China Media Group selects Top 10 scientific news events for 2024

China Media Group unveiled its selection of the country's Top 10 scientific news stories for 2024 on Saturday, ranging from the successful Chang'e-6 lunar mission to the world's first brain-on-a-chip intelligent interaction system.

The Top 10 scientific news events for 2024 are as follows.

1. A meeting conflating the national sci-tech conference, the national science and technology award conference, and the general assemblies of the members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), was held on June 24.

Addressing the meeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping underscored the importance of sci-tech modernization and innovation in pursuing Chinese modernization and high-quality development.

2. China's Chang'e-6 lunar module carried out the historic mission to collect the first ever samples from the far side of the moon in a major milestone for the country's space program.

After its launch on May 3, the Chang'e-6 mission lasted 53 days, consisting of 11 flight phases, and achieved breakthroughs in key technologies such as the design and control of the lunar retrograde orbit, intelligent and rapid sampling from the moon's far side, and takeoff and ascent from the moon's far side.

The returner of the Chang'e-6 probe touched down on the Earth on June 25.

3. The Meng Xiang (Dream), China's first domestically designed and built deep-ocean drilling vessel, was officially commissioned in November, marking a significant milestone in the country's deep-sea exploration technology.

The drilling ship, weighing 33,000 tons and measuring 179.8 meters in length and 32.8 meters in width, can operate continuously at sea for 120 days with a full crew of 180 members and travel up to 15,000 nautical miles.

More importantly, it is the world's only drilling vessel capable of reaching a depth of 11 kilometers.

4. Chinese scientists have made a major breakthrough in quantum computing research by building a quantum simulator capable of solving a specific scientific model.

A team led by renowned Chinese quantum physicist Pan Jianwei, academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has observed the antiferromagnetic phase transition in a three-dimensional fermionic Hubbard system, laying an important foundation for understanding the mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity.

5. In January, China announced that it had launched a new-generation weather forecasting system using supercomputers which will greatly enhance the precision of its global and nationwide weather and climate forecasting.

The newly developed supercomputing system will help accelerate the digitalization of China's weather forecasting system, multiplying its current computing power by 6.5 times.

6. "Q Family" humanoid robots developed by a research team of the Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, made their public debut in Beijing in February.

The Chinese researchers developed a sophisticated "big factory" to design and assemble the humanoid robots. Several prototypes of "Q Family" humanoid robots have obtained preliminary technical verification.

7. In April, China released a set of geologic atlas of the global moon with a scale of 1:2.5 million, which is the first complete high-definition lunar geologic atlas in the world.

This set of geologic atlas, available in Chinese and English, includes the Geologic Atlas of the Lunar Globe and the Map Quadrangles of the Geologic Atlas of the Moon.

8. China successfully retrieved its first reusable and returnable test satellite, Shijian-19, in October, after it had achieved a number of technological breakthroughs during its flight tests, including in reusability and damage-free recovery.

9. A cross-sea highway project linking the cities of Shenzhen and Zhongshan in south China's Guangdong Province went into trial operation in June, set to further improve the transportation network in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area city cluster.

With a total length of 24 kilometers, the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link consists of one underwater tunnel, two bridges and two artificial islands, crossing several main waterways of the Lingdingyang Bay, and will further expand the one-hour life cycle in the Greater Bay Area.

10. Chinese researchers have developed the world's first open-source brain-on-a-chip intelligent complex information interaction system.

The system enables a brain organoid to autonomously control robots for tasks, shedding a new light on brain-computer interface research.

China Media Group selects Top 10 scientific news events for 2024

China's move to expand its visa-free transit policy has sparked a surge in global interest in traveling to the country, making "China Travel" one of the most popular topics worldwide.

Earlier this month, China announced a significant relaxation of its visa-free transit policy, aiming to further boost international openness and people-to-people exchanges.

The National Immigration Administration (NIA) of China said the permitted stay for eligible foreign travelers has been extended from the previous 72 and 144 hours to 240 hours, or 10 days.

The Washington Post reported that "China is loosening its visa policy, allowing some travelers to stay in the country for up to 10 days without a visa." A regional product manager for Audley Travel, specializing in China, noted that the country has made significant efforts to improve accessibility, as quoted in the report.

Through travel, international tourists have experienced the achievements of Chinese modernization and gained a new perspective on a confident, open, civilized, and safe China. With more direct, active, and positive engagement, these travelers are sharing Chinese stories from their own viewpoints.

In southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, tailor-made travel group tours have become particularly popular among overseas tourists.

A local tourism agency manager noted that the number of inquiries and bookings from Europe and the U.S. has significantly increased since the stay was extended to 240 hours.

"The inquiry volume has doubled, thanks to stimulation by the 240-hour visa-free transit policy. Some tourist destinations are fully booked until May," said Zheng Lidong, manager of a tourism agency in Chongqing.

Data show that around 78,000 international tourist arrivals have been made through the Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport so far this year, a 30-fold increase compared to last year.

In Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, the number of overseas tourists has risen steadily, with a more than 30 percent average month-on-month growth. Local authorities have also launched a free one-day tour service.

"Such a great opportunity because I am transiting like 10 hours. This is better than I could have asked for," said a tourist from France.

In Shanghai, group tour bookings from South Korea have surged, with more young South Koreans flying in to visit various tourist destinations.

"Compared to those on the Hangang River, the buildings on the Huangpu River have different architectural lighting," said a tourist from South Korea.

"It feels perfect for wedding photos, so we decided to take them here. We love the view -- it's more exotic than in Seoul," said a groom from South Korea.

Data from a tourism platform show that bookings from South Korea to Shanghai have increased by over 180 percent year-on-year since the entry into effect of the visa-free policy for South Korean travelers to China on November 8.

China travel booms as more visitors take advantage of expanded visa-free policy