Shanghai Daily News

Yangpu District is taking further steps to showcase its image as the city's university center and a hub of high- and new-technology innovation by celebrating the 10th anniversary of its Wujiaochang Hi-tech Park next month.

Nestled among such prestigious institutions as Fudan University, Tongji University, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and Second Military Medical University, among others, the park is now home to more than 1,000 enterprises and is known as the city's software industry base.

Considered as a young entrepreneurs' paradise and a cradle of small- and medium-sized companies, the park has fostered many high-tech enterprises, turning them from inexperienced start-ups 10 years ago to among the city's leading corporations.

"We are proud of what it has been achieved in the past 10 years. It is 10 years of painstaking hard work," said Yang Renjie, general manager of the Park's Science and Technology Investment and Development Co Ltd. "Now, everything is going in the right direction."

As the first technological zone established in the district, Wujiaochang Hi-tech Park, taking advantage of the university resources nearby, has become a pioneer and trailblazer in such fields as scientific research and innovation, information technology, biology, pharmacy, new-material development and environmental protection.

"We realized (early on) that the institutions are the driving force to develop the district's high technology and scientific research," Yang said. "The universities are our best resource, our advantage and selling point."

In fact, the park in the Wujiaochang area was just the beginning. Following its successful example, more industrial and technological zones have been set up over the years.

In July, the construction of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics Technological Park was completed and will be put into full operation next year; the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology Industrial Zone debuted last month, becoming the newest member of Yangpu's high-tech fraternity.

The district now boasts 15 different high-tech parks, including Yangpu Technology Innovation Center, Shanghai Intellectual Property Park, the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology Industrial Zone, Shanghai Education Service Center, Shanghai Fisheries Hi-tech Park and the Fortune International Plaza in the district's business area.

"We also encourage college students to start their own business upon graduation by providing them with an ideal entrepreneurial condition," Yang said.

Currently, 55 enterprises established by college students have received financial support totaling 5.8 million yuan (US$725,000).

The money was provided by Fudan Hi-tech Park and the district's Technology Business Incubator, an organization to support small and new companies financially.

At present, the incubator has granted more than 30 million yuan in commercial loans to 14 small companies in Wujiaochang Hi-tech Park.

"The industrial parks have become one of the district's features," Yang said. "In the past 10 years, we have accumulated enough experience and we are optimistic about their future."