Although near-term quantum computing devices are still limited by the quantity and quality of qubits in the so-called NISQ era, quantum computational advantage has been experimentally demonstrated. Moreover, hybrid architectures of quantum and classical computing have become the main paradigm for exhibiting NISQ applications, where low-depth quantum circuits are repeatedly applied. In order to further scale up the problem size solvable by the NISQ devices, it is also possible to reduce the number of physical qubits by "cutting"the quantum circuit into different pieces. In this work, we experimentally demonstrated a circuit-cutting method for simulating quantum circuits involving many logical qubits, using only a few physical superconducting qubits. By exploiting the symmetry of linear-cluster states, we can estimate the effectiveness of circuit-cutting for simulating up to 33-qubit linear-cluster states, using at most 4 physical qubits for each subcircuit. Specifically, for the 12-qubit linear-cluster state, we found that the experimental fidelity bound can reach as much as 0.734, which is about 19% higher than a direct implementation on the same 12-qubit superconducting processor. Our results indicate that circuit-cutting represents a feasible approach of simulating quantum circuits using much fewer qubits, while achieving a much higher circuit fidelity.@en

Sustainable consumption and production (or lack thereof) can leave very distinct marks at the city level. Among the cities aiming at sustainable development, resource-based cities (RBCs) are of special concern due to the tight interrelations economy, urban development, natural resources and environmental context have in them. Excessive exploitation and inefficient resource utilization often cause pollution and ecological risks. As natural resources are getting exhausted, their resource-based industries will collapse, threaten wider urban development and lead to economic recession. In this article, we focus on the economic and ecological dilemmas that the RBCs face in China. We first present an overview of China's policy implementation for rescuing and transforming RBCs. Then a particular RBC, Yichun, which is classified as “recessionary”, is analyzed to understand the challenges that it faces during its transition. The method of eco-efficiency is used to uncover Yichun's environmental performance in relation to its economic development. Subsequently, we explore the barriers in terms of industrial transformation, conflicts between national, provincial and local governmental actions, and the effects of the circular economy in Yichun. At the end of this article, we formulate several recommendations to facilitate Yichun's sustainable development. We propose that Yichun specifically needs to consider the energy consumption and pollution when selecting alternative industries. Furthermore, one-size-fits-all policies do not help to solve the problems in Yichun. Policies need to be contextualized locally through well-reflected coordination between higher and lower tiers of government.@en