On October 28, 2025, the "Global Environment Outlook" course of the International College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), organized a visit for 19 international students to the National Major Science and Technology Infrastructure — the Earth System Numerical Simulation Facility (also known as “Huan”), located in Huairou Science City, Beijing. The visit was guided by lecturers from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, who provided in-depth explanations and visual demonstrations to help students better understand China’s latest scientific achievements and technological innovations in the field of Earth system science.
The "Earth System Numerical Simulation Facility" is China’s first independently developed large-scale infrastructure dedicated to Earth system modeling. Centered on a suite of integrated numerical simulation software for multiple components of the Earth system—including the atmosphere,ocean,land surface,cryosphere,and biosphere—the facility enables comprehensive simulation of their complex interactions. Equipped with a high-performance computing platform and advanced data visualization systems,it supports cutting-edge research in climate change prediction,extreme event simulation,environmental pollution tracing,and ecosystem response analysis. This facility marks a major milestone in advancing China’s Digital Earth initiative and strengthening the nation’s scientific capacity for global environmental governance.
During the visit,the students not only learned about the overall architecture and development of "Huan",but also experienced immersive 3D visualizations that vividly demonstrated how Earth system models simulate global climate and environmental changes.
This field trip was an integral part of the Global Environment Outlook course. Since the 1990s, the United Nations Environment Programme has launched the Global Environment Outlook report series, which provides a comprehensive assessment of environmental changes, driving forces, and policy responses at global and regional levels. Based on the sixth Global Environment Outlook report and its regional assessments, this course introduces the current state of the global environment, major drivers, changing trends, and future scenarios, with a focus on the latest progress and emerging directions in environmental governance and sustainable development. In the 2025–2026 academic year (fall semester), a total of 19 international students from 9 different countries enrolled in this course. After completing one year of intensive study at the International College, they will continue their research and academic training at various institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other schools of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS).
The lecturer introduces applications of the"Earth System Numerical Simulation Facility"
Group Photo of the Internship for the"Global Environment Outlook"Course
