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[Technological Advancements, Cultural Tourism, and Botanical Traditions in Modern China]-[Tourism revitalizes ancient village near Great Wall]

Special English · B1 · 2024-07-28

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📋 Summary

Logistics and Trade Expansion in Guizhou

Southwest China's Guizhou Province is undergoing a significant logistical transformation, leveraging its mountainous landscape to drive the development of air traffic. Central to this effort is the Guiyang-Longdongbao International Airport, which serves as the core of the Guizhou-Shuanglong Airport Economic Zone. A new cargo route linking Guiyang and Moscow has recently been launched, joining existing freight lines to Delhi, Kolkata, and Karachi. These routes are vital for the import of Russian seafood—including king crabs and snow crabs—and the export of Chinese electronic products. According to Su Bohwen of the Guizhou First Catch Supply Chain Management Company, this shift to air transport has reduced transit times from 60–70 hours via rail and sea to a mere 12–13 hours. Furthermore, local enterprises like the Guizhou Coconut Elephant Supply Chain Management Company are expanding their reach, with plans to open routes to Ho Chi Minh City to facilitate the trade of Vietnamese green lobsters and fruits.

Path Orchestra: A Leap in AI-Assisted Diagnostics

China continues to assert itself as a global leader in AI, with 36% of the world's 1,300+ large language models originating from the country. A major breakthrough in this sector is Path Orchestra, a versatile artificial intelligence model capable of analyzing diverse pathological images, including those of the lungs, breast, and liver. Developed by researchers from the Air Force Medical University, Tsinghua University, and Sense Time, the model utilized a massive dataset of nearly 300,000 whole-slide digital pathology images. By harnessing Self-Supervised Learning, the model has achieved over 95% accuracy in clinical tasks like lymphoma subtype diagnosis and bladder cancer screening, significantly alleviating the workload for pathologists who previously navigated the complexities of what Professor Wang Zhi described as the "duel in the realm of image processing."

Cultural Tourism and the Great Wall

In Beijing’s suburban Yanqing district, the village of Shishah has experienced a cultural tourism boom. Once hindered by its remote location, the village now capitalizes on its proximity to the Badaling Great Wall. Local innkeeper Her Yu Ling noted that her B&B received over 5,500 guests in a single month, reflecting a broader trend where residents convert courtyards into hospitality venues. This surge in tourism has provided significant economic relief to locals, with the 21 B&Bs in the area collectively generating over 8 million yuan annually. As the Great Wall remains China's "preeminent cultural legacy," local governments are actively infusing new vitality into the region by developing more cultural resources tied to these historic sites.

The Symbolic Significance of the Lotus

Mid-summer in China is synonymous with the blooming of the lotus, or He and Lian. Beyond its aesthetic beauty, the lotus is revered as the "gentleman's flower" for its ability to grow out of the mud while remaining "unsoiled and unsullied." This cultural status was solidified by the Northern Song Dynasty neo-confucianist Zhou Dunyi, who wrote a famous prose eulogizing the plant's purity and truth. The lotus is deeply intertwined with Chinese linguistics—Lian sounds similar to words for connection, while He evokes harmony. Beyond its symbolism, the plant serves various practical functions, with its roots, seeds, and leaves utilized extensively in vegetarian cooking and traditional medicine.

Advancements in the Durian Industry

Finally, China is fostering international cooperation in the agricultural sector through the Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences. By establishing an alliance with ASEAN member states, China is promoting innovation in durian plantation and deep processing. Following successful large-scale trial plantings in 2019, Hainan’s durian output reached approximately 50 tonnes in 2023, with projections for the current year reaching 250 tonnes across nearly 40,000 mu of planting area, highlighting a successful integration of technological innovation and regional trade.

🎯Key Sentences

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Here is the news.
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Just looking at them can bring us a sense of coolness.
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So you can easily understand why Chinese people love the lotus so much.
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The love Chinese people have for the lotus goes far beyond words.
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Hopefully, you can also enjoy the fragrance and beauty of the lotus.
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📝Key Phrases

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well received
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import and export trade volume
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play an important role in
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a slew of
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pose a formidable challenge
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📖 Transcript

The world is changing fast that you can learn it at a slower pace.
Special English You are listening to Special English.
Here is the news. With the launch of a new cargo route linking Guiang and Moscow in early July.
The number of international cargo routes connected to southwest China's Guizhou Province has reached 4.
This expansion is creating a more efficient and convenient air passage for trade.
Guizhou is known for its mountainous landscapes in China, which poses challenges for road and rail transportation, driving the need to develop air traffic.

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