Qingdao Port is the first fully automated container terminal in Asia. [Photo/Guanhai News]

As one of the first cities in China to promote industrialization, Qingdao in East China's Shandong province has been leading the country in smart manufacturing these past few years.

In the 1990s, the most famous brands from Qingdao - Haier, Hisense, Tsingtao Brewery, Double Star, and Aucma, stood out nationwide and gained international recognition. In the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, Qingdao continues to anchor its manufacturing industry, promoting the development of the manufacturing industry towards high-end, intelligent, and green transformation.

Qingdao was one of the first cities in China to propose the concept of marine ranching and has been one of the cities that promoted the large-scale development of marine ranching earlier in China. In recent years, Qingdao has taken the construction of marine ranches as an important aspect of accelerating the transformation of the fishing industry's old and new kinetic energy, leading the way in the country.

In recent years, Qingdao has accelerated the layout of emerging marine industries and future industries, striving to set the bar for the development of modern marine economy. Up to now, Qingdao has built 21 national-level marine ranches, forming a Qingdao model that can be promoted nationwide.

Autumn is the peak fishing season, and in the Qingdao West Coast New Area, there is a modern marine farm covering nearly 50,000 mu (3,333 hectares). Approximately 20 metric tons of fresh fish are sold to various parts of the country daily, with an annual production of aquatic products reaching 1 million tons.

In recent years, Qingdao has recognized artificial intelligence as one of the top 10 emerging industries to boost the economy. It is accelerating the optimization of the entire industry value chain layout and promoting the construction of a national AI innovation application pilot zone. In February of last year, the Qingdao Artificial Intelligence Computing Center went online, becoming the first large-scale artificial intelligence computing cluster in Shandong.

Qingdao is also home to the world's leading and Asia's first fully automated container terminal, as well as the first “hydrogen + 5G smart and green" terminal. Furthermore, there are Haier's smart home living scenes, Hisense's VAR "Referee Assistant" TV, and other cutting-edge technologies, all of which are representing Qingdao's high-quality development and vivid reflections of its fruitful achievements in innovation.