Superfast computer starts up in Shandong

China put a prototype "exascale" computing machine - the next-generation supercomputer - into operation on Sunday, developers said.

The exascale computer is able to perform 1 quintillion - or a billion billion - calculations per second.

The Sunway exascale computer prototype was developed by the National Research Center of Parallel Computer Engineering and Technology (NRCPC); the National Supercomputing Center in Jinan, Shandong province; and the Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao).