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Xpeng Aero HT.
The flying car affiliate of Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng, has begun trial production at the world's first intelligent factory for mass-produced flying cars a milestone in the commercialization of next-generation transport.
Located in the Huangpu District of Guangzhou, the capital city of south china's guangdong province, the 120 000 square meter plant has already rolled out the first detachable electric aircraft of its modular flying car, the land aircraft carrier.
The facility is designed to have an annual production capacity of 10000 detachable aircraft modules, with an initial capacity of 5000 units.
Xpeng Aero HT said that the company has secured orders for nearly 5000 flying cars since its product release, and mass production and delivery are scheduled in 2026.
The flying car comprises a six-wheel ground vehicle, referred to as the mothership, and a detachable electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.
The aircraft offers both automatic and manual flight modes.
Its automatic mode enables smart route planning as well as one-touch takeoff and landing.
At about 55 meters in length.
The vehicle can be driven on public roads with a standard license and parked in regular spaces.
This is Special English.
Shanghai Disney Resort has unveiled plans for a fourth themed hotel and an expansion of its shopping and dining district.
The announcement, alongside the ongoing expansion of Shanghai Disneyland and the construction of a third resort themed hotel, comes after the park welcomed its 100 millionth guest recently.
Under the new development, the area next to Shanghai Disneyland's main entrance will be transformed into the fourth themed hotel.
A new Disney shopping destination, similar to the World of Disney store, will be built near the hotel, allowing guests to have access to the resort's exclusive merchandise without entering the park.
Shanghai Disney Resort opened on june 16 2016.
According to the global experience index 2024 released by the themed entertainment association on october 23rd, shanghai disneyland ranked fifth in attendance among the top 25 amusement theme parks worldwide and remained first in China in 2024, welcoming 147 million visitors and setting a new record.
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A Chinese or Oracle BoneScript Research Institute has teamed up with the country's leading artificial intelligence technology labs to build an online AI tool to help both the public and researchers decipher Oracle Bone characters.
The project was jointly launched in Anyang in central China's Henan Province by Anyang Normal University, Chinese tech giant Tencent and the AI Research Institute of Xiamen University.
More than 160000 oracle bone inscriptions have been excavated in Anyang since the Yinshu ruins were discovered in 1899.
These relics are now in collections scattered across both China and abroad.
Via this cooperation initiative, the new AI system has integrated two main models of DeepSeq and Tencent's Hunyuan, as well as nearly 10 other models.
This AI tool can answer user queries by recognizing an image of an oracle bone character and interpreting it.
Liu Yongge, director of the Key Laboratory for Oracle Bone Information Processing at Anyang Normal University, said that they have built by far the world's largest multimodal dataset of auricle bone inscriptions, which includes data for 143 million ideographic characters, 15000 pieces of multimodal auricle bone data and 3000 research papers.
The platform is not only able to help those who do serious research concerning these ancient characters, but can also assist ordinary users keen to obtain interesting knowledge related to oracle bone scripts via a WeChat mini program.
Song Zhenhao, An oracle bone script expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that China's research on oracle bone inscriptions has entered a new phase, featuring integration of liberal arts and sciences and the gathering of interdisciplinary talents like the computer technology elite.
Oracle bone inscriptions, or Jia Gu Wen, are an ancient Chinese language named for their inscriptions on tortoise shells and animal bones.
They are a primitive form of Chinese characters and the oldest fully developed characters in china.
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China is holding firm to its goal of landing astronauts on the moon by 2030 and has outlined a packed schedule of development and testing for its ambitious crewed lunar program.
According to the China Manned Space Agency, a series of crucial upcoming tests include integrated testing for the Lanyue lunar lander, thermal tests and maximum dynamic pressure escape tests for the Mengzhou manned spacecraft, as well as low-altitude and technology verification flights for the Long March 10 carrier rocket.
Zhang Jingbo, spokesperson of the agency, announced that the Mengzhou-1 spacecraft mission will be included in the public logo solicitation campaign alongside missions to China's space station.
This spacecraft is primarily designed for lunar missions, while also supporting the space station missions in low Earth orbit.
According to Zhang, All development and construction work for the crewed lunar mission is proceeding as planned.
Primary preliminary prototyping of key flight hardware, including the Long March 10 rocket, the Mengzhou spacecraft, the Lanyue lander, the Wangyu Lunar extravehicular suit and the Tan Suol crewed lunar rover, has been completed.
Also, payload designs for scientific research and applications have been finalized, and ground-based infrastructure, such as the launch site, tracking network and landing site on Earth, is under accelerated development.
The mission has seen a string of successful tests this year, including the second-stage propulsion system test and the captive firing test for the Long March 10 rocket, the zero-altitude escape test for the Mengzhou spacecraft and the comprehensive landing and take-off verification test for the Lan Yue lander.
Zhang noted that numerous new technologies still require validation and the upcoming workload is heavy, given the high quality standards and a tight timeline for flight.
The project team has pledged to overcome these hurdles and lay a solid foundation for achieving the nation's lunar exploration goal on schedule.
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A team of Chinese scientists has completed the ground tests of an inflatable, reconfigurable module for a novel space manufacturing platform, in a significant step toward enabling large-scale industrial production in orbit.
According to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Breakthrough module has an innovative design that is intended for launch in a tightly folded configuration and inflates once in orbit to form a large, stable workspace.
