On June 1, the Google Cross-border E-commerce Acceleration Center announced its upcoming settlement in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province. This move positions Shangcheng as a leading world-class digital hub, providing local enterprises with powerful tools to expand into global markets, according to the information office of Shangcheng District government.
Shangcheng District uniquely blends time-honored cultural heritage with modern innovation. Home to the ruins of the Southern Song imperial city, Shangcheng has been Hangzhou's core since the Sui and Tang dynasties, preserving Song-style culture for over 800 years. The local government has advanced initiatives to inherit and promote this culture, creating an open-air museum and launching cultural tourism routes themed on Song aesthetics, such as the Qinghefang Historical and Cultural Characteristic Block, which retains Ming and Qing architectural layouts and traditional crafts like Hu Qing Yu Tang herbal medicine and Wang Xing Ji fan-making.
Scientific and technological innovation is the core driver of Shangcheng's high-quality development. In 2025, the district launched the construction of a Central Innovation District (CID) to unleash new productive forces, transforming the entire 122-square-kilometer area from a traditional commercial center into an AI-powered innovation ecosystem. Shangcheng has set up a ten-billion-yuan industrial fund for artificial intelligence and embodied intelligence, supporting tech enterprises from R&D to commercialization. The district hosts over 50,000 college graduates under 35 and a total talent pool of 420,000, with its index for the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements ranking among the top in Zhejiang Province.
Innovation platforms have flourished under this strategy. The Xizi Smart Industrial Park, renovated from old industrial workshops, now gathers over 30 humanoid robot enterprises. The Zhejiang Humanoid Robot Training Base was inaugurated there in early 2026, where robots are deployed in factories and daily scenarios, with breakthroughs in motion control and environmental perception.
The integration of culture and technology has also boosted international consumption. Shangcheng is accelerating the development of an international fashion and consumption hub, empowering consumption scenarios with digital technologies. Hubin Pedestrian Street, adjacent to West Lake, attracts 40 million annual visits and houses over 1,200 brands, with digital applications creating distinctive experiences. Sijiqing Fashion Street, one of China's most influential garment hubs, is transforming into an international tourist destination, with digital design and flexible manufacturing reshaping supply chains and original designer brands injecting youthful vitality.
"Rooted in history and culture, driven by scientific and technological innovation, and connected via international consumption, Shangcheng demonstrates to the world how an eastern urban district strikes a balance between preservation and innovation, enabling millennia-old heritage to write a new chapter in the contemporary era," said an official of the district government.
