Beijing Electron Positron Collider (BEPC)

　　As a national flagship engineering project for basic research and high-tech development, Beijing Electron-Positron Collider (BEPC) completed its first successful operation on October 16, 1988. The accomplishment of BEPC helped China's high-energy accelerator technology enter the international advanced level of the 1980s. It was hailed as another major scientific achievement next to China's successful development of man-made satellites and other achievements.

　　BEPC was a cooperation project between China and the United States and was set to be one of China's major science projects in 1984. It was in the charge of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP), with an investment of RMB240 million.

　　The project covers a construction area of about 5,7500 square meters, and shapes like a badminton racket. It consists of the injector, the storage ring, the transportation line, the Beijing Spectrometer (BES), the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility (BSRF) and the computer center.

　　The project began construction on October 7, 1984 in Beijing. On October 23, 1985, the linear electron accelerator was successfully developed; on October 23, 1986, the storage ring was successfully made; in December 1987, negatron spilled; in May 1988, positron spilled. On October 16, 1988, BEPC started its first successful operation. It passed official examination on July 21, 1990, and worked well from then on.

　　The BEPC is noted for its application in scientific exploration and applied research. It is an indispensable tool for probing the subatomic universe in high-energy physics and its use in synchronic radiation. With the improvement of its synchrotron emission upon the completion of its second-phase construction, it will become a powerful instrument for exploration of protein structure, nano-materials and many other fields.

　　In order to facilitate the scientific exploration of the subatomic world and maintain China's position in high energy physics, CAS has put RMB90 million into the initial phase of BEPC renovation and pre-research since 1999. CAS will inject more than RMB400 million (about US$48 million) over the next five years into improving the performance of BEPC.