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SCMP

We have put together stories from our coverage on science from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.
1. ‘Potassium railway’: China’s hidden card in the trade war
For over a decade, China has invested heavily to build a dual-purpose passenger and freight railway through the thick rainforest between Kunming and Vientiane, the capital of Laos. This railway has become a critical conduit for China to secure potassium – a strategic resource vital for agricultural production.
2. Chinese Nobel Prize-winning physicist Chen-ning Yang dies aged 103

Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist Chen-ning Yang died in Beijing on Saturday, weeks after marking his 103rd birthday.
3. China’s new space-borne radar tech can track stealth aircraft 24/7: study
China has rapidly expanded its on-orbit radar satellite constellation, deploying systems not only in low Earth orbit but also in high-altitude geosynchronous orbits – configurations that allow persistent surveillance over vast regions.
4. Ancient Chinese 1,600-year-old love scroll brought back to life with AI

A Chinese research team has fully restored a 1,600-year-old romantic poetry scroll with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), showcasing how centuries-old art can be given a digital rebirth and regain its charm in the present day.
5. Chinese team aims to test powerful chip on world’s largest optical telescope

Chinese researchers have developed an optical chip the size of a fingernail that can analyse light in real time with a precision once possible only with bulky laboratory instruments. They hope to test it using the largest optical telescope on Earth.
6. China mass producing next-gen quantum radar detector to track aircraft like F-22
China announced it has begun mass producing the world’s first ultra-low noise, single-photon detector featuring four channels, suggesting that powerful applications loom in everything from daily communications to national defence.
7. China’s double threat: Shanghai sinks as sea level rises fastest in 4,000 years

Shanghai is sinking while the world’s sea levels are rising fast – the fastest in 4,000 years – possibly threatening the Chinese financial hub and the global supply chain, scientists warn in a new study.


China builds world’s first ‘coal battery’, war on Alzheimer’s: 7 science highlights

UAE’s Opec exit, why Japan shared Mogami warship design with India: 7 Asia highlights

Cheaper durians for China, Hong Kong helpers camp in tents: 5 weekend reads you missed

King Charles’ gift amuses Chinese, anti-spy agency makes allegation: SCMP’s 7 highlights

SCMP Highlights

China’s double threat, a hidden card in the trade war: 7 science highlights

An outbound freight train heads for Laos from Huaihua, a city in central China’s Hunan province. Picture: Xinhua

Chen-ning Yang, “one of the greatest theoretical physicists of the 20th century”, helped to promote collaboration between Chinese and American scientists. Photo: VCG via Getty Images

The team had only a fragment of the original Luoshen Fu poem to work with. Photo: CCTV

Concept diagram of the Yuheng spectral imaging chip developed by researchers from Tsinghua University. Photo: Handout

China faces an average of US$1.5 billion in annual economic losses because of subsidence, with Shanghai alone accounting for more than US$3 billion in damages between 2001 and 2020. Photo: NurPhoto via Getty Images

China’s ‘Golden Dome’ prototype, world’s highest bridge: 7 science highlights

The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge in southwest China took three years to build. Photo: Xinhua

On May 20, US President Donald Trump announced he had selected the path forward for his ambitious Golden Dome missile defense shield. A Chinese team has announced it has its own working prototype of a global defence system. Photo: EPA-EFE

The airship-like S1500 is about the size of a basketball court and as tall as a 13-storey building. Photo: Handout

Yuan Yuan has joined Westlake University’s Institute for Theoretical Sciences. Photo: Handout

China’s fourth carrier takes shape, missing Filipino helpers found: SCMP’s 7 highlights

Apple CEO Tim Cook takes a selfie with Chinese singer-actress Wang Feifei at her music video set in Shanghai on Tuesday. Photo: Handout

China’s fourth aircraft carrier, known as the Type 004, is believed to be under construction at a shipyard, in Dalian, Liaoning province. New hull sections have been seen in the latest satellite images from the site. Photo: Handout

China has launched a drive to reduce its reliance on foreign technology, including software systems like Microsoft Office, amid rising geopolitical tensions. Photo: AP

Chuuk Lagoon in the Federated States of Micronesia, around 5,800km west of Hawaii. Photo: Julian Ryall

A woman in China woke from a coma, only to reveal that her boyfriend, who spent 200,000 yuan on her care, had abused her. Photo: SCMP composite/Sohu

The Subsea Precision Instrument Deployer with Elastic Releasing (Spider) on its recent sea trial at an undisclosed location in the South China Sea. Photo: Handout

Malaysian CEO sorry for F1 champagne shower, Singaporean wages stagnate: 7 Asia highlights

Screenshot from a viral video by travel influencer Ben Frier describing the Malaysian town of Semporna. Photo: Instagram/backpacker.ben

People walk out for a lunch break in the Raffles Place financial business district in Singapore. The manpower ministry has said labour market adjustments will come mainly through slower hiring and moderated wage growth. Photo: AFP

A party in Malaysia is asking for beef not to be served during government functions. Photo: Shutterstock

Petronas CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz (left) celebrates on the podium with champagne during the Singapore Grand Prix on October 5. Photo: Formula 1/Getty Images

The central business district skyline in Singapore. Photo: Reuters

News

China

Science

From an ancient scroll being brought back to life to China’s rail line to potassium in Laos, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting


From an ancient scroll being brought back to life to China’s rail line to potassium in Laos, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting.


Shanghai

Kunming

Laos

China’s double threat, a hidden card in the trade war: 7 science highlights

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From an ancient scroll being brought back to life to China’s rail line to potassium in Laos, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting

1. ‘Potassium railway’: China’s hidden card in the trade war

From an ancient scroll being brought back to life to China’s rail line to potassium in Laos, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting