A project in China involving an ultra-high-speed low-vacuum tube maglev transport system, also known as the "high-speed flying train," with a maximum travel speed of 1,000 kilometers per hour, has completed a test for the system's integrated demonstration, showing that the full-sized test line has achieved conditions for its acceptance.

Representatives from the project said that this test improved the overall technical maturity of the system, laying a solid technical foundation for the next test, Science and Technology Daily reported on Monday.

The demonstration was conducted in a low-vacuum tube with a total length of 2 kilometers, the first phase of the project. The test performance and results were in line with predetermined figures, including magnetic suspension travel and brakes, maximum travel speed, and the magnetic suspension height of the vehicle, marking the success of the test.

The "high-speed flying train" may be deployed on commuter routes in mega-city clusters. It could shorten the travel time between Beijing and Shanghai to as little as 90 minutes, said the report.

The successful test indicated the concrete progress of the development of China's ultra-high-speed train, Sun Zhang, a railway expert at Shanghai Tongji University, told the Global Times on Monday. Long-term safety verification work needs to be implemented before it becomes a commonly used public transport system, Zhang said.

The full-sized test line was co-built by the government of North China's Shanxi Province and China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, and it is located in Yanggao, under Datong. Construction started in April 2022 and wrapped up in November 2023. The project combines aerospace technology and ground rail transportation technology, aiming to create trains with a top speed of 1,000 kilometers per hour.

The concept of a transportation system in a low-pressure tube was proposed in 2013 by Elon Musk, who called it Hyperloop, but his company focusing on developing the system - Hyperloop One - was shut down at the end of 2023, Reuters has reported.

The official website of UK-based Virgin showed that its Virgin Hyperloop made its first successful passenger test in 2020.

Analysts said that it is hard to predict which country will be the first to operate a high-speed maglev train, but it is more practical to make such systems profitable in China, which has a huge population and a solid foundation in rail transport.

As of the end of 2023, the length of China's railways in commercial operation reached 159,000 kilometers, with more than 45,000 km of the total being high-speed lines, official data showed.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that Washington has "serious concerns" about the announced results of Venezuelan presidential election won by incumbent President Nicolas Maduro, claiming it reflected "neither the will nor the votes of the Venezuelan people." Do American politicians know the will of the Venezuelan people better than the people themselves? Obviously not.

The US has significantly increased its interference in the affairs of Venezuela and other countries, attempting to reshape their political ecology through ideology. If a US-supported candidate wins an election, it will be described as fair and free; if not, it is labeled as unfair and lacking transparency. This tactic is a common method used by the US to interfere in the internal affairs of other nations.

The US incited Venezuela's opposition to refuse to recognize Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela in 2019. Because the US considers Latin America to be its backyard, any political force or figure that goes against the will or interests of American political elites will become a target of the US, like a thorn in its side.

The US policy toward Latin American countries fundamentally serves the interests of the US. As a result, the regimes of some Latin American countries backed by the US are completely disconnected from the interests of their peoples. The repeated occurrence of unrest in Latin America can also be attributed to US interventions, which violate the UN Charter and basic principles of international relations. These interventions undermine the sovereignty and interests of Latin American countries, including Venezuela, and pose a significant threat to peace and development in the region.

The US has long sought to prioritize its own geopolitical interests and values over international law. "Maduro insists on pursuing independence and resisting Venezuela becoming a puppet of other countries. However, the US takes it for granted that all countries in Latin America have no right to independence and must comply with US desires. The US justifies its interference in Latin American countries' internal affairs based on the so-called Monroe Doctrine, despite this doctrine being in conflict with international law," Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.

During President Maduro's term, Venezuela has encountered severe sanctions from the US and some other Western countries, and was also threatened by military intervention. In April, the Biden administration even announced the reinstatement of some of the previously lifted sanctions, accusing President Maduro of failing to commit to free and fair elections. All these moves have exacerbated political and economic instability in Venezuela.

Noticeably, the intensity of US sanctions usually depends on American elites' assessment of the domestic situation of the sanctioned target. If the US intensifies sanctions, it means that the force or figure they oppose has become stronger, which also suggests that the US has less space to maneuver or subvert in Venezuela. If the US insists on its interference in Latin America and further undermine regional cooperation and development by abusing sanctions, its hegemonic behaviors will surely be increasingly criticized by countries in the region and the international community.

