China sends Shiyan-12 twin testing satellites into space
China has launched a Long March-7A rocket to place two satellites in space. After blasting off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan province, the Shiyan-12 01 and Shiyan-12 02 satellites soon entered their pre-set orbit.
The mission marked the 402nd flight of the Long March carrier rockets.
At 18:12 on December 23, 2021, the Long March-7A carrier rocket ignited at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan, China. /VCG
The four-year-old 'horseman' of the Tianshan foothills
Aybulan is already a capable 'horseman' at the age of four, following in the footsteps of his ancestors. His family belongs to a community of ethnic Kazakhs living near the Tianshan Mountains in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Theirs is a nomadic life, moving from pasture to pasture with the change of the seasons. Riding on horseback, they follow paths that have been taken by their ancestors for hundreds of years.
Aybulan, four, rides his horse near the Tianshan Mountains in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. /CGTN
A magnetic rail system that can reach speeds of 600 km per hour
China's National Railway Administration unveiled new technology and innovation plans for the next five years and they involve a 600 km/h magnetic rail system and a low air pressure tube transport system, a concept popularized by Elon Musk's "hyperloop."
'Closed loop' COVID-19 security at Beijing Winter Olympics
All individuals involved in the Olympics are required to be fully vaccinated and a "closed-loop" management system will be applied throughout the athletes' stay, said Han Zirong, vice-president and secretary-general of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games.
The Olympics are due to start on February 4, 2022.
The 'Winter Olympic Ring' was officially unveiled at the Beijing Winter Olympics Park on December 22, 2021. /VCG
Report your tax crimes before 2022, China warns celebrities
Chinese provincial authorities warned celebrities and livestreamers to report tax-related crimes and correct their offenses before 2022, after China's "livestreaming queen" was handed a record 1.34 billion yuan ($210 million) fine for tax evasion.
The tax bureau in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang province, fined top e-commerce livestreamer Viya on Monday for hiding personal income and other offenses in 2019 and 2020.
Viya apologized on Weibo for breaking tax laws and said she fully accepted the punishment.
China's top e-commerce livestreamer Huang Wei, popularly known as Viya, during a livestream, April 16, 2019. /CFP
China's speed skaters earn 22 places at Beijing 2022
Team China has secured 22 places in the speed skating events at the Winter Olympics, according to the International Skating Union (ISU).
The women's squad clinched 14 spots, while the men's team took eight. China's female skaters have qualified for all seven events, from 500 meters to the 5,000m race, the mass start and the team pursuit. The men will be absent in two events - the 5,000m and 10,000m.
Xi'an tightens restrictions amid resurgence of coronavirus cases
Xi'an, the capital of northwest China's Shaanxi province, introduced a slew of restrictive measures to curb a resurgence of COVID-19 cases that have spread to other provinces across China.
All communities and companies are now under closed-off management, local authorities said at a press conference, as positive cases have been detected outside the city's restricted areas.
The city has one high-risk COVID-19 area and 40 medium-risk areas.
Local authorities hold a press conference on the latest COVID-19 situation in Xi'an, December 22, 2021. /CFP
Temperatures in northern China plunge to -45.2 degrees Celsius
A cold wave with temperatures dropping to below minus 40 degrees Celsius has hit China's northernmost city of Mohe in the northeastern Heilongjiang Province.
Genhe, a city in Hulunbuir, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, posted the lowest temperature in the country so far this year of minus 45.2 degrees Celsius.
China's northernmost city Mohe, in the northeastern Heilongjiang province, had heavy snowfall. /CFP
How Chinese food became holiday ritual for Jewish Americans in NYC
The "most wonderful time of the year" is laden with traditions. But there's one tradition that might come as a surprise – dining at a Chinese restaurant! Christmas and Christmas Eve are the busiest days of the year for many American Chinese restaurants.
The tradition is believed to have originated in New York in the late 1800s when many Jews, who don't celebrate Christmas, lived alongside Chinese immigrant communities.
Large herd of wild elephants invades small village for food
Some 40 wild Asian elephants have gathered in a small village in Jiangcheng County in China's Yunnan province to forage, as their natural habitat has a shortage of food.
The local government is taking multiple measures to avoid conflict between the giants and the local residents.