The zone was founded in July 1990 as the first provincial-level development zone in Hubei province. It was approved by the National Development and Reform Commission as a biological technology industrial base in Hubei in June 2007 and is one of the best investment destinations for foreign investors. It was upgraded to a national-level development zone in 2012. Its pillar industries include biomedicine, electronic information and new materials.
The zone enjoys convenient transportation. It is connected to the rest of the countries by three major railways and a number of expressways and highways. It is only seven km to the Baihushan Port on the Yangtze, which can berth vessels up to 5,000 tons, and has direct shipping lines to Japan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. It is 70 km to the largest inland modern airport Wuhan Tianhe International Airport.