China has made a series of achievements in science and technology over the past month as the country quickens its pace in becoming a leading science and tech power by the middle of the century.

China has been a leader in quantum technologies, which eliminate the possibility of wiretapping and secure communication. In early September, it was announced the Beijing-Shanghai quantum communication network has met requirements to open for service.

The 2,000-km network, the world’s first, will be used for secure data transmission in the military, finance and government affairs fields.

The country has also completed a test of its high-throughput satellite Shijian-13, designating it as Zhongxing-16. With a transfer capacity of 20 Gbps, the satellite is capable of providing better Internet access on planes and high-speed trains, as well as in less-developed regions.

In a step toward launching a Mars probe around 2020, planners have mapped out a 400-million-yuan (61 million U.S. dollars) development plan to turn a red rock basin in Qaidam basin in northwest China’s Qinghai Province into a Mars scientific research base and eco-tourism site.

The base is expected to consist of a “Mars community” and a “Mars campsite.” The campsite will have a number of experimental module-like accommodations.

Underground research has also moved swiftly. Researchers recently acquired hot dry rock (HDR), with temperatures of 236 degrees Celsius, from 3,705 meters below Gonghe basin in Qinghai Province.

HDR is usually buried 3,000 to 10,000 meters under the earth’s surface. It can be used to generate clean electricity via its high temperatures. The breakthrough means China is a step closer to easing environmental problems related to the greenhouse effect and acid rain.

China has made innovation the core of its 13th five-year plan (2016-2020), with the aim of becoming an “innovation nation” by 2020, an international leader in innovation by 2030, and a world powerhouse in scientific and technological innovation by 2050.

“We will accelerate R&D and commercialization of new materials, artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, bio-pharmacy, 5G mobile communications, and other technology to develop industrial clusters in these fields,” said a government work report issued this year.

Such efforts will help the country improve convenience of transportation, raise living standards, resolve energy resource shortages, and boost economic development.

Developers said on Wednesday that track has been laid for China’s longest high-speed railway at high latitudes, and the railway is scheduled to open in June 2018.

Running at 200 km per hour, the 343-km railway linking Harbin, capital of the northeast province of Heilongjiang, and Jiamusi in the same province, runs through four tunnels and over 120 bridges. It will cut travel time to 1.5 hours from 7 hours.

On the environmental front, an in-orbit test of China’s first orbiting carbon observatory satellite was successfully completed in September. Scientists will convert magnetic signals received from the satellite into visible spectral signals, and then calculate the concentration of carbon dioxide.

While development of science and technology promises a better future, it also saves the lives of millions of people today.

According to a study published in late August, Chinese scientists have found a compound that helps a tumor-targeting virus kill liver cancer more effectively while sparing healthy cells, offering new hope for treating the world’s second most common cancer killer.

A therapy that uses viruses to selectively kill cancer cells is rapidly progressing through clinical evaluation, but the therapeutic efficacy in humans has been less than expected from pre-clinical studies, according to the study published in the U.S. journal Science Translational Medicine.

China needs science and technology more than ever and the country’s scientists should occupy the world’s science and technology high ground, said Bai Chunli, president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

The quickest and easiest way to achieve innovation is through a global cooperation network to boost innovation.

The G20 Blueprint on Innovative Growth, adopted at the Hangzhou summit in September last year, commits governments to creating a favorable environment for creativity and development.

Scientific innovation was also a central topic at the Belt and Road forum in Beijing in May, with China proposing a Belt and Road Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation Action Plan.

A science and technology cooperation network along the Belt and Road will be completed in 2030, Bai said.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has stressed the importance of vocational education in boosting products made in China.

Li made the remarks while inspecting Tianjin University of Technology and Education on Friday.

“While implementing the strategy of innovation-driven development, we need to encourage innovation on the one hand and translate good ideas into high-quality products on the other hand,” he said during the inspection ahead of Teachers’ Day, which falls on Sept. 10.

China needs to cultivate more professionals with higher quality, promote the spirit of the craftsman and encourage enterprises of various sizes to provide fine products amid efforts to boost the “Made in China” brand, Li said.

