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China builds world’s first high-speed train passing through sea tunnel

China is building the world’s first high-speed train that can travel through a sea tunnel at a speed of 350 kilometers per hour in Shantou Bay, South China’s Guangdong Province.

The 163-kilometer-long railway, which includes a 9,781-meter-long tunnel, has officially entered the substantive construction stage, with an investment estimated to be at 11 billion yuan ($1.6 billion), the China Central Television reported Tuesday. 

According to the report, the tunnel will pass through 17 fault rupture zones in a magnitude-8 earthquake zone, of which eight are active faults, the first underwater tunnel of its kind anywhere in the world.

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Most parts of the tunnel are located in high water pressure areas. As a result, construction personnel have to adopt measures to ensure that the tunnel structure is safe, waterproof and reliable, and that operating costs are controllable.

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Ant Group, ByteDance become world’s highest-valued unicorns: Hurun report

By the end of March China had the world’s second-highest number of unicorns, private companies whose valuations exceed $1 billion, according to the Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2020 list released by the Hurun Research Institute on Tuesday.

Among the world’s 10 highest-valued unicorns, six are Chinese companies. Alibaba’s financial arm Ant Group is the world’s largest unicorn with a valuation of $1 trillion. ByteDance, which has recently been facing a crackdown from the Trump administration, is the second highest with a valuation of $560 billion, the list showed. 

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Chinese tech firms Didi Chuxing and Kuaishou were also among the top 10. 

In total, there are 586 unicorn companies in the world, up 82 from the same time last year. 233 are US companies, making it the country with the most unicorns. China is in second with 227, followed by the UK and India. 

Unicorns in China and the US collectively account for about 80 percent of the world’s total.

The list also showed that Beijing is the “capital” of global unicorns, being home to 93, largely outnumbering San Francisco’s 68. 

Watch out for those Chinese stocks, ready for a prolonged surge.

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Huawei ramps up ‘genius’ hunt amid US chip ban

Huawei’s has accelerated its recruitment of “geniuses” from around the world as it faces intensified external pressure and a US chip ban, with one new Chinese graduate receiving a top salary of 2.01 million yuan ($287,949).

The recruitment program, reportedly directly initiated by Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei last year, has been described by analysts as a well-planned countermove amid US bullying and a technological battle with US counterparts that is expected to last for some time.

Huawei last year said that it would hire 20 to 30 top young graduates from all over the world, and that number would increase annually to enhance the team’s abilities.

Huawei’s recruitment standards for “genius youngsters” are very strict and generally require seven steps: resume screening, written examination, initial interview, supervisor interview, several ministerial interviews, president interview and human resources interview. 

Salaries for successful candidates are divided into three ranks. Thus far, only four have been offered the program’s highest salary globally.


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Huawei launches ‘Nanniwan’ project to shun US technologies

As part of a backup plan to deal with the US’ technology crackdown, Chinese tech giant Huawei has reportedly kicked off a project called “Nanniwan”南泥湾, the same name as a revolutionary site in Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, which will focus on gadgets that shun US technologies. 

A large-scale production campaign was launched in Nanniwan during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, aiming to tackle economic hardships, achieve self-sufficiency in production and insist on a protracted war against Japanese aggression. 

Using the name Nanniwan for the project shows that Huawei aims for self-sufficiency in tough times, news site chinastarmarket.cn reported Tuesday. 

Laptops, smart television displays and home automation products powered by the internet of things that fall into the category of being entirely unaffected by the US restriction policy are included in the project, the report said.

华为已启动“南泥湾”项目，意在规避含有美国技术的产品。《科创板日报》记者独家获悉，华为正在加速推进笔电（笔记本电脑）和智慧屏业务，这两大类产品不包含美国技术。8月中旬，华为将发布新款笔电产品。查阅券商报告获悉，科森科技（603626）、莱宝高科（002106）和春秋电子（603890）等公司参与笔电产业链。

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There will only be six times in the 21st century

月亮何时最圆？常会听到的一种说法是“十五的月亮十六圆”，但是在庚子鼠年的农历六月里，十五的月亮却是“十四圆”，最圆时刻出现在8月3日23时59分。天文专家表示，“十五的月亮十四圆”这种现象比较罕见。21世纪这100年中，这种情况仅会出现6次。

