Innovation, entrepreneurship week kicks off in Chengdu

The opening ceremony of the 2018 National Mass Innovation and Entrepreneurship Week took place in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on Tuesday morning.

The weeklong event will be held in different parts of the country, with its main venue in Chengdu.

Since the central government decided to hold the National Mass Innovation and Entrepreneurship Week in 2015, Beijing, Shenzhen in Guangdong province and Shanghai have all served as main venues for the event.

The 2018 National Mass Innovation and Entrepreneurship Week marks the first time the main venue of the event is in the western part of the country, said Fan Bo, chief of the Sichuan provincial development and reform commission.

It is a recognition of and boost to Sichuan's mass innovation and entrepreneurship, Fan added.

The main venue of this year's event in Chengdu will showcase achievements of mass innovation and entrepreneurship in different parts of the country and Sichuan in particular.

Visitors to the main venue can see a desk lamp believed to prevent shortsightedness, a tap which can prevent scalding by automatically stopping the flow of boiling water when a cup is full, and a jack which can move furniture at home.

The lamp, tap and jack have been invented by different students in Sichuan, according to guides in the main venue.

During the weeklong event, policies aimed at fostering innovation as well as entrepreneurship to promote employment will be announced, Fan said.