Hongqiao Smart Valley a magnet for entrepreneurs

Ti Gong

Shanghai's Hongqiao Smart Valley in Changning will become a key node for the Hongqiao International Open Hub for innovation and entrepreneurship by 2025.

The area has contributed about 23 percent of Shanghai's total online economy output. One-third of the city's e-commerce platforms are based in the area, the Changning government said on Tuesday.

It has attracted a dozen national and 29 city-level innovation parks, mainly for startup firms.

The location has thus been listed as one of China's pilot bases for the national strategy of mass entrepreneurship and innovation.

The area began cooperating with the Shanghai Institute of Microsystems and Information Technology, another national pilot base in Changning, to further attract and support startup projects across the Yangtze River Delta region.

The institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a compound called SIMIC Valley near Zhongshan Park to incubate some of its latest scientific endeavors.

The office building was renovated from the former Printemps Department Store on Dingxi Road, which closed in April 2019. It now features artificial intelligence companies, exhibitions and smart applications. A number of high-tech startups such as Silicon Wisdom and GraviBit have been based in the newly unveiled complex.

Meanwhile, some other scientific institutes, universities and companies have jointly established an entrepreneurial and innovative service alliance to offer better services to startup firms.

The first batch of members includes the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics under the academy and the Donghua University scientific park, as well as DoBe and Creater, two of the city's key innovation park operators and service providers.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, 13 incubators in Changning have cultivated 396 startup firms since January this year, a 15.4 percent increase from last year, according to the district government. Over 1,100 services are available for entrepreneurs.

Ti Gong