Residents wearing protective suits walk into a railway station in Nanjing, East China’s Jiangsu province. China began 2021 with strict travel restrictions as the country used lockdowns to contain the spread of Covid-19. Photo: VCG

Residents get Covid-19 vaccines on Jan. 6 in Beijing. China began to vaccinate key populations in regions like Beijing and Shandong province in January. The country has provided over 2 billion doses of vaccine to more than 120 countries as of Sunday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Photo: VCG

On Feb. 20, the 400-year-old Wengding village located in southwest China’s Yunnan province was destroyed in a fire, forcing hundreds of villagers to leave their homes during the Chinese New Year. Photo: IC Photo

A sandstorm smothered Beijing on March 15, pushing PM10 readings to hazardous levels. Northern China was hit by a series of sandstorms from March to April. Photo: VCG

The discovery of relics at Sanxingdui, one of the country’s most important Bronze Age archaeological sites in Southwest China’s Sichuan province, attracted wide attention in March. Photo: VCG

In April, China’s first Mars rover was named Zhurong by the National Space Administration. The rover landed on Mars in May. Photo: VCG

Pictures of the sleeping wild elephant herd that started their long journey in southwest China’s Yunnan province on April 16 captivated China’s social media users on June 7. Photo: VCG

People across China mourned Yuan Longping, the country’s father of hybrid rice following his death in Changsha, Central China’s Hunan province, on May 22. Photo: VCG

Shenzhou-12 crew Tang Hongbo took the picture from space. The Shenzhou-12 lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on June 17, sending Astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming, and Tang Hongbo into the space. Photo: Tang Hongbo/China Manned Space Engineering Office

A Tibetan woman carries components of cryptocurrency mining machines on May 2 in Heishui county of Sichuan province. China banned cryptocurrency mining in June. Photo: Ding Gang/Caixin

China decided to downgrade the status of giant panda from ‘endangered’ to ‘vulnerable’ on July 9, as the number of the animal has reached over 1,800 in the wild. Photo: VCG

Ceremonies, fireworks and lighting shows were held around July 1 across China to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party. Photo: VCG

Flowers were laid outside an entrance to the Metro Line 5 station in Zhengzhou, Central China’s Henan province, on July 26 in remembrance of the victims who drowned in a flooded subway on July 20. Photo: Chen Liang/Caixin

In August, Su Bingtian broke the Asian record for the men’s 100-meter during the Tokyo Olympics in Japan. Photo: Fu Tian/China News Service, VCG

Quan Hongchan, 14, China’s youngest athlete at the Tokyo Olympics, claimed gold in women’s 10 meter diving in August in Japan. Photo: VCG

Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei, returned to China after spending nearly three years under house arrest in Vancouver, Canada, in September. Photo: VCG

Wang Yaping became China’s first woman to board the Tiangong space station and perform a spacewalk following the launch of the Shenzhou-13 mission on Oct. 16. Photo: Courtesy of China Manned Space Engineering Office

Heavy rainfalls hit North China’s Shanxi province in October, causing floods and landslides that damaged ancient architects and villages across the province. Photo: VCG

The tinder for 2022 Winter Olympics arrived in Shougang Park on Dec. 13 in Beijing. The city is preparing to host the upcoming Olympics Games. Photo: VCG