A military jet takes off from a highway in Central Chinas Henan Province on May 25. The takeoff took place as Chinas air force held the first ever tests of a specially designed highway that intentionally doubles up as a runway for aircraft.

The strip is one of the best road runways in the country， according to Liu Shenyang， deputy chief of the Jinan Military Area Command.

The highway can serve as an alternative airport for civilian airplanes and allows takeoffs and landings of cargo planes. It can also be used in exercises and training for military airplanes as well as for emergency landings during wartime， he added.

Smog Assessment

On May 27， the State Council， Chinas cabinet， issued regulations on assessing local governments performance in their implementation of a nationwide action plan for air pollution control.

The Central Government is trying to tie local officials career progressions with their work on air pollution control in a bid to provide them with more

incentive to carry out this essential work.

Under the action plan， which was put into practice in September 2013， the Central Government aims to cut the density of inhalable particulate matter by at least 10 percent in major cities nationwide by 2017.

PM 2.5， a key indicator of air pollution， should fall by about 25 percent from 2012 levels in Beijing and its surrounding provincial areas by 2017， while the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta regions are expected to see reductions of 20 percent and 15 percent， respectively.

Provincial governments will be assessed annually in terms of their implementation of the plan by 2017.

Returning Students

More than 1.4 million Chinese overseas students returned to China after graduating over the past 35 years， according to statistics released by the Ministry of Education （MOE） on May 27.

The MOE cited figures that over 3.05 million people pursued degrees in foreign countries from 1978， the beginning of Chinas opening-up policy， till the end of 2013.

Among the more than 1.65 million people who have not returned， 1.07 million are still studying or doing research abroad.

Along with its rising strength and economic development， Chinas demand for skilled and talented minds is also on the rise， according to a statement issued by the MOE. It estimated that the number of students studying abroad and graduates returning to China will continue to grow rapidly.