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Here's the news. China will formulate more than 50 national and industrial standards for artificial intelligence by 2026, and develop a standard system to guide the high -quality development of the sector.
That is according to guidelines jointly unveiled by the Ministry of Industry and Information technology, and three other government organs.
The guidelines specified seven key areas for developing the AI Standard System in the country, including standards for key technologies, intelligent products and services, and industry applications.
Developing AI standards can help promote technological progress, enterprise development, and industrial upgrading, thus better leveraging AI to empower new industrialization.
In recent years, China's AI industry has achieved progress in technological innovation, product creation, industry applications, and other areas.
The sector has presented new features with the accelerated development of new technologies, like large models.
China now hosts more than 4 ,500 AI companies.
Official data shows that the country's core AI industry reached a scale of more than 578 billion yuan, about 81 billion U .S.
dollars in 2023, up 13 .9 percent year on year.
In this year's Government Work report, China unveiled an AI plus initiative, a strategic move designed to propel the digital economy's expansion and spearhead the transformation and modernization of manufacturing sectors.
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UBTEC, a Shenzhen -based humanoid robotics research and manufacturing company, has announced cooperation with FAW Volkswagen, one of China's earliest joint venture automakers, on developing highly intelligent and flexible production lines, as well as an unmanned car factory.
The collaboration aims to integrate humanoid robots into industrial operations at FAW Volkswagen's factory in East China's Qingdao.
According to the Cooperation Agreement, UBTECH's Industrial humanoid robot, Walker -S, will perform tasks such as bolt tightening, component assembly, and handling of automobile parts.
The Shenzhen -based tech firm will dedicate resources to refining and optimizing its humanoid robots for industrial applications, supporting the automakers' efforts to enhance the intelligence and automation of its factories.
The Industrial humanoid robot Walker -S has already been deployed for on -site training at a factory of Chinese electric carmaker Nio and Dongfeng Lioujo's motor assembly workshop.
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China's National Cultural Heritage Administration has issued a circular on the work plan for museum services during the summer season, urging localities to deliver more convenient access to visitors through various means.
The circular specified that walk -in visits should be guaranteed in venues with a manageable influx of visitors upon appraisal, while booking services should be further optimized and streamlined in venues where reservations prove to be necessary.
Service counters and reservation hotlines should be maintained to offer services for less tech -savvy groups such as primary and secondary school students, seniors and and people with disabilities.
The circular added that local cultural heritage departments should work with relevant authorities to redouble efforts to crack down on ticket hoarding and scalping.
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China�s tourism market appears to be gaining momentum as the peak summer travel season gets underway, with operators reporting double -digit increases in bookings compared with the same period last year.
July 1 to August 31 is a key period for China's travel sector as it coincides with school and university summer vacations.
As in many countries, it's a time when families often go away together and students take trips to celebrate the end of their exams.
This year, Chinese consumers appear to be itching to get away, with demand for both domestic and international trips surging compared with last year's summer travel season.
China's railway system is projected to handle 860 million passenger journeys over the summer vacation period, according to the online travel platform, Trip .com searches for domestic hotels and flights are up over 20 % year -over -year.
Families are driving much of this demand, accounting for 48 percent of domestic travelers and 52 percent of international travelers.
Many parents are choosing to take their children on educational tours to famous landmarks in Beijing and Shanghai which has caused bookings for experiential travel products to skyrocket 70 % year over year.
There is also a growing trend for families to go on trips to the countryside.
According to Trip .com, bookings in 5th tier cities and counties have risen 34 % and 22 % year over year, respectively.
Students are also traveling in huge numbers this year.
Online travel firm, TongChong Travel, has reported strong growth in both rail and flight bookings to major cities across China this year.
with young people aged between 18 and 26 accounting for over half of the rail passengers.
Zhang Ping is among the millions of students planning to celebrate the end of the college entrance exams by going traveling with her friends.
The 18 -year -old plans to travel from Shanghai to the neighboring Zhejiang Province and spend ten days exploring the region's picturesque towns and countryside.
Chang said that traveling for her isn't just about seeing the sites.
More importantly, it's about having experiences and connecting with people.
Demand for outbound travel also appears to be growing strongly this year, boosted by the introduction of visa waivers for Chinese tourists in several countries and major events such as the Paris Olympics.
Travel agency Spring Tour has reported that bookings for overseas trips during the summer vacation are up over 100 percent year over year.
Trip .com has said that demand from young people is particularly strong.
International bookings from people born after 2000 have increased 153 % year -over -year this summer.
Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore are reportedly popular destinations this year with all three countries having introduced visa waivers for Chinese tourists.
European countries are also seeing a surge in travellers from China due to the Paris Olympics and the soccer European Championships.
According to Trip .com, bookings to France have spiked by 80 % this summer.
Orders for trips to Germany where Euro 2024 is being held have increased more than 150 percent year -over -year.
Tongchong Travel, meanwhile, has reported a 70 % year -over -year rise in flight bookings to Paris from major Chinese cities.
Hotel bookings in Paris are up nearly 150 % year -over -year.
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When you visit a traditional Chinese garden or take a tour at some famous Chinese scenic spots, you'll probably see a special kind of outdoor framework work known for its uniqueness, the pavilion, a distinctive outdoor structure known for its elegance and cultural significance.
Known as ting in Chinese, the pavilion shares its pronunciation with the character meaning to stop.
And that is why the pavilion was first built along the road or path to provide travelers a place to stop and take a rest.
But what if I built a small hut for children to play?
Is that also a pavilion to the Chinese people?
A Chinese pavilion is typically built either of wood, stone, or bamboo.
It may take several forms, square, triangle, hexagon, octagon, a five -petal flower, a fan, and so on.
But But to differentiate a pavilion from other structures, it must have columns to support the roof and no walls, which is probably the most distinctive feature for a Chinese pavilion.
Because of this architectural feature, a Chinese pavilion is more regarded as a place for people to enjoy the coolness in summer.
Consequently, a Chinese pavilion is always called as liang ting in Chinese, meaning the cooling pavilion.
Gradually, such architecture has been widely constructed in parks, scenic spots, or mountain slopes to overlook the panorama, or at the lakeside to create picturesque images by the water.
So in this respect they not only provide a place for sight seers to enjoy a beautiful view but also become a part of the landscape.
Besides the wayside cooling pavilion that provides wary travelers with a place of rest and shelter from the summer sun there are other pavilions with various functions the steely pavilion gives a roof to a stone tablet to protect the engraved record of an important event.
Sometimes you can also see pavilions standing on the bridges or over water wells.
The former provides people a shelter as well as a viewing platform on bridges, while in the latter, dormer windows are built to allow the sun to cast its rays into the well, as it has been the belief that water untouched by the sun would cause disease.
Occasionally, one finds two pavilions standing side -by -side like twins, such as those in the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.
This twin pavilion was built during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty to congratulate his mother's fiftieth birthday with its flat shape mimicking a pair of peaches that imply the wish of longevity.
Although you can detect pavilions nearly everywhere around China, there are some of them enjoying profound fame and popularity throughout the country.
The one located at Longya Mountain in East China's Anhui Province is claimed to be the most famous in China.
It owes much of its fame to an essay written by Ooyang Xiu, a renowned man of letters of the Song Dynasty about 1 ,000 years ago.
The essay depicts the beauty of the natural mountain landscape and the happiness of the writer and his friends, as well as the common folks living nearby.
Let's head to central China's Hunan Province, where we can find the Ayuan Pavilion at the foot of Yuelu Mountain.
Ayuan meaning loving dusk, is also taken from a popular poem line composed by Duumu, a Tang Dynasty poet.
since the poem describes the beauty of the red foliage in late fall you can imagine what the Aiwon pavilion enjoys its fame for as I'm sure you guessed the red leaves undoubtably the best season to visit this pavilion is in late autumn when the mountains are all covered with maple leaves that paint everything red.
These pavilions not only serve as architectural marvels, but also preserve centuries of Chinese cultural heritage, inviting visitors to appreciate both with their aesthetic charm and historical significance.
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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.
Yubitec, a Shenzhen -based humanoid robotics research and manufacturing company has announced cooperation with FAW Volkswagen, one of China's earliest joint venture automakers, on developing highly intelligent and flexible production lines as well as an unmanned car factory.
The collaboration aims to integrate humanoid robots into industrial operations at FAW Volkswagen's factory in East China's Qingdao.
According to the cooperation agreement, UBTEC's industrial humanoid robot, Walker -S, will perform tasks such as bolt tightening, component assembly, and handling of automobile parts.
The Shenzhen -based tech firm will dedicate resources to refining and optimizing its humanoid robots for industrial applications, supporting the automaker's efforts to enhance the intelligence and automation of its factories.
The industrial humanoid robot, Walker -S, has already been deployed for on -site training at a factory of Chinese electric car maker Nioh and Dongfeng Liujo's motor assembly workshop.
This is the end of today's program.
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