A viral social media post revealed that a tour guide used a laser pointer while explaining details of a relic at the Xi'an Museum in Shaanxi Province, raising concerns about potential damage to the artifact.

"Flash photography emits intense bursts of light that can accelerate artifact aging and shorten their lifespan. While occasional exposure has less impact, we strongly advise against using intense light sources, especially laser pointers," a staff member, surnamed Liu, from Xi'an Museum, told the Global Times on Monday. "The laser beam is highly concentrated, and if directed at an artifact for an extended period, it may cause irreversible damage."

According to Liu, the Xi'an Museum strictly prohibits the use of flash photography, laser pointers and flashlights inside exhibition halls. Security screenings are also conducted at the entrance to ensure visitors do not bring prohibited items that could harm artifacts.

"We will strengthen supervision, improve security screening procedures, and ensure that similar incidents do not happen again. Additionally, we will also enhance education for staff and visitors to ensure compliance with artifact preservation regulations," she added.

The artifact exposed to the laser pointer was a stone sarcophagus from the tomb of Shi Jun. Dating back to the Northern Zhou Dynasty (557-581), it was discovered in 2003 in a noble's tomb in Xi'an's Weiyang district. The sarcophagus features inscriptions in Sogdian and Chinese, along with carvings that blend multiple cultural elements, making it valuable for studying cultural and commercial exchanges along the Silk Road, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Liu Zheng, a member of the Chinese Society of Cultural Relics, told the Global Times that "While brief exposure to laser pointers may not immediately damage stone artifacts, they are susceptible to temperature fluctuations. Large temperature differences could cause surface detachment or even cracks in the material."

Meanwhile, artifacts like silk, paintings and ancient manuscripts are much more vulnerable to light exposure. Flash photography is widely banned in museums to prevent damages from strong light, infrared and ultraviolet rays, which could accelerate oxidation, fading, and degradation of these delicate materials, Liu Zheng explained.

The incident has sparked heated online discussions about the importance of banning laser pointers and other light sources in museums.

"The damage may not be immediately visible, but over time, it will definitely have an impact. When we visited the Xi'an Museum and the Shaanxi History Museum, we didn't even dare to turn on our phone flashlights," read a comment on China's X-like platform Sina Weibo. 

Another Weibo user echoed this comment, writing, "Ever heard of the saying 'constant dripping wears away a stone'?"

In fact, many museums across China have already posted rules prohibiting the use of flashlights, laser pointers and other strong light sources in exhibition spaces. The National Museum of China's website explicitly states that flash photography, selfie sticks and tripod-mounted cameras are not allowed without prior approval.  

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command on Tuesday expelled a Philippine aircraft which illegally intruded into Chinese territorial airspace over Huangyan Dao in the South China Sea. A Chinese expert slammed the Philippines' increased provocations from the air, which is riskier and could cause unexpected incidents.

On Tuesday, a Philippine C-208 aircraft illegally intruded into the airspace of China's Huangyan Dao without the permission from the Chinese government, then Manila confused right and wrong and spread false narratives. The PLA Southern Theater Command organized naval and air forces and tracked, monitored, warned and expelled it in accordance with laws and regulations, said Senior Colonel Tian Junli, a spokesperson of the PLA Southern Theater Command, in a statement on the day.

Tian's remarks came after the Philippine coast guard accused the Chinese navy of performing "dangerous" flight maneuvers when a Philippine government fisheries aircraft was conducting what it called a maritime domain awareness flight on Tuesday over Huangyan Dao, Reuters reported. The Philippine coast guard claimed that a PLA Navy helicopter flew as close as three meters to the Philippine aircraft, according to the report.

The Philippine actions are a serious violation of China's sovereignty and relevant provisions of international and Chinese laws, Tian said, stressing that Huangyan Dao has always been China's territory. 

The Philippines' attempt to pursue its illegal sovereignty claims through military provocations and to mislead international perception through propaganda and hype is futile. The theater troops remain on high alert to resolutely defend national sovereignty and security as well as peace and stability in the South China Sea, the spokesperson said.

Ding Duo, director of the Research Center for International and Regional Studies at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the Philippines intentionally ramped up provocation in the air over Huangyan Dao, believing that aerial provocations are of lower cost. Aircraft are also faster than vessels and due to potential higher risks, they could trigger stronger reactions among the Philippines' domestic audience. 

Another aerial provocation that sabotaged peace and stability in the South China Sea was a joint patrol by three Philippine FA-50 aircraft and two US B-1 bombers on February 4, according to an AP report at the time. 

In response to the so-called joint patrol, Senior Colonel Li Jianjian, spokesperson of the air force of the PLA Southern Theater Command, said at the time that on February 4, the air force of the PLA Southern Theater Command conducted a routine patrol in the airspace over Huangyan Dao.

