News on China's scientific and technological development.

Top 10 trends in China's internet development
By Zhu Lingqing (chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2016-09-02 07:15

The number of Chinese using internet rose to 710 million as of June, accounting for 51.7 percent of the country's total population, exceeding the global average by 3.1 percent, according to a report released by China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) on August 3.

As internet penetration level keeps rising, some trends in internet development are visible, according to a report by 199it.com. Here are the top 10 trends.

Trend 1: The group of phubbers is expanding

Phubbers are people who engage in phubbing, "the act of snubbing someone in a social setting by looking at a phone instead of paying attention".

The number of people using their mobile phones to surf the internet reached 656 million, increasing from 90.1 percent of the total internet users at the end of last year to 92.5 percent as of June.

In addition, people surfing the internet only via mobile phones account for 24.5 percent of the total internet users.

Trend 2: Video-streaming websites are getting more users

The number of internet users watching video online increased to 514 million as of June, up 10 million from the end of last year, with 440 million using mobile phones to watch videos online.

Trend 3: The lifestyle of "no cash" becomes popular

People using online payments rose to 455 million as of June, with 64.7 percent of them having the experience of paying via smartphones.

Trend 4: The number of online shoppers keeps rising

A total of 448 million internet users shopped online as of June, with 61 percent of them shopping via smartphones.

Trend 5: Online live broadcast is rocketing

The number of online live broadcast users reached 325 million as of June, accounting for 45.8 percent of internet users.

Trend 6: More than half of internet users play online games

Online game player amounted to 391 million as of June, accounting 55.1 percent of internet users. The number of internet users playing online games via smartphones reached 302 million, up 23 million from the end of last year.

Trend 7: Online travel services are attracting more users

A total of 264 million internet users used online travel services as of June, with the number of people using smartphones to reserve tickets, hotels or tourism products reaching 232 million, a10.7 percent increase from the end of last year.

Trend 8: Online ride-hailing services are getting more customers

As ride-hailing services have been granted legal status in China, it has been used by 159 million users as of June, which means 22.3 percent of internet users have tried the service.

Trend 9: Online food ordering and delivery services are prospering

Food ordering and delivery service apps users increased by 40 percent in the first six months of this year, with 146 million people using their phone to order food.

Trend 10: Internet financing is booming

The number of people purchasing internet financing products reached 101 million as of June, increasing by 11 million from the end of last year.

A link about an exhibition of 3D printing manufacturing tech during July 2015

It shows two 3D printed aircraft pieces by Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The university where professor 王华明 Wang Huaming has a team specializing 3D printing.

The first is the aircraft bulkhead structure that we all have seen. What I find to be specially interesting from this link is the many photos from different angles and close-up shots. In my assessment, it is the bulkhead of FC-31/J-31.

The last two photos are stated by the article as the windshield frame of C919. They do look like a windshield frame. We also know that COMAC has officially stated that the windshield frames of C919 is made by 3D printing.

If we are to believe that statement (I have no reason to not to believe), then it is clear that FC-31 indeed uses 3D printing, which implies a very high chance that J-20 also uses it.

What's all this?? China develops a quantum photon-splitting radar that detects stealth aircraft from over 100km away? And advertises it before it's in service?? Sounds too good to be true...

manqiangrexue said:

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What's all this?? China develops a quantum photon-splitting radar that detects stealth aircraft from over 100km away? And advertises it before it's in service?? Sounds too good to be true...

Click to expand...

I think this has been reported earlier in this or another thread.

100km isn't that far. For this to be practical, I think it'll need a range of 1000 km.

solarz said:

I think this has been reported earlier in this or another thread.

100km isn't that far. For this to be practical, I think it'll need a range of 1000 km.

Click to expand...

Two words: tech demo.

manqiangrexue said:

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What's all this?? China develops a quantum photon-splitting radar that detects stealth aircraft from over 100km away? And advertises it before it's in service?? Sounds too good to be true...

Click to expand...

Lol, it's not called a "quantum photon-splitting radar ". That would sound too phony to be believable.

manqiangrexue said:

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What's all this?? China develops a quantum photon-splitting radar that detects stealth aircraft from over 100km away? And advertises it before it's in service?? Sounds too good to be true...

Click to expand...

It's the same radar that is supposed to utilize quantum mechanic posted a page back or so.
The problem with quantum entanglement is that it can break entanglement between the two photons with noise making it not really practical for identifying objects since you'll find to many false positives.
It's more easier used for communication where bother photons can be controlled in a stable chamber.

After a false start the EV (Electrical Vehicle) is about to take off due to availability of public charging station built by government and private sector
From Forbes

Electric Vehicle (EV) makers across the world face a classic “chicken or egg” problem.

