How smart is an AI-powered intelligent city pilot zone in Beijing?

A 53-square-kilometer area in Beijing's Haidian district is being transformed into an artificial intelligence (AI) innovation zone, where AI doctors serve communities, humanoid robots staff convenience stores, and intelligent systems support governance.

Technology is deeply integrated into daily life, driving transformative possibilities for urban development within an AI-powered intelligent city pilot zone.

A humanoid robot sells goods in a store in Haidian district, Beijing. [Photo/Yang Yang]

Innovation resources converge, flow freely across campuses, parks and communities

In April 2024, the concept plan for the Haidian AI innovation zone was unveiled at the 2024 Zhongguancun Forum (ZGC Forum), soon followed by a formal construction plan.

The AI innovation zone, carrying high expectations, is home to 37 universities, 96 national research institutes, and over 1,900 AI firms.

In the area surrounding China's prestigious Tsinghua University alone, there are more than 200 AI companies.

"The high concentration of innovation drivers within urban spaces is reshaping the traditional industrial landscape and allowing innovation to flow freely across neighborhoods," said Xin Guo, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) committee of Dongsheng town, a core area of the Haidian AI innovation zone.

As innovation fuels major changes across the zone, the boundaries between campuses, parks, and communities are becoming increasingly blurred.

At Jingzhang Railway Heritage Park near Beijing's Fourth Ring Road, robots performing tasks such as cleaning, patrolling, and preparing food and drinks work seamlessly together. For locals who walk through the park each day, their presence has become completely ordinary.

"On holidays, tech events are held in the park. Professors, developers, and residents gather here to talk about AI and innovation," said Zhang Guoqing, a retired local resident.

AI in governance: Smarter traffic, smarter communities

AI is fundamentally reshaping grassroots governance in the AI innovation zone, where traffic lights adjust dynamically to real-time traffic flow and AI community workers respond to residents' needs around the clock.

On the digital twin platform of Haidian AI Genesis Community, a neighborhood in the core area of Haidian's AI innovation zone, residents and vehicles are tracked in real time. At the same time, 3D architectural models are seamlessly integrated with live surveillance feeds.

"Our AI traffic control system analyzes congestion in real time and optimizes signal timing dynamically," said Lin Yuanqing, founder of Aibee (Beijing) Intelligence Science and Technology Co., Ltd.

The application of AI has given urban transportation "adaptive" capabilities, Lin noted.

In Wensheng community in Dongsheng town, an AI community worker operates online 24 hours a day and can respond within seconds to certain resident requests. This allows the community, home to more than 4,000 residents, to function efficiently with only 13 human community workers.

The AI community worker can automatically generate work orders and assign them to building-based community workers and property managers, effectively improving the efficiency of human staff serving the community, according to Ma Sixin, secretary of the CPC Wensheng community branch.

This kind of AI-enabled governance is being adopted elsewhere. In the Zhongguancun subdistrict of the innovation zone, an intelligent service system called "Guanxin" provides services to residents, enterprises and government offices.

Within the "Guanxin" platform's smart patrol system, which consists of 120 grids, more than 80 percent of routine tasks can be resolved within smaller grid units, while more complex cases are escalated for further analysis and decision-making, according to Dong Zhihang, head of the Party working committee of Zhongguancun subdistrict.

Service robots, AI doctors bring tech into everyday life

AI applications are becoming ubiquitous across the innovation zone, with humanoid robots independently serving customers in retail stores and AI doctors making medical services more convenient and efficient.

"We're not just showcasing; this is a daily operation," said Wang He, founder of Beijing Galbot Co., Ltd.

According to Wang, the company's humanoid robots are working as sales assistants in Zhongguancun ART PARK, a new commercial and entertainment hub in the innovation zone.

"We aim to leverage intelligent robotic services to provide visitors with immersive and interactive experiences while empowering cultural tourism consumption and enriching urban life," Wang said.

AI has also made its way into health care in the innovation zone. At the Huayuanlu community health service center, an AI consultation device developed by Baichuan AI, a Beijing-based AI company, has brought medical services directly to residents' doorsteps.

"Before, even minor health issues would send me straight to big hospitals. Now I visit the community health service center first," said a local resident surnamed Wang.

The AI-assisted service, in which human doctors are supported by AI, makes the experience both innovative and reliable. "The AI doctor can even interpret test results and highlight key findings at a glance," Wang added.

The Baichuan AI consultation device is also connected to Haidian's health records and local hospital data. "The online AI doctor assistant in the Haidian health mini-program can help diagnose over 3,000 common diseases," said community doctor Li Xiao.

This deep integration of technological innovation into everyday life is creating a new way of living and is being promoted across Haidian district.

"This AI innovation zone is meant to be a breathing, evolving 'smart city agent,'" said Zhang Ge, secretary of the CPC Haidian district committee. "Our goal is to build a real-world 'AI plus' testbed that strengthens Haidian's role as the core area of Beijing's international innovation hub and contributes to national self-reliance in science and technology."