The Wenchang International Aerospace City is under construction on Jun. 26, 2023. (PHOTO: XINHUA)

By Staff Reporters

Located in low latitudes and with a warm climate, south China's coastal province Hainan has been accelerating the development of three major innovation clusters in seed breeding, deep sea and aerospace technologies, said Liu Zuokai, deputy director of the Science and Technology Department of Hainan Province, during a recent press briefing.

The Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City in western Sanya, with a planned area of 69.3 square kilometers, mostly hosts industries related to seed breeding and deep-sea technology.

More than 8,000 seed experts come to Sanya and other cities in Hainan every year, as the province has built a seed industry innovation cluster with the most complete system and most advanced equipment, according to Liu.

In the Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, each seed has its own "ID card" recording various kinds of data. The laboratory is equipped with more than 3,000 high-tech instruments and equipment to ensure proper experiments on seeds.

In 2022, the laboratory, joining hands with enterprises, set up 27 key projects to tackle technological difficulties faced by seed innovation, to meet the needs of the food industry.

In terms of deep-sea science and technology, Hainan has established the Sanya Marine Laboratory, set up the Hainan Deep-sea Technology Innovation Center, and accelerated the building of a public platform for deep-sea sci-tech innovation.

The "Fendouzhe" deep-sea manned submersible and "Exploration" research vessel, have realized regular and efficient operations in Hainan, and their capabilities have reached international leading level.

As low latitude can greatly improve the launch efficiency of carrier rockets, this is a unique advantage of Hainan in the development of aerospace science and technology. The province has set up an aerospace technology innovation center, accelerating the construction of comprehensive innovation platforms for the application of satellite data.

Taking advantage of favorable policies of Hainan Free Trade Port, the Wenchang International Aerospace City (WIAC) is exploring integrated development of the aerospace industry with other sectors, aiming to build the city into a space sci-tech innovation hub, a commercial space resort, an international cooperation base and a place with a space industry cluster, said Liu Chong, mayor of Wenchang city and director of WIAC Administration.

The Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site, the first of its kind in China, is under construction and scheduled to be put into use in 2024, according to Liu.