Hengqin New Area's progress in becoming a Smart City is being bolstered by the creation of an Intelligent Computing Center in cooperation with a Beijing artificial intelligence (AI) chip unicorn.

The new facility will provide advanced artificial intelligence solutions, according to an agreement signed April 25 between the Hengqin New Area Administrative Committee and Cambricon Technologies. Cambricon, which was incubated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and Zhuhai Da Hengqin Technology Development will take charge of specific operations.

Smart City construction is said to creatively and effectively address urbanization challenges through the development, deployment, and promotion of sustainable practices utilizing information and communication technologies. 

Hengqin New Area Administrative Committee Director Yang Chuan, right, shakes hands with Sun Ninghui, head of the Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Science [Photo courtesy Zhuhai Daily]

Pioneering endeavors in this sector have reportedly brought convenience to Hengqin society, empowering residents and urban organizations to create resilient, enjoyable, and ever-improving urban life experiences.

In 2017, the China Center for Urban Development of the National Development & Reform Commission released an appraisal of the level of intelligence of 293 cities in urban governance for the first time. Zhuhai ranked sixth in the country thanks in part to Hengqin’s advances.

Top companies such as Ping An Insurance, e-commerce giant Alibaba, and Hong Kong telecom and media company PCCW have been on board with the undertaking since 2018.

Communication infrastructure construction is also proceeding. There is a 100 percent fiber-optic backbone, free WiFi network, and big data-based cloud computing center that supports all public information systems of Hengqin.

The Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area released in February states the necessity of building a Smart City group. Pilot and demonstration projects for the new Smart City are to be carried out, as is construction of a national big data comprehensive experimental zone in the Pearl River Delta. The process is believed to strengthen Bay Area cooperation.

In response, Hengqin has accelerated the building of an integrated communications infrastructure with a goal of "Gigabit-to-Desktop, 10-Gigabit-to-Enterprise," according to Yang Chuan, director of the Administrative Committee of Hengqin New Area. A cross-domain multi-dimensional cloud platform based on big data and Hengqin-dedicated international internet channel are also being built.

Alongside these efforts will be a Smart City Sci-Tech R&D Center led by the University of Macau. The university signed a cooperation agreement with the Administrative Committee in March to build its first industry-university-research cooperation base in the Greater Bay Area in Hengqin. The project will consist of five R&D centers and an advanced training center.