Shenzhen's Nanshan district reports major achievements

Formerly a scientific and technological 'desert' area is now home to innovative research centers

Nanshan district in South China's Guangdong province continued to make progress in scientific and technological innovation, business environment and cultural development in the past year, local officials said.

Organizations in Nanshan district, including the Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, won eight national science and technology awards, accounting for half of the total amount in Shenzhen.

Research and development expenditure in the district during 2018 accounted for 4.71 percent of its GDP and its applications via the Patent Cooperation Treaty accounted for 39 percent of such filings in the entire city. The district houses more than 3,500 national high-tech companies.

The district also attracted more leading innovative resources. Arm Technology (China) Co officially made Nanshan its home and prepared to build an integrated circuit public innovation and design platform to support the entire Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Nanshan supported Southern University of Science and Technology to establish a microelectronics school to train professionals on chip design, manufacturing and testing.

During the year, several new Nanshan operations were opened, including the innovation center of Airbus, Apple's Shenzhen research and development center and China Mobile's intelligent hardware innovation center.

The district improved its business environment and offered good intellectual property protection in 2018. It built an IP protection center and encouraged 100 companies as well as 50 service organizations to establish the Nanshan Intellectual Property Alliance.

A public service platform in the district officially opened last year, covering an area of 42,000 square meters. The platform comprises five parts, including a demonstration center for Shenzhen's scientific and technological innovation, a branch of the Nanshan administrative service hall, an IP protection center and a service center of Nanshan's public security authorities.

The platform, located in a scientific and technological ecology park, brings public service resources to the park, offering companies and employees convenient and efficient services. It aims to become an exemplary project for scientific and technological innovation service centers in the new era.

The district's government made efforts to offer its residents better services. It built eight schools and reconstructed and expanded four schools. It signed an agreement with Shenzhen University on Dec 25 to launch an educational group. The two sides will promote the integrated development of teacher education in higher learning institutions and basic education.

The district government also signed new cooperation deals with Union Hospital affiliated to the Tongji Medical College at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology to co-build a hospital. Also in collaboration with the Cancer Hospital at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences the district government set up a cancer center.

Cultural development in the district achieved satisfying results in 2018. The Nanshan Museum opened, while the cultural and sports center in Yuehai subdistrict and the Shekou cultural and sports park began construction. The district held more than 180 sports events, more than 1,000 cultural activities and other brand activities such as a popular music festival.

Last year marked the 40th anniversary of the reform and opening-up policy and Nanshan developed quickly during that time.

The district's earliest orientation was Shenzhen's industrial supporting area, light-pollution industrial area and an energy center. After 2000, the orientation became centers of high-tech industries, modern logistics, culture and tourism and also education and scientific research.

After 2010, it became a pilot area for independent innovation in key technologies, an exemplary area for modern services, a demonstration area for harmonious society and an important area for education and scientific research.

Shekou in Nanshan saw the birth of China's first opening-up industrial area, first joint-stock commercial bank and first joint-stock insurance company.

In the past 40 years, Nanshan's industrial development had evolved from labor-intensive to being technology-intensive and then to giving priorities to emerging and future industries. It originally centered on attracting capital from Hong Kong but now it attracts capital from across the world.

Nanshan has helped transform the area from a scientific and technological "desert" into an innovative area with global influence. Nanshan is further promoting opening-up and encouraging scientific research organizations and companies to expand overseas.

It has built several innovation centers featuring internationalization and opening-up in regions such as Silicon Valley and London. It also plans to develop innovation sectors and create an innovation environment to better attract global capital, technologies and professionals.

Nanshan boasts an attractive landscape, such as Shenzhen and Qianhai bays, Dasha River and Xili Lake. [Photos provided to China Daily]