HK Media's Jiangsu Tour: Suzhou Powers Up - Breakthroughs in Robotics, Smart Manufacturing & Tech Incubation

The Hong Kong media delegation visited the Suzhou Embodied AI Robot Comprehensive Innovation Center, Ecovacs Robotics Co., Ltd., and the AI Tech Center in Suzhou International Science Park (SISPARK) from March 28 to 29, gaining a first-hand understanding of Suzhou's latest advancements in robotics R&D, smart manufacturing, and technology incubation.

The Hong Kong media delegation gained a first-hand understanding of Suzhou's latest advancements in robotics R&D, smart manufacturing, and technology incubation. Photo by Bastille Post

Free Resources for the First Six Months, Equity Investment up to 3 Million RMB for the Located Corporations

Officially launched on July 1 last year, the Suzhou Embodied AI Robot Comprehensive Innovation Center features 5,200 square meters of training space covering ten real-world application scenarios across home, commercial, and industrial settings. Up to now, 15 corporations have been located in, with over one million high-quality data samples collected. The center also provides a range of robotic bodies, including humanoid, quadrupedal, and robotic arm models for corporations to use in training.

Photo by Bastille Post

Ms. Sui Jinhui, the head of investment promotion at the center, introduced that the located corporations can use the training scenarios, shared workstations, and computing power equipment completely free of charge for the first six months. The center also provides equity investments of up to 3 million RMB and regularly holds roadshows, as well as offers post-investment management services. She stated, "We also connect them with their resource providers, helping them connect with potential clients, leading enterprises, and those with specific scenario-based needs."

The robotics products shown at the center, Photo by Bastille Post

Invented Mechanical Dogs Take on Real-World Roles

Among the showcased robotics products at the center, "Xiao Su", a guide dog robot developed by the Harbin Institute of Technology Suzhou Research Institute, stood out. Equipped with autonomous navigation and obstacle avoidance, Xiao Su is set to be deployed at the Suzhou School for the Blind and Deaf in the first half of this year. The staff at the center noted that, while there are over ten million visually impaired people across China, only about 100 guide dogs are currently in service, a gap that mechanical guide dogs are designed to fill.

The video showing how Xiao Su guides primary school students to cross the road, Photo by Bastille Post

Also showcased at the center was "Mao Tuan'er", the first AI-powered bionic companion robot, modeled after a Maltese dog by ECOVACS Robotics Co., Ltd. Covered in lifelike white fur and fitted with touch sensors, the robot can respond with tail wags and blinks, among other features. Furthermore, the "Magic Atom" robot, which wowed audiences with a 360-degree Thomas spin at the 2026 CMG Spring Festival Gala, was also on display.

"Mao Tuan'er", the first AI-powered bionic companion robot, modeled after a Maltese dog by ECOVACS Robotics Co., Ltd., Photo by Bastille Post

From Kitchen to Living Room: Ecovacs Drives Robotic Applications Forward

Ecovacs has held the number-one market share in China for robotic vacuum cleaners for ten consecutive years, with its online share expected to exceed 30% by 2025. Tineco, a brand under Ecovacs, has launched its "Shiwanxingchu" cooking robot into the commercial market. The commercial model features an automatic feeding pipe, a dual-wing spatula for 360-degree stirring, and an automatic heat adjustment system. A single operator can manage five to eight units simultaneously, and restaurants can input their own recipes to ensure consistent food quality.

Left: the cooking robot, right: the household robot invented by Ecovacs, Photo by Bastille Post

Ecovacs also showcased a household robot capable of handling tasks, such as folding clothes and organizing toys. Priced at nearly 50,000 RMB, the robot is still in the early stages of its commercial and home market presence.

