A research team led by Xing Lida from the China University of Geosciences (Beijing), in collaboration with co-authors from Spain, Brazil, South Korea, and Australia, has made notable progress in classifying Cretaceous sauropod tracks.
The sauropod tracks, found in Gajin-ri, Jinseong-myeon, Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, were named Gyeongsangsauropus pentadactylus. This marks Gyeongsangsauropus as the first sauropod ichnogenus identified in South Korea, with its unique morphology shedding new light on the posture and gait of sauropods.
The research findings have been published in the monograph Vertebrate Ichnology: The Fossil Record of Prehistoric Behavior.
Gyeongsangnam-do, in South Gyeongsang Province, has long been a significant area for dinosaur research in South Korea. Regarding the sauropod skeletal record, a study in 2016 reported on an Early Cretaceous somphospondylan (Dinosauria: Titanosauriformes) from Haedong-gun, featuring partial cervical and dorsal vertebrae. Since 2006, Korean researchers have documented over 4,000 dinosaur tracks in Goseong County, South Gyeongsang Province, cementing its status as one of the world's most important sites for dinosaur footprints.
In 2012, South Korean Jeong Yul Kim and co-authors described a new sauropod ichnospecies, Brontopodus pentadactylus, under the widely distributed ichnogenus Brontopodus, from the Haman Formation at the Gazin site in South Gyeongsang Province. The fossil-bearing strata are dated to between 113 and 94 million years ago. The Brontopodus pentadactylus tracks are well-preserved, with clear digit traces, and provide an invaluable sample of sauropod track morphology.
A recent study re-examines this ichnospecies by conducting a detailed comparison with various sauropod track records. The research group suggests that the features of Brontopodus pentadactylus, including the rotation angle of manus tracks, differ significantly from those of other Brontopodus ichnospecies. Consequently, this ichnospecies has been reclassified into the new ichnogenus Gyeongsangsauropus.
This study identifies the distinctive characteristics of medium-sized sauropod tracks (approximately 40-50 cm in length), including manus tracks with five short, blunt digits, with digits III-V being nearly identical in length and width. The manus tracks are noticeably outward rotated from the midline of the trackway.
The trackway parameters of Gyeongsangsauropus pentadactylus include an average stride length of 150 cm and a distance between manus and pes tracks of 50-80 cm. The hip height of the Gyeongsangsauropus pentadactylus trackmakers, estimated from footprint length, is approximately 2-2.9 meters.
The establishment of the ichnogenus Gyeongsangsauropus provides important scientific evidence for studying the locomotion and ecological adaptations of sauropods. The findings suggest that different groups of sauropods may have exhibited significant diversity in their postures and gaits, Xing said.
According to Xing, further research is crucial to gain a deeper understanding of sauropod evolution and their ecological roles within the paleoenvironment.
Q: On December 21, the White House announced military assistance worth US$571.3 million to Taiwan. The US Department of Defense announced on the same day that the State Department has approved US$295 million worth of arms sales to Taiwan. What’s China’s comment?
A: The US once again approved military assistance and arms sales to China’s Taiwan region. This seriously violates the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués, especially the August 17 Communiqué of 1982, and China’s sovereignty and security interests. The decision is a severe breach of the US leaders’ commitment of not supporting “Taiwan independence,” and sends a gravely wrong signal to “Taiwan independence” separatist forces. China strongly deplores and firmly opposes it and lodged serious protests at once with the US.
The Taiwan question is at the core of China’s core interests, and the first red line that cannot be crossed in China-US relations. To aid “Taiwan independence” by arming Taiwan is just like playing with fire and will get the US burned, and to use the Taiwan question to contain China is doomed to fail. China urges the US to immediately stop arming Taiwan and stop the dangerous moves that undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. We will take all measures necessary to firmly defend national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.
President Xi Jinping on Friday met with Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) John Lee, who is on a duty visit to Beijing.
During the meeting, Xi heard a report from Lee on Hong Kong's current situation and the HKSAR government's work.
