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Global Times: Artist takes Shanbei storytelling to world stage with popular Chinese game ‘Black Myth: Wukong’

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BEIJING, Sept. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — In the opening of the second chapter of the Chinese AAA game Black Myth: Wukong, players find their character, “The Destined One,” gravely injured on the yellow sands, was only saved by the mournful strains of the folk drama in the north of Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, or Shanbei in Chinese, performed by the headless monk. The evocative lines “Success and failure, life and death, all are beyond reason,” and the poignant, melancholic tone of the performance resonate deeply with players.

This piece, lasting less than two minutes, has garnered over 10 million views on social media. It was performed by Xiong Zhuying, the inheritor of the art of Shanbei storytelling, a kind of intangible cultural heritage.

Among all of the striking and exciting elements global gamers reflected on, they shared a common feeling of “ruggedness and desolation” upon hearing the piece of Shanbei storytelling for the first time.

“The traditional elements I used to perform have taken on a new life in the game. Although it may seem very traditional, this collision has actually created something popular that resonates with all audiences,” Xiong told the Global Times.

As traditional art forms nowadays struggle to find their place in modern media spaces, Xiong’s combination of Shanbei storytelling with modern gaming has attracted world attention. International players, despite not being fluent in Chinese, or Putonghua, find themselves captivated by the rhythm and emotion conveyed, listening to it repeatedly and moving to its beat.

“This collaboration has really made me feel that what is ethnic is also universal,” Xiong said.

Extensive revisions

It all began in 2022 when the game’s production team reached out to Xiong with an intriguing proposal.

“I was thrilled at the prospect,” Xiong recalled. “Shanbei storytelling is a vital part of our cultural heritage, and I saw this as an opportunity to introduce it to a broader audience.”

The initial challenge was to adapt the traditional lyrics and performance style to fit the game’s narrative. Xiong noted that the original lyrics provided were somewhat rigid and didn’t quite capture the essence of Shanbei storytelling.

“The lyrics need to rhyme, with seven characters per line, and be catchy and easy to sing,” Xiong explained. He noted that the musical style should allow one person to play multiple roles, expressing a range of emotions like joy, anger, and sorrow. The performer should shift between being a storyteller and the characters within the story, jumping in and out of different roles, reflecting a style of dynamic character portrayal.

After extensive revisions and numerous performances, Xiong crafted a version that harmonized with the game’s aesthetic while preserving the integrity of the traditional art form.

The new form complements the eerie and otherworldly environment of the game. Xiong noted that the northwestern singing style and pronunciation have an inherent bleakness that aligns with the character’s state.

A long path

In 2016, Shanbei storytelling was included in the first batch of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List in China. This significant form of traditional narrative art in the vast and remote area in Northwest China is particularly popular in northern Shaanxi, including areas like Yan’an and Yulin.

Historically, performances were conducted by blind artists, who sang and played instruments such as Sanxian, a three-stringed traditional Chinese lute, or pipa, a four-string plucked lute. It was not only a form of performing art, but also a way to make a living.

“I was exposed to this art form from a young age,” he recalled. “Listening to cassette tapes of Shanbei performances and attending local shows instilled in me a deep appreciation for this tradition.” He then met his master at a temple fair. The master told him that he might make a better living if he learned Shanbei storytelling.

His professional career began in 2009 when he joined the Hengshan District Cultural Center as a special artistic talent. Over the years, Xiong has refined his craft and expanded the boundaries of Shanbei storytelling. His performances have earned him accolades and opportunities to showcase his art on international stages, including at the Chinese Quyi (folk art forms) Festival in Paris and the Bachshi International Art Festival.

But he still went through a very tough period.

“I could barely support my family at the time, but it was the passion and the opportunity that made me persist,” Xiong said.

The opportunity Xiong got was to perform for the animated film Xuanmen: The Faces of All Living Beings. The success of this project, which combined Shanbei storytelling with animation, bolstered Xiong’s confidence in cross-genre fusion.

