China's Long March-6C rocket makes maiden flight

China's Long March-6C carrier rocket made its debut flight on Tuesday, placing four satellites in space.

The rocket blasted off at 11:21 (Beijing Time) from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province, sending Neptune-01 and Smart-1C, as well as a wide-band optical satellite and a high-resolution video satellite into planned orbits.

It was the 520th flight mission of the Long March series rockets.

The Central Asia Park was opened on Sunday in the northwestern Chinese city of Xi'an one year after the first China-Central Asia Summit, to showcase the strengthening of regional cooperation.

The park is located near the Xi'an International Exhibition Center, one of the venues for the 2023 China-Central Asia Summit. Sculptures of horses and camel caravans decorate the approximately 53-hectare park, symbolizing the prosperous exchanges over centuries and the beautiful vision of joint development between China and Central Asian countries.

The building at the main entrance of the park is called "Silk Road Meeting Room" and displays gifts from Central Asian countries, including traditional costumes from Kazakhstan and sculptures of "bow shooting" from Kyrgyzstan.

Visitors can buy specialties including snacks and honey from Central Asian countries in the park's shop.

Xi'an is a historical city founded about 3,100 years ago. Formerly known as Chang'an, it is the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, which saw flourishing interactions between China and Central Asia.

The China-Central Asia Summit, held in the city in May 2023, was the first summit held offline by the leaders of the six countries since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the five Central Asian states 31 years ago.