Six stories you may have missed from the past week.

Lantern festival

The Latern festival marks the end of the two-week New Year holiday. The occasion is noted for the colorful lanterns decorating streets and public places, and families gather together to eat round dumplings made from sticky rice. Broadcaster CMG celebrates the occasion with its gala show which was watched this year by more than 300 million people.

Water mega project

China's South-to-North Water Diversion Project has transferred over 60 billion cubic meters of water since November 2013 from major rivers in the south to the drought-prone north, according to new figures. This amount is greater than the average annual flow of the Yellow River, the country's second longest river, according to the company in charge of the project.

More than 150 million people are believed to have benefited directly from the diversion.

Space walk

China's Shenzhou-15 astronauts have left the Tiangong Space Station for the first time. The crew have been in orbit since November 30, 2022 and will complete the final stage of construction of the space station during their six-month trip.

EV targets

China is launching a pilot program to promote green transition in the public transport sector. The project, which is expected to last from 2023 to 2025, aims at building a low-carbon emission transportation system that supports the country in achieving its carbon goals.

Participation is voluntary but cities joining the program should ensure that 80 percent of their newly-added vehicles in the public and public services sector are electric.

Cultural protection

Five more areas have been designated as cultural ecology protection zones, adding to the seven originally named in 2019.

Among the additions are a Hakka culture-themed ecological reserve in Meizhou; Dali, the only autonomous prefecture of the Bai ethnic group in China; and Jinzhong in north China's Shanxi Province.

Star count

Scientists have identified over 740 pulsars since October 2017 with the help of the 500-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), also dubbed as the "China Sky Eye." 

Jiang Peng, chief engineer of FAST and researcher at the National Astronomical Observatories of China, told China Media Group (CMG) that as the number of pulsars identified continues to increase, scientists can use them to test arrays for evidence of gravitational waves, or establish an autonomous and controllable time reference system.