WUZHEN, Zhejiang Province, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Ziye Road, a gateway avenue leading to the small river town of Wuzhen in east China, is as old as it is new.
The road is lined with houses bearing traditional architectural elements of southern China, such as black tiles, white walls, sweeping roofs with upturned eaves, and windows decorated with elegant wooden frames. It was named after a realistic novel written by literary giant Mao Dun in the early 20th century.
Meanwhile, the road is also a place that showcases futuristic technologies and breeds innovative ideas, with 5G-assisted self-driving buses running back and forth and young entrepreneurs brainstorming in start-up incubators along the road.
Such a juxtaposition of the old and the new began to emerge on Ziye Road about five years ago when Wuzhen was selected as the host of the World Internet Conference (WIC), an annual gathering of the world's renowned thinkers, industry regulators and Chinese tech gurus.
Fengqi Teahouse is located n Ziye Road, an incubator for digital start-ups. Inside the teahouse-styled company, a large screen displays real-time agricultural data including weather, outputs and prices, all collected by technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things.
After launching its headquarters in Wuzhen four years ago, Fengqi has benefited immensely from the influence of the WIC, said its general manager Fu Qian.
"We have opened 13 bricks-and-mortars teahouses and one tech incubator nationwide, creating an eco-system for incubating tech companies in the agricultural sector," said Fu.
Baidu, a Chinese tech giant, has also launched an innovation experience center on Ziye Road, offering visitors opportunities to experience the latest AI applications through video games.
As a new addition to Ziye Road during this year's WIC, which was held last week, 5G-assisted self-driving minibusses have grabbed the attention of many locals.
"I've never been in a self-driving vehicle before. It's really a new experience," said 21-year-old local resident Xu Jiayi. Currently, four minibusses are making test runs on Ziye Road.
Powered by 5G technology, the buses can detect passengers or cars within 200 meters and react to emergency situations within 0.1 seconds, according to Zhang Hui, a tech executive in charge of the autonomous bus project.
