The Weifang Semiconductor Lighting Product Testing Center in the Weifang Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone was upgraded into a national-level acoustic, photoelectric and lighting products testing lab in April.

The center, established in 2011, is the first of its kind in East China's Shandong province.

Zhang Peijian, an engineer from Shandong Mingrui Photoelectronic Co, said the lab has helped companies in the zone to reduce new product testing costs and allow companies to get reports more quickly.

"In previous years, we had to send a new product to testing and certification centers in large cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. It often took a few months for us to get the reports for some complex tests, which was quite inefficient," Zhang said.

The center, which was built using 70 million yuan ($10.54 million) in investment, is equipped with more than 100 pieces of modern testing equipment and facilities, which include electromagnetic compatibility and echo-free chambers.

Li Wei, head of testing in the center, said testing service providers play an important role in supporting businesses development. By testing and providing analytical reports, products meet relevant requirements and receive certification before being released in the market.

Li Ming, deputy director of Weifang Photoelectric Industrial Park, said that acoustic, photoelectric and solid state lighting industries will be important sectors in supporting China's technological development in the upcoming years.

Weifang is one of the important gathering places for acoustic, photoelectric and solid state lighting businesses, and is the only national-level innovation-driven semiconductor and lighting industrial cluster pilot zone in the country, according to Li.

Businesses outside the zone have been attracted to the center over the past few years. Statistics provided by the center show that it has provided more than 4,000 services to companies from Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen in Guangdong province and Jinan in Shandong in the past seven years.

Wang Lian contributed to this story.