Self-driving taxis start operation all day in Xiangjiang New Area of Changsha.[Photo provided to China Daily]
Changsha, capital of Hunan province, is boosting the digital economy through its ceaseless efforts in constructing key projects and supporting smart technologies and innovation.
The city is home to China's third supercomputing center and the first supercomputing center in Central China-the National Supercomputing Changsha Center-as well as the Tianhe supercomputer, Xiangjiang Laboratory and other digital innovation enterprises.
In December 2021, the Zhongnan Digital Industrial Park, the largest digital new infrastructure landmark project in Hunan, officially started construction. With a total investment of 12 billion yuan ($1.7 billion), it is the largest digital new infrastructure project in the province.
Upon completion, it will become China Telecom's fifth-largest regional data center, helping Hunan to become an information highland in the central region.
On July 10, the opening ceremony of Xiangjiang Laboratory was held in Beidou Industrial Park, Changsha High-Tech Industrial Development Zone. It was the first provincial laboratory to be revealed in Hunan. Xiangjiang Laboratory is a major innovation platform for Hunan to strengthen the support for computing power.
The laboratory focuses on the fields of advanced computing and artificial intelligence, and is committed to becoming a national advanced computing and AI research center.
"The construction of Xiangjiang Laboratory is of great and far-reaching significance for Hunan to strengthen computing power, optimize the digital economy and lead the high-quality development of the computing industry, economy and society," said Li Zhijian, head of the Hunan Provincial Science and Technology Department.
The scale of Changsha's digital industry has created a cluster effect. The total output value of Changsha's subsidized security computing system industry cluster has reached 135 billion yuan.
In August, Changsha's Xiangjiang New Area officially launched a demonstration experiment to provide self-driving travel charging services to the public. The operator put 30 intelligent connected vehicles on a 175-kilometer open test road in the demonstration area, and opened more than 300 test ride sites.
Xiangjiang Laboratory is a major innovation platform for Hunan to strengthen the support for computing power.[Photo provided to China Daily]
While the digital economy supports the development of industries, it also plays an increasingly prominent role in promoting the construction of smart cities.
In April, Changsha released 193 smart city scenarios, involving governance, services, basic support, ecological livability, industrial economy, and attracted a total of 273 scientific research institutions and outstanding enterprises across the country. It found 379 effective solutions, providing scientific paths to improving urban governance and people's livelihoods and happiness and boosting ecological development.
A few days ago, Changsha's work plan for constructing new and high-quality smart cities and digital governments was released.
In it, business applications, security guarantees and management systems were highlighted.
In the next five years, Changsha plans to implement a plan named "On the Cloud and Empower Intelligence with Data" to vigorously develop the advanced computing industry. It also strives to create a national digital economy innovation and development pilot zone as well as a national big data comprehensive pilot zone.
In 2021, the total digital economy of Changsha reached nearly 400 billion yuan, ranking 12th among the top 100 digital economy cities in China. In 2021, the scale of China's digital economy reached 45.5 trillion yuan, and the digital economy's effect on the country's GDP rose to 40 percent. The digital economy has become a new track for current and future economic development.
