10 big things about China you should not miss (Feb. 1- Feb. 7)

1.China's 2026 Spring Festival travel rush begins

The 2026 Spring Festival travel rush commenced on Monday, marking the start of a 40-day period where a massive movement of people is expected across China. 

2.China-Laos railway hosts Spring Festival cultural event marking 65 years of diplomatic ties

A Spring Festival–themed cultural event was held Wednesday aboard the China-Laos Railway, with 2026 marking the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Laos.

The event took place onboard two high-speed trains — the D87 “Lancang” train departing from Kunming South Station in China and the D88 “Fuxing” train departing from Vientiane North Station in Laos —with both trains serving as the main venues for the celebration.

3.14th Dalai Lama mentioned 169 times in Epstein files: media

Multiple international media outlets reported that the name of the 14th Dalai Lama appears 169 times in emails included in documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case that were recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

Earlier reports linked the 14th Dalai Lama to Epstein. On Aug. 29, 2025, U.S.-based website CounterPunch published an article titled "Why Was the Dalai Lama at Jeffrey Epstein's House?" The article cited journalist Michael Wolff, who said during a Daily Beast podcast that he encountered the Dalai Lama at a gathering held at Epstein's Manhattan townhouse.

4.China's hybrid unmanned cargo aircraft completes first flight

China's YH-1000S, a self-made hybrid unmanned cargo aircraft, the world's first of its kind, has completed its maiden flight in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, its developer said on Tuesday.

Designed to meet the demands of global market customers, this large unmanned aircraft can be used in fields such as international logistics and delivery, emergency rescue and disaster reduction, artificial weather modification, marine monitoring and maritime supervision, the academy said.

5.Chinese space experiment sees butterfly emerge in orbit

Researchers at China's Chongqing University announced on Monday that a butterfly has successfully emerged from its pupa while orbiting Earth, yielding valuable data on biological survival in the harsh microgravity environment of space.

The butterfly chrysalis was sealed inside a small experimental space ecosystem payload developed by the university's research team and carried into space aboard the Kuaizhou-11 Y8 carrier rocket on Dec. 13, 2025.

6.Chinese scientists achieve major breakthrough in scalable quantum networks

A research team from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) has achieved significant advances in the field of scalable quantum networks, bringing this transformative technology closer to real-world application. Their landmark findings have been published in both Nature and Science.

The team focused on a concept known as a "quantum repeater," which breaks a long communication link into shorter segments, establishes entanglement within each, and then connects them. This innovation enabled quantum entanglement that persists significantly longer than the time required to establish inter-segment connections.

According to USTC, this is the world's first demonstration of a scalable building block for a quantum repeater -- a critical step toward long-distance quantum networks.

7.Chinese humanoid robot shatters world speed record with 10 m/s sprint

A new leader has emerged in the global race for robotic mobility as a Chinese research institute unveiled Bolt, a full-sized humanoid robot capable of reaching a peak sprinting speed of 10 meters per second.

The breakthrough, announced Monday by a humanoid robot institute at Zhejiang University in east China, officially marks the fastest recorded speed for a humanoid of its class.

Standing 175 centimeters tall and weighing 75 kilograms, Bolt was designed to mimic human proportions while pushing the physical boundaries of bipedal movement.

8.1,200-seat high-speed passenger ship put into operation in China's Guangxi

New passenger ferry Beiyou 36 makes maiden voyage on Beihai–Weizhou Island route Thursday.

Beiyou 36, the 1,200-seat high-speed passenger ship, which was newly put into operation in Baihai of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region for the Spring Festival travel rush, has a total length of 71 meters, a designed speed of 29 knots, and a maximum speed of over 32 knots. 

9.Chinese double-Olympics volunteer serves as first torchbearer when flame arrives in Italy

Chinese double-Olympics volunteer Zhang Wenquan, who served at the Beijing 2008 and Beijing 2022 Games, became the first torchbearer as the 2026 Winter Olympics flame arrived in Milan on Thursday.

According to the Milan-Cortina Organizing Committee, the Olympic torch relay runs from Dec. 6, 2025, to Feb. 6, 2026, covering a total distance of about 12,000 kilometers. The route passes through all 20 regions and 110 provinces of Italy, visiting more than 300 cities and towns.

10.China realizes direct maternity allowance payments nationwide

The National Healthcare Security Administration said on Friday that China has realized the nationwide rollout of direct maternity benefit payments, as part of broader efforts to foster a more birth-friendly society.