By Wu Yan, People’s Daily

From the ancient wisdom in Kaogong ji, or The Artificer’s record, the earliest Chinese book on technologies which describes how craftsmen build the state, to the Athens Charter that defines the functions of a modern city, humanity’s pursuit of the ideal city has spanned millennia. 

China’s current efforts to build people-centered smart cities, aligned with the vision of making cities better places to live, reveal distinctive perspectives on urban development. 

The first lies in its foundational philosophy: Cities are built by and for the people defines the essence of China’s approach to urban modernization. 

In Shanghai’s Xuhui Riverside, foreign expert Kseniia Kirianaki observed how prime riverfront area was preserved as public space rather than becoming commercial or luxury residential zones.  It’s truly remarkable, she said. 

From building twin hills in the city center based on citizens’ suggestions to building apartment blocks for food delivery riders, Shanghai consistently prioritizes people in its planning, reserving premium resources for the public use and ensuring equitable access to services. The people’s city ethos shines vividly here.

Nationally, cities embrace this same principle. Beijing has implemented detailed underground space development plans, while Guangzhou expands its network of public cultural facilities.

Urban planning now begins with residents’ actual needs; city construction emphasizes livability and employment; governance fosters collective participation and shared benefits. Though cities express this warmth differently, all share the core commitment: only by building foundations for better lives can citizens’ sense of fulfillment, happiness, and security truly flourish.

The second perspective is evident in practice. China’s pursuit of high-quality, connotative urban development is charting a new course for people-oriented modernization.

Visitors to Chongqing’s digital urban operations center witness firsthand how integrated data systems underpin city management. In Fuzhou’s a historical and cultural area Sanfang Qixiang, which literally means three lanes and seven alleys, urban renewal has both preserved the city’s cultural heritage and improved residents’ quality of life. Similarly, Nanjing’s Tangshan Quarry Park exemplifies ecological restoration, transforming a former mining site into a thriving public green space – turning industrial scars into recreational havens.

These cases illustrate the compelling demonstration effect of China’s high-quality urban development. As UN Under-Secretary-General Anaclaudia Rossbach noted, China’s experience offers valuable insights globally. 

China’s cities have shifted from large-scale expansion to improving quality and efficiency, emphasizing intensive growth over extensive development. By focusing on the construction of modern cities of the people that are innovative, desirable to live in, beautiful, resilient, culturally advanced, and smart, China is refining its urban vision. This approach seeks efficient, distinctive, and well-coordinated progress to enhance the overall quality of urban life.

The third perspective lies in its global influence. China demonstrates its sense of responsibility by providing international public goods.

Take the concept of the 15-minute community life circle as an example. First proposed by Shanghai at the inaugural World Cities Day Forum in 2014, the concept quickly spread across the country. Later, Paris introduced its own 15-minute city plan, and Milan has been described by media as one of the cities closest to achieving that vision. This resonance shows how China’s ideas are inspiring global urban innovation.

China’s contributions go beyond concepts. The Shanghai Award has become a high-level UN recognition for urban sustainability achievements. The Shanghai Manual remains among the most downloaded publications from UN-Habitat , and the Shanghai Index is being piloted in cities across multiple countries. These efforts offer new solutions to urbanization challenges and highlight China’s responsibility and contribution as a major country.

Today’s China is committed to building a collaborative social governance system with broad participation, aiming to deliver benefits for all. The goal is to make cities true homes of happiness for their residents and ensure development brings tangible improvements to everyday life. This commitment resonates with historical aspirations while representing a significant contribution to global urban civilization.

By Liu Junguo, People’s Daily

Recently, Le Zhiguo, head of the robotics spring task force at Zhejiang Meili High Technology Co., Ltd. (Meili), visited several humanoid robot companies, including Unitree Robotics and Deep Robotics.

“Our purpose was to deliver prototype springs and deepen collaboration with downstream partners to jointly overcome technical hurdles,” stated Le.

Le explained that while many humanoid robot developers concentrate on core components like control systems (“brain”), motion coordination (“cerebellum”), and joint actuators, they often pay less attention to the flexibility of the body and limb systems. This oversight can result in operational issues such as overheating joints, unnatural movements, and reduced durability.

