Connecting Wuhan city of Central China's Hubei province and Hefei city of East China's Anhui province, a world-leading quantum communication line was officially put into service on Tuesday.
The Wuhan-Hefei trunk line is a major part of China's quantum communication network, designed to secure the information exchange in central China.
Read more: World-leading quantum network launched in C China
Thanks to the technology, users from the military, government, finance, and electricity sectors are able to send messages in a way that ensures only they and their intended audience can read them.
The network, in comparison to traditional communication technologies, features ultra-high security and is able to ward off hackers by using quantum photons.
Quantum communication in China
China has made tremendous efforts in developing quantum technology over the years.
In 2010, the first large-scale quantum communication test network in China began construction and started operation two years later.
In September 2017, the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced that the world's first quantum-encrypted network was ready for use, which connects Beijing and Shanghai, reaching further to Mozi satellite out in space. The total bandwidth of the ground network is about 20 kilobits per second.
Read more: Not only satellite: China's quantum network connects Beijing, Shanghai and the space
One month later, the world's first quantum communication trunk line opened in China. Named "Shanghai-Hangzhou Quantum Communication Commercial Trunk Line (or Shanghai-Hangzhou trunk line)," the 260-kilometer-long connection links Shanghai Municipality and the eastern city of Hangzhou, with a price tag of nearly 25 million US dollars.
In the theoretical field, China transmitted entangled photons across 1,200 km in June by using the Mozi satellite. As the world's first quantum communication satellite, Mozi is expected to provide a technical foundation for China to build a self-developed ultra-secure communication system.
Mozi satellite /VCG Photo
The satellite's launch lays a technical foundation for large-scale quantum networking and experimental research into quantum communication, as well as experimental testing in the basic principles of physics.