Sci-Tech

China Unveils First Domestic Cloud Computer

China unveiled last December the “Purple Cloud 1000” – the countrys first cloud computer. This major breakthrough in Chinese cloud computing took the Unisplendour Corporation Limited（UNIS） of Tsinghua University

China Installs Faster Education Backbone Network

Chinas first 100G network went into official operation last December， the China Education and Research Network（CERNET） having passed an acceptance check. The 21，732.4-km CERNET national academic computer network links 34 cities in 29 provinces. It provides 2，000 or more universities and research institutes with a minimum 1G access and around 500 of them with a minimum 10G access. This equipment was developed and made in China. CERNET also covers 54 national priority fields of study that provide important information resources for Chinese higher education and technological innovation. The updated network has both greater capacity and improved security and management， according to head of the CERNET expert panel Prof. Wu Jianping. CERNET will provide significant support for Chinas college teaching and scientific research. It will also help to promote Chinas educational informationization infrastructure to an internationally advanced level.

two years to develop. Different from personal computers and supercomputers with respect to distributed architecture， the computer combines the virtualization technology of cloud computing and computing resources at low cost. Its CPUs can be expanded to 65，535， and it has an 85 PB storage capacity with a 1.2 GB per second throughput. The computers software consists of virtualization， big data and automatically-deployed modules， all with independent intellectual property rights. It also has a dynamically scalable function in computing power and storage capacity in accordance with customer requirements.

RMB 83.17 Billion Chinas Games Industry Report 2013 shows that the countrys computer and video games scored 490 million punters last year， with the sectors revenues hitting RMB 83.17 billion， year-on-year increases of 20.6 percent and 38 percent， respectively. “Client games” take the lions share -- 64.5 percent -- of the Chinese market.

Chinas HD Observation Satellite Activates Its Lenses

Chinas high-definition Earth observation satellite， the Gaofen-1， has formally gone into service， the State Administration of Science， Technology and Industry for National Defense （SASTIND） announced on December 30. The first low-orbit remote-sensing satellite designed for longer than five years use， it has passed all the relevant tests. The satellite carries two 2-m panchromatic/8-m multispectral high-definition cameras， and four 16-m resolution wideangle cameras. Orbit tests and data-use confirm that Gaofen-1 has excellent application prospects and irreplaceable functions compared to previous remote sensing satellites. Its operation will soon achieve domestication of high-resolution remote sensing data. The satellite will be used for geographic and resource surveys， for monitoring environmental and climate change and also for precision agriculture. It will therefore provide strong support for the strategic needs of national economic construction and social development.

Yangjiang Nuclear Power Plant Starts Trial Operation

The first generating unit of the Yangjiang nuclear power plant in south Chinas Guangdong Province began trial operations on the last day of 2013. The plant is the second commercial nuclear power station to be built in Guangdong Province since the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant， which commenced operation in the early 1990s. Construction of the unit started in midDecember 2008， national nuclear safety administrative departments having examined and affirmed the projects quality and key project nodes. Upon going into commercial operation， the plants six units will generate 48 billion kwh of electricity a year. Its completion has both promoted the upgrading of nuclear power industrial technology and local economy and played a significant role in sustainable social and environmental development. Compared with a similarsized coal-fired plant， Yangjiang can reduce coal consumption by 15.6 million tons of standard coal a year. It can also help cut carbon dioxide emissions by 38.3 million tons， that of sulfur dioxide by 370，000 tons and that of nitric oxide by 240，000 tons per year. The extent of environmental protection it provides is equivalent to 100，000 hectares of forest.