This election in Venezuela reflects the desire of people in developing countries for equality and justice to certain extent. The political and development direction of a country should be in the hands of its own people. Any external force, no matter how powerful, has no right to impose its own political standards on other countries.

China has congratulated Venezuela's successful presidential election and President Maduro's re-election on the same day. China's respect for independent elections stands in sharp contrast to the US' interference.

China emphasizes mutual benefits, mutual understanding and win-win results based on equality, while the US' policy toward Latin American countries is characterized by hegemony and interference in their internal affairs without a sense of equality. The US not only seeks economic and political dominance over Latin American countries but also uses military intimidation. China's relationship with Latin American countries, including Venezuela, is based on equality, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, while the US is seen as a bully creating subversion and chaos. It is clear that which kind of relationship is more favored by Latin American countries.

With 18 golds, China was sitting on top of the Olympic gold medal table as of Sunday evening, followed by the US and host France, with many being claimed by Gen-Z athletes in fields outside China's traditional strengths. China also bagged 15 silvers and 9 bronzes so far.

Through the young generation's performance across the arenas, their interactions with other athletes and the audiences, and their voices in the media, the world can see a vibrant, confident, fashionable, friendly, brave and outspoken China, analysts said.

Liu Yu, a Beijing-based sports commentator, told the Global Times on Sunday that China has maintained its dominance in some traditional strengths such as diving, table tennis, badminton and shooting, but more importantly, Chinese athletes have achieved groundbreaking successes in swimming and tennis. 

The overall performances of the Chinese swimming team have served as a riposte to the skepticism and disregard that clouded the Chinese delegation. 

Gold medalist Pan Zhanle's world record breaking feat in the 100m freestyle swimming is as historic as hurdler Liu Xiang's victory in the 110m hurdles at the 2004 Athens Olympics, as "both triumphed in sports that European and American athletes had dominated for a long time," Liu Yu said. 

Pan, 19, broke his own world record to clinch gold on July 31, marking the first time a Chinese athlete has won gold in the men's 100m freestyle at an Olympic Games. 

"Given the abnormal frequency of doping tests and speculation from foreign media, the Chinese swimming team's performances are all the more remarkable," Liu Yu said. 

Another history maker is 21-year-old Zheng Qinwen who on Saturday became the first Asia-born player to claim gold in a tennis singles event at the Olympics, when she beat her opponent Croatia's Donna Vekic in straight sets. 

"Athletes like Pan and Zheng have become the national pride and they are sure to inspire younger generations in the years ahead," Liu Yu noted. 

Gen-Z athletes have also made their marks in the global sporting showpiece through their unique demeanor and relaxed attitude, which have captured the attention and admiration of spectators worldwide.

Chinese shooters Huang Yu-ting and Sheng Lihao, who clinched China's first gold in Paris 2024 in the 10m air rifle mixed team event, gained widespread attention for their interesting internet names and their composure in intense competition on Chinese social media. 

The attitude and demeanor of Gen-Z athletes have shifted people's focus from tallying gold medals to embracing the excitement of sports and the true spirit of the Olympics, Liu Yu said. 

The average age of the Chinese sports delegation to the Paris Games is 25. Eleven-year-old skateboarder Zheng Haohao, the youngest member of the Chinese delegation, is one of the Gen-Z athletes aiming for medals in emerging Olympic sports. Many of her peers are striving in sports such as breakdancing, sport climbing, skateboarding and surfing. 

Outspoken, brave and friendly

The performance of Chinese athletes in "Western-dominated" sports like swimming and tennis has become a loud response to biased comments, disrespectful actions and even groundless accusations with racist opinions from some people and media in the West. 

Swimmer Pan revealed to media the disrespectful behaviors he felt from Australian and US swimmers in a relay event, and responded with his clean record and gold medal. 

When some Western media continue the doping smears, Zhang Yufei, a female swimmer and bronze medalist in Paris, rebuffed the skepticism over Pan's new world record at a press conference on Thursday with confidence. 

