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Zhongguancun maker ecosystem peeps out
By Xu Lili ( chinadaily.com.cn )
Updated: 2014-12-18

In the past few decades, an Internet revolution has brought profound changes to living conditions in the wave of the information revolution. Today, that revolution is still continuing. Makers (those who turn ideas into reality) around the world are applying the power of the Internet in the virtual world into the manufacturing industry of the real world. They are making full use of the information revolution to change the world.

But if you want to know about Chinese makers, you should look at the most active entrepreneurship center in China – Beijing's Zhongguancun. At present, Zhongguancun has a large number of such makers. Some of them are technical personnel who resigned from big international companies, some are doctors and masters who just graduated and some are students at school. Maker organizations such as the Beijing Makerspace, and Zhonggauncun Dream Lab have sprung up. A number of excellent makers including Wang Shenglin, Bi Ying, Xiao Zongqi and Liu Yanchi emerged.

Zhongguancun has initially formed a good entrepreneurship ecosystem for makers to start their businesses.

Located in the south of Zhongguancun Hailong Building, Beijing Makerspace is a public service platform and incubation base for makers, as well as the largest maker space in Asia. It covers an area of 1,000 square meters and has more than 300 members.

In 2015, the Makerspace will extend to more industries and create an interdisciplinary combination of innovation ecosystems with innovators in different industries, according to its founder Wang Shenglin.

Cross boundary and cross industry innovation will give birth to new products. Beijing is a place gathered with top personnel in various industries, which makes Zhongguancun makers more diversified. They have the biggest technology accumulation and the best understanding of the Internet in the country. They also have strong power in software innovations. These have become the core competitiveness of Zhongguancun makers.