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Two volumes of Chinese silk manuscripts dating back about 2300 years have been returned to central China 79 years after they were smuggled out of the country through cooperation between Chinese and US cultural institutions.
The second and third volumes of the Zidan Ku Silk Manuscripts.
Precious cultural artifacts dating back to the Warring States period from 475 BC to 221 BC have been officially repatriated to Hunan province.
They will be permanently archived in the Hunan Museum in Changsha, the provincial capital.
The manuscripts which were unearthed from a Chu state tomb by tomb raiders at the Zidan Ku site in Changsha in 1942 consist of three volumes Si Shi Ling, Wuxing Ling and Gongshou Zhen.
They are a systematic record of astronomy calendars, cosmology and military divination from China's pre-Qin period.
The silk manuscripts are the earliest examples of silk text discovered to date and the oldest classical Chinese book in the true sense.
They were smuggled out of China in 1946.
Rao Chuan, head of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, said that the return of the manuscripts is a significant achievement of years of Sino-US cultural and museum cooperation and an example for international cooperation on artifact restitution.
Through Sino-US cooperation on the return of cultural property.
The Wuxing Ling and Gongshuo Zhen volumes were returned to China by the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Asian Art this year.
Arriving in Beijing on May 18, Duan Xiaoming, curator of the Hunan Museum, said the return of the silk manuscripts will enable the Hunan Museum to integrate the returned volumes with its existing collection, which includes the only original fragment of the Zidan Ku manuscripts, as well as other Chu state artifacts.
The Hunan Museum has completed standardized imaging of all the silk manuscripts, discovering over 40 previously imperceptible ink characters on one piece of silk that had not fully separated.
The first light of dawn creeps over the rugged cliffs, casting long shadows across the narrow paths of Shiya Valley, deep in North China's towering Taihang Mountain, as a group of some twenty visitors from the Republic of Korea stood at the edge of the valley, their eyes wide with wonder.
The cliffs rise majestically around them, and the autumn foliage paints the landscape in vibrant hues of red and gold.
Kim Ji Min from the tour group said that the cliffs are magnificent and the autumn scenery is both beautiful and refreshing.
Shiya Valley in Lingchuan County in Shanxi Province was once nearly cut off from the outside world by towering cliffs and rugged terrain.
For decades, it was seen as an isolated and inaccessible place, a hidden gem known only to a fortunate few.
However, local villagers were determined to change that, longing to break free from their isolation.
According to Zhang Jiajia, a tour guide at the Wangmangling scenic area, the villagers of Shiya Valley began their efforts in 1962.
Over three generations and three decades, They carved a 75-kilometre cliffside sky road through the steep walls of Wangmengling using only steel drills and hammers.
The road, with a vertical elevation difference of 600 metres is a testament to their perseverance and ingenuity.
Thanks to this cliff-hanging road, Xi Ya Valley now brims with vitality.
The valley blends the grandeur of towering mountains with the tranquil charm of serene waters, making it a great destination for wellness tourism.
In June 2024, the Taihang Shiya Valley Tourist Resort was designated a national-level tourist resort, with an average summer temperature of 22 degrees Celsius and forest coverage exceeding 96.
Xi Ya Valley is widely regarded as a natural retreat for health and leisure.
Zheng said that from January to August 2024, the valley received around 910000 visitors and The total number of visitors this year has reached around 11 million, marking year-on-year growth of over 20.
Villagers of Xiyia Valley are also reaping the benefits of tourism.
Guo Yudong, a village official of Shiya Valley, said that they are vigorously developing a model that integrates homestays, cultural tourism and wellness.
By the end of last year, the village's collective income surpassed 1 million yuan, around US140000.
Gore added that average household income is expected to exceed 100,000
China has sent a Gravity-1 carrier rocket into space from waters off the coast of Haiyang in East China's Shandong Province.
The rocket blasted off at 1020am Beijing time, placing three satellites into their designated orbits.
The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre conducted the offshore mission.
A wide-field satellite and two experimental satellites were on board the carrier rocket.
Xu Gaoguang, chief designer and commander of the rocket, said that the Gravity-1 carrier rocket has a low Earth orbit payload capacity of 65 tons and is capable of delivering a 42 ton payload to a 500-kilometre sun-synchronous orbit.
Xu said that the series of rockets can deploy more than 10 satellites in a single mission, offering generous payload volume, sea or land launch compatibility and rapid response capability.
During this launch mission, the Gravity 1 Y-2 carrier rocket executed a roughly 40-degree yaw maneuver, swinging its trajectory from southeast to due south within seconds.
Powered by a solid propellant core stage, augmented by four solid strap-on boosters, the carrier rocket remarkably enhanced both stability and adaptability under heaving sea conditions.
The Gravity 1 carrier rocket successfully completed its maiden flight on January 11 2024, setting a new record as the world's most powerful solid-fuel rocket and China's highest capacity commercial launch vehicle, developed by a private enterprise.
The mission expanded the country's capability in deploying diversified medium and low-orbit satellites on a large scale, further broadening China's carrier rocket family.
Compared with the Gravity One mission, the Y-2 flight demonstrates marked gains in quality, stability and consistency, delivering a demonstrably more reliable vehicle.
