New town for smart startups

A NEW high-tech town is to be built in Shanghai’s northwest downtown to attract the latest digital applications and innovative startup projects.

Haina Town, its name meaning inclusiveness and integration, will be in Putuo District’s Zhenru subcenter.

The town, covering 3.12 square kilometers, will mainly attract high-tech incubators and research institutes as well as recreational and commercial facilities.

A large swathe of smart applications such as unmanned service centers and intelligent senior care systems will be applied across the town, according to the blueprint.

It will become the center of Putuo’s scientific innovation sector and a core area for the development of digital technology, the district government said.

The town will be part of an industrial innovation belt in the Yangtze River Delta region. It will develop together with Cloud Town in neighboring Hangzhou and Xuelang Town in Wuxi. Both projects are known for cloud computing, big data and Internet of Things developments.

The town will have four core sections: an “innovation engine,” an “integration sitting room,” “innovative incubation” and a “mix of thoughts.”

The town will feature offices and living areas with rivers, lakes, parks and forests. Economic development and ecological environment will be equally important to the town’s development.

Wang Jian, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and founder of Alibaba Cloud, has been appointed honorary governor of the town.

Zhenru, which dates back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279), is to become a “public activity center” for the Yangtze River Delta region.

It was originally formed around Zhenru Temple and will become the “northwest sittingroom” of the city.