After an eight-year interval, Hong Kong is about to welcome China's second aircraft carrier, the Shandong. This marks the first visit of the Shandong carrier formation to Hong Kong, making the city the only one to host visits of two of China's aircraft carriers and also to hold public open-house events during their stays.

Under the approval of the Central Military Commission, from July 3 to 7, a naval formation consisting of the aircraft carrier Shandong, the guided missile destroyers Yan'an and Zhanjiang, and the guided missile frigate Yuncheng will visit Hong Kong, according to a statement from China's Ministry of National Defense on Saturday.

During this period, a series of open-day visits and cultural exchange activities will be organized to give Hong Kong compatriots a more direct and in-depth understanding of the development of national defense and military modernization in the new era, the Chinese Defense Ministry said.

In July 2017, China's aircraft carrier formation comprising the Liaoning, China's first aircraft carrier, and three escort ships, namely the Yantai, Yinchuan, and Jinan, conducted a five-day visit to Hong Kong. The event sparked a "Liaoning fever" in Hong Kong.

Eight years later, the visit of the Shandong, China's first domestically built aircraft carrier, is expected to also spark a "Shandong fever" in Hong Kong, Zhang Junshe, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Saturday.

According to information released by the Chinese Defense Ministry, the Shandong carrier formation will also conduct a five-day visit to Hong Kong with four vessels. However, compared to the Liaoning's formation, this visit will see new changes. 

Zhang said that The Shandong's escort ships, the Type 055 10,000 ton-class destroyer Yan'an, the Type 052D guided missile destroyer Zhanjiang and Type 054A guided missile frigate Yuncheng, all fully domestically developed by China, are a composition that demonstrates the core warships of a modern Chinese carrier formation, and are expected to meet Hong Kong's high public expectations.

Compared to 2017, this carrier formation is even more impressive, said Zhang. "In addition to China's domestically built aircraft carrier Shandong, the accompanying Yan'an is a Type 055 large destroyer - often hailed as the 'sword-bearing guard' of carrier groups. This visit also marks the first public opening of a Type 055 destroyer in Hong Kong," he said.

In 2020, the Nanchang (Hull 101), the first Type 055 destroyer, was commissioned into service. Since then, the family of 10,000 ton-class destroyers has continued to grow. Official reports indicate that the Type 055 destroyer represents the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy's largest-tonnage, most technologically advanced, and most comprehensively capable destroyer in history. Upon its debut, it immediately ranked among the world's top-tier warships."

To date, Hong Kong has witnessed multiple first and exclusive records in hosting Chinese naval vessels. The PLA Navy has consistently chosen Hong Kong as the first public showcase for its newest warship classes, including not only the aircraft carrier Liaoning's first and only public opening, but also the first public opening of the domestically developed Type 075 amphibious assault ship Hainan during its Hong Kong visit from November 21 to 25, 2024.

Opening naval vessels to nationals is a common practice among navies worldwide. Since Hong Kong's return to the motherland, PLA Navy vessels have made multiple port calls to the city, each time welcoming Hong Kong compatriots aboard for tours, Zhang said.

The state-of-the-art surface vessels offer Hong Kong compatriots a tangible showcase of China's national defense and military modernization achievements in the new era. These visits allow them to witness firsthand the strength of the motherland's defense capabilities, thereby enhancing national pride and strengthening patriotic sentiment, Zhang said, noting that during last year's port call by the amphibious assault ship Hainan, many Hong Kong residents expressed enthusiasm for more naval visits - with hopes to see advanced vessels like the Type 055 large destroyers in the future. The upcoming visit by the aircraft carrier Shandong and Type 055 destroyer has indeed warmly fulfilled these expectations.

At the same time, the visit of these cutting-edge warships to Hong Kong, a bridge and window of China's openness to the world, fully demonstrates to the international community both the developmental achievements of China's military and the exemplary professionalism of its naval personnel. In addition, the display of powerful, strategic assets like the aircraft carrier Shandong and the Type 055 10,000 ton-class destroyer also serves as a deterrent to any forces with ill intentions, Zhang said.

"We hope to share with our Hong Kong compatriots the nation's development achievements and progress in national defense and military modernization, while also demonstrating the PLA's capacity to safeguard national sovereignty and security," Zhang said.

Song Zhongping, another Chinese military affairs expert who boarded the Liaoning during the carrier's 2017 Hong Kong visit, told the Global Times on Saturday that there were many Hong Kong residents who applied to tour China's first aircraft carrier. Many of them waved Chinese national flags in their hands.

Speaking with Song about their impressions of the Liaoning, Hong Kong visitors said that they could feel the growing strength of the motherland, and that a mighty PLA means a safe Hong Kong, according to Song.

China's National Meteorological Center (NMC) issued yellow heat alerts on Monday for most of northern China, warning of temperatures exceeding 35 C — with certain regions and cities surpassing 40 C. Meanwhile, eight southern provinces are expected to experience torrential downpours and flood risks in certain area.

The NMC renewed a yellow alert at 6 am on Monday, warning of high temperatures in multiple regions of the country.

