Guangming Tianan Cloud Valley: A New Paradigm of Smart Industrial-Educational Community Leveraging Elite Academic and Medical Resources

In recent years, bolstered by increasing policy and financial support, as well as the continuous rise in public health awareness, the life and health industry has emerged as a new driver of China’s economic development.

This is a sector brimming with imagination and fraught with endless challenges. As a crucial carrier and foundation for the development of the life and health industry, the ecosystem established by industrial parks plays a significant role in facilitating the establishment of high-quality enterprises, attracting entrepreneurial talent, and enhancing industrial competitiveness. Therefore, promoting the continuous growth and expansion of the life and health industry amidst new opportunities, and building world-class health economy industrial clusters, have become integral components of local strategies for developing the life and health industry.

As a major national base for the health economy industry, Shenzhen has cultivated three major industrial clusters in the field of the health economy, primarilyFocusing on the two major industrial clusters of high-end medical devices and biopharmaceuticals, with an emphasis on providing application services for the broader health industry cluster.Meanwhile, actively foster and strategically deploy future industrial clusters in synthetic biology, cell and gene therapy, brain science, and brain-inspired intelligence.

As the gateway to northwestern Shenzhen, Guangming District is building a world-class science city and the northern central hub of Shenzhen. Situated at a key node in the northern gateway of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao Science and Technology Innovation Corridor, Tian’an Cloud Valley in Guangming serves as the comprehensive support area for the science city. It features not only a core circle comprising enterprises across the industrial chain, but also a support circle providing essential elements such as talent, capital, technology, and infrastructure to sustain enterprise development. Meanwhile, the park will cultivate an environment circle with complete public service facilities and a favorable cultural and ecological ambiance. Its significance in driving industrial advancement and urban development should not be underestimated.

Located in the northwest of Shenzhen, Guangming District was long dotted with dairy farms, pig farms, pigeon farms, and sugar refineries for a considerable period after the establishment of the Special Economic Zone, earning it the nickname “Guangming Farm.”

In 2018, Guangming District was officially established, adopting the new strategic positioning of “building a world-class science city and Shenzhen’s northern center,” and planning the 99-square-kilometer Guangming Science City. Over four decades, Guangming District has transformed from a “state-owned farm” into a comprehensive national science center.

To implement Shenzhen’s strategic layout for eight future industries, Guangming District has aligned with the research directions of Guangming Science City to clearly define the priority development of an “8+5” industrial cluster framework. The “8” refers to eight strategic emerging industry clusters: ultra-high-definition video display, new materials, biopharmaceuticals, high-end medical devices, intelligent sensors, precision instruments and equipment, safety and energy conservation/environmental protection, and modern fashion. The “5” denotes five future industry clusters: synthetic biology, brain science and brain-inspired intelligence, blockchain, quantum information, and visible light communication and optical computing.

As the comprehensive support zone and integrated industry-academia-city innovation district of Guangming Science City, Guangming Tian’an Cloud Valley is committed to building a themed industrial ecosystem featuring “IT (Information Technology) + BT (Biotechnology) + MT (Manufacturing Technology),” thereby establishing itself as the vibrant hub of innovation within Guangming Science City.Guangming Tian'an Cloud Valley serves as a key hub for the Science City, undertaking critical functions such as the commercialization of scientific and educational achievements, research experimentation, and academic exchange., it not only provides research-supporting facilities such as an international conference center, academic lecture halls, and enterprise-talent exchange centers, but also offers high-quality services in housing, education, healthcare, and commerce for talents.

According to reports, the Guangming Tian’an Cloud Valley project covers a planned area of approximately 2.2 square kilometers, with a total gross floor area of about 6.3 million square meters. The development is carried out in three phases. Phase I has a total gross floor area of approximately 530,000 square meters and includes industrial support facilities such as R&D offices, an international conference center, academic lecture halls, internationally branded hotels, and technology-themed commercial spaces. Currently, Phase I of the project has been completed and launched into the market.