Recognizing this gap, Meili leveraged its expertise to assist. The company has already begun supplying small batches of prototype springs to several humanoid robot manufacturers. The solution for enhancing robotic flexibility and agility? A specialized spring, approximately one centimeter in diameter.

At first glance, this component may appear similar to conventional springs. “However,” Le clarified, “its strength and precision are significantly higher. When integrated into linear actuators, it enables smoother and more coordinated robotic movements.”

Le Zhiguo drew an analogy: if sensors provide a robot’s sense of touch and harmonic reducers function as its joints, then these high-precision, high-strength damping springs act like ligaments. They cushion joints, facilitate posture adjustment, and mitigate vibration and noise.

To accelerate this development, Meili established a dedicated robotics spring team earlier this year, drawing key technical experts from more than 120 R&D personnel. Within just three months, the team progressed from concept design to small-batch production, enabling Meili to supply springs to both domestic and international robotics companies.

How did the company manage to springboard into this new field so quickly?

“The foundation was built on over 35 years of experience in the spring industry,” explained Zhang Bihong, Founder and Chairman of Meili. “That solid expertise made our entry into a new sector possible.”

Founded in Ru’ao township, Xinchang county, east China’s Zhejiang province, Meili began as a small spring workshop. “We started by manufacturing springs for fire extinguishers, then progressed to motorcycle valve springs,” Zhang recalled.

In the early days, with few clients, Zhang often rode his bicycle along dusty country roads, visiting motorcycle parts factories one by one. Gradually, the company expanded into the automotive spring market.

In recent years, intensifying competition in the traditional spring market could no longer support the company’s growth ambitions. However, the rapid rise of China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) sector presented a new opportunity.

“To thrive, we had to ascend the value chain,” Zhang stated. Determined to move into higher-value products, he led the company to develop air suspension springs for NEVs – a segment with significantly higher technical barriers.

Air suspension systems, once exclusive to high-end vehicles, were long dominated by foreign companies. Despite having no prior experience in this field, the Meili team recognized that the market opportunity might be fleeting. The pressure to succeed was immense.

“The greatest challenge was improving the durability and air-tight sealing between the rubber airbag and the metal components. Both factors directly impact product quality,” said Li Xiaojun, head of the air spring project team.

“Another difficulty was ensuring stable performance under extreme conditions. Sometimes, lab data looked perfect, but during real vehicle tests, the damping materials failed to meet standards,” Li added.

“To enhance air-tightness and ensure the springs could withstand fatigue, heat, and cold, we tested more than 100 types of rubber materials,” Li explained. The team repeatedly refined designs, adjusted material formulas, optimized vulcanization processes, and tested structural options. After enduring 5.42 million cycles in rigorous alternating high- and low-temperature humidity tests, Meili successfully produced its first prototype air spring for passenger vehicles in 2024. The prototype passed customer validation later that year.

The company continues to innovate. “Robot springs offer even higher added value than automotive springs and could represent a new multi-billion-yuan market,” Zhang noted.

Through relentless innovation, this small component is springing into a world of broader possibilities.

By Qiao Dong, Cao Jiwei, People’s Daily

Nestled in northwest China’s Qinghai province, the Sanjiangyuan area – often called the “Water Tower of China” – derives much of its water from glacial sources. Among these, the Amne Machin peak in the Golog Tibetan autonomous prefecture encompasses over 120 square kilometers of glaciers. These ice formations supply approximately 35% of the water for the upper reaches of the Yellow River, China’s second-longest river, forming an indispensable ecological barrier for the region.

In recent years, the water conservation capacity of this vital “Water Tower” has steadily improved, with the ecological restoration of Amne Machin serving as a prime example.

Driving along the southern foothills of Amne Machin, the sight of sprawling glaciers inspires awe. Here, glacial melting and freezing cycles peak around May and November each year – critical periods when herders in Xueshan Township, Maqen County, conduct their glacier monitoring work.

