The 6th (Cangzhou) Garden Exposition of Hebei Province kicked off on May 26 in Cangzhou, China's northern city that thrives on canal. A total 19 activities in five categories, including academic exchanges, gardening, skill competitions and cultural exhibitions will be presented until the end of August, according to Cangzhou municipal government.

With the theme of "Thousand Miles of Thoroughfare, Grand Beauty of the Grand Canal", the Exposition aims to showcase Cangzhou's Grand Canal culture, display garden art and promote ecological civilization in an all-round way from site selection, planning, construction and various cultural activities planning.

The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, a world cultural heritage, runs through the Exposition Park from north to south. Cangzhou has elaborately built a Grand Canal scenic belt --- a city exhibition park and a specialized plant exhibition on both banks.

Last year, the Cangzhou section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal navigated afresh, which connected this cultural beauty with the Exposition Park, providing an all-factor tourism for visitors. In recent years, while building the Exposition Park along the Grand Canal, Cangzhou recreated the historic buildings Nanchuan and Langyin on both sides.

The China Grand Canal Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition Hall is the most prominent exhibition place along the Grand Canal. The Hall displays the unique and diverse folk arts of Cangzhou, allowing visitors to fully experience the charm of the Grand Canal while appreciating modern garden art.

The natural ecological scenery, the intangible cultural heritage is organically integrated with the Exposition Park's courtyard architecture and landscape, and has become a dazzling pearl on the 216-kilometre Grand Canal scenic belt in the central area of Cangzhou.

This year's Garden Art Exhibition and Urban Planning and Design Competition will take place at Cangzhou Dahua Industrial Heritage Cultural Zone. Adjacent to the Garden Expo Park, the Zone is a virtual node for this year's Garden Exposition as well, which was originally one of the 13 chemical fertilizer plants built in the early 1970s.

It is reported that since 2017, Hebei Province's provincial garden fairs and the five Garden Expositions have expanded the green park space by 13,050 mu (about 2150 acres) for the host cities.

Cangzhou is a city that thrives on canal. Stretching more than 200 kilometers, the water course of the Grand Canal is well preserved, and there are numerous historical relics along the canal.

If you're planning a trip to China, be sure to add Qingdao to your itinerary. Qingdao is a fantastic destination for travellers who are looking for a mix of culture, history, natural beauty, and entertainment. Qingdao is a picturesque coastal city located in the Shandong Province of China. It is renowned for stunning beaches, delicious seafood, German-influenced architecture and spectacular view of the surrounding coastline and the city skyline, which is appealing to many young Chinese and foreign travellers.

A popular spot for photographers and tourists alike, Qingdao Beer Museum is a must-visit attraction of the romantic coastal city. As the birthplace of Tsingtao Beer, Qingdao has a long history in beer brewing, and the museum is a great place to learn all about it. Housed in an old German-style brewery, the museum has exhibits on the brewing process, the history of Tsingtao Beer, and even a beer tasting room where visitors can sample some of the brewery's offerings. For beer lovers, tasting Tsingtao beer on the spot is definitely an experience to be noticed.

Qingdao has been experiencing steady economic growth over the past decade and has emerged as an important centre for international trade and commerce. In recent years, Qingdao has also made efforts to attract foreign investment and promote international business. While Qingdao SCODA Pearl International Expo Center was built to become China's first and only business, tourism and cultural complex for SCO countries, and the SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area (SCODA) and the China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Comprehensive Service Platform were established to further facilitate economic and trade cooperation with the SCO countries. With ongoing efforts to promote tourism and develop new industries, Qingdao is poised to become an even more important player in the global economy in the years to come.

Qingdao boasts a unique mix of cultural characteristics seen in its diverse architecture. The interaction between Chinese and Western cultures has left its mark on the city's buildings and urban landscape. One of the most prominent examples of this cultural fusion is the iconic Silverfish Lane, a century-old shopping street near Qingdao Railway Station in the Shinan District. The lane combines history and modernity, tradition and fashion. In this neighbourhood, many Liyuan buildings with distinct Qingdao features have been preserved as actual samples of the history and culture of Qingdao, a commercial port in a particular historical period.

Qingdao is a city that offers something for everyone; whether you're interested in exploring its cultural heritage, enjoying its natural beauty, or indulging in its delicious cuisine, there's no shortage of things to see and do in this vibrant city. For visitors to Qingdao, exploring the city's diverse architecture is a must-do experience that provides a unique window into the city's past and present. With its robust infrastructure, strategic location, and favourable business environment, Qingdao is well-positioned to attract more foreign investment and become a significant player in the global economy

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (HKG: 0386, "Sinopec") has initiated the drilling of Project Deep Earth 1-Yuejin 3-3XC Well ("the Well") on May 1 in the Tarim Basin, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. With a design depth of 9,472 meters, it will be the deepest oil and gas well in Asia and a breakthrough of milestone significance in China's ultra-deep oil and gas exploration, which now has world-leading technological and equipment capabilities.

Located in the Shaya County of Aksu Prefecture by the edge of the Taklamakan Desert, the Well has completed stratigraphic sealing of the upper 1,500 meters in only four to five days. The drilling operation, carried out by Sinopec Oilfield Service Corporation, is estimated to reach the carboniferous strata in 21 days, which will set a new record in the region.

