Chen Liquan, laureate of China's top sci-tech award for the year 2025 as announced in Beijing on Wednesday, is recognized as the nation's founding father of solid-state ionics and a pioneer in lithium battery research.

Cryogenic temperatures are defined as those below 120K (-153.15°C), but scientist Gao Bo's research reaches even further into the extreme, focusing on temperatures below 24.5561K (-248.5939°C). Measurement technologies at this range provide critical support for frontier scientific research, major scientific facilities, deep-space exploration, and the development of green energy.

From one satellite built in a decade to hundreds rolling off an assembly line. In this episode of Pledges in Action, we meet CPC member and satellite-maker Hu Haiying, whose team is rethinking how satellites are made: scaling up production to support China's growing space ambitions.

For "plant hunters" like PEI Shengji, fieldwork can last anywhere from two months to half a year. While the expeditions are filled with fascination, they demand immense courage. Leeches burrowing into ears, clinging all over their bodies, or venomous snakes coiled on their beds – these are all commonplace occurrences for them.

Located about 40 kilometers from Mount Qomolangma, the National Field Observation and Research Station (Xizang Dingri) for Qomolangma Special Atmospheric Processes and Environmental Change is the closest scientific observation facility to the world's highest mountain. It undertakes the observation and research of the unique climatic environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, while also carrying out hydrological, glaciological, ecological, and geological monitoring tasks. Xi Zhenhua is the monitoring chief of the station, responsible for instrument monitoring and maintenance, data downloading and processing, as well as the daily operation of the station. Since 2013, he has been devoted to scientific research in the Mount Qomolangma region for 13 years.

Wang Jinqiao, a researcher and deputy chief engineer at the Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), has spent more than two decades studying visual recognition. He also heads Wuhan AI Research (WAIR) and chairs a company focused on commercializing Zidongtaichu technologies.