Gateway to Opportunities: Where Innovation Serves People -- Hangzhou's Journey from Countryside to Robotics Labs

HANGZHOU, China, July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In a village agricultural livestream studio in Tonglu, Klara Tania Tandika, an Indonesian YouTuber with over 23 million followers, held up a live chicken and hawked it to online shoppers with infectious enthusiasm. Commenters exclaimed: "The livestream is getting international!"

"Using e-commerce to help people earn more, that's really interesting," Klara said.

A few weeks later, in a Hangzhou tech company, Esmira Gasimova, a senior editor at Azerbaijan's Public Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, strapped on an exoskeleton and took her first assisted steps. The machinery was light; the support was steady. Then tears filled her eyes. "In my country, many elderly and disabled people need technology like this," she said, her voice trembling. "I truly want to bring this technology back to Azerbaijan."

These two moments capture the essence of "Gateway to Opportunities, China's Industry Stories," an international communication program organized by the Hangzhou International Communication Center (HZICC). Through a month-long global recruitment process, overseas journalists and influencers formed two exploration delegations: "From Village to the World" (rural revitalization) and "Tech for Good." They came with questions that resonate worldwide: Can businesses both profit and uplift communities? Can ecological restoration benefit farmers? Can technology genuinely leave the lab and reach people who need it most? They left with a series of rich and diverse narratives, each opening a doorway to understand how Hangzhou is writing new chapters of sustainable and inclusive development.

From Village to the World: Rural Revitalization Meets Global Curiosity

The rural revitalization delegation, composed of journalists and influencers from Turkey, Switzerland, Indonesia, South Korea, Pakistan, and France, spent four days traversing Hangzhou's countryside, from bamboo-covered mountains to tea-scented valleys, from logistics hubs to museums preserving centuries of craft.

At Siwu Nature Park in Xiaoshan's Yiqiao Town, Tunç Akkoç, founder and editor-in-chief of Turkish Harici Media, walked alongside scientists through the  Park supported by Wanxiang Agriculture Group Co., Ltd. After nearly 100 biodiversity surveys, over 700 species of plants and animals have been detected returning to forests once ecologically imbalanced by the decline of the bamboo economy. Project director Liu Shenmin of the Siwu Nature Park explained how ecological restoration triggered a chain reaction, native species returned, organic tea was branded, over 200 nature education activities run annually, and hiking and cycling tourism flourished, boosting rural cultural industries.

Kim Seojun, a Korean YouTuber with 2 million followers, stood before an unrestored monoculture bamboo forest where bamboo had fallen over and few other plants grew on the ground, then walked to a nearby experimental restoration site with artificial "forest gaps," where countless lush plants had already grown back. "I specially changed into hanfu today, planning to shoot a 'Chinese fantasy' style video in the bamboo forest," he said with emotion, "But the meaning of ecological restoration moved me even more."

Walking out of the bamboo forest, Tunç talked with two villagers, Shao Jianhua and Xu Hongfang, who work at the Siwu Nature Park. Shao pointed to his organic vegetable plot next to the bamboo forest: "This is my 'territory.' It's good for the soil, and healthy for people too." Xu added: "When the ecology improves, more children and young people come here to learn. I feel that what I am doing is truly meaningful." Tunç said he saw how ecology can drive rural governance and hopes to return here in the future.

About 40 kilometers from Yiqiao Town, the model of Xiejing'an Transfar Agricultural Innovation Village caught the attention of Samuel Piotr Emch from Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF). As a journalist specializing in agriculture, he has been following many Chinese agri-tech companies, and Transfar's model is one of his recent case studies. Built by Transfar Group from 2023, the first phase of the village officially began operation in 2024; this former "weak village" was selected as a national pilot site for "Beautiful and Harmonious Countryside." Starting from the Xiejing'an Plant Science Center, Samuel visited breeding greenhouses, an intelligent seeding and germination workshop, a digital seedling factory, and a variety trial greenhouse.

Duan Gehong, general manager of Hangzhou Moyu Biotechnology Co., Ltd., leads a team of young scientists researching crop resistance to pests and diseases and improving breeding efficiency. "I was attracted by the plan here from the very beginning. The lab, the fields, and the research greenhouses are fully connected. We also received public-interest funding support," she said, adding that these resources are especially important for startup teams that lack space, staff, and industry ecosystem support. Rong Song, deputy general manager of Zhejiang Transfar Rural Development Co., Ltd., outlined the broader vision: "Transfar Group has invested in many promising companies in areas such as gene editing and biological pesticides. Our goal is to build an ecosystem where every company that moves in can find support in technology, funding, and market channels."

