Upon landing, it was evening, 23°C, and a gentle breeze blew away the fatigue of the journey.

This is a welcome gift from “Refreshing Guiyang”—they say heaven is above, Suzhou and Hangzhou are below, but Guiyang boasts the most pleasant climate.

Not only is the temperature pleasant, but the humidity is just right. I’ve heard that if you place a pot of pothos here, it will remain vibrant even if left unwatered for a long time.

Beyond being a “summer retreat,” it is also a unique wellness destination. Thanks to this livable environment, it has been ranked among “China’s Happiest Cities.”

It is precisely this inherent “cool factor” that has spurred industrial growth, boosted investment, and attracted a steady stream of major projects.

How vibrant must a region’s industries be to truly define a city?

Guiyang, Guizhou, provides the answer...

The investment boom doesn’t stop there

Midsummer has arrived. While enjoying Guiyang’s coolest breezes, we witness the city’s hottest developments.

The comfortable, cool weather attracts visitors from other provinces seeking respite from the sweltering heat; the city tops the “China Eco-Travel Recommendations List”; and it ranks 48th on the “China Top 100 Cities List.”

Guiyang has delivered a satisfactory report card for its “mid-year exam,” with GDP growing by 5.5% year-on-year, thanks to industry serving as a solid pillar for stabilizing the economy.

Starting from scratch a decade ago, Guiyang leveraged its advantages in climate, electricity, and topography to position the big data industry as a pathway for catching up and surpassing others, becoming one of the main battlegrounds for the development of the digital economy.

Since 2013, data centers from companies such as Alibaba, Huawei, JD.com, Intel, and Foxconn have successively established operations there.

However, the city had not yet identified a core industrial chain to drive the development of big data. As the “server room of the internet,” it also attracted enterprises in electronic information, smart manufacturing, and new energy vehicles to establish a foothold there.

"Industrial chain thinking" has become the key strategy for "Made in Guiyang," leveraging local strengths to focus on attracting investment in the "two main and one special" industrial sectors.

The momentum doesn’t stop there. Through precise introductions by Guichuan United, the first half of the year saw 210 project leads provided to three industrial parks—the Guanshanhu Electronic Information Manufacturing Industrial Park, the Guiyang Comprehensive Bonded Zone Science and Technology Innovation Park, and the Guiyang Health and Pharmaceutical (Chemical Drugs) Industrial Park—with 19 key projects being actively promoted, sparking a “Guiyang boom.”

In actual investment promotion efforts, the Guichuan United Guiyang investment team conducts in-depth visits to enterprises, clarifies key investment considerations, and provides patient guidance on site selection.

Simultaneously, by analyzing the current state of regional development, they identified gaps in the industrial chain to fill, formulating tailored investment attraction strategies and plans.

By capitalizing on the momentum and strengthening close ties with project partners, they promoted the area’s advantages—including location, industry, and supporting infrastructure—to prospective enterprises. Based on the compatibility between investment projects and the industrial structure of the parks, they continuously followed up on site visits and post-investment services to facilitate the establishment of businesses.

Park Occupancy Is in Full Swing

Projects are the greatest variable in regional competition and the strongest pillar of economic development.

The Guanshanhu Electronic Information Manufacturing Industrial Park adheres to the principles of "industry first, projects paramount, and benefits as the foundation." With the determination to "seize the day and move swiftly," it is rapidly advancing project onboarding, injecting tremendous momentum into Guiyang’s development.

Since the start of the partnership, as a regional development and operations service provider, Guchuan Lianhang has leveraged 14 years of industry experience and a portfolio of over 990,000 project resources to screen projects in key sectors such as electronic information and smart manufacturing. As of the end of June, the firm has identified 150 companies interested in the park, with 10 in the advanced stages of relocation and 3 pending finalization.

In March, Guanshanhu District held a集中 signing ceremony for key investment projects in the first quarter under the theme “Central Guizhou’s Reception Hall · Beautiful Guanshanhu.”

Throughout the event, Guichuan United provided information technology services to the park, utilizing visual media to fully showcase the park’s investment advantages and comprehensive strengths, thereby expanding its promotional reach.

