Changzhou launches mass digital literacy push

Editor's note: The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence is reshaping nearly every facet of human existence. This series will take an in-depth look at this transformative force, examining how AI is redefining the way we live, work and interact.

As China's major tech hubs compete to build cutting-edge artificial intelligence models, industrial powerhouses like Changzhou in Jiangsu province are pursuing a strategy of building the nation's most AI-literate workforce from the ground up.

Through an ambitious initiative, Changzhou aims to train 1 million residents in practical AI skills by 2028. The program is anchored by an expanding network of neighborhood AI night schools that target everyone from overworked office staff and middle-aged professionals to small-business entrepreneurs and senior citizens.

The push is part of the city's broader campaign to position itself as a national demonstration city for intelligent agents and scenario applications. By embedding AI usage into daily life and local businesses, the city aims to grow its core AI industry to 30 billion yuan ($4.45 billion) and its AI-related industrial footprint to 300 billion yuan by 2027.

In early 2026, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology launched a national action plan targeting comprehensive AI integration into manufacturing by 2027. Changzhou's emphasis on intelligent agents and scenario applications directly aligns with this central push to move AI from internet software into physical production lines.

The AI courses, training sessions and night schools have already yielded tangible outcomes for many Changzhou residents and workers.

"Preparing monthly sales reports used to mean exporting data from three platforms and manual crosschecking, which often meant pulling two all-nighters, and yet still worrying about errors," said office worker Li Hao. "After taking the course on AI office automation at the night school, I now use tools that auto-capture data and generate visual charts. The task takes just half a day, and accuracy has improved remarkably."

Li's is a typical experience as AI skills training takes root in Changzhou.

Under an implementation plan, the city's Human Resources and Social Security Bureau will provide 3,000 online and offline training sessions by 2028, including 500 dedicated AI night school classes.

"To date, 29 city departments have mapped out more than 1,200 training sessions, expected to draw 167,000 participants," said Liu Jinhui, chief of the vocational capacity building section at the bureau. "A citywide atmosphere of mass learning and application of AI is rapidly taking shape."

Hyper-local access

To make learning effortless, Changzhou established an initial network of 40 night school sites distributed across industrial parks, business districts and residential communities, effectively creating a 30-minute AI learning circle. These hubs bring together universities, professional institutions, youth programs and women's federation service stations to offer flexible, small-group classes ranging from 20 to 50 students.

The curriculum adapts dynamically to student needs across progressive cohorts, providing beginner and grassroots literacy via basic tools and everyday applications brought directly to community centers.

For professionals, upskilling is offered via a structured "training-certification-income growth" track. For those interested in monetization and entrepreneurship, there are dedicated modules for one-person companies, enabling learners to apply skills immediately.

Complementing the physical sites, public online platforms offer expert Q&A, instructional courses and regular offline salons tailored to busy schedules.

The impact spans generations. Wang, a 68-year-old resident of Zhonglou district, has become a "silver-haired digital expert" in her neighborhood. "I can now book medical appointments and scan bus QR codes independently," she said. "I even helped an elderly friend spot a fake AI face-swapping loan video."

Entrepreneur Qiu Weiwei saw an immediate business payoff. "After taking the night school's entrepreneurship course, I built an intelligent customer service system that autoanswers FAQs, cutting our operating costs by 30 percent," he said.

Catalyzing startups

For 37-year-old Zhang Peng, the night school provided the missing piece for his startup. With years of experience in enterprise software, Zhang wanted to build AI-integrated management tools for small manufacturers but was held back by development costs.

After joining the first night school session, a case study on an AI legal assistant showed him how large language models could handle repetitive coding and logical reasoning.

"It reminded me that I don't need to build massive, complex platforms," Zhang said. "Focusing on niche scenarios allows one person to do the work of a team and rapidly deliver low-cost minimum viable products."

The night schools are doubling as networking hubs. Post-class discussion groups have coalesced into the Changzhou AI Club, a co-creation community of nearly 400 local developers and practitioners. The group hosts regular salons for technical exchange and business matchmaking.

Zang Tengfei, head of the community, said that the real value lies in changing mindsets. "Many people treat AI as just an advanced search engine, but it can run entire workflows," Zang said. "While most training focuses on how to operate AI, what entrepreneurs need most is learning how to monetize it through sustainable, paid scenarios."

He said more than a dozen of the community members attended the first session together. He was impressed by the practical cases of entrepreneurs, which reshaped his understanding of AI's application boundaries.

Zang said the greatest benefit of the AI courses for entrepreneurs is breaking fixed mindsets.

"Different entrepreneurs focus on different things with some on technology, others on customer acquisition. Diverse cases offer far more insight than just learning tool operations," he said.

Tailored classes

Mao Yanping, executive director of the AI application research institute at Changzhou University of Information Technology, gave a lecture at a night school on June 5, explaining how one-person companies are capable of making tangible commercial breakthroughs.

In her view, the most fundamental goal of such courses is providing confidence.

"I have seen many professionals over 35, especially around 45 years old, trapped in self-doubt. They are family breadwinners, and when their careers stall, they lack growth channels," Mao said.

"After attending the class, the participants are not expected to start businesses or earn income right away. But we hope they leave knowing they have these skills and resources, and can integrate them with their own strengths," she said.

When designing the lecture, her team centered on the one-person company trend, and how ordinary people can learn AI tools and then use them to generate real income and sustainable monetization.

Instead of just teaching tool operations, the lecture started with real cases to boost confidence, then analyzed challenges layer by layer, offering actionable methods. It guided participants to see AI as a reliable "digital colleague" for sustainable solo entrepreneurship.

"The class moves learners from 'daring not to think' to 'daring to try, able to try and sustaining effort'," Mao said.

During the class, Mao used three typical groups as cases: professionals facing career transitions, traditional business owners hitting growth bottlenecks, and highly educated individuals with expertise but no commercialization path.

"AI is not a tool to replace people," she said. "It is a lever that amplifies individual strengths, activates accumulated resources and shortens the cycle from idea to product validation."

Under the implementation plan for citywide AI training, Changzhou has established four major training categories: general literacy programs for all citizens, skills training for enterprise employees and workers, entrepreneurship programs for young talents and startup founders, and government affairs training for employees of government agencies and public institutions.

As of March, the city had gathered more than 300 AI and related enterprises, with one-person companies founded by entrepreneurs under 35 accounting for 55 percent of the total, signaling a promising trend of youth-led, industry-embedded and startup-concentrated development.