 Zhang lays bare Western double standards by asking "Why are Chinese athletes questioned when they achieve fast times, yet no one doubted Michael Phelps when he won seven or eight gold medals? Similarly, Katie Ledecky has dominated long-distance swimming from 2012 to 2024, winning gold in every event, yet no one questioned her performances?" 

Li Xiang, a sports commentator and Olympics reporter, told the Global Times on Sunday that these Chinese athletes have shown that China's Gen-Zers will not tolerate or keep silent to the provocations, and they will fight back directly. More importantly, they are capable of responding to groundless, biased and even racist accusations with their strengths and performance in the arenas. 

They can represent China's image in the new era to the world. They are outspoken with an attitude, interact with their peer athletes and spectators positively and serve as "envoys of people-to-people exchanges," Li noted. 

After Chinese pair Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha claimed gold for table tennis mixed doubles on July 30, they asked North Korean silver medalists Ri Jong-sik and Kim Kum-yong and South Korean bronze medalists Shin Yu-bin and Lim Jong-hoon to pose for a group selfie.

It was a perfect portrayal of sports' capacity to unite, as the athletes' smiles illuminated the sentiment that triumphs and titles, though important, are not the only takeaways, said a comment published on August 2 by the Xinhua News Agency.

Some Western media have always been trying to depict China as a rigid authoritarian country with no freedom and fun, and that Chinese people are not cool at all, but Chinese Gen-Z athletes tell the opposite story in Paris, breaking bias and lies circulating in the West.

"They are the best symbols of China's soft power today," Li noted.

As China's contribution to the world's largest intergovernmental international radio telescope project Square Kilometer Array Observatory (SKAO), the first batch of the China-built middle-frequency antenna dishes of the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) radio telescope set off for South Africa on Wednesday. 

The antenna dishes to be installed in Karoo, the remote desert region in South Africa, are expected to help detect signals from the most distant parts of the universe, marking a significant step of China in participating in the international mega-science project. 

The first four antenna dishes, officially abbreviated as SKA-Mid, have passed the factory acceptance test in quality in Shijiazhuang, North China's Hebei Province, and will be transported by heavy-lift trucks to a port in North China's Tianjin Municipality, where they will be shipped to South Africa. 

The SKA is an ambitious scientific endeavor which is jointly funded, built and run by more than 10 countries including China, the UK, Australia and South Africa, with more than 100 organizations from 18 different countries participating in the development of the telescope. It will feature much higher sensitivity and survey speeds than any other radio instrument array developed so far. 

The SKA is a collection of various types of antennas, called an array, and the middle-frequency dish is the core facility of the middle-frequency array in the SKA radio telescope.

China is responsible for the research and development of the SKA-Mid dishes as well as the mass production for the instruments. The first batch of the 64 SKA-Mid dishes will be expected to be installed by the end of 2026, marking China's contribution in human's exploration into the universe. 

Another major section of the SKA project, the low-frequency antennas, or SKA-Low, will be located in the remote Murchison area in Western Australia.

Hundreds of thousands of SKA antennas will be built in multiple sites including South Africa, and its eight African partner countries, including Botswana, Ghana and Kenya, as well as in Australia. 

When the project is completed, it is spread over long distances with up to one square kilometer in total collecting surface area, the equivalent of 140 soccer fields. 

The SKA radio telescope carries the mission of helping humanity understand the mysteries of the universe and life, and is dedicated to exploring fundamental questions such as exploring the origin and evolution of the universe and galaxies, discovering more galaxies, searching for new cradles of life, and seeking extraterrestrial life. 

Two chefs from a restaurant in Nantong, East China’s Jiangsu Province, were sentenced to two years and one year and six months in prison, respectively, with probation, and were fined 160,000 yuan ($22,000) altogether for the production and sale of toxic and harmful food. They were found to have put prescription antidiarrheal medicine in diners’ dishes to avoid mass food-poisoning incident. 

Gentamicin sulfate, a kind of antibiotic and prescription medicine used for treating diarrhea, had been illegally put by the restaurant’s head chef surnamed Sha and the cook surnamed Fu into a total of 1,612 helpings of stewed dishes, with the total sales revenue of 77,376 yuan, since 2023. According to China’s Food Safety Law, medicines shall not be added to food products during production and sales, the Nanjing-based Modern Express reported. 

