NICA (Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility) is a heavy-ion collider under construction at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research at Dunba, Moscow Region, Russia to study the QCD phase diagram at high baryonic density.  In this talk, I will introduce the NICA physics program, the design of the Multi-Purpose Detector (MPD), the status of the complex construction and the hardware Chinese institutes intend to contribute in.