To realize the Digital China plan, Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong province, considers digital transformation as a crucial initiative in boosting urban development. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

To realize the Digital China plan, Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong province, considers digital transformation as a crucial initiative in boosting urban development.

This year, Qingdao launched the Digital Qingdao 2.0 Project, highlighting the concept of "data elements plus digital technology" to promote digital transformation across all regions and sectors.

For instance, in the education field, 14 data elements such as household registration of school-age children, permanent residents, and real estate have been integrated into the enrollment platform in Qingdao, eliminating the need for physical documents in school registration.

The city has also implemented various online collaborative services including social security, medical insurance and household registration. Its safety risks are monitored through a comprehensive network, shifting from manual inspection to precise perception and accurate forecasting.

As a vital coastal center, seaside resort destination, international port and nationally-recognized historical and cultural city, Qingdao has a strong industrial foundation and diverse applications for digital economy.

In September, the 2022-2023 Global Top 100 Smiling Cities and Top 100 New Smart Cities in China (SMILE Index) was released during the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services, on which Qingdao ranked 31st globally and ninth nationally.

By 2025, Qingdao aims to establish a development trend characterized by "advanced and ubiquitous digital infrastructure, active innovation in the digital economy, smart and efficient digital governance, widespread enjoyment of digital society, and orderly and healthy digital ecology”. Qingdao will strive to become a benchmark for livable, resilient, and smart cities in China and lead the digital transformation and development of the urban cluster on the Shandong Peninsula.