This year marks the 52nd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Brazil and the China-Brazil Year of Culture. A recent public opinion survey titled "How Chinese people view Brazil," conducted by the Global Times Institute, found that most Chinese respondents have a favorable impression of Brazil, regarding it as a friendly country or a strategic partner.

A special series titled "Letters from the South China Sea" has been launched by the People's Daily Overseas Edition. This installment, focusing on the Nansha Qundao, presents excerpts from letters written by service members stationed on the islands and reefs. Through their words, the series seeks to portray their devotion to family and country, their sense of duty and responsibility, their unwavering loyalty to the motherland and their firm commitment to national defense.

The closing ceremony of the 2026 C Star Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program and the Youth Leadership Dialogue were held at Peking University in Beijing on November 3, drawing nearly 100 participants, including diplomats from African countries stationed in China and C Star trainees. Young African entrepreneurs shared how their exposure to China's advanced technologies, AI applications, efficient business operations and vibrant innovation ecosystem had broadened their horizons, inspired new business ideas and opened up opportunities to turn their entrepreneurial ambitions into reality back home.

Beside the Mazu Cultural Square in Xiamen, East China's Fujian Province, a modern high-rise building surrounded by greenery and overlooking the sea has been prepared for a special purpose: to serve as the headquarters of the secretariat of the UN treaty on marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), also known as the High Seas Treaty. On January 17, the landmark treaty entered into force after nearly two decades of negotiations, marking a new chapter in global ocean governance. As its first Conference of the Parties (COP) approaches, competition to host the secretariat is heating up, with Xiamen, Brussels in Belgium and Valparaiso in Chile vying for the role. Why has a treaty on marine biodiversity attracted such international attention? And why are three countries competing to host its permanent secretariat? Against the backdrop of growing tensions over high-seas ecological conservation and resource development worldwide, the future implementation of this international system and its implications for global governance have drawn widespread attention.

This year marks the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Long March of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. Recently in Beijing, three Long March-themed exhibitions of works by painter Shen Yaoyi are meeting audiences. The National Museum of China's exhibition integrates original oil paintings, prints and picture-story books with digital art, creating a three-dimensional, vivid and tangible "visible Long March." The National Centre for the Performing Arts' exhibition selects oil paintings (high-definition replicas) of key moments of the Long March, capturing with rich colors those earth-shaking and heart-stirring historical instants. The Beijing Art Center's exhibition displays nearly 80 black-and-white picture-story book works that, frame by frame, unfold the long, blood-soaked expedition. Together the three exhibitions form a three-dimensional visual epic of the Long March.

Yet these brief encounters are becoming increasingly useful. At Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, connected cameras and AI-assisted analysis help staff link an animal's appearance to its previous sightings, follow its movements and identify possible risks near villages. Across China, similar approaches are extending from forest images to rainforest sounds. The practical question is how to turn these records into knowledge that helps people protect wildlife.

From the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau to the Bohai Sea, Yellow River, China's second-longest river, is witnessing an ecological transformation, as environmental restoration and green development reshape both its landscape and the lives of people along its banks.

Zhang Miao, an associate professor at the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS), opens the crop-monitoring interface of CropWatch, a remote sensing-based global crop monitoring cloud platform, on his computer. With a few clicks, a graph showing the growth of rice in a central province of Cambodia appears on the screen. Soil moisture, rainfall anomalies and vegetation indices unfold along a timeline, offering a detailed picture of how crops have developed over time.

Editor's Note: A grand assembly marking the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Long March of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army was held on the morning of October 22 at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Editor's Note: A grand assembly marking the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Long March of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army was held on the morning of October 22 at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), delivered an important speech. The speech reviewed the great course of the Red Army's Long March led by the Party, summarized the great significance of the victory of the Long March, revealed the key to victory that has enabled the Party and the people's army to march forward resolutely, expounded the historical value of the great Long March spirit, and set out clear requirements for carrying forward the great Long March spirit and succeeding in the new Long March.

This year marks the 90th anniversary of the Red Army's victory in the Long March. In a small village in Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, entrepreneur Xie Hongyi is turning stories of the Red Army that he heard as a child into immersive educational programs on revolutionary history.

In the 28th article of the “Scholars' Perspectives" column, Yang Zhe, an associate professor at the School of Marxism at Beijing Forestry University, shared her understanding of how Long March has shaped the Communist Party and China's revolutionary and development path.

In November 2025, an infrared camera in Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park recorded a rare sight: a wild Siberian tigress leading five cubs through the forest in Hunchun, Northeast China's Jilin Province. Almost a year later, the young tigers were beginning to go their separate ways. Three had started becoming independent in August, while two remained with their mother, Chen Xiaocai, head of the park administration's general operations division, told the Global Times. The family's development marks a new chapter in China's first documented case of wild tiger quintuplets.

During Japan's 14-year invasion of China, the Japanese military used chemical weapons on a massive scale. After its defeat, it abandoned large quantities of chemical weapons across China in an attempt to conceal its crimes, posing serious risks to the lives and property of the Chinese people as well as the country's ecological and environmental security. Under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), Japan should have completed its destruction by the end of 2007. Yet, disposal efforts remain seriously behind schedule, and the weapons continue to threaten public safety.

In late autumn, the weather in Harbin is turning colder. A delegation from Japan's Association for Inheriting and Propagating the Murayama Statement comprising journalists, scholars, lawyers and civic activists, recently visited the Exhibition Hall of Evidences of Crime Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army, known as Unit 731. Standing in solemn formation before the monument dedicated to “apology and the commitment to peace without war,” they observed a moment of silence for the victims of Japan's biological warfare. Global Times reporters accompanied the delegation throughout the visit, documenting its members' journey as they confronted evidence of biological warfare and sought the historical truth. From offering apologies at the monument and touring the ruins to calling on younger generations in Japan to face the country's history of aggression, the interviewees reflected on Japan's wartime responsibility with heavy hearts. They said that, as right-wing forces in Japan attempt to downplay the country's history of aggression, it is all the more important to carry forward the spirit of the Murayama Statement and convey the historical truth to Japanese society.

At midday, more than 25,000 mirrors turn with the sun on a stretch of the Gobi in Jinta county, Northwest China's Gansu Province. Their reflections converge on a receiver high above the ground, where molten salt flowing through pipes absorbs the concentrated heat. The heat can be stored in tanks and used later to produce steam that drives a turbine. Even after sunlight fades from the mirror field, the energy collected during the day can continue generating electricity.

Waterbirds floated on Daihai Lake, lowered their heads to feed and occasionally took wing across its surface. Even in late October, as the weather grew colder, the lake in Liangcheng county, Ulanqab, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, remained a feeding and resting place for birds.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Trial. Eight decades on, the suffering Japan inflicted on victims across Asia is far from something that can simply be forgotten.

Every day, the smartphone of Dong Bing, the chief mechanical engineer of Yongzhou Railway project, buzzes with messages from a machine working deep beneath the seabed. The real-time push notifications track almost every aspect of the operation of "Yongzhou," a 135-meter-long, domestically built super-large-diameter shield machine. Whether the cutterhead torque is abnormal, the segments are floating or the main drive oil and seal pressures remain within the safe range all determine whether the multi-thousand-ton "steel giant" can advance safely beneath the seabed.

A row of cylindrical, grayish-black rock samples lay on the ground, awaiting "inspection" by a handheld gamma radiation detector. As the beeping grew increasingly frequent, the readings on the detector continued to climb, drawing gasps of surprise from visitors - the uranium content in these samples had reached a level that made extraction economically viable. Technicians at the Ili base of the No 216 Geological Party of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region watched with amused smiles. These tests were routine for them, but for the Global Times reporter, it was an entirely novel experience.

