By Yao Xueqing, People’s Daily

Models strode gracefully to rhythmic music, displaying the latest streetwear collectionsbefore anintrigued audience. The setting, however, was not a downtown runway. It was Hongshan Forest Zoo.

“It’s incredible! Who would’ve thought this isn’t a fashion venue, but a zoo?” exclaimed Yang Jie, a tourist from Suzhou, Jiangsu province.

Located in Nanjing, capital city of east China’s Jiangsu province, the zoo has become one of China’s most popular “internet-famous” destinations, attracting around 8 million visitors last year.

In addition to its zoological exhibits, the zoo has become a favored venue for brand events, regularly hosting fashion shows, product launches, and film promotions.

Through a constant commitment to innovation and embracing diverse consumer experiences, Hongshan Forest Zoo has successfully transcended the conventional paradigms of zoos and captured attentionnationwide.

“We want to gradually change people’s traditional perception of what a zoo is,” said Shen Zhijun, director of the zoo. “By introducing cultural and creative products, co-branded fashion shows, and product promotions, we’re integrating scientific research, conservation efforts, culture, and green consumption. This approach offers a wider range of experiences for visitors of all ages and backgrounds, while promoting awareness of animal welfare and environmental protection.”

Following recommendations found online, Yang and her friends enrolled in the zoo’s “Day & Night Camp,” hosted by its”Nature School.”Under the guidance of instructors, they traversed the grounds quietly, observing the nocturnal behaviors of animals in their naturalisticenvironment.

In the stillness of the night, the scent of earth permeated the air, accompanied by the rustling sounds of nature. A giraffe rested with its neck curled gently upon its body, a red panda slumbered peacefully in a tree,and a lynx watched its surroundings with alert eyes.

Most striking to Yang was watching a wolf pack “hold a meeting.”The alpha wolf howled, stretching its neck skyward, followed by a chorus of howls from the pack.

“There are no staged performances or feeding sessions here. The animals are the true hosts, and visitors are respectful guests,” Yang said. She was impressed by the animal-friendly environment and immersive experiences in the zoo.

Beyond the “Day & Night Camp,”the zoo also offers a wide range of attractions. Visitors can observe koalas during health check-ups, monkeys paddling boats, or brown bears fishing. They can also enjoy coffee beside expansive windows while flamingos roam freely outside.

Additionally, the zoo’s creative marketplace features irresistible cultural products, ranging from white-faced saki brooches and red panda plush keychains to otter pull-string toys. The zoo now boasts over 1,000 original cultural and creative items, many of which are popular with visitors.

The zoo’s growing popularity has also stimulated the local economy. Nearby hotel rates now rival those in downtown Nanjing, while local specialties like salted duck, crispy tofu noddles, and duck blood and vermicelli soup have gained prominence on the city’s top culinary rankings. The zoo has become the anchor of a burgeoning local consumption zone.

“Every year, about 23 percent of our visitors come from Nanjing, 27 percent from other cities in Jiangsu, and nearly half from other provinces,” said Bai Yali, deputy director of the zoo.

When asked about visitors’ subsequent destinations, Bai indicated that the expanding presence of the Hongshan brand across the city plays a significant role. Co-branded retail outlets, themed stores, and creative collaborations linked to the zoo have emerged throughoutcommercial districts. So far, the zoo has partnered with more than 50 brands.

“We collaborated with Hongshan Forest Zoo last year, and we’re working together again this year to create more interactive experiences and launch audio-enabled creative products,” said a representative from Golden Eagle International Shopping Center Xinjiekou branch, Nanjing.

Nanjing is actively developing urban brand assets like Hongshan Forest Zoo and central business district Xinjiekou by cultivating new consumption scenarios and business models. Efforts are underway to promote integrated development across commerce, tourism, culture, sports, and wellness to turn the zoo’spopularity into sustained consumer spending. In the first quarter of this year, Nanjing’s total retail sales of consumer goods reached 232.31 billion yuan ($32.25 billion), placing the city among the fastest-growing in Jiangsu province.