Ecovacs also showcased a household robot capable of handling tasks, such as folding clothes and organizing toys. Photo by Bastille Post

SISPARK: Incubating 21 Listed Corporations and Eyeing Global Markets

Ms. Yan Yongping, CFO and spokesperson of Suzhou International Science Park (SISPARK), shared that over the past 26 years, the park has incubated more than 5,000 companies and nurtured 21 listed corporations, many of which have listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, including Tongcheng Travel.

The park is now building a "Model Space" entrepreneurial community powered by large-scale AI models and computing infrastructure. Photo by Bastille Post

The park is now building a "Model Space" entrepreneurial community powered by large-scale AI models and computing infrastructure. Seven large-scale models within Suzhou Industrial Park have officially filed with national authorities, accounting for nearly half of the city's total. According to Ms. Yan, the entrepreneurial cycle, once measured in decades, "can now be shortened to years, or even months."

She added that the park aims to leverage "talent, capital, cross-border collaboration", and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to propel more corporations onto the global stage.

The coffee made by robots displayed at the center, Photo by Bastille Post

The simulated aircraft cockpit, Photo by Bastille Post

The robotics products shown at the center, Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

The smart products displayed at the center, Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

In late March, the Hong Kong media delegation visited the Confucius Temple, Qinhuai River, Slender West Lake, the Yangzhou China Grand Canal Museum, and the Suzhou Pingjiang Historical and Cultural District, following the Grand Canal and waterways from various dynasties. Appreciating lantern festivals, classical gardens, ancient streets, and the timeworn waters, the delegation experienced the cultural heritage of Jiangnan in early spring and witnessed the preservation of the world's cultural heritage sites.

Photo by Bastille Post

Nanjing: Qinhuai River's Glimmering Lanterns

On the evening of March 23, the delegation boarded an ornately decorated boat from the Confucius Temple and traveled along the Qinhuai River.

On the water, lotus lanterns, cicada lanterns, rabbit lanterns, and lanterns depicting ladies in ancient costumes and zodiac animals swayed with ripples. The docent explained, "The Qinhuai Lantern Festival and Qinhuai lantern decorations are both national intangible cultural heritage. The classic Qinhuai lantern designs include lotus lanterns, cicada lanterns, and rabbit lanterns, etc." The Qinhuai Lantern Festival, revived in 1984, is now in its 40th year, with the theme "A Thousand Years of Lanterns Illuminating Jinling, A New Chapter Begins at 40th Year." The festival features eight exhibition areas and approximately 390 lantern sets.

On the water, lotus lanterns, cicada lanterns, rabbit lanterns, and lanterns depicting ladies in ancient costumes and zodiac animals swayed with ripples. Photo by Bastille Post

The firewalls of the Hui-style buildings on both banks rose high into the night. The docent explained that the firewalls were "both aesthetically pleasing and, due to their height, provided excellent fire prevention".

Photo by Bastille Post

The boat passed Wende Bridge, famous for its alignment with the meridian. Every year on the fifteenth day of the eleventh lunar month at midnight, the bridge's shadow perfectly splits the moon's reflection in the river in two, with half the moon visible on each side — a phenomenon known as "Wende Dividing the Moon."

The Confucius Temple is crowded with visitors. Photo by Bastille Post

According to folklore, the poet Li Bai, while drinking at a tavern near the bridge, saw the moon's reflection in the water and leapt from the bridge in an attempt to catch it, thus adding fame to this extraordinary sight.

Yangzhou: The Enduring Grace of Classical Gardens and Ancient Waterways

On the evening of March 25, the delegation boarded a boat in Yangzhou for a night cruise on Slender West Lake.

Tracing back to history, when Emperor Qianlong traveled south by water, Slender West Lake lay along his imperial route. As the emperor passed through, the salt merchants of Yangzhou vied to build a garden along the shores. Whoever built a more beautiful garden would have the emperor's procession slow down before theirs for appreciation. Driven by the competition, one garden after another rose along the shores, until the lake landscape became "flowers and willows lining both shores, pavilions and terraces stretching all the way to the mountains."