Turmoil in the Middle East and melting polar ice are together drawing the global shipping industry's attention toward the Arctic. Meanwhile, the rapid expansion of shipping along Arctic routes has attracted particular scrutiny in some Western countries, with concerns increasingly voiced in the US. Experts believe that some in the US and other Western countries are reluctant to see Arctic routes gain prominence in global maritime transport, partly out of fears of Russian control and partly because of concerns about losing influence over the global shipping market.

China hosted the three-day inaugural Global Governance Forum opening Friday in Xiong'an New Area, North China's Hebei Province. The event aims to pool wisdom for improved global governance, one year after China put forward the Global Governance Initiative (GGI).

Frame after frame of images witness the hand-in-hand pursuit of shared development; scene after scene of light and shadow freeze the warmth of heart-to-heart bonds; moment after moment demonstrates the responsibility of walking the same broad path together.

Jeffrey Greene, chairman of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, said in a recent talk with the Global Times that understanding China is not as difficult as many Americans may think, and that people-to-people exchanges can help bridge political differences and build lasting friendships between China and the US.

Golden October brings cotton harvest season to Tohula village in Luntai county, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Standing beside the endless cotton fields stretching at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains, Global Times reporters saw integrated harvesters shuttling back and forth, completing harvesting, compaction and baling. Behind them sit round modules of seed cotton, each weighing around 1.5 tons.

The photographs showed giant pandas from China, now settled in Germany, gathering around a birthday cake; solar panels stretching over fishponds in Lianyungang, East China's Jiangsu Province, where aquaculture and clean energy go hand in hand; and a robot from Shenzhen captivating crowds at a Berlin technology exhibition, with visitors eager to capture its every move.

What can the speed of satellite manufacturing reveal about how a city develops? Xiong'an New Area is emerging as a testing ground for China's push to turn technological innovation into new industrial capacity and new forms of urban development. Through a young engineer's decision to build his career there, and the new forces emerging across different links of Xiong'an's satellite-making chain, this report explores the planning and services behind “Xiong'an speed.” It examines how bringing complementary businesses together, providing facilities suited to their needs and supporting the people who work there can offer lessons for other cities seeking to develop emerging industries.

Let us first look at a set of figures. In mid-October 1934, an army of 86,000 troops under the leadership of the Communist Party of China set out from southern Jiangxi Province on a long journey — this was the First Front Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (the Central Red Army).

Today, as we look back on this extraordinarily arduous expedition, we can still feel the warmth of history in the smallest details and hear its echoes in the present. A blade of grass, a tree, a handful of roasted flour… Though silent, they bore witness to this extraordinary human feat of breathtaking magnitude, as well as to the profound transformations that have swept across China over the past 90-plus years.

In recent years, a series of developments in Japan's nuclear and security policies have raised serious concerns internationally. The only country in the world to have suffered atomic bombings is now testing the waters around nuclear armament. In an exclusive interview with GT reporters, Shigemitsu Tanaka, a co-chairperson of NihonHidankyo and one of the three representatives who accepted the #NobelPeacePrize on the organization's behalf, stressed that any move to dilute Japan's Three Non-Nuclear Principles or discuss nuclear sharing was “absolutely unacceptable.”

In a recent address, US President Donald Trump made an unusual point of mentioning a Chinese term: "Gung Ho ('gong he' in Putonghua)."

This year marks the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Long March of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. This extraordinary feat in human history wrote a glorious chapter in the history of the Chinese revolution and has remained a subject of enduring interest to writers in China and abroad.

On evening walks around Pemba Island, pediatrician Ding Ling and her colleagues often heard children calling out to them. The youngsters recognized the Chinese national flags on their T-shirts, shouted "China" and ran toward the doctors to say hello. Ding recalled the greetings during an interview with the Global Times about her assignment in Tanzania's Zanzibar archipelago, where she served from July 2019 to September 2020.

“I won the 'China in My Eyes' competition, hosted by the Chinese Embassy!” Papua New Guinean doctor Mazel Kerry Ipakasa wrote in a recent post on his LinkedIn account. His winning entry was a video documenting the medical partnership between China and Papua New Guinea (PNG), a collaboration he had experienced firsthand. “As a residential dental surgeon at Port Moresby General Hospital, I have had the privilege of working alongside the 15th China Medical Team,” he said.

Editor's Note: In November 2019, during an inspection tour in Shanghai, Chinese President Xi Jinping first put forward the concept that "cities should be built by the people and for the people."

A robotic arm cooks. Residents decide what changes next through a suggestion box. In a Shanghai neighborhood, an AI-powered community canteen is turning everyday meals into a vivid example of the “people-centered city” idea – one plate, and one suggestion, at a time.

In the 29th article of the "Readers' Reflections" column, Global Times (GT) spoke with Michele Geraci (Geraci), former undersecretary of state at Italy's Ministry of Economic Development and an adjunct professor of finance at NYU Shanghai, about China's people-centered urban development and its global impact.

In the 27th article of the "Scholars' Perspectives" column, Ni Pengfei, Director of the Center for City and Competitiveness at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, also expert entitled to Special Government Allowance of the State Council, elaborated on the intonation of People's City concept in Chinese urban development and governance philosophy.

Two enormous steel claws swung slowly through the air, plunged into a mountain of garbage and rose again carrying huge loads of waste. From behind a glass wall, the scene looked almost like a giant claw machine - except that the "prizes" weighed tons and would soon be fed into an incinerator.

The five cubs of a closely watched wild Siberian tiger family have begun leaving their mother in Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, offering a new glimpse into the animals' lives as habitat restoration supports local breeding.

Saturday marks World Migratory Bird Day. With the migration season in full swing, wetlands across China are stepping up protection using smart monitoring, wetland restoration and volunteer patrols, building safer stopover and wintering grounds for birds heading south.

Shanghai Port has topped global container throughput for 16 straight years. Much of that moves through Yangshan Deep Water Port, 28 million+ TEUs in 2025. How does it stay both secure and fast?

In the evening in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, the building housing an e-commerce livestreaming hub was brightly lit. In front of the camera, an Ethiopian host spoke briskly: "If you have been watching this little guy for 10 minutes and you still cannot stop thinking about him - that is your answer."

In 1972, Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing arrived in the US following then US president Richard Nixon's visit to China, beginning one of the most recognizable chapters in people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, according to the Xinhua News Agency. Over the decades, giant panda cooperation has grown beyond public fascination with the animals. China has carried out giant panda conservation and research cooperation with zoos around the world, covering breeding, disease prevention, scientific research, personnel training, and the protection of wild populations and habitats.

How does China's #FAST telescope hear whispers from the universe? Behind its giant dish are homegrown technologies that precisely shape its reflector, stabilize its feed cabin and cool receivers to near absolute zero, capabilities that extend not only to astronomy but also to deep-space exploration.

As more international visitors discover these options online, Chinese fitness providers, doctors and hospitals are adapting their services to make it easier for them to seek advice and care. For international participants, the experience involves more than exercise. Their accounts describe learning unfamiliar routines, negotiating language barriers and living alongside people working toward similar goals.

At 1 am, when most global capitals have dimmed their lights and retreated into the quiet privacy of home, a café in Riyadh is still pulsating with life. After spending an evening at Boulevard World - one of the capital's largest and most neon-lit entertainment districts - my friend and I walked into what locals describe as the world's largest Arabica coffee shop.

Have you ever seen a red ocean? China's "HAB extinguisher" is helping to mitigate tackle harmful algal blooms (HABs). Through years of research and refinement, the technology has continued to expand its global circle of partners, with a 15-nation initiative pushing cooperation on marine disaster response.

