China Quick Take: Satellites, festivities, economic records and a baby panda

Six stories you may have missed from China this week...

China launches new environmental research satellite

China has successfully launched the Tianxing-1 02 satellite, an environmental data collection and research probe, into space. Positioned atop a Kuaizhou-1A carrier rocket on Thursday, the rocket left earth's surface shortly before noon local time. 

The rocket blasted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gobi Desert before entering earth's orbit and depositing its satellite payload. The launch mission was a complete success.

The satellite will mainly be used to carry out experiments such as space environment detection. The launch was the 26th flight of the Kuaizhou-1A make carrier rocket.

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Annual automobile production and sales record smashed

China's automobile industry has set a new record, with both production and sales exceeding 30 million units for the first time, according to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) on Thursday. 

With exports making up 4.91 million units, up 58 percent from the previous year, China is poised to become the world's top automobile exporter up from second place in 2022. The industry continues to show robust growth, seeing a year-on-year growth of 11.6 percent in production and 12 percent in sales. 

Millions of tourists visit Harbin's Winter Festival

Where is the most popular tourist city in China during the winter time? Surely it's Harbin, in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. The city's winter festival has drawn in over 3 million tourists already this year. 

Frozen pears, skiing, fishing and many other winter activities have attracted tourists from all over the country, as well as many international visitors.

The ice and snow theme park, covering an area of 810,000 square meters, used a total of 250,000 cubic meters of ice and snow to craft sculptures such as castles and towers, which are illuminated by a spectrum of colorful lights.

14th National Winter Games underway

Preliminary events for China's 14th National Winter Games are underway in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The Games, set to open officially on February 17, will be the largest of its kind, with the participation of more than 3,700 athletes, according to the organizers. 

China unveils CR450, a new intelligent bullet train

China is set to unveil the prototype of its self-developed intelligent high-speed bullet train CR450.

The CR450 science and technology innovation project is one of the key national science programs outlined in China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025). 

Panda cub Mang Cancan meets Chongqing Zoo visitors

Crowds of visitors gathered in Chongqing Zoo for a first glimpse of Chongqing Zoo's panda cub Mang Cancan.

The six-month-old gathered large crowds to watch him play with handlers as his mother supervised from her perch above. 

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