 Quantum simulators have been developed to study complex physical phenomena, but they face several challenges including limited coherence times, noise and restricted qubit connectivity. Variational quantum algorithms are a promising approach to overcome these limitations and provide a quantum advantage over classical computers. These algorithms can simulate the ground state of long-range interacting systems and generate spin-squeezed states which can be used as a resource for quantum metrology. By combining different circuit layers with varying degrees of connectivity, researchers can optimise their performance. This article was authored by Tufan Liu, Su Yutang, Zhenning Li and others.