Baotou launched an Entrepreneurship and Innovation Week on Oct 12, in order to spur innovation and stimulate the local economy, Baotou Daily reported on Oct 14.

Activities including exhibitions of achievements, makers' forums and competitions will be staged during the week.

Baotou, one of the major economies of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, strives to become an innovation-oriented city in China and has successfully set up hackerspaces-workspaces where people with interest and expertise in computers, science and technology, meet and collaborate in order to serve as platforms for entrepreneurs.

A total of 10 hackerspace demonstration bases have been set up at the level of autonomous region, and have now begun operations, attracting 485 new businesses to them. The bases have given training concerning entrepreneurship and innovation to more than 30,000 people, who won more than 200 prizes in national and provincial entrepreneurship competitions. The total operating revenues of the new firms is expected to reach 100 million yuan ($12 million) during 2016.

Also, the city is one of the pilot cities for promoting “FinTech” in China, businesses based on a combination of technology and finance.