试点 A trial point. Work done first on a small scale to gain experience before it is spread. Also the place where the trial runs.
以点带面 To let the point lead the surface. A breakthrough at a key point drives progress in the whole.
In 2024, People’s Daily wrote: “A pilot is a test field that grows seedlings into a forest, not a potted plant that looks bright and pretty but is worth nothing when transplanted.” In 2015, it had noted a problem: “Some places are very successful in the pilot, but when it is spread, it meets obstacles and cannot be pushed forward.”