After stepping out of the vehicle, I donned a felt hat and joined a team of herder-monitors trekking through the snow. Since 2008, local herders have voluntarily formed teams to measure the glacier’s snow line. At an altitude exceeding 4,500 meters, each step upward proved arduous. Emerging from the ridge mist, the team reached a monitoring point known as “Thousand Tents,” where last year’s red-painted markers remained visible. Working together, team members bent down with tape measures to calculate the distance between the glacier’s edge and the previous year’s marker.

Local authorities and residents have joined hands to protect this sacred mountain. In 2009, the snow mountain protection station of Maqen county’s natural resources and forestry and grassland bureau began glacier observation work, soon joined by research teams such as that of He Xiaobo from the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Today, glacier monitoring employs increasingly comprehensive methods, combining satellite remote sensing, drone photogrammetry, modeling, and physical monitoring stakes.

Artificial precipitation enhancement and ice preservation have become vital conservation measures. In recent years, local meteorological departments have used catalysts to induce snowfall during suitable weather conditions. The protection station simultaneously monitors upstream and downstream glacier temperature, humidity, and snow depth to assess the effectiveness of these interventions. Practice has shown that such efforts extend snow cover duration in certain areas and effectively slow glacial melting.

During our hike, Geltsang, head of Maqen county’s forestry and grassland station, pointed across the mountain ridge. “That’s the Delni Copper Mine!” he said.On one side of Amne Machin’s midsection lies the mine, while its tailings pond occupies the other. Open-pit mining and tailings construction previously damaged meadows, eroded slopes, and degraded surrounding grasslands. “When the mine began operations in 2006, we didn’t fully grasp the environmental impact,” admitted Zhang Ming, a Delni Copper Mine staff member. “Now, for ecological restoration, we’ve even planted grass at an altitude of 4,430 meters!”

The ecological rehabilitation of the Delni mine prioritized grassland restoration. Facing a lack of soil, the project team innovatively utilized local serpentine rock, processing it into a composite soil suitable for grass growth. To overcome water scarcity, they adopted techniques inspired by terracing and checkerboard grass planting methods to retain soil and moisture. Through these combined efforts, the Delni copper mine successfully completed its major ecological restoration work last year.

Across Golog prefecture, significant progress has been made in restoring degraded grasslands, including areas known as “black soil patches,” covering over 5.16 million mu (approximately 344,000 hectares). Reviving this land was challenging. “Grass often needs to be sown multiple times before it takes root here,” explained Geltsang. The region’s high average elevation (above 4,200 meters), cold climate, and short growing season pose major difficulties. After extensive trials, local experts identified resilient grass species suitable for the area, such as Elymus nutans and Poa crymophila. Research indicates that compared to natural regeneration, enclosure protection combined with artificial reseeding can boost the carbon sink capacity of alpine meadows by approximately 30%.

Heading westward leads to Madoi county, renowned as the “County of a Thousand Lakes.” This area encompasses Gyaring and Ngoring lakes, critical sources of the Yellow River. Historically, overgrazing led to wetland degradation, causing half of the county’s more than 4,000 lakes to dry up. Thanks to sustained restoration efforts, the landscape has rebounded dramatically, with the number of lakes now exceeding 5,800.

Golog prefecture has advanced integrated restoration efforts targeting grasslands, river basins, and wetlands. Last year, Madoi and neighboring counties initiated a wetland connectivity project that restored 1,200 hectares of wetlands. This project is projected to increase water flow into the Yellow River’s tributaries by 15%. Over the past five years, Golog has restored 100,000 mu of wetlands, contributing to a more than 6% increase in the annual water conservation capacity within the Sanjiangyuan National Park. Water quality in the Yellow River’s Golog section consistently meets the highest national standard (Class I).

Over 10,000 ecological rangers patrol the prefecture’s lakes and wetlands. Among them is herder Dorje Gyaltsen, who monitors springs near Amne Machin peak. “I’ve witnessed springs dry up and then flow again,” he noted. Remarkably, 14 of the 27 springs within a 20-kilometer radius of the glacier, which had completely dried up in the past, have now been rejuvenated, contributing vital flow to the Yellow River’s headwaters.