By Li Gang, People’s Daily

At Dongguan Port in Dongguan, south China’s Guangdong province, giant “express parcels” are being lifted onto ocean-going vessels. From a distance, they look like ordinary shipping containers. But up close, each container reveals itself to be a fully finished house. 

These modular units are shipped across the seas to Australia, North America and the Middle East, where they are assembled like building blocks to form hotels, apartments, hospitals and other structures.

Why have China’s container-like prefabricated houses become so popular in global markets? People’s Daily looked into the story.

Inside a smart factory operated by China Construction Science and Industry Corp. Ltd., a subsidiary of Chinese construction company China State Construction Engineering Corporation, in Huizhou, Guangdong, there is no dust or scaffolding typically seen at construction sites. 

Instead, a fully automated production line, stretching more than 400 meters, runs around the clock. Here, a house is divided into six panels, each manufactured simultaneously on six sub-lines before being assembled into a complete module. Construction precision is consistently maintained at the millimeter level.

A single production line at the factory can turn out 50 housing modules a day, according to Li Huakun, chief engineer of China Construction Science and Industry Green Technology Co., Ltd. That is 10 times the daily output of similar factories in North America, where the figure is around five modules.

At a smart construction industrial park operated by China State Construction Hailong Technology Company Limited in Longgang, Shenzhen, a four-story, 50-meter-high vertical factory likewise bears none of the raucous commotion typical of conventional construction sites.

Every 20 minutes, a fully equipped module rolls off the production line, said Wang Qiong, chief engineer of the company. With 190 workstations and more than 80 pieces of equipment linked together, the facility has essentially turned house building into an industrial manufacturing process: raw materials such as sand and gravel enter at one end, and a finished housing module emerges   at the other.

The facility is home to the world’s first flexible smart manufacturing production line for concrete MiC (modular integrated construction), overcoming a major challenge in the mass production of concrete modules. 

Construction materials are stored in a 10-story automated warehouse, while nearly 100 automated guided vehicles (AGVs) move around the factory, delivering materials according to production schedules. 

Inspection robots use laser scanning to reconstruct the interiors of modules in three dimensions, with any millimeter-level deviation automatically identified and flagged by the system.

“More than 70 percent of construction processes have been moved to the factory, which cuts construction periods by over 60 percent,” Wang said. The production line is capable of delivering 20,000 to 30,000 concrete prefabricated modules annually.

Prefabricated houses mainly fall into three categories: steel structures, concrete structures, and wooden structures. Chinese companies have developed strong advantages, particularly in steel and concrete technologies. The parallel development of the two technical approaches has given China’s construction sector greater flexibility and competitiveness in global markets.

With industrialized standards, digitalized precision, and automated efficiency, houses are increasingly shifting from being “built on construction sites” to being “manufactured in factories.”

In New South Wales, Australia, giant “express parcels” shipped from Dongguan Port are arriving one after another, and an apartment complex is rapidly taking shape.

Traditional building construction involves laying foundations, erecting scaffolding, constructing walls, plastering, and decorating step by step. But that is not how this project is being built. The giant “express parcels” arrive with structural components, walls, electrical and plumbing systems, and interior finishes already completed in Chinese factories. The only task left at the site is assembly — much like putting together building blocks.

From the arrival of the modules at the construction site to completion of the main structure takes only a few months, whereas a traditional project of the same scale in Australia would typically take two and a half years, Li told People’s Daily.

In Australia, labor costs account for 30 to 40 percent of the total cost of traditional construction. Modular construction shifts a large number of processes to factories in China, reducing on-site labor by more than half and cutting the construction period by more than half. As a result, overall construction costs can be reduced by more than 10 percent, Li said.

More importantly, modular construction delivers higher quality. Factory-built modules boast far higher precision than on-site manual construction. Every unit undergoes full-range quality inspection prior to delivery, enabling a perfectly tight, seamless fit during on-site assembly.

Dubai, a major hub for construction in the Middle East, has long relied on traditional cast-in-place concrete standards in its approval system. Before this, there had been no precedent for approving multi-story MiC projects.

In 2025, China State Construction Hailong Technology Company Limited obtained Dubai’s first preliminary approval in principle for a MiC project. The company adapted its technology to U.S. standards and Dubai’s building codes, improved structural calculation documentation, and transformed Chinese project experience into localized technical materials. The approval marked a shift for Chinese construction from “benchmarking against international standards” to “integrating into the international market.”

“Overseas clients care most about three things: delivery quality, delivery efficiency, and cost,” said Jiang Li, deputy general manager of China Construction Science and Industry. Supported by robotics, digital factories, and green building materials, China’s construction industry is increasingly able to deliver on all three fronts.