On a crisp, clear mid-September morning in Hetian, Northwest China's Xinjiang, Zhou Xiangli looked out of her window and caught sight of the snow-capped Kunlun Mountains in the distance.

At a China-US teacher exchange event in late August, Qian Jianfen, an English teacher from Suzhou No. 1 High School, watched a crowd of Chinese educators gather around an elderly American man: Ronald Sakolsky, a veteran educator known to his Chinese colleagues as Mr S.

Across China, families are gathering to mark a festival associated with reunion, moon-gazing and sharing food. This year's Mid-Autumn Festival falls on Friday, the first day of the three-day public holidays.

How do disaster-related rumors spread? A GT investigation traces how unverified claims about the Gyirong mudslide moved from anonymous sources to an overseas anti-China advocacy group, media reports and multilingual platforms – with AI-generated content adding another layer of fabricated “evidence.” #GTinvestigates

The first simulated gunshot cracked across a misty valley in northern Guizhou Province. Russian traveler Renata instinctively ducked. Around her, smoke rose through the mountain air as shouted commands, explosions and the sound of running feet turned a steep path into a scene from a battle fought more than nine decades ago.

Two decades into full operation, the Qinghai-Xizang Railway is undergoing another change. Artificial intelligence is helping screen equipment faults and monitor risks along remote tracks, while preparations for electrification are advancing.

Across two generations of an American family, Victor Plymire put down roots in Huangyuan, Northwest China's Qinghai Province, for nearly 30 years; his daughter Mary Ann Plymire's final wish was to be laid to rest in Huangyuan; and his son David V. Plymire regarded Huangyuan as his only hometown and raised funds to donate medical equipment worth more than 6 million yuan (about $895,000).

In recent years, extreme weather events and the natural disasters they trigger have occurred frequently around the world, highlighting the impact of climate change on ordinary people's lives, personal safety and socioeconomic development. Yet the challenges brought by climate change extend far beyond people's livelihoods.

The wooden boats that once carried Red Army soldiers across the big river have long since given way to a bridge spanning the reservoir. Roads and power lines wind through the valleys around snow-covered mountains. Rows of solar panels now rise above grazing land on the vast grasslands. Ninety years ago, the same river, mountain and wetlands formed some of the most difficult stretches of the Long March.

Maria Julia Saraiva de Brito was sitting in a classroom in Xiamen city, East China's Fujian Province, staring at an unfinished image on the screen. Following the method taught by her Chinese instructor, the Brazilian high schooler typed “panda,” “bamboo forest” and “Brazilian tropical sunlight.” Seconds later, a fluffy panda poked its head out from the bamboo shadows, set against a backdrop of colors that felt unmistakably South American. Brito watched the screen, the corners of her mouth unconsciously lifting.

“Our own plants should be studied by us.” For more than 40 years, a Chinese botanist has walked the forests of #ChangbaiMountain, Jilin Province, photographing more than 520,000 plant images. His lens has captured not only the lives of plants, but also China's remarkable journey of ecological restoration.

In an era of profound global shifts and increasingly complex regional dynamics, a proper understanding of the world must be rooted in "grounded experience" and localized insights. Global Times English edition, in collaboration with the Academy of International and Regional Communication Studies, Communication University of China, is proud to launch "Local Insights," an English-language column dedicated to original, field-based observations.

A cruise ship docks in Shanghai. Twenty seconds later, a 14-year-old Russian visitor is on her way into the city. How does the port make inbound travel smoother?

Robots are taking over the #2026 CIFTIS in #Beijing – from #robot shopkeepers and postal clerks to tea-picking machines and humanoid marathon runners – giving visitors a preview of how #AI is reshaping everyday life.

Editor's Note: This year marks the 25th founding anniversary of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The SCO Summit was held in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, from August 31 to September 1.

This is the 26th installment of "Practitioners' Insights." We visit Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, to explore how a China-Kyrgyzstan waste-to-energy project is turning a long-standing "garbage siege" into a new starting point for green development. Beyond treating waste and generating power, the project is also cultivating local technical talent, transferring technology and experience, and demonstrating how practical cooperation can create lasting benefits for local communities while offering a tangible example of how green solutions can contribute to global ecological governance.

In the 28th article of the "Readers' Reflections" column, the Global Times (GT) talked to Kabuljon Sabirov (Sabirov), director of the SCO Center for Public Diplomacy in Uzbekistan.

This year marks the 25th founding anniversary of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The SCO Summit was held in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, from August 31 to September 1.

The robot has made another mistake. The robot had performed flawlessly in the lab - under familiar lighting, with objects in their usual spots. But in a real factory, with dimmer light and a part shifted a few centimeters, it fumbled.

In August, Cambodia was sweltering under the heat. Beside a rice paddy in central Kampong Thom province, Zhang Dongdong crouched on a muddy embankment, with the lower half of his trousers covered in sludge. Across from him stood local farmer Ngok Senghong. With great care, Ngok untied a bag of shrimp fry, preparing to release them into a small irrigation ditch dug along the edge of the paddy.

Over more than a decade, the boats have traveled about 140,000 kilometers and carried approximately 100,000 passengers, according to project figures. Some journeys that once took a day and a half can now be completed in roughly 40 minutes, the Global Times learned.

"At 9 am, we made this decision in the car; by noon, the memorandum of understanding [MOU] had already been signed," Pakistani reporter Amjad Aziz Malik told the Global Times when recalling his experience in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, over the past two days.

In the morning light of Mtego wa Simba village in Tanzania, children line up outside Juhudi Primary School. They do not rush. Teachers organize them by class. One by one they step forward, receive a cup of warm soy milk and a small snack, then return to their place. The ritual has become so ordinary that no one announces it anymore. Locals simply call it "soy milk time."

On a grassy field in Taining town, the history of this part of western Sichuan not only appeared as a row of dates, but also came on horseback, in song and in the hands of craftspeople.

Twenty-four years ago, Ma Huijuan was a young woman trapped in the dry, cracked earth of Xihaigu, one of China's driest and poorest regions in Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, believing she would never escape the mountains. "Black Eye Valley [her hometown] was parched," she wrote later, "and hope had dried up along with it."

On August 19, US federal government debt crossed an "ominous milestone," surpassing $40 trillion for the first time. That works out at an average of $359,000 for every US taxpayer. For decades, Washington has been able to keep issuing debt to cover its fiscal deficits by relying on dollar hegemony, with military power serving as a key pillar sustaining that hegemony.

For decades, China's rapid urban expansion was accompanied by the retreat of wildlife as forests, wetlands and other habitats shrank or became fragmented. Now, for some species, the direction of movement appears to be changing. Giant pandas have entered family compounds and crossed roads inside scenic areas; Asian elephants move through farmland, tea gardens and villages in Yunnan; and roe deer have reappeared in Beijing's suburban forests. Wild animals, once associated largely with remote habitats, are increasingly being recorded near cities and in places used by people every day.

The nearside, which we know well, is marked by vast, dark lunar maria, while the farside is dominated by bright, heavily cratered highlands. Why does the moon have these "two faces"? This puzzle, which has confounded the global scientific community for decades, has recently gained a fresh answer thanks to the farside samples brought back by the Chang'e-6 mission.

Can the US scare the world away from Chinese open-source AI? It's trying –with FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt), third-party reports and regulatory whispers. But the real cost? Probably US' own innovation, competitiveness and global trust, said experts.

