China launched "Jilin-1" – the country's first commercial, remote-sensing satellites at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gansu province on Oct 7. They are also the first satellites to be named after a province, marking a big step in the industrialization of this type of space technology, reported chinajilin.com.cn.

The Long March-2D rocket went aloft from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, in Gansu province, carrying one optical remote-sensing satellite, two video imaging satellites, and another for imaging technology testing.

A Long March-2D carrier rocket carrying the "Jilin-1" satellites blasts off from the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gansu province, Oct 7, 2015. [Photo/chinajilin.com.cn]

A Long March-2D carrier rocket carrying the "Jilin-1" satellites blasts off from the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gansu province, Oct 7, 2015. [Photo/chinajilin.com.cn]

A Long March-2D carrier rocket carrying the "Jilin-1" satellites blasts off from the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gansu province, Oct 7, 2015. [Photo/chinajilin.com.cn]

The satellites can be used in a number of fields, such as land resource monitoring, topographic mapping, mineral development, smart city construction, transport facilities, crop production, forest resource surveys and ecological scanning.

The project is a part of Jilin's economic development and all four satellites were developed by the Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co. In commenting on the launch, Xuan Ming, chairman of the board of Chang Guang, said, "Satellites are no longer so far removed from people's lives. In the near future, more information provided by the satellites will be shared, and more satellite functions will be explored."