January 6, 2017

Motorists in southwestern China can get around a little quicker this week, if they are willing to brave stupefying heights to do so. In late December 2016, the Beipanjiang Bridge opened to traffic after three years of construction. If you are afraid of heights, don’t look down! China’s newest bridge is the highest in the world.

The Beipanjiang Bridge, the world’s highest bridge, soars among the clouds above the Beipan River in southwestern China. Credit: © VCG/Getty Images

As you probably know, a bridge is a structure used by people and vehicles to cross areas that are obstacles to travel. Engineers build bridges over lakes, rivers, canyons, and busy highways and railroads. China’s Beipanjiang Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge. Cable-stayed bridges are similar to better-known suspension bridges. Both types of bridges have roadways that hang from cables, and both have towers. In a cable-stayed bridge, however, the cables that support the roadway are connected directly to the towers, rather than being hung from two or more main cables that span the towers (as is the case with suspension bridges). Suspension bridges usually have only two towers, but cable-stayed bridges often have one, two, or several towers—as many as are needed.

Cable-stayed bridge. Credit: WORLD BOOK illustration

The Beipanjiang Valley plunges some 1,500 feet (500 meters) to the Beipan River below the new bridge, creating the need for a simple, two-tower design. The Beipanjiang Bridge is 4,400 feet (1,340 meters) long, with a main span (distance between the two towers) of 2,363 feet (720 meters). Looking over the side of the bridge’s main span is like looking from the top of Chicago’s Willis Tower to the streets below—a mighty long drop. The Beipanjiang Bridge is an architectural marvel, but it is also practical, greatly reducing travel times between China’s Guizhou and Yunnan provinces.

The Beipanjiang Bridge may be the highest, but it is not the longest. The Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, a suspension bridge in Japan, spans 12,831 feet (3,911 meters). Its main span alone is over a mile (1.5 kilometers) long. The Beipanjiang Bridge is not the tallest bridge, either. The piers (supports that hold towers in cable-stayed and suspension bridges) hug each side of the Beipanjiang Valley, so neither pier-tower structure is particularly tall. The tallest bridge in the world is the Millau Viaduct in France, another cable-stayed bridge. It measures 1,089 feet (332 meters) tall from the base of one its piers to the top of the tower. Drivers crossing the Beipanjiang Bridge won’t care much, however, if it isn’t the longest or the tallest. A simple glance out the car window shows that the ground is a long, long way down.

May 24, 2016

Last Friday, May 20, Tsai Ing-wen became the first woman president of Taiwan, an island nation in the South China Sea. Tsai, of the Democratic Progressive Party, won election back in January, easily defeating Eric Chu of Taiwan’s incumbent—and long dominant—Kuomintang party. In the few months between election and inauguration, Tsai assembled a new Cabinet and appointed people to senior government positions, leaning on professional capacity over partisan politics. She announced green energy and biotechnology initiatives aimed at improving Taiwan’s faltering economy. She also vowed to keep Taiwan in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement and maintain strong investment in national defense.

Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen gestures to supporters after her election victory in January 2016. She took office as Taiwan’s first woman president in May. Credit: © Damir Sagolj, Reuters

Taiwan’s most pressing issue, however, is its often-rocky relationship with its giant neighbor across the Taiwan Strait, the People’s Republic of China. China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province, but Taiwan considers itself an independent nation. Tsai has vowed to protect Taiwan’s democracy and freedom. She has also taken a pragmatic and diplomatic tone when dealing with China, and hopes to maintain the existing status quo. Under current conditions, Taiwan largely acts independently but refrains from provoking China by not openly proclaiming its independence.

Tsai Ing-wen was born on Aug. 31, 1956, in Fangshan Township, located in Pingtung County in southern Taiwan. By the time Tsai was a teenager, her family had moved to Taipei. Tsai studied law in Taiwan, the United States, and in the United Kingdom, and taught law in Taipei before entering politics.

Tsai—affectionately called “Little Ing” by her supporters—boasts a few other “firsts” besides being Taiwan’s first woman president. She is also the nation’s first unmarried president with no children (but she proudly exhibited her two cats on the campaign trail). She is the first president of Hō-ló, Hakka, and aboriginal Taiwanese descent. Tsai is also the first Taiwanese president who was not previously mayor of Taipei. In fact, she is the first president to have never before held an elected post.

November 9, 2015

Over the weekend, the leaders of China and Taiwan met for the first time in more than 60 years. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou met for dinner in Singapore on November 7. Although the meeting was seen as a largely symbolic gesture, it represented a major step toward normalizing relations between the two governments.

