New city forges path to future

A spectacular night view of Junshan New City in WEDZ. [Photo provided to en.whkfq.gov.cn]

In early 2021, the administrative center for the Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone (WEDZ) resettled in Junshan New City, from the Zhuankou area, leaping forward. The construction of Junshan New City started in July of the same year.

On Dec 29, 2021, Dongfeng Sharing-BUS (an autonomous driving bus) was officially launched in the new city, providing the first 24/7 autonomous driving service in China. On June 30 this year, it obtained the first commercial pilot license for autonomous driving buses in Wuhan.

As of mid-June this year, Dongfeng Sharing-BUS has deployed 44 autonomous driving buses in Junshan New City, operating 12 regular routes, running over 700,000 kilometers safely with 70,000 passengers.

The National Intelligent Connected Vehicle (ICV) (Wuhan) Test and Demonstration Zone started construction four years ago, with Junshan New City as its core area. Currently, the zone has achieved the complete opening of ICV testing roads, forming a perception network consisting of over 1,800 intelligent cameras, millimeter-wave radars, laser radars, and weather and road detectors. In June this year, the total open testing roads increased to 811.56 km.

Starting from Junshan New City, the autonomous driving cars cross the Hanjiang River, enter the highways, head towards the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, and are set to eventually reach Hanyang, Hankou, and Wuchang – Wuhan's three towns.

In the past two years, Junshan New City has attracted a large number of innovative technology platforms and pilot bases. Currently, it not only accommodates several headquarters economy projects but also gathers 14 leading domestic intelligent companies.