With winter cherry blossoms now in season, Jingmai Mountain, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in Lancang Lahu Autonomous County, southwest China's Yunnan Province, has become a magnet for visitors, as sweeping seas of clouds blend seamlessly with hillsides of blooming cherry trees.
At dawn, the rising sun baths the mountains in soft light, turning drifting clouds into a cascading spectacle.
As the clouds lift, winter cherry blossoms in delicate shades of pink reveal themselves in full bloom. Scattered through tea gardens and lining mountain roads, clusters of flowers brighten the landscape.
"It is incredibly beautiful, far beyond what I expected. This has been the biggest highlight of my trip to Pu'er. It feels like entering a fairyland," said Xie Yuying, a tourist from Hunan.
In addition to the breathtaking scenery, visitors to the Jingmai Mountain can also explore ancient villages, savor local cuisine, and experience the region's rich ethnic minority cultures up close.
The Jingmai Mountain, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2023 for its old tea forests cultural landscape, was developed over a thousand years by local Bulang and Dai peoples following practices that began in the 10th century.
Sea of clouds, cherry blossoms in Yunnan mountains attract tourists
The recent 2026 Zhongguancun Forum (ZGC Forum) Annual Conference in Beijing has impressed international guests with its focus on deeper integration of technological and industrial innovation, highlighting how China's innovative advances are reshaping daily life.
The five-day forum, themed "Full Integration Between Technological and Industrial Innovation," wrapped up in Chinese capital on Sunday after bringing together more than 1,000 participants from over 100 countries and regions around the world.
More than 560 cutting-edge achievements were unveiled at the event, ranging from embodied intelligent robots and brain-computer interfaces to breakthroughs in quantum applications and 6G research and development.
The venue for the forum also showcased a number of these innovative creations to visitors, who were able to enjoy a fresh cup of coffee prepared by a humanoid barista, as well as be throughly entertained by robots performing dances or even playing piano.
Given the presence of these advanced humanoid robots, international participants shared the common view that innovation is no longer confined to laboratories but is now permeating every aspect of daily life.
"The deepest impression is actually to see how much AI is across everywhere," said Anders Karlsson, vice president of Elsevier, a global leader providing advanced information and decision support to accelerate progress in science and healthcare worldwide.
"The Zhongguancun Forum has become a very international window on innovation. We can find out annually how innovation is driving [and a key] component of growth of this wonderful country," said Vincenzo Lipardi, president and co-founder of SPICI, an Italian company assisting businesses and startups with strategic consulting services.
"As a scientist and as a worker of the United Nations system, I'm really pleased to see integration of science, technology and sustainability," said Shahbaz Khan, director of the UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia.
One of the forum's key themes was around opening up and striving for greater cooperation, which demonstrated to the wider world that China's innovation aims to break down barriers and share opportunities, so as to enable the global community to advance together.
"It's my first time attending the forum. And I'm very surprised that you have a very high level of innovation. China is open to ideas. Openness is the way to make innovations," said Prof. Hussein Sherief, a member of the International Committee for Scientific and Technical Data (CODATA).
Int'l guests hail integration of technology, innovation at Beijing forum