　　中国天文学会会员、天津市天文学会理事史志成介绍说，每逢农历初一，我们看不到月亮，叫“新月”，也叫“朔”；到了农历十五左右，我们可以看到圆圆的月亮，称为“满月”，也叫“望”。

　　根据农历历法规定，“朔”所在这一天为每月初一。但同是初一，“朔”可能发生在凌晨，或者上午、下午，也可能发生在晚上，而且每个朔望月本身也有长有短。这样，月亮最圆时刻的“望”最早可发生在农历十四的晚上，最迟可出现在农历十七的早上。但由于“朔”一定在农历的每月初一，“朔”之后平均起来要再经过14天18小时22分才是“望”，所以月亮最圆时刻的“望”以出现在农历十五、十六这两天居多，其中又以出现在农历十六为最多。

　　在21世纪的这100年中，“满月”出现在农历的十七、十六、十五和十四的次数统计结果显示，出现“满月”的次数共1241次。其中，出现次数最多的是农历十六，有579次；其次是农历十五，有468次；再次是农历十七，有188次；次数最少的是农历十四，仅有6次。

　　

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China’s first exported ultra-large-diameter shield machine penetrates first tunnel

我国自主研制出口海外的首台超大直径泥水平衡盾构机，打通了孟加拉国历史上第一条水下隧道——Chittagong Karnaphuli River Tunnel卡纳普里河河底左线隧道。

Ahmed, chief engineer of Bangladesh Bridge Authority, has said, “It has always been the dream of the people of Bangladesh to build a tunnel and we want to make Chittagong as good as Shanghai.” With the completion of the tunnel, the drive from Chittagong airport to the industrial park will be reduced from four hours to 20 minutes.
The Karnaphuli River Bottom Tunnel project in Bangladesh is an important part of the China-Bangladesh-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor, which is an important part of the country’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative to improve the Asian Highway Network. The shield machine used for tunnel boring is developed by CCCC Tianhe, with a diameter of 12.12 meters, length of 94 meters and weight of more than 2,200 tons, which is the first Chinese extra-large diameter shield machine to enter the overseas extra-large diameter shield market monopolized by developed countries. The single-lane shield section of the Karnaphuli River bottom tunnel is 2450 meters long, with a maximum tunnel cover depth of 31 meters and a design soil and water pressure of 0.59 MPa. The geology is mainly powdery sand, which is prone to sand liquefaction, mud cake on the cutter plate, cutting surface collapse, mud outlet blockage and other construction problems. CCCC-TIANHE has designed the shield machine specifically for this purpose, adopting many original technologies such as appropriate cutter disc anti-mud-cake design, mud-water system stratified backwash technology, intelligent anti-sedimentation control technology, and automatic control of mud-water circulation system. The shield machine has achieved the fastest 10 digging rings per day (2m/ring) and 171 digging rings per month during the construction. The shield machine was received in the form of a steel sleeve. After receiving, the shield crane will move horizontally and turn 180° to prepare for the second start of the right tunnel.

　　孟加拉大桥局总工程师艾哈迈德曾表示：“修建隧道一直是孟加拉国人民的梦想，我们希望把吉大港建设得像上海一样好。”隧道完工，吉大港机场至工业园的车程将从4小时缩短到20分钟。
孟加拉国卡纳普里河底隧道工程是中孟印缅经济走廊的重要一环，是国家“一带一路”倡议中的重要组成部分，对完善亚洲公路网。用于该隧道掘进的盾构机由中交天和研制，刀盘直径达12.12米、长94米、重2200余吨，是中国首台走出国门，进入由发达国家垄断的海外超大直径盾构市场的超大直径盾构机。卡纳普里河底隧道单线盾构段长2450米，隧道最大覆土深度31米、设计水土压力达0.59兆帕，以粉细砂地质为主，极易发生砂层液化、刀盘结泥饼、切削面坍塌、排泥口堵塞等施工难题。中交天和为此对盾构机进行了针对性设计，采用适宜的刀盘防结泥饼设计、泥水系统分层逆洗技术、智能防沉降控制技术、泥水循环系统自动控制等多项自创技术。该盾构机在施工掘进中实现了最快日掘进10环（2米/环），月掘进171环的好成绩。此次盾构机采用钢套筒形式接收。盾构机接收完成后，将平移并180°转体，进行该项目右线隧道二次始发准备。