Despite that gentamicin used to be a commonly used medicine for the treatment of dysentery and diarrhea, it also has a side effect of causing childhood deafness. 

In September 2023, a staffer from the restaurant reported to the local government hotline that gentamicin injection was added as a food additive to the dishes at the restaurant. In a following raid, law enforcement personnel found four used boxes of gentamicin sulfate injection in the kitchen trash can and another 101 boxes of the antidiarrheal medicine yet to be used at the office of the head chef. 

Tests on the dish samples collected from the restaurant and the unopened injection showed evidence of gentamicin. 

The sentence was announced on April 23, 2024, and the two chefs have also made a public apology in media. 

Law enforcement personnel also found that all the gentamicin sulfate injection was purchased from the same store of a chain pharmacy. A restaurant staffer surnamed Zhang bought the medicine without prescription. 

Meanwhile, it violated the national regulations on drug management for the pharmacy to sell the prescription drugs without a prescription. 

Through investigation, the local procuratorial authorities also found that multiple stores of the chain pharmacy had been illegally selling gentamicin sulfate injection for a long time. 

On January 31, 2024, the local procuratorial authorities issued an advice to the local market supervision department and urged the market watchdog to punish the violations and carry out thorough investigations of illegally adding food additives and conduct special rectification on medicine retails. 

Finally, the restaurant was fined 1.18 million yuan and its business license was revoked by the market supervision department. The two chefs and two restaurant managers were banned from working in the food production businesses or catering services for life or in the next five years. Both the restaurant and the four people were listed on the dishonest list. 

Besides, the local market watchdog has inspected 335 catering service providers and 508 medicine retailor companies, and has ordered 120 pharmacies to conduct rectification. 

Rescue efforts are in full swing as at least three breaches have appeared in the embankment of a tributary of the Xiangjiang River in Central China's Hunan Province, leaving swathes of land soaked in water in Typhoon Gaemi's wake. About 4,600 local residents have been relocated, with no casualties reported so far.  
 
At around 13:40 on Sunday, a third breach, over 30 meters in length, occurred in the embankment section of Huazhong Village in Hekou township, Xiangtan.  
 
The other main breach occurred in the Sixin dike of Yisuhe township in Xiangtan. By 9:40 pm Sunday, the breach had expanded to 50 meters wide and by 3:58 am Monday, the breach had expanded to 77 meters wide.  
 
As of press time, the width of the breach in the Sixin dike has not changed much, and the water levels inside and outside the embankment have been stable, with the flow rate slowing down. More than 3,832 people in the area have been evacuated, with no casualties reported. 
 
"The flood water just entered my house and continued to rise on Sunday night. Everything was soaked in water. Until the local rescue teams came, we were told to leave by taking life boats," Xiao Hao, a local resident from Yisuhe township in Xiangtan, told the Global Times on Monday. 
 
According to media reports, local fire rescue forces have been dispatched to Yisuhe. At around 2 am on Monday, firefighters were carrying lifeboats and advancing toward the disaster area with difficulty due to the narrow roads. Large groups of people have already been transferred to safe places by lifeboats, media reports said.  
 
Forces from emergency management have also dispatched 200 professional rescue personnel and 110 units of professional equipment, with the first team consisting of 70 personnel and 15 pieces of equipment. They have been transferred from the landslide site in Yuelin village, Hengyang, to Xiangtan and have arrived at the breach site to carry out their work. 
 
At the rescue site conducting emergency rescue operations at the Sixin dike in Yisuhe town, over 600 officers and soldiers from the Hunan military, 200 officers and soldiers from the Hunan Armed Police, more than 200 professional rescue personnel from China Anneng Construction Group, 30 individuals from China Railway, and members of the Blue Sky Rescue Team and local rescue teams were involved in rescue efforts. 
 
In addition, the working group of the State Council for Disaster Prevention rushed to Yisuhe town overnight. 
 
Previously, another breach of about 10 meters had appeared in the embankment in Liushuwai, Xiangtan's Longtan village, around 18:40 on Sunday. As of press time, the repairs had been completed, and the accumulated water inside the embankment had been nearly drained.  
 
The water levels at the local hydrological station have returned to normal. After the completion of disinfection in the flooded areas of Longtan village and Heping village, affected residents are now returning to their homes. 
 
