Innovation drive helps grow farming area into smart hub

Investment in R&D, high-tech zones fuels the creation of Big Data Valley

Four decades ago, Xiantao village in Chongqing's Yubei district was home to farmers working small plots of land from dawn to dusk, just as their ancestors had done for thousands of years.

On the same spot today is Chongqing Xiantao Big Data Valley, an industrial park for emerging sectors such as cloud computing and cross-border e-commerce.