Big data industry maintains steady development in Guiyang

As the central area of the first National Big Data Comprehensive Pilot Zone in China, Guiyang, capital city of Guizhou province, has been exploring a new path of development by digging into the value of big data, making great achievements in recent years.

In the first half of 2019, the city's revenue from software and information technology services reached 17.89 billion yuan ($2.53 billion), an increase of 18.65 percent compared with the same period last year, according to statistics from the Guiyang Big Data Development Administration.

The total volume of its telecommunications business reached 31.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 75.8 percent. A total of 48 big data projects with an investment of 17.29 billion yuan were signed. A total of 55 data sets, 5 million data pieces, and 280 application program interfaces were opened to the public for free.

The steady development of Guiyang's big data industry is inseparable from the policy of government backing. Policies and documents released in the first half of this year strengthened the confidence of the city to develop its big data industry. 

For the development of the big data industry, talents are also important. Tsinghua University unveiled an educational practice base on Feb 23 to jointly train big data professionals for the university and Guiyang National Hi-Tech Development Zone. The construction of three technology talent towns along Shubo (big data expo) Avenue, a 20-kilometer-long avenue that showcases the world's latest big data achievements, was started to attract more talents to Guiyang and boost the development of the big data industry.

According to incomplete statistics, as of June 2019, Guiyang National High-tech Development Zone has gathered more than 85,000 talents in different fields and more than 11,000 talents of the big data industry.

The construction of Shubo Avenue will promote the deep integration of big data and real economy, accelerating the shift of driving forces to realize high-quality economic development of Guiyang. In the first half of this year, the city held the launching ceremony of the first 20 major projects of Shubo Avenue. With a total investment of 2.2 billion yuan, the 20 projects covered the aspects of digital industry, integrated application, and 5G communication infrastructure.

In addition, Guiyang has seized the opportunity to innovate in big data integration, making progress in emerging big data fields, including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, 5G communication, the Internet of Things, and blockchain.

To a great extent, the annual China International Big Data Industry Expo reflects the development of the big data industry in Guiyang. This year's expo, held from May 26 to 29, attracted more than 26,000 participants from 61 countries and regions, as well as 4,847 enterprises. A total of 125 contracts worth 100.76 billion yuan were signed at the expo.

The big data expo has become an international platform to promote cooperation and communication in a global context by sharing achievements that have been made, as well as realizing further development through joint dialogue. The growing influence of the expo will help Guiyang's claim to fame as China's Data Valley.

Zhao Yandi contributed to this story