The calla lily-shaped landmark of the Optics Valley of China is located in the core area of the Wuhan New City. [Photo/WeChat account of Optics Valley of China]

The East Lake High-tech Development Zone (also known as Optics Valley of China, or OVC) will open two, construct three and apply for construction permits for two key scientific facilities, according to local news reports on Feb 22.

The number of key scientific facilities has long been considered an important indicator of a country's sci-tech competence and level of development. These facilities were constructed through large-scale investment in basic research.

"Scientists will march towards new sci-tech frontiers with the assistance of key scientific facilities, which are expected to greatly boost innovation," said Fang Yu, president of the Shenzhen branch of the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design.

Research shows that before 1950, only one technology to win the Nobel Prize in Physics was achieved through the use of scientific facilities, while after 1970, that number rose to about 40 percent, and then in 1990, increased to 48 percent.

In 2022, the construction of two national technology innovation centers in smart design, numerical control and digital fabrication was approved, and a group of new-type research institutes were also founded in OVC.

Over the same period, Wuhan's optoelectronic information industrial cluster centered on the valley become a State-level advanced manufacturing cluster, and the overall competency of OVC's Biolake ranked fourth in China.