Chapter 44 43. Zhongguancun: the efforts of China's Silicon Valley

For the Chinese, Zhongguancun symbolizes wealth and technology. It is an intellectual and creative landmark that distinguishes it from Made in China. It is China's Silicon Valley. In May 1988, Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park became the first state-level high-tech industrial development zone approved by the State Council.Since then, the name Zhongguancun began to resound throughout China, and a number of China's most outstanding high-tech companies have grown here.Zhongguancun is located outside the North Fourth Ring Road of Beijing, but it covers the most dense area of ​​science and technology, intelligence, talents and information resources in Beijing. There are 39 high-tech colleges and universities such as Tsinghua University and Peking University in the park, and there are about 40 college students in the park. There are 213 scientific research institutions at various levels and types represented by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, including 41 national engineering centers, 42 key laboratories, and 10 national enterprise technology centers.

For a long time, for individuals, Zhongguancun represented wealth, dreams, personal self-made and prosperity; for the whole country, it represented technology and its future—it can prove that more than 10% of the country China's economic development is not only based on the overwhelming buttons, lighters, leather shoes, ties and shirts. It is a place where personal dreams come together. In 2007, the writer Ling Zhijun published his new book "China's New Revolution - 1980-2006, From Zhongguancun to Chinese Society".In the preface of this book, Ling Zhijun described what he saw when he came to Room 302, Block A, Tsinghua Pioneer Park, Shuangqing Road, Zhongguancun for the first time. Microsoft and Lenovo, two big companies that have been tracked and surveyed for 1 month and 6 months.

"There are 38 companies in this room, and each company only occupies one of the squares. It consists of a simple computer desk and a swivel chair, which is no different from the staff seats in large companies, except that in the usual mosaic The place where the employee’s name is pasted is all printed on ordinary Dowling paper, which is messy and reminds me of a sky full of stars. Those people sitting behind the computer desk are all young. They are the boss and the accountant. I am the only employee in my company. You can sit here for a month for only 500 yuan, and they usually don’t stay here for more than half a year. Many people fail, but there will always be someone who grows up, expands the team, moves to Upstairs. There are single offices arranged along the corridor, which are prepared for them. The interior space is slightly larger, and four or five desks can be placed. There is a company signboard hanging outside the door. Standing in the corridor, you can see There are two rows of company plaques on the left and right, stretching straight to the end. After 12 months, maybe 18 months, most of these companies will collapse, but there must be a few that continue to grow, and they will move to larger office buildings Go, occupy the entire floor." This scene, "like the beginning of chaos," Ling Zhijun said.In addition to Ling Zhijun, Room 302, Block A, Tsinghua Pioneer Park has also been described by many Internet writers and reporters.Many companies die here, and many companies die after leaving room 302, but what cannot die is the dream of each individual.You can see it as the cradle and cemetery of start-up companies at the same time. Judging from the probability of survival, most of them are destined to die at birth, but if you look at the cases of survivors, it may also be the starting point of a large company. .

This shocking scene of death and rebirth may be the scene of Zhongguancun dreamed by Sichuanese Chen Chunxian in the United States in 1979.That year, as one of China's most outstanding scientists, Chen Chunxian was invited to visit the United States.He traveled from coast to coast of the United States in a suit he bought on purpose.When he saw the "Route 128" near Boston, the hundreds of high-tech small factories on both sides of the road made Chen Chunxian as shocked as Ling Zhijun saw Room 302, Block A, Tsinghua Park for the first time.The greater shock came from the inspection of Silicon Valley. This land only later became the Mecca of the Holy Land in the hearts of Chinese entrepreneurs, but at that time, Chen Chunxian was already extremely excited. "This is a very enlightening and exciting visit," Chen Chun said successively.

After returning to China, Chen Chunxian began to publicize Highway 128, Silicon Valley, Hewlett-Packard, Apple and Jobs. He said that China should build its own Silicon Valley, "The reason for the rapid development of the United States is that technology is transformed into products very quickly. They all have a strong entrepreneurial spirit, and they are always eager to turn their own inventions, proprietary technologies and knowledge into products, borrow money by themselves, and set up joint venture factories." In 1980, how many people could understand what "entrepreneurship" was? ?

"What I'm interested in is that an emerging industry with an output value of tens of billions of yuan has been formed there. In contrast, we have worked in Zhongguancun for more than 20 years. The density of talents here is by no means lower than that of San Francisco and Boston, and the quality is not bad. I I always feel that there is a lot of potential that has not been tapped," Chen Chunxian said in his report on his visit to the United States at the Beijing Association for Science and Technology meeting. Immediately afterwards, this scientist who was recognized as a promising scientist first founded the "Beijing Plasma Society Advanced Technology Development Service Department" in a warehouse in Zhongguancun.Two years later, Chen Chunxian changed the name of his private economy to "Huaxia". This company is the pioneer of the entire Zhongguancun, and it has an easy-to-remember name like the later famous Liangtong Lianghai.It's just a pity that none of them was able to become famous all over the world like HP or Apple born in a garage on the other side of the ocean, but they didn't even survive.

In 1983, Chen Qingzhen, a staff member of the Science and Technology Department of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, founded Kehai.This young man in Beijing found a large number of scientific research achievements that surprised him in the filing cabinet of the Science and Technology Department. They were locked away and left to be drowned in dust, ranging from nuclear fusion to new electric motors.The restless Chen Qingzhen went around and said to people: "What a pity! What a pity! Why not use it? Why not use it?" Finally, after witnessing that Chen Chunxian's company was controversial at first, and then even gained support from senior leaders, Chen Qingzhen founded his own company.