The beautiful scenery of the Slender West Lake at night, Photo by Bastille Post

The docent introduced the history of the Five Pavilion Bridge, the Twenty-Four Bridges, and the Fishing Terrace along the lake. The Five Pavilion Bridge, whose official name is "Lotus Bridge", was originally built during the Qianlong era. The existing White Pagoda and the bridge foundation of the Five Pavilion Bridge are authentic Qing Dynasty relics; the rest were rebuilt after being destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion.

The White Pagoda, Photo by Bastille Post

The docent remarked, "The beauty of Slender West Lake during the day is visible at a glance, but its beauty at night must be comprehended." The lake features a water curtain performance titled "Two Parts of the Moon", inspired by the Tang Dynasty poem: "Of the three parts of the moonlit night under heaven, two parts belong to Yangzhou." Using lights and water mist, the performance brings to life the poetic imagery that scholars have sung of for centuries.

The water curtain performance at night, Photo by Bastille Post

The following day, the delegation visited Jianzhen Road and the Grand Canal Museum. Jianzhen Road is named after the Tang Dynasty monk Jianzhen, a native of Yangzhou who travelled six times to Japan to spread Buddhism. During the flowering season, cherry blossoms bloom along the road, accompanied by creative markets and Hanfu (traditional Han clothing) photography events.

The statue of the Tang Dynasty monk Jianzhen, Photo by Bastille Post

The Yangzhou China Grand Canal Museum, located in the Sanwan Scenic Spot, is a national first-class museum. It houses over 10,000 artifacts related to the Grand Canal, spanning from the Spring and Autumn Period to the present day. A key exhibit is a 25-meter-long cross-section of the Bian River channel, retrieved intact from an archaeological site in Henan Province. Layers of bed soil from different dynasties are stacked, allowing visitors to see a cross-section of time itself.

The Yangzhou China Grand Canal Museum, Photo by Bastille Post

A key exhibit is a 25-meter-long cross-section of the Bian River channel, retrieved intact from an archaeological site in Henan Province. Photo by Bastille Post

The museum houses over 10,000 artifacts related to the Grand Canal, spanning from the Spring and Autumn Period to the present day. Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Moreover, the museum also features a digital immersive exhibition titled "Love of the River". In 2014, Yangzhou led 35 cities along the Grand Canal in successfully applying for UNESCO World Cultural Heritage status.

The exhibits at the museum, Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Suzhou: Spring Breathes Life into Ancient Streets and Winding Waters

On the afternoon of March 28, the delegation visited the Suzhou Pingjiang Historical and Cultural District.

Pingjiang Road is approximately 1,600 meters long, and its layout closely matches the Pingjiangtu, a city map of Suzhou in the Song Dynasty. The double-chessboard structure of "parallel waterways and land, streets adjacent to rivers" from the Tang and Song Dynasties has been preserved to the present, earning it the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Conservation Award.

Photo by Bastille Post

In the springtime, tourists and locals enjoyed themselves along Pingjiang Road, which is not a deliberately constructed tourist attraction, but a living ancient street where people still reside, run shops, and go about their daily lives. Some were even dressed in traditional costumes, strolling amidst the lively atmosphere.

Photo by Bastille Post

Near the parking area stands a building hidden within the campus of Suzhou Pingjiang Experimental School — the Dacheng Hall of Changzhou County School, the main hall of the county school. Originally built in the Song Dynasty, the current structure is a reconstruction from the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, sharing the same site with the present-day school. 

The Dacheng Hall of Changzhou County School, Photo by Bastille Post

As the trip drew to a close, the delegation moved to a lakeside in Suzhou, appreciating the beauty of the flower season and spring scenery.

Photo by Bastille Post

Ancient streets and waterways lay on one side, while the springtime lakeside was on the other. One side held a landscape spanning over two thousand years; the other held a modern spring afternoon. Each simply rested in its own tranquility to form a peaceful harmony.

Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post