China’s second-tier tech hubs that you must know

Chengdu, known for its panda park, is becoming a whole lot more. / Image credit: 123RF

If you’re familiar with China’s rapidly growing tech scene, you’re probably sick of seeing this headline: “(Name of Chinese city) is China’s Silicon Valley.” It’s been used to describe Beijing, the hardware hub of Shenzhen, and Alibaba’s hometown of Hangzhou.

Hell, some have even gone so far as to try to give the label to Shanghai.

But despite what headlines and Chinese propagandists are proclaiming, none of China’s tech epicenters are anywhere near the Bay Area in its concentration of technology, talent, and capital. China’s tech hubs are the capitals of the country’s internet sector, but Silicon Valley remains the global capital.

Yet the Valley’s concentration of resources also causes their benefits to be poorly distributed across America and the world. It’s debatable how the tech boom has benefited most of The Bay Area’s residents. While unemployment is low and wages are well above the US national average, the cost of living there, driven up by home rental prices, is increasingly out of reach for many individuals, even those working in tech.

Meanwhile, in China, leaders are also struggling with first-tier city housing prices, which are among the least affordable in the world. The wealth gap between the top cities and smaller counterparts are widening.

So, to ease the strain, China’s central planners have been attempting to literally and figuratively “spread the wealth” with incentives to attract talent and investment. This has led to a blossoming of second-tier tech hubs that tend to be more specialized in nature than Beijing and Shenzhen, and which are developing unique tech entrepreneurship cultures all their own.

Three of the most noteworthy are Chengdu, Nanjing, and Xiamen – which have made the cut in at least one data-based list (here and here) of the top 10 tech hubs in China.

Chengdu: The “lazy gamer” that is actually getting a lot done

The capital of China’s southwestern Sichuan province has earned itself a reputation over the years. In addition to its own style of scaldingly spicy hotpot and a charming panda park, Chengdu is known for its tea houses, where the city’s residents spend their days sipping tea and chatting, while playing round after round of Majong.

“Chengdu is well known for being lazy. I always joke and say that WeWork will need to change their slogan to ‘We work, you nap’ when they come to Chengdu,” explains Allen Sanchez, who heads up coding boot camp Le Wagon’s Chengdu branch.

There’s more to Chengdu than just hotpot / Image credit: 123RF

These days, Chengdu is still known for games, but digital ones. It is home to a number of gaming companies like mobile gaming company Tap4fun and educational gaming outfit Dr. Panda. Both are homegrown firms, as are Digital Sky Entertainment and Skymoons Interactive, which have released successful titles. Bigger names like Tencent and Ubisoft have studios there too.

If you’re thinking about writing off the laid-back lifestyle of Chengdu, consider its real-world business benefits. “More and more startups are opening secondary offices in Chengdu as the cost for talent is about 5o to 80 percent of tier-one cities,” says Sanchez. “People here are more stable and not looking out for the next big opportunity.”

Nanjing: The “mobility hub” of past and present

Xiamen: The “beautiful” city

China’s new tech hubs: A full plate of potential, best served with a grain of salt