Xiamen getting wired to be smart city

The scenic coastal city of Xiamen in Fujian province is making long strides toward its goal to be a smart city after integrating high-tech systems and promoting economic development through the use of information.

Among the many initiatives is the city's use of Tencent's popular mobile text and voice messaging service WeChat that provides residents with timely information from various departments.

Its first administrative WeChat account - called the Xiamen Smart Traffic Control Center - began operation in January 2013. The first and the largest account of its kind in China, it now has more than 252,000 users.

More convenient than radio, telephones and traffic LED displays for many, it offers traffic information to about one in four drivers in the city.

"We use it to get route information and traffic jam reports by voice and text messages," said Yang Guoliang, a local resident. "Through it we can also check our own traffic violation status."

The center also plays an important role in emergency announcements.

In July its WeChat account warned 130,000 subscribers of the approach of tropical storm Cimaron.

"In the future, we will provide smarter and more customized services to users," said Liu Jianshe, an official with the Xiamen traffic police. "Appointments for a driving license test can also be made on WeChat."

Similar services are also provided by the Xiamen Social Security Fund Management Center. Starting on Wednesday with the New Year, the center will also use WeChat to help people find jobs.

WeChat is only the most obvious app in use. Behind it is a trans-department team that integrates databases and processes the sea of information.

In the traffic system alone, more than 90 percent of motor vehicles in Xiamen have electronic labels known as radio frequency identification tags installed. And 74 traffic lights across the city are connected to analyze and predict traffic flow.

Thanks to the smart traffic control center, the rate for on-time buses increased by 10 percent and boosted their operational efficiency by 15 percent, according to Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Information Technology.

Xiamen's pilot smart city initiative aims to promote use of information and improve such sectors as communications, hospitals, traffic control and other public services.

The hospital information system established in the city three years ago now includes more than 90 percent of the medical institutions across Xiamen.

It enables patients to use the Internet, mobile phones and self-service terminals to make appointments.

"With it, patients can shorten the waiting time to see a doctor from two to three hours to about 30 to 40 minutes," said Huang Xiaohan, an information system administrator at Xiamen Zhongshan Hospital.

"Our hospital is now trying to improve the terminals and help people make the best use of the system," Huang said.

As one of the first trial cities to build a 4G Wi-Fi network in China, Xiamen started work on its TD-LTE network in 2012. It is expected to cover 95 percent of local residents whether they are at home, in the office or in public transport vehicles by 2015.

The citywide wireless network currently offers 340 apps and has more than five million visitors a month.

"Use of information relies on investment and marketing. But the content we provide is most important." said Liang Feng, an official from Xiamen municipal government.

"We will provide our residents complete information experience centers and let them decide what they actually need. And an after-sale service system will also be established."

Liang said cooperation between Xiamen and other regions and countries is crucial for making innovations in the process.

In the next two years of building an information-based smart city, Xiamen will develop more advanced one-stop public service systems and give impetus to the creative industry.

This year, 1 billion yuan ($164.2 million) has been invested in the city's information infrastructure. That would triple revenues, according to Xiamen municipal government.

Software and information service sector alone could offer jobs to 43,000 specialists. In 2015, the total spending on information services in Xiamen might exceed 500 billion yuan, said industry observers.

"Transformation cannot be done overnight and we still face difficulties in integrating resources and making the information use sustainable," Liang said. "In this sense, we need to have a clear mind and find out what people really need."

zhengyibing@chinadaily.com.cn