China's National Games enhance coordination, connectivity across Greater Bay Area

China's 15th National Games, jointly hosted by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, has enhanced coordination and connectivity across the Greater Bay Area, organizers said Friday.

The 15th National Games, running from November 9 to 21, have marked the first time the country's premier multi-sport event has been co-hosted by multiple regions and staged in Hong Kong and Macao.

At a press conference held Friday morning in Shenzhen City, south China's Guangdong Province, the organizing committee said that during the Games, the three regions carried out a number of collaborative innovation initiatives in areas such as venue arrangement, transport connection, information system, food safety, market development, as well as culture-tourism integration.

The three regions further strengthened the alignment of relevant rules and mechanisms, which not only served the events but also generated practical examples that can be applied and expanded in other cooperation fields for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

For the first time, youth divisions were introduced across multiple sports, providing a vital platform for identifying and nurturing the next generation of talent.

"Many well-known young mainland players from the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) League are also joining the National Games. It's a great honor for me to play against them and improve my skills by learning from them," said Ng Wai Tsun, a member of Hong Kong men's under-22 basketball team.

"The greatest gain for my team members is their friendship and exchange with teams from the mainland. This National Games is held on our home ground, and many student players wanted to display their best spirit and performance. In the end, they did it, which will bring them positive progress," said Shi Shaoxiong, coach of Macao men's under-18 basketball team.

China's National Games enhance coordination, connectivity across Greater Bay Area

A 7.5-tonne unmanned cargo aircraft powered by AEP100, China's independently developed megawatt-class hydrogen-fueled turboprop engine, successfully completed its maiden flight on Saturday at an airport in Zhuzhou, central China's Hunan Province.

This marks the world's first test flight of a megawatt-class hydrogen-fueled turboprop engine.

Experts from the Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC) noted that the successful maiden flight highlights that China has now established a complete technological chain in hydrogen-fueled aviation engines, covering everything from core components to full engine integration. They added that this achievement lays the foundation for the industrial application of hydrogen energy in aviation.

As green hydrogen production costs fall, hydrogen aviation engines will show growing economic and energy security advantages, experts said. Hydrogen-fueled aero engine technology is expected to debut in low-altitude economy fields such as unmanned air freight and island logistics before gradually expanding to regional and mainline aircraft.

This technology will drive coordinated upgrades across industrial clusters, including upstream green hydrogen production, midstream storage, transportation and refueling infrastructure, and downstream high-end equipment and new materials. Ultimately, it will propel the green, low-carbon, and high-quality development of China's aviation industry, experts added.

Megawatt hydrogen turboprop engine completes maiden flight in central China