After leaving the research center, Manon Ruhlmann, French host at HZICC, tasted several new tomato varieties at a tomato picking base, before filming short videos to share the area's development model. Kim Seojun visited the Agri-innovation Exchange Center booths, tasting local Xiaoshan chili sauce and immediately asking villagers how they develop the products. The place feels like a "connector" , linking laboratories with farmland, consumers with rural producers, and companies with local communities. Next year, the second phase of the Xiejing'an project is expected to be completed, potentially welcoming international companies and becoming a platform for global agricultural technology exchange.

In Fenglian Village, Tonglu, birthplace of YTO Express and the "3 Tong and 1 Da" delivery giants, Klara stepped into the agricultural livestream studio, held a live chicken, and mimicked the host's selling style. She noted with surprise: "I can receive my parcel within two or three days after I ordered. Yu Zeqi, Vice President of YTO Express and General Manager of Hangzhou Golden Canyon Ecological Technology Co., Ltd., explained how the village's core has shifted from "how many parcels to ship" to integrating dispersed agricultural production into a high-efficiency system, a comprehensive supply chain spanning air transport, intelligent sorting, cross-border networks, and digital management.

Beyond commerce, Fenglian Village restructures daily life: the village canteen runs at low cost as a social hub; a drone food delivery system serves elderly residents with limited mobility, turning human care into a sustainable operational path. At the Apo Workshop, Klara sat alongside senior villager Song Yinchun weaving yarn flowers, two women sharing the quiet pride of working hands despite the language barrier.

At E'shan She Ethnic Township, returning youth like Chen Ting, General Manager of Hangzhou Shehong Poultry Industry Co., Ltd., who studied in Singapore, are transforming their parents' products through the "She Flavor E'shan" intangible cultural heritage agro-innovation park, a one-stop platform providing centralized product display, unified standards, packaging, and sales, covering intangible cultural heritage preservation, agricultural development, digital marketing, and cultural tourism integration. Zhong Dengfeng, head of the agro-innovation park, said: "All products can be purchased in one single place." Sales exceeded 800,000 yuan in the first four months of 2026, not yet including the She ethnic traditional "March 3" festival. Tunç, seeing international potential, proposed: "Maybe we can work together across countries."

At Gewu Village in Zhongshan Township, the delegation visited Songwu Middle School, a school hidden deep in the mountains that produced roughly 300 courier entrepreneurs among 1,300 students over its 22-year history. At the Express Delivery Journey Exhibition Hall, the entrance slogan reads: "Reach the world, courage comes first." The story begins in 1993, when STO Express took root in Tonglu, marking the beginning of China's private express delivery landscape. Then came Yunda Express, YTO Express, and ZTO Express, the "3 Tong and 1 Da" group whose networks now reach globally.

Since 2019, the "3 Tong and 1 Da" have relocated their second headquarters back to Tonglu, seeding a billion-yuan-level express logistics industry cluster. They have donated over 100 million yuan to local infrastructure, funding road construction, building schools, strengthening public infrastructure, and establishing public welfare funds supporting education, eldercare, and vulnerable groups. Today, from shoulder-borne parcels to smart delivery, low-altitude logistics, and intelligent transportation, innovation continues to drive the industry forward. Klara reflected: "The reason China's express delivery can expand at such incredible speed is truly because it is driven by continuous innovation!"

In Jingshan Village, "tea second-generation" Ma Kuan returned from overseas marketing studies and reframed Jingshan tea as a cultural consumer brand, creating village IP "Jing Ling Zi," reviving the Song Dynasty whisked-tea ceremony as an immersive cultural experience, and building a tea-themed homestay. "Over 3 million tourists visit annually, and services are increasingly international," he said, pointing to quadrilingual village signage.

At Xikou Village of Baizhang Town, Li Wei, deputy secretary-general of Green Zhejiang, a grassroots environmental organization founded over 20 years ago that once catalyzed the "Searching for Swimmable Rivers" reports, indirectly contributing to Zhejiang Province's landmark "Five-Water Governance" decision, explained the story behind the beautiful scenery. Today, Green Zhejiang has trained more than 60,000 "Civilian River Chiefs" and launched the "Three Hours for a Better World" Charity station in Baizhang. American Catherine Olson was drawn by this ethos, settling in Baizhang to teach children waste sorting and film videos about bamboo management and village life, gaining over a million followers.

