Until only a few years ago, if you'd describe China as an innovative country, or ask people in the U.S. or Europe about Chinese technology, most people would laugh and say that China is the home of cheap products that fill store shelves around the world.

But over the last few years, China has made marvelous progress in innovation. From the Sunway TaihuLight supercomputer, the fastest in the world, to the 500-meter-wide radio telescope in southwest China's Guizhou Province, to the development of lithium battery to 3D-printed blood vessels made from stem cells and renewable energy technologies, Chinese innovations are making a name for themselves.