A publishing editor with a deep passion for Peking Opera immerses herself in the art form, finding relief from daily stresses, forming meaningful connections, and discovering a sense of personal fulfillment.
Xu Mengran, the editor and a devoted Peking Opera enthusiast, finds that the art form infuses a spark into her otherwise routine life.
"My name is Xu Mengran. I'm an editor at a publishing house specializing in computer science textbooks. My job is to collaborate with authors to create well-crafted books for readers," Xu said.
However, when she steps away from her desk, Xu transforms into a performer of Peking Opera, which has been a fundamental part of her life since she was six years old.
Though not a professional performer, Xu has dedicated herself to honing her singing skills. Through countless competitions and constant practice, she continues to make strides and push her boundaries.
"In 2024, I took part in the inaugural Peking Opera Fans Conference, hosted by China Media Group (CMG). I was incredibly nervous. After all, I was performing in front of some of the most respected artists in the field, on such a prestigious stage," she recalled.
For enthusiasts like Xu, preparing for a performance demands significant time and effort. From makeup and hairstyles to donning costumes, the entire process often takes around two hours. Furthermore, since opportunities to perform are scarce, every chance to take the stage is cherished by fans like Xu.
Fortunately, there is a growing enthusiasm for Peking Opera among younger audiences in China, with many theaters now filled with youthful viewers, ensuring the art form's continued vitality.
For Xu, Peking Opera is not just a hobby to unwind but also a bridge to connect with like-minded individuals.
"The pace of my work is fast, and I'm always mentally on edge. But every Saturday, I attend a Peking Opera club, where I meet friends from all over the country. Practicing Peking Opera during my free time helps me relax and nourishes my soul," she shared.
Editor finds balance, fulfillment through Peking Opera
China's Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO), a high-altitude cosmic ray observatory in Sichuan Province, is pushing the boundaries of astrophysics by bringing humanity closer to answering the century-long question of the origins of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays.
Completed in 2021, LHAASO sprawls across an area the size of 190 football fields. It is the world’s highest-altitude, largest-scale, and most sensitive observatory for detecting cosmic ray particles as they enter Earth’s atmosphere.
The project traces back two decades, when physicist Cao Zhen envisioned China taking a decisive role in this frontier of science.
"Each particle has the energy much higher than what we can produce on Earth. We don't know where it was produced. This is the fascinating question that has bothered people for 100 years already. First of all, (we) go to the high altitude -- the higher [you go], the less the influence from the atmosphere. And then we decided to build such a large-scale experiment: the larger, you get more cosmic rays," said Cao Zhen, chief scientist at LHAASO and a researcher at the Institute of High Energy Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
LHAASO functions as a giant set of "eyes" -- detectors that track cosmic ray particles invisible to the human eye. At its core lies a warehouse the size of 2.5 National Aquatic Centers, housing the world's most sensitive gamma-ray telescope.
Surrounding it are raised mounds -- muon detectors engineered to absorb photons and electrons while allowing only highly penetrating muons to pass through. Scattered among them, 18 blue, container-shaped telescopes complete the vast array.
Despite the thin atmosphere at an altitude of over 4,400 meters, China completed the construction of LHAASO in under five years, showcasing a remarkable feat of human endurance.
"Some of our detectors work perfectly fine in the lab, but they might malfunction when installed here because of the high-altitude environment. During the day, with the sun, the humidity is only about 20 to 30 percent, but at night it rises rapidly, reaching 100 percent. In addition, the detectors are also affected by temperature, wind, and extreme weather," said Wang Yudong, a researcher at the Institute of High Energy Physics.
The effort quickly began to yield results. In 2020, even before the observatory was fully completed, scientists using LHAASO's partial array identified 12 ultra-high-energy gamma-ray sources. Two years later, in October 2022, the facility captured an extraordinary event: a millennial gamma-ray burst, a dazzling "cosmic firework" triggered by the collapse of a massive star some two billion years ago.
LHAASO is but one of 77 mega-science infrastructures now operating across China. Over the past five years, these facilities have propelled the country to the forefront of high-impact publications and patent applications, unraveling cosmic mysteries, advancing core technologies, and driving industrial progress along the way.
China's LHAASO edges closer to solving cosmic ray mystery
