Rescuers found the body of a missing Chinese climber on Mount Noijinkangsang to the north of the Himalayas Friday, after a day of search.

The amateur climber, surnamed Li, had gone missing while climbing the 7,206-meter-high mountain alone. He and his partner, surnamed Zhu, set up a camping base on Nov. 8.

Zhaxi Cering, deputy captain of the Tibet Mountaineering Team and a member of the rescue team, said they used a telescope to find Li’s body. Rescuers have given up efforts to retrieve the body because there is a risk of slipping if they approach the site.

The rescuers believe that Li died after plunging 600 meters from a height of 6,400 meters above sea level.

The team rushed to attempt a rescue after Li’s relative heard he had gone missing and asked the team to carry out the mission.

The two climbers did not report their activities to the Tibet Sports Bureau as required for mountaineering.

Rescuers found the body of a missing Chinese climber on Mount Noijinkangsang to the north of the Himalayas Friday, after a day of search.

The amateur climber, surnamed Li, had gone missing while climbing the 7,206-meter-high mountain alone. He and his partner, surnamed Zhu, set up a camping base on Nov. 8.

Zhaxi Cering, deputy captain of the Tibet Mountaineering Team and a member of the rescue team, said they used a telescope to find Li’s body. Rescuers have given up efforts to retrieve the body because there is a risk of slipping if they approach the site.

The rescuers believe that Li died after plunging 600 meters from a height of 6,400 meters above sea level.

The team rushed to attempt a rescue after Li’s relative heard he had gone missing and asked the team to carry out the mission.

The two climbers did not report their activities to the Tibet Sports Bureau as required for mountaineering.

China has honored Nan Rendong, founding scientist of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), with a posthumous title of “role model of our times.”

The Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee announced the decision on Friday.

Nan had worked as the chief scientist of a team who selected the site for FAST and oversaw its construction since 1994, before his death due to sickness in September at the age of 72.

He had made important contribution to the FAST project and devoted to his work without considering personal gains, said a statement issued by the department.

As a true patriot, a devoted and selfless scientist and an upright person, he should be an example of all including scientists, the statement said.

FAST, currently the world’s largest single-dish radio telescope, has identified multiple pulsars after one year of trial operation, according to the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) in October.

President Xi Jinping meets representatives attending the award ceremony on ethical role models and pioneers in Beijing, Nov 17, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

To show his concern and respect for two senior citizens who dedicated their lives to building the nation, President Xi Jinping took them by the hand and invited them to sit with him for a group picture at the Great Hall of People in Beijing.

The touching moment, captured by cameras, happened after Xi arrived on Friday morning to meet more than 600 individuals selected for their outstanding work promoting the country’s cultural and ethical progress.

One of the honorees was Huang Xuhua, 93, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering who is known as a key scientist who led the research and development of China’s nuclear-powered submarines.

Huang kept his highly sensitive mission confidential for around three decades before his great contributions were reported by Chinese media and known to the public.

The other man honored was Huang Dafa, 82, Party chief of the village of Caowangba in Zunyi, Guizhou province.

He spent more than 30 years leading villagers’ efforts to chisel about 10 kilometers of irrigation channels into the vertical sides of three karst mountains.

As Xi approached the crowd standing ready for the picture, he spotted the two gray-haired men standing with other attendees behind the chairs in front.

Xi invited them to join him, a move that visibly touched the whole crowd. The crowd burst into sustained applause before the photo was made.

The honorees were there to attend a State-level conference to receive awards for their outstanding work in advancing cultural civilization in the country’s urban and rural areas, departments, campuses and among adolescents.

Xi congratulated them and encouraged them to make persistent efforts and new contributions and set further examples in the building of socialist spiritual civilization.

At the conference, Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau and head of Central Commission for Guiding Cultural and Ethical Progress, said Xi’s meeting with the delegates shows his great emphasis on building socialist spiritual civilization.

Nationwide efforts are needed to boost traditional, revolutionary and socialist cultures and to better build up China’s spirits, values and strength, Wang said.

A 5-magnitude earthquake hit Nyingchi, Tibet at 8:31 a.m. Saturday Beijing Time, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

The epicenter was monitored at 29.88 degrees north latitude and 94.92 degrees east longitude.

The quake struck at a depth of about 6 km.