In the future, Guangming Tian’an Cloud Valley will also establish public technology service platforms such as shared laboratories, incubators, accelerators, and pilot-scale test bases, thereby building a full industrial chain for technological innovation and commercialization of research outcomes. This initiative will promote cooperation and exchange among upstream and downstream enterprises within the park’s industrial chain, forming an interconnected and mutually supportive core industrial ecosystem, and providing new momentum for the vigorous development of the new economy.

Compared with other life science clusters in China,The greatest advantage of Guangming Tian’an Cloud Valley is undoubtedly its abundant resources of universities, hospitals, and research platforms.

In 2015, Sun Yat-sen University signed a cooperation agreement with the Shenzhen Municipal Government, marking the establishment of its Shenzhen Campus in Guangming District. Just 1.3 kilometers away lies the Seventh Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University (hereinafter referred to as "Zhongshan Seventh Hospital"), currently the largest single-site hospital in South China.

Shenzhen University of Technology is an independent, full-time higher education institution jointly established by the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), leveraging the existing foundation of the CAS Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology. In November 2018, the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government and the Chinese Academy of Sciences signed a cooperation agreement to jointly establish Shenzhen University of Technology based on the CAS Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, with the aim of building a world-class research university grounded in engineering and technology and guided by scientific innovation. The university is located in Guangming Science City, separated only by a road from the Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University.

It is understood that the Phase II expansion of The Seventh Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University (Shenzhen) and the Guangming Campus of Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital are also accelerating construction.

On the one hand,University resources provide a continuous pipeline of talent.It is understood that the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIAT-CAS), will establish a university human resources system aligned with international standards, which will facilitate the cultivation and aggregation of a large pool of professional talent in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in fields such as biomedicine, clinical medicine, synthetic biology, materials science, and electronic communication engineering.

On the other hand, as a teaching hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University naturally boasts a large patient volume, a comprehensive range of departments, and a steady pipeline of medical talent, thereby laying a solid foundation for the healthcare industry in the entire region.Hospital ResourcesProvided robust support for enterprises and research institutions in the fields of synthetic biology, biopharmaceuticals, and medical devices within Guangming Science City.A Key Hub for Clinical Trials, Technology Transfer, and Medical-Engineering Translation, which will further promote the integrated development of the industrial chain within the park.

As the core hosting area of the National Comprehensive Science Center,Guangming Science City is also actively undertaking the layout of major scientific infrastructure to build an innovative ecosystem for research platforms.

For instance, Shenzhen has explicitly planned the layout of five major scientific and technological infrastructure facilities in Guangming Science City, including the Brain Analysis and Simulation Facility, the Synthetic Biology Research Facility, the Precision Medical Imaging Large-Scale Facility, the Materials Genome Large-Scale Scientific Instrument Platform, and the Special Environment Materials Science and Application Research Facility, along with other scientific and technological infrastructure. Currently, both the Brain Analysis and Simulation Facility and the Synthetic Biology Research Facility have been established.

In June 2020, the Shenzhen Bay Laboratory settled in Guangming Science City, aiming to integrate and gather advantageous scientific research forces in the biological field from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, as well as from across China and abroad. It seeks to strengthen basic research and achieve breakthroughs in key core technologies in the fields of life health and biomedicine, thereby leading and driving the accelerated development of the biopharmaceutical industry. Notably, in March 2023, renowned structural biologist Yan Ning was appointed as the Director of the Shenzhen Bay Laboratory.

Moreover, the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation (in preparation), under the leadership of Dean Yan Ning, has recently been officially established in Guangming Science City. With the arrival of Yan Ning and other scientists, the talent pool in Guangming Science City is becoming increasingly prestigious.

Abundant resources from universities, hospitals, and research platforms, with all three elements of industry, academia, and research in place, have laid a foundational advantage for promoting the development of industries such as brain science and brain-inspired intelligence within the park.