Test images have revealed that the expanded module forms a cylindrical structure over two meters in diameter.
Researchers say the expandable structure makes it an ideal candidate for future space-based manufacturing, including areas such as biopharmaceuticals, 3D printing and the production of novel materials.
The field tests involved achieving a reliable, airtight connection between rigid structures and the flexible habitat precise, controlled deployment in a microgravity environment and ensuring the inflated module provides a sufficiently stable environment for high precision manufacturing tasks.
Typically orbital platforms are constrained by launch vehicle size and costly to build, and experience difficulty expanding in space.
Project lead, Yang Yicheng from the Academy's Institute of Mechanics said this technology will push space manufacturing from proof of concept toward engineering reality, adding that in the future, the utilization of space resources will be more accessible.
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As diners relish the delicate flavors of fresh sashimi in Japanese restaurants, the wasabi accompanying each bite may well have originated in the remote Wumeng Mountains in southwest China's Yunnan Province.
Reaching the Wasabi Base in Weixin requires a long and winding trip, starting with a high-speed train from Kunming, the provincial capital, followed by a car ride through misty, rugged terrain.
Here, under black shade nets, lush green wasabi plants thrive.
Every part of the plant, from leaf to root, is sold under prearranged export agreements with buyers from Japan and the Republic of Korea.
Wasabi, a herb Prized for its pungent root used in the famous condiment is difficult to cultivate.
It thrives only in cool, humid climate, shuns heat and direct sunlight and requires precise altitude and water conditions.
The root takes two to three years to mature. before it can be harvested.
In Japan, top-grade wasabi roots can fetch 1200 yuan per kilogram and supply still cannot meet demand.
Weishin County, located on the northern edge of the Yunnan Guizhou Plateau, offers a near-ideal environment.
With abundant rainfall, lush vegetation, an average annual temperature of 136 degrees Celsius and high humidity.
Its conditions resemble those of Shizuoka, Japan's famous wasabi production area.
Test results show that Weishin grown wasabi boasts a strong aroma and premium quality.
Weishin first successfully cultivated wasabi in 1997.
In 2022, the local government introduced Jinghui Agriculture Yunnan Company to build a wasabi industrial park.
The facility now operates six production lines for processing powdering, freezing and extracting, producing over 100 tons of wasabi and related products each year.
Wasabi is bringing new opportunities to farmers in the remote mountains.
In the past, many in Weixin relied on growing corn and tobacco, with unstable harvests and low income.
Now, with the wasabi industry taking root, more are turning to this high-value crop.
Through persistent effort, Weixin has developed over 3,500 mu of wasabi planting bases.
The industry has created 1200 local jobs, increasing the average household's annual income by 6200 yuan.
Scientific support is boosting the booming industry too.
Yang Yongwen, with Weixin's Agricultural Specialty Industry Development Center, explained that the county is collaborating with universities and research institutes to select high quality seeds, develop new wasabi products and establish a full supply chain traceability system.
Yang noted that they have also established a wasabi association, bringing over 30 local enterprises and cooperatives from across the supply chain to build an integrated production and marketing system.
That's the end of this edition of Special English.
To recap, I'm going to read one of the news items again at normal speed.
Please listen carefully.
A Chinese oracle bone script research institute has teamed up with the country's leading artificial intelligence technology labs to build an online AI tool to help both the public and researchers decipher oracle bone characters.
The project was jointly launched in Anyang in central China's Henan province by Anyang Normal University.
Chinese tech giant Tencent, and the AI Research Institute of Xiamen University.
More than 160000 oracle bone inscriptions have been excavated in Anyang since the Yinshu ruins were discovered in 1899.
These relics are now in collections scattered across both China and abroad.
Via this cooperation initiative, the new AI system has integrated two main models of DeepSeek and Tencent's Hunyuan, as well as nearly 10 other models.
This AI tool can answer user queries by recognizing an image of an oracle bone character and interpreting it.
Liu Yongge, Director of the Key Laboratory for Oracle Bone Information Processing at Anyang Normal University, said that they have built by far the world's largest multimodal dataset of oracle bone inscriptions, which includes data for 143 million ideographic characters.
15,000 pieces of multimodal Oracle Bone data and 3,000 research papers.
The platform is not only able to help those who do serious research concerning these ancient characters, but can also assist ordinary users keen to obtain interesting knowledge related to Oracle Bone scripts via a WeChat mini program.
Song Junhao, an Oracle Bone script expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that China's research on Oracle Bone inscriptions has entered a new phase, featuring integration of liberal arts and sciences and the gathering of interdisciplinary talents like the computer technology elite.
Oracle bone inscriptions, or jia gu wen, are an ancient Chinese language named for their inscriptions on tortoise shells and animal bones.
They are a primitive form of Chinese characters and the oldest fully developed characters in China.
This is the end of today's program.
I hope you'll join us every day to learn English at a slower pace.
Shh, listen up.
Can you hear the heartbeat of our world?
It's vibrant and pulsating with the essence of life itself.
From the stem of trees to the gurgle of rivers, From the silent strength of mountains to the icy whispers of glaciers.
Even the solid ground beneath our feet.
And right there, in the midst of all, beats the heart of humanity.
What if those other heartbeats were to stop?
Would ours keep on ticking?
