Eight makerspaces in Baotou, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, were chosen for the list of the third batch of national makerspaces on Sept 12, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology.

A total of 35 makerspaces in Inner Mongolia have made it to the list, with eight of them in Baotou, seven in Hohhot and six in Ordos.

The autonomous region has made great efforts to build makerspaces to boost the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation. It is the first time that Inner Mongolia’s makerspaces have been included in the national list.

The Ministry of Science and Technology started to approve national-level makerspaces in 2015, in order to encourage local science and technology departments to recommend makerspaces that are being particularly well-managed. Those makerspaces meeting the standards will be included into a national management and service system for national-level technological incubators.

The ministry has previously approved 498 national-level makerspaces. These maker spaces can enjoy preferential policies such as free rents and preferential corporate income tax rates.