Xinhua top ten domestic news events of 2010, in chronological order, are:

-- Shanghai World Expo

With the theme of "Better City, Better Life," the Shanghai World Expo ran from May 1 to Oct. 31 in east China's city of Shanghai. The Expo, the first of its kind staged in a developing country, was another great event in China after the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It attracted 246 participating countries and international organizations and a record number of 73 million visitors.

-- Mainland, Taiwan sign landmark economic pact

Chinese mainland and Taiwan negotiators signed the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) in Chongqing on June 29, a move hailed by many as a milestone in cross-Strait relations. Agreed upon by the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), the ECFA is expected to boost economic cooperation and facilitate economic and trade exchanges between the mainland and Taiwan.

-- China publishes national education plan for next decade

China published "Outline of China's National Plan for Medium and Long-Term Education Reform and Development (2010-2020)," or its national education plan for the next decade, on July 29, pledging to shape a learning society and turn China into a country rich in talent by 2020. The plan aims to promote educational fairness as a basic policy and increase education investment in rural, remote and ethnic minority areas.

-- Shenzhen special economic zone celebrates 30th anniversary

A celebration rally was held on Sept. 6 in China's southern coastal city Shenzhen to mark its 30th anniversary as China's first special economic zone (SEZ). China approved the establishment of SEZ in Shenzhen on Aug. 26, 1980. Chinese President Hu Jintao told the rally that the central government will always support the SEZs embarking on "brave exploration" in their roles as "first movers."

-- Earthquake, mudslide hit China's northwest regions

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake jolted Yushu in northwest China's Qinghai Province on April 14, leaving nearly 3,000 people dead or missing. A huge mudslide swept Zhouqu County of northwestern Gansu Province on Aug. 7, leaving more than 1,700 people dead or missing.

-- CPC sets development agenda for 2011-2015 period

The fifth plenary session of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Part of China (CPC), held on Oct. 15-18, approved the CPC Central Committee's Proposal for Formulating the 12th Five-Year Program for China's Economic and Social Development (2011-2015). The proposal stressed efforts for maintaining a stable and relatively fast economic growth as well as achieving major development in economic restructuring. It also urged raising people's incomes and deepening reform and opening-up.

-- Guangzhou Asian Games, Asian Para Games

The 16th Asian Games was held on Nov. 12-27 in southern China's Guangzhou City. Some ten thousand athletes from 45 countries and regions in Asia have competed in the games. The host country showed its overwhelming prowess by gaining 199 gold medals. The Asian Para Games was held on Dec. 12-19.

-- Chinese supercomputer Tianhe-1A ranked world's fastest

Chinese supercomputer Tianhe-1A was ranked the world's fastest computer by the World Top 500 Supercomputers list, which was issued on Nov. 16 in the United States. The Tianhe-1A system at the National Supercomputer Center in northern China city of Tianjin, is capable of sustaining computation at 2.57 petaflop/s, which equates to a mind-numbing 2.57 quadrillions of calculations per second.

-- China's grain output rises 2.9 pct in 2010

China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on Dec. 3 that the country's grain output rose 2.9 percent year on year in 2010 to 546.41 million tonnes. This marked the seventh consecutive year of growth for China's grain output.

-- China to shift to prudent monetary policy

The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee agreed in a meeting on Dec. 3 that China would switch its monetary policy stance from relatively loose to prudent next year to tackle rising inflation and keep economic growth at sustainable pace. The meeting also agreed that China would continue the proactive fiscal policy next year.