The air force units of the theater command have maintained a high level of alert, resolutely defending national territorial sovereignty as well as maritime rights and interests, Li said, noting that any military activities aimed at disrupting the South China Sea are under control.

Ding said that the Philippines' scheme to make provocations in the air is bound to fail. Whether it is territorial waters or airspace, the PLA will surely adopt corresponding control measures.

Compared with ships, aircraft are faster, and the risk of causing unexpected incidents is also higher. This once again proves that the Philippines is undermining the peace and stability of the South China Sea, Ding noted.

Taikonauts of the Shenzhou-19 manned spaceflight mission crew successfully completed their second series of extravehicular activities (EVAs) at 1:12 am on Tuesday, which lasted approximately 8.5 hours, the Global Times learned from the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA.) The agency also outlined plans consisting of three major missions for 2025.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences also disclosed to the Global Times on Tuesday as the China Space Station enters the third year of becoming fully operational, abundant research results have been achieved in multiple disciplines including the space biology and new materials science, laying foundations for future applications. 

Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and the third member of the crew Wang Haoze, collaborated to install space debris protection devices and perform an extravehicular inspection. with support from the China Space Station's robotic arm and a team on Earth, the CMSA revealed in a press release it provided to the Global Times on Tuesday. 

Cai, the mission commander and Song, who performed the spacewalk duties, safely returned to the Wentian lab module, marking a full success of the mission. 

The Shenzhou-19 mission is nearing its halfway point, the CMSA said, as the crew continues to conduct numerous scientific experiments and technical tests in orbit.

A few days later, despite their busy schedule, the Shenzhou-19 crew will celebrate the Chinese New Year of the Snake in space, safeguarding China's “space home” and observing the Earth illuminated by the lights of thousands of families, the CMSA said. 

The China Space Station is now in its third year of full operation. Over 180 scientific and application projects have been conducted, with nearly 2 tons of experimental modules, units, and samples sent to space, while almost 100 types of experimental samples returned to Earth. A series of original scientific results have been achieved, Global Times learned from the Chinese Academy of Sciences on Tuesday. 

In recent days, researchers at the Institute of Biophysics, CAS, have been analyzing recent in-orbit monitoring footage of fruit flies from the China Space Station, examining their growth, reproduction, and behavioral patterns.

The fruit fly, a small insect that feeds on fruit, is a well-established model organism with over a century of research history. On November 15, 2024, fruit flies were sent to the space station aboard the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft for experiments.

Li Yan, a researcher at the Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, explained that fruit flies in space exhibit mating, reproduction, and other behaviors similar to those on Earth. However, during these behaviors, scientists have observed unique behavioral patterns that differ significantly from those on Earth.

On Earth, fruit flies crawl and fly, while in space, fruit flies display behaviors like floating and flipping upside down, the scientist told the Global Times. 

Currently, advanced video processing technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) are utilized on Earth to support the analysis. CAS scientists revealed that the fruit fly research platform aboard the Chinese space station is set up with very strict conditions for temperature, humidity, lighting cycles, and gas circulation. Over two months of orbital cultivation have resulted in the fruit flies producing a third generation.

Through continuous video monitoring, researchers have gathered over 4TB of in-orbit video footage of the fruit flies. These recordings are vital for studying the growth, development, and behavioral traits of fruit flies in space, including sleep, mating, and activity patterns.

Also, research has been conducted on refractory alloys in orbit, focusing on alloy materials and multi-metal compositions that are challenging to melt under Earth's conditions, utilizing the unique containerless material experimentation environment in space. This research lays the foundation for the development of important alloy materials, such as those for future aircraft engine blades, according to the CAS.

Zhang Wei, a researcher at the Space Application Engineering and Technology Center of the CAS, said that in the field of new materials research, future research aims to develop high-entropy alloys, which are created by combining over five different metals, as well as functional crystals such as scintillation crystals and semiconductor crystals. Efforts will focus on material research and preparation in the space environment, he said.

In the field of space astronomy, China plans to deploy flagship instruments, including the Xuntian space telescope and advanced high-energy cosmic radiation detection systems.

The CMSA revealed mission logos on Monday for three pivotal projects in China's manned space program for 2025, including the launches of the crewed Shenzhou-20 and Shenzhou-21 spacecrafts, as well as the Tianzhou-9 cargo mission.

According to the CMSA, both Shenzhou-20 and Shenzhou-21 missions will feature three-member astronaut crews. Shenzhou-20 is set to dock with the radial port of the space station's core module, while Shenzhou-21 will dock with its front port.

The main tasks of the astronauts will include extravehicular activities, cargo outbound deliveries via the station's cargo airlock module, and the conducting of space science experiments and technology tests.

In the second half of 2025, China plans to launch the Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in its southern Hainan Province. This mission will deliver astronaut supplies, propellants, and a variety of payloads necessary for station operation.

