Renowned ice rink in Moscow's Red Square officially opens for winter

A renowned ice rink right in the heart of Moscow's Red Square is warming the hearts of visitors on the cold winter nights as it officially opens for a new season.

The GUM ice rink -- which will be open through March 1 -- is now entering its landmark 20th year of operations, with the site becoming a hugely popular addition to the festive period in the Russian capital.

To mark this milestone year, Olympic champion Tatyana Navka -- who won ice dancing gold at the 2006 Turin Winter Games -- delighted the crowds by joining the performance crew to deliver scenes from the fairytale Cinderella.

Two-thirds of the famous Red Square has now been transformed into a vibrant holiday marketplace, with millions of lights, breathtaking views of the Kremlin, the scent of tangerines and fir branches in the air, and the hustle and bustle of the holiday market creating a joyful experience for visitors.

"There is a wonderful New Year atmosphere, we really like it, everything is very tasty, the people are pleasant and positive," said one visitor.

The rink stretches from the Nikolskaya Tower all the way along the GUM department store. This year, the design of the rink is especially bright -- styled after the traditional Dymkovo toy, the famous clay souvenir easily recognized for its white background and geometric patterns.

Dozens of themed and festive events are planned to turn the Moscow winter into a real-life fairytale, with this being the most eagerly awaited time of year for many.

"If it were 20 years ago, such a scene would have seemed like an unattainable fantasy, while now it feels very familiar and dear to us -- something we simply can't imagine being without," said Mikhail Kusnirovich, a local entrepreneur.

While former Olympic stars and seasoned performers took to the ice, many newbies also came out to learn the ropes.

"Today was my first time on the ice, but I think I'm already doing well. I'll probably even sign up for figure skating lessons," said another visitor.

Vladislav Tretyak, a three-time Olympic ice hockey champion, said professionals will be on hand to help young people become masters of the ice, with this famous ice rink helping to inspire the next generation of Olympic champions.

"It's from rinks like these that [ice hockey champions like] Tretyaks, Kharlamovs, and Ovechkins all come -- we all started out in places like this," he said.

Renowned ice rink in Moscow's Red Square officially opens for winter

China's domestically developed T1200-grade ultra-high-strength carbon fiber holds broad application prospects in strategic emerging industries, according to its developer.

The country on Wednesday unveiled SYT80, a domestically developed T1200-grade ultra-high-strength carbon fiber, marking a major breakthrough in the China's high-performance carbon fiber technology.

This new material has achieved a hundred-tonne-level annual production capacity, making China the first nation to mass-produce this caliber of fiber, according to its developer, China National Building Material Group Co., Ltd. (CNBM).

Featuring lightweight and high-strength properties, the fiber's diameter is less than one-tenth that of a human hair, and yet its tensile strength is 10 times that of ordinary steel and its density is only one-quarter of steel's.

"Compared with the previous-generation T1100, T1200 has seen its tensile strength increase by more than 14 percent. With its ultimate lightweight and high-strength characteristics, T1200 can achieve weight reduction of over 10 percent for equipment in related fields. It holds broad application prospects in strategic emerging industries such as commercial aerospace, low-altitude economy, and humanoid robots," said Chen Qiufei, head of T1200 ultra-high-strength carbon fiber research and development at Zhongfu Shenying Carbon Fiber Company, a subsidiary of China National Building Material Group.

The new material also possesses many other outstanding properties.

As the fiber undergoes carbonization at nearly 2,000 degrees Celsius during production, its chemical properties remain stable and its corrosion resistance is excellent.

This fiber material also features strong fire and flame retardant properties, offering good safety performance.

The development of this fiber material demonstrates China's fully independent and controllable capabilities across the entire industrial chain of high-performance carbon fiber, spanning technologies and equipment as well as the transition from laboratory research to mass production, said Zhou Yuxian, chairman of CNBM.

China's high-strength carbon fiber shows strong potential in strategic emerging industries