Central China's Hubei Province has been accelerating its construction of a science and technology innovation center, according to its officials on Tuesday.
At a press conference in Beijing, officials from Hubei Province introduced the region's high-quality development progress.
In the first quarter of 2024, the province's GDP increased by 6.1 percent. Its emerging sectors like computing and big data have grown rapidly. While its added value of high-tech industries surpassed one trillion yuan, contributing more than 40 percent to the industrial growth.
Officials vowed that Hubei will continue facilitating industrial innovation through sci-tech innovation, and strive to be forerunner of the nation regarding transforming the economic development mode.
"Wuhan City has been speeding up its construction of a science and technology innovation center with nationwide influence. A matrix incorporating scientific and technological powers is taking shape with one national laboratory, ten provincial-level labs, eight large-scale facilities, 163 national innovation platforms and 477 new research and development institutions as the main body. Breakthroughs have been made in 29 key technologies. Techniques on flash memory chips, brain-computer interfaces and myocardial peeling are world-leading. Last year, the turnover of technical contracts grew by 59.8 percent, reaching 48.6 billion yuan (about 67.3 billion U.S. dollars) and ranking third in China," said Wang Zhonglin, governor of Hubei Province.
Hubei speeds up construction of sci-tech innovation hub: official
Flower breeding and cultivation bases across China are actively promoting new and healthier varieties of flowering trees and plants, helping create a brighter future for the country's famous springtime scenery.
In a peach blossom scenic area in Changde City of central China's Hunan Province, more than 50 varieties of peach blossoms are in full bloom, attracting flocks of visitors.
The varieties in the area come from the national peach germplasm resource bank in the city. Through artificial cultivation, not only are the varieties of flowers increasing, but the flowering period is also being extended.
According to researchers, one of the star varieties, noted for its rich color, took nearly 16 years to cultivate and promote in the scenic area.
"Its biggest feature is its strong resistance to gummosis. We can see that although a branch like this is damaged, there is no gummosis, so it has a long lifespan and can be used in gardens for a longer time," said Wang Yan, professor of the province's Changde Vocational and Technical College.
Gummosis is the formation of gummy substances on the surface of the trees, which often result from dead tissue.
At Phalaenopsis World, the country's largest phalaenopsis tissue culture center in Suqian City in east China's Jiangsu Province, technicians are cutting phalaenopsis seedlings into thin slices and planting them one by one in transparent bottles, allowing them to multiply exponentially.
"The breeding cycle is short, and the light, temperature and humidity can be freely adjusted artificially. The phalaenopsis bred using this technology have high uniformity and fast growth rate," said Wang Yanting, a plant inoculation specialist at the cultivation center.
Researchers said that the planting center uses more than 200 smart sensors and 5G technology to accurately control growth factors such as temperature, humidity, light, and ventilation to achieve "timed flowering."
"In fact, the natural flowering period of phalaenopsis should be from the beginning of the Chinese New Year to early May, and this is its natural state. Now we can intervene with technology and make it bloom any day we want. Phalaenopsis blooms through temperature regulation. At this time, we need to use air conditioning equipment, constant temperature equipment and dehumidification equipment," said Cao Guofeng, director of the cultivation base.
Breeding bases across China promote new spring flower varieties
