A gorgeous night view of OVC, which has become Wuhan's sci-tech powerhouse due to its highly-educated population. [Photo/WeChat account of Optics Valley of China]

Wuhan, a city in Central China's Hubei province, released its government work report on Jan 11, in which officials praised achievements over the past five years and laid the city's major goals and targets for 2022.

East Lake High-tech Development Zone (also known as Optics Valley of China, or OVC) was frequently mentioned in the report. Here are several key words related to OVC.

East Lake Science City

The construction of East Lake Science City came into full swing last year, with the establishment of seven Hubei laboratories, three major scientific facilities and two key national laboratories.

New types of research institutions

The Wuhan Biobank, a State-level human heredity database, was officially launched in OVC on Nov 23 last year. The Wuhan Institute of Industrial Innovation and Development and Wuhan Institute of Quantum Technology were also founded the same year.

In 2022, Wuhan's four development zones, including Optics Valley of China, are expected to set up more new types of research centers and create more opportunities for cooperation among universities, industrial parks and communities.

Lighthouse factories

The lighthouse factory is a new term that refers to the world's most advanced factories leading the Fourth Industrial Revolution. They serve as beacons guiding other sectors around the world by offering cutting-edge technologies in AI, industrial internet, VR, AR, advanced analytics and other areas.

The World Economic Forum issued the new lighthouse factory list in the global manufacturing area in September 2021, and Foxconn's Wuhan workshop based in OVC made the list, becoming Wuhan's first lighthouse factory to be internationally recognized.

In addition, the East Lake Free Trade Zone, OVC as a sub-center of Wuhan, the Optics Valley Sci-Tech Innovation Corridor, as well as OVC's remarkable contributions to digital economy, medical research and industrial output were also highlighted in the government work report.