Green pledge on coal-fired power stations

China is already aiming to hit peak CO2 emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, but President Xi Jinping announced a further package of environmental initiatives in an address to the United Nations General Assembly.

The key pledge was that China would step up support for other developing countries in promoting green and low-carbon energy and will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad.

Mid-Autumn Festival

There were moon cakes aplenty this week as the Mid-Autumn Festival, which fell on September 21, was celebrated. CMG's televisual extravaganza was broadcast internationally, and there were some innovative-looking treats for younger people.

And in France, there was a cross-cultural celebration in music and with special poems to mark the occasion:

Breakthrough in quantum communication

Chinese researchers have made a crucial breakthrough, boosting the future development of secure satellite-based long-distance and global quantum communication networks. The research team constructed a 15-user quantum secure direct communication network that enabled the direct transmission of confidential information among the users connected by the network for the first time.

World record for Chinese climber

In a sport whose popularity continues to reach new heights, Chinese climber Niu Di won gold in the women's speed climbing final at China's 14th National Games in Xi'an. Niu's result of 6.74 seconds surpassed the current world record of 6.84 seconds set by Poland's Aleksandra Miroslaw at the Tokyo Olympics. 

Huawei's Harmony OS helps smart mining

Huawei has said before that the Harmony operating system, designed to replace the Android mobile operating system, was initially created for the internet of things rather than just smartphones. And it has demonstrated that by linking up with a mining company, with a live demonstration in which a China Energy manager used his smartphone to control several inspection robots in a mine remotely.

The Japanese war orphans adopted in China

It is thought that as many as 4,000 Japanese children were adopted by Chinese parents after Japan surrendered at the end of World War II. This is the absorbing story of one 80-year-old who didn't find out her biological parents were Japanese until she was nearly 60 years old. And it also looks at how some of the adopted orphans eventually returned to Japan and have done their bit to build better relations and understanding between the two countries.

Rare seeds collected from sinkholes

Three months ago, in the sinkholes in Mengzi City in southwest China's Yunnan Province, researchers from the Kunming Institute of Botany found two rare plant species, Petrocosmea grandiflora and Elaeagnus bambusetorum, which had been unseen for more than 100 years. The first time around, they collected specimens of the flowers and leaves, but now they're heading back to collect the seeds.

Bustling ancient town in Shanghai

Nanxiang Ancient Town in Shanghai's Jiading District is a small town with a long history. One of the four famous historical and cultural towns in Shanghai, it goes back at least 1,500 years. Today, the ancient town is a popular tourist destination in Shanghai. Check out this video to explore the bustling town. 

Celebrities get tax warning

As China's Ministry of Culture pushes for stricter regulation of the entertainment industry, the taxation authorities are also cracking down on celebrities, including actors and social media influencers, suspected to be evading taxes.

Monkey magic

A team of forest rangers has dedicated years to protecting white-headed langurs, with their conservation efforts helping to ensure a thriving population of the critically endangered species in a nature reserve in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The population of white-headed langurs in Chongzuo has surged from around 300 in the 1980s to more than 1,300, according to the latest data from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration. Watch this video to see how cute they are and to see the stunning landscape where they live.