A female scientist based in Hainan has become a focus of this year's Gaokao, China’s national college entrance examination, highlighting China's growing achievements in deep-sea exploration and scientific innovation.

In the Chinese paper held on the morning of June 7, Du Mengran—a recipient of the 2026 China Youth May 4th Medal and a researcher at the Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Sanya, a coastal city in the country’s southernmost Hainan Province—was featured as the central figure in the reading comprehension section, consisting of two texts.

The first centered on Du's selection as one of Nature's 10, the journal's annual list of people who shaped science in 2025, and chronicled her work in abyssal exploration. It portrayed the dedication and perseverance of a female scientist while also tracing China's evolution in deep-sea research as it transitioned from playing catch-up to becoming a major contributor to advances in the field.

The second text was adapted from the Nature paper co-authored by Du and fellow researchers, titled "Flourishing Chemosynthetic Life at the Greatest Depths of Hadal Trenches."

The excerpt introduced key scientific discoveries made during the expedition. Though concise, its rigorous language and detailed data reflected the academic standards of scientific literature, serving as an effective complement to the first text.

Du during a deep-sea dive.

Together, the two passages highlighted the pursuit of scientific excellence, the pioneering of innovation, and the fostering of collaboration to tackle major scientific challenges.

In recent years, Hainan Province has stepped up efforts to develop its signature industrial chains under the strategy of strengthening growth in five key sectors. The province is also accelerating its transformation into a hub for high-caliber talent and technological innovation, nurturing a growing number of leading scientists such as Du, who have attracted widespread attention both at home and abroad.

Hainan's deep-sea research capabilities are also gathering momentum. Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City in Sanya has attracted more than 40 deep-sea research teams and over 1,200 marine technology enterprises. Its core scientific infrastructure matrix—known as the "three vessels, two submersibles, and one port"—ranks among the world's most advanced. Meanwhile, Hainan's marine science and technology innovation index has continued to rank top nationally.

In the blueprint for its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030), Hainan has identified the marine economy as a strategic priority. The province aims to accelerate development in deep-sea exploration, surveying, resource development, and environmental protection, while promoting coordinated progress across research, equipment, and resource value chains. The plan highlights the twin drivers of technological innovation and industrial application, supporting the growth of deep-sea equipment manufacturing and resource development industries and seeking to establish Hainan as a national hub for deep-sea scientific innovation and industrial development.