Highlights of China's scientific and technological achievements in 2016 (3)

　　Photo taken on Sept 24, 2016 shows the 500-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) in Pingtang county, Southwest China's Guizhou province. The FAST, world's largest radio telescope, measuring 500 meters in diameter, was completed and put into use on Sept 25. FAST, also called "China's eye of heaven," is the world's largest and most sensitive radio telescope, and China holds the intellectual property rights to it. Work on the nearly 1.2-billion-yuan ($180 million) project started in 2011, and the installation of the telescope's main structure -- a 4,450-panel reflector as large as 30 football pitches -- was finished in early July this year. FAST's tasks include survey of neutral hydrogen in the space, observation of pulsars as well as spacecraft tracking and communications. China achieved major breakthroughs in scientific and technological development in 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]