Recently, two phenomena at the Zhongguancun High-Tech Park, the "Chinese Silicon Valley," have been gaining attention. One is the large-scale investment from both domestic and foreign financing institutions, and the other is the emergence of high-tech parks set up by colleges and universities, thanks to preferential policies of the State. The Peking University Science Park is a focus of attention, seen as the most promising of its kind.

The park is located at the center of the Zhongguancun High-Tech Park, where talent resources and technical personnel are the most concentrated, neighboring Peking University, Tsinghua University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This area is the hotbed for high technology in China. Since June 1999, when the State Council approved the motion to accelerate the construction of the Zhongguancun High-Tech Park, the Zhongguancun area has been regarded as the height of the development for education, culture and high technology, and the expansion and development of the Peking University Science Park have received all-out support from the Government and the university. At present, the comprehensive development of the park has been approved by the State, and included on the list of the 15 key high-tech parks designated by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and Technology. The construction of the park is in full swing.

In 1992, another upsurge of economic construction rose in China. Peking University authorities, clearly recognizing the situation, came up with a strategic blueprint for the development of the surrounding neighborhoods: setting up a high-tech park in the vicinities of the university to provide a place for the commercialization and industrialization of high-tech achievements and an arena for the development of enterprises. It was in this year that the Peking University Science Park went into construction.

Up to now, nearly 100,000 square meters of real estate have been developed around the main campus of Peking University, including the Resources Building, Yanyuan Education and Training Center and Peking University Science and Technology Development Center. The park has attracted more than 300 enterprises, 80 percent of which are engaged in high technology. These high-tech enterprises are mainly involved in such fields as electronic information, biological pharmaceuticals, new material, new energy and environmental sciences. There are also service industries including law consultancy, finance and accounting, recreation and entertainment.

According to the program for further development, the park, after expansion, will also cover more area and projects, including the Peking University Biology City, the Founder Information Industry Base, an eco-agriculture zone and cooperative projects with other provinces and cities, such as the production-education-research base and the biology valley co-constructed with Shenzhen City, the biology park with Xiamen City and a base for the the production of Founder computers with Dongguan City of Guangdong Province.

For the coming two years, two sections of the park featuring education/research and agriculture will be the focus of development. The former, with an estimated investment of 2.1 billion yuan and covering 170,000 square meters, will mainly provide facilities for education and scientific research and exchange. The construction will be completed in about five years. The latter section, covering 212 square km, will focus on eco-agriculture, environmental protection and pollution-free tourist programs, as a national center for eco-agriculture. It will also concentrate on the marketing and promotion of greenfood and the training of related technology.

There will be three stages for project and the total investment is estimated at 10 billion yuan. The ultimate goal of the Peking University Science Park is to become the heart of the "Chinese Silicon Valley," an engine for the country's innovation mechanism and a leading high-tech park, not only in the country but also in the world.