Can you imagine that a place in the world is exploring new frontiers of physics? While others chase trends, it is setting the course for the world. This place is not in Europe or the United States, but in Guangdong, China.
How far ahead is Guangdong in planning fundamental innovation? So far ahead that it could lead humanity to rediscover the Earth. The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), hidden beneath Jiangmen, reported its first physics result just two months after its commissioning. It improved the measurement accuracy of key neutrino parameters by 1.8 times, an efficiency surpassing what took similar international experiments a decade to achieve.
JUNO is an ultra-large scientific facility dedicated to neutrino research. The unique geographical conditions of Jiangmen make it a natural choice for this endeavor. Located 700 meters underground, this cosmic-ray-shielded space is essential for detecting the elusive traces of neutrinos.
But the "course" Guangdong is setting extends far beyond this. The Nansha Cold-seep Ecosystem Research Facility in Guangzhou is the world's first ultra-large scientific facility dedicated to studying the origins of deep-sea life. The Peng Cheng Cloud Brain of the Peng Cheng Laboratory in Shenzhen can support the training of large language models with tens of billions of parameters. The first phase of the China Spallation Neutron Source in Dongguan has been completed, and boron neutron capture therapy is entering clinical trials. There are also other major facilities like the High-Intensity Heavy-ion Accelerator Facility and the China Initiative Accelerator Driven System.
As the seeds of basic research take root in Guangdong, world-class pioneers of discovery are heeding the call and arriving here. JUNO has attracted over 700 top researchers from 17 countries. The Peng Cheng Laboratory has assembled doctoral teams from 7 universities. Even before the Nansha Cold-seep Ecosystem Research Facility is fully completed, deep-sea research teams worldwide have been reaching out for collaboration.
To be honest, groundbreaking innovation from zero to one is never easy. Guangdong has invested heavily in recent years. So why go to such lengths to set the course? For a craftsman to do his job well, he must first sharpen his tools. Having our own facilities allows for better research. The endless cycles of submitting proposals to foreign facilities, mailing materials, and waiting in queues are now a thing of the past. Now, experiments are conducted right on our doorstep, significantly boosting research efficiency.
Empowered by these ultra-large scientific facilities, research teams in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area can conduct cutting-edge work without leaving the region. Take the China Spallation Neutron Source in Dongguan as an example. When its construction began in 2011, the site was covered with lychee orchards. Now, propelled by this national strategic facility, Songshan Lake has gradually transformed into a hub for major research institutes such as materials science laboratories. This cluster is turning strategic emerging industries into pillar industries, with its GDP exceeding 100 billion yuan by 2025.
In fact, what Guangdong values is not immediate economic return, but core influence and competitiveness in science and technology for the decades ahead. It is determined to transform into a source of original innovation, completely overturning the stereotype of prioritizing applied research over basic research.
Original innovation is much like the neutrino: invisible and silent, yet capable of reshaping the universe.
