Development of digital economy accelerating as data cluster grows

Three reasons for success

Zhang Quan, head of the industry team of the Big Data and Technological Innovation Bureau in Gui'an New Area, said there are three reasons why the area has attracted so many leading companies.

First, the geological structure is stable. "We haven't seen an earthquake greater than magnitude 3 in many years," he said. "Data centers cannot be moved casually like factories: once they bed down, they are supposed to operate in the same place for a very long time."

The second reason is that the annual average temperature is only 15 C, so it's never too hot in summer or too cold in winter, which will save a lot of money and energy in terms of air conditioners and coolers.

"The air quality is good, so there's no need to purchase dust-removing equipment. The mountainous landscape also offers natural ventilation," Zhang said.

Third, following the construction of the data centers, upstream hardware manufacturers and downstream applications development companies have moved to the area, thus lowering costs for companies to find business partners, he added.