Behind this success lies the world’s most complete construction industry chain. From steel and concrete to bathroom fixtures and electrical appliances, almost every component can be quickly sourced in China. Customized solutions also ensure structural safety during overseas transportation.

“Modular construction represents a new quality productive force for the construction industry,” Wang said. Having achieved industrialized production and data-driven management across the entire process, Wang’s company is now confident that China’s modular construction technologies will become an important driver of the global transformation toward industrialized construction.

By Xu Jing, People’s Daily

Quantum technology is beginning to transform the way China’s power grids operate. At the 220-kilovolt Houdian Quantum Application Demonstration Substation in Hefei, east China’s Anhui province, a suite of advanced quantum technologies is now in use. These include diamond-based quantum sensing materials to monitor current fluctuations, quantum-dot gas sensors to detect potential cable fire hazards and partial discharge faults inside switchgear, and other innovations that strengthen the intelligence, safety, and efficiency of grid operations.

Commissioned in November 2024, the facility is China’s first demonstration substation dedicated to the systematic application of quantum technologies. It has deployed 85 independently developed quantum devices across 18 categories, covering quantum sensing, quantum communication, and quantum computing. 

The project represents a pioneering effort to integrate quantum technologies into power grid engineering, offering a new technological solution to the challenges faced by conventional power grids while supporting the development of a new-type power system.

The substation also represents a new generation of fully unattended intelligent substations.

“We have replaced many manual inspection tasks with high-precision quantum sensing equipment,” said Tian Teng, a young engineer at the digitalization institute of the electric power research institute under State Grid Anhui Electric Power Co., Ltd. “The new system can identify and diagnose equipment defects much faster, reducing both inspection costs and operating expenses.”

Inside the high-voltage switchgear hall, rows of power equipment operated steadily. Standing beside an out-of-service switchgear cabinet, Tian pointed to a small device mounted on its side.

“This is a quantum-dot multi-parameter sensor,” he explained. “It continuously monitors the cabinet’s internal environment and detects signals associated with partial electrical discharge, enabling us to assess the condition of the switchgear.”

He then pointed to another compact device attached to a cable beneath the cabinet.

“This is a distribution network current sensor. It monitors line loading in real time and can quickly and accurately locate faults along the transmission line.”

Quantum technologies are embedded throughout the facility — not just in these compact sensing devices.

Quantum technologies are embedded throughout the facility — not just in these compact sensing devices. A quantum lidar system installed on the rooftop monitors atmospheric particles and cloud conditions within a 15-kilometer radius, providing early warnings of weather-related risks.  Quantum attitude sensors mounted on transmission towers can detect magnetic field changes as small as 1/10,000 of the Earth’s magnetic field, enabling highly accurate monitoring of tower alignment. 

Besides, quantum encryption equipment supports both fiber-based quantum secure communications and “5G + quantum” encrypted communications, significantly enhancing cybersecurity across the power network.

The innovation extends beyond physical equipment. The substation has adopted a quantum computing-based approach for power flow analysis, which has been validated using the topology of a real-world power grid on Origin Wukong, China’s domestically developed quantum computer.

“This breakthrough provides an entirely new technical approach for large-scale power grid simulation,” Tian said. “It is expected to further improve the real-time analytical and computing capabilities of power systems.”

Why did China build this quantum-powered substation?

According to Tian, conventional power grids are increasingly facing three major challenges as renewable energy and power-electronics-based equipment become increasingly widespread: limited accuracy in equipment condition monitoring and delayed response; insufficient security for data transmission and control instructions; and the computational limitations of conventional computers when making rapid decisions for increasingly complex grid operations.

Developing a new-type power grid supported by quantum technologies has become an inevitable choice, he said.

Developing the necessary equipment, however, was far from straightforward.

There were no domestic precedents, no established standards and no mature technical solutions to follow, said Zhao Long, head of the power quantum sensing laboratory at the electric power research institute under State Grid Anhui Electric Power Co., Ltd.

“The biggest challenge came when supplies of high-quality diamond sensing materials were cut off by overseas suppliers, bringing the project close to a standstill,” he added.

The team eventually partnered with domestic materials researchers to develop customized alternatives. After repeated rounds of experimentation and testing, they achieved a breakthrough.

New engineering challenges soon emerged, including electromagnetic interference and adapting laboratory technologies to real operating conditions.

“For several consecutive months, we spent our days at the substation collecting data and tuning system parameters, and our nights back in the laboratory refining algorithms and improving packaging and shielding designs,” Zhao recalled.

“When the quantum current transformer finally displayed accurate readings on the monitoring screen, everyone on the team burst into applause. We had successfully bridged the ‘last mile’ from laboratory research to real-world engineering.”