During his inspection, the premier extended festive greetings to the teachers.

He called for more efforts to foster a good environment of respecting teachers and valuing education and improve the quality of education to serve the country’s economic and social development.

Nanjing has become China’s first International City of Peace.

In the notorious Nanjing Massacre during World War II, about 300,000 Chinese people lost their lives and 20,000 women were raped, said J. Fred Arment, executive director of International Cities of Peace in a video speech.

This history makes people remember the war and makes them more aware of the significance of peace, he said.

Nanjing in east China’s Jiangsu Province was an ancient capital for six of China’s dynasties. The freezing winter of 1937 saw brutal killing by invading Japanese troops. One person was killed every 12 seconds.

A total of 172 cities in about 50 countries and regions are now on the International Cities of Peace list, according to its website, including Coventry in England, Bern in Switzerland, Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Berlin, Germany.

Liu Cheng, UNESCO Chair on Peace Studies and a professor at Nanjing University, said that there were certain requirements for becoming an International City of Peace.

“For instance, the city might be traumatized by war or have witnessed big peace-related events,” he said. “It should also be advanced in peace studies and activities.”

More than two years ago, Liu’s Institute for Peace Studies, together with the Institute of Nanjing Massacre History and International Peace, submitted an application to the International Cities of Peace.

“What was left by history was not hatred, but our awareness of peace,” he said.

“Nanjing is among the cities that felt the greatest pain in World War II, and the Nanjing Massacre left us indelible memories,” said Zhang Jianjun, executive chairman of the Institute of Nanjing Massacre History and International Peace. “So we understand better how valuable peace is.”

Peace education has always been emphasized in Nanjing. Nanjing University is the first university to conduct research on peace studies in China.

Kawasaki Akira, a representative with the Japanese NGO Peace Boat, said that the designation of Nanjing as an International City of Peace could help China cherish peace and Japan reflect on itself.

“Peace does not only mean ‘no war,'” said Lee Ji Won, a professor at Daelim University of Republic of Korea. “Peace also means reducing violence, improving justice and safeguarding human rights.”

“Peace is the only way out for human beings,” said Cao Lubao, a publicity official with Nanjing City. “People from all countries should take lessons from history and enhance communication.”

The Ministry of Public Security has issued warnings about road accidents related to the fast-growing food delivery business in cities.

In east China’s Nanjing City alone, three people died and 2,473 were injured in 3,242 road accidents related to such services in the first half of this year, according to figures released by the ministry’s traffic management bureau.

Seventy-six such cases occurred in Shanghai Municipality in the same period, according to the bureau.

Delivery workers riding electric bikes are frequently seen racing through streets as a growing number of people, especially the young, order food online.

Some delivery staff use mobile phones while driving, and some have been found to violate regulations, including speeding or running red lights, according to the bureau.

The bureau stressed abiding by laws and regulations and urged online catering companies to raise the safety awareness of delivery workers.

The first land compensation funds were granted Saturday to a farmer who gave up his land for the Xiongan New Area.

The New Area, which covers Xiongxian, Rongcheng and Anxin counties in Hebei Province, is about 100 kilometers south of Beijing. It will facilitate the coordinated development of Beijing and the surrounding region.

A temporary administrative center will be built in Rongcheng. For the construction, about 1,000 mu (about 66.7 hectares) of land was taken from 240 farmer households.

The affected farmers can receive 1,500 yuan (about 231.6 U.S. dollars) per mu annually as land compensation, and another 1,500 yuan in compensation for agricultural losses.

Jiang Junming from Mazhuang Village was the first to sign a land contract with the local government. He received 4,147.5 yuan as compensation on Saturday.

“The amount is greater than what I can earn from crops on the land,” he said. “I am proud as a native of Xiongan. Our lives will surely be better in the future.”

The temporary administrative center will include the Party working committee of Xiongan, its management committee, offices of some enterprises in the new area, and serve other functions such as hosting receptions, conferences, and exhibitions.