In 1946, a civil war broke out in China between supporters of the Communist Party and the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party). The war ended in 1949, after the Communists drove the Nationalists from China’s mainland. The Communist leader, Mao Zedong, proclaimed the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, based in Beijing. The Nationalists fled to the island of Taiwan, where they established the Republic of China, based in Taipei.

Tensions between the two countries have deep historical roots. Following a period of unrest, Kuomintang (Nationalist) Party leader Chiang Kai-shek led a campaign to unite China under a single central government. At first, members of China’s Communist Party aided the Nationalists. In 1927, however, the Nationalists turned against the Communists, and hundreds of Communists were executed. The Nationalists captured Beijing in 1928 and gained control of China. The Communists continued to fight the Nationalists. Full-scale fighting in a civil war between the two parties began in 1946. In 1949, the Communists captured Beijing and announced the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalists fled to Taiwan. Since then, the heads of the two governments had not met until this past weekend.

Today, China regards Taiwan as a renegade province, and Taiwan considers itself an independent nation. Ma and Xi, who assumed the presidencies of their nations in 2008 and 2013, respectively, have worked to reduce tensions and increase trade and cultural links between their countries. Many Taiwanese people are suspicious of China’s increased influence in their country, particularly in light of a Taiwanese presidential election scheduled for January 2016. Ma and the Nationalists have lost a large amount of support in recent years. The party suffered widespread defeat in 2014 local elections that analysts viewed as a referendum on Taiwan’s relations with China. Following the defeat, Ma resigned as party chairman, though he remained in office as president.

Other Behind the Headlines articles

• Massive Pro-Democracy Demonstrations Clog Hong Kong

Back in Time articles

• China (2013)
• Taiwan (2008)

November 4, 2015

Territorial disputes disrupted a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this week. ASEAN is an organization of 10 Southeast Asian countries. It works for peace and stability in the region by promoting political, economic, cultural, and social cooperation among its members. Delegates from member nations meet each year to discuss policy and consider development projects. Officials from China and the United States, neither of which are ASEAN members, also attended this week’s meeting.

The China Sea is the name of two seas of the Pacific Ocean along the east coast of Asia. The East China Sea extends north from Taiwan to Japan and the Koreas. The South China Sea is connected to the East China Sea by the Taiwan Strait. The South China Sea includes the Gulf of Tonkin and Gulf of Thailand on the west and Manila Bay on the east. The ownership of several island groups in the area, including the Paracel, Senkaku, and Spratly islands, is disputed by neighboring countries. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

A major issue in recent years has been China’s increasing activity in the South China Sea. These efforts include land reclamation projects and the construction of runways and other structures on islands or coral reefs in regions over which China claims ownership. However, these ownership claims are disputed by Brunei, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Some of the disputed areas have rich fishing waters and lie along major shipping lanes. Some experts believe that deposits of oil and natural gas may lie under the seabed beneath several of the islands. In addition, some international security experts believe China’s actions in the South China Sea signal a military buildup. Chinese officials claim the developments are for civilian purposes.

Traditionally, at the end of an annual ASEAN summit, representatives agree on a closing statement addressing the issues discussed at the meeting. At this week’s meeting, held in Malaysia, representatives clashed over whether or not to mention China’s land reclamation activities in the closing statement. U.S. officials claimed that Chinese representatives strongly objected to mentioning Chinese developments in the statement. China, in turn, accused “certain countries” from outside the region of interfering and trying to include irrelevant information in the statement. Ultimately, no closing statement was issued because no agreement could be reached. U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter noted that “this was an ASEAN decision but in our view no statement is better than one that avoids the important issue of China’s reclamation and militarization in the South China Sea.”

August 14, 2015

On August 12, 2015, a fire at a warehouse that stored toxic chemicals in the port city of Tianjin, China, caused a pair of explosions that left at least 56 people dead and more than 700 injured. More than 20 of the dead were firefighters. Investigators are not yet sure what caused the explosions, which caused widespread damage.

In the port city of Tianjin (directly below Beijing on the map), a pair of explosions killed dozens of people. (World Book map; map data © MapQuest.com, Inc.)

At about 10:50 p.m. on Wednesday, August 12, firefighters responded to a fire call at the warehouse, which reportedly stored dangerous chemicals used in a variety of industrial processes. Around 11:30 p.m., an explosion occurred, quickly followed by a second, much larger explosion. The explosions sent shockwaves through the city, destroying shipping containers near the warehouse and damaging nearby residential buildings. The explosions were so powerful they registered on seismometers (earthquake-monitoring equipment) and were felt many miles away. The explosions also sent a fireball into the sky above Tianjin that could be seen from space. Buildings surrounding the warehouse caught fire. Some were still burning this morning, two days later. Military chemical experts have been called in to advise on how to fight the fires that still burn.