On September 1, American teacher Ronald Sakolsky will leave China after a 10-day return visit, carrying with him memories of old friendships renewed. His journey took him from Beijing to North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Central China's Henan Province, where reunions, embraces and tears brought a decades-old story of friendship between ordinary people in China and the US into sharper public view.

Why is #WWII portrayed as starting with Hiroshima in some Indian classrooms? A GT investigation traces how Japanese institutions have promoted a “victim-centered peace narrative” across South Asia – one that remembers the atomic bombings while leaving Japan's earlier aggression out of frame. #India #GTinvestigates

At the arrival hall of Shanghai Pudong International Airport's Terminal 2, the crowd moved in a steady stream. As a middle-aged man handed over his passport, his eyes flickered away for a brief moment.

At the northern terminus of the Pinglu Canal - Pingtang village, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region - stands a road marker with Chinese characters that translate to "connecting rivers to the sea." On a large tranquil green reservoir, several river transport vessels heavily loaded with goods quietly sail east.

Compared with the right-wing organization Nippon Kaigi, the Shinto Association of Spiritual Leadership is more covert, has a longer history of development, and exerts a deeper and more far-reaching influence on Japanese society and politics. #GTinvestigates

Japan's Nippon Kaigi has long worked to turn right-wing causes into state policy, from constitutional revision and historical revisionism to military expansion. How has this shadowy “incubator for Japan's political shift to the right” become deeply embedded in the LDP and gained influence over the Takaichi administration? GT investigates.

The year 2026 marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Egypt, as well as the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Arab states. A recent survey on "How Chinese people view Egypt" conducted by the Global Times Institute found that Egypt's ancient civilization has left a deep impression on the Chinese public.

On Monday afternoon, Ronald Sakolsky, an American teacher, set foot once again on the soil of the Mu Us Desert, in the Uxin Banner of Ordos, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. He first came here in 2000. Back then, the land was little more than drifting sand. Today, it is green with trees – a transformation driven by decades of local effort.

At the Ordos Ejin Horo International Airport in Ordos, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Yin Yuzhen, a nationally recognized hero in desertification prevention and control and her US friend “Sai Kaosi” (whose real name is Ronald Sakolsky) embraced each other in tears.

The concert appeared to be over. Yet neither the singers nor the audience seemed ready to let the night end. On the evening of August 12 at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, the Yale Whiffenpoofs finished their scheduled program before returning to the stage for an encore featuring three Chinese songs: the traditional folk tune "Jasmine Flower," the popular hit "The Brightest Star in the Night Sky" and "Let the World Be Filled with Love."

Editor's Note: In an era of profound global shifts and increasingly complex regional dynamics, a proper understanding of the world must be rooted in “grounded experience” and localized insights. Global Times English edition, in collaboration with the Academy of International and Regional Communication Studies, Communication University of China, is proud to launch “Local Insights,” an English-language column dedicated to original, field-based observations. We invite Chinese scholars and professionals who are studying, conducting exchanges, or working outside China, as well as international students and friends living and studying in China who are familiar with the social contexts of their home countries or third countries, to begin from first-hand field experience and engage with social, cultural, and contemporary issues beyond China. In the fifth article of this column, drawing on her on‑the‑ground experience as a Chinese exchange scholar, the author observes a South Africa Freedom Day memorial gathering, revealing how local politics unfolds through collective singing, dancing, and grassroots participation, while also reflecting on the gap between political liberation and economic justice.

The Global Times is launching a new series, “China City Talk.” In this series, we explore cities across China, focusing on the everyday rhythms of life shaped by the human warmth of public policy and the quiet ways urban governance transforms individual lives. These stories offer one of the clearest windows into contemporary China.

As night falls along China's East China Sea coast, rows of sprawling industrial facilities glow brightly under the dark sky. At Sinopec Ningbo Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Co., Ltd. (NZRCC) in East China's Zhejiang Province, a network of oil pipelines, towering distillation towers and neatly arranged oil storage tanks forms a futuristic “steel forest” outlined by lights and shadows.

Some global travelers are increasingly venturing beyond China's megacities and into its countryside, drawn by hands-on farming experiences, rural traditions and a more authentic glimpse of everyday life. The trend reflects a broader shift toward experiential tourism, while offering Chinese villages new opportunities for cultural exchange, international visibility and rural revitalization. #ChinaTravel

Latin American scholars got a firsthand look at how China's urban planning turns into everyday life – from smart city design to people-centered community renewal. Their takeaway? Development works best when it's long-term, practical, and built for people, not just numbers. #CPCinGlobalEyes

On a mild weekend morning in South China's Shenzhen, Liao Sheng, who is in his 40s, and his eight-year-old daughter stepped onto the undulating green roof of the Shenzhen Bay Cultural Plaza. The girl slipped off her shoes and ran barefoot across the grassy slopes. Liao sat and watched the water, fine waves moving like silk under the sun.

Behind every such journey lies a practical calculation: Is the body ready? Is the expense manageable? Can family responsibilities be set aside long enough? The answers are reshaping both travel products and ideas about life after work. At the farthest reaches of the map, some Chinese retirees are asking a new question: With their careers behind them and years still ahead, where do they want to go next?

This line of argument, along with Japan's defense policies in recent years, in fact reflects a form of "military Keynesianism" - the use of military spending as a means to stimulate overall economic development. However, this logic of "trying to boost the economy through military buildup" has faced widespread skepticism inside Japan. Some scholars have also warned that Japan pursued a similar policy during WWII, which led to the expansion of the military-industrial complex (MIC) and, in objective terms, fueled the scale of Japan's war of aggression, bringing profound suffering to the peoples of Asia and the world.

A power drill starts in a neighboring apartment just as someone is trying to sleep. Cooking fumes from the restaurant downstairs drift through an open window. A modified car roars past a residential compound, while a food delivery arrives wrapped in layers of plastic. According to China's new Ecological and Environmental Code, these seemingly minor, everyday frictions - closely tied to how people live, sleep, cook, commute and consume - are precisely where environmental governance begins.

On youth soccer pitches across China this World Cup summer, one match often seemed to give way immediately to the next. Coaches shifted cones, parents raised phones behind the fence, and children in numbered bibs warmed up along the touchline while the previous teams were still packing away their gear.

In the intelligent era, we share the same planet and must pull together. Standing at the forefront of the times and shouldering the responsibilities of a major country, China is advancing global AI governance in an all-round way, making it deeper and more substantive.

A white jade corridor stretches deep into a sea of clouds. The towering celestial palace rises above tiered upturned eaves, and red-crowned cranes glide between floating sanctuaries. Shared online by viewers without subtitles or dialogue, this AI-generated short video racked up more than 5 million views across overseas social platforms in less than four days, attracting audiences worldwide.

Ignoring strong opposition at home and abroad, the Japanese government has officially inaugurated its “National Intelligence Bureau.” What exactly is the purpose of this bureau? What is the background of its organizational structure and leadership? What impact could its deep entanglement with US intelligence agencies have on regional security? #GTinvestigates

Editor's Note: Ahead of the opening of the 2026 World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance, Chinese AI start-up Moonshot AI released its Kimi K3 large language model. As the world's largest open-source model by parameter count to date, this launch marks a significant step forward in the development of China's artificial intelligence models.

In the 27th article of the “Readers' Reflections” column, Global Times (GT) talked to Francesco Faiola (Faiola), an Italian professor at the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences with Chinese Academy of Sciences and recipient of the Chinese Government Friendship Award.

This is the 25th installment of "Practitioners' Insights." We turn our focus to a "digital track" laid for China's industrial internet: the Industrial Internet Identifier Resolution System. A decade ago, when a research team at the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) took on the task, the prevailing view in the industry was that it was "almost impossible." At that time, China had neither a strong voice in international standard-setting nor a deep technological foundation, yet it set out to build a self-reliant and controllable digital identity infrastructure spanning the entire industrial chain.

