Web13 hours ago · A high-speed train drives on the Wulong River Bridge part of the Fuzhou-Xiamen high-speed railway, August 31, 2023. /CFP China's first cross-sea high-
speed
A Fuxing bullet train commences a test operation along the Fuzhou-Xiamen high-speed railway on September 4, 2023. Photo: VCG
China's first sea-spanning high-speed railway capable of a top speed of 350 kilometers per hour is expected to start service in East China's Fujian Province on Thursday. The line shortens the travel time between Fuzhou and Xiamen to at most 55 minutes in a bid to enhance the connectivity between the two major cities in the province, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.
With a total length of 277 kilometers, the railway starts from Fuzhou, passes through Putian, Quanzhou and Xiamen and ends in Zhangzhou.
The high-speed railway is yet another intelligent railway route to enter commercial service following the Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway and Beijing-Xiong'an high-speed railway, demonstrating new progress in the intelligentization of China's high-speed railway technology.
The railway was designed using the latest modeling technology based on digital information, which realized the integrated management of high-speed railway's design, construction and operation.
The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, intelligent robots and environmentally friendly materials were adopted to facilitate the construction of cross-sea bridges. An intelligent command and dispatch system is used to ensure trains stay on schedule and operate efficiently. A big data analysts system can monitor and report all potential weather disasters, ensuring the safe operation of each train on the route.
How China is Beating U.S. GPS Dominance with BeiDou
The opening of the railway connects multiple cities along Southeast China's coast and forms a belt full of tourism sites. It will also form a high-quality traffic channel connecting Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang Province and Guangzhou in South China's Guangdong Province with other high-speed railway routes that have already been completed or are still under construction.
Wang Jianmin, a senior cross-Straits expert at Minnan Normal University in Fujian Province, told the Global Times that the opening of the Fuzhou-Xiamen high-speed railway shows China has the technological ability to build a cross-Straits railway.
"What's more, it also offers expectations for people on the both sides of the Straits that the railway will be the foundation of a cross-Straits railway in the future," said Wang.
And we received some questions, about how to actually use BeiDou for navigation. This video explains how the system works on your phone.
Before we get started, let's clear up a common misconception. A lot of people think if you want to use the BeiDou system, you need to download some sort of "BeiDou apps."
The truth is, you don't need to download any new app for using the system. If you find an app titled "BeiDou" in an app store, it's not official. Regular navigation apps, delivery apps or car-hailing apps are all able to use the positioning service of the BeiDou system.
Civil equipment like our phones, cannot choose which navigation system to use. It will automatically pick the system that has best signal at that time.
So maybe you're using the BeiDou system right now.
But not every smartphone supports BeiDou. Currently, most of the Android phones can use the BeiDou system. But if you are an iPhone user, you are not able to use it because chips carried by the Apple product line do not support the system. To check, you can take a look at the tech specs of your phone.
GPS testing apps can show the number of satellites in your area and their signal strength. /Screenshot via GPS Test
Another way to find out whether your phone supports BeiDou is through GPS testing apps. Your phone can use BeiDou's services if the app can detect BeiDou's satellites.
There are also people asking whether BeiDou can be used outside China. You can do so just like we can use GPS services in China.
The difference is that BeiDou provides better accuracy in China and the Asia-Pacific region, at five meters, because of its unique layout. The accuracy in other areas is about 10 meters.
Cameraman: Yang Yang
Video editor: Guo Meiping
Cover image: Jia Jieqiong
How is China's BDS different from other global navigation networks?
https://youtu.be/NXdFg1PRKnQ
China has completed its BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, or BDS, becoming the fourth country in the world with a global navigation network, the other three being GPS of the U.S., GLONASS of Russia and Galileo of Europe.
As the name suggests, the global navigation satellite system provides navigation and location services on a 24-hour basis. From what we know so far, building a sound satellite system costs a bundle. Besides, the other systems are already well-established. So, what makes China's BDS stand out among its competitors?
Firstly, the other systems have 24 satellites in medium earth orbit (MEO). In addition to the 24 satellites, the BDS constellation also has three satellites in geostationary earth orbit (GEO) and three in inclined geosynchronous orbit (IGSO). What's special about the extra six satellites is that they have a relatively fixed range of activity.
This layout can enhance BDS' accuracy in China and the Asia-Pacific region to five meters, in comparison with a 10-meter accuracy in other areas.
Secondly, BDS has a trump card – the short message service. It is a function that allows users to have a two-way communication.
In areas not covered by cellular or communication signals, BDS can make the short message service available in uninhabited areas, such as deserts, forests, and mountainous or polar regions.
With this service, users in distress can inform the rescue team about their location and condition.
As the most populated country in the world, it's important for China to have its own global navigation satellite system to meet the needs of the country's socio-economic development.
In fact, the BDS is also good business. According to the White Paper on the Development of China's Satellite Navigation and Location Services Industry (2020), the country's satellite industry has maintained a 20-percent annual growth since 2012. BDS contributes about 80 percent of it.
The system has also generated tens of billions of dollars, countless high-paying jobs, and stimulated economic growth via big contracts in commercial industries.
And with improvements in functions, it will have much more to offer in the future.
Scriptwriter: Pan Zhaoyi
Producer: Guo Meiping
Cameraman: Fu Gaoliang
Video editor: Zhao Yuxiang
Cover image: Yin Yating
Related:
A rewind of China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System deployment
https://youtu.be/CM1-7UcNAfE
