Construction begins on ZEISS Optical Valley in Guangzhou

Construction began Thursday on ZEISS Optical Valley, a smart glasses industrial park in Guangzhou's China-Singapore Knowledge City, marking the German optics company's latest expansion in what it describes as its largest single market worldwide.

The valley forms part of the broader Guangzhou AI Vision Park, the city's only industrial cluster centered on smart glasses as its leading industry.

The park will focus on augmented, virtual, and mixed reality applications, bringing together supply chain partners, research institutions, and universities around ZEISS's existing Guangzhou manufacturing base, said Winston Yang, president and CEO of ZEISS Vision Care China.

Martin Fischer, president and CEO of ZEISS Greater China, said the company was founded 180 years ago and entered China in 1957. "Over the past 69 years, we have grown together with this dynamic market, and today, China is our largest single market," he said.

Fischer said Guangzhou hosts ZEISS's largest vision-care manufacturing base and serves as a key pillar of its eye health operations in the Greater Bay Area. "ZEISS will further advance local development, pool R&D, advanced‑manufacturing, and industrial‑ecosystem resources, and collaborate with partners to foster innovation in the smart optics industry," he added.