As she left the zoo, Yang Jie was already making plans for her return. “I can’t wait to start planning my next trip to Nanjing.”

By Wang Zhe, People’s Daily

With a simple scroll of the mouse, the city of Qingdao, east China’s Shandong province, comes vividly into view – high-resolutionbuildings rise sharply, their intricate details clearly rendered.

At his workstation, Hu Zhenbiao, chief systems architect at the Qingdao Institute of Survey and Mapping, introduced a city-scale 3D simulation platform: a full-scale digital twin of the city.

Real-scene 3D modeling has become a vital strategic resource and production element in the development of digital cities and the broader digital economy. By offering accurate, spatial-temporal depictions of urban spaces, these technologies provide vital insight into the dynamics of modern city life, infrastructure, and ecosystems.

The platform, officially launched in March 2021 under the leadership of the Qingdao Institute of Survey and Mapping, represents a landmark in urban digitization.

“Behind this platform lies more than six months of aerial photography, the processing of millions of images, and the 3D modeling of hundreds of thousands of buildings,” Hu explained.

Qingdao’s varied topography – marked by hilly terrain and dramatic elevation changes – necessitated the use of oblique aerial imaging to capture raw imagery and build an accurate 3D model.

For this phase, the project team deployed manned fixed-wing aircraft equipped with 150-megapixel, five-lens oblique aerial cameras. The aerial survey covered the entire urban area, achieving a ground resolution of 15 centimeters and maintaining more than 70 percent image overlap to maximize accuracy.

Hu noted that certain structural details – such as eaves and building undersides – were sometimes difficult to capture due to limited aerial angles, requiring on-site supplemental photography. “We used a combination of hybrid restoration and modeling techniques to accurately reconstruct the structures,” he said, pointing to the Qingdao International Conference Center on his screen. “Those eaves, for example, were recreated using 3D modeling.”

In March 2022, following expert review, the project was officially launched for citywide application. Today, the platform covers Qingdao’s entire land area – 11,000 square kilometers – as well as 800 kilometers of coastline, 49 bays, and seven inhabited islands.

“Fire reported on the eastern slope. Please respond immediately,” came the voice over the radio at the emergency command center in Qingdao’s West Coast New Area.

Qi Degang, deputy headof the area’s emergency management bureau, responded quickly. “The nearest water source is Reservoir No. 37 in Lingshanwei, about 700 meters away.”

This exchange occurred during a forest fire response drill on Xiaozhu Mountain. Displayed prominently on a large screen in the command center was a real-time, 3Dforest fire map – showing the fire’s location, affected area, and smoke direction.

“Our drones send back live footage, which is directlyfed into the 3D platform,” explained Mu Kun, head of forest fire response at the emergency management bureau.

A new call came in: “There’s a fork ahead – what’s the fastest route?”

Mu quickly zoomed in, selected a mountain trail and charted a path for the responders. “This trail is only one meter wide. Rescuers will have to go on foot. Elevation gain: 200 meters.”

“The 3D model allows us to act with greater speed and precision,” Qi added. “It helps us identify access routes, calculate burn areas, and direct field personnel efficiently.”

To date, Qingdao’scity-scale 3D simulation platform has been shared with over 60 municipal departments. It supports more than 100 key functions, including disaster prevention and mitigation, urban planning, social governance, and urban renewal. The platform also underpins over 70 digital government service applications and records nearly 100 million uses annually.

“Compared to traditional 2D maps, 3D modeling offers greater realism, dimensionality, and accuracy,” said Xue Hongli, deputy head of the Qingdao Bureau of Natural Resources and Planning. “It creates a holographic digital twin of the physical world, providing strong spatial support for fine-grained urban management.”

Xue emphasized that cities are constantly changing and 3D mapping must evolve in tandem to capture these transformations with fidelity.

At the bureau’s headquarters, staff members examined two versions of a digital model for a former mining site in Qingdao’s West Coast New Area. The comparison revealed tangible signs of ecological restoration – more vegetation and a gentler slope.

