China's major science facilities to enter new development phase

BEIJING, March 11 (Xinhua) -- During the ongoing "two sessions," the annual meetings of China's top legislature and top political advisory body, several scientists have shared exciting updates about the country's major science and technology infrastructure projects.

These facilities, which include massive telescopes and deep underground laboratories, are entering a new phase of development during the country's 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).

China has highlighted the importance of these facilities in the draft outline of its new five-year plan, calling for their continued construction and more efficient use.

Wang Chi, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) and an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who also serves as the director of the National Space Science Center, noted a significant shift in how these projects are being planned, in an interview with China Science Daily.

"The approach to laying out our major science infrastructure has entered a new stage," he said, explaining that the focus has moved from being primarily for basic research to serving both basic and applied needs. The strategy is also shifting from individual projects to collaborative clusters, with better management throughout their entire lifecycles.

Good news came from several prominent projects. Wang, who also leads the Chinese Meridian Project-Phase II, noted that this project successfully passed national acceptance inspection in March 2025, marking the establishment of the world's most comprehensive ground-based regional monitoring network for space weather.

Looking ahead, plans are in place to use this network as a core for broad international collaboration, aiming to create a comprehensive monitoring chain around the globe. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the goal is to deepen the integration of the project's phases, improve its operational efficiency, and expand its applications to provide more accurate space weather warnings for spacecraft, Wang said.

Jiang Peng, an NPC deputy and the chief engineer of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), also shared updates about this world-famous "China Sky Eye." Since becoming fully operational in 2020, the telescope has consistently produced important scientific findings. Most recently, in January, it helped an international research team find key evidence about the origin of mysterious fast radio bursts.

Jiang revealed that his team is planning a major upgrade called the "Core Array." This would involve building dozens of antennas, each 40 meters in diameter, to work together with the main telescope. This will dramatically improve its resolution, like turning a "sketch pencil" into a high-definition "digital camera." The project is in its final evaluation stage, with key technologies already developed and tested.

Wang Yifang, an NPC deputy and the project manager for the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory, revealed a major achievement from his project. In November 2025, the facility produced its first physical results, which measured two key parameters of neutrino oscillation with better precision. The achievement surpassed the progress made by similar international experiments over the past decade. Over the next three to four years, the experiment is expected to determine the mass order of neutrinos, a major unanswered question in physics.

Looking toward the future, Wang Chi believes that the fields of space science will enter a critical period of strategic transformation in its major scientific and technological infrastructure. He suggested that future space science facilities should be closely aligned with major national projects, like the crewed lunar missions and the International Lunar Research Station. He also recommended setting up special programs to support forward-looking research on concepts that could define the future of science, such as space particle manipulation and next-generation space observatories.

For particle physics, Wang Yifang emphasized that having built the necessary infrastructure, the priority must now be the pursuit of excellence.

Jiang echoed this sentiment, saying that his team is continuously working on key technologies, ensuring they are domestically produced and also exploring their applications for national strategic needs. ■