Homeward bound

Huzhou, which became internationally famous as Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was shot, isn't satisfied with its status as a film set or lakeside tourist resort anymore and has bigger plans as a spot where hi-tech industries can draw more top brains.

Huzhou, located in the northern side of Zhejiang province, and on the south bank of Taihu Lake - the third largest fresh water lake in China - has never been more thirsty for tech-savvy talents as its the Yangtze River Delta accelerates its regional integration steps.

Huzhou authorities drew recent attention with the announcement of its "Southern Taihu Lake Elite Plan" announced in Shanghai, as an appeal to draw more quality people worldwide.

"We are planning to introduce 50 leading figures from abroad in the science and technology field within five years, to build up 50 high-quality hi-tech teams," said Cai Xiaofan, director of personnel bureau in Huzhou city, at a press conference.

Those with expertise in biomedicine, environmental protection and energy conservation, electronic information, new materials, alternative energy, as well as modern agricultural industries are what Huzhou is looking for, Cai says.

The 5,818 sq km city ranks the fifth in Zhejiang province in terms of GDP, hit 89.59 billion yuan in 2007, up 14.4 percent year-on-year, and is likely to reach 110 billion yuan by 2010.

It is estimated that as many as 10,000 more talents are in need by then. "We plan to introduce 20,000 talents out of Huzhou during the 11th Five-Year Planning period (2006-10)," says Bo Aijun from the publicity department of the CPC Huzhou Committee.

Cai admits that finding quality people to drive the growth of the city's economy is a key challenge for the next several years, at least comparable with other concerns such as government and regulatory support.

"The shortage of qualified talents are the major stumbling block in the development of Huzhou's hi-tech industry," he says.

Lou Ting, deputy director of Huzhou's publicity department, says that the requirement for prospective applicants in this project is higher than ever. "We focus on introducing personnel with independent intellectual property on hi-tech products, and gaining laboratory achievements in cutting-edge technologies," Lou says. "The proven ability to commercialize the lab results is also one of the major consideration factors during our selection process," she adds.

Among the most prosperous areas in China, Huzhou doesn't face a severe labor shortage. Cai says the city feels more pressure from other competitors in the region, and needs to find their own edges based on technology innovation, "That's the major reason why we started this elite plan," he says.

"We hope to appeal to more haigui to start up their businesses in Huzhou through this project, and the qualified candidates will be received one-off founder's fund of 500,000 yuan to 3 million yuan, according to their backgrounds," Cai elaborates.

"Haigui", or "sea turtles", means those who return to China after being educated and/or worked in the west.

Currently, there are eight areas tailored for haigui to do businesses in Huzhou. And the government supports for them range from financial subsidies, tax returns, to other fundamental and social welfare aid. "In our Economic Development Zone, we have seven hi-tech companies established by haigui teams," Cai says.

Official statistics show that in the zone, there are 29 hi-tech companies whose revenue accounts for 68.2 percent of the total income gained by the 130 large-scale enterprises in the city.

Huzhou links Shanghai in the east; borders Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province in the south, and the capital of Jiangsu province Nanjing in the west; it faces Suzhou and Wuxi of Jiangsu province over Taihu Lake. "We're the center of the Yangtze River Delta geographically," says Cai.

Analysts say the world's longest sea bridge, the Hangzhou Bay Bridge, which opened to traffic on May 1 possibly would hamper Huzhou's appeal, as the city cannot benefit from the bridge directly. But the city's well-constructed transportation infrastructure may save it from being marginalized in the region.

"The Hangzhou Bay Bridge will probably hamper Huzhou because the city is on the fringe of the bridge area," says Xu Changle, vice-president of the Yangtze River Deployment Research Institute, East China Normal University. "But the city's sound infrastructure system, such as the under-construction Shenjiahu highway, connecting Shanghai, Jiaxing and Huzhou, will bring a more positive impact on the city's long-term development. And Huzhou will become more attractive because its lower living expenses," Xu says.

"The Huzhou section of Shenjiahu highway is very close to Haiyan, the northern end of Hangzhou Bay Bridge, approximately 20 km to 30 km distance," says Bo, who is also a frequent commuter between Haiyan and Huzhou.

"We do believe our talent recruitment drive, and the ideal location of the city will boost our economy and sharpen our competitive edge in the Yangtze region," Cai says confidently.

(China Daily 05/19/2008 page10)