Microcosm of innovation ecosystem across country

GUANGZHOU — Songshan Lake high-tech zone, nestled in Dongguan, South China's Guangdong province, buzzes with youthful energy as tomorrow's tech leaders weave through roads once scented by lychees.

Just two decades ago, this thriving innovation hub was a quiet orchard. Today, it blossoms with ideas instead of fruit.

Covering 103 square kilometers, this high-tech zone hosts over 17,000 market entities. Among them are seven national-level manufacturing champion enterprises and 770 national high-tech enterprises, each playing a part in the rise of new-generation industrial technology — from connected vehicles and robotics to intelligent equipment manufacturing, biomedicine and the frontiers of new materials and energy.