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Here is the news. Fresh from completing China's rigorous college entrance exam, Over 13 million high school graduates applying to university this year are faced with an intriguing academic path.
The country's first bachelor's program, entirely dedicated to pets, Launched by the China Agricultural University, the four -year undergraduate program in companion animal science aims to train experts in pet nutrition, behavior, breeding and care.
meeting both student aspirations and the growing demands of China's pet industry.
Unlike traditional animal science programs that concentrate on livestock such as chickens, cattle and sheep, The companion animal program focuses on pets like cats, dogs and horses.
Fifty students will be admitted in the inaugural class.
Upon graduation, they will receive a Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree.
According to Liu Guoshi, Vice -Dean of the College of Animal Science and Technology at the university, the curriculum is structured around real -world industry demands.
Courses include companion animal breeding, nutritional metabolism, feed processing, reproductive physiology, as well as animal welfare and behaviour studies, among other specialised courses.
While the programme may sound novel to some, it represents a significant transformation in Chinese higher education — a strategic shift away from traditional supply -driven offerings towards demand -led disciplines tailored for emerging sectors.
China's educational authority has called for dynamic optimization of academic disciplines to ensure alignment with economic priorities.
In a notice on graduate employment for 2025, The Ministry of Education urged universities to anticipate labour market shifts and accelerate the roll -out of emerging programmes.
China's pet economy offers a compelling case for this transformation.
In 2024, the country's urban population owned more than 120 million cats and dogs, driving a pet economy worth over 300 billion yuan, around US $42 billion.
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China Post has officially launched a new international cargo route between the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou and Luxembourg.
According to a China Post official, the route initially operates one flight per week with plans to increase frequency based on market demand.
It expands beyond traditional cross -border e -commerce to carry high -tech and high -value -added goods such as pharmaceuticals and precision manufacturing components.
Zhengzhou in Henan province has been actively developing into an international air cargo hub in recent years.
To date, 33 all -cargo airlines have launched 58 dedicated cargo routes from the city, including 43 international routes.
Zhengzhou Xinjiang International Airport handled 239 ,000 tons of international or regional cargo in the first five months of this year, a year -on -year increase of 45 .8 percent.
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China has issued new rules to curb harmful animal release practices, banning the freeing of invasive species and sick animals in protected areas and promoting scientific oversight for ecological preservation.
The notice, jointly released by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the National Religious Affairs Administration, lays out the government's plan to further regulate and guide animal release activities and crack down on illegal practices.
It emphasises that releasing wild, terrestrial and aquatic animals back into nature is an important means to promote the recovery of populations and maintain biodiversity, but only when undertaken according to coordinated scientific guidelines.
The notice states that the spontaneous and unregulated release activities by the public often result in abnormal animal deaths, the spread of diseases, disruption to local communities and the risk of invasive species damaging the ecological balance.
Alien and diseased animals are now prohibited from being released in ecologically protected red zones.
These include residential areas, natural reserves, important water sources, areas with endangered species, as well as critical habitats and migration routes.
In places with high demands for animal releases, authorities must first assess the local ecology and establish clear species -specific health standards.
Exceptions require wildlife authorities' approval after scientific review.
Lastly, the notice states that proper care and rescue should be given to animals unfit for release.
This includes strengthening rescue organisations to ensure confiscated or non -releasable animals receive timely care and humane disposal, preventing abandonment or improper handling.
Construction of supporting infrastructure for a cutting -edge solar telescope has begun in Daocheng County in southwest China's Sichuan Province, marking a significant step towards a new era of high -resolution solar observation.
The 2 .5 -metre wide -field and high -resolution solar telescope, a national research instrumentation project, is led by Nanjing University in collaboration with the Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics and Technology and the Yunnan Observatories, both under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The construction of the telescope officially began in 2022.
Upon completion, it will be the world's largest axis -symmetric solar telescope, strategically situated at an elevation of 4 ,700 metres on a mountain in Daocheng County.
The chosen site boasts exceptional atmospheric stability and solar observation conditions.
The project is poised to provide a critical foundation for acquiring world -class observational data.
Construction of the supporting infrastructure and telescope assembly is scheduled for completion by the end of 2026, followed by comprehensive system commissioning and testing.
A group of Chinese researchers and their international counterparts have found that artificial light at night exerted stronger influence than high temperature in extending the urban plant growing season, bringing new inspiration to urban ecosystem conservation and sustainable development.
Light and temperature largely regulate the plant growing seasons.
For example, compared with the surrounding rural areas, the increase in light and temperature in cities leads to earlier budding and flowering in spring and later colouring in autumn for urban trees.
However, the scientists have not fully investigated the extent of the impact of these factors.
From 2014 to 2020, the researchers from China's Wuhan University, the United States, Vanderbilt University and other international institutes used multiple satellite observations of 428 cities in the Northern Hemisphere, including Beijing, New York, Paris and Toronto, with data of artificial light at night and surface air temperature to carry out the study.
The study, recently published in the journal Nature Cities, found that artificial light at night increases exponentially from rural to urban centres, which has a greater impact on the start and end of the urban growing season than the temperature increase.
