The cities of Taiyuan and Changzhi, in Shanxi province, and the Pinglu district of Shuozhou, Shanxi province were recently added to a list of China’s first pilot group of 90 digital cities, which refers to an urban area where just about everything is digitalized. This means virtual and real access to it on the Internet through computers and multi-media outlets, with large-scale storage technology. Under the 12th Five-year Plan (2011-16), the China Development Bank and the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ministry will put 80 billion yuan into developing the digital cities. The idea is to cater to everyone’s needs for a better standard of living.

Edited by Roger Bradshaw