The center forecast scorching conditions exceeding 35 C on Monday across vast areas including most of Beijing, Tianjin, North China's Hebei Province and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, East China's Shandong Province, Central China's Henan Province, Fenwei Plain, Northeast China's Liaoning and Jilin provinces, as well as the Junggar Basin of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the southern Xinjiang Basin.

Particularly intense heat of 37 - 39 C is expected in some of the aforementioned regions - while some areas may exceed 40 C, the NMC said.

The center advised people to take protective measures to prevent prolonged outdoor exposure during peak heat hours.

Education authorities in Beijing issued heat advisories on Monday, urging kindergartens, primary and secondary schools and vocational institutes to suspend outdoor activities during peak heat hours. 

China experienced eight large-scale heatwaves in 2024, with the number of high-temperature days during the summer reaching the second-highest number since 1961, according to the China Meteorological Administration (CMA). Nearly half of the provinces in China recorded their highest average temperatures since national meteorological records began, the CMA said.

Regarding 2025's scorching heat, Ma Jun, director of the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, told the Global Times on Monday that the potential onset of a La Nina event is expected to slightly temper the sweltering weather. However, Ma noted that the fundamental trend of global warming remains unchanged, urging continued vigilance against extreme weather events. 

At the same time, southern China faces a starkly different weather pattern.

The NMC raised a blue alert for heavy rainfall at 6 am Monday, warning of substantial downpours from 8 am Monday to 8 am on Tuesday in several regions. 

Rain-affected areas include East China's Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces, Central China's Hunan Province, Southwest China's Guizhou and Yunnan provinces, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, western parts of the Sichuan Basin, and Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, the NMC said.

Besides, some southeastern parts of Guizhou may see hourly rainfall of 100 to 120 millimeters, the center said.

Certain regions may experience short-term heavy rain of 20 to 50 millimeters hourly, even exceeding 60 millimeters, accompanied by thunderstorms and gales, according to the NMC.

The Ministry of Water Resources said that torrential rains have triggered flooding in 27 rivers exceeding warning levels across Guangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan between 8 am Saturday and 8 am Sunday. Some rivers exceeded thresholds by up to 3.71 meters, CCTV News reported Monday.

The Mengtong River in Yunnan experienced its worst flooding since 1979, according to CCTV News.

Last week, flash floods hit Huaiji county, South China's Guangdong Province. By noon on June 18, all 19 townships in the county had sustained damage, affecting around 300,000 residents, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Local authorities evacuated nearly 70,000 people as floodwaters surged. The disaster left 15 injured, though none serious, the report added.

Ma noted that Typhoon Wutip has brought heavy rainfall to southern regions, with extreme precipitation concentrated in mountainous areas. This has triggered mountain floods and debris flows, posing serious threats to the lives and property of local residents.

The MWR maintains a Level-IV flood emergency response in Zhejiang, Anhui, Central China's Hubei and Hunan provinces, Guangxi and Guizhou, deploying three task forces to assist flood control efforts in Hubei, Hunan and Guangxi.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Natural Resources activated geological disaster emergency responses in Hunan, Hubei, Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, Guizhou, and Henan amid persistent rainfall nationwide, dispatching professional teams to oversee disaster prevention.

In Hunan, the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration urgently deployed 81,500 relief items — including tents, folding beds, and summer quilts — to support emergency relocation and basic needs, CCTV News reported.

Ma, the expert, added that the summer grain harvest in the hardest-hit townships may be affected, though the overall impact on the national summer grain yield remains limited. Residents in severely affected areas are advised to expedite drainage of flooded farmland to reduce soil waterlogging once normal life is resumed. For fields with total crop failure, farmers should replant or switch to alternative crops based on local conditions.

China will hold a military parade in Tian'anmen Square, downtown Beijing, on Sept. 3 to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

President Xi Jinping will review the troops during the parade, which is held as part of a grand gathering to commemorate the anniversary.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, will deliver a speech at the gathering.

The military parade will feature marching formations, armored columns, and aerial echelons, and display new types of combat forces, including unmanned, intelligent equipment.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday sent a congratulatory letter to the 2025 SCO (the Shanghai Cooperation Organization) Forum on Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development, held in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

Xi pointed out that poverty eradication, a global issue, is a common goal of all countries in the world.

Through arduous efforts, China has successfully won the battle against poverty, achieved the poverty reduction target of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ten years ahead of schedule, blazed a poverty reduction path with Chinese characteristics, and written a new chapter in the history of mankind's fight against poverty, Xi said.

Stressing that the root cause of poverty is inadequate development, Xi said the SCO has actively carried out cooperation on poverty reduction and sustainable development in recent years, achieving remarkable results.

As the rotating chair of the SCO, China is willing to continuously enhance policy communication with all parties, share poverty reduction experience, deepen practical cooperation, help more countries explore poverty reduction and sustainable development paths that suit their national conditions, and join hands to build a beautiful world free from poverty and with common prosperity, Xi noted.

The forum opened in Xi'an on Tuesday under the theme of "Sustained Poverty Reduction and Cooperative Development: Advancing Poverty Alleviation and Sustainable Development among SCO Countries." The forum was co-hosted by the SCO Committee on Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation and the People's Government of Shaanxi Province.