The main structure of "Etho", a solar-powered, energy-saving house jointly designed and built by 160 students from China's Peking University and the U.S. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is near completion as seen here on July 5. The 97-square-meter livable house, construction of which began in mid-June near the east gate of Peking University, will be transferred to Datong City, Shanxi Province, later this month to be showcased at the upcoming Solar Decathlon China 2013 between August 2 and 13. Apart from using renewable solar power, the house is equipped with automatic control and remote control systems, making it an intelligent dream home that can "communicate" with its occupants. It even has a robot to do the cleaning. It is the first time for the contest, launched by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2002, to be hosted in China. 22 teams from 36 universities across 13 countries and regions will display their solar dream homes this year. (Photo/Chinanews.com) (Source: China.org.cn)
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