A household robot named Krund was unveiled by Haier Group in August in Beijing. Scientists from Huawei Technologies, Baidu and the Beijing Institute of Technology took part in research and development of the robot. Krund will retail at about $1,700 and will go on sale in January. WU YUNHE / CHINA DAILY

Smaller cities are unveiling policies to lure more entrepreneurs from China's big three, reports Gao Yuan.

When it comes to innovation and ideas, Chengdu in southwest China may not be the first place that springs to mind, but it soon could be.

The city, which is the capital of Sichuan province, is already a major center for high-technology manufacturing, serving as a home to established multinationals such as Hitachi, Intel and German pharmaceuticals giant Bayer.

Now the city government is attracting startups.

According to local media reports, more than 900 tech startups have opened up in Chengdu each month since January. Many are involved in software development, one of the city's key sectors, while the gaming industry is also becoming huge thanks to the success of Tap4fun.

In 2012, the company's flagship game "Galaxy Empire" topped Apple's App Store list in the United States. The game has helped thrust Chinese gaming companies onto the world stage.

Others are now keen to follow in Tap4fun's cyberspace footprints.

Li Wei, the founder of video game testing company TestBird, said he has no regrets about moving to Chengdu. "The operating costs are half that of Shanghai, which is substantial," he said.

The former Shanghai-based development director for Huawei, the multinational telecommunications company, launched TestBird in 2013. The company focuses on testing the stability and performance of mobile games. "Most of our employees are hired locally. Chengdu is a city known for its leisure lifestyle, but for us working extra hours is very common," Li said.

The company will go public in the next 12 months, he added, although it has yet to disclose detailed financial information.

Second-tier cities across China are trying to entice entrepreneurs such as Li away from the big three — Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen — by generating a more laid-back atmosphere for them to build their businesses. To achieve this, governments are rolling out policies and incentives to attract mechanical engineers, software programmers and biotech specialists.

Shenyang in the northeast, Qingdao on the east coast, Changsha in Central China, and Xi’an in the northwest have all announced plans to build manufacturing clusters for the robotics industry.

Many of the companies will be startups.