Travel

South Korean Consulate General in Wuhan recently sent a letter to the city of Zhangjiajie in Central China's Hunan Province, expressing its highest respect for a bus driver who demonstrated exceptional professionalism by executing emergency measures to protect South Korean tourists in the coach at a critical moment before losing consciousness. The letter extended deep condolences to the driver's bereaved family, reported the Zhangjiajie Daily on Thursday.

The consulate stated that it learned of the incident, during which 11 South Korean tourists narrowly escaped harm in Zhangjiajie, a popular tourist destination, through local reports by the Zhangjiajie Daily, which was also covered by major South Korean TV networks and newspapers.

According to the newspaper, on the evening of June 29, Xiao Bo - the bus driver who was also a military veteran - was transporting 11 South Korean tourists and a guide back to Zhangjiajie. As the vehicle approached the viaduct on the Zhangnan Expressway in Yongshun county, Xiao suddenly fell critically ill. In his final moments before losing consciousness, he mustered extraordinary resolve to pull up, engage the handbrake and secure the vehicle, ensuring the safety of the passengers onboard. Despite three days of intensive medical efforts, Xiao succumbed to a brainstem hemorrhage and passed away on July 2. 

Xiao was posthumously honored as "Zhangjiajie Good Samaritan" by the city government, and his deed has drawn widespread acclaim. 

The report also noted that the letter from the consulate specifically acknowledged a local travel service company and its representative Kim Sung-joon for their consistent dedication to ensuring the safety of South Korean tourists, and a tour guide Kim Kwang-il, who acted swiftly and decisively on-site to prevent a major casualty accident.

The letter praised their professionalism as exemplifying transnational respect for life, attributing such standards to Zhangjiajie's longstanding emphasis on tourist safety. The consulate reaffirmed its commitment to close cooperation with Zhangjiajie authorities to enhance safety measures for South Korean visitors.

The China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda issued a stern statement on Friday, opposing online harassment targeting its staff and distorting the image of giant panda protection, and resisting the extreme fan culture, or "fanquan," warning that it will pursue legal action against individuals responsible for smearing its personnel and operations.

Since 2024, thanks to joint efforts by public security and cyberspace authorities, the online environment surrounding giant pandas has shown signs of improvement. However, we are deeply saddened to see that some individuals have recently continued to manipulate public opinion both domestically and overseas, smearing China's symbol of friendship—the giant panda—and relentlessly cyberbullying frontline panda staff online, said the statement. 

The center stated that whether under the guise of "public oversight," through online abuse and fan mobilization, or by fueling division to generate hype and pressure professionals to treat giant pandas merely as "cute pets," such unscientific and irrational online frenzies have misled large segments of the public—especially young people—and seriously infringed on the legal rights of staff, violating relevant laws and regulations. 

These actions, it emphasized, are a blatant affront to China's giant panda conservation efforts.

While welcoming public engagement and constructive supervision, the center firmly opposed extreme or illegal actions in the name of "love," rejected the intrusion of "fanquan" culture into wildlife conservation, and stated it would not accept any individual or group engaging in such behavior to be involved in its work.

The statement named several staff members who have become targets of online abuse. The center said it has initiated evidence collection and is working with authorities to hold offenders accountable through legal means. "There will be zero tolerance," it said.

Over eighty years ago, the rolling hills where Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces converge echoed with gunfire as New Fourth Army soldiers repelled Japanese invaders. Today, those same landscapes pulse to a new rhythm: the drumbeat of high-quality development.

In the verdant hills of Guangde City, Anhui, stands the solemn grave of martyr Zheng Dafang. In a local battle in March 1944, Zheng, then a 23-year-old soldier, sacrificed his life while leading a charge against retreating Japanese invaders.

The soil once hallowed by his sacrifice now nurtures an advanced manufacturing cluster the young martyr could never have envisioned in his wildest dreams.

Within the fully automated production facility of Guangde Yatai Automobile Intelligent Braking System Co., Ltd., a smart monitoring platform continuously tracks real-time production metrics while a fleet of over 300 robotic arms operate round-the-clock.

"Our fully automated process enables us to manufacture brake discs with significant advantages in cost-effectiveness and reliability," said Wu Xinzhong, general manager of Guangde Yatai.

The company's brake disc output surpassed 10 million units in 2024, accounting for approximately one-tenth of the country's market share, supplying prominent new energy vehicle manufacturers such as Geely and BYD, according to Wu.

The firm anchors Guangde's signature automotive ecosystem -- a constellation of 77 major parts producers that collectively generated 13.62 billion yuan (about 1.91 billion U.S. dollars) last year.

From assembly lines to heritage trails, a quiet renaissance is unfolding across the tri-province borderlands. Rural and red tourism now surge alongside advanced manufacturing, drawing vitality from revolutionary legacies and pastoral beauty.

