Top 10 Chinese Tech & Engineering Marvels That Amaze The World
Source: ChindDaily
10. C919 big passenger plane
China's first domestically produced large passenger aircraft C919 was unveiled in Shanghai on Nov. 2, 2015. (Photo/Xinhua)
China's first domestically produced large passenger aircraft C919 was unveiled in Shanghai on Nov. 2, 2015, making China one of the few countries in the world with the R&D capability to manufacture large passenger aircraft.
The C919 was developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC). It is expected to compete with the updated Airbus 320 and Boeing's 737.
The C919 will additionally strengthen China's capacity in high-end equipment manufacturing, turning the country into a true manufacturing power.
9. Space lab Tiangong-2
China's space lab Tiangong-2 roars into the air on the back of a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Sept. 15, 2016. (Xinhua/Ju Zhenhua)
China achieved a successful launch of space lab Tiangong-2 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Sept. 15, 2016.
The space lab will eventually transfer to a slightly higher orbit at 393 kilometers above Earth – the same height at which the future Chinese space station will operate – before the Shenzhou-11 manned spaceship ferries two male astronauts into space to dock with the lab.
The launch of Tiangong-2 will lay a solid foundation for the building and operation of a permanent space station in the future.
8. Quantum communications satellite QUESS
China successfully launched the world's first quantum communications satellite from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, Gansu province on Aug. 16, 2016. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)
China successfully launched the world's first quantum communications satellite, Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS), from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern Gobi Desert in Jiuquan, Gansu province, on Aug. 16, 2016.
The 600-plus-kilogram satellite will circle Earth once every 90 minutes after it enters a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 500 kilometers. It is nicknamed "Micius," after a fifth century B.C. Chinese philosopher and scientist who was credited with being the first person in human history to conduct optical experiments.
During its two-year mission, QUESS is designed to establish "hack-proof" quantum communications by transmitting uncrackable keys from space to the ground, and to provide insights into the strangest phenomenon in quantum physics -- quantum entanglement.
7. Long March-7 carrier rocket
China successfully launched its carrier rocket, Long March-7, from a new launch center in Wenchang, Hainan province on June 25, 2016. (Photo/Xinhua)
China successfully launched its new-generation carrier rocket Long March-7 from a new launch center in Wenchang, Hainan province on June 25, 2016.
Long March-7 is a medium-sized, two-stage rocket that can carry up to 13.5 tons into low-Earth orbit. Experts predict that the 53.1-meter-long, 597-ton rocket will become the main carrier for China's future space missions.
6. Sunway-TaihuLight
China's new supercomputing system, Sunway-TaihuLight, was named the world's fastest computer at the International Supercomputing Conference in Germany on June 20, 2016.
Performing 93 quadrillion calculations per second, Sunway TaihuLight dethroned China's Tianhe-2 from the No. 1 spot on a list of the 500 most powerful supercomputers in the world. The National Supercomputing Center was unveiled the same day in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, where the supercomputer is installed.
With a processing capacity of 125.436 petaflops (PFlops) per second, Sunway-TaihuLight can perform quadrillions of calculations per second at peak performance. It is also the first supercomputer to achieve speeds beyond 100 PFlops.
5. High-speed train passes 420 km/h speed test
China carried out an unprecedented high-speed train test on July 15, 2016, during which the passing speed of two trains reached 420 kilometers per hour. The experiment, carried out by China Railway Corporation in Zhengzhou, Henan province, set a world record.
The success of the experiment demonstrates China's mastery of the bullet train's core technologies. It also shows that China's high-speed train technology ranks among the most advanced in the world.
4. World's largest ship lift at Three Gorges Dam
Trial operation of the permanent ship lift at the Three Gorges Dam in central China's Hubei province began on Sept. 18, 2016. (Xinhua/Liang Jianqiang)
Trial operation of the permanent ship lift at the Three Gorges Dam in central China's Hubei province began on Sept. 18, 2016.
The lift, designed by a Chinese and German team, is the largest and most sophisticated in the world.
The lift is designed to help small and medium-sized ships (maximum displacement of about 3,000 tons) to traverse the dam. The water level behind the dam is up to 113 meters higher than downstream.
It used to take ships three to four hours to pass the dam via the ship lock. The ship lift will cut this time to between 40 minutes and an hour.
3. China National GeneBank
China National GeneBank (CNGB), located in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, was officially opened on Sept. 22, 2016. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)
China National GeneBank (CNGB), located in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, was officially opened on Sept. 22, 2016, aiming to promote human health research and the conservation of global biodiversity.
Initiated by China's National Development and Reform Commission in 2011, the project was established by Shenzhen-based BGI, one of the world's leading genomics organizations. Covering an area of over 47,500 square meters, the gene bank is the world's fourth national-level gene bank, following those of the U.S., Europe and Japan.
The gene bank has saved more than 10 million bio-samples and established cooperation and research with over 100 organizations in areas such as human health, biodiversity and evolution.
2. FAST telescope
The world's largest radio telescope, Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) (Photo/Provided by FAST project office, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences)
The world's largest radio telescope, Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), was put into use in a mountainous region of southwestern China's Guizhou province on Sept. 25, 2016.
FAST was built in a hollow that formed 45 million years ago, following the collapse of a karst cave. Work on the nearly 1.2-billion-RMB ($180 million) project started in 2011, 17 years after it was proposed by Chinese astronomers. FAST's tasks include the observation of pulsars as well as the exploration of interstellar molecules and interstellar communication signals.
To ensure the telescope's performance, more than 8,000 people were relocated to make way for the project, which requires radio silence within a 5-kilometer radius. Visitors to the zone must turn off their mobile phones.
1. Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge
Drawing of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (Photo/Xinhua)
The assembly of the first curved section of the underwater tunnel for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge was successfully completed on Oct. 8, 2016. Hailed by The Guardian as "one of the seven modern wonders in the world," it is the world's longest bridge currently under construction.
Starting from Lantau Island in Hong Kong, the Y-shaped bridge will boast a total length of about 55 kilometers, including a 6.7-kilometer underwater tunnel and a 23-kilometer bridge over the sea. Artificial islands will be built at both ends of the tunnel to allow for the passage of large ships.
The bridge will serve as an important channel linking Hong Kong, Macau, Zhuhai and the western part of the Pearl River Delta, one of the most economically developed areas in the Chinese mainland.
Construction of the bridge started in 2009. Its total cost will come to some 10 billion RMB ($1.5 billion). It is expected to be completed by the end of 2017. Once in operation, the commute time between Hong Kong and Zhuhai or Macau will be reduced from three and a half hours to just 30 minutes.