Development of rural areas is critical for China. When working toward the goal of building the country into a moderately prosperous society in all respects and a strong, modern socialist country, the most challenging and onerous tasks China faces are those regarding rural areas. The progress of these areas will in turn provide the solid foundation and become the largest source of strength and potential for national development.

On December 8, 2020, while Nyingchi City was feeling the icy chill of winter, students at a technical school were adding warmth to the ambience as they enjoyed a cooking class. The catering training building was a hive of activity as more than 30 students from various counties and districts in Nyingchi learned how to use various seasoning methods from a culinary master Tsering Yangzom.

From the Report on the Work of the Government to the draft Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035, “rural revitalization” has virtually become a hot topic for this year’s sessions of China’s top legislature and top political advisory body.

Aksu Prefecture, a rugged and remote location, home to 2.5 million people, is located in the mid-western frontier of China’s Xin-jiang Uygur Autonomous Region, where the imposing Tianshan Mountains rise next to the Tarim Basin and part of the Taklimakan Desert. In terms of land area, Aksu is similar in size to Nicaragua or Greece. Located within Aksu is the city of Kuche, which in recent years has been a model example of the national endeavor to fight against poverty.

Over just 40-plus years of development since the adoption of the reform and opening-up policy, a poor village built on reclaimed tidal marshes in east China’s Jiangsu Province has emerged as an eco-friendly, industrialized urban center with modern facilities matching any major city.

China is a large agricultural country with approximately 140 million hectares of cultivated area. With merely seven percent of the world’s arable land, it feeds nearly one fifth of the world’s population.

Just after the Spring Festival, Peng Yi, a designer of cultural and creative products, and the embroidery ladies at a rural poverty alleviation workshop were inundated with calls ordering Miao embroidery and batik products.

The proposals took into consideration the current changing trends at home and abroad, and China’s urgent need for high-quality science and technology achievements in economic and social development in the new era.

China’s deep-sea manned submersible Fendouzhe (Striver) made national history on November 10, 2020, when it descended 10,909 meters into the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter marking the feat, in which he said the successful expedition showed China is capable of conducting scientific exploration and studies in the deepest depths of the ocean.

At the completely automatic wharf in the fourth phase of Yangshan Port, unmanned straddle carriers convey containers unloaded from oceangoing freighters to designated yards in perfect coordination. In a manufacturing workshop, robots perform assembly work according to plan, participating in the production of robots by robots. In a smart general assembly shop, automatic spraying technology is applied for gluing and painting.

In January 2009, the 1,000 kV ultra-high voltage (UHV) alternating-current (AC) power transmission line from southeastern Shanxi Province to Jingmen in Hubei Province began operation. During their meeting in the U.S. a few months later, Steven Chu, the United States Secretary of Energy at the time, told then State Grid Corporation of China (State Grid) Chairman Liu Zhenya that he envied China’s UHV project, admitting that China was ahead of the U.S. in this area and expressing his wish to share China’s relevant achievements.

Named after the Chinese mythical moon goddess, the Chang’e-5 robotic lunar probe was successfully launched from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan Province on November 24, 2020. After more than 20 days in orbit, the probe brought back about 2 kilograms of lunar samples to Earth.

The China Science Fiction Convention 2020 kicks off at the Shougang Industrial Park in Beijing’s Shijingshan District on November 1, staging enthralling science fiction shows.

In the early morning of November 3, 2020, Chen Jiankun, who lives in Sanlin Village, Deqing County, Zhejiang Province, headed to his snakehead fishpond as he did every day. Snakeheads are a kind of elongated predatory freshwater fish. After feeding the fish, he took out a matchstick-sized plastic chip, “The chip is inserted in the skin of each fish, and consumers can know the origin of the fish and the information of the farmer by scanning each chip code via their mobile phones.”