In the 25th article of the "Scholars' Perspectives" column, Wu Hui, a research fellow at the School of Earth and Space Sciences of Peking University, shared his understanding of sci-tech strength and self-reliance through the perspective of a young scholar.

A piece of cotton fabric, an AI supply-chain map, a "human rights" report and an electronics certification document appear to have little in common. Behind them, however, are the US entities that have helped build and operate Washington's machinery of restrictions against China - tracing materials linked to Xinjiang region, mapping supply chains for enforcement, producing reports used to advance "forced labor" allegations, converting those allegations into corporate compliance pressure, and lobbying to exclude Chinese laboratories from the US market. On August 5, China responded.

Editor's Note: In an era of profound global shifts and increasingly complex regional dynamics, a proper understanding of the world must be rooted in "grounded experience" and localized insights. Global Times English edition, in collaboration with the Academy of International and Regional Communication Studies, Communication University of China, is proud to launch "Local Insights," an English-language column dedicated to original, field-based observations. We invite Chinese scholars and professionals who are studying, conducting exchanges, or working outside China, as well as international students and friends living and studying in China who are familiar with the social contexts of their home countries or third countries, to begin from first-hand field experience and engage with social, cultural, and contemporary issues beyond China. The fourth article in this column, through the author's on-site experience, unpacks Singapore's distinctive national identity via its deliberate independence, structured multicultural integration policies and forward-looking urban and digital development plans.

When Francesco Faiola first arrived in China, he had no long-term plans. Yet he stayed - because, as he puts it, "China made me feel like I belong to a scientific community that's now helping set global directions." A decade later, the stem cell toxicologist leads a lab in Beijing and has taken a front row seat to China's rising technological innovation. And it's not just him - his family back home has also caught the wave.

This is the seventh installment. This article examines how metaramanomics technologies developed by the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, are entering leading laboratories in the UK and the US, supporting global scientists in decoding microbial metabolism and advancing green biomanufacturing, microbiome research and environmental sustainability.

A hand-cranked alarm broke the darkness in a village in Zayu County, Nyingchi city, Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. In the scenario unfolding that night, prolonged rain had pushed a mountain stream above its orange-alert level. Power, telecommunications and road access had all been cut. A drone carrying lighting equipment rose above the village, illuminating the flood-monitoring point and an evacuation route as emergency teams assessed the danger and went door to door to move residents.

In this installment, we turn our focus to the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, where engineers, scientists and conservationists are working together to explore a new balance between hydropower development and ecological protection, ensuring the free migration of rare fish species in the Yarlung Zangbo River.

A few months ago, Sonjin Aroi stood beside a Nauru booth at a cultural expo organized by the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

In Fiji, coconut husks are often treated as waste. After coming to China, Koroi Dionisia Puleiwai Lewanavanua Marama discovered another possibility for them.

In the evening bustle of Shanghai, a middle-aged woman sits in a metro train car, head down, scrolling through short videos on her phone. She flicks past dozens of clips, yet can hardly find a single micro-drama shot with real actors and cameras.

At the National Referral Hospital Comprehensive Medical Center, waiting areas are frequently full. Some patients come seeking relief from chronic pain. Others have recurring kidney stones. Some are waiting to see specialists in breast surgery, cardiology or neurosurgery. Beyond the consultation rooms, operating theaters, wards and examination areas are meeting a growing share of the Pacific island country's specialist healthcare needs.

A birthday cake sat waiting to be eaten at Tianjin Zoo in North China's Tianjin Municipality on July 24, but it was not for a human guest. Visitors had gathered to celebrate the 13th birthday of giant panda Xi Le, watching and photographing the panda as they shared the occasion from outside the enclosure. Born in Ya'an, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, in 2013, the furry resident arrived at the Tianjin Zoo two years later, according to the Xinhua News Agency. It was one moment in a summer filled with panda birthdays across China.

A mechanical hand slowly closed its fingers. The person wearing a brain-computer interface device had not moved their arm; brain signals alone were directing the grasping motion.

In the quiet hours before dawn, the campus lay still. Yet a multipurpose hall in the international dormitory building was still lit, its glow spilling into the dark.

Why would anyone willingly fly a swarm of drones straight into a howling typhoon? And what could such a risky maneuver reveal that satellites and weather radars cannot?

The Nepali authorities' handling of an indoor gathering marking the 91st birthday of the 14th Dalai Lama has drawn criticism in Nepal, with a leader of the Nepali Communist Party (NCP) saying the episode exposed a gap between Kathmandu's stated commitment to the one-China principle and its actions in practice.

Global Times reporters visited the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) - the birthplace of "digital goddess" MAZU - tracing China intelligent meteorological early warning solution MAZU's evolution from a homegrown prototype to a global public good.

The Global Times reporter recently joined scholars and members of civil society from various sectors of Ryukyu on an exclusive visit to the historical site. It was the first time that a Ryukyuan group had visited the site during its restoration, and the visitors paid tribute to their ancestors there. Amid a turbulent and unpredictable regional situation, they recalled the profound friendship forged between Ryukyu and China over hundreds of years.

Japan's NHK recently aired a documentary on Unit 731 — the notorious WWII germ-warfare unit — titled A Secret Unit: The Silent Postwar Era. Though its reach was limited, GT reporters obtained exclusive access to the full film. As more archives are declassified and descendants of both victims and perpetrators come forward, the full horror of Unit 731's crimes is gradually being reconstructed.

China's fishery scientific vessel Lanhai 201 has successfully completed its first systematic fishery resource survey in the waters east of #Taiwan island — filling a long-standing blank spot in China's near-sea fishery research. Covering 23 stations, the expedition collected vital data on over 100 fish species, rich plankton, and biodiversity in this important part of China's EEZ.

In this final installment, the Global Times tells the story of Medog, the last county in China to gain road access, and how education transformed the lives of local children. Centered on CPC member and headmaster Kelsang Dekyi, of the Monba ethnic group, the story follows her journey from a student supported by national education policies to a teacher who returned home to help more children, while highlighting how education support systems have driven lasting change in the region.

In 1934, 17 young men planted pines in Huawu village, known as the Red Army village, and departed on the Long March. They never returned, but the pines did. 90 years on, we listen to the trees — and the voices that carried on. The Long March spirit isn't history; it's inheritance. #LongMarch

American stand-up comedian Lee Camp spent three weeks in Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region in 2025. This place is often smeared by some Western media, however, for him, it was spectacular. "I can't even remember how many tunnels and bridges I went through, or how many dams I saw," Lee Camp told the Global Times. "There were so many major infrastructure projects. It was incredible. I was shocked."

In this installment, Global Times reporters Lin Xiaoyi and Chen Zishuai (GT) spoke with Gong Ke (Gong), executive president of the Chinese Institute of New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Strategies and former president of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations, who attended the 2026 World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, to discuss how China's AI governance framework advances fairer global development and bridges the digital divide in the intelligent age.

Beneath the murky, fast-flowing waters of Bangladesh's Padma and Jamuna rivers lives one of South Asia's most elusive endangered species: the Ganges river dolphin. For decades, their fleeting movements and turbid habitats have stymied every effort to accurately count and protect them. Now, a new generation of Chinese acoustic technology, nicknamed “tech ears,” is changing the field.

