Zhongguancun (‰∏≠ÂÖ≥Êùë) suffers from a glut of “high-end” office buildings, according to a Sohu.com article. Starting in 2001, a period of rapid construction in this high-tech zone resulted in glass and steel edifices “popping up like mushrooms.” These buildings have been marketed to large, multi-national corporations. Yet the Zhongguancun business community is still comprised primarily of medium and small-sized high-tech firms. As a result, occupancy rates in the new buildings have been low, and rental and purchase prices have steadily decreased.
The article provides support to concerns that development of Zhongguancun is being driven more by real estate speculation than the needs of technological innovation. Creating “China’s Silicon Valley” in Zhongguancun has been a government priority since the 1980s. In recent years, the zone has been promoted as a development model for China with the slogan, “Look to Shenzhen in the 1980s, Pudong in the 1990s, and Zhongguancun in the 21st century” (“80Â𥉪£ÁúãÊ∑±Âú≥Ôºå90Â𥉪£Áúãʵ¶‰∏úÔºå21‰∏ñÁ∫™Áúã‰∏≠ÂÖ≥Êùë”).
