While a 6.2-magnitude earthquake jolted Jishishan county in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Northwest China's Gansu Province, on Monday at midnight, another 5.5-magnitude earthquake occurred near the city of Artux in the Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Tuesday morning. 

Analysts said that the two earthquakes have no direct connection. However, Artux is located in the Pamir-Tian Shan orogenic belt while Jishishan is located in the Qilian Mountains-Qinling orogenic belt, so both regions are affected by the northward subduction of the Indian Plate, which results in strong tectonic activity on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau.

Experts have called for increased proactive efforts to alleviate earthquakes' impact, such as promoting the mapping of China's seismic zones and increasing public understanding of disaster reduction and prevention.

As of press time, the earthquake in Gansu has caused 113 local deaths and 14 deaths in the adjacent Qinghai Province. Full-scale rescue efforts are being conducted, according to a press conference on Tuesday. Meanwhile, there have been no reports of any casualties or property damage from the one in Artux in Xinjiang. 

Jishishan county in Gansu Province is located on the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, which is part of the North-South seismic zone. The earthquake was a reverse fault earthquake with the fault along the northwestern ridge of Laji Mountain, Xu Xiwei, director of the National Institute of Natural Hazards and also professor at the China University of Geosciences, told the Global Times. 

China is located on the Eurasian Plate, with the southern part being squeezed by the Indian Ocean Plate, and the Pacific Plate subducting westward, squeezing the central and eastern regions of the country. China is simultaneously affected by the compression of the three major plates, with active faults in some areas. The Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and Xinjiang are located in the forefront of the collision between the Indian Ocean Plate and the Eurasian Plate, according to Xu.

There is no direct connection between the two earthquakes that happened in Gansu and Xinjiang. In terms of geological structure, Gansu and Xinjiang are both located on the North-South seismic belt while occasional earthquakes are a normal part of crustal energy release, Wang Tun, head of a key earthquake early warning laboratory in China's Sichuan Province, told the Global Times.

Xu noted that the major reasons for the casualties in the Jishishan earthquake are due to various factors, including the relatively dense population in the affected areas, and people being asleep during late night, making them unable to take cover in time. 

He noted that more basic work for earthquake disaster prevention should be carried out, including promoting the mapping of active faults in China to provide a scientific basis for urban planning, construction, and seismic design of engineering projects. Buildings should also be constructed away from active fault lines, avoid steep slope areas and incorporate enhanced seismic resistance facilities.

Moreover, public awareness of earthquake prevention and disaster reduction should be improved to reduce casualties during disasters, said Xu. 

For the past two decades, China has worked to strengthen earthquake resistance capacity of rural areas. Wang noted that Gansu and Sichuan also fall within the scope of this improvement drive, with buildings in many areas seeing improved earthquake resistance compared to the past. However, the earthquake in Gansu shows that more efforts should be made in this field.

In recent years, China has also strengthened the issuance of earthquake early warnings to the public through television, mobile phones, loudspeakers, and other means. The Earthquake Early Warning System, jointly developed by the Institute of Care-life and the China Earthquake Administration, issued early warnings for this earthquake, providing warning to the Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture located 56 kilometers from the epicenter 12 seconds before the quake, and more than 20 seconds in adjacent regions, including Gansu's capital city Lanzhou. 

This earthquake is the 80th destructive earthquake successfully predicted by the Earthquake Early Warning System since 2011. Wang said that promoting earthquake early warning services is also an important way to reduce casualties in disasters.

Temperatures in about 90 percent of regions in China will fall below zero in the coming two days, as the cold air that has been freezing northern China will also impact a significant portion of southern China, according to Weather China on Wednesday.

As of 4 pm on Wednesday, the highest temperatures in nine major cities in northern China reached a new low since the beginning of winter, including Harbin, Beijing, and Tianjin. According to the Weather China website, cold air will continue to move south from Thursday, and many places will hit new low temperatures since this winter.

Temperatures in about 90 percent of the country will drop below zero, Weather China said.

Additionally, it is expected that from Wednesday night to Thursday, there will be moderate to heavy snowfall in the Shandong peninsula and northern Xinjiang. Starting from Friday, the snowfall in the Shandong peninsula will gradually weaken and stop.

Facing the recent extremely cold weather, many netizens are discussing whether it is a "warm winter" as predicted by some experts. According to the National Climate Center, determining whether a year or a month is warmer than usual is not based on a single weather event; instead, it involves comparing the average temperatures over a period of time to assess whether they significantly deviate from the historical average for the same period.

The prediction of a "warm winter" does not mean that there won't be strong cold or warm events during this winter. The variation cycle of weather processes is still evident, and there will also be strong cold air. However, people usually remember extreme events more vividly and are less likely to remember average temperatures, so there may be a deviation in perception, experts noted.

According to the National Climate Center, it is expected that in January and February 2024, temperatures in most parts of China will be close to the average for the same period, but with significant fluctuations between warm and cold.

Three naturalized short track speed skaters stole the spotlight at an opening training session of the Chinese national short track team on Tuesday, as a 27-athlete national team training camp is underway.

