Wuxi to build internet of things town as expo concludes

The city of Wuxi in Jiangsu province will build an internet of things town, the first of its kind in China.

According to a plan released on Tuesday at the World Internet of Things Exposition, an entire IoT industrial chain will be developed in Hongshan, a township of about 60,000 people, including IoT research and development, production and innovative applications.

Meanwhile, Hongshan will develop tourist attractions, and urban and business areas, taking IoT development into consideration.

Feng Xiaochun, governor of Wuxi's Xinwu district, said that the government will develop intelligent systems for industries such as tourism, medical care and transportation.

Hongshan will become China's first town built entirely with a network capable of delivering mobile broadband data at up to 1,000 megabits per second, Feng said, adding that a data center will also be created in the town to optimize allocation of resources.

An intelligent tourism system will be built at Hongshan's main tourist attractions, including Lianghong Wetland Park, China Rock View Park and Hongshan Site Museum, and the township will utilize car networking, self-driving and eye-tracking technologies to develop new types of intelligent transportation systems, Feng added.

The new system will be capable of interactions between visitors and scenic spots utilizing technologies such as virtual reality, sensors and radio frequency identification devices, Feng said. Such technologies can be used to manage information about tourist attractions and hotels, as well as provide electronic maps.

Feng said that Hongshan was chosen because of its convenient transportation routes, long history, beautiful natural scenery and the strong foundations of its IoT industry.

There are more than 50 IoT companies in Hongshan, including Amway (China) Plant Research and Development Center, Wuxi Hodge Co and Wuxi Shennan Circuits Co.

The number of IoT firms based in Xinwu district grew to more than 1,000 last year from only 160 in 2010. Their businesses are from almost every sector of the IoT, ranging from intelligent sensors to cloud computing and big data.

Wang Jian, chief technology officer of China's e-commerce giant Alibaba, said that Wuxi could play a key role in the development of the IoT industry, due to the number of people in the city dedicated to it.

Wang Quan, mayor of Wuxi, said that the IoT industry is a driving force behind a new round of innovation, and building an IoT town in Hongshan is a strategic choice for the city.

"I believe more IoT businesses and professionals will be attracted to Hongshan and Wuxi to promote IoT development," he said.

The World Internet of Things Exposition was held from Oct 30 to Nov 1 in Wuxi, the largest scale national-level exposition in the sector.