Zong Qinghou, the founder and chairman of Hangzhou Wahaha Group, China passed away on Sunday at the age of 79. As one of the most respected representatives of China’s first generation of entrepreneurs (企业家) since the country embarked on reform and opening-up in 1978, Zong’s down-to-earth style and innovative spirit greatly impressed the public.

Born in 1945 in Suqian, Jiangsu province, Zong took over a small grocery store at a school in Hangzhou in 1987. In 1989, he founded Hangzhou Wahaha Nutritional Food Factory. In 1996, Zong launched Wahaha AD calcium milk, which became a great hit with Chinese consumers. The company’s products now cover more than 200 categories, including purified water, milk and yogurt drinks, carbonated drinks, fruit and vegetable juice, tea and coffee drinks, with its sales revenue reaching 51.2 billion yuan in 2022. It has nearly 30,000 employees and 8l production bases nationwide. Zong was ranked as the country’s richest person in 2010, 2012 and 2013 by business magazine Forbes.

However, Zong led a simple life, and it was common to see him dressed in a white shirt and black cloth shoes. He once said, “I am an ordinary person, but luckily I was born in such an era (时代).” He said that Wahaha would not exist without reform and opening-up. He said that Chinese entrepreneurs should fulfill their social responsibilities, and create wealth for the people, adding that they should create more employment opportunities and participate in public welfare activities, contributing to the country’s economic and social development.

Moreover, Zong attached great importance to technological innovation to ensure the quality and diversity (多样性) of Wahaha’s products in a highly competitive market, and provide strong impetus to the company’s sustainable growth. It is widely acknowledged that Zong’s management philosophy has set an example for the development of China’s private economy.

The world's first restaurant operated by robots has attracted plenty of diners after it officially started service in Zhujiang New Town in this Guangdong provincial capital on Monday. The restaurant, which only serves Guangdong Shunde cuisine, allows robots to cook, deliver food, place orders for diners and handle most of the work in the restaurant.

“The robot chefs can actually compete with famous chefs from Shunde, which is known for its delicious dishes at home and abroad,” said a diner surnamed Chen. Chen and his friends praised the delicious food cooked by the robots after they tasted fried vegetables, steamed fish and braised pigeon in the restaurant on Monday. A local Shunde cuisine chef surnamed Ma Huiliang said he gave the fried vegetables cooked by the robot 90 out of 100 points. But Ma said he never worries that robots would replace chefs in the future. “On the contrary, it is a liberating opportunity for chefs when robots can cook,” he said. “Chefs can focus their work on innovation and research for new food to better inherit and develop Chinese cuisine when robots can cook.” Ma added.

Qiu Mi, assistant president of Country Garden Group, which runs the restaurant, said the restaurant now has 46 different kinds of robots that can do almost all the work of the restaurant, including welcoming clients, frying dishes, mixing wines, making dessert, cooking rice, operating a cloud rail system and delivering food.

And all the diners can see how their food is being cooked by robots in the kitchen, which is separated by transparent glass walls from the dining hall, Qiu said. The restaurant combines new and high technology with traditional Chinese cuisine, Qiu added.

Protect the night sky

As a nature photographer, stars have always been one of my favourite elements in the photos. They offer an connection to a universe that is mysterious and grand, connecting our earthly lives to the heavens. Since the earliest recorded history, the night sky has sparked our imaginations and become deeply rooted in our cultures, traditions, artwork, and in later years, has inspired the development of technology with the hope of reaching beyond our blue planet.

With the development of the industrial (工业的) world, though, we have begun to lose the clarity (清晰) that thousands of generations of people and wildlife before us have enjoyed. Because of excesssive (过度) use of lighting, stars have become fainter (模糊的). For photographers hoping to capture the magic of the night sky, they must seek new places. Dark places are far from the reach of a city, and those place are becoming harder and harder to find.

Thanks to conservation groups, led by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), we have an opportunity to improve our night skies and recapture ancient magic. By holding the International Dark-Sky week, a yearly celebration of the night sky, the IDA is helping cities, communities and families do their part in helping make skies darker. Dark skies benefit more than just nature photographers; they are important to many wildlife species that also depend on them.

Here are some simple steps we all can do that are easy and inexpensive:

* Change your light bulbs to a dark-sky-friendly color, the closer the light is similar to “firelight” and the further it is away from a blue or white color, the better it is for the environment.

* Use a light fixture that channels the light down and instead of wide and open.

* Turn your lights off before bed!