Beijing 2022 organizers rehearse opening ceremony

The second dress rehearsal for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games opening ceremony finished at the Beijing National Stadium on Saturday.

Compared with the previous practice, the one on Saturday night went through the complete process with all elements, including fireworks that lit up the sky.

Zhang Yimou, chief director of the opening ceremony, said the concepts of the show comprise scientific and technological innovation, low-carbon and eco-friendliness as well as sports and health.

Why Beijing 2022 is using artificial snow

As Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics prepares to get under way, concerns have been raised about the use of artificial snow, including whether it wastes water or has a negative impact on the environment.

Actually, artificial, or man-made snow, has been used at the Winter Olympics at host venues including Lake Placid, Vancouver, Sochi and Pyeongchang. 

As for water storage in the venues, a Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games spokesperson said artificial snowmaking has little impact on the local water supply and ecology thanks to China's world-leading water-conserving equipment. 

The snowmaking team primarily uses collected natural precipitation and adopts an intelligent system to decide the timing for snowmaking based on the weather conditions.

Beijing 2022 Olympic villages open to athletes

The three Olympic villages for the 2022 Winter Games in the three competition zones of Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou opened on Thursday.

Around 2,880 athletes from 91 delegations will enter the accommodation venues in the coming days. 

Those who have already checked in began to decorate their rooms with team flags and other items. Some of the balconies are already covered in signature colors including "Chinese red" and "Dutch orange."

Winter Olympics furniture goes green

Furniture makers for the upcoming Winter Olympics are banking on China's green objectives and making their products more environment-friendly.

The furniture that will be offered in the pavilions and guest rooms in the Winter Games focuses on recyclable materials and minimizing carbon emissions during the production process. Also, the furniture has very strict environmental standards.

In addition, the entire range of furniture is also being designed to be reusable.

President Xi begins New Year tour

Chinese President Xi Jinping joined residents in north China's Shanxi province days ahead of the Spring Festival as he began a visit on Wednesday.

For 10 years in a row, Xi has made it a tradition to visit people in different parts of China, delivering warm greetings and best wishes.

Braving the snow, Xi went to Fengnanyuan Village of Huozhou City, where he visited people affected by the flooding last year that disrupted the lives of 1.76 million residents in Shanxi.

WTO authorizes China to place duties on U.S. imports

The World Trade Organization (WTO) authorized China on Wednesday to slap duties on U.S. imports worth $645 million annually as part of a long-running dispute with Washington.

The ruling marks the second time the Geneva-based global trade body has allowed China to retaliate against U.S. anti-dumping duties deemed to violate international trade rules.

The U.S. still has tariffs on more than $300 billion of Chinese goods imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump, most of which are still in place. 

China increases wind farm capacity

China built three times as much offshore wind-farm capacity as the rest of the world put together during 2021 – and figures show wide disparities between European nations' rates of wind farm construction.

Updated information from the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows that during 2021, China provided more than three-quarters of the world's added capacity in offshore wind-power generation. A global total of 10.5 gigawatts (GW) capacity was added, of which 8GW was in China.

One major factor cited is the country's favorable feed-in tariffs, incentives that expired at the end of the year.

Spring Festival travel requires strict COVID-19 measures

The annual Spring Festival travel rush in China is almost at its peak as the week-long Lunar New Year holiday is just around the corner, and the recently opened China-Laos Railway is no exception.  

The 1,000-plus-kilometers cross-border line connects Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan province, with the Lao capital of Vientiane.

Firstly, the train crew must each receive three vaccine jabs. Along with this, all passengers looking to travel must have a negative PCR test result within 48 hours of traveling.

And there is a special kit on each train in case of any last-minute emergencies. The kit includes thermometers, goggles and protective suits.

Scientific breakthrough in quantum physics

Chinese scientists have implemented twin-field quantum key distribution (QKD) through an 833 kilometer optical fiber, setting a new world record in the field.

The experiment, led by Guo Guangcan and Han Zhengfu from the University of Science and Technology of China, is a solid step towards building reliable and efficient terrestrial quantum-secure networks over a scale of 1,000 kilometers.

China records achievements in space in white paper

China's State Council Information Office on Friday issued a white paper titled China's Space Program: A 2021 Perspective.

It summarized China's achievements in space science, space technology and space application in recent years and plans for the next 15 years.

In the past five years, China has completed 207 launches, 183 of which have been carried out by Long March series carrier rockets, said the white paper.