“Tech Habitat”, that was the brand-new title for Dongguan, China’s southern city, in the latest article written by Frank Sieren, chief representative in China for Handelsblatt (a German Newspaper), columnist and writer.
Having participated in the research activities organized by the Information Office of the People’s Government of Dongguan, Mr. Sieren realized that the improved ecological environment of Dongguan could bring tremendous appeal to the scientific and technological innovation. According to the article, seated at Songshan Lake High-tech Industrial Development Zone is an expanse of park-like greenbelt land that is even wider than the streets within. “One of the standards that Dongguan is measured by is about the number of rare birds living in the city,” said Yang Xiaotang, publicity chief of the CPC Dongguan Municipal Committee. Finally, Dongguan’s efforts have paid off. It is on the list of the 15 new first-tier Chinese cities, joining Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
Transformation is the keyword Mr. Sieren used to describe the city of Dongguan. In his view, the transformation of Dongguan is not merely about how the city protects ecological environment, but how the transformation and upgrading of manufacturing gains momentum. “Despite the fact that one out of five smart phones on the global market is produced in Dongguan, the city is still recognized by the United Nations Environment Programme as an ‘international garden city’,” wrote Mr. Sieren, who had made an observation about the smart phone manufacturing of Dongguan. The key is that factories in the city, instead of being shut down, turn to be highly automated, which means industrial robots are adopted more widely. Headquarters of Vivo and Oppo, both China’s leading smart phone manufacturers are based in Dongguan. Meanwhile, the Songshan Lake manufacturing research headquarters of Huawei, the global telecommunications equipment manufacturing giant, will greet 24,000 employees from across the
world.
In developing and constructing Songshan Lake High-tech Industrial Development Zone and Binhaiwan New District, Dongguan drew the philosophies of protecting ecological environment that had been adopted by Silicon Valley when it was first built. Many visiting the Zone consider it can take on Silicon Valley in terms of the ecological environment, which is no doubt a lure for the city to attract talents and enterprises.
Source: The Information Office of the People’s Government of Dongguan
