China has looked at the future, and the future is in tech. That's why they invested heavily in Hangzhou-home to most of China's tech companies as well as the so-called 'Big Three'-Alibaba Group, Tencent, and Baidu.
A look at this SCMP report reveals that China's 'Silicon Valley' isn't just one area. Where in America, the Silicon Valley is traceable when you've found companies like Facebook, Apple, and Google, it's not so simple in China. In the country, it's a network of areas with companies scattered among them. China's own version of the place stretches from areas designated by the State Council. It stretches from inland Chengdu, all the way up to the coast of Shenzhen.
In another SCMP report, this action is considered one of the best decisions by the aforementioned Council. Hangzhou is the focus here; while most tech companies are dying to call the place home, so are most graduates from top schools overseas. Upon graduating, they're no longer looking to grab a job overseas-there are plenty more opportunities at home, and because of this, the home appears to be calling.
To be fair, Beijing and Shanghai is still the choice for most returnees to live in. However, in a drive to boost the economy, Hangzhou seems to be the choice for returning graduates who want to work in the tech center. More workers returning to the homeland mean more drive for the economy, and it's hugely thanks to the allure of Hangzhou that this is happening.
A survey done to measure the number of workers applying for jobs in the region shows that job seekers choosing Hangzhou went up by 0.7 percentage points. It's up by that much from last year, showing the increasing popularity of the city-fourth in the list, to be exact.
A recently-released report shows how Hangzhou is slowly creeping up the list. Shanghai remains the nation's commercial hub, but Hangzhou is on the rise because of the presence of Alibaba Group Holding and NetEase in the neighborhood. It's enough to claim the lofty status as one of the 'new economies.'
With graduates returning by the airplane-load, startups are sure to multiply like mushrooms. That is surely good for Hangzhou and for the Chinese economy, which looks to be more reliant on tech than any time in the Chinese economy's history.
