1. FAST telescope

A hollow that formed 45 million years ago following the collapse of a karst cave in southwestern China's Guizhou province is now home to the world's largest radio telescope. Scientists say it will become a big, sensitive "ear," listening to sounds from distant galaxies and decoding cosmic messages.

With an investment of 1.2 billion yuan ($182 million), China's largest ever astronautics project began in March 2011 and will be completed in September of this year. Once complete, the "Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope," or FAST, will surpass the capability of Puerto Rico's Arecibo Observatory, which is 305 meters in diameter.(Photo/Weibo of People's Daily)