Hangzhou’s Internet Dream City

Global Business

Hangzhou's Internet Dream City

Hangzhou is home to the Internet giant Alibaba and it’s encouraging more startups by creating a full industry chain and ecosystem in a base called the Internet Dream Town. CCTV’s Lin Nan reports.

Wang Chunkai is the art director of an Internet company. But apart from his daily job, he shares his enthusiasm for art with many fans online. People can ask him to draw cartoon portraits by sending him photos through a smartphone app.

Like Wang, over 300,000 freelancers offer various services in this online community. Thanks to the popularity of mobile devices and mobile payment, the company behind Kongge app has expanded rapidly in just one year. From just 12 at the start, it now has more than 200 employees. Its capital is worth 100 million RMB today. The company’s founder, Tang Yongbo, credits this to support from the Internet Dream Town, a base for internet startups.

“You can start your company with just a good idea here. There is a thorough industry chain and eco-system here,” said Tang.

The Internet Dream Town is located in a suburb of Hangzhou. Its ambition: to create the next internet giant Alibaba, which is only 3 kilometers away. More than 600 Internet-based startups have been set up here within a year.

Internet companies are sprouting up in the dream town since it was launched in March 2015. It has become the place for Internet startups and has attracted many talents, capitals to help ideas grow into businesses.

Zhao Xikai of Hangzhou Future Sci-Tech City thinks it’s not enough to just gather young people with ideas.

“We also need social capital and supporting facilities,” said Zhao. “We have invited the most famous and professional incubators across the world to choose projects, and organized meetings with investors for startups at different stages.”

Jin Shaoce of Hangzhou Tongmi Internet Financial Services says the rules for financing E-commerce are different than traditional service industry. “Usually the borrowing terms are very flexible and do not have too many fixed assets, which are required by traditional bank loans.”

As China upgrades its economic structure and growth model, many hope the internet industry will provide an innovative and sustainable mode of transition.