Qingdao is home to 898 legacy mine sites. In the past, inspectingthese sites required a full month of on-the-ground efforts. Now, with the help of the 3D model, the same work takes just five days.

Since 2023, the city has carried out annual temporal updates to the city-scale 3D simulation platform, enabling it to track urban changes with precision and support data-driven analysis and evidence-ba

By Huang Xiaohui, People’s Daily

It was just past midnight at Jinyang elderly care home in Shanghai’s Pudong New Area when nurse Zhao Zhanping received an alert on her phone, indicating that Wang Mingxiang on Bed No.2, Room 324 needed immediate attention as abnormal blood pressure was detected. Zhao rushed to the room without hesitation.

The first to detect the issue wasn’t a caregiver but a smart mattress under the elderly resident. At the same time, Wang’s family received the same alert on their phones.

Thanks to the real-time monitoring system, Wang, who has a history of cerebral infarction, was promptly taken to hospital and treated in time.

At Jinyang elderly care home, smart mattresses represent just one of many intelligent devices now integrated into daily operations. In the lobby of the facility stands a large electronic display, an information system that provides real-time monitoring of residents’ health statuses, clearly showing the time, location, and status of any risks and interventions.

“While this system serves as the brain of our operations, the smart devices installed throughout the facility function like eyes and skin—constantly sensing and feeding information back to the center,” explained Chen Xue, director of the care home.

“Bathrooms and showers are high-risk areas for falls. The ceiling lights here double as ‘electronic radars’ as they illuminate the room and also detect falls or other emergencies,” Chen told People’s Daily.

Shanghai is one of China’s most rapidly aging cities. According to municipal plans, the city aims to establish at least 100 smart care homes by the end of 2025, with more than 70 already built so far.

“The original purpose of building smart elderly care homes in Shanghai is to enhance institutional efficiency and improve service delivery through technology,” said Li Sujin, deputy director of the elderly services division at the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau.

According to Li, Shanghai is expanding the implementation of tech-enabled elderly care products in institutions, and building a more professional, efficient, and integrated smart care ecosystem.

For frontline workers like caregiver Chen Juxiu, the digital transformation has already made a noticeable difference.

While assisting 96-year-old Zhong Jianmei with bathing, Chen simply pressed a button and a robotic transfer device co-developed by the care home and a tech firm automatically lowered its arms and footrests to lift the resident from her wheelchair and move her into the shower area.

“Assisting seniors with limited mobility used to be really challenging,” Chen recalled. “I remember once it took four caregivers to lift a 90-kilogram resident. Now, with this robot, one person can safely complete the task—less physical strain, lower risk.”

Jinyang elderly care home is managed by Puhui Pension Service, which oversees 16 facilities. “Staff shortages and an aging workforce are real challenges,” said general manager Gao Wanjie. “With smart devices taking over repetitive, physically demanding tasks, our caregivers can focus more on providing personalized, high-quality services, and on addressing the emotional needs of our residents.”

For 95-year-old He Junmian, one of the first residents to move into the upgraded smart facility, the change is evident: “Caregivers now have more time to talk with us, and the service feels warmer and more attentive,” she said. Her old call bell has been replaced with a visual intercom system, making it easier to reach staff when assistance is required.

From obstacle-avoidance wheelchairs and robot servers to AI-powered chess companions, smart eldercare homes are introducing a growing array of age-friendly innovations that benefit both residents and staff.

“With continued innovation and new technologies being applied, we envision future care homes evolving into elderly care industry hubs,” Gao added.

According to Chen Xue, the average monthly fee at Jinyang is around 5,000 yuan ($694), a mid-to-low price by Shanghai standards. “Our prices haven’t increased with the smart upgrades,” she noted.

But she also emphasized: “When using smart technologies, we must always take into account how residents feel. Technology can never fully replace the warmth of human care. A truly intelligent care home must combine efficiency