Baizhang also has another highlight: rural museums scattered throughout the village. Pakistani influencer Aqeel Fiaz kept his camera raised the whole time, regretting he could not capture every one of the more than 23,000 shuttles displayed in the Shuttle Museum. Curator Zheng Fenlan, a provincial-level intangible cultural heritage inheritor, spent over 20 years "bringing home" these shuttles collected from all over the world. This is not just an exhibition space but a small business ecosystem: elderly villagers and local women receive traditional cloth-weaving training, and their products are sold through museum channels. Beyond retailing souvenirs, the museum runs interactive workshops. Zheng warmly invited Tunç to cooperate, saying that perhaps one day they could even hold a shuttle exhibition in Turkey.

At the Onebamboo Museum, the group stopped to admire each delicate bamboo artwork. The "Ji Bamboo Common Prosperity Workshop" helps villagers improve the quality of bamboo baskets, kites, lamps, and other handmade products while expanding sales channels, with annual sales exceeding 5 million yuan. Aqeel decided to share this model in his videos: "Bamboo can become art, grow into an industry, and the profits can go directly back to the villagers. That is real sustainability."

On April 23, by the West Lake, a public-interest sharing session "From Village to the World" showcased how rural Hangzhou offers global lessons. Alibaba's "Village Commissioner" program stations personnel in underdeveloped counties. Hailiang Group replicates education models in key-assistance counties. CHINT's STAR program uses IoT to monitor African wildlife across 200 countries, while CHINT Anneng provides off-grid solar systems for nearly 600 million people without electricity in Africa. "A mother by Lake Victoria told me that light at night keeps hippos away, protecting my children, and the TV lets us see a bigger world," said Pu Xun, overseas brand director.

Tech for Good: Where Innovation Serves the Most Vulnerable

The "Tech for Good" delegation, media professionals and influencers from Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Morocco, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Pakistan, spent three days probing Hangzhou's deepest tech corridors, from quadruped robots navigating hazardous terrain to brain-controlled wheelchairs, from exoskeletons restoring mobility to AI screening for Alzheimer's.

When an Argentinian woman with muscular weakness rose from her wheelchair and took her first steps using an exoskeleton developed by Hangzhou-based TransitX Technology, her friend standing beside her burst into tears. Abdul Baset Hashimi, an Afghan wheelchair basketball player, stood up again after 13 long years thanks to the same technology, and smiled through tears as he took his first steps. These stories preceded the delegation's own encounter with rehabilitation robotics.

"I've seen many robot dancing videos on YouTube. But what can they actually do?" asked Moroccan influencer Ossama Abbad. At DEEP Robotics, one of Hangzhou's "Six Little Dragons," a quadruped robot navigated 45-degree slopes and industrial obstacles with fluid precision. Deployed in power stations and pipeline corridors, these machines identify instrument readings with over 1,000 trouble-free hours, replacing humans in toxic, oxygen-depleted environments. At Transfar Innocity • Overseas Returnees Town, Ossama discovered Transintel Future, DEEP Robotics' partner developing intelligent patrol solutions. "This kind of application isn't done by one company, as Hangzhou's tech enterprises jointly develop products," he observed. "I think I've found one secret of Hangzhou's rapid tech development."

At Rokid, Jhoni Marcos, Head of News Facilities Operations of RTV Indonesia, filmed himself trying AI glasses, then paused at a less flashy application: Rokid Glasses describe objects to visually impaired users through directional speakers, while AR glasses help autistic children complete tasks through animated guidance. At MindAngle, Mexican influencer Andrea Moreno sat in a brain-controlled wheelchair, giving mental commands that grew increasingly fluid. "Brain-computer interface technology can help many people, especially autistic patients," Andrea said. Aqeel exclaimed: "Movie plots are becoming reality, I sat in Professor X's wheelchair in Hangzhou!"

At RoboCT, Esmira strapped on an exoskeleton and walked, then tears streamed down. "Years of conflict have left many disabled in my country. If they heard machines could help them stand again, they would be overjoyed." RoboCT has partnered with top hospitals for "spinal stimulation + exoskeleton" rehabilitation treatments, one patient stood independently 14 days post-surgery. Its rehabilitation exoskeleton received EU CE certification in late 2024. "If technology can cross borders and help my compatriots walk again, I want to be that bridge," Esmira said.

