Workers pose for a photo when the intercity railway between Beijing and Xiongan New Area in north China's Hebei province begins to be built in Xiongan New Area on Wednesday. [ZOU HONG / CHINA DAILY] Construction began on Wednesday for an intercity railway between Beijing and the Xiongan New Area in neighboring Hebei province, marking the beginning of major infrastructure construction in the area. The rail line, which will stretch about 92 kilometers, is the first major transportation project involving Xiongan since its establishment in April, according to the contractor, Beijing-Shenyang Railway Passenger Transport Beijing-Hebei Co. The railway will cut the travel time between the capital and Xiongan by more than 60 percent to about 30 minutes when it begins operation by the end of 2020, construction director Yang Bin said on Wednesday at the groundbreaking ceremony in Xiongxian county, where the terminus of the line will be located. With an investment of 33.53 billion yuan ($5.3 billion), the rail line will have five stops from the southern Daxing district in Beijing, via Langfang in Hebei, to Xiongan New Area, according to the builder. The five stations are: Huangcun; the capital's new airport in Beijing's Daxing district; Gu'an East Railway Station in Langfang, Hebei; Bazhou North Railway Station in Hebei; and Xiongan Railway Station. Breaking ground in April, the section from the departure station to the new airport has a designed speed of 250 km/h, and will be put into use together with the new airport in September 2019. The section from the new airport to Xiongan has a designed speed of 350 km/h. The rail line will be the most convenient and efficient way to get from Xiongan to Beijing and the capital's new airport, according to a news release for the ceremony. It will provide strong support for the transfer of noncapital functions from Beijing to Xiongan, it said. The central government announced plans in April to establish Xiongan to help phase out noncapital functions in Beijing and to advance the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Since then, preparation and planning for the new area has been in the works. Several fundamental major projects should be initiated when appropriate to ensure a good start to the construction of the new area, Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli said on Sunday at a meeting on advancing the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. According to the release, the new rail line will be linked with other high-speed lines, such as the planned Xiongan-Shangqiu line and Beijing-Guangzhou railway, to form a transportation network between Xiongan and other places in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, as well as other cities across the country. Contact the writer at [email protected]cheap custom braceletstriple single rubber band braceletpersonalized bracelets for girlfriendcheap custom rubber bracelets no minimummake rubber bracelets
BEIJING - China will continue to strengthen international cooperation in peaceful exploration and utilization of outer space, said Li Guoping, a spokesman of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), Thursday.So far, China has signed 121 cooperation agreements with 37 countries and four international organizations, Li said at a press conference about the Space Day of China, which will come on April 24, marking the day the country's first satellite was sent into space in 1970.He raised the example of the 30-year-long cooperation between China and Brazil in the development of earth resources satellites. Currently, the two countries are jointly developing a fourth satellite, which is progressing well.China and France are also in close collaboration. An ocean-observing satellite jointly developed by the two countries will be sent into orbit this year, which will be used to study global climate change. The two countries are also cooperating in developing an astronomical satellite.In February, a seismic-electromagnetic satellite, jointly developed by China and Italy, was launched to study seismic precursors, which might help establish a ground-space earthquake monitoring and forecasting network in the future."In addition, China has sold 11 commercial satellites, including communication and remote sensing satellites, to other countries. China launched Algeria's first communication satellite in December last year," Li said."China has offered assistance and services to other developing countries. We provided our satellite data to countries such as Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and Peru to help them monitor floods and forest fires."China will push forward the construction of the BRICS remote-sensing satellite constellation and the Belt and Road Initiative Space Information Corridor."China will collaborate with the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO) to adjust the distribution of the meteorological satellites in orbit to better service the members of APSCO."China will build a remote-sensing information application platform with Thailand, Laos, Burma and Cambodia."China also intends to have a wider international cooperation in the fields of lunar probe, deep space exploration and space science. China recently had talks with Russia and the European Space Agency on further cooperation in deep space exploration."
