Development of digital economy accelerating as data cluster grows

Complete industry chain

Based on the data center cluster, Gui'an has developed an electronic information manufacturing industry as the equipment used in data centers needs to be replaced every five years. In the first half of this year, this above designated size industry — that is, one generating annual revenue of 20 million yuan ($2.7 million) or more — in Gui'an and Guiyang, the nearby provincial capital, reached total industrial output value of 9.67 billion yuan, year-on-year growth of 17 percent, according to statistics provided by the new area.

It has also developed software and information technology service industries. The revenue of the industries in Gui'an and Guiyang surpassed 37 billion yuan in the first half of the year, a rise of 16.6 percent year-on-year.

One of the applications is video rendering. The grand scene of astronauts taking the 90,000-kilometer-high elevator to the space station in the blockbuster The Wandering Earth II impressed audiences worldwide. But few people know that the special effects were achieved through the supercomputing power based in Gui'an New Area.

In the film, there are many scenes of computer-generated space infrastructure and fighter jets that required tremendous computing power to render.

"Each frame takes the Gui'an New Area Supercomputing Center seven to eight hours to render, and it requires machines to operate 24 hours a day to achieve the effects seen by the audience," said Peng Benqian, director of the technical research and development department at Gui'an New Area Science and Technology Innovation Industries Development, the company that runs the center.

The process of rendering involves taking raw video footage, audio and effects, then combining them to create a finished video file. It requires powerful computer hardware and software, especially for complex projects or high-resolution videos.

It would take several years for an ordinary computer to renter a 3D animated film, but it only takes three months at the center, Peng said.

The company has participated in rendering about 50 films, TV series and animations, including Three-Body, The Battle at Lake Changjin and Boonie Bears: Guardian Code, contributing to a total box-office figure of 6.38 billion yuan.