On June 17, 2013 according to the 41st Top 500 Supercomputers list, Tianhe-2 beat the world with a peak performance of 54.9 petaflops per second. Its sustained calculating speed is 33.86 petaflops per second. In 2010, Tianhe-1 jumped to the top of the rankings to earn China the title for world’s fastest supercomputer. The "Tianhe" series, together with “Tiangong,” China’s first orbiting space lab, and the Shenzhou spacecrafts, have become the symbols of China’s international competitiveness.
The yield of China’s hybrid rice has exceeded 13.5 tons per hectare. Over the past decades, China has exported hybrid rice and associated technology to many countries, lifting over one billion people out of hunger. On June 13, 2013 China organized a training class on hybrid rice production technology for developing countries. Yuan Longping, known as the “father of hybrid rice,” lectured on hybrid rice production and related agricultural technology to 22 agricultural officials and research fellows from 13 developing nations.
On June 19, 2013 China's manned submersible Jiaolong, on its first experimental application voyage in the South China Sea, carried Qiu Jianwen, an associate professor at the Department of Biology of Hong Kong Baptist University, on a deep-sea dive.
On June 11, 2013 China launched the Shenzhou-10 manned spacecraft. Female astronaut Wang Yaping gave China’s first “space lesson” to mesmerized students back on earth.
On November 23, 2012, a J-15 fighter took off from the deck of China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, which was commissioned to the Navy of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army on September 25, 2012.
On October 25, 2012 China successfully launched the 16th satellite for its Beidou-2 System. China's homegrown Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) is the world's third mature satellite navigation system after the American GPS and the Russian GLONASS. On December 27, 2012 the Beidou Navigation Satellite System began to provide services, including positioning, navigation and timing, to users in the Asia-Pacific region.
Donghai Bridge Wind Farm, a 102-megawatt offshore wind farm close to Shanghai, was completed on March 17, 2010.
On May 28, 2010 “Solar Valley City,” the world's largest base for solar energy research and development, was built in Dezhou City, Shandong Province.
On October 15, 2003 China successfully launched Shenzhou-5, its first manned spacecraft, into orbit. China thus became the third country in the world to independently carry out manned space activities. Yang Liwei was China's first astronaut to orbit the earth.