Asia's first cylindrical 'offshore oil and gas processing plant'—'Hai Kui No.1'—takes root in deep sea; the world's first 400G all-optical inter-provincial backbone network link officially commercialized; the world's largest diameter shaft boring machine 'Dream' launches operations into urban deep underground space... Since the beginning of this year, a batch of major engineering projects have been solidly advanced, not only shouldering the burden for stabilizing growth but also demonstrating hardcore technological strength.

Reaching the sky and sea, crossing mountains and ridges, chasing wind and sun, major engineering projects have become important 'testing grounds' for engineering technology, continuously moving toward 'green' and 'new', injecting strong momentum into high-quality development.

Moving Toward 'Green', Low-Carbon Transformation Gains Momentum

On May 26, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier 'Genoa Spirit' from Australia successfully completed unloading operations at CNOOC's Yancheng 'Green Energy Port' in China. So far, the total LNG throughput at Yancheng 'Green Energy Port' has reached nearly 4.5 million tons, enough to meet the annual natural gas demand of over 30 million households.

Not far away, six 270,000-cubic-meter LNG storage tanks under construction at Yancheng 'Green Energy Port' are undergoing nitrogen replacement operations, making final preparations for full commissioning. By then, Yancheng 'Green Energy Port' will become China's largest LNG reserve base.

New energy projects start construction one after another, and are put into operation and reach capacity; wind turbines stand in rows, rotating in the wind; rows of photovoltaic panels are like a blue ocean, scattered everywhere... Green energy surges across the country.

Behind the super projects of unlimited 'wind' and 'light', there is technological support from 'super equipment' and 'super materials'. 'All storage tanks at Yancheng Green Energy Port are independently designed and constructed using CNOOC's key technologies for ultra-large LNG storage tanks,' introduced Deng Qing, General Manager of Yancheng Green Energy Port. While ensuring sufficient natural gas reserves, Yancheng Green Energy Port continuously promotes the optimization and transformation of the regional energy structure, achieving both ecological and economic benefits.

Moving toward 'green', traditional industry upgrading, technological transformation, and frontier innovation advance side by side. Recently, the world's largest coal-to-ethanol project undertaken by China Chemical Engineering—the Carbon Xin Technology Methanol Comprehensive Utilization Project—was fully completed and put into operation. The project adopts clean coal technology to produce petroleum substitute products, realizing upstream and downstream integration of the industrial chain and maximizing the conversion of resource advantages into economic benefits. At the Yellow Sea coastal dock, accompanied by a loud 'start work' command, China's largest offshore photovoltaic project—the CNNC Tianwan 2-million-kilowatt tidal flat photovoltaic demonstration project—officially started construction in Lianyungang, Jiangsu. At the edge of the Mu Us Desert in Gansu, China's ** ten-million-kilowatt multi-energy complementary energy base—Huaneng Longdong Energy Base—is under vigorous construction.

French newspaper Les Echos published an article stating that China is developing green industries at an astonishing pace, benefiting global consumers and foreign companies throughout the supply chain.

Extending Toward 'Depth', Opening Up New Development Horizons

In Jing'an District, Shanghai, the world's largest diameter shaft boring machine 'Dream' is tunneling underground. Soon, the world's largest diameter, Shanghai's ** vertical excavation (shield tunneling) underground smart parking garage will be built here, achieving a 'doubling upgrade' in urban space utilization.

Underground garages are common, but what makes this one special? 'Simply put, it is equivalent to using a small street garden in the old city to build a 19-story underground parking lot vertically downward, solving the thorny problem of parking difficulties in the old city,' said a relevant person in charge of China Railway Construction. The garage integrates intelligent equipment, operation, monitoring, maintenance, and management. With 304 parking spaces accessible via one touch on a mobile phone, the average parking and retrieval time is only 90 seconds. 'This is also a concrete manifestation of the development of technology, equipment, and personnel to a certain stage, with the ability to solve residents' urgent difficulties and anxieties.'

Extending toward 'depth', one super project after another opens up new development horizons.

On land, deep underground space development is in full swing. From the country's largest and most complex underground space transportation complex—the Optics Valley Plaza Complex—to the country's ** truly station-city integrated extra-large underground comprehensive passenger transport hub—Xili Hub—the design, construction, and operation technology system for extra-large underground transportation hubs in Chinese city centers is being gradually perfected, also opening up new space for urban development. 'Seeking space, safety, and resources underground has become a strategic choice for national new urbanization and sustainable urban development,' said a relevant person in charge of China Railway Construction.

At sea, deepwater exploration continues unabated. Recently, with the locking and fixing of the last anchor chain, Asia's first cylindrical floating production, storage, and offloading unit 'Hai Kui No.1' completed offshore installation, laying the foundation for the commissioning within the year of China's ** deepwater oilfield secondary development project. 2.5 kilometers away, Asia's ** deepwater jacket platform 'Hai Ji No.2' has also completed all installation operations, setting two Asian records for the height and weight of offshore crude oil production platforms. Ultra-deepwater offshore oil and gas is a key direction for increasing China's oil and gas reserves and production. Advancing into the deep blue sea brings confidence in energy supply and provides strong support for economic and social development.

Climbing Toward 'Height', Strengthening Characteristic Advantage Industries

The steel dragon soars over the bay area, a long rainbow lies across the waves. On June 16, the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link passed completion acceptance, marking the successful completion of all construction tasks of this *** sea-crossing cluster project after 7 years of preliminary preparation and 7 years of arduous construction, with project quality passing the 'major test'.

The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link is 24 kilometers long, integrating 'bridges, islands, tunnels, and underwater interchanges'. It is the ** direct connection between the two major city clusters of 'Shenzhen-Dongguan-Huizhou' and 'Zhuhai-Zhongshan-Jiangmen', and is currently one of the world's most comprehensively difficult sea-crossing cluster projects.

Setting a record of 'rapid island formation in the open sea in 141 days'; independently developing the world's first self-propelled immersed tube transport and installation integrated vessel; introducing the domestic Beidou positioning system into the field of immersed tube tunnel construction for the first time... World records and industry firsts mark the 'height' of super projects.

Setting off toward 'high difficulty, new, and cutting-edge', a batch of major engineering projects provide a broad stage for the application of new technologies, new equipment, and new materials, continuously boosting the development of new quality productive forces. Various regions are also focusing on characteristic advantage industries, linking them into chains, and seizing the high ground of a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation.

In Anhui, quantum computing is advancing toward a 'dual highland' of research and industry. The Hefei Quantum Information Future Industry Science and Technology Park has become one of the first batch of future industry science and technology park construction pilots in the country, gathering more than 60 enterprises in the quantum technology industry chain. In Zhejiang, the 'Vision Valley Window' industrial complex with a total investment of about 2 billion yuan has officially started construction in Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou. China Vision Valley is building a full industrial chain of visual intelligence and has gathered more than 800 enterprises in the vision field. In Jiangsu, the new energy industry represented by photovoltaics, wind power, hydrogen energy, and new energy storage has formed an industrial cluster composed of more than 1,000 above-scale enterprises, with the export of the 'new three' leading the country.

From January to May this year, national investment in high-tech industries increased by 11.5% year-on-year. 'Scientific and technological innovation continues to empower high-quality development. The trend of high-end, intelligent, and green transformation in manufacturing is obvious, and new quality productive forces continue to be cultivated and strengthened,' said Liu Aihua, Director of the National Economic Comprehensive Statistics Department of the National Bureau of Statistics.

Moving toward 'green' and 'new', major engineering projects are full of highlights, and the future is promising.