The Global Times Annual Conference 2025, themed, "Moving forward in Partnership: Resonance of Values between China and the World," is held in Beijing on Saturday. During a discussion on how to address the global security deficit, Kishore Mahbubani, distinguished fellow at the Asia Research Institute of the National University of Singapore and Singapore's former permanent representative to the United Nations, delivered a video speech stating that the West must adapt to a multi-civilizational, multipolar and multilateral world.
Mahbubani said that our world today is a troubled place, and the fundamental reason is that the world is experiencing three fundamental structural changes. The world is becoming multi-civilizational, multipolar and multilateral, he said. The multi-civilizational world is a natural result of the fact that we are moving away from the era of Western domination of world history. And we are seeing the return of many other civilizations especially in Asia, the Sinic, the Indic, the Islamic civilizations. While the US tries to stop the return and development of China, it cannot stop the return of such an old and resilient and strong civilization, Mahbubani emphasized.
Multipolarity is emerging because new powers are rising. Mahbubani believes that Russia is one of the great powers of the world, and the West must understand that 85 percent of the world's population have not imposed sanctions on Russia. The legitimate security interests of Russia must also be taken into consideration while also respecting international law, he noted.
Moreover, the world is becoming more multilateral, Mahbubani said. Regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict, he said that the UN was constantly calling for a "two-State solution" between Israel and Palestine when the Cold War ended. The West had an opportunity to create a permanent two-State solution, it failed to do so. It allowed the problem to fester and grow, and so at some point, it had to explode, the scholar stressed.
Mahbubani believes that in the face of these conflicts, we have to find ways and means of bridging the divide. He is glad that China has taken some steps toward trying to improve the situation in the Middle East by organizing the meetings between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and by organizing a meeting of the Palestinian factions in Beijing. He thinks China and the other Asian countries can step up and do more to persuade the West to accept the fact that the West has got to adapt to a different world which is multi-civilizational, multipolar and multilateral.
President Xi Jinping on Monday said Chinese people will score more remarkable achievements and make greater contributions to the noble cause of peace and development of humanity.
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at a reception held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
The 11-year-old giant panda Meng Meng's twin panda cubs are now more than one month old, and have been developing well, gaining weight daily. They are set to make their public debut at Zoo Berlin in Germany on October 16, according to an email sent to the Global Times by Zoo Berlin.
Meng Meng gave birth to twins on August 22 at Zoo Berlin. Since their birth, the twin cubs and their mother have been cared for in the rear area of the Panda Garden at the zoo and have not been visible to zoo visitors, according to Zoo Berlin.
From October 16, visitors will be able to watch the twin panda cubs as they grow, according to the zoo. The twin panda cubs will be in the Panda Garden every day from October 16 for about an hour between 1:30 pm and 2:30 pm. This will not change the cubs' daily routine, said the zoo.
In the weeks since the twin panda cubs' birth, they have been developing splendidly, gaining weight daily. Having recently transitioned from the incubator to their own "panda bed," the cubs are now prepared for the next stage, and zoo visitors can take a first look at them, according to the zoo. The two cubs continue to take turns with their mother Meng Meng and drink exclusively from her. The zoo also said that the cubs are beginning to resemble "real" giant pandas as they have developed the typical black and white coloring. They have increased their birth weight more than tenfold.
Meng Meng and Jiao Qing, a male giant panda, arrived in Germany in 2017 from China. In August 2019, Meng Meng gave birth to the twin cubs, Meng Xiang and Meng Yuan, in Germany. In December 2023, the twins were returned to China, according to Xinhua News Agency.
On September 23, 2024, the Chinese national brand "YAYA Down Jacket" made its second appearance at Milan Fashion Week, unveiling the 2024 Black Label Goose collection. This collection features top-grade Siberian goose down, winning the attention of the global fashion industry with its fineness, fluffiness, and exceptional warmth.
Since its inception in 1972, YAYA has continuously explored high-quality down resources worldwide. In 2023, it established cooperation with Iceland for eiderdown. The introduction of the top-grade goose down during this Milan trip not only demonstrates an international perspective but also provides valuable insights for the globalization of Chinese brands.
