While the majority of Chinese botanists have directed their research efforts toward studying the rich flora of China, a select few have ventured into the unexplored realms of African flora. Wang Shengwei at the Wuhan Botanical Garden stands out as one of these explorers. He delves deep into the intricate tapestry of African plant diversity and distribution. Over the years, he has traveled to African countries many times.

Seek knowledge even if you have to go as far as China, as an Arabic old saying goes. For Osama Abdalla Abdelshafy Mohamed, an Egyptian young scientist, his journey in China has not only been about knowledge-seeking but also life-rewarding, reflecting the flourishing talent exchanges between China and Egypt. He has been working at the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG), the Chinese Academy of Sciences, for almost 10 years, and calls Xinjiang his second home.

In an office drawer of Chinese scientist Wei Yuansong lies a thank-you letter written in Sinhalese and signed off by an entire Sri Lankan village. The letter, having passed through many hands and franked in various locations, tells shared memories of a decade-long fight against a killer kidney disease that had plagued the locals for years due to a lack of safe drinking water.

Wang Qingfeng, who is director of the Wuhan Botanical Garden and director of the Sino-Africa Joint Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has spent nearly 30 years traveling back and forth between Africa and China as he cataloged Africa's diverse plant life.

Dr. WANG Aiying joined the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), since the position of NIMTE is quite consistent with her research goals. Now in Ningbo, Dr. WANG collaborates with her research group to renovate surface engineering technology and manufacture advanced coating deposition systems, escorting pillars of the Great Power into the air and the sea.

If Xishuangbanna is an oasis on the Tropic of Cancer, then XTBG is the most dazzling gem in that oasis. This 1,125-hectare park preserves over 13,000 species of tropical plants in its 35 living collections, including over 301 families and 2,110 genera. In the eyes of ecologists, this vast beauty holds a plethora of secrets about nature. Hundreds of researchers and students from more than 30 countries work together there to decipher nature's code. Nakamura is one of them.

Born in Ningbo, Dr. LU Zhiyi honed his expertise in environment and catalysis research during his four-year expedition at Stanford University. Now in his howntown, he's leading innovation to provide hydrogen solution for energy and environmental issues at the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, by virtue of a vibrant team and his multi-displinary research background.

Tracking Chinese white dolphins in the sea under the scorching sun is a common scene of the work for French scientist Agathe Serres. Now an expert in the study of Chinese white dolphins, Agathe came to China in 2016 to study for a doctorate before she secured a job as an assistant researcher at the Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering (IDSSE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Whenever XIE Congxin talks about his research work, his eyes light up with passion. Research is the most meaningful aspects of his life for XIE. "I have been dedicated to the solution to a problem for the past three years, which is how to improve the energy density of aqueous batteries," XIE said. Aqueous batteries are mainly used for large-scale stationary energy storage. They use water as the solvent for the electrolyte, which greatly improves battery safety compared with traditional non-aqueous lithium-ion batteries. However, challenges are, their low energy density and low battery voltage due to the limited solubility of electrolytes.

Luo Jie, an associate researcher from the Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, is a keen diving enthusiast, which allows him to breed corals not only limited to his laboratory but also in real waters. Luo still recalls the vast, colorful "undersea forests" he encountered nine years ago as a novice diver. However, the beautiful scenes have been long replaced by more and more pale coral "graveyards."