On August 19, 2022, the “Several Measures of Guangming District, Shenzhen Municipality, to Support the Integrated Development of the Innovation Chain and Industrial Chain in Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence” (hereinafter referred to as the “Measures”) was officially issued. As China’s first special support policy for brain science and brain-inspired intelligence, the Measures will fully leverage the advantages of Guangming Science City in integrating the innovation and industrial chains in these fields. This initiative helps focus on future industries and promote the formation of a full-process innovation ecosystem encompassing “basic research, technological breakthroughs, achievement commercialization, sci-tech finance, and talent support,” thereby establishing Guangming as a global source of innovation and an industrial hub for brain science and brain-inspired intelligence.

Based on this, Guangming Tian’an Cloud Valley is also focusing on helping to build a Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Industrial Park. In the next step, it will increase efforts to attract brain science enterprises, aiming to form an industrial cluster effect in brain science and brain-inspired intelligence, and promote the transformation and practical application of related scientific and technological achievements.

For resident enterprises, beyond policy, talent, and resource needs,An innovative industrial resource platform system is also an indispensable component supporting the innovative development of industrial parks.

In this regard, by addressing the critical pain points in industries such as high-end medical devices and intelligent sensors within Guangming Science City’s “8+5” industrial clusters, Guangming Tian’an Cloud Valley is making concerted efforts to co-create a public technological anchor platform with its ecosystem partners. This initiative aims to provide specialized, cost-effective, and shared industrial operation and innovation services to enterprises in the park and throughout Guangming Science City.

In the field of precision manufacturing, Guangming Tian’an Cloud Park and industry leaders such as Guotai Daming have jointly established the “Greater Bay Area Industrial Capability Center.” The center is positioned as an integrated hub for R&D innovation, production prototyping, exhibition and trading, and exchange and training services. It focuses on the high-end medical device and intelligent sensor industries, while radiating influence to drive related sectors including precision instruments, connectors, 5G communication equipment, intelligent vehicles, and robotics. The center provides enterprises with support services across various stages of product R&D and innovation, including conceptual design, initial prototyping, small-scale and pilot trials, and low-volume mass production, thereby significantly reducing manufacturing costs and shortening R&D cycles.

Meanwhile, Guangming Tian’an Cloud Valley is also focusing on building a high-end medical device engineering translation platform, targeting key areas in the medical device industry such as high-end implantable and interventional devices, advanced biomedical materials, rehabilitation diagnostics and treatment, and precision therapy. The platform consists of five major functional spaces: a CDMO/CRO Translation Center, a Rapid Testing Center, a CMD Digitalization Center, an R&D Service Center, and a Multi-Functional Center. It not only helps enterprises overcome bottlenecks in medical-engineering translation but also effectively connects product development, material supply, and manufacturing parties to achieve precise matching, significantly improving the efficiency of medical-engineering translation.

Not only that, but Tian’an Cloud Park, as a benchmark for the integration of industry and urban development, also stands out in its “smart” operational services within the park. Leveraging the rapid advancement of next-generation information technologies such as cloud computing and mobile internet, Tian’an Cloud Park has proposed a new model for building smart industry-city communities driven by “big data” and “cloud computing.” This approach aims to achieve integrated development across industry, lifestyle, and ecology, with the goal of creating a holographic urban node.

Leveraging the CC+ Smart Industrial Park Service Platform as its gateway, Guangming Tian’an Cloud Valley has established eight major operational service systems to provide one-stop solutions for enterprises’ non-core business needs. This enables companies to handle all service matters within the park, reduces operational costs, and allows them to focus on the growth of their core businesses.

Currently, Guangming Tian’an Cloud Valley is still recruiting tenant enterprises. In the future, Guangming Tian’an Cloud Valley will enhance the industrial strength and competitiveness of its core circle, improve the factor support and influence of its supporting circle, and foster a favorable ecological and cultural atmosphere in its environmental circle, thereby creating an international smart industry-academia community with a forward-looking industrial innovation ecosystem.