Prakriti Mukherjee, an Indian PhD student in philosophy and religious studies at the University of Macau, embraces the city's unique cultural fusion and envisions building her future there.
She has lived in Macao for the last two and a half years and chose to pursue her PhD at the University of Macau to explore Chinese philosophy, religious studies, and the unique intersection of Eastern and Western cultures that the city offers.
"I chose to study in University of Macau because it has a department called Philosophy and Religious Studies. I come from a background of Chinese language and cultural studies, and I wanted to learn the philosophy of China and the religious studies, how it is done in China. This is the most important reason why I'm here. I can see the two different cultures meeting here: one is the Western culture and the other one is the Chinese culture. So, in terms of my educational purpose, it’s quite interesting and quite important," she said.
The student described Macao as a welcoming and fascinating place for foreigners, emphasizing its appeal to Westerners and her enjoyment of living there.
"Macao is actually very, very inviting [for] Western people, foreigners, and that is very important, I guess. For me, it's one of the very most interesting places that I can stay in, and I love to stay here," she said.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the return of Macao, which had been under centuries of Portuguese rule, to its motherland China.
Indian PhD student cherishes Macao's unique cultural blend
China's new-generation medium-sized rocket, the Long March-8 (CZ-8), was successfully transferred to the launching area at the country's first commercial space launch site in Wenchang City of south China's island province of Hainan Sunday afternoon, ready to be launched at an appropriate time in coming days.
The rocket was developed by China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). It adopts green and environmentally friendly liquid propellant, and concluded a successful full rehearsal in early November this year.
At 13:44, the rocket was transferred to No. 1 launch pad at the Hainan Commercial Spacecraft Launch Site.
Construction of the No. 1 launch pad started in July 2022 and finished on Dec 29, 2023.
The launch of Long March-8 marks the inaugural event for the No. 1 launch pad, serving as a further capability test of the launch site following its first successful launch mission.
On Nov. 30, a Long March-12 carrier rocket was successfully launched into space, serving as the maiden launch mission undertaken by the launch site.
China's commercial space industry expanded from 800 billion yuan (about 112 billion U.S. dollars) in 2019 to 1.9 trillion yuan in 2023. The market scale is expected to reach 2.34 trillion yuan by the end of 2024, according to an industry report.
China to launch Long March-8 rocket at its first commercial space launch site