Digital initiative turns city into innovation hub

Govt support for startups credited with nurturing technological transformation

When Canadian entrepreneur Nikk Mitchell first landed in Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang province, more than a decade ago, he expected to stay for just a year — long enough to enjoy the misty lake views and ancient pagodas before moving on.

Today, as co-founder and CEO of FXG — a virtual-reality startup — he remains firmly rooted in a metropolis that has become a bellwether for China's technological leap.

"China captured me," he said while sitting in his studio in Dream Town, a government-backed tech park that has become a haven for startups.