Du Yuezheng (top) of China shoots to score during the football match between China U-23 and Vietnam U-23 at 2026 CFA Team China International Youth Tournament in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, March 31, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Yibo)
Tourists take selfies at a botanical garden in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, March 31, 2026. (Photo by Chen Qibao/Xinhua)
An AI robot makes coffee at a coffee shop in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 25, 2026.
About an hour's drive from Beijing, a futuristic city is rising on the North China Plain -- the Xiong'an New Area.
In recent years, Xiong'an has responded to the national call for innovation-driven development. Technology is not an abstract concept in Xiong'an. It has taken shape in perceptible smart living scenarios.
In April 2017, China decided to establish the Xiong'an New Area as part of a strategy to promote the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. (Xinhua/Zhu Xudong)
This photo taken on March 30, 2026 shows a night view of a street in Cairo, Egypt. The early closures are part of a sweeping new government mandate requiring shops, malls, and industrial facilities nationwide to shut their doors by 9 p.m. Officials say the move is a necessary response to soaring energy costs, a severe economic strain directly linked to the escalating regional conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
A Changying-8 cargo unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) conducts a test flight at an airport in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, March 31, 2026. The cargo UAV successfully completed its maiden flight at an airport in Zhengzhou on Tuesday.
The fixed-wing cargo UAV is China's first 7-tonne-class cargo UAV platform validated through flight test.
The Changying-8 cargo UAV has an ultra-large cargo compartment with a volume of 18 cubic meters, a maximum takeoff weight of 7 tonnes, and a maximum payload capacity of 3.5 tonnes.
It can accommodate diverse loading requirements, including conventional supplies, fresh and cold-chain goods, and emergency equipment. The aircraft boasts a maximum range exceeding 3,000 kilometers. (Xinhua/Hao Yuan)
A vendor displays seafood at a market in Rome, Italy, on March 31, 2026. Euro area annual inflation is expected to rise to 2.5 percent in March from 1.9 percent in February, exceeding the European Central Bank (ECB)'s 2 percent target, driven largely by a sharp rebound in energy prices, according to a flash estimate published by Eurostat on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Li Jing)
Tsering Sangmo (C) and her great-grandsons sit in her yard in Zongkhar Village of Shannan City, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, March 26, 2026.
Tsering Sangmo, 88, lives in Zongkhar Village of Shannan City in Xizang. Blessed with a flourishing family, she often wears a smile on her face. Yet before the democratic reform in Xizang in 1959, her life was filled with hardship and struggle.
Tsering Sangmo had been serving the serf-owners since she was eight years old. With so many children to raise, the entire family, young and old, had no choice but to eke out a living. Hunger was Tsering Sangmo's most vivid childhood memory. Heavy labor bent her small frame, and those difficult days left an indelible mark on her heart.
It was not until the democratic reform in Xizang in 1959, when millions of serfs were emancipated, that her life truly began to change for the better.
Today, Tsering Sangmo receives a state allowance, having bid a final farewell to those harsh old days. Every Tibetan New Year, a houseful of her descendants gather around, presenting her with hadas and offering heartfelt blessings.
The elderly lady's smile, etched with deep wrinkles, speaks volumes of peace and joy of a life freed from hardship. (Xinhua/Tenzin Nyida)
The Whiffenpoofs, a cappella choir of Yale University, performs in Beijing, capital of China, March 31, 2026. (Xinhua/Lu Ye)
