GUIYANG -- The world's largest-ever radio telescope completed installation as the last piece of 4,450 panels was fitted in the center of the big dish on Sunday morning, a landmark step for its planned operation in September.

The hoisting of the last triangular-shaped panel to the reflector, as large as 30 football pitches, began at 10:47 a.m. and lasted about an hour.

About 300 people, including constructors, experts, science fiction enthusiasts and reporters, witnessed the installation in a karst valley in Pingtang County of the southwestern province of Guizhou.