Roaring machines, stiff cement, steel pipes and old factories used to be nightmares of Hangzhou’s people, but now they are reused in a creative way.

Shuangliu Cement Plant, located at Hangzhou Zhijiang Holiday Resort, only had cylindrical raw material & clinker rooms and an air conveyor left after a brilliant victory in the 1970s. Since it became Phoenix Creative International Park, it has attracted numerous visitors, even Taiwan’s famous cartoonist Cai Zhizhong.

Shuangliu showcases part of the industrial transformation in Hangzhou. According to Hangzhou Industrial Classification and Development Guide 2008-2015, Hangzhou has decided to make progress in eight categories, including information service trades, animated games, design services, etc.

Many old factories will put on the new clothes of creative culture. Zhejiang Xinhua Print House, Hangzhou Blue Peacock Chemical Fiber Corporation, and other old factories by the side of the Hangzhou-Beijing Grand Canal will be transformed into cultural and creative industrial parks.

Lots of celebrities are interested in these parks, like Yang Lan (senior hostess), Yu Hua (writer), Wu Shanming (traditional Chinese painter). Brain + Computer + Culture is becoming the new mode of Hangzhou’s creative industry. Meanwhile, its significance to Hangzhou’s economic development is also embodied in the following figures: a 41 billion yuan income, 417,000 workers and 1.3 billion yuan in profit in the first quarter of 2010.

Thus, Hangzhou will provide further support to the development of its creative industry.

By Xie Fang and Liu Aizhang