The main antenna of China's 40-meter-aperture radio telescope was hoisted and installed on Friday in Shigatse, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region.
Developed by the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the basic construction of the fully movable, high-precision, multi-purpose telescope is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024, with an initial observation capability in early 2025.
The radio telescope is built about 35 kilometers to the west of Shigatse's city center, at an altitude of about 4,100 meters where electromagnetic wave interference is limited.
Upon completion of the construction, the telescope will be included into a very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) network in China that is comprised of radio telescope stations located across the country and a VLBI data processing center under the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory to help support the country's deep-space exploration.
VLBI is a technique that measures the time difference between the arrivals at multiple Earth-based antennas, thus simulating a virtual telescope with a size equal to the maximum separation between the telescopes. The VLBI network will link radio telescopes scattered across the country to form a giant hyper high-precision synthesis aperture radio telescope, offering technical support for lunar and planetary exploration, and manned lunar landing missions for China in the future.
Main antenna reflector of radio telescope in Xizang installed
China's trade-in program for home appliances during the National Day holiday has led to a surge in sales revenues which topped 17.835 billion yuan (about 2.53 billion U.S. dollars), according to data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).
During the seven-day National Day holiday starting on Oct 1, nearly 2.52 million consumers purchased 3.745 million units across eight categories of household appliances through the trade-in program, with sales reaching 17.835 billion yuan.
The eight categories were refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, air conditioners, computers, water heaters, household stoves and range hoods.
Among them, the top three categories were air conditioners, refrigerators and computers, with sales reaching 4.519 billion yuan, 3.797 billion yuan, and 2.624 billion yuan, respectively.
Since the introduction of the trade-in policy for home appliances, about 8.24 million consumers have purchased about 11.78 million home appliances in eight categories, generating sales exceeding 55.793 billion yuan.
"The consumer traffic in our store has increased dramatically, almost tripling that of last year, and our sales have more than doubled," said Wang Yisheng, a home appliance store owner in Nanjing City of east China's Jiangsu Province.
The country also reported a surge in vehicle sales. As of Oct 7 midnight, the MOC's automobile trade-in platform had received over 1.27 million subsidy applications, driving new car sales to exceed 160 billion yuan, of which applications for subsidies related to new energy vehicles accounted for more than 60 percent of the total.
"I have been driving my old car for eight years. I am very satisfied with the power, handling and comfort of the new car. After I learned about the generous incentives offered by the government's 'trade-in' policy, I made the purchase without hesitation," said Mr. Chen, a consumer from Yongzhou City of central China's Hunan Province.
China's home appliance sales surge under trade-in program during National Day holiday
