ordinary people.
In Huaibei, a city in east China's Anhui Province, projected crosswalks are making nighttime crossings more visible. The bright markings catch the eye, reminding drivers to slow down and watch for pedestrians, while helping people see where to cross.
Sometimes, the best use of technology isn't something flashy or far away. It's something as simple as making an everyday walk a little safer. That's technology finding its way into everyday life — and making it better.