Wuzhen avenue mixes traditional with high-tech

ZIYE Road, a gateway avenue leading to the small river town of Wuzhen in east China, is as old as it is new.

The road is lined with houses bearing traditional architectural elements of southern China, such as black tiles, white walls, sweeping roofs with upturned eaves, and windows decorated with elegant wooden frames. It was named after a novel written by literary giant Mao Dun early last century. The road is also a place that showcases futuristic technologies and breeds innovative ideas, with 5G-assisted self-driving buses running back and forth and young entrepreneurs brainstorming in startup incubators.

Such a juxtaposition of the old and the new began to emerge about five years ago when Wuzhen was selected to host the World Internet Conference, an annual gathering of the world’s renowned thinkers, industry regulators and Chinese tech gurus.

Fengqi Teahouse is an incubator for digital startups. Inside the teahouse-styled company, a large screen displays real-time agricultural data including weather, outputs and prices, collected by technologies such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. After launching its headquarters in Wuzhen four years ago, Fengqi has benefited immensely from the influence of the WIC, said its general manager Fu Qian.

“We have opened 13 brick-andmortar teahouses and one tech incubator nationwide, creating an ecosystem for incubating tech companies in the agricultural sector,” said Fu.

Baidu, a Chinese tech giant, has also launched an innovation experience center, offering visitors opportunities to experience the latest AI applications through video games.

As a new addition during the WIC earlier this month, 5G-assisted self-driving minibusses have grabbed the attention of many. “I’ve never been in a selfdriving vehicle before. It’s really a new experience,” said 21-yearold local resident Xu Jiayi.

(Xinhua)