“When I first combined Shanbei storytelling with animation, I wasn’t sure how it would be received. But the positive response gave me the confidence to explore other innovative collaborations,” Xiong said.

For Xiong, innovation is not about abandoning tradition but rather enhancing it. His approach involves blending traditional Shanbei storytelling with modern elements, including rap and pop music.

“After the collaboration, I found innovation is crucial to keeping Shanbei storytelling relevant,” he said.

Beyond his professional achievements, Xiong is also deeply committed to preserving and promoting Shanbei storytelling. He also noted that once the excitement dies down, he wants to actively teach and mentor the younger generations to ensure that the art form continues to thrive.

 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-times-artist-takes-shanbei-storytelling-to-world-stage-with-popular-chinese-game-black-myth-wukong-302235420.html

SOURCE Global Times

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Eoptolink Releases OSFP 1.6T DR8 and 2FR4 Series Transceivers for AI/ML Clusters and Cloud Datacenter Networks

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September 20, 2024

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CHENGDU, China, Sept. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Eoptolink Technology Inc., Ltd. (SZSE: 300502), a leading innovator and provider of advanced optical transceiver solutions, announces the release of its OSFP 1.6T DR8/DR8-2 and 2xFR4 transceivers enabling the next generation high bandwidth networks for AI/ML clusters and cloud datacenters.

Eoptolink 1.6T OSFP transceivers have 8 electrical host interfacing lanes and 8 optical lanes operating at 212.5Gb/s (106GB with PAM4). Equipped with the industry’s latest DSP, these modules support transmission distances of up to 2km without the need to regenerate the FEC. The 1.6T DR8 and DR8-2 modules comes with either one MPO-16 adapter for point-to-point (P2P) connections or two MPO-12 adapters for 2x800G breakout applications. The 1.6T 2xFR4 modules are designed with a dual duplex LC connector running with 2 pairs of fibers only, which could help users to save fiber resources compared to DR8 and DR8-2 versions.

The 1.6T DR8/DR8-2 and 2FR4 Portfolio consists of: – 

EOLO-13T-5H-XMX    OSFP 1.6T DR8, 1×1.6TbE, 500m, MPO-16
EOLO-13T-5H-XDX    OSFP 1.6T DR8, 2x800GbE, 500m, Dual MPO-12
EOLO-13T-02-XMX    OSFP 1.6T DR8-2, 1×1.6TbE, 2km, MPO-16
EOLO-13T-02-XDX     OSFP 1.6T DR8-2, 2x800GbE, 2km, Dual MPO-12
EOLO-16T-02-XXX     OSFP 1.6T 2FR4, 2x800GbE, 2km, Dual Duplex LC

Eoptolink OSFP 1.6T transceivers feature both EML and SiPh-based solutions, and testing has demonstrated excellent performance. “We are very proud of our optical and RF design teams, says Sean Davies, VP Sales, Eoptolink Technology Inc., Ltd. “Our 1.6T OSFP modules do not need an additional FEC on the optical side and this results in lower latency and power consumption of the modules simplifying the complete system and helping our AI and cloud customers in their work.”

About Eoptolink

Eoptolink Technology Inc., Ltd. (SZSE: 300502), a publicly traded company in China, is a leading innovator and provider of advanced optical transceiver solution for data center, enterprise and telecom networks. Eoptolink is dedicated to research, develop, manufacture and markets a diverse portfolio of high-performance optical transceivers for AI, Cloud Data Center, 4G/5G wireless, Transport & Datacom and FTTX applications all over the world.

Contact Us

China(HQ):   

No.510 Wulian Avenue, Chengdu 610200

USA:   

3191 Laurelview Court, Fremont, CA 94538

Thailand:   

390/21 Moo 2, Khao Khan Song, Sriracha, Chonburi 20110

E-mail:  

sales@eoptolink.com 

 

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SOURCE Eoptolink Technology Inc., Ltd.

