The Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Fujian campaign discovered the exciting innovation taking place in the western Fujian city of Longyan on June 7-9.

The event included a meeting for the city’s entrepreneur community, in which officials gave an update on Fujian and Longyan’s latest policies to support innovative start-ups.

The attending officials and reporters were also given a series of tours around many of the most exciting projects happening in Longyan.

The Longyan government has taken an active role in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in the city, issuing a 13th Five-Year Plan for science and technology development in 2016 together with an action plan for innovation-driven development.

The government allots 11 million yuan ($1.6 million) each year to subsidies and incentives for local maker spaces and self-employed individuals. A further 200 million yuan will be used to grow the city’s talent pool each year.

The city encourages technology company incubators and maker spaces to settle at diverse places, ranging from industrial parks, higher education institutions and research facilities, to deserted factories, storage facilities and old villages.

There are now 17 maker spaces in the city, including eight provincial-level ones.

A visitor tries out a virtual reality-based device at a maker space in Longyan, Fujian. [Photo/Xinhua]