The first unit of the Zhangzhou Nuclear Power Plant in east China's Fujian Province officially entered commercial operation on Wednesday after successfully completing a full power demonstration run lasting 168 hours, said its operator China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).
This marked a major step for the upcoming massive roll-out of Hualong One, a domestically developed third-generation reactor, as China seeks to improve its energy mix and meet its dual carbon targets.
The project in the city of Zhangzhou is the world's largest Hualong One nuclear power base, designed to have six million-kilowatt-level Hualong One nuclear power units. Four units, including Unit 1, are currently under construction, all maintaining high safety and quality standards. Upon completion, the base will provide robust support for the economic and social development of Fujian Province.
"Upon completion, the base will further improve Fujian's energy structure. With the commissioning of the Fujian-Guangdong power interconnection project, we will also be able to supply electricity to Guangdong Province. Currently, 33 Hualong One nuclear reactors are in operation or under construction at home and abroad, making it the third-generation nuclear power technology with the largest number of units in operation or under construction in the world, and a national emblem representing China's nuclear power technology on the global stage," said Li Feng, general manager of CNNC Zhangzhou Energy.
A Hualong One nuclear power unit generates more than 10 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, which can meet the annual production and domestic electricity demands of one million people in a moderately developed country.
This is equivalent to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 8.16 million tonnes per year -- an environmental impact comparable to planting over 70 million trees each year.
At present, the localization rate of Hualong One related equipment has exceeded 90 percent. The export of one Hualong One nuclear power unit can directly drive an output value of about 30 billion yuan (about 4 billion U.S. dollars), and bring opportunities to more than 5,300 companies in the upstream and downstream industrial chains to grow together.
China's third-generation Hualong One reactor at Zhangzhou Plant begins commercial operation
China's third-generation Hualong One reactor at Zhangzhou Plant begins commercial operation
A total of 760 million cross-regional passenger trips are expected to be made across China during the Qingming Festival holiday, running from Friday to Sunday, the Ministry of Transport predicted.
The Qingming Festival, also known as the Tomb-Sweeping Day, is a traditional Chinese festival observed to honor ancestors by visiting their graves to clean the tombstones, offer sacrifices, and pay respects.
Travel demand is expected to be particularly high during this period, driven by family visits for tomb-sweeping rituals, as well as leisure travel and spring outings.
From Thursday to Monday, China's railways are projected to handle 84.5 million passenger trips, with an average of 16.9 million trips per day. The busiest day is expected to be Friday, the festival itself.
The railway authorities will maximize efforts to meet the surging demand by adding more train services, attaching extra carriages, and extending operating hours.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Transport forecast that an average of 59 million vehicles will travel on expressways each day during the holiday, a 1.1-percent increase over the same period last year.
Of this, new energy vehicles (NEVs) are expected to make up 18 percent of the total daily traffic, a 7-percentage-point rise from last year.
In anticipation of the increase, provinces like Fujian, Shandong, and Zhejiang have already conducted inspections of charging facilities to ensure smooth and efficient travel for NEV drivers.
The aviation sector is also seeing increased demand, especially for flights to popular flower-viewing destinations such as Wuxi and Huangshan in China, as well as international destinations like Japan and South Korea. This rise in demand has led to slight increases in airfare prices.
In southern China, water transportation is entering its peak season. The Qiongzhou Strait, which separates the island province of Hainan from Guangdong Province, is expected to see a surge in passenger and vehicle travel during the holiday.
Around 220,000 passenger trips and 58,000 vehicle trips are forecast, with the highest travel day expected on Friday, when about 85,000 passenger trips and 20,000 vehicle trips are expected to cross the strait.
"The total cross-regional passenger flow during the Qingming Festival holiday is expected to reach some 760 million trips, marking a year-on-year increase of about 3 percent. Travel in key regions, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area, the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the Chengdu-Chongqing region, will account for nearly 50 percent of the national total. We are strengthening information sharing among different transportation modes, enhancing the coordination of railway, highway, and air transport services, and actively promoting intermodal passenger transportation," said Gao Bo, deputy director of the transport services department at the Ministry of Transport.
China expects 760 mln cross-regional trips during Qingming Festival holiday