The investigation and assessment report on the "5·1" landslide disaster was released on Wednesday. At approximately 1:57 am on May 1, 2024, a landslide occurred in the Chayang section of the Meizhou-Dabu Expressway in Meizhou City, South China's Guangdong Province. The landslide caused a collapse of half of the roadbed in the eastbound direction, resulting in 23 vehicles falling off the road, leading to 52 deaths and 30 injuries. The investigation concluded that this was a particularly severe landslide disaster caused by prolonged continuous rainfall and the combined effect of multiple factors, resulting in significant casualties, CCTV reported.

The disaster occurred in the early hours of May 1, with light rain, poor visibility, and a sudden increase in traffic volume. After the vehicles fell, they caught fire, which further exacerbated the damage. At the same time, problems existed in the areas of engineering survey, design, construction, supervision, acceptance, operation, and maintenance, which affected the roadbed's ability to withstand such disasters, said the report.

In accordance with relevant regulations, Guangdong Province established a provincial government investigation and assessment team for the disaster, led by local authorities. Experts in highway engineering, geological engineering, geotechnical engineering, meteorology, and hydrology were invited to form an expert group to participate in the investigation and assessment.

A national expert advisory group, established by the Ministry of Emergency Management, the Ministry of Transport, and the Ministry of Natural Resources, joined the investigation and assessment team on-site to offer comprehensive guidance throughout the disaster investigation and evaluation efforts.

The investigation revealed that, prior to the disaster, Guangdong experienced multiple rounds of heavy rainfall, with the province's average precipitation breaking historical records for the same period.

The main cause of the disaster was prolonged rainfall causing groundwater accumulation and rising water levels, which increased hydrodynamic forces and reduced the slope's shear strength, ultimately leading to a sudden landslide of the roadbed and retaining wall, resulting in the expressway collapse, said the investigation.

Clues regarding performance issues of government officials from participating units and relevant departments, found during the investigation, were transferred to the discipline inspection and supervision authorities for further handling. Legal and regulatory violations by the participating units and their personnel were also referred to the appropriate departments for investigation and punishment according to the law.

Five key lessons were concluded by the investigation team, including insufficient attention to high-fill embankment risks, inadequate awareness of prolonged rainfall hazards, weak groundwater prevention and monitoring, gaps in construction and maintenance management, and overlapping regulatory responsibilities leading to ineffective supervision.

The report also proposed five corresponding measures to enhance weather preparedness, improve roadbed safety, strengthen lifecycle management, boost risk monitoring, and raise societal risk awareness and self-rescue capabilities.

As the Year of the Snake draws near, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Thursday inspected Shenyang, capital city of Northeast China's Liaoning Province. Xi made the trip to the city shortly before the Spring Festival, the most important festival for the Chinese people, which falls on January 29 this year.

Xi visited a food market and a residential community in Shenyang, where he learned about the supply of goods during the holiday season and measures in place to meet residents' daily needs and optimize public services, as well as details of progress made in improving people's life.

Xi also made a trip on Wednesday to the village of Zhujiagou, under the administration of Suizhong county, Huludao city in Liaoning Province to visit people affected by floods, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Since assuming the Party's top post in November 2012, Xi has made it a tradition to spend time with members of the public ahead of the Spring Festival, especially those in disadvantaged groups, extending festive greetings to them. The tradition started in 2013, when Xi went to villages located in a hostile natural environment in Northwest China's Gansu Province, asking villagers whether they had enough food, sufficient subsistence allowances, and access to medical and educational resources.

Impoverished farmers, frontline workers, elderly people living alone, orphaned and disabled children - countless grassroots workers and ordinary citizens have always been the people Xi cares about the most.

"To secure a better life for our people is the original aspiration and purpose of the Chinese Communists," Xi, who is also the Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, once said during his trip to Sichuan in 2018. This spirit has remained an unchanging principle in Xi's pre-festival inspections, and vividly embodies the "people-first" governing philosophy.

Care for the people

In 2015, Xi met with old acquaintances from Liangjiahe Village, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, where he had spent seven years as an adolescent and young adult. "I will never forget the villagers here and the people in the old revolutionary base," Xi said.

In 2018, after venturing deep into the mountains of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, Xi said: "Not a single ethnic group or family should be left behind in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects."

In 2024, Xi visited primary-level officials and residents in Tianjin ahead of the Spring Festival. He also talked with shop owners and employees at an ancient culture street during his inspection tour in the municipality. 

"I care particularly about grassroots officials and the people as we ring in the lunar new year," Xi once said.

 Over the years, he had interacted with people including frontline workers, and the elderly and children at welfare homes, leaving many heartwarming moments.

Over the years, Xi has extended sincere wishes for a better life and a brighter future to people across China during each pre-festival visit. 

