CHENGDU, China, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A report from CHINA DAILY.

Jiaozi Avenue, a key artery in the Chengdu Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, hosted the 2026 Lantern Festival event themed “Full of Vitality, Chengdu My Home” on Tuesday evening, putting talents and enterprises center stage.

Since its inception in 2024, the event has been held three times on the avenue. This year’s centerpiece was the 52,000-square-meter giant screen light show at the Tianfu International Financial Center’s twin towers. Divided into three chapters, the show featured intangible cultural heritage elements and designs themed around the Year of the Horse.

Notably, a special “enterprise spotlight” segment was staged at the show, featuring inspirational mottos from nearly 50 key enterprises in the zone.

Beyond the light show, the event featured a concert where most of the singers and songwriters were from the zone’s industries such as electronic information, biomedicine, digital economy and future science and technology. Artificial intelligence was used in the song creation and intelligent robots also participated in the concert.

For the first time, a recruitment drive was held during the event, with 91 enterprises offering more than 1,300 jobs online and offline.

During the Lantern Festival event, 1 million yuan ($144,982) worth of consumption vouchers were distributed. From Tuesday to March 31, the Chengdu Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone plans to issue 20 million yuan in vouchers across 19 product categories, boosting consumer demand.

In addition to Lantern Festival, Jiaozi Avenue has become the premier choice for locals and tourists to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new. At the celebration for welcoming 2026, over 200 sets of beam lights along the avenue complemented the twin towers’ giant screen, showcasing the event’s theme “Chengdu Lights Up for You”.

A highlight of the celebration was when people’s wishes were displayed on the twin towers. Over 600 wishes appeared on the massive screen, each reflecting love for life, visions for the future, and affection for the city, embodying Chengdu’s passion, openness, and innovation. A countdown appeared on the towers as midnight approached on the last day of 2025, with 120,000 residents and tourists joining in to welcome 2026.

The vibrant lights of the New Year’s Eve and Lantern Festival on Jiaozi Avenue are a vivid representation of the vitality and strength of the Chengdu Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone. These celebrations, which integrate technology, culture and talent, are supported by the zone’s robust efforts in advancing industrial development and fostering innovation.

At a recent work conference held in February, the Chengdu Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone reported on its economic growth and development for 2025. The zone achieved a regional GDP of 366.2 billion yuan, reflecting a growth rate of 6.1 percent, and solidified its position as the core engine driving the city’s economic expansion.

Meanwhile, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 114.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4 percent. The fixed asset investment hit 80.6 billion yuan, growing by 12.5 percent. Currently, the zone hosts more than 850,000 skilled professionals, including over 2,300 high-level talents recognized at national, provincial and city levels.

As the hub of Chengdu’s development, the zone has established a modern industrial framework. The electronic information sector, for example, reported a 10 percent increase in the added value of industries above designated size, underscoring its role as an economic pillar.

Emerging and future industries are also flourishing. Milestones include the establishment of Ant Group’s AI enterprise service headquarters with an investment of 3 billion yuan; three companies, including Koala Uran, being ranked among the top 100 AI enterprises by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; and the launch of the world’s first space computing satellite constellation.

While enhancing its industrial competitiveness, the Chengdu Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone is accelerating the cultivation of new quality productive forces, with the number of national-level innovation platforms reaching 70. The zone also took the lead in establishing the pilot innovation cooperation network and developed landmark products like the Skywalker II humanoid robot.

This year, the zone will continue to prioritize high-quality development, aiming to enhance its appeal and strength. It plans to make breakthroughs in seven key areas, including national strategy services, economic stability, modern industrial system advancement and social welfare.

In terms of industries, the zone will refine the “3+6+6” modern industrial system and develop a balanced industrial structure with diverse support. For instance, in the electronic information sector, it will leverage leading enterprises to expedite the gathering of key upstream and downstream supporting projects. In the medical and healthcare sector, it will focus on new frontiers such as innovative drugs and cell and gene therapy.

Regarding social welfare, the zone will enhance its balanced and high-quality public service system, responding to the needs of residents at all life stages, particularly the elderly and children.

This year, the Chengdu Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone will fortify its five core functions. These include acting as an innovation transformation hub, high-end industry leader, inland opening-up demonstration and park city showcase.

It will build high-level innovation platforms, achieve breakthroughs in core technologies, assemble top scientific research teams and innovative talents, and create new 100-billion-yuan industrial clusters focusing on AI and the aerospace economy.

In addition, the zone will accelerate the development of a new production model aligned with the requirements of new quality productive forces, as well as a modern governance system in line with the standardized development of new zones. It will also advance the integration of science and industry, institutional opening-up and in-depth reforms.

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SOURCE CHINA DAILY