The year 2026 marks the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. China and ASEAN have been each other's largest trading partners for many consecutive years. A recent public opinion survey conducted by the Global Times Institute on "Chinese Public Views on ASEAN" in 2026 found that cooperation outcomes between China and ASEAN in recent years have been widely and positively received. Most respondents support deeper bilateral collaboration, express high hopes for economic and trade ties, and growing enthusiasm for people-to-people exchanges.

Against the backdrop of global warming, extreme weather and climate events are posing growing risks to economic and social activity as well as public safety. Since China entered its 2026 flood season, torrential rain, typhoons, thunderstorms, gales and landslides have struck areas stretching from Southwest China to the eastern coast and Northeast China.

In the height of summer, on the southern edge of the Taklimakan Desert, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the wind carries heat. But in Daoxiang Village in Hotan County, that harshness gives way to a gentler landscape. Rice paddies stretch for miles, and their green seedlings rise in neat rows along irrigation channels. This village, once known as "the last sand dune," has turned into a lush oasis, upending any image of desert life.

Shanghai is bathed in brilliant sunlight in July. Along a tree-lined street in Shanghai's Changning district stands a low-rise building, quietly tucked into the surrounding greenery.

China's NEV sector is smashing production and sales records, yet many of the critical advanced materials behind this success were once dependent on imports. A CPC member engineer and his team devoted years to R&D, breaking foreign monopolies on key automotive materials. Their hard-won breakthroughs have not only enabled domestic self-reliance but also powered the global rise of China's auto industry.

In the 26th article of the “Readers' Reflections” column, Global Times (GT) talked to Essam Sharaf (Sharaf), former Egyptian Prime Minister, to get his insights on the understanding of Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building, and why “upholding the CPC's leadership” is key for the Chinese to realize their dreams. From an international perspective, he also analyzes the profound significance of Chinese modernization for the global development and governance.

Uhas' more than half-century presence across the grasslands embodies the simplest fulfillment of the Party's mission in border regions. His lifelong habit of carrying a medical bag stems from the original aspiration he held as a CPC member.

As this year marks the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), a national conference on Party building was held in Beijing on June 15, making arrangements for studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building. The Thought reflects intrinsic connections among Party self-governance, Party strengthening and national rejuvenation. Articulated through the "Fourteen Upholds" - and comprising a series of signature major concepts, original ideas, and fundamental theoretical insights - the Thought has made major original contributions to the development of the Marxist theory of Party building, and is of great practical significance and far-reaching guiding significance for strengthening the Party and the country.

Over the past several years, China has relocated families from isolated mountain settlements into newly built communities, while also expanding schools, healthcare facilities, and other public services. This effort has required substantial government investment with little immediate economic return, which raises a broader question: How should such investments be measured? The story of Nenger Luolin, a Yi girl, offers one answer.

This summer, the abnormality of climate change has felt unusually close.

Ten years have passed since the illegal South China Sea arbitration award was rendered in 2016. Yet rather than fading into irrelevance, the Philippines has never ceased to fan the flames - repeatedly stoking the arbitration narrative in an effort to legitimize its unlawful territorial ambitions.

The sky had turned overcast again. Wang Yongzhong looked up at the gathering mass of gray clouds. A wind blew in from the fields, carrying the scent of ripening wheat - and with it, a trace of anxiety.

In this installment, Global Times reporters Lin Xiaoyi and Chen Zishuai (GT) sat down with Stephen Jackson (Jackson), the United Nations resident coordinator in China at the Zhongguancun Dialogue on AI Cooperation, recently held in Beijing, to discuss how China leverages multilateral cooperation platforms to carry out extensive international collaboration on artificial intelligence, supports Global South countries in scaling up their technological capacity-building and contributes to bridging the global AI divide.

As artificial intelligence reshapes the global landscape, the emerging China-SCO Countries AI Application Cooperation Center is positioning itself as a key bridge between China's technological prowess and the development needs of the Global South. In an exclusive interview with the Global Times on the sidelines of the Zhongguancun Dialogue on AI Cooperation, Pan Jingyu, director of the center, outlined how China leverages multilateral frameworks to export mature AI solutions while addressing governance challenges, offering a distinct vision against the backdrop of global digital divides.

Just weeks after wheat harvest, fresh corn shoots are already greening villages in East China's Dezhou — a rapid turnaround that keeps this ancient farming rhythm alive. Yet today's fields run on data: satellite‑guided tractors, integrated irrigation‑fertilization, and soil sensors that feed real‑time decisions. In #China's thousand‑year‑old breadbasket, tradition and precision now grow side by side. Farming, quietly upgraded.

The atmosphere at an AI-themed forum in Beijing this June felt different from the usual technology conferences. Instead of executives in suits unveiling the latest products, seven primary and secondary school students from across China took turns stepping into the spotlight. A primary school participant was too young to have fully mastered typing on a keyboard, yet each student confidently presented an AI-powered solution designed to tackle real-world challenges.

In the final installment of the series “250th Anniversary of Independence: America's Change and Constancy,” we recount several major shifts in US diplomatic strategy throughout history and analyze the motivations behind the current changes in US diplomatic tactics, revealing the unchanged ambition of pursuing global hegemony and maintaining its own dominant status.

The Qinghai-Xizang Railway marks its 20th anniversary of operation on July 1. As the world's highest and longest plateau railway, the line, since 2006, has opened a vital transport corridor across the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, and helped accelerate ecological protection along its route.

"Oppose any attempts for fascistic and militaristic revival," "oppose and condemn all forms of fascism and militarism," "oppose practices that undermine regional peace and stability, such as the creation of exclusive 'small circles,' the instigation of bloc confrontation, and the back of militarism."

White light falls across rows of iron-clad bookshelves, where the air hangs thick with the mingled scent of ink and passing years. Zhang Yuhan runs her fingertips along the spines of books chronicling the history and development of the Communist Party of China (CPC), pulls one out, and slowly turns its pages. Between the lines, a century of arduous struggle and historic breakthroughs unfurls in quiet majesty.

"Dear passengers, welcome aboard the Hotan Yulong Train. We are about to launch our mobile bazaar event on this service. Carriage 11 features intangible cultural heritage handicrafts from Hotan, alongside local baked buns, peaches, walnuts, dried apricots, honey and more. We invite all passengers to join us in Carriage 11 and wish you a pleasant journey."

In this story, we trace the long history of the US' repeated reconstruction of its national narrative, examine why the US national identity has become so deeply fractured, and explore whether this country can bridge its divides and tell its story anew.

For the US, which is about to celebrate its 250th birthday, the atmosphere this year is far from celebratory. The smoke of the war against Iran has not only impacted the global economy and disrupted international order but has also caused the major pillars of American economic hegemony to shake simultaneously. Scholars have noted that US economic hegemony rests on five pillars: economic strength, dollar hegemony, military hegemony, political hegemony and rule hegemony. For years, the major pillars of American economic hegemony have been steadily loosening under America's domestic and foreign policies. The war against Iran has merely thrust this structural decline into the spotlight. How much longer the US can sustain its economic hegemony has become a topic of ongoing heated discussion in global public opinion.

For Xizang, such a tournament is also a sign of broader changes. Public life on the plateau is becoming more connected and more varied, shaped not only by major projects, but also by improvements in health care, education, culture, sports and ecological protection. Behind many of these changes is China's paired-up assistance mechanism for Xizang. Launched in 1994, it has brought officials, doctors, teachers, technicians and enterprise workers from other parts of China to the plateau, helping strengthen local services and development capacity. Over the decades, the mechanism has also become a channel for closer exchanges among different ethnic groups.