The YAYA Black Label Goose embodies the transformation of Chinese brands from "Made in China" to "Created in China," marking YAYA Down Jacket's advancement into the high-end segment of the global value chain and a unique exhibition of oriental charm.
Chinese scientists have developed ancient DNA technology to systematically study the microbial genomes of the "oldest cheese," which was discovered from the Bronze Age at the Xiaohe cemetery in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. This research reveals two routes for the diffusion of cheese fermentation techniques in the prehistoric Tarim Basin, shedding light on the lifestyle and cultural exchanges of ancient populations in the region, according to China News Service.
Fu Qiaomei, a researcher from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, led the research, which was published as a highly recommended paper in the journal Cell on Wednesday.
The research team designed probes for the complete genome of Lactobacillus, raising the DNA concentration of lactic acid bacteria in the kefir cheese samples from around 0.43 percent to 0.55 percent, to 64 percent to 80 percent, making it the first successful case of ancient whole-genome research.
The cheese samples, identified as kefir through earlier ancient protein studies, date back approximately 3,500 years. They were made using kefir grains, which ferment milk into a distinctive yogurt.
By reconstructing the microbial communities involved in the fermentation process, researchers confirmed that the kefir cheese was produced by using lactic acid bacteria, with evidence suggesting that the goats used for milk production originated from a lineage that spread across Eurasia after the Neolithic period. This suggests a probable connection between ancient populations in the Tarim Basin and groups in the Eurasian steppe during that time.
The study also identified a previously unknown route for the dissemination of kefir bacteria. It found the lactic acid bacteria used for fermentation split into two main branches: One associated with strains from Europe and coastal regions of Asia, and the other linked to strains found in inland East Asia, including Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. This indicates that kefir production techniques likely spread from Xinjiang to other parts of East Asia through cultural exchanges.
Researchers believe this differentiation in kefir bacteria strains reflects how ancient populations adapted and shared fermentation practices. By comparing ancient and modern kefir bacteria genomes, the team explored the evolution of these microbes over thousands of years, revealing significant adaptations to environmental pressures and interactions with humans.
This research underscores the long-standing relationship between humans and microorganisms, highlighting the critical role of fermented foods in our dietary history. It provides new insights into how ancient peoples applied and adapted fermentation techniques, contributing to our understanding of cultural exchanges and human development over time.
The 2024 Beijing Culture Forum will kick off in the Chinese capital from September 19 to 21, according to its organizers. With a permanent theme of "Inheritance, Creativity, Mutual Learning," the forum has "Enhance Cultural Exchanges for Common Progress" as its theme for this year.
Over 800 participants, including 240 foreign guests from more than 70 countries and regions will attend a main forum, six sub-forums, and 32 professional seminars and relevant cultural activities during the three-day event.
The participants will hold in-depth discussions on topics including mutual learning between civilizations and common progress, spiritual life and industrial development, cultural heritage protection and inheritance, new cultural business forms, and technological integration.
The main forum takes the application of Beijing's Central Axis as a UNESCO World Heritage site as one of its important contents, and releases a special report on Beijing's experience during the application and protection of Beijing's Central Axis as a UNESCO World Heritage site and the relevant situation of further strengthening the protection of historical and cultural cities.
Meanwhile, the Ten Major Events in the Construction of National Cultural Centers in 2023 will also be announced.
The 2024 Beijing Culture Forum is committed to creating a cultural festival, in which all people can participate through hosting a number of cultural events including book fairs, film screenings and theaters staging.
As the performance of Team China at the Paris 2024 Olympics continues to grab headlines on Chinese social media, a debate is brewing in the country about the evolution of fan culture in the sporting field.
On August 4, several of China's social media platforms, such as Sina Weibo and Douyin announced that they were cracking down on over 800 accounts that had been spreading negativity and fomenting conflict during the table tennis events at the Olympics, removing more than 50,000 inappropriate fan posts.
This action was taken after an event on August 3, when Chinese paddler Chen Meng defeated her teammate Sun Yingsha 4-2, to win the table tennis women's singles gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, with numerous fans showing favoritism toward Sun while booing Chen.