At a training facility for the national team next to the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, Lin Xiaojun, Liu Shaolin and Liu Shaoang were garnering media attention by overshadowing China's homegrown athletes and Olympic champions Ren Ziwei and Fan Kexin. 

Liu Chenyu, the team leader of the national short track team, told reporters that the training camp has been undergoing "dynamic adjustments" since its establishment in May. It consists of 15 male and 12 female athletes. 

Based on the performances they delivered at the national championships in late March, eight young athletes who were born after 2004 were summoned to the training camp to prepare for the junior short track international competitions this year. 

The plan is to conduct selections at the end of August and form a new national team in early September, taking into account physical fitness tests and on-ice assessments, Liu said, before stating that the ultimate goal of the team remains the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. 

"At this stage we are not setting any high targets for the athletes but focusing on gradual progress," the team leader told reporters. "Through years of training and international competition experience, I believe they will achieve great results at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games."

The national team's participation in the new season will involve a relatively heavy schedule with 14 international events, including six World Cup events, the World Championships and Four Continents Championships. In addition, there will be the World Junior Championships, as well as the upcoming Winter Youth Olympics early in 2024. 

Zhang Jing, the head coach of the national team, said that the new season is a "consolidation period" for the entire team, before adding that she hopes the young athletes can mature through competitions and "compete with world champions and Olympic champions" to reach a more solid stage of development.

The aforementioned three naturalized athletes, who previously followed a training regime different from that of domestic athletes, have adopted a more independent training approach since joining the team, Zhang said. 

The experienced players have been very helpful to their younger teammates in underlining the importance of paying attention to training details, Zhang said, noting this mentorship is the key to improving the quality of training of the team. 

Brothers Liu Shaolin and Liu Shaoang, both Olympic gold medalists who once represented Hungary and now have completed their naturalization process for China, expressed great satisfaction with their training as part of the national team. 

Liu Shaolin mentioned that although they have trained extensively abroad in places such as Canada, the US and Italy, the conditions in China are their best to date.

"We have experienced the advantages of teamwork and mutual assistance within the national team, from coaches to equipment and massage therapists, all of whom provide top-level support," Liu Shaolin told reporters. 

When asked if they are confident about winning Olympic gold again, Liu Shaolin noted that the duo wouldn't be in Beijing if they lacked confidence, while Liu Shaoang noted the ultimate goal for them is always standing on the top of the podium at the Olympic Games. 

Lin, who joined the national team after obtaining Chinese citizenship from South Korea, had to miss the initial training sessions of the national team due to a shoulder injury. He underwent his eighth shoulder surgery to focus on preparing for the Milan Winter Olympics.

Expressing that the shoulder injury currently does not hinder his skating training after undergoing rehabilitation, Lin has also been active in learning Chinese.

"I study Chinese one hour a day," Lin told reporters in Putonghua (Standard Chinese) after a journalist asked about his language proficiency. Teammate Liu Guanyi, who speaks Korean thanks to his Korean ethnicity, helps interpret for Lin whenever the latter, a hot favorite on social media, faces language barriers.

When asked about the love from Chinese fans, Lin expressed his gratitude and stated that he will do his best to improve at short track speed skating together with his teammates. He also credited head coach Zhang for helping him overcome difficulties thanks to her thorough consideration for the athletes. 

The Chinese university badminton team, facing strong pressure from the Chinese Tapei team, maintained their lead in the sport at the FISU Games on Monday, as they totaled four gold, three silver and one bronze medal in badminton.

China's female singles player Han Yue continued her fine form on ­Monday as she won the women's singles title with a stylish 2-0 victory over her opponent Kim Ga-ram of South Korea.

Coasting to the final by winning all the previous four matches by straight 2-0 wins, Han said she gave her all for the final.

"As it is the final of the tournament, I have to go all out. I prepared for a tough match but it turned out to be an easy one," the Tongji University student told reporters. 

"I feel honored to have participated in the University Games during my college years. This is a very valuable experience."

Speaking about the home advantages she enjoyed at the Chengdu Games, Han, 24, said she had to channel the pressure into impetus for the home game.

"Certainly, there is pressure since it's a home game. But the gold medal is important to me so I have to push myself more," Han said. 

"I'm thankful to coaches Li Xuerui and Wang Shixian for providing me with valuable advice during the matches."

Li is a former Olympic champion, while Wang has won several major international accolades for China. 

Han has already set her sights on the badminton world championships that kick off on August 21 in Copenhagen, Denmark. 

"I will focus on preparing for this year's event as it is already very close," Han said. 

Also on Monday, Team China secured the doubles gold and silver medals as Chinese pair Liu Wenmei and Liu Xuanxuan defeated teammates Xia Yuting and Du Yue 18-21, 21-19 and 21-14 in the women's competition. 

Ren Xiangyu and Tan Qiang overshadowed peers Zhou Haodong and He Jiting 23-21 and 21-16 in the men's event.

In the men's singles final, the last match of the badminton tournament, China's Wang Zhengxing defeated Thailand's Teeraratsakul Panitchaphon 21-16, 21-14 claim gold.