Editor's Note: Having enjoyed a long history, friendly exchanges between China and Africa have deepened in recent years, covering various fields such as politics, economy, and culture. The Global Times is launching a China-Africa Rhapsody series, aiming to showcase the profound human connections and development visions between the two peoples by sharing the true stories of Chinese people in Africa and African people in China. From touching stories of China-Africa cooperation and exciting collisions of youthful ideas to debunking fallacies concocted by some Western sources about China-Africa collaboration, this series hopes to promote closer cooperation and deeper understanding between the peoples of China and Africa. This installment shares the story of how the 50-year-old Rossing Uranium Mine has brought extensive opportunities and welfare to local Namibians following its acquisition by a Chinese firm.

“I'm very blessed to have seen all the Party and government units, and local and foreign charities working together. To me, this is really a dream come true.” Nepali surgeon & charitable group founder shares his stories and thoughts of doing charity in Shanghai. #CPCinGlobalEyes

Editor's Note: The year 2026 marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30). The outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan dedicates a chapter to "accelerating the green transition across the board and building a Beautiful China."

This quiet, open valley is a scenic landscape for tourists, but it is also part of everyday life for people living along the river. In recent years, as wetland protection, river management and public participation have continued to advance, the water has become clearer, the trees denser, and the birds more numerous.

Editor's Note: In the 25th article of the "Readers' Reflections" column, Global Times (GT) talked to Erik Solheim (Solheim), recipient of the 2023 Chinese Government Award, Co-Chair of Europe-Asia Center and former Under Secretary-General of the UN and Executive Director of the UNEP, to get his insights on the understanding of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization and the reference value of China's green development path for Latin America, Africa, and the entire Global South.

One of the most important contributions of China's experience is the demonstration that building an ecologically sustainable society depends not only on setting ambitious goals, but also on maintaining strategic direction and continuity of purpose over time. China's aspiration to build a clean and beautiful world is not merely an environmental goal, but a civilizational horizon.

In the 23rd article of the "Scholars' Perspectives" column, Huang Chengliang, secretary general of the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, shares with the Global Times his insights on China's path in which development and environmental protection can advance in tandem.

A sound mechanism must stand the test of both time and results. Spanning more than 4,000 kilometers, the partnership between East China's Fujian Province and Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region has now lasted for three decades.

As the US approaches its 250th birthday, its "nation of immigrants" label may need to be re-examined. Research shows that in 2025, the US experienced a net migration outflow of approximately 150,000 people - the first "reverse migration" wave since the Great Depression of the 1930s - and this trend is expected to intensify further in 2026 and 2027. Scholars point out that this historic population reversal is rooted in imbalances in the US economic structure and issues with social governance, reflecting profound economic and political restructuring in the country, and signaling a decline in its economic vitality, social cohesion and global appeal.

When virtual effects dilute the brutality of artillery fire and meme culture obscures the human cost of conflict, how has the smoke of this AI battlefield involving the US, Israel and Iran spread? In this AI-driven information war of manufactured narratives, what dazzling “tactics” have both the US and Iran deployed? And what deeper dangers lie beneath this new form of public opinion confrontation? #GTinvestigates

It was nearly 11 o'clock at night, and Liu Zhao's computer screen was still glowing. Scattered across his desktop were several half-edited drafts of lyrics, while the waveform graphs from his AI music software rose and fell like mountain ranges against the dark interface. He took off his headphones, rubbed his tired ears and put them back on.

On July 4, 2026, the US will celebrate the 250th anniversary of its independence. At this juncture, international public opinion has described the US as a "declining" America, citing rising political polarization, unprecedented ethnic tensions, increasing pressure on its economic hegemony, a weakening national identity, and overseas military operations mired in deadlock. Over the past 250 years, the US has gradually become a superpower, exerting significant influence on the world's structure and operations. Its political system, economic model, social structure, cultural narrative and foreign policy have also changed with shifts in national power.

In recent years, the rise of “China Travel” has turned medical tourism into an unexpected window through which foreign visitors can get a glimpse of China's development. Many foreign tourists are surprised when they find that, in China, they can get access to high-quality magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans in hospitals and medical institutes with remarkable ease and reasonable prices.

Crystal clear brooks weaving down green grassy slopes against the backdrop of snow-capped mountains - this is the home of the Central Asian salamander, or Ranodon sibiricus, a relict species dating back 350 million years and co-habitants of dinosaurs, which is listed as EN (endangered) status by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, kicked off on Thursday.

In late May, a team of Global Times reporters visited Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan. What left the deepest impression was not only the snow-capped mountains visible almost everywhere in the city, but also China-related signs throughout the journey, as well as the positive and optimistic attitudes shown by local residents and Chinese people living there when talking about relations between the two countries.

Editor's Note: In an era of profound global shifts and increasingly complex regional dynamics, a proper understanding of the world must be rooted in “grounded experience” and localized insights. Global Times English edition, in collaboration with the Academy of International and Regional Communication Studies, Communication University of China, is proud to launch “Local Insights,” an English-language column dedicated to original, field-based observations. We invite Chinese scholars and professionals who are studying, conducting exchanges, or working outside China, as well as international students and friends living and studying in China who are familiar with the social contexts of their home countries or third countries, to begin from first-hand field experience and engage with social, cultural, and contemporary issues beyond China. The third article in this column features a Chinese scholar witnessing the two-century-long civilizational integration, mutual accommodation and resilient people-to-people bonds between China and India through her on-site exploration of Kolkata's centuries-old Chinatown and in-depth conversations with local Chinese-Indian residents and Bengali neighbors.

In this installment, we turn our attention to a group of Chinese teenagers who volunteer as student docents at the country's red-themed revolutionary memorial sites, telling the stories and spirit of the CPC and China's development.

This article is the fourth installment. Global Times reporters visited the ancient city of Suyab in Kyrgyzstan on the spot, exploring how China's refined archaeological expertise tackles persistent hurdles in conserving earthen historic sites and showcasing the tangible outcomes of cultural and technology exchange between China and Kyrgyzstan along the Silk Road.

Monday marks both World Oceans Day and China's National Ocean Awareness Day. Since joining the Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA), China has honored its commitments, and implementation of the agreement has gotten off to a strong start, some participants said at a themed event on the agreement held in Shanghai on June 5, the United Nations (UN)-designated International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing.

Scandals around Tenzin Taklha, the Dalai Lama's nephew and secretary, once again expose the hypocrisy and corruption within the Dalai clique. Behind the rhetoric of “human rights” and “democracy” lies a rotten network of power, money and misconduct. #Gtinvestigates

As generative artificial intelligence technology moves faster into education, the annual gaokao season, China's college entrance examination period, is also seeing new changes.

Over the past 30 years, 89-year-old Lei Yueqin has created seven hand-drawn maps documenting the revival of the Guancheng River in Guiyang, Southwest China's Guizhou Province. Her oldest faded colored drawings still bring a sparkle to her eyes whenever she flips through them.

As June rolls around, apples enter the fruit bagging season. Every single day, 51-year-old local fruit farmer Xu Dewen patrols his apple groves in Kekeya, Wensu County in Aksu Prefecture, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. "Growing apples is no easy feat," he told the Global Times. Apparently, all the hassle in growing apples, however, melts away into pure joy whenever he watches his young fruits swell day by day.

So what can a kiwifruit from New Zealand - with its natural nutritional strengths and Zespri's long-term commitment to the Chinese market - contribute to better-balanced meals for Chinese families, and to a healthier nation as a whole?

Young people across the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) widely endorse the concepts and actions of the SCO, highly appreciate its positive role in global governance and hold high expectations for deepening cooperation across various fields among member states, according to a report released in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on May 27.

