Guian ramps up data center construction

Several data centers are currently under construction in Guian New Area, Southwest China's Guizhou province.

Construction on the NetEase Guian Data Center, for example, has been accelerated since it started in early February. The project agreement was signed in September last year, with a total investment of 3 billion yuan ($435 million). The data center will be used for NetEase's metaverse, cloud music and games.

"Guizhou province has become a widely recognized big data hub and center of development for the digital economy, which is why we have decided to build the company's first large-scale data center in Guian New Area," said Ding Lei, a senior member from NetEase.

The Midea cloud data center project, also based in the new area, was funded by Midea – one of China's home appliance manufacturing giants. The firm plans to invest 1.36 billion yuan over the next five years in its new center.

According to Jing Yaping, director of the Big Data Development Administration of Guizhou Province, the national strategy to channel more computing resources from the eastern areas to the less developed western regions is in full swing, and Guizhou is among the eight national computing hubs. The province is currently focusing on practical industrial development demands and laying out computing facilities conducive to the nation's development and industrial upgrading.