Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
are filled with students studying or gathered together. Boutiques sell clothes and goods that
appeal to the student population, and bars and restaurants serve up passable budget-friendly
meals.
Haidian's other persona is that of being China's own Silicon Valley. Twenty years ago
it started as a bustling marketplace for electronics in Zhongguancun (
“cun”
meaning “vil-
lage”). That's still here, but today, the area has also grown into what is now China's most
important location for high-tech innovation, predominantly in the IT industry, but increas-
ingly also in the aerospace, bioengineering, pharmaceutical, and financial industries. Haidi-
an may have relatively fewer galleries and artists than in the city's east, but it is argued to
be the most creative sector of the city.
This is something the government has intentionally been developing. In 1988, it offi-
cially launched the wordily titled Zhongguancun National Innovation Demonstration Zone,
which fortunately has been cut back to Zhongguancun Science Park, or sometimes, just Z-
Park (
http://en.zgc.gov.cn
). This is an official zone of the city that is dedicated to attract-
ing and incubating innovation in high-tech industries. Confusingly, the name doesn't just
refer to Zhongguancun in Haidian, but to a collection of 10 sub-parks dotted around the en-
tire city, such as Yizhuang Park in Daxing district and Electronics City near Wangjing. The
Zhongguancun Haidian Science Park is the official name now given to the sub-park cover-
ing the actual Zhongguancun area, and this is the largest and most important sub-park of the
