Themed town giant: Big data should serve real needs

Technology to be applied to all aspects of people's daily lives, as an inevitability of fourth industrial revolution

A Chinese entrepreneur urged business owners to consider the realistic requirements of people's lives when applying big data technology.

"Big data technology is an inevitability," said Wei Jie, chairman of JC Group. "Everyone knows it is the symbol of the coming fourth industrial revolution. Amid that, we should keep an open mind, thinking about the fundamental meaning of the technology."

Wei made the remarks during the BRICS Business Forum in Xiamen, Fujian province earlier this month.

"The core meaning of big data, in my opinion, is the overall digitalization of every aspect of people's daily lives. The technology is capable of rationally allocating all resources," Wei said. "The big data concept can be perfectly realized in the operation of the modern services industry."

JC Group, a company founded in 2008 and headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, and Suzhou, Jiangsu province, is now dedicated to financing themed towns both in China and abroad.

The company has signed agreements to run about 58 such towns in China, focusing on developing infrastructure, real estate, healthcare, education and financial systems, profiting from local industries, including culture and tourism.

"Building tons of apartments is not a reflection of your capability to run a business," Wei said. "Large-scale real estate is not the sole aim of distinctive resort towns. Such an approach only becomes a breeding ground for empty towns."

"Currently, many people say they are working in the big data sector, but most of them are still at the technical level. They haven't really dived into the real needs of people's lives, say, cashless cities or supermarkets without sales assistants.

"However, in our themed towns, the application of big data technology is designed to penetrate into all aspects of people's lives," Wei said.

"In the themed towns, people wear smart chips around town and all the buildings and electronic devices will collect big data on the customers, from health conditions to travel plans, in a bid to serve them better," Wei said.

"To provide sound services for visitors, we must clearly know what a 10-year-old boy likes to do, and 20-year-olds and 30-year-olds, including their tastes and preferences. All of that information can be collected by these digitalized devices," Wei said.

In recent years, JC has stuck to big data technology when constructing and running distinctive resort towns. The operating model is now taking shape, Wei said.

JC plans to set up a pilot model to practice big data in China early next year, expanding the number of big data servers and developing a new generation of intellectual chips to deal with all the data.

This year's BRICS Business Forum in Xiamen put forward the digital economy, intelligent manufacturing and Internet Plus as new economic drivers.

During the forum, Wei said he considered the Belt and Road Initiative as a necessary pathway for the expansion of resort towns, fitting with JC's plans to stride onto the global stage.

"While going abroad, we hope to keep our original vision for the project, namely, focusing on the modern service industry," Wei said.

He also emphasized the importance of government support. The all-round infrastructure built up by the government also brings about significant convenience.

"Working with the local government, we can build up good infrastructure together and upgrade the quality of the tourism industry. Through the application of digital devices, we can connect all the industrial factors in the production process," Wei said.

In July 2016, the central government set the goal of building 1,000 distinctive towns all over the country by the end of 2020.

The 58 distinctive towns run by JC, involving 570 billion yuan ($87.23 billion) in government investment, has brought in more than 7 billion yuan income to the company.

liyou@chinadaily.com.cn