China's largest winter automobile testing base in Yakeshi City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region officially started a extreme cold weather testing season on Sunday.

Carried out on the frozen surface covering an area of over 300 hectares in the Miandu River National Wetland Park at a temperature of over 30 degrees below zero, the testing comprises braking performance, chassis control and low-temperature range durability of cars.

"Through a large amount of testing and debugging during winter, we enable the vehicle's 'brain' to learn how to precisely control its 'limbs,' namely the precise control over the four wheels of a car. This provides drivers with accurate feedback, confidence and a comfortable driving experience," said Dong Xiaofei, a senior engineer of the extreme testing center at the CATARC Automotive Test Center Hulunbuir.

One of the testing subjects is the antilock braking system (ABS) test on icy surfaces. During the test, engineers monitor whether the system can prevent wheel lockup, and maintain steering ability and vehicle stability during emergency braking, while minimizing the braking distance.

"This year, we have launched a project to build an all-season ice and snow testing base for intelligent connected new energy vehicles (NEVs), in striving to make technological breakthroughs in crucial parts of the industrial chain, such as NEV sensors, drive-by-wire chassis and power batteries. This will strengthen China's voice in the field of extreme environment verification. Once the project is completed, it will be the world's largest first-ever indoor ice and snow testing field with the most comprehensive operating conditions, including the snowing scenario," said Liu Dongjian, deputy general manager of the CATARC Automotive Test Center Hulunbuir.

In winter, the weather in Hulunbuir is extremely cold and dry, with temperatures dropping to minus 25 degrees Celsius to minus 33 degrees Celsius.