June 2, 2015

One day after the Eastern Star cruise liner capsized in the Yangtze River in China, rescue workers continue to tap on the hull of the ship, listening for sounds indicating there are passengers still alive inside the boat. On Monday evening, June 1, (Chinese time), the four-story cruise ship overturned with 458 people—both passengers and crew members—aboard. Twenty-four hours later, 5 bodies had been recovered and only 14 people have been rescued. Even if there are passengers still alive and trapped in air pockets inside the ship, time is running out for them. A large number of the passengers were elderly people.

On June 2, 2015, rescuers stand upon the hull of the capsized cruise ship Eastern Star, in the Yangtze River. There were 406 passengers, 5 tour guides, and 47 crew members aboard when the ship overturned. (c Stringer-Imaginechina)

There are more than 100 divers at the site, but the rescue is complex. In order to cut an opening in the hull of the ship, the Eastern Star could first need to be towed to shallow waters. The area of the Yangtze in which the ship overturned is more than 50 feet (15 meters) deep. Once rescuers cut into the ship, it could release the air pockets holding it up, causing it to sink to the bottom. Thus, the rescue method being used is listening for sounds and alerting divers as to the location of possible survivors.

Experts suspect that the weather on the evening of June 1 led to the tragedy. The boat could carry up to  534 people, so it was not overloaded. Some of the few survivors reported strong winds and lightning before the ship capsized. A cyclone was reported in the area at the time of the disaster.

Update: As of June 4, 2015, rescuers did cut a number of holes into the ship’s hull, but no one was found. As of the 4th, the number of people rescued remains at 14, while the bodies recovered is up to 75. Some 370 people are still missing. Workers welded the holes cut into the ship closed after their search and were planning on righting the ship to continue searching for the dead.

October 1, 2014

Student protesters in Hong Kong vowed today to continue their massive pro-democracy demonstrations until Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung resigns. They accuse Leung of being a puppet of the central Chinese government in Beijing. Demonstrators have clogged the streets of the city’s central business district for days, demanding that Beijing stop vetting candidates for Hong Kong’s next chief executive. Last weekend, Hong Kong police, under Leung’s direction, used batons and fire volleys of tear gas in an attempt to disperse the huge crowds.

In September, the Chinese government announced that although it would allow the people of Hong Kong to elect their next leader, the candidates would be restricted to those approved by a committee consisting of people appointed by the government. The last British governor of Hong Kong, Lord Patten, has accused the Chinese government of breaching commitments it made before taking over sovereignty from the United Kingdom in 1997: “They said these matters [the election of leaders] were within the autonomy of the Hong Kong government, and they are now reneging on that.”

Highly prosperous Hong Kong is one of the world’s greatest seaports. (© Gareth Brown, Corbis)

Under the 1997 agreement, Hong Kong was to be governed under a “one country, two systems” arrangement that gave it some autonomy and freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland. However the central government in Beijing has over time tightened its control over the special administrative region. Today, the president of China, Xi Jinping, stated that he would “steadfastly safeguard” Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability: “We must never waver in our faith and must never separate ourselves from the people.” China experts interpret Xi’s comments as meaning “we have no intention of giving in to the demonstrators.”

Additional World Book articles:

• China 1997 (a Back in Time article)
• Hong Kong 1997: Capitalism Comes to China (a special report)

January 30, 2014

The Jade Rabbit, China’s troubled moon rover, is facing its possible demise with comforting messages sent to well-wishers using social media. Thousands of Chinese, in turn, have sent encouragements to the little robot as it struggles to continue its mission after suffering a potentially crippling mechanical problem. The six-wheeled rover, which was deployed soon after the Chinese Chang’e-3 spacecraft touched down on the surface of the moon on December 16, 2013, was supposed to study the geology of the lunar surface and search for minerals and other natural resources for three months. On January 25, 2014, however, Chinese authorities reported that the rover had experienced a “mechanical control abnormality” as it prepared for the lunar night. Although Chinese scientists are working to solve the problem, they realize that the problem may doom the mission, and the Jade Rabbit (Yutin in the Mandarin Chinese language).

The Jade Rabbit rover is powered by solar energy during the day and by batteries at night. To survive the bitterly cold temperatures of the lunar night, which can be as low as or -290 ° F (-180° C), the rover is supposed to go into a hibernation mode. The rover’s camera and antenna retract, and a solar panel folds over to cover the rover like a blanket. A battery-power heater keeps the rover warm through the lunar night, which lasts 14 Earth days. Another solar panel is positioned to catch rays from the sun when it rises again.