In Zhejiang's Changxing County, summer unveils idyllic countryside vistas where general Su Yu's troops once garrisoned.

"Weekends are fully booked until September," said 38-year-old Wang Yunlu, who runs a homestay in Yangfeng Village. "Parents from nearby cities like to bring their kids here to hike the old guerrilla trails, fish the streams, and fall asleep under the same stars the soldiers once watched."

Between boutique homestays, teahouses and farm-to-table kitchens, the village has re-invented itself as an experience economy. "Our villagers' per capita disposable income hit 46,000 yuan in 2024," said Li Yan, party secretary of the Yangfeng village.

Across the provincial border into Jiangsu, the city of Liyang operated as the nerve center for New Fourth Army operations throughout Southern Jiangsu during wartime, directing resistance efforts from its Shuixi village headquarters.

Today, Liyang's No. 1 Road -- winding through densely forested mountains and marked by red, yellow and blue lines -- has become one of eastern China's signature scenic routes.

This 365 km artery links over 220 rural attractions and connects seven neighboring counties, transforming the landscape into a seamless tourism circuit. Viewing decks, campgrounds and cafes dot the road, enriching traveler experiences.

By binding once-isolated hamlets, the route has lifted nearly 100,000 villagers into renewed prosperity. In 2024 Liyang welcomed 30 million visitors and generated nearly 35 billion yuan in tourism revenue.

Better roads and a booming rural-travel market are also giving Liyang entrepreneurs new reasons to return home; to date, 26 returnee projects have secured 5.98 billion yuan in investment.

"Future initiatives will deepen revolutionary heritage engagement through curated thematic routes," said Liu Li, deputy director of Liyang's transportation bureau. "We're transforming historical legacy into dynamic cultural tourism assets and economic catalysts." 

The Commissioner's Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region strongly condemned several foreign media outlets on Tuesday, telling them to remove their "tainted glasses" immediately and stop making false remarks about Hong Kong as those outlets deliberately smeared the National Security Law for Hong Kong (NSL) on the fifth anniversary of the law's implementation. 

In response to ideologically biased reports, commentaries, and editorials published by foreign media outlets such as BBC Chinese and Nikkei, which deliberately smear the NSL for Hong Kong and slander the successful practice of "One Country, Two Systems" on the fifth anniversary of the law's implementation, a spokesperson from the commissioner's office expressed strong condemnation, urging these media outlets to respect facts and stop spreading lies.

Since the implementation of the NSL for Hong Kong, the city has returned to stability, residents have resumed peaceful lives, and economic development has resumed a positive momentum. Hong Kong now ranks as the world's freest economy, maintains its position among the top three global financial centers, and has re-entered the top three in global competitiveness rankings. These facts are the strongest evidence to the law's effectiveness, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson also emphasized the need to uphold fairness and reject double standards. National security legislation is a common international practice, and the countries where these media outlets are based have even stricter national security laws. Yet these outlets remain silent on their own nations' laws while harshly criticising the NSL for Hong Kong—once again exposing their hypocrisy and double standards.

Media outlets should also uphold professional ethics and refrain from misleading the public. By distorting facts, misrepresenting law enforcement actions in Hong Kong, and giving voice to anti-China elements who have fled abroad by portraying them as so-called "victims", these outlets are clearly supporting anti-China forces with obvious political motives, the spokesperson said. 

The spokesperson also stressed that relevant media should immediately stop making false remarks about Hong Kong and report on the city objectively and fairly. Hong Kong is China's Hong Kong, and any external smearing or interference is futile. With the strong support of the central government and the joint efforts of all sectors of Hong Kong society, the city is sure to write a new chapter in the successful practice of "One Country, Two Systems" and embrace an even brighter future of prosperity and stability.

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has achieved a major breakthrough in deep metamorphic buried-hill exploration in the South China Sea, marking the first successful discovery of metamorphic sandstone and slate buried hills in China's offshore waters, Securities Times reported on Wednesday.

CNOOC reported that exploratory well WZ10-5S-2d at the Weizhou 10-5 South oil and gas field, located in the Beibu Gulf of the northern South China Sea, encountered 211 meters of oil and gas-bearing formations.

The exploration significantly guides and demonstrates the development of deep and buried hill oil and gas exploration in China, said Zhou Xinhuai, CEO of CNOOC, according to Beijing-based Securities Times.

CNOOC will further intensify efforts in key theories and technologies for deep oil and gas exploration and development, enhance independent innovation in science and technology, steadily advance oil and gas reserve growth and production, and ensure a stable energy supply, Zhou added, as he was cited by Securities Times.

Xu Changgui, Chief Geologist of CNOOC, noted that the company has recently intensified theoretical innovation and addressed key technological challenges in complex exploration areas such as deep formations and buried hills. In the Beibu Gulf Basin, CNOOC has achieved major breakthroughs in exploring Paleozoic granite and Proterozoic metamorphic sandstone and slate buried hills.

