Nicknamed China's 'optics valley', a major fibre-optics research and development zone in Wuhan has been at the forefront of numerous scientific breakthroughs in recent decades. Our reporter Huang Yichang reports on the plans for the future, and some of the technology currently in development. 

HUANG YICHANG Wuhan, China "I'm in Wuhan's optics valley, the birthplace of the Chinese optoelectronic industry. How are those working in the industry helping to develop the next generation of advanced technologies? Let's take a look."

I visited a laboratory for an optoelectronic information company. A team here is going for the final rounds of testing before their latest transceiver modules start being mass-produced this year.

These are silicon photonics chips that the company has been developing for four years, and this 800Gigbit chip is the very latest, state-of-the-art version. It may sound super hi-tech and far removed from normal life, but they are actually used in more areas than you might think.

CHEN PENG, Senior Engineer, HGTECH CO., LTD. "Online activities such as watching videos, video gaming or conferencing require a large amount of data moving across a network; a module like this is essential to operate with our data devices."

With mass production of the 800Gigbit optical module due to start this year, the business has already begun working on new-generation products, aiming to accelerate domestic photonic chip replacement.

HUANG YICHANG Wuhan, China "It's not just large businesses. Start-ups and new ventures are also grabbing headlines."

In this laboratory at Huazhong university, Professor Chen Jiankui and his team have been researching new developments in Inkjet printing for 16 years. But while scientific research is one thing – turning it into a commercial product is more challenging.

CHEN JIANKUI, Huazhong University of Science and Technology "We needed a manufacturing plant in order to take our newly developed equipment out of the campus lab and onto the production line."

Their technology was seen as a potential replacement for foreign suppliers, for screen panel companies operating in optics valley.

ZHONG FUPING, Director, Science and Technology Innovation Bureau, East Lake High-tech Development Zone "When those companies learned about the teams' progress, they were eagerly anticipating their product. Can their equipment really replace the foreign components? Along with generating economic benefits, more importantly, it will consolidate a safety framework for the industry."

On learning about the team's achievement, the Local government soon invested 18 million US dollars.

ZHONG FUPING, Director, Science and Technology Innovation Bureau, East Lake High-tech Development Zone "Due to Covid in recent years, our economic development has slowed down, and our local financial budget has also been affected. Still, the funding for supporting research and innovation has been doubled and redoubled year by year."

Take a look at this newly built manufacturing base. The interior construction has just finished, and the screen-printing technology has been added to the production line.

CHEN JIANKUI, Huazhong University of Science and Technology "We have gone from zero to one and are looking forward to the journey from one to infinity."

Chen says there is still a long way to go. China has become the world's top producer of display panels but is relatively weak in developing the core equipment needed. But efforts are quickly being made to change that – and this is one of the places that will be key to that success.

Huang Yichang, CGTN, Wuhan, Hubei Province.