Chinese social and gaming giant Tencent has been building a village in South China’s tropical Hainan province since May last year, local newspaper Hainan Daily reported on Sunday.
The first 20 buildings have been roofed, with the next 14 buildings expected to be completed by April next year, according to the report.
The “Tencent Ecosystem Village” will offer office places, leisure, education, medical care, farming, and elderly care services to enterprises and their employees, according to a person in charge of the Hainan Eco Software Park, where Tencent’s development will be located.
Calling it a village is a bit of a stretch because it’s not based on a traditional structure, nor is it remote. The Software Park is itself a massive development in Hainan, a free trade zone meant to attract technology companies and spur trade. Hainan has been relying on tourism and agriculture as its pillar industries.
Following Tencent, Baidu has also signed a deal with the local government in October 2018 to build a similar village and a blockchain lab in Hainan.
Contact the writer at jingli@kr-asia.com