As of press time, due to the impact of rainfall, 97 rivers in Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Hunan, Guangdong, Yunnan, Sichuan, Xinjiang and other places have experienced water exceeding warning levels, according to the Ministry of Water Resources..  
 
Among them, 40 rivers have experienced water exceeding flood control levels.  
 
A live-stream video posted on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, on Monday showed that swatches of land and houses were flooded. 
 
In Chenzhou, another city in Hunan, many townships in Zixing city have been hit by heavy rainstorms, with some stations recording rainfall exceeding historical records the province starting from July 26.  
 
Currently, eight out of the 10 villages in Bamianshan township remain out of contact. Early Monday, 10 rescue teams entered the isolated villages on foot to investigate the disaster situation and help evacuate trapped residents. 
 
Apart from allocating local rescue forces, according to the emergency management department of Chenzhou, three helicopters were dispatched to Bamianshan township and other areas where transportation was blocked due to heavy rain to deliver food and essential supplies. The helicopters were loaded with water, rice, instant noodles, vegetables, oil and other daily necessities, which can meet the needs of 13,200 people.  
 
The local authorities have also prepared charged power devices and essential medicines to meet urgent communication and medical needs. China's domestically developed Wing Loong drones took off from East China's Fujian early Monday and will provide mobile phone signals to areas with damaged communication facilities through an aerial communication platform. 
 
Meteorological experts say that the cloud system of Typhoon Gaemi combined with the southwest monsoon resulted in very strong water vapor development in the high-humidity areas of Hunan, leading to the appearance of a strong rainfall center in the Hunan region. 
 
Ma Jun, director of the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, told the Global Times on Monday that the process of flood evolution and the subsequent affected areas need to be further studied using a hydrodynamic model.  
 
The construction or raising of levees at appropriate locations downstream of breaches should be implemented to prevent floods from continuing to spread and prevent the further expansion of the disaster, Ma said. He noted that the ongoing rainfall increased the difficulty in responding to disasters.  

The Chinese yuan has maintained a high ranking on a currency internationalization gauge last year, with an annual average of 6.27 points, up 22.9 percent year-over-year, news report shows.

The 2024 Annual Report of Renminbi Internationalization, developed by Chinese Renmin University's International Monetary Institute, was released on Saturday. It uses the Renminbi (yuan) Internationalization Index (RII) to track the yuan's progress in trade settlement, financial transactions, and official reserves. A higher RII indicates a greater degree of internationalization.

At the end of each quarter in 2023, the RII values were reported as 5.21, 7.13, 6.42, and 6.32 points, respectively, with an annual average of 6.27 points, up 22.9 percent year-over-year, demonstrating strong momentum in the yuan's internationalization.

China's commitment to high-quality economic development and opening-up is bolstering the currency's global stature.

Despite challenging external situation, the yuan's internationalization showed strong progress compared to other currencies. As of the end of 2023, the internationalization indexes for the US dollar, euro, pound sterling, and Japanese yen were 51.52, 25.03, 3.76, and 4.40, respectively. The yuan's index surpassed those of the pound and yen.

China's high-quality economic development boosts the yuan's value internationally. Its role in global recovery and stable supply chains promotes global trade cooperation, increasing the yuan's use in cross-border commerce, experts said.

"Trade growth and the relocation of industries to ASEAN, RCEP countries, Russia and other regions have seen rapid growth. Russia now primarily uses the yuan for cross-border trade settlements," Tan Xiaofen, a professor at the School of Economics and Management at Beihang University, told the Global Times on Monday.

"Also, China is promoting 'institutional openness'. Improved policies and regulatory systems not only provide domestic investors with more channels for overseas investment but also attract substantial foreign capital into the Chinese market," Tan said.

In trade settlement, cross-border yuan settlement reached a record high last year, with the yuan accounting for 4.43 percent of global trade at the year end, a 34.18 percent year-over-year increase, contributing about 30 percent to the RII.

In international financial transactions, yuan used in direct investment grew steadily, as well as in credit loans and bond financing, leading to a 28.80 percent year-over-year rise, contributing about 80 percent to the RII.

Regarding international reserves, the yuan's share in global foreign exchange reserves declined to 2.29 percent, negatively impacting the RII by about 10 percent.