During the match, the stands at the South Paris Arena were filled with cheers for Sun, and there were even jeers when Chen scored points. On the internet, the battle of insults started at the commencement of the match, when some fans posted inflammatory comments attacking the athletes and coaching staff.
This phenomenon has caused numerous Chinese people to worry about the visibly aggressive fan culture that threatens to erode the sporting world.
"Fan culture" is a subculture that originated in the entertainment industry and is based on idol artists and fan economics. With the vigorous development of the Chinese sports industry, sports stars are becoming more influential as role models. However, some fans are taking things too far by turning sporting events into battlegrounds. They attack athletes online, inciting public emotions to increase exposure and attention. The arbitrary and relentless hounding of athletes by some fans off the field also presents a series of problems for athletes' normal training and personal lives.
Where does this aggressive fan culture come from? What do these fans hope to achieve? Is this really representative of Chinese sports fans as a whole? These are questions that are being raised as the debate continues. Chaos abounds
"I wish Chen tests positive for a banned substance, then the gold medal can go to our Shasha (Sun's nickname)," one of Sun's extreme fans wrote online after the match. The inflammatory post soon caused widespread anger on both Chinese and international social media platforms, with many calling her "brainless."
"In that match, Sun was the biggest victim of her irrational fans," commented Zhang Fan, an associate professor at the School of Journalism and Communication, Shanghai University of Sport. She criticized the "fans" who kept cheering for Sun while booing her rival Chen, saying their impolite behaviors didn't do Sun any justice, but rather embarrassed and stressed her on the court.
In China, this voracious fan culture spread to the competitive sporting field during the Rio 2016 Olympics, according to Zhang. This unedifying "culture" quickly developed in the proceeding years and gave rise to many fan groups similar to those in the K-pop entertainment industry, Zhang explained.
China's Olympic table tennis champion Ding Ning will never forget August 20, 2016. On that day, the Chinese table tennis team returned home from the Rio 2016 Olympics with an impressive haul of four gold medals and two silver medals. As the team members arrived at the Beijing Capital International Airport, they were greeted by a throng of excited fans. "We were truly amazed by the outpouring of support from the fans at the airport. It was a sight we had never seen before," Ding told the Global Times in a previous exclusive interview.
The Global Times found that leading up to the Rio 2016 Olympics, it was rare to see more than a few dozen fans gathered at the airport to welcome national teams home. The majority of the crowd usually consisted of journalists, with only a handful of supporters present.
However, following the Rio 2016 Games, athletes from various sports, such as table tennis, women's volleyball, diving, and swimming, began to attract a larger following. Fans who previously had little interest in sports started to show their support. In particular, table tennis, which is considered the national sport of China, saw its fan base grow exponentially.
However, the chaotic growth trajectory within some Chinese sports fan communities from 2016 to 2024 reveals several key issues, particularly the extreme behaviors exhibited by fans.
Leading fans control comments and initiate scolding battles on social media, manipulating comment sections and attacking other athletes, referees, clubs, national teams, and governing bodies, which leads to fierce conflicts between different fan groups.
CP fans, who pair athletes or public figures as "couples" or "combinations," create specific fan organizations. They share related photos and videos on social media, flood comment sections with their views, and even write fan fiction, severely impacting the viewing experience of other fans and athletes, and causing undue stress to the athletes involved.
Additionally, the act of proxy photographing and privacy violations is prevalent, where individuals sell athletes' personal information and capture photos or videos of athletes at airports, hotels, training grounds, and competition venues, which are then sold publicly on social media. This seriously infringes on the athletes' privacy.
The sale of signed memorabilia is another issue, with fans haranguing athletes in public places to obtain signatures, later selling these signed items on second-hand trading platforms, with items for sale ranging from autographed photos to signed paddles.
Overzealous support also disrupts competitions, with fans causing disturbances through loud cheering and flash photography during matches, affecting athletes' performances.
These chaotic phenomena not only disrupt athletes' regular training and competitions but also damage the harmonious atmosphere among the athletes.
Fandom distortion
"In China, there used to be a perfect balance between athletes and sports fans where their distance and interaction was 'just right,'" 30-year-old table tennis enthusiast Wu Aichen told the Global Times.