According to project estimates, the application of quantum technologies enables the Houdian demonstration substation to reduce annual electricity measurement errors by more than 500,000 kilowatt-hours, while significantly improving the reliability and economic efficiency of grid operations.

Several quantum technologies first demonstrated at the substation have since been deployed elsewhere across Anhui province and are now being introduced to more regions across China.

By Ouyang Jie, Liu Junguo, People’s Daily

From factories and power plants to warehouses and emergency response sites, Chinese-made robots are increasingly being deployed across a wide range of applications worldwide. 

This expansion reflects not only the rapid growth of China’s robotics industry but also the ability of Chinese companies to develop products tailored to diverse market needs, improve service capabilities, and build localized operations overseas. 

At the assembly workshop of Pudu Robotics, a Chinese service robotics manufacturer located in Jianhu county, east China’s Jiangsu province, five production lines were running at full capacity for 10 hours. 

Workers at assembly stations were installing new batches of lidar modules into robot bodies. The company’s production schedule has already fully booked through 2027, with factory production plans significantly tighter than last year.

Founded in 2016, Pudu Robotics has focused on the global commercial service robot market. It has shipped more than 130,000 units and served over 50,000 end customers worldwide. 

Since the beginning of this year, the company’s exports have already exceeded the total volume of the previous year, with products sold to 85 countries and regions. Its cleaning robots, in particular, have maintained year-on-year export growth of more than 100 percent for consecutive years, accounting for 29 percent of the global commercial cleaning robot market.

Pudu Robotics is just one example of Chinese intelligent robot companies expanding into overseas markets. According to customs data from Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong province, exports of various types of robots from Shenzhen reached 6.94 billion yuan ($1.03 billion) in the first half of this year, representing a tenfold increase year-on-year. These products were shipped to more than 110 countries and regions.

Strong technological capabilities are at the core of the global competitiveness of Chinese manufacturing.

“Our quadruped robots have officially started operations at a nuclear power plant in Switzerland, carrying out frequent and routine autonomous inspections in high-risk areas,” said Yao Hengyan, assistant general manager of DEEP Robotics in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang province.

The robot can climb slopes as steep as 45 degrees, navigate narrow spaces between equipment and access areas that are difficult for humans to reach. Equipped with thermal imaging and acoustic sensors, it can accurately detect potential hazards such as leaks, abnormal temperatures, and unusual equipment noises. 

Inspection data is uploaded in real time to a digital management platform, which can automatically issue alerts and initiate responses once anomalies are detected.

Besides, the quadruped robots of the company are also used for factory security and underground pipeline inspection in Switzerland.

A diverse product portfolio has enabled Chinese robots to adapt to a broad range of global application scenarios.

Pudu Robotics has divided the market into 16 major industries and more than 800 categories of specific applications and tasks based on customer needs, said Zhang Tao, founder and CEO of the company. The company has continuously optimized the overall performance of its products to ensure they are “functional, user-friendly, and durable” in complex environments.

It has established four major product lines covering delivery, cleaning, industrial, and general-purpose embodied intelligence robots, with applications spanning multiple sectors, including manufacturing and warehousing logistics.

The successful deployment of DEEP Robotics’ quadruped robots at a Swiss nuclear power plant, where safety standards are extremely demanding, demonstrates the stability and reliability of China-made robots, Yao said. 

The company has reached an agreement with its Swiss client to expand cooperation, and its robots, which can adapt to complex terrain and extreme weather conditions, have already been deployed in energy, industrial, and emergency response scenarios in various parts of the world.

As they continue to explore overseas markets, many Chinese robotics companies are shifting from simply exporting products to building localized brands and service networks.

Competition in China’s service robot sector has moved beyond price-performance advantages and entered a new stage where quality, brand recognition, and service capabilities are equally important, Zhang said. Customers are looking for not just a machine, but a comprehensive solution that can operate reliably over the long term.

To meet these needs, Pudu Robotics has established local offices and service centers in major global markets and built a cooperation network involving more than 1,000 distributors. The network provides partners with full-process support, including pre-sales consultation, sales assistance, deployment, after-sales maintenance, and rapid spare parts response, helping customers overcome concerns about adopting complex technologies.

The current penetration of robots remains relatively low, leaving broad room for future growth, Zhang said. As robots become increasingly integrated into various industries, different application scenarios will require different types of robots and capabilities. The company hopes to develop a unified “intelligent brain” for robots that can empower various products in fields such as delivery, cleaning, and industrial applications.

Pudu Robotics will continue expanding investment in technological innovation and product upgrades, making robots increasingly intelligent and capable of serving more industries worldwide, Zhang added.