These advances highlight the vast potential for exploration in buried hill formations, support secondary exploration in mature oilfields, and mark the official start of large-scale buried hill exploration in the basin, Xu said, Securities Times reported.

Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Wednesday that with continuous advancements in exploration technologies, the South China Sea is expected to yield increasingly abundant oil and gas resources, offering stronger support for China's energy security. 

At present, China is actively exploring resources in the South China Sea, achieving major breakthroughs every year. With the improvement of technologies, fields that were once difficult to detect are now gradually being identified, Lin said.

China's total oil production remains stable while natural gas output continues to rise. From an economic perspective, the country can increase output when oil prices are high. From an energy security standpoint, more production of domestic oil and gas resources will enhance self-sufficiency and better safeguard national energy security, Lin added.

China's oil and gas supply continues to grow steadily. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, oil and gas production maintained stable growth in the first half of 2025.

The country's capacity to ensure energy supply has improved significantly. In the first half of this year, with large-scale industrial crude oil output reached 108 million tons, up 1.3 percent year-on-year. Industrial natural gas output hit 130.8 billion cubic meters, reaching a record high, representing a 5.8 percent year-on-year increase.

A study book on the thoughts of Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on strengthening and improving ethnic work, has been published in five ethnic minority languages.

The book, compiled by the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee and the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, was translated into Mongolian, Tibetan, Uygur, Kazakh and Korean.

The books are available across the country.

In the North Pole Marathon, a 56-year-old Chinese woman completed the full 42.195-kilometer course. As a member of a five-person team, she co-set the Guinness World Record for the fastest team finish in the inaugural North Pole Marathon, Shangyou News reported. 

With this achievement, she became the first Chinese woman in the world to complete the challenges of summiting the highest peaks on all seven continents, trekking to the South Pole, and running the North Pole Marathon.

The race course featured no land, only pack ice—approximately two meters thick—drifting with ocean currents. On this temporarily established track near the North Pole, 75 runners from across the globe embarked on their icy marathon journey of the marathon. Among them was Chen Min, a 56-year-old woman from Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

Chen's team, dubbed the "mightiest silver-haired group," included two members over the age of 73, with an average team age of 61, according to the report.

This summer, Arctic temperatures were higher than usual, thinning the sea ice—many areas measured a mere two meters thick. As runners pressed on, their strides shattered the ice into slush, turning the course into puddles 30-40 centimeters deep, with each step plunging into unstable, shifting ice and water. 
A moment's carelessness could lead to stepping into ice crevasses or slipping and spraining an ankle, Shangyou News said. 

Additionally, the race route required protection against potential polar bear attacks. To this end, the organizing committee stationed security personnel equipped with tranquilizer guns around the course and they monitored the ice field's movements throughout with binoculars, the report said.

Low temperatures, strong winds, psychological stress, coupled with constant route adjustments due to drifting pack ice—any misstep in this polar environment of mixed ice and water could result in failure to finish. Many seasoned runners admitted that this is the toughest marathon they have ever run.

In -2 C conditions with a wind chill of -11 C, Chen's five-member team completed the race in eight hours and 52 minutes, setting a new Guinness World Record for the fastest team finish in a North Pole Marathon. 

After the race, Chen said: "In that environment, every step was an expedition through extreme conditions."

Last October, Chen completed the Seven Summits challenge—climbing the highest peak on each of the seven continents—becoming China's oldest female to climb these peaks. Prior to that, she had successfully trekked to the South Pole.

Now, with this marathon, she has completed a world-class "7+1+1" challenge: the Seven Summits, a South Pole trek, and a North Pole marathon—becoming the first Chinese woman worldwide to achieve the feat.

"Age has never been the limit; where the heart leads is what matters," she said and encouraged more people, especially middle-aged women, to step beyond life's confines and courageously pursue their own "life marathons."

"As long as you dare to take that brave first step, you can witness the world's most breath-taking landscapes," Chen said.

The Chinese Embassy in New Zealand on Tuesday dismissed a Post opinion piece published on Monday that attempted to accuse China of "recolonizing" the South Pacific, calling the allegation "serious, but at best laughable."

"Unlike some other 'powers,' China has never colonized any other people or land. Therefore, by definition, it cannot re-colonize," a spokesperson for the embassy said in a statement posted on its official website.

What China has been engaged in around the world, be it in Africa, other parts of Asia, Latin America or the South Pacific, is to respond to the aspirations and needs of fellow developing countries for greater sustainable development by building roads, bridges, ports, schools and hospitals, and capacities to help them improve lives for their peoples, the spokesperson said.

If anything, such efforts at common development will also help these countries to enhance their economic autonomy, and thus consolidate their political independence, the very essence of decolonization, an unfinished cause in many parts of the world, the spokesperson added.

