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Zhongguancun
*** Shopping-Tip: Zhongguancun
Image:Zhongguancun Centre.jpg thumb|300px|Zhongguancun -- buildings and park-like landscape
Image:Zhongguancun Street.jpg thumb|300px|Zhongguancun Street -- a road through the tech hub
'''Zhong Guan Cun''' (often "Zhongguancun") (
Chinese language Chinese: ä¸å…³æ?‘;
Hanyu Pinyin: zhÅ?ng guÄ?n cÅ«n)is a technology hub in
Beijing. It is known as "the
Silicon Valley of China".
It is geographically situated in the northwestern part of Beijing city, in a band between the northwestern
3rd Ring Road and the northwestern
4th Ring Road.
Due to the proximity and participation of China's two most [http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-02/17/content_2587051.htm prestigious] universities,
Tsinghua University and
Peking University, many analysts in the West are optimistic about Zhongguancun's future prospects. This is, in part, due to the similar role
Stanford University played in the growth of the original
Silicon Valley.
Zhongguancun's was born in the early 1980s. The first person of Zhongguancun is
Chen Chunxian, a member of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), who came up with the idea for a
Silicon Valley in China after he visited the U.S. as part of a government-sponsored trip. The location of the Chinese Academy of Sciences within Zhongguancun reinforced, and perhaps was in part responsible for the technological growth in this area.
Throughout the 1980s and still today, Zhongguancun was known as "electronics avenue," because of its connections to information technology and the preponderance of stores along a central, crowded street.
Zhongguancun was officially recognized by the central government of China in 1988. It was given the wordy name "Beijing High-Technology Industry Development Experimental Zone."
The current designation Zhongguancun refers commonly to the original site. However, officially (as of 1999) Zhongguancun has become the "Zhongguancun Science & Technology Zone." It is a zone with seven parks, including Haidian Park, Fengtai Park, Changping Park, Electronics City (in Chaoyang), Yizhuang Park, Desheng Park, and Jianxiang Park.
The original Zhongguancun is now known as the Haidian Park of the Zhongguancun Zone. The area and environs, however, remain the same.
Hailong Market,
Guigu Market,
Taipingyang Market,
Dinghao Market and
Kemao Market are the five prominent IT and electronics markets. They are technology bazaars, famous for their "shops with a shop", where prices are easily but grudgingly bargained. Zhongguancun shops mainly deal in
IBM PC compatible PC-compatible hardware, peripherals and
pirated software for
Microsoft Windows.
Apple Macintosh Macintosh users, when they exist, visit the nearby AppleCentre and Apple Experience Centre.
The most famous companies that grew up in Zhongguancun are Stone Group, Founder Group, and
Lenovo Group. They were all founded in 1984-85. Stone was the first successful technology company to be operated by individuals outside the government in China. Founder is a technology company that spun-off
Peking University.
Lenovo Group spun-off from
Chinese Academy of Sciences with
Liu Chuanzhi, a hero of Zhongguancun and current Chairmain, eventually taking the helm. Both Founder and
Lenovo Group maintain strong connections to their academic backers, who are significant shareholders.
Baidu and
SINA Corporation are two companies known by China watchers in the West that were born and bred in Zhongguancun. They are both located in
Lixiang Building.
According to the 2004 Beijing Statistical Yearbook, there are over 12,000 high-tech enterprises throughout Zhongguancun's seven parks, with 489,000 technicians employed.
In the Haidian Park, approximately 100,000 students graduate each year.
Despite the official designations, the name '''Zhongguancun''' continues to refer to northwest Beijing. The appellation is very well known among China's tech insiders, and throughout China in general.
Sources and references
Category:Beijing
Category:High-technology business districts
ja:ä¸é–¢æ?‘
zh:ä¸å…³æ?‘
{{China-geo-stub}}
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