'Chinese artificial sun' sets new world record Xinhua | Updated: 2021-05-28 17:14 Share CLOSE File photo taken on Sept 28, 2019 shows staff members of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) Southwestern Institute of Physics working at the installation site of the HL-2M Tokamak, China's new-generation "artificial sun," in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan province. [CNNC Southwestern Institute of Physics/Handout via Xinhua] HEFEI -- Chinese scientists have set a new world record of achieving a plasma temperature of 120 million degrees Celsius for a period of 101 seconds in the latest experiment on Friday, a key step toward the test running of a fusion reactor.