Cooperation based on mutual respect is becoming more important, as some other "traditional donors" are cutting back on aid for development around the world, the spokesperson noted.

No country or region is, or should be the backyard or sphere of influence of any other. Regional consultation should not be used as a cover for interference. And high-handedness is shown to be unwelcome and unhelpful, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson emphasized that the cooperation between China and Pacific Island Countries or other fellow developing countries is not targeted at any third country. Nor should it be subjected to interference from any third party. 

"In fact, we are open to three-way or multi-way partnerships with any country or countries to support PICs in their efforts at addressing climate change and achieving sustainable development. We share more than meets the eye. Let's work together for the common good, particularly of the PICs," the spokesperson said.

Asked to comment on claims by the German government that the Chinese military employed a laser targeting a German aircraft in the Red See, saying that this move endangers German personnel, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Wednesday that from what we have learned from the competent authorities, the information posted by Germany does not match the facts that China has gathered.

The Chinese navy's escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia are aimed at fulfilling China's responsibility as a major country and contribute to the safety and security of international shipping lanes. They maintain sound communication with Germany and the EU colleagues. It is important to increase communication in a timely way and be fact-based to avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation, the spokesperson added.

The surveillance aircraft was part of the EU mission Aspides, AP News reported. It was lasered earlier this month "without any reason or prior contact" by a Chinese warship that had been encountered several times in the area, the German Defense Ministry claimed.

The ministry added that the aircraft, operated by a civilian commercial service provider but with German army personnel involved, has since resumed its operations with the EU mission in the Red Sea, AP reported.

However, Germany's accusations are riddled with inconsistencies, and its one-sided narrative raises many questions, Zhang Junshe, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Although Germany claimed its aircraft was attacked "without any reason or prior contact," the reconnaissance aircraft's mission was to conduct close-in surveillance and gather intelligence, actions that threatened the Chinese warship's normal navigation. Under such circumstances, warships of any country, including China, would take corresponding measures, Zhang said.

Germany also concealed key facts when publicizing the incident, labeling the aircraft as "civilian" when it belonged to the German armed forces and was being used for intelligence gathering, the expert added.

The expert noted that open-source reports show that the US and other countries frequently employ civilian-registered planes for reconnaissance missions. "By deliberately blurring the line between a commercially operated aircraft and a military aircraft, Germany sought to create the false impression that China had attacked a civilian target and to hype the 'China threat' narrative," Zhang said. 

As Chinese warships are not equipped with laser weapons, the so-called "laser attack" is unfounded. The signals were likely emitted by electro-optical or illumination devices, not laser weapons, Zhang added.

"Such electro-optical equipment has limited power and causes no physical damage. Although some countries sensationalized the 'Chinese laser attack,' they admitted no harm and avoided mentioning their own provocative actions, instead maliciously hyping the 'China threat' narrative," he said.

The expert said that before Germany, other countries such as Canada have also speculated on the use of laser weapons by Chinese warships to carry out the so-called attack, and such practices are all typical of deflecting blame. "Their own aircraft first provoked and harassed, and once they were countered, they used the media to pretend they are defenseless to whip up public opinion to smear China."

When asked to comment on Penpa Tsering, head of the so-called "Tibetan government-in-exile," who accepted an interview from Australian media, the Consulate-General of China in Sydney stated on Friday that the Chinese side expresses its strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to his series of false remarks regarding the issue of the 14th Dalai Lama's reincarnation and his spread of "Tibet independence" lies in an attempt to mislead the public. Such remarks are nothing but sheer nonsense, the consulate added.

The so-called "Tibetan government-in-exile" is a separatist political organization with the agenda of pursuing "Tibet independence." Penpa Tsering, as the head of the illegal organization, makes such visits with the purpose of peddling the proposition of "Tibet independence" and making Xizang affairs an international issue, which in essence are anti-China separatist activities, the consulate said. 

The 14th Dalai Lama is a political exile engaged in separatist activities under the guise of religion. He has absolutely no right to represent the people in Xizang, according to the consulate.

The Chinese government issued Regulations on Religious Affairs and Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas, and respects and protects this method of succession. The reincarnation of Living Buddhas including the Dalai Lama must comply with Chinese laws and regulations as well as religious rituals and historical conventions, and follow the process that consists of search and identification in China, lot-drawing from a golden urn, and central government approval, said the consulate.

It also noted that Xizang enjoys a booming economy, stable society, flourishing culture and better life for its people. The human rights conditions in Xizang are better than ever. This is seen by many in the international community.

The consulate urges the involved parties to see clearly the anti-China separatist nature of the Dalai group, avoid sending any wrong signal of supporting "Tibet independence" forces to the public, and refrain from providing any platforms for anti-China and separatist activities or participating any activities of "Tibet independence" forces.