August 13， 2021： An aerial view of a herd of wild Asian elephants in Mojiang County， Pu’er City， southwestern China’s Yunnan Province.

A wandering elephant herd finished its northbound trip recently， returning to its natural habitat in Mojiang County. The herd departed its traditional habitat in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture last year and started traveling towards north in April. They passed through eight counties in the province during the trip.

Their northbound trip attracted attention from the central authorities， who decided to strengthen work on elephant protection and restore their habitat. Their trip also went viral on the internet worldwide. courtesy of Yunnan Forest Fire Brigade

August 1， 2021： Su Bingtian reacts after qualifying for the men’s 100-meter final at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Su set an Asian record of 9.83 seconds in the 100-meter semifinals at the event， becoming the first Chinese to compete in an Olympic 100-meter final.

Leaving the Japanese capital with 38 gold， 32 silver， and 18 bronze medals， Team China tied its record gold haul from London 2012. China finished second on the overall medal table， one gold behind the United States’ leading 39. Xinhua

July 8， 2021： The skyline of historical neighborhood of Quanzhou City in eastern China’s Fujian Province.

On July 25， UNESCO approved “Quanzhou： Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China” as a cultural property on its World Heritage List during the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Fuzhou， capital of Fujian Province. Located on narrow plains along the coastline of Fujian， Quanzhou was one of the world’s largest ports on the ancient Maritime Silk Road， particularly during the Song Dynasty （960-1279） and Yuan Dynasty （1271-1368）. Now， China’s total number of World Heritage sites has reached 56. Xinhua

August 20， 2021： Workers unload the first batch of singledose COVID-19 vaccines developed by Chinese company CanSino Biologics upon its arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang， Malaysia.

At the first meeting of the international forum on COVID-19 vaccine cooperation， China announced that it would provide a total of 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the world this year as part of recent efforts to honor its commitment to make vaccines a global public good by ensuring vaccine accessibility and affordability. Xinhua

August 21， 2021： A girl sits by Minion figures at the Universal Beijing Resort （UBR）. The resort has undergone internal pressure tests since August 20， with COVID-19 screening， disinfection， social distancing， and many other stringent measures being tested.

Located in southeastern Beijing， UBR is expected to become a new landmark for the capital’s international cultural exchange. It is the largest Universal Studios project worldwide， covering an area of four square kilometers. IC

June 29， 2021： A herd of yaks passes under the world’s highest expressway between the cities of Nagqu and Lhasa， in southwestern China’s Tibet Autonomous Region. The expressway opened on August 21 after the completion of the final 227-kilometer section between Nagqu and Yangbajain.

The Nagqu-Lhasa expressway runs 295 kilometers at an average altitude of over 4，500 meters. It is part of the expressway linking Beijing and Lhasa and the first highway connecting Lhasa to the grasslands of northern Tibet. Its operation can cut the drive between Lhasa and Nagqu from more than six hours to three. IC