Revolutionary spirit fuels innovation

Editor's note: As July 1 marks the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, China Daily will publish a series of articles commemorating this important milestone. The series aims to review the Party's historical journey and highlight China's remarkable achievements under its leadership.

In 1921, the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China was concluded on a red boat on Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, where the founding of the CPC was announced by the members aboard the vessel.

Today, about 105 years later, the revolutionary spirit born on those waters continues to steer the city, transforming it from a historical site into a hub of modern industrial and technological innovation.

The Nanhu Revolutionary Memorial Hall serves as a powerful reminder of the spirit, annually welcoming over 3 million visitors who come to understand the Party's founding principles and how these continue to guide China's development.

According to Wu Jianhua, Party secretary and director of the memorial hall, international visitors are particularly impressed by China's transformation under the Party's leadership over the past century.

"They are struck by the complete transformation China has undergone, from a nation struggling for survival before the Party's founding to achieving historic accomplishments that have fundamentally changed the country," Wu said. "This contrast between past suffering and present achievements creates a profound impact that fills us with pride."

This spirit has been passed down to the younger generations, including fifth-grade student Gao Qingxuan, a volunteer guide at the memorial hall.

"Being a good guide isn't about memorizing dates and names," Gao said. "It's about passing on the courage to dare, to strive and to be pioneers — the very spirit guiding us today."

In modern Jiaxing, this pioneering spirit has turned revolutionary heritage into fertile ground for innovation. Under its guidance, multiple cutting-edge research institutions have emerged, transforming the city into a regional innovation powerhouse.

The Yangtze Delta Region Institute of Tsinghua University, Zhejiang, which was established over two decades ago, exemplifies this transformation. Rooted in Jiaxing while serving the broader Yangtze River Delta region, the institute has pioneered a new model of university-provincial cooperation, deeply integrating technological and industrial innovation.

"Our defining feature is self-financing and market-oriented operations," said Huang Kaisheng, Party secretary and director of the institute. "We've blazed our trail entirely through institutional reform."

The facility has developed a collaborative innovation model effectively bridging the gap between research and market applications through coordinated efforts involving government, industry, academia, research institutions, finance, intermediary services and end users.

The institute's achievements are substantial. It has so far attracted 1,260 high-level overseas talents to Zhejiang, cultivated over 2,600 technology enterprises and helped 82 companies go public, providing continuous innovation momentum for regional economic development.

"We integrate the red spirit into our work," Huang added. "We value passion, shoulder our mission, let actions speak louder than words, and strive for excellence. These values drive many of us to make meaningful contributions."

The Innovation Center of Yangtze River Delta, Zhejiang University, represents another breakthrough approach focused on sustainable development.

The center leverages the university's strengths in environmental science and engineering to power future-oriented laboratories spanning smart cities, green foods, biomaterials and advanced equipment.

"Our road map focuses on being future-oriented and green-driven," said Zhu Liang, the center's deputy director. "All eight of our core laboratories target tomorrow's bottleneck technologies, aiming to position this region as a global benchmark for green technological advancement."

After three years of intensive development, the center has achieved remarkable results in "dual new integration" — the fusion between new technologies and new industries.

The center has established 47 joint research institutions with enterprises, incubated 90 companies and generated over 400 million yuan ($59 million) in total output value, and it has stakes in 27 companies valued at over 100 million yuan.

The center's formula for success is straightforward: start with genuine enterprise needs, provide comprehensive services to address pain points at different stages, and promote the deep integration of education, technology and talent development.

"Enterprise challenges become our research topics, and enterprise workshops become our laboratories," said Shen Lyuming, Party secretary of the center. "We ensure that every real problem finds a real solution, and every promising research outcome becomes a marketable product."

Complementing the dense network of research institutions and companies across the country, the "Light of Wuzhen" supercomputer center began operations in March 2022, adding computational power to the region's innovation ecosystem.

The center's processing capability is extraordinary: A calculation that would take all 1.4 billion Chinese citizens four years of nonstop work, each performing one calculation per second, could be completed by the supercomputer center in a single second.

The facility has deployed 106 applications across critical fields such as meteorology, oceanography, environmental science, computational materials, bioinformatics, industrial computing and oil exploration. It currently supports systems including Zhejiang's atmospheric air quality forecasting model and marine disaster early-warning network.

The center now serves as critical infrastructure for China's real economy, according to Wan Senlin, manager of the Zhejiang solutions department at the national supercomputing internet platform. As the only country in the world with a complete industrial system covering all industrial categories designated by the United Nations, China is accelerating its push toward high-end and intelligent manufacturing.

"As domestic sectors such as automotive engineering, commercial aircraft production and aerospace propulsion become increasingly sophisticated, their demand for supercomputing power is growing exponentially," Wan said. "Our center is positioned to support their advancement."