As the world crowdfunding summit begins in Guiyang on Friday, the city announced its plan to further boost the internet financing and crowdfunding industry by establishing a small town within the city.

The "crowdfunding town" is due to be fully operational in 2017 and will be located beside Yueshan Lake, covering 66.6 hectares with a total investment of 2.5 billion yuan ($394 million), said Wang Yuxiang, vice-mayor of Guiyang.

The town's first residents will be selected from a crowdfunding contest during the summit, where more than 500 project groups are due to participate in a contest to demonstrate their ideas and products.

Eventually the top 300 groups will be invited to settle in the town.

"In recent years, Internet financing has become one of the pillar industry towards the State Council's Internet Plus strategic development pattern. The establishment of the crowdfunding town will further strengthen and accelerate the development speed," Wang said.

"The town will be a huge boost for the city's crowdfunding financing system."

As a place for entrepreneurs in Guiyang to start their businesses, the town will feature banks, trust funds, lofts and a crowdfunding academy, he added.

"We hope the place will become a home for young entrepreneurs and makers to realize their dreams," said the so called "Hotpot Queen" He Yongzhi, chairwoman of the Chongqing Cygnet Investment Group and also one of the founders of the crowdfunding town in Guiyang.

The 62-year-old was invited to Guiyang for a business trip earlier this year and she became a fan of the city, saying the environment and determination of the government would be key to boost internet financing.

"From where I see it, Guiyang is a promising city with many emerging industries, such as big-data and cloud computing, and the clean air and enjoyable climate will also help in attracting investors," she said, adding that the idea of a crowdfunding town will soon attract many investors such as her and is supported by the government of Guiyang.

One of the highlights of the town is that everything is based on the concept of crowdfunding, including capital, staff members and resources, according to He.

The architectural style of the town will be based on traditional Chinese elements, with both classical and ethnic styles. However, the building process will use modern and creative technologies.

"This is just a reminder of the town's core principal, which is innovation and creation. Besides providing financial support, we want to give all the residents the encouragement to pursue more creative ideals and projects." He said.

"For the future, we are taking into consideration that the next phase of construction will be using 3D print technology," she said.

Contact the writers at yangjun@chinadaily.com.cn and zhaokai@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 10/23/2015 page24)