01:13
Is French difficult to learn for people in China? CGTN’s multilingual reporters have taken the challenge of teaching French sentences to passersby in some hutong of Beijing. The phrases shared by passersby range from quote of the famous French philosopher René Descartes to the words of French President Emmanuel Macron to the people of China.
02:03
An exhibition featuring the works of French philosopher Benoît Vermander has opened at Fudan University in Shanghai, showcasing over 60 Chinese ink paintings. Inspired by the ever-changing nature of existence, Vermander’s works reflect the fluidity of life, drawing parallels to the dynamic movements of the sea and the desert. Immersed in Chinese culture for over 15 years, Vermander’s exploration of calligraphy in China ignited his passion for painting, leading to a seamless fusion of Chinese ink painting techniques with Western motifs.
02:18
Lightweight camping is becoming a new trend in China, where enthusiasts seek to relax amid nature with a view without stress over heavy gear. According to iiMedia Research, the latest trend is attributed to young people who prioritize convenience and ease of transport. CGTN’s Hu Binyi visited a camping park to find out more about the new consumption trend from the younger generation.
A photo taken on April 28, 2024 shows a view of Shanghai’s towering skyscrapers. /CGTN
A photo taken on April 28, 2024 shows a view of Shanghai’s towering skyscrapers. /CGTN
A photo taken on April 28, 2024 shows a view of Shanghai’s towering skyscrapers. /CGTN
A photo taken on April 28, 2024 shows a view of Shanghai’s towering skyscrapers. /CGTN
A photo taken on April 28, 2024 shows a view of Shanghai’s towering skyscrapers. /CGTN
A photo taken on April 28, 2024 shows a view of Shanghai’s towering skyscrapers. /CGTN
A photo taken on April 28, 2024 shows a view of Shanghai’s towering skyscrapers. /CGTN
A photo taken on April 28, 2024 shows a view of Shanghai’s towering skyscrapers. /CGTN
A photo taken on April 28, 2024 shows a view of Shanghai’s towering skyscrapers. /CGTN
A photo taken on April 28, 2024 shows a view of Shanghai’s towering skyscrapers. /CGTN
A photo taken on April 28, 2024 shows a view of Shanghai’s towering skyscrapers. /CGTN
A photo taken on April 28, 2024 shows a view of Shanghai’s towering skyscrapers. /CGTN
A photo taken on April 28, 2024 shows a view of Shanghai’s towering skyscrapers. /CGTN
A photo taken on April 28, 2024 shows a view of Shanghai’s towering skyscrapers. /CGTN
Explore the captivating skyline of Shanghai, China’s bustling business hub, where towering skyscrapers create a breathtaking urban forest. Among these architectural marvels stands the Shanghai Tower, the tallest building in China at 632 meters, offering breathtaking views of the Bund. Embark on a visual journey through this concrete jungle and witness the vibrant expression of prosperity.
A scientist checks the samples brought back in the return capsule of China’s Shenzhou-17 manned spaceship, May 1, 2024. /Science and Technology Daily
A scientist checks the samples brought back in the return capsule of China’s Shenzhou-17 manned spaceship, May 1, 2024. /Science and Technology Daily
A total of 31.5 kilograms of samples making up the new batch of research samples brought back to Earth in the return capsule of China’s Shenzhou-17 manned spaceship were delivered to the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing on Wednesday.
The samples came from 23 scientific experiment projects involving 32 kinds of life experiment samples, including human bone cells, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, protein crystals, living organic molecules, and seeds. Eighteen kinds of material samples, such as containerless materials, high-temperature materials and extra-cabin exposure materials, are also included.
The life experiment samples were transferred to the CAS center in Beijing and handed over to scientists early Wednesday morning, about eight hours after the capsule touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
The scientists will conduct biological analyses, such as transcriptome sequencing and proteomics detection, to search for new clues for disease prevention and intervention by studying cell biological mechanisms in a microgravity environment.
The scientists will also diffract proteins to obtain a more accurate three-dimensional structure of proteins and study target proteins for technical support for drug and vaccine development.
The return capsule of the Shenzhou-17 manned spaceship, carrying astronauts Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin, touched down at 5:46 p.m. Beijing Time on Tuesday.
The three-member Shenzhou-17 crew arrived in Beijing by plane early Wednesday morning after a six-month space station mission.
Read more: Shenzhou-17 astronauts arrive in Beijing
04:10
In Chongren Ancient Town and Anchang Ancient Town in Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, let’s follow Caroline Wu on a journey to discover how the new and the old coexist in the ancient buildings and old neighborhoods.
The southern part of China is expected to see more rainfall during the Labor Day holiday from May 1 to 5, the National Climate Center said on Tuesday.
The accumulated precipitation in southern China and the southwestern province of Guizhou is expected to range from 20 to 60 mm, said Jia Xiaolong, deputy director of the center at a press conference.
Tourists go boating in Qianlingshan Park in Guiyang City, capital of Guizhou Province, southwest China, April 29, 2024. /CFP
Tourists go boating in Qianlingshan Park in Guiyang City, capital of Guizhou Province, southwest China, April 29, 2024. /CFP
Some of the aforementioned areas are expected to see accumulated precipitation exceeding 150 mm, accompanied by strong convective weather such as thunderstorms, gales, and hail, Jia added.
The climate center issued a warning regarding potential mountain torrents, landslides and flash floods along small and medium-sized rivers, and advised the public to remain vigilant by closely monitoring local weather forecasts and taking safety precautions, especially when traveling to mountainous or waterside areas.