At Liuxia Public Service Complex, the delegation entered a seniors' "future home", wheelchair-accessible smart kitchens, seated rise-assist devices lifting a sitting person in under 10 seconds, and the "Smart Bathing Machine": an inflatable capsule forming a private bath in 30 seconds, spraying fine mist so that over 45 million disabled or cognitively impaired Chinese seniors can bathe with dignity. Manon Ruhlmann, the French host, noted: "In France, I rarely see such a concentrated tech-for-seniors center embedded right in the community."

At HAI MA REMEMBERS, AI drives early screening for Alzheimer's. "Treat all parents as our own parents," read the wall inscription that made Esmira pause. "In Azerbaijan, many families face elder dementia. If convenient methods can provide early warning, that's not just technology, it's social care," she said. Guncha Atajanova, a Turkmen influencer with medical training, added: "Here I see hope, innovation can help seniors maintain cognitive abilities longer and live independently."

At Transfar Innocity • Overseas Returnees Town, the delegation found another answer to "Why Hangzhou?" Breaking the traditional park model, Transfar provides full-cycle support from incubation to headquarters. Dr. Zhou Lu of Santo Therapeutics explained: "Here, entrepreneurs don't fight alone." Her gene therapy drug ST002 targets NF2 using a lentiviral vector to deliver normal genes into tumor cells. "Tumors can be cured, we must have confidence. Technology must serve people, cure disease, and save lives." Ossama, himself an entrepreneur, noted: "I've seen many research achievements stuck in papers. But here I see a different model, one with backing and confidence."

On June 5, at the "Hangzhou: Where China's Opportunities Thrive, Tech for Good Sharing Session" by the Qiantang River, hosted by HZICC and City Express, co-hosted by the General Association of Zhejiang Entrepreneurs Philanthropic Commission and Hangzhou Philanthropic Association, the conversation deepened. Liang Yingjie, City Express's sci-tech news director, explained the "Six Little Dragons" phenomenon by noting that China has a complete supply chain and an engineer dividend, while Hangzhou, which has ranked first nationwide in net youth inflow for consecutive years, boasts a massive pool of young creators applying new technologies to empower the real economy.

From embodied AI robots protecting rescuers, 3D scanning preserving cultural heritage's digital DNA, cochlear implants reconnecting the deaf to sound, and digital apps building lifelines for people living alone, when technology steps out of the lab and walks into emergency scenes, inside human ears, and alongside the most vulnerable, it truly fulfills the promise of doing good.

Nuoerkang presented its self-developed cochlear implant, affordable, with high data transmission rates, tonal-language algorithms, and noise reduction, over 1,500 hearing-impaired individuals have received charitable implants. Scantech showcased 3D digitization creating customized orthopedic braces for scoliosis adolescents via non-contact scanning and SLS printing, and building digital archives for cultural relics from Sanxingdui's divine tree to Egyptian painted coffins, giving millennia of civilization a "digital eternity." Xunyi maintains a 24-hour drone logistics network, flying pathology specimens between hospitals during traffic jams, delivering emergency blood at midnight, and collecting mountain health samples from remote clinics.

Bridges Being Built

When asked "What is the most important Hangzhou story worth telling?" each member chose differently: ecological restoration in Xiaoshan, enterprise-village integration at Xiejing'an, courier-industry in Tonglu, tea culture in Jingshan, museum clusters in Baizhang, or rehabilitation robotics, elderly-care innovation and biotech ecosystems. The delegation did not find a single standard answer; instead, they gained a series of rich "multiple-choice questions," searching for ways the world could better understand Hangzhou.

Klara plans to edit her livestream experience into a video for millions of followers. Seojun believes drones delivering meals to seniors represent technology at its most humane. Samuel has returned to Xiejing'an for follow-up interviews. Manon is excited to see intangible cultural heritage preservation reach global audiences. Aqeel is producing videos about Baizhang's art development and the Ji Bamboo Common Prosperity Workshop. Tunç is negotiating collaboration between Hangzhou and Istanbul, from shuttle exhibitions to cross-border agricultural partnerships. Esmira wants to be the bridge bringing exoskeletons to Azerbaijan. Each story is a doorway, not a single answer, but a growing collection of narratives connecting Hangzhou's villages and laboratories to the wider world.

Hangzhou International Communication Center will continue inviting global media and influencers to discover more chapters of "Gateway to Opportunities, China's Industry Stories", where innovation serves the people, goodness is practice rather than a  label, and a city's stories become bridges connecting villages and laboratories to the wider world.

Sumber: www.prnasia.com