Crucially, the targeted invitation of enterprises has, to a certain extent, laid the groundwork for project implementation.

Among them, two high-tech smart manufacturing enterprises signed agreements at the meeting, specifically suppliers to the defense industry and the automotive manufacturing sector.

Following the meeting, the Guichuan United Guiyang Investment Promotion Team engaged in further negotiations and implementation regarding project deployment requirements, focusing on providing solutions and recommendations for encountered challenges, and striving to serve as a catalyst for the successful implementation of these projects.

The Guanshanhu Electronic Information Manufacturing Industrial Park is the first new industrial land development project planned and constructed by Guanshanhu District under Guizhou Province’s “Strengthening the Provincial Capital” strategy. It was created primarily to attract and cluster investment from enterprises engaged in electronic information manufacturing and R&D. Phase I of the project covers 100,000 square meters and is expected to be delivered for use by the end of July this year.

As one of Guanshanhu District’s “Four Modernizations” projects, the industrial park is designed to meet the needs of tenant enterprises. It adheres to high-standard factory requirements regarding floor area, ceiling height, load capacity, and elevators. Featuring a large open-plan design, each floor includes designated hoisting and unloading platforms, making it an industrial facility that leads current market standards.

Vigorous Push for Opening Up

Riding the momentum of favorable conditions, Guiyang is targeting the digital economy sector and leveraging its resource advantages to vigorously promote the clustering of high-tech industries. At the same time, the city is breaking through the constraints of its inland location by actively engaging with the international community, using openness to drive reform and development.

As a "bridgehead" for opening up to the outside world, the Guiyang Comprehensive Bonded Zone is situated at the northern gateway to Guiyang’s central urban area. Within this zone, the Science and Technology Innovation Park is located in the fenced-off area of Phase II of the Guiyang Comprehensive Bonded Zone. It is divided into five zones—A, B, C, D, and E—and is being developed through phased implementation and rolling development.

To establish a new hub for Guiyang’s export-oriented economy, the city has solidified its status as a transportation hub in Southwest China, with a nearly complete “米”-shaped high-speed rail network connecting to Sichuan and Chongqing in the north, Hunan and Hubei in the east, Guangdong and Guangxi in the south, and Yunnan and Tibet in the west. It is often referred to as the “Little Zhengzhou of Southwest China.”

The park is conducting targeted investment promotion based on its “Two Main, One Specialized” industrial positioning, striving to attract a group of core enterprises as well as base-oriented, leading, and driving projects to promote integrated development across upstream and downstream sectors, large, medium, and small enterprises, and production, supply, and sales.

As of the end of June, Guchuan United had precisely targeted 95 projects. These projects have secured corporate investment plans and facilitated on-site visits; currently, the park is prioritizing the establishment of seven companies.

In addition, the Guichuan Lianxing Guiyang investment promotion team has conducted on-site inspections of competing industrial parks, assisted with peer market research, provided recommendations on leasing and sales strategies, and offered policy support. Concurrently, the team has participated in the design of Clusters 2 and 3 within the park, provided recommendations for the textile printing and dyeing park’s promotional event, and organized the small household appliance industrial chain.

As an investment promotion partner, Guchuan United’s Guiyang office is also responsible for investment promotion at the Guiyang Health and Pharmaceutical (Chemical Drugs) Industrial Park, with a focus on facilitating the establishment of two companies and identifying one potential candidate for future development.

The Guiyang Health and Pharmaceutical (Chemical Drugs) Industrial Park has a total planned area of 4,084 mu, with an initial phase covering approximately 1,450 mu. It aligns with Xifeng County’s industrial positioning of “one main, one specialty”—maintaining the dominant phosphorous chemical industry while developing the health and pharmaceutical (chemical drugs) industry as a specialty sector.

Currently, the park is primarily attracting projects related to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and intermediates, while expanding into finished dosage forms, R&D and testing platforms, and supporting projects for the pharmaceutical industry. Upon full completion, the park will provide critical support for the industrial sector’s transition to the mid-to-high end and accelerate the high-quality development of Guiyang’s pharmaceutical industry.