It revealed that the impact of artificial light is more pronounced at the end of the growing season than at the beginning.
In the cities analysed, the start of the urban growing season is 12 .6 days earlier than in the surrounding countryside, while the end is 11 .2 days later.
The study also found mixed influence brought by extended urban plant growing seasons, which may reduce the urban heat island effect and enhance carbon sequestration.
However, it may disrupt interactions between plants and pollinators and lead to an earlier occurrence of pollen allergy symptoms. You're listening to Special English.
Chinese scientists have confirmed the existence of a prehistoric matrilineal community in East China's Shandong Province, pushing back the established timeline of matrilineal social social societies which were previously believed to have emerged no earlier than the Iron Age in Europe.
The new findings have been published in Nature.
The research team analysed ancient DNA alongside archaeological contexts and multiple stable isotopic data sets from 60 individuals in two separate cemeteries at the Fujia archaeological site in Shandong's coastal Guangrao County, dating back to between 2750 BC and 2500 BC.
Their results point to the existence of an early described matrilineal community in the Neolithic period, characterised by high endogamy and a population practicing millet agriculture near the coast. Evidence of intermarriage between individuals in the two cemeteries and the presence of both primary and secondary burials organised strictly according to maternal clans underscore a strong sense of social cohesion and identity at the Fujia site.
Jiang Hai, a researcher at Peking University's School of Archaeology and Museology, said that using a multidisciplinary approach, The team confirmed the existence of prehistoric matrilineal social organisation.
They also uncovered key insights into the structure, population size, subsistence patterns and productivity levels of matrilineal clan societies in the lower Yellow River coastal region during the Neolithic Age.
Zhang said their work marks a major breakthrough in the study of social organisation in early human societies.
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That is the end of this edition of Special English.
To recap, I'm going to read two of the news items again at normal speed.
Please listen carefully.
Fresh from completing China's rigorous college entrance exam, over 13 million high school graduates applying to university this year are faced with an intriguing academic path.
the country's first bachelor's programme entirely dedicated to pets.
Launched by the China Agricultural University, the four -year undergraduate programme in companion animal science aims to train experts in pet nutrition, behaviour, breeding and care, meeting both student aspirations and the growing demands of China's pet industry.
Unlike traditional animal science programmes that concentrate on livestock such as chickens, cattle and sheep, the companion animal programme focuses on pets like cats, dogs and horses.
50 students will be admitted in the inaugural class.
Upon graduation, they will receive a Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree.
According to Liu Guoxue, Vice -Dean of the College of Animal Science and Technology at the University, the curriculum is structured around real -world industry demands.
Courses include companion animal breeding, nutritional metabolism, feed processing, reproductive physiology, as well as animal welfare and behaviour studies, among other specialised courses.
While the programme may sound novel to some, it represents a significant transformation in Chinese higher education, a strategic shift away from traditional supply -driven offerings towards demand -led disciplines tailored for emerging sectors.
China's educational authority has called for dynamic optimisation of academic disciplines to ensure alignment with economic priorities.
In a notice on graduate employment for 2025, the Ministry of Education urged universities to anticipate labour market shifts and accelerate the rollout of emerging programmes.
China's pet economy offers a compelling case for this transformation.
In 2024, the country's urban population owned more than 120 million cats and dogs, driving a pet economy worth over 300 billion yuan, around 42 billion US dollars.
China Post has officially launched a new international cargo route between the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou and Luxembourg.
According to a China Post official, the route initially operates one flight per week with plans to increase frequency based on market demand.
It expands beyond traditional cross -border e -commerce to carry high -tech and high -value -added goods such as pharmaceuticals and precision manufacturing components.
Zhengzhou in Henan province has been actively developing into an international air cargo hub in recent years.
To date, 33 all -cargo airlines have launched 58 dedicated cargo routes from the city, including 43 international routes.
Zhengzhou Xinjiang International Airport handled 239 ,000 tonnes of international or regional cargo in the first five months of this year, a year -on -year increase of 45 .8%.
That is the end of today's program.
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The Sayings of Lao Tzu is available on all major podcast platforms. HE CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT THE YELLOW RIVER IN HIS EYES THE YELLOW RIVER IS SO NOBLE AND ELEGANT BOTH MY GRANDPA AND DAD MADE THE LIVING FROM THE RIVER WOULD YOU LIKE TO MOVE AWAY FROM THE YELLOW RIVER?
I don't think I will.
I love it so much. The Yellow River, the second longest river in China, is regarded as a shaping force in the history, economy and culture of northern China.
Today, about 100 million people live within its water basin, making up nearly 9 % of the country's population.
How is climate change felt at its headwaters?
And what are the locals doing to cope with it?
What are the descendants of the boatmen doing?
What has kept some people from leaving their home villages by the river?
And what has drawn others back?
Could the fading fishing community revive in the time of digital transformation?
From 2021 to 2024, our reporters visited the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, Talk to the herders, farmers, boatmen, fishermen and eco -activists who share a close bond with the river and present their stories in pictures, podcasts and videos all in our 12 -part series, The Yellow River Mosaic, available only on CGTN Radio.
