Wetlands across China, from Henan to Qinghai and Xinjiang in the west, are teeming with life during this season as tens of thousands of migratory birds arrive to breed, transforming into vibrant havens of biodiversity.
In the misty dawn at Huaiyuan Wetland in central China's Henan Province, tens of thousands of migratory birds, such as egrets, cattle egrets, and night herons, were seen soaring through the air, perching lightly on branches or building their nests.
Currently, in the breeding season, most chicks have hatched in the nests scattered across the wetland, while some are perching with their heads out or learning to fly.
This year, the local forestry department established a protective zone extending over 500 meters around the breeding area to protect nesting birds from human disturbance.
Qinghai Lake, China's largest inland lake, located on the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is another haven for migratory birds. It welcomes over 600,000 migratory birds every year.
Ongoing protection and restoration efforts have led to a significant increase in the lake's surface area, reaching 4,650.08 square kilometers by the end of 2024, a gain of 28.1 square kilometers compared to 2023, which provides more habitat for these birds.
The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Daxi Lake, situated deep within the Taklamakan Desert, has transformed into a haven for migratory birds due to sustained efforts in environmental protection and restoration.
This summer, the area has attracted a variety of rare birds and wildlife, including egrets wading gracefully and black-winged stilts foraging and frolicking in the waters.
Wetlands in China thriving as migratory birds flock for breeding
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