As the rover was preparing for the lunar night, a malfunction prevented the rover from successfully reaching hibernation mode. Scientists have not described the exact nature of the mechanical problem, but they have indicated that the rover may not survive until the lunar sunrise. For now, the rover is dormant.

The Chinese rover Jade Rabbit appears on the surface of the moon in a photograph taken by the Chang’e lander. (CCTV.com English)

China’s state-run Xinhua news is covering the status of the Jade Rabbit in first-person reports via social media. In one message, the Jade Rabbit said, “Although I should’ve gone to bed this morning, my masters discovered something abnormal with my mechanical control system…. My masters are staying up all night working for a solution….  Nevertheless, I’m aware that I might not survive this lunar night.”

The Jade Rabbit appears to be facing its possible fate with the stoicism and grace characteristic of the most intrepid explorers.  Chinese news reports quoted the rover saying, “This is space exploration…. the danger comes with its beauty. I am but a tiny dot in the vast picture of mankind’s adventure in space. The sun has fallen, and the temperature is dropping so quickly… to tell you all a secret, I don’t feel that sad. I was just in my own adventure story–and like every hero, I encountered a small problem.”

Chinese scientists must wait until February 8 to learn the fate of the brave Jade Rabbit.

Additional World Book articles:

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
• Space exploration (2012) (a Back in Time article)
• Space exploration (2008) (a Back in Time article)
• Space exploration (2003) (a Back in Time article)

December 16, 2013

With the touchdown of the Chang’e-3 spacecraft, China has become the third country to “soft land” an unpiloted spacecraft on the moon. In a soft landing, the craft and its equipment are not damaged during the landing and so can be used for observation and scientific experiments. The last unpiloted soft landing on the lunar surface was made in 1976 by a craft launched by the former Soviet Union (now Russia). The Soviet Union also became the first country to soft-land a probe on the moon, in 1966. Surveyor 1, the first soft-lander from the United States, touched down later in 1966. The success of the Change’e mission not only advances Chinese efforts to explore the moon but also efforts to eventually land taikonauts (astronauts) on the lunar surface.

The Chinese rover Jade Rabbit appears on the surface of the moon in a photograph taken by the Chang'e lander. (CCTV.com English)

Several hours after landing, Chang’e-3 released a rover named Jade Rabbit (Yutin in the Mandarin Chinese language). In Chinese mythology, Chang’e is a moon goddess who is accompanied by a jade rabbit. The six-wheeled rover, which weighs about 300 pounds (135 kilograms), is powered by solar energy during the day and batteries at night. It is scheduled to study the geology of the lunar surface and search for minerals and other natural resources for three months. The landing craft is expected to conduct experiments and observations from its touchdown site in Sinus Iridum (the Bay of Rainbows) for a year.

Additional World Book articles:

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
• Space exploration
• Space exploration (2012) (a Back in Time article)
• Space exploration (2008) (a Back in Time article)
• Space exploration (2003) (a Back in Time article)

June 6, 2013

An international team of scientists have announced the discovery of a fossil that is the oldest known primate. Found in what is now central China’s Hubei Province, Archicebus achilles represents both a new genus and a new species in the primate family tree. The fossil’s genus name,  Archicebus, translates to “ancient monkey.” The species name, achilles, relates to the ancient Greek warrior Achilles and refers to the primate’s ankle and heel bones.

The beginning of the Eocene Epoch marks a split in the primate family tree. A new fossil, Archicebus achilles, dates to soon after that time and may help scientists to better understand primate evolution. (World Book illustration)

Archicebus also represents a missing link in the primate fossil record. The mouse-sized primate fossil is approximately 55 million years old, from the Paleogene Period.  That places Archicebus near the beginning of the Eocene Epoch (56 to 34 million years ago), at a critical juncture in primate evolution, when tarsiers and anthropoids (monkeys, apes, and humans) branched off in development.

The newly discovered tiny primate would have been an agile animal that lived in trees, feeding on insects. Its hands and feet indicate it would have leaped and grasped to move from branch to branch. Archicebus was around 2.7 inches (7 centimeters) in length and would have weighed less than 1 ounce.  (Scientists  estimated a weight of between 20 to 30 grams.) Archicebus and another early primate, the 4-inch- (10-centimeter-) long Eosimias centennicus, announced in 2000 and also found in China, puts Asia at the center of early primate evolution.

Additional World Book Articles:

• Emergence of the Primates (a Special Report)
• Paleontology 2000 (a Back in Time article)