China on Monday launched a homegrown software platform designed to make it easier for scientific research programs to run on domestic computing systems, addressing a key bottleneck as the country seeks to develop an independent and efficient scientific computing software ecosystem.
The platform, known in Chinese as "Yisuan Fangzhou", or "Heterogeneous Computing Ark", was jointly developed by the Computer Network Information Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other institutions.
It targets problems including software adaptation, code migration and complicated research workflows.
China has made rapid progress in developing domestic computing hardware, but researchers say the software needed to support the hardware still lags behind. In some cases, research code written for other computing environments is difficult to move to domestic systems, as engineering simulations may still require some complex manual work.
The new platform is designed to connect the full process from algorithms and code conversion to research applications. Its base layer integrates 16 high-performance computing tools adapted to domestic computing architectures, with core computing performance improved by more than 10 times in some cases, according to the developers.
The platform also includes BoundX, a code-conversion model that can help adapt existing research code to different domestic computing environments, reducing the need for time-consuming manual rewriting.
"For example, research teams in China working on new materials can use our platform to independently and quickly build application software suited to domestic computing systems. This can enable faster iteration in materials research and support structural screening," said Wang Yangang, a researcher at the Computer Network Information Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Developers said the platform is expected to lower the technical threshold for moving mature software and existing research codes onto domestic computing systems by achieving seamless integration of the entire chain of algorithms, codes, and applications.
China launches platform to help research software run on domestic computing systems
China is continuing to experience a box office boom this year, driven by a nationwide campaign to spur consumption with cheaper cinema tickets while a series of big summer releases are also enticing film fans out to theaters up and down the country.
Seen as one of the most lucrative periods of the year, China's summer box office season, which officially runs from June 1 to August 31, has now generated more than 10.7 billion yuan in box office revenue as of midday Thursday.
This has helped propel China's total box office revenue for 2026 above 26.5 billion yuan (over 3.9 billion U.S. dollars) as of Thursday afternoon, with more than 670 million moviegoers and over 96 million screenings recorded, according to the latest data from a leading Chinese ticketing platform.
The diverse line-up of summer blockbusters covers a broad range of genres, including comedy, animation, sci-fi, war, and suspense and action, offering audiences more choices and helping attract viewers from different age groups and with different interests.
Among the best performers is the anti-war film "Once Upon a Time in the Middle East," which tells the story of a chef working at a Chinese restaurant in the Middle East when war breaks out in the 2000s. It has drawn positive feedback both for its perspective on war and the vivid portrayal of life in the Middle East.
In just 10 days since its release on Aug. 11, the film has raked in over 1.2 billion yuan, catapulting it up the box office charts as it closes in on the year's biggest grossing films.
Ticketing data shows that the current top four on China's annual box office chart are the auto-racing sequel "Pegasus 3", Hong Kong director Stephen Chow's sports comedy "Kung Fu Soccer" about a team of female footballers, the touching family drama "Dear You", and animated film "All Wishes Come True!"
China launched a nationwide campaign this year to boost the cinema sector, with at least 1.2 billion yuan in subsidies planned throughout 2026 to make movie-going more affordable. Data shows the average ticket price for domestic-made movies has dropped to 39.5 yuan (less than 6 U.S. dollars) this year, some 20 percent lower in 2025.
China's summer film season continues as consumption campaign entices moviegoers
