CRI听力:Hong Kong holds InnoTech Expo to inspire youngsters' interest in science

Over 100 exhibits featuring top technologies from both ancient and modern China are on display at the ongoing InnoTech Expo 2017 in Hong Kong, aiming to spur interest in science among young people.

The InnoTech Expo has a theme of "Displaying China's Civilization of Technology and Its Latest Innovation," and it follows the tracks of significant scientific and technological achievements, giving a full-fledged display of the wisdom and innovative spirit of the Chinese nation.

Tsui Lap-Chee, president of the Academy of Sciences of Hong Kong, said young students in Hong Kong can learn about the opportunities precipitated by the country's uNPRecedented development through the exhibitions.

"The InnoTech Expo is mainly aimed at facilitating Hong Kong residents, in particular the young generation, in getting to know more about the scientific progress in our country. They have a keen interest in understanding all these," Tsui said.

The nine-day expo consists of three main exhibition areas - astronomy, informatics and oceanography.

It incorporates 28 inventions of ancient Chinese science and technology dating back to thousands of years ago, such as the world's earliest compass, the achievement of ancient Chinese in proving the Pythagorean proposition, and nautical technologies in the era of Zheng He, a great navigator of the Ming Dynasty.

Also on display are dozens of cutting-edge technological developments in modern China, such as the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), the world's fastest supercomputer Sunway TaihuLight, Tianzhou spacecraft, and Liaoning aircraft carrier.

Many visitors at the Expo are impressed.

"I have seen the passenger jet C919. I think it's great. I feel quite proud," Ms Hu said at the exhibition.

"I think the exhibitions can surpass those in the U.S. and Europe. We have our own innovations and our unique advantages," visitor Mr Yu said.

The expo also includes an interactive area set up by the Chinese Academy of Sciences for visitors to learn more about cutting-edge science and technology through interactive games, as well as a Hong Kong section to exhibit works by local inventors.

Prior to the opening of the expo, there were over 100 thousand online reservations for it.