"Despite facing some external pressures, we are optimistic about the yuan's internationalization, with China's status as a leading economy and foreign trade power providing consistent support, Tan said.

In the first half of 2024, China's foreign trade rose to a new high of 21.17 trillion yuan ($2.9 trillion), a year-on-year increase of 6.1 percent, official customs data showed.

According to SWIFT's latest report, the yuan accounted for 4.61 percent of global payments by value in June, a 0.14 percentage point increase from May. This is the eighth month in a row that the yuan has held the fourth slot among global payment currencies.

Three days before the opening of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the Chinese swimming team has already earned the title of "champion."

A report released by World Aquatics on Tuesday showed that swimmers from China were the most tested athletes since the beginning of this year, with an average of 13 tests per person. Including tests conducted by other anti-doping organizations, aquatics athletes competing in Paris have been tested an average of 3.4 times, the report said.

Behind this not-so-celebratory "achievement," we can see the Chinese athletes' willingness to prove their innocence by cooperating with various doping tests as well as the US' selfish calculation to politicize sports.

Such a stark contrast in numbers is, of course, quite astonishing - and may seem bitter or even unfair to many Chinese people. In a perverse way, however, it shows that these Chinese athletes are confident enough to cooperate with the tests to the legitimacy of their achievements. As an ancient Chinese saying goes, true gold fears no fire. In the case of sports, true athlete fears no test.

Compared with the calmness shown by the Chinese swimmers, the recent US response to this incident seems downright despicable. Earlier this month, it was confirmed that the US Department of Justice is investigating the 2021 contamination case of 23 swimmers in China. Soon after, the US media, successfully unlocking the secret of boosting clicks - attacking Chinese sportsmen right before the Olympics, began to massively report on the incident, in an attempt to cooperate with Washington to shape a negative image of China.

And the blatant witch hunt even spilled over to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), whose investigation into the 2021 case, which has been proven to be showing no favoritism or deference, was criticized by US anti-doping authorities. As WADA President Witold Banka commented, "This case was used as a geopolitical tool."

This farce, hyped up mostly by the US, is a vivid example of how Washington is racking its brain to politicize sports. Driven by the urge to engage in an all-out competition with China, the US not only seizes every possible opportunity to launch a little offensive against China, but also sees everything through the lens of political warfare.

In fact, US' long-arm jurisdiction extends to the field of sports. In 2020, the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act, which gives US officials "the power to prosecute individuals for doping schemes at international sports competitions involving American athletes," was signed into law. But such an effort to use domestic law to interfere with the work of international sports organizations and related agencies will only cause the US to lose its global credibility.

Any international sporting event should serve as a platform that transcends political, racial and cultural differences. The US has polluted the supposedly pure sports arena with its own dirty political maneuvers, turning an event celebrated by people around the world into a political arena for it to play its petty tricks. And Team China is not the only victim - the US' moves also completely jeopardize the spirit of fair play that athletes and spectators pursue.

Another main reason why the US has been so eager to attack Chinese athletes is because of China's increasingly excellent performance in sporting events at all levels. China has attached great importance to the Olympics since its return to the games in 1984. The country has not only successfully hosted two Olympic Games in Beijing, but also made great contributions to the Olympics in other countries - for example, "Made in China" products, characterized by high quality and environmental friendliness, are widely embraced in this year's Paris Olympics.

In and out of the sports arena, Chinese athletes have also been committed to fully carrying forward the Olympic philosophy of mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play. With the spirit of hard training and tenacity, they have constantly challenged themselves to become "faster, higher and stronger." During competition, they show a high degree of professionalism and sportsmanship by strictly abiding by the rules and respecting their opponents and referees. They also try their best to interact with their foreign counterparts and build friendships during international games.

It is expected that in the upcoming Paris Olympics, the US will continue to stir up trouble, using doping as an excuse to interfere with the daily routine of the Chinese athletes and shake the morale of Team China. With honorable conduct, Chinese sportsmen, on the other hand, will not be afraid of smears and attacks. However, the international community still has a long way to go to return sports events to their original, true color and prevent the sewage of politicization from further polluting the clean sports arena.

The contribution rate of China's agricultural science and technology progress reached 63.2 percent in 2023, roughly 10 percentage points higher than that of 2012, amid efforts to enhance sci-tech self-reliance in the sector, an official with China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on Wednesday.

