Asia's first cylindrical "offshore oil and gas processing plant" — "Hai Kui No. 1" — has taken root in the deep sea; the world's first 400G all-optical inter-provincial backbone network link has officially entered commercial service; the world's largest-diameter shaft boring machine, "Dream No. 1," has begun operations in 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 of stabilizing growth but also demonstrating hardcore technological strength.
Reaching into the sky and diving into the sea, crossing mountains and ridges, chasing the wind and the sun — major engineering projects have become important "testing grounds" for engineering science and technology, continuously pursuing "green" and moving toward "new," injecting strong momentum into high-quality development.
　　Moving Toward "Green": Stepping Up Low-Carbon Transformation
On May 26, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier "Genoa Spirit" from Australia successfully completed its unloading operation at CNOOC's Yancheng "Green Energy Port." With this, 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 more than 30 million households.
Not far away, the 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 are starting construction one after another, being commissioned and reaching full production; wind turbines stand in rows, turning in the wind; rows of photovoltaic panels resemble a blue ocean, scattered like stars... Across the length and breadth of the country, green energy is surging.
Behind the super projects with boundless "wind" and "light" lies the technological support of "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 adequate natural gas reserves, Yancheng "Green Energy Port" continuously promotes the optimization and transformation of the regional energy structure, achieving a dual improvement in ecological and economic benefits.
Moving toward "green," traditional industries are advancing on all fronts — upgrading, technological transformation, and frontier innovation. Recently, the world's largest coal-to-ethanol project — the Carbon Xin Technology Methanol Comprehensive Utilization Project — undertaken by China Chemical Engineering, was fully completed and put into production. The project adopts clean coal technology to produce petroleum substitute products, achieving upstream-downstream integration of the industrial chain and maximizing the conversion of resource advantages into economic benefit advantages. At the Huanghai seaside wharf, accompanied by a resounding "start construction" command, China's largest offshore photovoltaic project — the CNNC Tianwan 2-million-kilowatt tidal flat photovoltaic demonstration project — officially began construction in Lianyungang, Jiangsu. At the edge of the Mu Us Desert in Gansu, construction of China's ** ten-million-kilowatt-level multi-energy complementary energy base — the Huaneng Longdong Energy Base — is in full swing.
France's Les Echos published an article stating that China is developing green industries at an astonishing pace, benefiting global consumers and also benefiting foreign companies throughout the entire supply chain.
　Extending Toward "Depth": Opening Up New Horizons for Development
In Jing'an District, Shanghai, the world's largest-diameter shaft boring machine, "Dream No. 1," is tunneling underground. Soon, the world's largest-diameter, Shanghai's ** vertical excavation (shield tunneling) underground smart garage will be built here, achieving a "doubling and upgrading" of urban space utilization.
Underground garages are common — what makes this one unusual? "Simply put, it is equivalent to using a small street-corner garden in an old urban area to build a 19-story underground parking lot vertically downward, solving the thorny problem of parking difficulties in old urban areas," introduced a relevant person in charge from China Railway Construction. The garage integrates intelligent equipment, operation, monitoring, maintenance, and management into one, with 304 parking spaces accessible with a single tap on a mobile phone, and an average parking/retrieval time of only 90 seconds. "This is also a concrete manifestation of the fact that technology, equipment, and personnel have developed to a certain stage and are capable of solving residents' 'urgent, difficult, anxious, and hopeful' problems."

Extending toward "depth," one super project after another is opening up new horizons for development.
On land, deep underground space development is in full swing. From the largest and most complex underground space transportation complex in China — the Optics Valley Square Complex — to China's ** first truly station-city integrated extra-large underground comprehensive passenger transport hub — the Xili Hub — the design, construction, and operation technology system for extra-large underground transportation hubs in Chinese city centers is being perfected step by step, 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 from China Railway Construction.
At sea, deepwater exploration continues without pause. 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 its offshore installation, laying the foundation for China's ** deepwater oilfield secondary development project to be commissioned within the year. 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 an offshore crude oil production platform. Ultra-deepwater offshore oil and gas is a key direction for increasing China's oil and gas reserves and production. Advancing into the vast deep blue sea brings confidence for energy supply security and also provides strong support for economic and social development.
　　Climbing Toward "Height": Strengthening Industries with Distinctive Advantages
An iron dragon soars across the bay area, a long rainbow lies across the waves to bridge the passage. On June 16, the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link passed completion acceptance, marking that this *** cross-sea cluster project — which underwent 7 years of preliminary preparation and 7 years of arduous construction — has successfully completed all construction tasks, and its engineering quality has passed the "major test."
The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link has a total length of 24 kilometers and integrates "bridges, islands, tunnels, and underwater interchanges" into one. It is the ** direct connection between the two major city clusters of "Shenzhen-Dongguan-Huizhou" and "Zhuhai-Zhongshan-Jiangmen," and is also one of the cross-sea cluster projects with the highest comprehensive construction difficulty in the world today.
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 domestically produced BeiDou positioning system into the field of immersed tube tunnel construction for the first time... One world record and industry first after another mark the "height" of super projects.
Setting out toward the "high, difficult, new, and cutting-edge," a batch of major engineering projects are spreading out a broad stage for the application of new technologies, new equipment, and new materials, continuously boosting the development of new quality productive forces. Various localities are also using industries with distinctive advantages as a lever, stringing beads into a chain, 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 R&D and industry; the Hefei Quantum Information Future Industry Science and Technology Park has become one of the first batch of pilot future industry science and technology parks in the country, gathering more than 60 enterprises in the quantum technology industrial chain. In Zhejiang, the "Vision Valley Window" industrial complex, with a total investment of approximately 2 billion yuan, has officially begun 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-type energy storage has formed an industrial cluster composed of more than 1,000 enterprises above designated size, and exports of the "new three" lead 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 of the manufacturing industry is obvious, and new quality productive forces continue to be cultivated and strengthened," said Liu Aihua, director of the Department of Comprehensive Statistics of the National Economy of the National Bureau of Statistics.
Pursuing "green" and moving toward "new," major engineering projects are full of highlights, and the future is promising.