Yuhang district ranks top for economic performance in Zhejiang

Yuhang district of Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, reported a robust economic performance in 2018 which ranked it top among all the districts in Zhejiang province for the first time, a government report said in January.

Home to the Zhejiang Overseas High-level Talents Innovation Park, an industrial park in the province for oversea high-level talents, Yuhang generated more than 231.2 billion yuan ($34.21 million) in regional gross domestic production (GDP), up 11.2 percent from the previous year. Regional financial revenue rose 23.8 percent to nearly 62.4 billion yuan.

The tertiary industry, driven by information transmission, software, information services, real estate and retail was the largest contributor, accounting for nearly 80 percent of the total GDP; while manufacturing and architecture in the secondary sector maintained a strong momentum.

The digital economy is playing an increasingly significant part in driving the district's economic growth, and Yuhang recorded 134.08 billion yuan in added value of its regional digital economy last year, growing it by 20.3 percent.

Compared with other districts in Hangzhou, Yuhang district has a competitive edge in development opportunities and talent introduction due to the park, said a local resident who was born after the 1990s, adding that the figures of the growing regional GDP are proof.

Wang Mengqiu, a Stanford graduate who founded Beijing-based robotics startup Zero Zero Robotics in 2014, chose "Dream Town" as one of the company's locales. Its product Hover Camera, a selfie drone, went viral online before its release.

"We did a lot of investigation when it comes to the company location, but eventually we settled in Yuhang district due to its favorable and stable policy environment," said Wang, who believes that the development of intelligent technology will facilitate industrial upgrading and transformation of Zhejiang's manufacturing industries.

Wang noted that the major R&D team of Zero Zero Robotics will be based in Hangzhou in the future.