The gravity family of carrier rockets developed independently by the Chinese commercial aerospace company Orion Space is a standardised series of medium to heavy lift rockets designed expressly to meet the surging demands for large-scale networking and network replenishment of various types of satellites.
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The direct passenger flight between Shenzhen and Mexico City, which has been in operation for over a year, has completed 348 trips, including both outbound and inbound ones, and has received more than 50000 passenger visits as of September 21.
That is according to China Southern Airlines' Shenzhen branch.
Stretching over 14000 km.
The outbound flight from Shenzhen to Mexico City is currently the longest non-stop international route operated in China's civil aviation industry.
The inbound flights includes a stop in Tijuana in Mexico.
According to the branch, among the 50000 passenger trips, 27000 departed from Shenzhen to Mexico City, while 23000 were return journeys.
The route has also facilitated 1,700 tons of cargo transport.
Launched on May 11 2024.
The route is serviced by Airbus A350 aircraft with three round-trip flights per week.
Yuan Jintao, general manager of China Southern Airlines' Shenzhen branch, said that the route helps Chinese enterprises explore the Mexican market and improve trade efficiency between the two countries.
A flying car developed by Chinese company Xpeng Aerot has recently taken to the skies over Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, marking a significant step in the global reach of China's low-altitude aircraft technology.
The flight showcased the company's latest generation model, the land aircraft carrier, which comprises a ground vehicle, referred to as the mothership, and a detachable air module.
The aircraft offers both automatic and manual flight operations.
In automatic mode, pilots can plan routes, take off and land with one touch, while in manual mode, a single-stick control system combines six operations into one joystick, allowing for one-handed control.
During the flight, the full sequence of the air module's detachment and reattachment was demonstrated.
Xpeng Aerot has secured orders of 600 flying cars in the region, the company's largest overseas bulk purchase to date.
Chinese Consul General in Dubai, Ou Boqian, applauded the successful flight, emphasising that both China and the UAE regard scientific and technological innovation as a core engine of economic development.
She noted that the bilateral cooperation in this field provides a favourable environment for enterprises and the business community from both sides to work hand-in-hand in expanding cooperation in the future.
Zhao Deli, founder of Xpeng Aeroat, expressed strong confidence in the Middle East's future mobility market, highlighting Dubai's openness, robust market demand and supportive government policies as key factors in selecting the city for the demonstration.
Zhao revealed that the company will officially launch the product in the regional market by 2027, is the flying car affiliate of electric vehicle maker Xpeng, headquartered in South China's Guangdong province.
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.
Two volumes of Chinese silk manuscripts dating back about 2300 years have been returned to central China 79 years after they were smuggled out of the country through cooperation between Chinese and US cultural institutions.
The second and third volumes of the Zidan Ku silk manuscripts.
Precious cultural artifacts dating back to the Warring States period from 475 BC to 221 BC have been officially repatriated to Hunan province.
They will be permanently archived in the Hunan Museum in Changsha, the provincial capital.
The manuscripts which were unearthed from a Chu state tomb by tomb raiders at the Zidanghu site in Changsha in 1942 consist of three volumes Si Shi Ling, Wu Xing Ling and Gong Shou Zhen.
They are a systematic record of astronomy calendars, cosmology and military divination from China's pre-Qin period.
The silk manuscripts are the earliest examples of silk text discovered to date and the oldest classical Chinese book in the true sense.
They were smuggled out of China in 1946.
Rao Chuan, head of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, said that the return of the manuscripts is a significant achievement of years of Sino-US cultural and museum cooperation and an example for international cooperation on artifact restitution.
Through Sino-US cooperation on the return of cultural property.
The Wuxingling and Gongshoujian volumes were returned to China by the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Asian Art this year, arriving in Beijing on May 18th.
Duan Xiaoming, curator of the Hunan Museum, said the return of the silk manuscripts will enable the Hunan Museum to integrate the returned volumes with its existing collection, which includes the only original fragment of the Zidan Ku manuscripts, as well as other Chu state artifacts.
The Hunan Museum has completed standardized imaging of all the silk manuscripts, discovering over 40 previously imperceptible ink characters on one piece of silk that had not fully separated.
The direct passenger flight between Shenzhen and Mexico City, which has been in operation for over a year, has completed 348 trips, including both outbound and inbound ones, and has received more than 50000 passenger visits as of September 21.
That is according to China Southern Airlines' Shenzhen branch.
Stretching over 14000 kilometres.
The outbound flight from Shenzhen to Mexico City is currently the longest non-stop international route operated in China's civil aviation industry.
The inbound flight includes a stop in Tijuana in Mexico.
According to the branch, among the 50000 passenger trips, 27000 departed from Shenzhen to Mexico City, while 23000 were return journeys.
The route has also facilitated 1,700 tonnes of cargo transport.
Launched on May 11 2024.
The route is serviced by Airbus A350 aircraft with three round-trip flights per week.
Yuan Jintao, general manager of China Southern Airlines' Shenzhen branch, said that the route helps Chinese enterprises explore the Mexican market and improve trade efficiency between the two countries.
That is the end of today's programme.
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