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Flat Ads Makes Its Mark at DMEXCO 2024: Showcasing Strength in Programmatic Advertising

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September 20, 2024

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COLOGNE, Germany, Sept. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — In September, Flat Ads makes its mark at DMEXCO 2024, the prestigious European event of digital marketing and technology. The highly successful exhibition boasts 650 exhibitors, 850 speakers, and thousands of participants. At the event, Flat Ads showcased the strength of programmatic advertising platform in ad delivery, traffic optimization, and brand safety.

Flat Ads programmatic advertising platform has an exclusive developer traffic of 700 million and an extensive network spanning over 200 countries and regions worldwide. It cooperates with over 200 leading DSP/SSP partners, including FreeWheel, PubMatic and Criteo, leveraging an efficient and complete bidding system, as well as automatic delivery algorithms, to achieve precise marketing and advertising effectiveness maximization.

With its exclusive platform strategy algorithm, Flat Ads programmatic advertising platform can continuously conduct automatic exploration and matching based on the characteristics of DSP and traffic, optimize and adjust the algorithm model in real-time. This not only ensures the sustainability of DSP budgets, but also maximizes traffic utilization and enhances monetization revenue of advertisements.

Moreover, brand protection is among the top priorities of Flat Ads. In addition to accessing to authority agency Pixalate to test the effectiveness of ads, it has also accessed HUMAN, the global cybersecurity authority to safeguard its clients by preventing bot attacks, digital fraud and abuse, ensuring a stable, reliable, and secure programmatic advertising transaction platform.

By participating in DMEXCO 2024, Flat Ads showcased its outstanding strength and fruitful achievements in the programmatic advertising field, attracting the attention of numerous advertisers and developers for cooperation. Flat Ads boasts not only robust technical capabilities and innovative prowess, but also an active and open attitude towards emerging technologies, embracing and exploring them. It remains committed to providing more professional and efficient global marketing services to advertisers and developers worldwide, helping clients stand out in the fiercely competitive market and achieve business growth.

As a globally leading mobile advertising marketing platform, Flat Ads currently operates offices in Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou, serving over 1000 clients with global marketing solutions. If you’re interested in Flat Ads’ programmatic advertising services, please visit www.flat-ads.com.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/flat-ads-makes-its-mark-at-dmexco-2024-showcasing-strength-in-programmatic-advertising-302253872.html

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Tulufan, Xinjiang: For the first time, a new energy plant and station has achieved “all-green electricity” operation

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1 hour ago

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September 20, 2024

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TULUFAN, China, Sept. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — On September 19, employees of State Grid Tulufan Electric Power Supply Company came to State Power Investment Zhongli Tenghui Qiquanhu Photovoltaic Power Station to provide comprehensive technical support and guidance for new energy enterprises.

Seven wind power and photovoltaic power generation enterprises, including Xinjiang Jize Power Generation Company in Tulufan, have obtained 6.035 million KWH of grid electricity by purchasing 6,035 “green certificates” to achieve “green electricity – green electricity” and achieve green energy use in the whole link of new energy power generation.

The green power certificate, referred to as “green certificate”, is the only certificate that identifies the production and consumption of renewable energy power. Promoting the all-green operation of new energy power generation is an important measure to promote the green consumption of renewable energy.

“Before, we were just ‘producers’ of green electricity. Now the buyers of green certificates have become green electricity consumers, and the production process is fully green.” Qiquan Lake photovoltaic power station inspection officer Forzati Dilishati said.

Since the launch of the green electricity and green certificate market, State Grid Tulufan Electric Power Supply Company has actively promoted green electricity trading, promoted the supply of green electricity and green certificates in multiple scenarios, promoted the rapid promotion and popularization of related services in Tulufan, and helped build a new power system.

In the first eight months of this year, the cumulative volume of green electricity transactions in Xinjiang reached 1.174 billion KWH, 93.83 times that of the whole year of 2022.

 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/tulufan-xinjiang-for-the-first-time-a-new-energy-plant-and-station-has-achieved-all-green-electricity-operation-302253902.html

SOURCE State Grid Tulufan Electric Power Supply Company

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