With these wishes, the entire Party and the Chinese people have been brought together to forge ahead toward building China into a strong country and realizing national rejuvenation.

Rural revitalization 

From old revolutionary bases to remote mountainous areas, these places mark China's path from the campaign of combating impoverishment to the pursuit of rural revitalization. 

In January 2017, Xi went to the snow-covered grasslands of northern China. Zhangbei in North China's Hebei Province - just 200 kilometers north of Beijing - was classed as a deprived county in 2013, with one-eighth of its population still living on less than $1 a day by October 2016.

Ye Runbing, the Party secretary of Desheng village in Zhangbei county, still vividly remembers President Xi's visit there in 2017. Xi stressed the importance of making sure every poor family had a program for increasing income and every poor person had a way of casting off poverty. 

Ye told the Global Times he felt greatly inspired.

Some eight years later, Zhangbei is completely different. The village has integrated land resources, natural resources and market resources.

Potatoes are a specialty of Desheng village. But the smallholder model of the past could not guarantee stable yields. In recent years, Desheng village has actively developed a collective economy, investing in greenhouses for potato seed breeding, scaling up this industry and helping villagers increase their income.

Adhering to the concept of sustainable development, Desheng village takes advantage of Zhangbei grassland's high latitude and long sunlight hours, developing a photovoltaic industry that can provide a stable long-term income, and exploring a profitable homestay tourism industry.  

The new year is important to build Desheng into a beautiful and prosperous village. Ye hopes to attract more professionals in agricultural technology and tourism management to his hometown, in hope that they can settle down and further promote its all-round revitalization.

Inheritance and innovation 

During past visits, Xi has brought gifts of festive goods, joined local people making festive foods, and practiced Spring Festival customs.

In 2020, Xi went to the home of farmer Li Fashun in Simola Wa Village, Yunnan Province, where he learned about the family's daily life, and was invited to join the family in making rice cakes. He also beat a wooden drum of the Wa ethnic group three times, a local ritual activity to bless the coming year. 

During his inspection trip to Southwest China's Guizhou Province in 2021, Xi visited Huawu village, which successfully eliminated poverty through crop planting and animal husbandry as well as tourism. He was invited to the home of Zhao Yuxue, a Miao villager, and made a traditional festival food "Huangba" with Zhao's family. He also visited a Miao embroidery workshop, urging efforts to promote ethnic and traditional cultures.

In 2022, Xi visited Shanxi Province before the Spring Festival. Touring Pingyao, one of the best-preserved ancient walled cities in China and a UNESCO world heritage site, Xi called for more efforts to conserve the country's cultural heritage and protect "the valuable treasure left to us by our ancestors."

Wang Huiming, who runs a lacquer wares store in the ancient city, recounted that President Xi demanded cultural treasures such as the traditional lacquering skill be better protected. 

"We should promote traditional cultural industries with distinctive Chinese features to the rest of the world," said Xi, as reported by Xinhua.

Wang, an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage, was excited that Chunjie, or Spring Festival, was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. "It demonstrates the richness of Chinese culture is recognized and that what I am doing is meaningful."  

Ready to welcome tourists to Pingyao during the holidays, Wang's wish for the Year of the Snake is to increase sales by 20 percent, to make more innovative wares, and to have more trainees interested in this cultural heritage. 

Aspiration for better life 

Deliveryman Qi Nannan clearly remembers February 1, 2019, the day when President Xi visited an express delivery station located in Shitou Hutong in central Beijing's Qianmen area when he and his colleague were sorting piles of parcels. 

Xi stressed that priority should be given to solving employment problems and creating more jobs. He praised the hard work of deliverymen, saying they were "busy as bees" to bring convenience to people's lives.

"It was such a surprise. It was also a moment when I felt important and proud," Qi told the Global Times. 

Like every Spring Festival in past nine years since he became a deliveryman, Qi, along with his colleagues, is busy delivering parcels as quick as he can. They mostly consist of festival gifts and necessities. 

From unexpensive snacks and souvenirs in the past, to fresh quality specialties and presents sometimes from overseas now, Qi is a witness to China's booming logistics and e-commerce market, as well as people's improving living standards.  

Qi hopes in the Year of the Snake, his daughter can enter an ideal college and he will continue to be a hardworking "bee" to convey the happiness of ordinary people. 

"Of all the jobs in front of us, the most important is to ensure a happy life for our people," said Xi in his 2025 New Year address. 

"Every family hopes that their children can have a good education, their seniors can enjoy good elderly services, and their youngsters can have more and better opportunities. These simple wishes are our people's aspirations for a better life. We should work together to steadily improve social undertakings and governance, build a harmonious and inclusive atmosphere, and settle real issues, big or small, for our people. We must bring more smiles to our people and greater warmth to their hearts," Xi said.