As a newcomer to the China International Import Expo this year held in Shanghai from Nov 5 to 10, Cardinal Health showcased a range of its newest vascular intervention and patient recovery innovations to both domestic and global visitors, while it also unveiled a new research partnership with BrosMed Medical Device Co Ltd aimed at developing the next generation of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) balloon products.

An employee of China Electronics Technology Group Corp checks a balloon before its ascent for an experiment.

Theme parks in China also launched diverse activities like balloon releases and firework shows to fuel the day of love.

Halis Aydogan, an official of the Turkish company Pasha Balloon Tours, told Xinhua that in Cappadocia, famous for its hot air balloon tours, Chinese tourists accounted for nearly half of some 600,000 balloon trip takers in 2019.

"As the expansion of LNG receiving capacity outpaces the growth of contracts, the gap between China's LNG contract supply and import terminal capacity is expected to balloon, which may lead to more contracts in the near term.

Some flying sports such as parachute jumping, stunt flying, hot balloon rides, and gliders have become increasingly popular, particularly among thrill-seeking Chinese consumers.

By 2020, China's senior living sector is about to reach a market scale worth 7.7 trillion yuan ($1 trillion), and further balloon to 22.3 trillion yuan by 2030, a report published by CPIC Allianz Health Insurance Co Ltd said.

The remote-controlled balloon wowed the cosmopolitan crowd of onlookers at the Dubai Mall.

Besides, extreme sports like hiking, scuba diving, surfing, parachute jumping, and hot-air balloon flights are becoming popular among Chinese tourists visiting overseas destinations.

For example, many Chinese visitors would like to experience hot-air balloon rides in Cappadocia, Turkey, go parachute jumping at Pattaya in Thailand, try out scuba diving at some tropical islands, or go skiing in Switzerland.

Looking ahead, IDC expected VR shipments in 2021 to reach 8.4 million units and, by the end of 2025, to balloon to 26.7 million shipments, with a compound annual growth rate of 36 percent.

With the local real estate bubble continuing to balloon, banks had poured loans into the province, posing serious risks of default if the bubbles burst.

According to banking executives, Chinese companies have seen international trade and investment balloon in scale, but its complexity has also risen, as the discrepancy in standards and regulation across economies participating in the Belt and Road Initiative poses a number of challenges, including the absence of a unified communications framework and compliance issues.

The resolution passed by the United States House of Representatives last week claiming that "China used a high-altitude surveillance balloon over US territory" and sensationalizing the "China threat" theory is "nothing but malicious hype and political manipulation", according to a statement by the National People's Congress Foreign Affairs Committee.