"This is neither a capital operation nor concept hype," said Zhang Yichao. "This is a real place where young entrepreneurs can acquire genuine skills and build their business."

BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- "You just need to bring an idea, and we'll guide you to learn and make it come true," said Zhang Yichao, 29, CEO of Dream Lab inside the youth startup hub strung along the southwestern portion of Beijing's Subway Line 10. "This is how I started, and how other young entrepreneurs will start their business in this hub."

Zhang's company is all about nurturing young innovators to roll up their sleeves, dig in and thrive in the hub's fertile ground, which lies near Line 10's Jijiamiao Station.

Incubating the future plan of connecting Capital University of Economics and Business, Beihang University, Beijing's Central Business District (CBD) and other industrial linkage to form an industrial park chain along the subway line, the youth startup hub has currently gathered 316 enterprises, attracting a total investment of approximately 1.5 billion yuan (about 209 million U.S. dollars).

Since 2018, the capital's southwest has shed its past of run-down paper mills and automobile drive shaft factories to emerge as a buzzing core for youth innovation, featuring AI innovation and cultural creativity.

CO-CREATING

Walking into the lab of Volumetric Vision, a metaverse company specializing in holographic visualization technology located in the Jijiamiao Industrial Park, a whole green screen surrounds the digital human collection studio. There, technicians capture real people's images and data to craft virtual digital humans, ready to star in videos, films, or interactive apps, driving a new frontier in AI.

"This is the only digital human collection studio in Beijing," said Wang Pengfei, technical director of the company. "With a cost of 3 million yuan, the studio integrates digital and reality, providing virtual reality and augmented reality images for videos, films and experiential applets."

The company has designed and produced dozens of AR guides for popular domestic tourist attractions, including the revolutionary base scenic area in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, and the Wuhu ancient town in Anhui Province, said Guo Songjie, the company's CEO.

"We've doubled our profits from 2023 to 2024, and we'll step into the threshold of tens of millions of yuan in turnover," Guo said.

The youth startup hub has developed an industrial ecosystem based on a "one hub, multiple parks" model, integrating Jijiamiao Industrial Park, Line 10 Creative Park, Huaxiang Qinglv Science Park, Jijiamiao 159 and Tianheng Sports Culture Park to encompass over 200,000 square meters of industrial space.

Zhao Yue, deputy director of Yuquanying subdistrict, where the hub is located, said integrating the area's innovation ecosystem with land resources allows it "to drive sci-tech innovation, industrial renewal and urban regeneration."

"We'd better not just regard AI as a tool. Humans and AI actually co-exist and co-create in the present era," said Zhang Zhihao, general manager of Tus Seed, an investment management company in the hub.

FAST PACE, SLOW LIFESTYLE

While AI innovation is a key focus, the hub also fosters cultural creativity.

China's high-speed trains are iconic symbols of a fast-paced life. Today, specially designed products like magnets with cultural symbols and canvas bags are sold on the country's high-speed trains, adding a new layer to the travel experience.

"They represent a new concept and experience of railway culture, slowing down traveling and making people experience something different," said Chen Jie, CEO of Langwo, a planning and design company.

His company, based in the hub for years, came up with the idea of selling cultural goods on high-speed trains during the Spring Festival travel rush this year.

Cultural creativity, a key aspect of the youth startup hub, has been fostered within the parks through the growth of various companies. "The location is important. I think the hub meets the demand of cultural creativity and leisure lifestyle in Beijing's southwest," said Zhang Ying, who owns the cafe, Lovely Fly Club, in the park.

FROM "MOVING TREES" TO "PLANTING TREES"

The youth startup hub currently has over 1,600 employees, among whom 78 percent are young talents born in the 1980s and 1990s, and 37 percent have a master's degree or higher. It is a dynamic cradle to start businesses and innovate.

Zhang Yichao of Dream Lab said the industrial park helped him develop. "My company is now gathering the same kind of youths like me. They can gain confidence and practical training here so that they can face reality and get a job or own a company," he said.

The Yuquanying subdistrict set up a service station to streamline application processes and boost efficiency. The subdistrict also coordinates with investors and financial institutions to provide rent relief, loan subsidies and other funding support for startups. To attract high-level talent and teams, amenities such as housing, education and healthcare are provided.

"This is neither a capital operation nor concept hype," said Zhang Yichao. "This is a real place where young entrepreneurs can acquire genuine skills and build their business."