Wu became a fan of Ding Ning after the London 2012 Olympics, and joined the fan group called "Ding Dang," which she believes was one of the earliest fan groups in the Chinese table tennis community.
"Back then, we mainly communicated and connected through QQ chat groups. Our group gradually released fan merchandise like calendars, mostly funded by the fan club leaders. They helped us secure complimentary tickets for the China Table Tennis Super League, and after the games, we could approach the athletes in the fan zone for autographs and photos in an orderly way," Wu recalled.
After the Rio 2016 Olympics, driven by her love for table tennis, Wu also joined other table tennis players' fan groups, where she noticed a change in the nature of these organizations.
"In the beginning, most table tennis fan groups were spontaneous, with no formal organization or decision-making process. But later, there were more leaders in the fan base, and the division of labor became more detailed. The leader became more aggressive in encouraging everyone to buy idol-related cultural products and would push fans to vote on various rankings to attract advertisers for their athletes," Wu observed.
Wu pointed out that most of the active fans of the Chinese table tennis team are young people, particularly teenagers. "This generation of fans sees their idols' growth as a form of self-realization. Idols represent the fans' own aspirations, fulfilling their self-image," she noted.
Zhu Wei, a vice director of the Communication Law Research Center at the China University of Political Science and Law, introduced that China's fan community has now experienced a phenomenon of "breaking the circle," meaning it is no longer confined to the cultural sphere but has extended to all areas.
"This is accompanied by a highly aggressive online environment. The fan community has also trended younger, with various chaotic phenomena emerging," Zhu told the Global Times.
These fans feel a sense of duty that "the idol needs me," constantly creating discussions, and investing to boost the market value of sports stars, hoping to elevate their favorite athletes to the top of the sports fan community, Wu said, also noting that they are not sporting event enthusiasts but just fans.
What are the differences between ordinary sporting event enthusiasts and irrational "fans?" Zhang explained that the unwelcome "fans" are those who unconditionally boast and defend their favorite players, making all sorts of excuses for their failures - even resorting to insulting other players.
"These behaviors have seriously contradicted the open and inclusive spirit of sports," Zhang noted.
Return to reason and faith
"During the current Olympics, the young athletes have actually set a good example for teenagers and young people. They inspired young viewers to put down their video games, develop a love for sports, and foster a sense of patriotism. This is a very positive development," Zhu said.
Facing the surging popularity of table tennis, Ding expressed that what athletes always care most about is their performance in competition. "We speak only with our event results, not exposure."
Conversely, this is a gratifying thing that China's youth are no longer satisfied with idolizing entertainment stars, but are pursuing higher, faster, and stronger quality idols, Wu said.
To some extent, the spread of fan culture in China's competitive sporting field does have a few benefits, such as boosting the promotion of some sports among the young generations, bringing them vitality and more attention, said Zhang.
"But the disadvantages of 'fan culture' far outweigh the benefits." Zhang stressed that the unhealthy "fan culture" harms the atmosphere of competitive sports.
In recent years, China has been trying to curb the spread and intensification of fan community culture.
In May, the General Administration of Sport of China stated that the national sports system will resolutely resist the erosion caused by abnormal fan culture in the sporting field throughout the whole process, stressing that sports should not become the "lead" and "hotbed" for abnormal fan culture to continue to proliferate.
In 2021, the Chinese Olympic Committee called on fans to respect athletes' rights and avoid improper behavior toward them, and resolutely oppose the use of fandom to engage in profiteering activities.
Fortunately, Wu noted that now, in the fan communities of various table tennis athletes, most people are looking at the controversy on the Olympic stage objectively and rationally.
"'Focus on the competition and have rational discussions' is the most frequently mentioned phrase in fan communities now. We can all agree that when athletes are showcasing the Olympic spirit and national honor at their peak. They should not be degraded through irrational fan behaviors," she said.
Wu believes that in the future, more fans will respect the sweat that each athlete puts in, willing to experience the pure charm that comes from sports and show the good qualities of Chinese audiences.
