Beijing Review takes a look at the remarkable past decade of China's history in a series of photographs charting the many changes and achievements that have taken place in the country.

ORIENTAL CROWN: The China Pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010 was the largest national pavilion at the event (WANG XIANG)

NEW AGE OF DEFENSE: On October 12, China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, sails out of the northeastern port of Dalian for the first time after it entered service on September 25 (CFP)

BACK TO EARTH: China's first female astronaut Liu Yang (center) waves as she emerges from the (CFP)

HISTORY-MAKING AUTHOR: Mo Yan, who received the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature, is the first Chinese writer to win the honor (CFP)

A SUNNY PROSPECT: A bullet train travels on the Shanghai-Hangzhou High-Speed Railway near Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province (CFP)

A DEEP EXPEDITION: China's manned deep-sea submersible Jiaolong returns to its mother ship after completing a third dive of 6,963 meters to collect samples of deep sea water deposits and creatures on June 22 (CFP)

CHINA, GO: Beijing residents gather on the street to cheer for the start of the Beijing Olympic Games on August 8, 2008 (CFP)

A BUMPER HARVEST: Farmers in east China's Zhejiang Province operate rice combine harvesters in their fields. The country rescinded its 2,600-year-old agricultural tax on January 1, 2006 (CFP)

EXPANDING SAFETY NET: A farmer in Mengcheng County, east China's Anhui Province, shows off his new certificate after joining the rural pension scheme, which was launched nationwide on a trial basis in August 2009 (CFP)

NEW FLAT, NEW LIFE: On July 1, 2008, Chen Shaomin and his wife move into an apartment provided by the first low-income housing program in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province (CFP)