On May 27, the 2026 China-Kyrgyzstan Media Cooperation Forum, themed "Deepening China-Kyrgyzstan Media Cooperation for a Brighter SCO Future," was held in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. Nearly 100 media representatives, officials from relevant departments, experts, scholars and business representatives from China and Kyrgyzstan attended the forum, engaging in in-depth exchanges and discussions on topics including economic and trade development, cultural exchange and media cooperation. The forum was jointly hosted by the People's Daily and Kyrgyz Tuusu Publishing House.

Artem, a 38-year-old Russian, sat nervously in the dental chair at an oral clinic in Heihe, a China-Russia border city in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, as the lamp above lit up his anxious face during his second cross-border dental trip to China. A nurse handed him a thumb-sized scanning probe - Artem's first encounter with China's smart tech in dentistry: a digital oral impression scanner.

Editor's Note: On May 27, the 2026 Global Poverty Reduction and Development Forum was held in Beijing. At the forum's opening ceremony, the Global Partnership for Poverty Alleviation and Development was officially launched. The partnership, jointly initiated by China, 53 other countries and nine international organizations, marks a milestone in global poverty reduction endeavors.

In the 22nd article of the "Scholars' Perspectives" column, Li Xiaoyun, chair professor of China Agricultural University, shares with the Global Times his insights on the importance of rural modernization, as well as its domestic and international significance.

In the 24th article of the "Readers' Reflections" column, Global Times (GT) talked to Arkebe Oqubay, a British Academy Global Professor at SOAS University of London and former Senior Minister and Special Adviser to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, to get his insight on China's historic poverty reduction achievement, its rural revitalization strategy, and what this experience means for other developing countries.

We visited Shibadong village in Huayuan county, Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Central China's Hunan Province, where the concept of "targeted poverty alleviation" was first put forward, to hear villagers and industrial leaders who personally experienced the fight against poverty and the exploration of rural revitalization tell their stories. In recent years, building on consolidated poverty alleviation achievements, Shibadong village has relied on distinctive industries such as Miao embroidery, beekeeping and rural tourism. It has also continuously advanced rural revitalization through industrial upgrading, ecological improvement and cultural inheritance. This journey shows how the concept of rural revitalization has taken root in a remote mountain village, while also revealing the broad significance of this grassroots practice as it reaches the whole country and connects with the world.

The Global Times "Overseas China Week" event landed in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday, launching the "Linked by Mountains and Rivers, Bound by Shared Hearts - China and Kyrgyzstan Hand-in-Hand for the Future" photo exhibition, during the 2026 China-Kyrgyzstan Media Cooperation Forum.

As China marks the 90th anniversary of the Long March victory in 2026, new red tourism experiences focused on participation and emotional resonance are redefining how people connect with history.

A new wave of life entered the Beibu Gulf at the Beilun River estuary in Dongxing, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on May 19, as 270 million aquatic juveniles and broodstock were released into the sea during the 2026 China-Vietnam joint fishery resources stock enhancement and release activity. It was the ninth such joint release since China and Vietnam signed a memorandum of understanding in 2017 on cooperation in fishery resources enhancement, release and conservation in the gulf.

In east China's Zhoushan archipelago, tens of thousands of foreign crew members work side by side with Chinese seafarers. What is life and work like for foreign crew members employed by Chinese companies? With this question and high expectations in mind, an Indonesian student recently embarked on his journey to Zhoushan.

After a tropical cyclone swept through the Western Province of Solomon Islands, traces of the disaster were still visible along the coast of Rarumana community. Trees had been brought down, and seaweed farms were damaged. For this remote community in the South Pacific, separated from the capital Honiara, the storm made it even harder for medicines and medical workers to reach local residents.

From the classrooms of Lhasa High School, the view of the Potala Palace is a sight to behold. For travelers, such a view might be worth buying an expensive cup of coffee for a photo. For students here, it is simply the everyday backdrop of their studies. In the school's exhibition hall, student guides introduce visitors to its development, which began in 1956, with old campus photos, awards and records of student life on display. This year, Lhasa High School celebrates its 70th anniversary.

Editor's Note: China has consistently made poverty eradication a key priority in national governance. Over the past decades, China has lifted 800 million people out of poverty, achieving the poverty reduction goals of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development a full decade ahead of schedule.

Have you ever seen the "giant pandas of birds"? As May 22 marks the International Day for Biological Diversity, this story from the #BeautifulChinaING series turns focus to the Chinese merganser in the Changbai Mountains in Northeast China's Jilin Province, where decades of conservation, scientific innovation and community participation are helping revive one of the world's rarest birds while showcasing China's broader ecological restoration efforts.

“I had never seen so much money. He gave me that sum, and I bought so many good saplings with it... I have always thought of him. I wanted to tell him that I did it. I didn't waste his money.”

Traveling westward along the G318 National Highway from Qamdo - the eastern gateway to Xizang - the scenery outside the car window seems to change every few stretches along the road.

For nearly six decades, 77-year-old Jiang Mingdian has written hundreds of thousands of qiaopi - a unique form of personal mail - for local men in his hometown to send to their loved ones around the world. Despite his words having traveled far and wide, Jiang had never once left Quanzhou in East China's Fujian Province - until last Sunday, when he was invited to Beijing for a special screening of the hit film Dear You.

The eleventh Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is underway at UN Headquarters in New York. Japan is a signatory to the NPT. However, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has sought to revise Japan's Three Non-Nuclear Principles. Senior officials of the Prime Minister's Office have even blatantly claimed that Japan should possess nuclear weapons. Japan is also pushing for the so-called “nuclear sharing” arrangement, plotting to redeploy nuclear weapons on its soil. These negative moves have raised grave concerns across the international community.

From the urban area of Qamdo in Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, the Lancang-Mekong River can be seen winding through the mountains. Not far from the river, stands Qamdo Experimental Primary School, where the sound of children reading aloud, the rhythm of Tibetan traditional dance and the buzz of drones in flight meet on the same campus.

Editor's Note: As global challenges grow increasingly interconnected, technological solutions are rarely confined to a single country. Through research collaboration, open sharing of expertise and partnerships with international institutions, Chinese scientists, engineers and enterprises are engaging more deeply with the world, contributing tools and experience to problems that demand collective answers. The Global Times launches a series of “Tech Seeds, Global Bloom,” spotlighting China's achievements in advancing technology for good both domestically and internationally. By following these trajectories, the series invites readers to consider a different measure of progress: Not how advanced technology becomes, but whom it ultimately serves, and how widely its benefits can spread. This article is the third installment. It examines how China's open-source AI ecosystem, exemplified by ScienceOne 100, combines technological openness, scientific collaboration, and governance ambitions to reshape global innovation and AI for Science.

Editor's Note: In an era of profound global shifts and increasingly complex regional dynamics, a proper understanding of the world must be rooted in “grounded experience” and localized insights. Global Times English edition, in collaboration with the Academy of International and Regional Communication Studies, Communication University of China, is proud to launch “Local Insights,” an English-language column dedicated to original, field-based observations. We invite Chinese scholars and professionals who are studying, conducting exchanges, or working outside China, as well as international students and friends living and studying in China who are familiar with the social contexts of their home countries or third countries, to begin from first-hand field experience and engage with social, cultural, and contemporary issues beyond China. The second article in this column features a Chinese scholar witnessing the growing enthusiasm for Chinese culture at an Argentine university, a vivid embodiment of ever-deepening people-to-people exchanges and win-win cooperation that opens a new chapter in China-LAC friendship.

"All we want right now is to feel safe," travel vlogger Jake Rosmarin said in a tearful message from the MV Hondius cruise ship - one of the first public videos from a passenger as the ship became mired in anxiety over a hantavirus outbreak that led to three deaths this month.