The extensively difficult and challenging drilling operation is also setting a new Asian record for horizontal displacement in ultra-deep drilling. Wells with a depth of over 9,000 meters are defined as ultra-deep wells, which is the most challenging field of oil and gas engineering technology development. The depth of the Well is 624 meters higher than Everest. In addition to the common bottlenecks of complex geological structure and high temperature, pressure, and hydrogen sulfide content, the well has also been designed for a 3,400-meter horizontal drilling distance, which brings up new issues such as difficult casing and the formation of cuttings bed in horizontal depth.

Sinopec Northwest China Petroleum Bureau has innovatively adopted ultra-deep and large displacement technology that accesses the rich oil and gas resources without damaging the wetland natural reserve. Equipped with "a pair of eyes", the high-temperature and high-efficiency directional technique transmits signals from the vertical depth of 7,200 meters enabled by the high-precision drilling measurement and control system.

Sinopec aims to launch pilot ultra-deep exploration projects and push the limits of depth through innovation-driven development of deep marine facies geological theory and exploration technologies. Through its self-developed rotary geo-steerable drilling system and the high-temperature and high-pressure logging equipment, Sinopec has achieved leapfrog development of fast drilling in high precision. As of now, the Shunbei oil and gas field of the Shendi-1 Project has 49 oil and gas wells that are deeper than 8,000 meters, and multiple wells have set new Asian records.

China's the world's second-largest economy and the world's largest banking industry -in terms of assets. The size of its banking system owes to its status as the world's largest exporter. The need to enable money transfers to China is another factor. Her state-owned banks are among the largest in the world. Here're the top five banks in terms of strength, services offered, and awards received:

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC): On The Asian Banker's strength list, which ranks banks based on the basis of their balance sheets, ICBC is ranked seventh among Asian Pacific banks. ICBC is a specialist commercial bank that was declared the world's largest bank by assets in 2017 and 2018; it ranked high on Forbes' list as the largest global public company in 2019. They were ranked top in The Banker's Top 1000 World Banks from 2012 to 2019. In other countries, the bank has almost 400 subsidiaries.

With a market capitalization of more than $21 billion, ICBC was the world's largest IPO at the time. It was the first firm whose shares were traded on both the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges. Their most recent net income was around CNY 300 billion, and their assets are valued at China over CNY 27 trillion. ICBC offers a variety of services to both people and businesses, with a particular emphasis on business loans to manufacturers, power companies, retailers, and other industries. ICBC was voted Finance Asia's Best Bank in China in 2019 and has received several other accolades.

Bank of China (BOC): BOC is the second oldest bank in mainland China and ranks tenth among Asian Pacific banks on The Asian Banker strength list. It was established in 1912 to take the position of the Imperial Bank of China. It is one of the four major state-owned banks in China. Its most recent recorded net income was above CNY 190 billion, and their assets exceeded CNY 21 trillion. At the end of 2017, it was the world's fourth-largest bank in terms of assets. BOC is a significant loan provider in the country, offering a wide range of services to both people and companies. In addition, the BOC is permitted to issue banknotes in two Chinese Special Administrative Regions. With operations in 57 countries, it is the most global of China's banks. They were the first large bank in the United States to accept renminbi (Chinese money) assets. BOC has earned several awards, including Best RMB Clearing Bank by The Asian Banker and Best FIG Issuer by Global Capital China.

Agricultural Bank of China (ABC bank): ABC Bank is the world's third-largest lender, with around 25,000 outlets globally. It was founded in 1951. Their most recent net income was above CNY 202 billion, and their assets exceeded CNY 22 trillion. ABC bank began as a specialty bank lending to small businesses in rural China, but it now offers a wide range of consumer and corporate services. They serve 300 million consumers and 3 million commercial clients. They also have a Treasury Operations division that deals with money market or repurchase transactions, debt instrument investments, and derivative holdings. ABC has won several awards, including corporate social responsibility, company culture development, and assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises.

China Construction Bank (CCB): CCB is ranked sixth in the Asian Banker strength rating among Asian Pacific banks. CCB had substantial growth in the early 2000s and was the world's second-largest bank by market capitalization in 2015. Their most recent net income was above CNY 255 billion, and their assets exceeded CNY 23 trillion. More than 15,000 branches and subsidiaries in Luxembourg, South Africa, South Korea, the United States, and Australia offer various consumer and commercial services. They've won several awards, including Asia Money's Best Domestic Bank in China, Global Finance's Best Corporate Lending, and Global Finance's Best Mortgage Loans Bank.

Bank of Communications: Bank of Communications Co., Ltd., established in 1908, is one of China's oldest banks and one of the country's first note-issuing institutions. In June 2005, BoCom was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2007.

For the 12th year in a row, BoCom was recognized a "Fortune Global 500" corporation in 2020, ranking 162 in terms of operational revenue and 11th in terms of Tier 1 Capita. Today, the Bank of Communications is one of China's top five leading commercial banks, with over 2,800 branches in 80 major cities.