Zhongguancun, a nationally renowned technology hub in Beijing, will transform its development model from an electronics-dominated to an innovation-oriented economy by focusing on serving startups amid a recession in the electronics trade, local authorities announced.
According to the announcement by Zhongguancun Haidian Park, the core area of Zhongguancun will bid farewell to traditional electronics stores that currently cover about 150,000 square meters of office space and cultivate innovation-based business and enterprise startups.
The area will focus its efforts on fully utilizing limited space for innovation incubators, smart hardware, Internet-plus business and other new businesses.
In short, Zhongguancun has been set to develop cleaner and more sustainable businesses in the future.
In the key area along a 7.2-km-long street in Zhongguancun, starting from the west gate of Tsinghua University in the north to the Capital Gymnasium in the south, about 36 office buildings on both sides of the street now house more than 6,000 companies.
By the end of 2017, Zhongguancun will make a cluster area of innovation enterprises, technological financing and the cultural industry. The limited land will be more effectively utilized to create room for in-depth innovation.
The high-tech area was the country's first innovation demonstration zone approved by the State Council in 2009, aiming to become a technological innovation center to achieve global reputation.
In June 2014, a 220-meter section of the street changed its economic model to attract about 40 companies serving business startups.
Since its establishment, Zhongguancun has been well-known for computers, cellphones and other electronic appliances.
During the first eight months, high-tech companies in Zhongguancun earned revenue of 2.1 trillion yuan ($333 billion), an increase of 10.8 percent compared to the same period last year.
"After the transformation, the street will be a window for the outside to see the achievements in innovation and startups of Zhongguancun," said Yan Xiumin, deputy director of the Zhongguancun Haidian Park told media.
