Major breakthroughs in China's science and technology in 2021

In 2021, China has achieved major scientific and technological breakthroughs in key areas, including deep space, deep sea exploration, quantum information and clinical medicine. Let's take a look.

1. First 100,000-ton deep water semi-submersible oil production and storage platform operates

On June 25, Shenhai Yihao, the world's first 100,000 metric ton deep-sea, semi-submersible oil production and storage platform, began drilling at Lingshui 17-2, an offshore gas field located 150 kilometers south of Hainan island in the South China Sea.

With a maximum operational water depth exceeding 1,500 meters and proven geological reserves of natural gas exceeding hundreds of billions of cubic meters, the gas field will play an integral part in the nation's efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

2. Manned submersible Fendouzhe sets diving record

On Dec 5, China's manned submersible Fendouzhe (Striver) returned to a port in Sanya, Hainan province, from a 53-day expedition. As of December, it has completed 21 dives with a depth of over 10,000 meters, carrying 27 scientists to the deepest parts of oceans. Both the figures are the highest in the world.

Fendouzhe is the world's deepest-diving manned submersible, capable of carrying up to three passengers to conduct scientific research in the deep sea. The instrument is electrically powered and can operate for around 10 hours underwater.

3. World's first 600 km/h high-speed maglev train rolls off assembly line

On July 20, China's new high-speed maglev train rolled off the production line. With a designed top speed of 600 km per hour, it's currently the fastest ground vehicle available globally.

The new maglev transportation system, which made its public debut in Qingdao, Shandong province, has been self-developed by China, marking the country's latest scientific and technological achievement in the field of rail transit.

4. China succeeds in first Mars landing

On the morning of May 15, a Chinese spacecraft successfully landed on the surface of Mars. It is the first time in the world that orbiting and landing on Mars is completed in one mission.

Tianwen 1, consisting of an orbiter, a lander and a rover, was launched from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on the coast of southern China's island province of Hainan on July 23, 2020. 

5. Shenzhou XII and Shenzhou XIII successfully launched

On June 17, Shenzhou XII was launched on a Long March 2F carrier rocket that blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwestern China. The astronauts entered Tiangong later that day, becoming the first inhabitants of the station. During the mission, the astronauts carried out two extravehicular activities, or spacewalks, using a large robotic arm and other equipment to install and adjust devices outside the station. They completed their 92-day mission and returned to the Earth safely on Sep 17.

Shenzhou XIII mission was launched to the Tiangong space station early in the morning of Oct 16. The crew members are scheduled to spend six months working in the station, making it China's longest space mission. The mission crew completed its first spacewalk on Nov 8, with Wang Yaping, 41, becoming China's first female spacewalker. The crew completed second spacewalk on Dec 27.

6. First antibody combination therapy approved to treat COVID-19

On Dec 8, China approved the use of a monoclonal neutralizing antibody cocktail for COVID-19 treatment created by Brii Biosciences, making it the first antibody combination therapy against the disease to get the green light in the country.

The medicine - a combination of the amubarvimab and romlusevimab antibodies, previously known as BRII-196 and BRII-198, was jointly developed by Brii Biosciences, Tsinghua University, and the Third People's Hospital of Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

China's drug authority granted emergency approval for the antibody cocktail based on positive final and interim results from the phase 3 clinical trial with 847 enrolled outpatients sponsored by the United States National Institutes of Health. The final results showed the therapy has a good safety profile and can reduce the risk of hospitalization and death by 80 percent. The study was conducted around the world, including in the US, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Argentina and the Philippines.

7. World's first inhaled COVID-19 vaccine unveiled

On Nov 12, the world's first inhaled form of COVID-19 vaccine, known as aerosolized Ad5-nCoV, was unveiled at the fifth Hainan International Health Industry Expo 2021 in South China's Haikou city.

The vaccine was co-developed by CanSino Biologics and researchers from the Institute of Military Medicine under the Academy of Military Sciences. It is inhaled through the mouth into the respiratory tract and lungs to stimulate mucosal immunity that can't be created by intramuscular injections.

8. Scientists find particles of ultra-high energy in Milky Way

According to a study published in the journal Nature on May 17, China's Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory, or LHAASO in Daocheng, Sichuan province, has found 12 sources of ultra-high-energy photons in the Milky Way and detected a photon with a record-breaking energy level of 1.4 peta-electron volt, or 1.4 million billion electron volts.

Experts called these findings exciting, describing them as opening a new chapter in mankind's astronomical study of the most energetic particles in the universe, whose origins and acceleration mechanisms have fascinated and baffled scientists for over a century.

9. FAST telescope officially opens to global astronomers

On March 31, China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope, the world's largest single-dish and most sensitive radio telescope, officially opened to the world.

Located in a naturally deep and round karst depression in Southwest China's Guizhou province, FAST telescope started construction in 2011 and finished in 2016. It was put into formal operation on Jan 11, 2020.

Since it started operation, FAST has provided stable and reliable services. It has found 300 pulsars and made breakthroughs in fields such as fast radio bursts, a type of powerful radio wave in the sky.

10. Refrigeration breakthrough takes Chinese quantum science near absolute zero

The Institute of Physics, affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said on July 12 that it has developed a prototype refrigerator to realize this ultra-low temperature just 0.01 degrees Celsius higher than absolute zero, which is -273.15 degrees Celsius.

Unlike the traditional dilution refrigerator, the prototype runs without using liquid helium. In June the new device was tested to ensure it could operate continuously for a long period of time at about -273.14 degrees Celsius. The device targets a bottleneck problem in quantum computing and is widely used in condensed matter physics, material science, particle physics, and astronomical exploration.