From Marco Polo to G-20, Hangzhou continues to wow everyone

The meeting was held last week in the ancient and beautiful city of Hangzhou, a former capital which has rebranded itself as a city of innovation. 

Hangzhou is the home-base for Alibaba, China’s most successful high-tech company, and its focus on creativity and high technology has boosted its economic growth rate to higher than 10 per cent, well above the average in the rest of China.

Hangzhou provided a tangible demonstration of the urgent message conveyed by China’s President Xi Jinping to the G-20 leaders – the world economy needs a boost and this can be provided by innovation. 

By way of illustration, Hangzhou has embraced the cashless society, with more than 95 per cent of taxis, supermarkets and convenience stores accepting Alipay, a payment system using scans of QR codes. Just prior to the G-20 Leaders’ Summit, social media star Thomas Derksen spent a day in Hangzhou with no cash or credit cards – just Alipay on his smartphone. 

He rented an umbrella and a portable battery for his phone, took a bus, bought flowers for his wife and snacked on street food, all the time paying with the payment application. 

He commented that this was more advanced than his home country of Germany, saying he would not dare to go cashless, “even in Frankfurt”.

According to a survey by the Digital Inclusive Financial Index, Hangzhou is the top Chinese city in terms of mobile payments, financial management, investment and insurance. 

It is also a magnet for cultural and creative industries, and the Hangzhou High-tech Industrial Development Zone provides a base for universities, research institutions, and state-level labs as well as the China Academy of Art.

One of the attractions of Hangzhou is that is a nice place to live. 

Since successful businesses need to attract great people, this may be one of the reasons why Forbes ranks Hangzhou as the top business city in China.

There is an old Chinese saying, “there is paradise in heaven, there are Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth”, and more than 800 years ago the explorer Marco Polo described Hangzhou as the “most noble and magnificent city in the world”. Thankfully, over the centuries foresighted city leaders have preserved much of the old city’s charm and character.

It is fortunate that Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was able to join the event. I am sure it will have reinforced our government’s determination to foster the creative and digital economy in Thailand.