East China county succeeds in transforming traditional rose industry with digital technologies

Pingyin County of east China's Shandong Province, renowned for its rose farming, has witnessed a remarkable transformation shifting from traditional rose growing to a digitally integrated and diversified model, which has played a significant role in boosting the local economy and enriching the life of its residents.

Each summer, Pingyin's rose fields would burst into bloom. By 3:00 in the morning, the fields come alive with harvesting.

"With this (origin tracing) card, we can simply place roses we are selling on the scale when having them weighted, and the company will directly transfer payment to your account. It's very convenient. It's very convenient," said Zhao Qingzhuang, a local rose farmer.

The rose origin tracing card, linked to farmer's information, enables real-time recording and uploading of flower transaction data with a simple scan. The platform's integrated settlement system with enterprises and banks ensures quick payment to the sellers.

This convenience is in a stark contrast to the past, prompting local authorities to implement drastic reforms to break the industry's deadlock.

"At that time, we closed down 126 rose processing home workshops that did not meet the standards, and the government investment platform invested 460 million yuan (around 64 million U.S. dollars) in building the Pingyin High-End Rose Industry Park, step by step completing the upgrading of the Pingyin rose industry and the transition of old driving forces toward new ones," said Zhao Bo, director of characteristic industry development center in Pingyin County.

The local area has embraced digital transformation across the entire rose industry chain, establishing an industry-wide big data center with the support of a cross-industry, cross-field industrial internet platform.

"This is the transaction data we analyze every year, including intelligent planting and large-scale model technologies which are provided to farmers. Here we would also make an estimate and statistics of the production of Pingyin roses across eight grids, and analyze the product popularity in every city or every corner of our country by scanning the codes to retrieve and process data to help companies in developing marketing strategies," said Li He, a project manager of Inspur Yunzhou Industrial Internet Co., Ltd.  

"Now we can check the soil moisture level, when to water and fertilize on our mobile phone. If you still don't understand something, you can ask an expert," said Ding Jifeng, a rose grower.

Pingyin's rose industry, with operators interconnected through the intelligent platform, boasts 4,000 hectares of rose plantations generating 6 billion yuan (around 838 million U.S. dollars) annually. Rose products have diversified beyond traditional uses to encompass high-end sectors like medicine, chemicals, and cosmetics. This thriving industry is also fostering integration with cultural tourism and other sectors.

"Relying on advantageous and characteristic agriculture, we have developed new rural industries and business formats, formed an industrial chain dominated by roses, and realized the transformation from traditional planting to modern and diversified one," said Zhao Peng, deputy head of Pingyin County.

East China county succeeds in transforming traditional rose industry with digital technologies

China on Tuesday kicked off trial operations for the High Intensity Heavy-ion Accelerator Facility (HIAF) following its completion and official technological acceptance, marking a major milestone in the nation's quest to unlock the secrets of the universe's fundamental building blocks.

According to professor Yang Jiancheng, deputy director of the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and chief engineer of the HIAF project, this internationally leading mega-science facility, located in Huizhou, south China's Guangdong Province, is equipped with the world's highest pulsed heavy-ion beam intensity and the most precise ring spectrometer for nuclear mass measurement. It will serve as a powerful tool for scientists to explore the limits of atomic nuclei, reveal nuclear astrophysical processes, and advance nuclear energy development and multidisciplinary applications.

"We will attempt to synthesize the new elements 119 and 120. The creation of a new element is highly significant. For instance, if we succeed in producing long-lived superheavy elements, it could bring disruptive changes to the development of nuclear energy and materials worldwide," said Yang.

As a key national mega-science project built by the IMP, HIAF successfully generated its first beam in October 2025 following a seven-year construction period.

Yang explained that the high-speed heavy ions generated by the facility act as "microscopic cannonballs" that smash into targets, creating extreme conditions of high temperature and pressure.

During recent commissioning experiments, it achieved unprecedented intensity levels for both oxygen and bismuth ion beams, surpassing the previous international records by 3.0 times and 7.5 times, respectively.

"The heavy-ion accelerator has conducted nine on-site tests so far, evaluating beam intensity and energy for various types of ions. All six experimental terminals have undergone on-site testing. To date, the entire performance acceptance testing has been fully completed. Once operational, it will serve as a major scientific research platform, significantly contributing to our nation's self-reliance and strength in science and technology," said Hu Zhengguo, another deputy director of the IMP.

In terms of fundamental research, HIAF will help scientists find the boundaries of atomic nuclei. It can simulate extreme environments such as the interiors of stars, supernova explosions, and the early stages of the Big Bang, aiding in the exploration of the deep structure of matter, said Yang.

On the application front, HIAF can be used to test the radiation resistance of spacecraft, drive nuclear energy development, and facilitate the research of functional materials. In the medical field, the facility will significantly advance heavy-ion cancer therapy and the development of novel medical isotope drugs.

China unveils milestone heavy-ion accelerator to unravel universe's secrets