Concerned with the range of EVs and the availability of charging stations, consumers are reluctant to forsake their traditional internal combustion engine-powered cars in favor of those powered by batteries. Yet, building a charging infrastructure is expensive, and investors are understandably reluctant to commit capital until there is a market. So what will come first: the cars or the charging stations?

A variety of forces are now converging in China, which are enabling the country to break this deadlock. Dense urban populations, a love affair with the automobile, worsening air pollution and the country’s shortage of energy resources have encouraged the government to promote the development and sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs), generally considered to be hybrid electric vehicles and pure EVs.

Opening up to private capital

In addition to providing a wide range of tax and financial incentives for the industry, China has increased emphasis on research development; exempted NEV buyers from license plate restrictions; and opened up its power sector, traditionally an industry reserved for state-owned companies, to private capital. In May 2014, China began private companies to invest in electric charging and replacement stations when China’s State Grid announced that it would support the development of privately-owned distributed energy resources.
These measures appear to be producing results. Sales of EVs and plug-in hybrids increased fourfold to more than 330,000 units in 2015 and have increased a further 162% so far this year.

Also, capital has been pouring into the industry to create the all-important charging infrastructure. At the end of June, there were 81,000 public charging stations in China, up 65% compared to the end of 2015. During the same period, the number of private charging stations rose 12% to more than 50,000, according to the National Energy Administration.

Investments in charging stations

Private entrepreneurs, large Chinese car companies, private equity funds and companies with excess cash are all looking to get involved. Investments are being made in companies that manufacture charging systems; companies that construct and operate charging stations; and companies that provide a wide range of ancillary services to EV customers.

In July 2014, , a Hong Kong-based global leader in prefabricated E-Houses and electrical substations, funded a separate charging subsidiary, which is believed to be the first substantial investment in the industry by a private company. TGOOD has more than 30 patents in EV charging station technology, and in 2015, the company successfully completed an electric taxi charging depot in Qingdao. Additional city-wide projects are slated for construction in Beijing, Tianjin, Hefei and Huizhou.

In September, 2015, Beijing Dianzhuang Technology Co, a start-up that builds and rents charging posts, said it received “tens of millions of yuan” from LeEco, a Chinese internet entertainment giant that is often referred to as the “Netflix of China.” Leveraging its internet content, capability and subscriber base, LeEco itself has begun to design and produce connected EVs and understands the importance of the charging infrastructure to the industry’s development. , LeEco’s founder and chief executive, said that building a charging infrastructure is the biggest obstacle for the new-energy auto market in China, and that selling electric cars before building charging posts “won’t work.”

In October, 2015, SAIC it has invested RMB 300 million ($45 million) to set up a charging subsidiary, whose services will include the construction of charging systems and terminal networks and other services for NEVs in Shanghai’s Huangpu District. SAIC’s new subsidiary plans to build 50,000 public charging piles in China by 2020.

Finally, in February of this year, Chargerlink, a Shenzhen-based start-up focused on providing charging station solutions for EV manufacturers such as Tesla, BMW, Nissan and BYD, $20 million from a group of venture capital firms. Chargerlink plans to expand its product line to include location based services at charging stations.

China is now the undisputed global leader in NEVs

Going forward, China’s goal is to have 4.8 million charging stations in operation by 2020, capable of meeting the charging needs of 5 million EVs. Almost one-half of the charging stations will be located in three smog-affected regions of China—the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Area, the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta. In addition to the Central Government’s initiatives, municipalities such as Beijing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Guangzhou have formulated their own plans for EV and charging station popularization.

After an initial round of industry hype nearly ten years ago, punctuated by legendary investor Warren Buffet’s decision to buy 10% of BYD for $230 million, China’s EV industry fizzled and went to sleep. Manufacturers and consumers alike lost interest, largely because the development of an adequate charging infrastructure seemed a long way off.

This time around, the trend is on more solid footing with both favorable government policies and strong capital support from the private sector. China is now the undisputed global leader in NEVs, a title it is likely to hold for a long time to come.

Next you want highways that have built in antennae to provide energy to electric vehicles. In South Korea a bus line was built a few years ago that delivered energy to the bus that way. That would provide electric vehicle unlimited range within a network of those highways. The cars can follow the antennae and so do not need the attention of the "driver". A more simple system than the google way. Electric vehicles will then need smaller batteries which reduces weight and costs.

I prefer this concept over wireless. Note, the truck has a fossil fule engine to go off the grip for a short distance to unload, rest etc.

The concern of wireless is that wireless high power transmission is less efficient than wired, it rely on high frequency microwave which is more dangerous to human nearby especially the passengers. It is similar to wireless communication is always slower than wired counterpart.


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