Grassland city looks to cloud computing

By Yuan Hui/Fu Chao (China Daily)

Updated: 2015-03-28

Hohhot says it has the right stuff to become a massive data hub, Yuan Hui and Fu Chao report.

Relying on its geographic advantages and charming scenery, Hohhot is a pleasant city and looking to become a national-level industrial hub for database and cloud computing. Photo provided to CHINA DAILY

Hohhot, the capital of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, is looking to the cloud computing industry as a key in the city's economic restructuring.

The city renowned for its grasslands is west of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei city cluster and serves as a major node connecting West and East China. It is also along the route to Mongolia, Russia and other countries in Eastern Europe.

The city has an annual average temperature of 8 degrees Celsius, favorable for the natural cooling of large equipment.

For seven to eight months of the year, there is no need for air conditioning systems in the city, which helps cut operation costs in the cloud computing industry.

As well, most of Hohhot is far from seismic belts and boasts a stable geology providing a safe and stable operational environment.

One of China's three power grids, the western Inner Mongolia grid, is based in Hohhot and guarantees a stable and economic power supply.

Today the city has an installed power capacity of 843 kilowatts. The standard charge of electricity of the region is only 0.38 yuan per kilowatt hour.

For cloud computing project investors, the city offers a competitive price to help them cut production costs.