With modern high technology advancing every day, a new leaf has turned for Hangzhou, a place that has maintained the reputation of paradise for a long time. The founding of the Hangzhou Hi-tech Zone symbolizes the formation of a large scale and intensifiedsgroupsof companies. It is not only dedicated to the commercialization, industrialization, and internationalization of scientific and technological achievements to transfer high technologysintosdirect productive forces, but it also pours unlimited vigorsintoseconomic development and urban prosperity.

　　Hangzhou Hi-tech Industry Development Zone (Hi-tech Zone) was set up in March 1990, and received approval from the State Council as a state level Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone in March 1991. The Hangzhou Hi-tech Zone is composed of three parts, with the main regions being the Zhijiang Sci-Tech Industrial Park and Xiasha Sci-Tech Industrial Park. The Hi-tech Zone will make good use of the concentrated superior intelligence in the park zone, rely on Hangzhou city's richly endowed natural environment, and depend on preferential investment policies to gradually build a scientifically based hi-tech city. Paradise Silicon Valley is capturing world attention.

　　The main region is located in the northwestern part of Hangzhou's urban district, adjacent to the West Lake. This is an area of culture and education, and is a base for the electronics industry.

　　Superior investment environment

　　With ascendant location, convenient transportation, and self-contained infrastructure, Hangzhou High-tech Development Zone is an ideal place to foster and develop high-tech industry. Owing to the support from the government's encouragement of the development of high-tech industry, such as favorable tax and HR policies, Hangzhou High-tech Development Zone has attracted a large amount of investments in high-tech businesses.

　　The infrastructures in the Zone (roadways and wastewater management and water, electricity, and gas supply) are complete, and the condition of telecommunications is first-class. Other living facilities and recreation places, including hotel accommodations, schools, shopping center, hospital, and business building are perfectly accessible.

　　In the main area of Hangzhou High-tech Development Zone, 16 universities and colleges, 13 technical secondary schools, 19 natural science research institutions, and 9 national or special key labs cluster together. In Zhijiang section, a branch school of China National Art College, Zhejiang Traditional Chinese Medicine College, and other colleges have movedsintosthe park. The Municipal government of Hangzhou plans to move some of the scientific research institutionssintosZhijiang section in groups, or to set up branch offices of these institutions.

　　High-tech Development Zone is focused on developing its 5 high-tech industries, namely, micro-electronic information, biomedicine, new material, optical-mechanical-electrical integration, and computer and its application. After several years?efforts, these industries, which possess their own intellectual assets (and Hangzhou region's comparative advantage), have grown significantly. The innovation mechanism has its embryonic form in High-tech Developing Zone. Gross product, total revenue from technology, manufacturing, and trade, foreign exchange revenue, and other economic indicators are growing dramatically every year. High-tech Development Zone's profit per capita is among the nation's highest.

　　A brief survey of hi-tech software park

　　Hangzhou Hi-tech Software Park is situated in the Zhijiang Sci-tech Industry Park of the Hangzhou Hi-tech Zone. It covers a total area of 53.33 hectares, with the demonstration region covering an area of 10 hectares. The software park mainly relies on colleges, universities, and scientific research institutes to attract personnel and funding, to promote the optimizing of computer software technology and other optimal productive factors, and works to establish an industrialized production capacity. These organizations are asgroupsof software enterprises that mutually cooperate to improve the hi-tech industry and become a processing base for exporting Chinese software.

　　In August 1998, the Hangzhou Hi-tech Software Park was approved by the State Sci-Tech Commission as a state Torch-Level Software Industry Base. Presently, there are 40 enterprises in the Park, with the total income for all enterprises reaching one billion yuan in 1999. The Hangzhou Hi-tech Software Park should make good use of its superior environment and the policies that have been put in place in the Hi-tech Zone to make an active contribution to the development of the Chinese software industry.

　　At the beginning of 1999 a special High-tech park for world famous multinational companies was set up in Zhijiang Technology Industrial Park so as to accelerate development of the High-tech industry in Hangzhou and to attract world famous multinational companies to set up their R&D institutions there. The Park sits along Qiantang River with an area of 30 hectares. On the opposite shore of the River, there are many scenic spots, such as Six Harmony Pagoda. Also there are many nationally famous colleges and scientific research institutions around the Park.

　　Hangzhou Hi-tech base for overseas Chinese intellectuals

　　Hangzhou Hi-tech Base for Overseas Chinese Intellectuals Start-up Park of Zhejiang Province? which is also known as Hangzhou Hi-tech Start-up Park for Overseas Chinese Intellectuals? has been approved by the provincial and municipal governments to be established inside the Hangzhou Hi-tech Industry Development Zone. Inside the park, 50.7% of the area is afforested, and excellent infrastructure and support facilities have been established. These include broad-band internet access, a science conference hall, a dissertation hall, hotel style apartments, and so on. The park is only one of two in the nation that is under the support of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council. It has also been designated as a State Model Pioneering Park for Overseas Intellectuals?by the Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Personnel and Ministry of Education.