(Cover: Water level of the Dongjiang River rises in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, south China, April 29, 2024. /CFP)
Source(s): Xinhua News Agency
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepares to depart from the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in Shanghai, China, April 25, 2024. /CFP
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepares to depart from the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in Shanghai, China, April 25, 2024. /CFP
Editor’s note: William Jones, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is the former Washington Bureau Chief for Executive Intelligence Review (EIR) News Service and a non-resident fellow of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies. The article reflects the author’s opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to China on April 24 to 26 was an integral part of the new high-level diplomacy between the two countries, established at the Xi-Biden summit last November. The renewed visits give an opportunity for both sides to take stock of where the relationship is and to deal with any problems that have occurred in the interim period.
In this case, the issues that have arisen to affect the relationship, in particular, the more restrictive policies that the U.S. imposed on China recently in the area of trade, and particularly, high-tech trade, were far from resolved.
The mission of Blinken on this visit was to convince China to reduce its exports, on the pretext of so-called overcapacity, and to pressure China to reduce its trade with Russia in any area that could positively contribute to their military capabilities, in the U.S. view any area of high technology products.
Desperate over NATO’s failing efforts to stop the Russian advances on the ground, Washington feels that they may have enough leverage over China, because of their extensive trade relations, to force them to move away from Russia. In this respect, Blinken’s visit did not move that needle one centimeter.
This was made very clear to the Secretary by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who did not mince his words in saying that negative factors in the relationship are still increasing and building. He again warned that China has red lines that shouldn’t be crossed and expressed his concern that the U.S. had taken measures that were not consistent with the agreements that had been made during the November summit.
In their four-hour meeting, Wang said that the U.S. was taking endless measures to suppress China’s economy, trade, science and technology. These measures, he underlined, “are not fair competition but containment, not de-risking but creating risks.”
In a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, in a formal setting. Xi reiterated the principles on which the China-U.S. relationship must be based. In reply to the attempt to pressure China in its relationship with Russia, Xi made clear that both parties can have their own friends and partners, and do not target each other, do not oppose each other, and do not harm each other.
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 26, 2024. /Xinhua
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 26, 2024. /Xinhua
Xi stressed that the U.S. must begin to see China’s development in a positive light, calling this the “fundamental issue” that “must be put right, for the China-U.S. relationship to truly stabilize, improve and move forward.”
At a press conference after the meeting with Xi, Blinken reiterated all the shibboleths that he had expressed in his meetings, i.e. no decoupling, no support for “Taiwan independence,” and no new cold war, but at the same time made clear that if China does nothing to restrict its trade in high-tech with Russia, the U.S. and its “allies” were prepared to impose further sanctions.
While Blinken tried to assert a strong pose in saying this, he was somewhat more nervous in doing so. While there is probably a consensus within his own administration about this matter, it is far from clear how much the U.S. can persuade its “allies” to move further in the direction of imposing sanctions against China, and thereby penalizing their own economies on behalf of U.S. geopolitical concerns.
Blinken was even more adamant in an interview with the National Public Radio after the press conference. China “is the number one supplier of the critical components for Russia to rebuild its defense industrial base – machine tools, microelectronics, optics and other things.” This has to stop, he threatened.
If the U.S. pursues this line of thought, given the state of the world economy, it could come back to bite the U.S. in many different ways, including the more rapid push by Russia, China, and the countries of the Global South to create a financial architecture that is independent of the New York-London nexus, and thus free the financial system from arbitrary manipulation by the U.S.
The ball now, however, is in the court of Washington.
(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at [email protected]. Follow @thouse_opinions on Twitter to discover the latest commentaries in the CGTN Opinion Section.)
Huang He (center), a pilot at Air China, coaches trainees in a simulator. [Photo/China Daily]
Life is filled with pivotal moments, each capable of steering a person onto a completely different path.
For Huang He, one such moment arrived when her school’s dean informed her about a female pilot recruitment advertisement in a newspaper in 2003. Seizing this opportunity, she embarked on a journey that would change her life forever.
“I entered this industry (to become a pilot) by accident. At the time, I was a sophomore at Tianjin Normal University, majoring in computer science. One day, my dean mentioned that he thought I fit all the requirements listed in the newspaper for hiring a pilot and encouraged me to give it a try. I applied, passed all the tests, and have been a pilot ever since. I completely stumbled into this career,” the 42-year-old said.
In 2003, Air China, one of China’s largest airline companies and the national flag carrier, began recruiting pilots from among college students, breaking gender barriers by hiring male as well as female candidates.
The selection process was highly competitive, involving physical examinations, written tests and multiple rounds of interviews. Huang remembered sitting in a vast auditorium filled with hundreds of dreamers aspiring to soar through the skies.
Out of over 500 female applicants in 2003, only three successfully navigated the rigorous tests and secured the opportunity to become pilot trainees.
Huang transferred to Civil Aviation University of China in Tianjin to begin her pilot training, a customary process in China by which airline companies collaborate with universities to train and nurture aspiring pilots.
Joining Air China as a trainee pilot in 2005, she became one of the company’s first female pilots and achieved the rank of captain by 2011.
As of the end of last year, only 843 female pilots held commercial flight licenses, according to the Annual Report of Chinese Civil Aviation Pilot Development 2023. This figure pales in comparison with the total number of pilots in China’s airline companies, which stood at 57,854 by the end of 2022.
Tourists select intangible cultural heritage fans at a shop on the Dongguan Street in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province on April 29, 2024. [Photo/VCG]
The night economy continues to add vibrancy to consumption, offering visitors a mix of experiences including specialty snacks, themed performances and displays of intangible cultural heritage.
With the May Day holiday approaching, Dongguan Street in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province is bustling with visitors. Decorated with red lanterns, the street attracts many locals and tourists for a leisurely stroll.
In Hefei, Anhui province, traditional arts performances such as Huangmei Opera and “Prelude to Water Melody” have been staged to cultivate a distinct cultural legacy and enhance the night economy.