Did that title get your attention? The same exact title appeared in a feature in today’s People’s Daily. The feature highlights major accomplishments, such as full countrywide mapping coverage at 1:50,000, digital urban model construction, Internet mapping sytems, precision measurement, and the real-time monitoring of changing geographic conditions. The launch of a high-resolution earth observation satellite this year, and the start of the Compass GNSS satellite navigation constellation, are also underway.
The full vision of integrated geospatial tools, and change monitoring, is there and actively being worked on. The feature admits that China isn’t yet at the premiere level in terms of high-grade precision instruments for surveying and mapping, such as lidar and surveying equipment, but these capabilities are clearly in their sites.