Jinan has been selected as part of the second batch of comprehensive pilot areas for national digital village pilot regions, according to a recent announcement jointly released by 11 departments, including the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission.

The selected pilot regions will explore diverse paths and methods to develop digital villages under different regional conditions. The efforts are aimed to create a series of distinctive and standout development models, that can be replicated nationwide as well as provide strong support for advancing comprehensive rural vitalization and accelerating the building of a strong agricultural nation.

Jinan is bolstering efforts to create a "114N" digital village strategic system, which includes one agricultural business data platform, one digital village model base, and four key actions - smart agriculture, digital prosperity industries, digital governance models, and smart green villages - will be developed. Multiple industrial ecosystems will also be created to expand new digital village application scenarios.

By doing so, Jinan aims to establish itself into a pioneering and exemplary city in digital village development.

The pilot period will last for three years. By the end of 2026, Jinan is expected to achieve goals such as the full coverage of 5G and fiber optic networks in administrative villages citywide, building over 100 smart agricultural application bases, increase the informatization rate of agricultural production to at least 55 percent, and boost online retail sales of agricultural products to at least 15 billion yuan ($2.08 billion).