Immediately afterwards, another researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences left.He is Wang Hongde from the Institute of Computing Technology. After being subjected to endless inspections and doubts, Wang Hongde resolutely stood up at a meeting of the Institute of Computing and published his own declaration of independence: "I have decided to leave from tomorrow. Computing office. It’s best if the leader agrees to my being hired. If I can’t be hired, I can borrow it! If I can’t borrow it, I can be transferred! If I can’t be transferred, I can resign! If I can’t resign, then you can fire me!” He founded two Kehai connects the two seas.Another well-known two companies are Stone, founded by Wan Runnan, and Xintong, founded by Jin Yanjing.There is also the contemporary Bi Sheng Wangxuan who claims to have initiated the revolution of light and electricity in the printing industry. He founded Founder.Another company that was less famous at the time was Lenovo founded by Liu Chuanzhi.

In the eyes of later generations, Zhongguancun rose up almost overnight.Those silent researchers and teachers who were usually bored in the Chinese Academy of Sciences and universities suddenly began to burst out their long-suppressed passion.They no longer take neglect and damage for granted, but talk about freedom and dreams all day long.However, in the end, it is still difficult for them to get rid of one last constraint: property rights.Instead, in 1988, a young man from the State Council chose to take a path that later appeared to be the most far-sighted compared to these unusually experienced seniors. At the end of 1988, Wang Wenjing and his entrepreneurial partner registered a company named UFIDA. At the time of registration, Wang Wenjing insisted that UFIDA was a private enterprise.Thus, the first private enterprise in Zhongguancun was born.

Later, among those first-generation entrepreneurial heroes in Zhongguancun, there were very few survivors.Wan Runnan, who has been highly respected until today, has been involved in a political turmoil together with Stone.Wan Runnan was eventually forced to leave the country.Chen Chunxian died in despair in 1994. When he died, almost no one cared about him except his old friends and reporters and writers who were interested in the history of Zhongguancun.The eldest sister, Jin Yanjing, was finally arrested and imprisoned for smuggling. She was plagued by illness in the prison, and she was finally released on bail by her friends.Chen Qingzhen was dismissed by Kehai in 1994 and lived on a monthly pension of 1,200 yuan.Wang Hongde's company did not survive the wave of personal computers. He simply changed to health care products in 1995, but unfortunately he still had no luck.

Duan Yongji, the head of Sitong after Wan Runnan, is still being talked about.This person has been controversial, but he still has the true qualities of a businessman. He has been standing unsteadily on the Chinese commercial stage and showing up from time to time. At this time, his identity should be an investor.Lenovo, which was also founded in that period, became the model and pride of the entire Chinese company.Liu Chuanzhi has also become the most respected business leader and godfather figure in the Chinese business world.Lenovo has gone through a long and tortuous road, from the disputes of the entrepreneurial team, the blows of competitors, and the complexity of the property rights system, but in the end it not only survived, but also stood out among many Chinese companies.It acquired the personal computer business of the original idol IBM, completed the handover of the new and old leadership teams within the company, and even squeezed into the Fortune 500 list in 2008-this is the dream and creation of almost all Chinese companies. The slogan of the time.Wang Wenjing, who is also regarded as the first generation of Zhongguancun, and his UF have also become survivors. The company went public, and they are still shouting that they want to become a world-class software company. The next generation can't wait to get on the Zhongguancun high-speed train.Unlike the first generation, they carry an almost unstoppable weapon: the Internet.This is almost the most prominent event in Zhongguancun after the connection between the two seas and the birth of Lenovo. In 1998, Sohu, Sina and Netease were born, and later they were called China's three major portal websites.Among them, Sohu and Sina were born in Zhongguancun, and NetEase was founded in Guangzhou by a Ningbo youth.This year is also known as the first year of the Internet in China. Zhang Chaoyang has been the most shining star in the Chinese Internet world for a long time, although now it seems that Sohu has been hovering between the portal website and the game website without embarrassment - later Sina became a relatively pure portal, and NetEase became A relatively pure game company.Graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Zhang Chaoyang's advantage is his American background.He even persuaded the famous Negroponte to invest in his company with his three-inch tongue.At that time, Negroponte was almost synonymous with the entire Internet and the new economy.As a result, "Time", "Business Week", "Fortune" magazine and "Reader's Digest" all reported Zhang Chaoyang, a Chinese internet hero.The photo of him skateboarding in Tiananmen Square has become almost a symbol of the new China.This tentatively new China is open, embraces the new economy, and aspires to prosperity. Wang Zhidong, the founder of Sina, was the unluckiest of the three.Wang Zhidong first appeared as a public figure in Zhongguancun as a technical genius, and his Chinese software caused Microsoft quite a headache.Later, he founded Sina, one of the three portal websites, and his two consecutive successes made Wang Zhidong a new economic hero in China.But after being dismissed from Sina by the board of directors, Wang Zhidong has been looking for his third good luck. Later, the giants Microsoft and Google both set up their offices in Zhongguancun.Let Google unforgettable is another Chinese young man Robin Li.He founded Baidu, a Chinese search engine company.Baidu is now starting to make many Chinese Internet companies feel the pain, after a few painful years. In addition to these mentioned heroes and forgotten names, Zhongguancun also has more legends and legends, and these legends are being refreshed all the time.There was a time when people in Beijing always joked that maybe if you knocked down a person while riding a bicycle in Zhongguancun, that person would be a millionaire or even a multi-millionaire.Today, this place is still stirring the hearts of countless young people, and even the hearts of the entire country—that is, can China move from Made in China to Created in China?The answer to this question is partially hidden in Zhongguancun.