Rare golden snub-nosed monkeys caught on camera in northwest China's Xi’an

An increasing number of endangered Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys have been spotted at a forestry farm in Xi'an City of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, as years of concerted conservation efforts pay off.

Featuring flattened noses and golden-colored furs, the monkeys under top-level state protection live in temperate forests of mountainous highlands in the provinces of Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi and Hubei respectively in the southwestern, northwestern and central parts of China.

Recently, staff members of the Taiping forestry farm in Xi'an saw a rare footage of golden snub-nosed monkeys captured by infrared cameras they installed earlier in the wild. In the footage, a male Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey was seen walking curiously towards the camera and trying to grab it with his hands.

"We have spotted Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys in the same area for three consecutive years. There are individual monkeys and a family of three. Our patrol workers have also found the traces of these monkeys in other places. The scope of their activity has increasingly enlarged over recent years," said Zhang Jianming, deputy director of the Taiping State-owned Ecological Forestry Farm.

Zhang said the forestry farm has placed multiple infrared cameras in the areas under its jurisdiction since 2021, which have captured images of four rare species under first-level state protection, including the golden monkey and golden takin, as well as nine species under second-level state protection, such as black bear and yellow-throated marten.

"It speaks volume for the ever-improving environment of Qinling Mountains. The eco-protection work has achieved good results. Our forest farm will continue to intensify wild animal protection, striving to make the sky of Qinling bluer, the mountains greener, and the water clearer," Zhang said.

The Qinling Mountains, mainly in Shaanxi Province, cover more than 50,000 square kilometers and are dubbed as China's "gene bank" of wild biology as it houses a huge variety of plants and wild animals.

Rare golden snub-nosed monkeys caught on camera in northwest China's Xi’an

China aims to achieve secure and reliable supply of key core artificial intelligence (AI) technologies by 2027, with its industrial scale and empowerment level remaining among the world's forefront, according to a recent government action plan.

The plan, jointly issued by eight departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Cyberspace Administration of China, and the National Development and Reform Commission, outlines an ambitious push to deeply integrate AI with the manufacturing sector, foster new quality productive forces and comprehensively empower new industrialization. By 2027, the plan targets the deep application of three to five general-purpose large AI models in manufacturing, the development of specialized, full-coverage industry-specific large models, the creation of 100 high-quality industrial datasets, and the promotion of 500 typical application scenarios.

It also aims to cultivate two to three globally influential ecosystem-leading enterprises, a batch of specialized and sophisticated small and medium-sized enterprises, and a group of enabling service providers proficient in both AI technology and industry know-how.

Furthermore, China plans to build a world-leading open-source ecosystem, enhance security governance capabilities, and contribute Chinese solutions to global AI development.

The document outlines measures including promoting the coordinated development of AI chips' hardware and software, supporting innovations in model training and inference methods, fostering key industry-specific large models, and deeply embedding large model technology into core production processes.

The plan also emphasizes making breakthroughs in key technologies such as security protection for industrial model algorithms and training data protection.

China aims for secure, reliable supply of AI core tech by 2027