Sinopec has discovered abundant flows of natural gas and crude oil at Shunbei oil and gas field in the Tarim Basin of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. (PHOTO / SINOPEC)

URUMQI – The drilling of China's first borehole over 10,000 meters deep for scientific exploration began at 11:46 am on Tuesday in the Tarim Basin, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. This marks a great feat in China's deep-Earth exploration.