This aerial photo taken on April 12, 2023 shows an astronomical telescope project of the Lenghu observatory site under construction in northwest China's Qinghai Province. (Xinhua/Chen Jie)

XINING, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Contracts for the construction of several new astronomical telescope projects were signed recently in northwest China's Qinghai Province, to be established at the province's state-of-the-art observatory site of Lenghu.

With these new contracts, the Lenghu site now has 12 optical astronomical telescope projects and 43 astronomical telescopes, with a combined investment of about 2.7 billion yuan (about 378.48 million U.S. dollars), according to the Lenghu industrial park.

One of the new ventures involves a spectroscopic telescope project of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (JUST), while another is an Expanding Aperture Segmented Telescope (EAST) project led by Peking University.

The design of the JUST telescope and its dome structure have been completed, and the infrastructure and main structure are expected to be completed within three years, followed by commencing formal observations, according to the Tsung-Dao Lee Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

The JUST project is expected to achieve a series of significant breakthrough research results in the fields of dark matter and dark energy, time-domain astronomy and exoplanet exploration, according the institute.

Lenghu is a small town with about 500 permanent residents at an average altitude of 2,800 meters, nestled on the Saishiteng Mountain of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

Enjoying the advantages of clear night skies, stable atmospheric conditions and a dry climate, it is one of the world's best observatory sites. Construction of the Lenghu site started in 2018.