The Shanghai Landing Station of the Asia-Europe Fiber-optic Submarine Cable Starts Service on Sept 14, 2000

The Shanghai landing station of the Asia-Europe fiber-optic submarine cable goes into service on Sept 14, 2000. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

The Shanghai landing station of the Asia-Europe fiber-optic submarine cable starts service on Sept 14, 2000

The Shanghai landing station of the Asia-Europe fiber-optic submarine cable went into service on Sept 14, 2000.

Many enterprises including China Telecommunications Corporation contributed to the cable system which connects 33 countries and regions undersea, marking a new stage of China's international communication industry.

The 38,000-kilometer cable starts from the United Kingdom, passes the Mediterranean Sea and countries like France and Italy, goes across the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean and reaches Singapore. Later, the cable goes through Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam on its way to China, Japan and South Korea.

A total of 39 landing stations were launched along the route and two are in China — Shanghai and Shantou.

The Mecca-Medina double-track electric high-speed railway, the world's first to operate through desert, starts operation on Sept 14, 2018

The Mecca-Medina double-track electric high-speed railway in Saudi Arabia, the world's first to operate through desert and built with participation of Chinese SOEs, started operation on Sept 14, 2018.

The 450.25-kilometer high-speed railway, with a maximum designed speed of 360 kilometers per hour, runs across the Arabian Desert.

One of its major constructions — the Macca Station Grand Bridge — was contracted by China Railway Construction Corporation Limited.

The 1,556-meter bridge was built over five roads with a maximum width of 72.6 meters, which is the widest among the world's high-speed railway bridges.

Travel time between Mecca and Medina shortened to two hours from four when the railway started operation. More than 15 million passengers are transported every year.

(Executive editor: Zhang Tianyuan)