The ratio was 62.4 percent in 2022.

In the first half of this year, the ministry and 16 central government departments and agencies have identified a total of 401 tasks for scientific and technological breakthroughs and will publish the list soon, Zhang Xingwang, a vice minister of agriculture and rural affairs, said at a press conference on Wednesday in Beijing.

The list is aimed at better channeling scientific and research resources to sectors that are weak links and desperately need improvement, such as cultivating high-production, high-yield soybean breeds and development of smart and intelligent agricultural machineries, according to the official.

Aided by increased contributions from agricultural machinery and technology, China secured a total summer grain harvest of 149.78 million tons this year, up 2.5 percent or nearly 3.63 million tons year-on-year, the largest increase in nine years, according to the ministry.

Summer grain output per hectare continued to improve with efforts focused on improving corn, wheat and soybean yields.

The self-sufficiency rate for soybeans in China has increased by nearly 4 percentage points in the past several years, ministry officials said.

Experts said that the key to development of China's agricultural sector lies in harnessing the power of science and technology, given the country's large population and limited arable land. The utilization of digital technologies, such as the use of drones and the Internet of Things tackles the lack of labor and pushes China's food security to a new height.

The exhibition named On Top of the Pyramid: The Civilization of Ancient Egypt, which is being held in Shanghai, has captivated the audience and boosted hotel bookings by 20 percent year-on-year, data from a China-based travel platform Trip.com showed. 

This grand exhibition witnessed Chinese people's enthusiasm for summer tourism consumption and the vibrancy of the tourist market, also boosted cultural exchange between China and Egypt.

This exhibition was commenced on July 19, 2024 and will last until August 17, 2025, and the cultural blend of China and Egypt's ancient civilizations is a main attraction for visitors. 

Chinese tourists are seeking strong cultural experiences during this summer, particularly in the museum-related trips.

Another travel platform Tujia.com told the Global Times on Monday that bookings for home accommodation services near museums have nearly doubled compared with last year, with Shanghai being one of the top cities for hotel bookings near museums.

Meanwhile, hotel bookings across the summer for accommodations around the Sanxingdui Museum in Southwest China's Sichuan Province have surged by 15 times year-on-year, data from Tujia.com showed on Monday.

Bookings for the Nanjing Museum also saw a 1.5 fold increase, while that of the Shaanxi History Museum seen almost up 50 percent year-on-year in the same period.

The Global Times found on Monday that the tickets for The Civilization of Ancient Egypt exhibition on Trip.com were sold out in four days this week, with limited tickets available on the remaining two days. The museum is opened for six days this week. 

Staff from another travel platform told the Global Times on Monday that indoor museums in Beijing have become popular destinations during the summer holidays, with tickets becoming hard to book during same period every year.

The Global Times also found that hotel bookings and occupancy rates within a 2-kilometers walking distance around the Shanghai Museum were high as of July 19. 

Employees from those hotels told the Global Times on Monday that this situation may be due to the peak for summer travel, combined with the exhibition's popularity. 

"I queued for more than 40 minutes to enter the exhibition hall on July 19, despite the hot weather, everyone's enthusiasm remained high," a visitor surnamed Wu from Central China's Henan Province told the Global Times on Monday. 

"I believe the waiting was worth it,experiencing the ancient Egyptian civilization in China was amazing," Wu added.

Chu Xiaobo, head of the Shanghai Museum, said on opening ceremony that this is the largest global exhibition of ancient Egyptian artifacts and the highest level in Asia. 

Chu said that it welcomed the first collaboration between a Chinese museum and the Egyptian government, revealing ancient Egypt's splendor and latest archaeological discoveries.

The active museum-related trips during this summer holidays boosted China's traveling market and enriched visitors' cultural experiences.

"Since the exhibition started, there has been a noticeable increase in tourists with the lively atmosphere around the museum, streets and metro stations are bustling with enthusiastic visitors," Qian Jingyan, a visitor who visited the exhibition in Shanghai told the Global Times on Monday. 

"This visit is really an excellent experience for me, highlighting the brilliance of ancient Egyptian civilization and kindling my pride in the thousands of years' of Chinese heritage," Qian added.