　　The park is located in the Zhijiang Section of Hangzhou Hi-tech Development Zone, which lies on the southern side of the Qiantang River; abutting the Software Park of Hangzhou Hi-tech Development Zone. This area will become Hangzhou's sub-center in accordance with the city's new layout plan. It will be characterized by hi-tech industries, and will combine real estate, commerce, tourism, culture, education, and scientific research.

　　Years?efforts of the returned students have brought out fruitful results by the picturesque West Lake. According to incomplete statistics, there are over 100 overseas Chinese students who have started businesses or worked in the Hangzhou New & High-tech Zone and who have founded 33 enterprises in the form of agency of a foreign company, and capital or technical contribution, engaged in five high-tech fields (including information micro-electronics, biomedicine, new-type materials, photo-electromechanical integration, and computer and its application). In the total registered capital of 50.6 million US dollars in these enterprises, investment from the overseas Chinese students accounts for 33.6 million US dollars. In 1999 they made a total revenue of 1.39 billion yuan and a profit of 0.23 billion yuan in the sectors of technology, industry, and trade.

　　Successful enterprises run by returned students in Hangzhou New & High-tech ZoneThe overseas Chinese scholars have become a rising force in the high-tech industry with their entrepreneurship and wisdom that merges the best of East and West cultures. Among the successful enterprises run by returned students in the Hangzhou New & High-tech Zone, there are UTstar.com (Hangzhou) Communications Co., Ltd. (the largest enterprise run by returned students in China), Hangzhou Dahe Thermo Magnetic Electronics Co., Ltd., Zheda Zhongkong Automation Co., Ltd., and Yibo Power Supply (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd., to name just a few.

　　Hangzhou Returned Students?Startup Park in New & High-tech Zone has proved to be a great success. The above-mentioned enterprises founded by returned students are good examples of this.

　　The favorable environment for returned students to start businessesHangzhou Returned Students?Startup Park in the New & High-tech Zone has attached great importance to the construction of soft and hard facilities. With support from provincial and municipal governments, the Park is becoming a paradise for returned students to start a business, with all that is essential to a world-class startup park.

　　First, attention from the provincial and municipal government has been essential to the shaping of the Park. To attract overseas Chinese students to come back and start a business in the motherland, the provincial government issued a document entitled Decision on Vigorously Promoting the Industrialization of New and High-tech in 1999, which made the industrialization of new and high-tech the first priority in its economic development. The notion of building a Silicon Valley and making Zhejiang a concentrated place of high-tech enterprises was stressed again at the Technical Renovation Conference held on May 23, 2001. Hangzhou municipal government has also promulgated official documents and issued preferential policies to encourage scientists and engineers to start high-tech business in Hangzhou. At a meeting held right after the Chinese new year of 2001, Qiu Baoxing, Mayor of Hangzhou, promised to provide all the services they need in the process. At the meeting, the municipal Party committee and municipal government highly appreciated the achievements made by the returned students in the year past.

　　Second, great attention is made to the introduction of talents and money. In the beginning of last year, officials from Hangzhou New & High-tech Zone visited the US and successfully won investments from a number of US-based high-tech enterprises, including Interactive Business System Co., Ltd. A website (www.hhhrc.com) was set up to advertise for the Park and provide convenience for cyber communications between enterprises run by returned students.

　　To carry out policies issued by the municipal government, Hangzhou New & High-tech Zone further perfected various services for the convenience of returned students. It solicited projects from returned students in the New & High-tech Zone to bid for a research fund, and will grant the fund to 19 projects suggested by 17 people. It also helped Futong Computer Software Co. submit applications for setting up a post-doctoral workstation.

　　To cope with any difficulties that returned students might encounter in the process of starting a business, Hangzhou New & High-tech Zone further perfected its service and intermediary organizations. The Software Incubator is established to provide a sound environment for the development of computer software products and related products in terms of information, technology, capital, talents, and market. Intermediary organizations like the Startup Management Consulting Co. and Investment Guarantee Co. are set up to offer professional services in the fields of advanced technology, fund guarantee and marketing, and management consulting for high-tech startups and their enterprises. Venture Fund, Seed Fund, and Returned Students?Startup Fund were all created to fund returned students who have ambitions to start businesses in the motherland, but who have no money.

　　Hangzhou New and High-tech Industrial Development Zone Administrative Committee issued a complete range of preferential policies covering funding, taxation, profit distribution, talents introduction, residence registration, professional title conferring, exit and entry of Chinese territory and business activities, based on the municipal governmental document. The Park provides free consulting services and other services concerning the establishment of foreign and domestic-funded enterprises and other enterprises. It also works hard to reduce examination and approval procedures for the introduction of talents, sets up residential quarters for returned students, and provides a price discount for returned students who purchase or lease houses in the Park.

　　Photos supplied by Hangzhou State Hi-tech Induserial Development Zone