Briefly

BEIJING

China honors models of rural development

China has honored 3,274 villages and towns as models of rural development. The villages and towns have witnessed quality rural development, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Among the national models are 136 villages with GDP above 100 million yuan ($15.3 million) and 91 towns with GDP of more than 1 billion yuan each, said Shao Jiancheng, deputy director of the ministry's rural industry development department.

SHAANXI

Panda numbers rise in nature reserves

Shaanxi became the world's third-largest giant panda breeding center, with 32 new captive-bred panda cubs having been born in the province over the past five years, provincial forestry authorities said recently. There are currently about 345 wild pandas in Shaanxi province, the highest density of the species in China, said Dang Shuangren, director of the Shaanxi Forestry Bureau.

YUNNAN

Province sets up walnut gene pool

Yunnan province has developed a walnut gene pool with a total of 2,005 walnut germplasm collections. The gene pool is believed to be the largest genebank for the Juglans sigillata, also called the iron walnut, said Wang Weibin, deputy chief of the provincial forestry and grassland bureau. The genebank is part of the forestry germplasm resource preservation system developed by the province. To promote the ecological protection and industrial development of the forestry and grassland, the province has set up 5,551 tree seed production bases with a total area of 55,200 hectares, Wang said.

BEIJING

Aerospace TV series begins shooting

The Great Aerospace, a television series centering on stories behind China's space projects, began shooting on Sunday. The series will focus on stories behind the development of China's major space programs such as manned spaceflight, the Chang'e lunar exploration program and the space station project, and show the audience how the enterprising spirit of aerospace workers has been passed down through generations.

Xinhua - China Daily