How do you regard light? It is ubiquitous but what exactly is it? He Zhuoming, director of the Chinese Journal Department at Chinese Laser Press, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, tells us more about the Chinese and English journals on light published by the Chinese Laser Press.

The Chinese Laser Press of the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics currently publishes 11 Chinese and English optical journals. Our publishing philosophy is "Specialization, clustering, digitization, and internationalization," and we are committed to exploring a unique development path for our group of journals in a professional discipline.

Advanced Photonics, published in English, is a star, rising above the its peer group and steadily advancing towards becoming an internationally top-notch journal. Its peer group comprises three Chinese journals, Acta Optica Sinica, the Chinese Journal of Lasers, and Laser & Optoelectronics Progress.The journals maintain close ties with scientists and have long been at the forefront domestically.

Forty-three years ago, Mr. Wang Daheng, the founder of modern optics in China, started Acta Optica Sinica. Speaking of the glorious history of Chinese optical journals, He Zhuoming said candidly, "I may not be able to continue the glory, but I cannot let it decline during my tenure."

In 2016, He and the Chinese department began to seek high-quality manuscripts and planned themed journals to enhance the academic quality of the journals. From themes to thematic sub-journals, we took one step at a time, not only gaining industry recognition but also strengthening our confidence that we can run good Chinese journals, He Zhuoming said.

In recent years, He and his team are exploring a new mode of thematic sub-journal-named academic conferences. Written exchanges have become face-to-face interactions, revitalizing the journal ecosystem, promoting high-quality academic communities and discipline integration for the sustainable development of the journals. Yang Lei, general manager of Chinese Laser Press, praised the efforts, saying, "He Zhuoming and the Chinese journal editorial department have done a lot of innovative and groundbreaking work."

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics and the 15th anniversary of Chinese Laser Press. "Journals bear a great responsibility and light guides the future,” He said. “Let's move forward together and strive to create top-notch Chinese journals!"