Construction of the latest Chinese satellite launch center on Hainan Island is scheduled to begin this year and will be completed in five years, the province's top official said in Beijing yesterday.
"The government and people of Hainan are delighted that the country decided to place the new space launch pad here," Wei Liucheng, Party secretary of the Hainan provincial committee, told reporters during an NPC session.
Despite widespread reports, Wei did not confirm whether the center will be used for the Long March 5 launch vehicle, China's next-generation vehicle for heavyweight satellites and space stations, which will be ready by 2013.
The planned 20-sq-km center is located near Wenchang, which boasts the island's longest coastline of up to 207 km.
The new base will include a command center, a rocket launch site, rocket assembly plant and 7-billion-yuan ($985 million) space theme park. A spectator's platform that will enable 300,000 viewers to watch nearby satellite launches is also being planned for.
The center was approved by the State Council and the Central Military Commission last September and has since drawn about 20 hotel, real estate and tourism projects with a total projected investment of 25 billion yuan.
Wenchang, an area known for its many tourist draws, including 40 bays, has treated the space launch center as its most precious asset and envisions itself as the leader of tourism in the tropical resort province.
A provincial east circular railway and several highways will also be completed after 2010 to help it in that quest.
"With the settlement of this satellite launch base, a new tide of development has come to us," Wenchang mayor Yan Zheng said.
Many seaside condos and suites in Wenchang, to be built soon, are already sold out, said Yan's deputy Lin Shiying.
The county-level city of 560,000 residents is home to such female figures as Soong Ching-ling (Madame Sun Yat-sen), Soong Mei-ling (Madame Chiang Kai-shek) and Xie Fei (former wife of Chairman Liu Shaoqi). Chairman of the Thai Congress Uthai Pimchaichon is among the many recent Southeast Asian statesmen whose roots are in this city.
China has three existing satellite launch centers in Gansu, Shanxi and Sichuan.
Questions:
1. When will the Chinese satellite launch center based in Hainan be completed ?
2. Which city is the planned 20-sq-km center located near?
Answers:
1. In five years.
2.Wenchang.
（英语点津 Celene 编辑）
About the broadcaster:
Brendan joined The China Daily in 2007 as a language polisher in the Language Tips Department, where he writes a regular column for Chinese English Language learners, reads audio news for listeners and anchors the weekly video news in addition to assisting with on location stories. Elsewhere he writes Op’Ed pieces with a China focus that feature in the Daily’s Website opinion section.
He received his B.A. and Post Grad Dip from Curtin University in 1997 and his Masters in Community Development and Management from Charles Darwin University in 2003. He has taught in Japan, England, Australia and most recently China. His articles have featured in the Bangkok Post, The Taipei Times, The Asia News Network and in-flight magazines.
