BEIJING – In the heart of the metaverse, users can now explore the breathtaking landscapes of “Avatar” as they fly over scenic vistas and experience the wonders of the movie.
This immersive journey into the world of “Avatar” is made possible through the online Planet Zhangjiajie, a metaverse project enabling lifelike exploration of central China’s Hunan Province’s stunning scenery with the help of extended reality technologies.
The seamless rendering of sophisticated effects and smooth scene flows on devices such as smartphones and laptops is facilitated by cloud computing services, offered by Cloudsky, a startup specializing in end-to-end advanced computing infrastructure and services.
“Computational power is like electricity and petroleum for the digital economy, empowering the speedy development of various digital applications,” notes Crusoe Mao, founder and chairman of Cloudsky, a veteran professional in digital technology with experience in Silicon Valley.
In 2022, China’s cloud computing market experienced significant growth, expanding by 40.91 percent year-on-year to reach 455 billion yuan (about 63.37 billion U.S. dollars), surpassing the global growth rate of 19 percent.
It is projected to exceed one trillion yuan in 2025, according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.
China holds the world’s second-largest computing power capacity, reaching 197 EFLOPS by September 2023.
China’s cloud computing infrastructure has also been rapidly improving.
Official data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) reveals that by the end of September, the number of standard racks in use in China’s data centers had exceeded 7.6 million units, with a 45 percent year-on-year increase in intelligent computational power.
China cloud computing plans
To further advance the cloud computing industry, China has outlined an action plan to boost computational power infrastructure development, setting targets to be achieved by 2025 in fields such as network power, storage power, and industrial empowerment.
Cloud computing in China is further bolstered by the country’s robust telecom and internet coverage, ensuring the smooth operation of various cloud computing services on consumer terminals.
The extensive 5G coverage, with 3.189 million 5G base stations as of the end of September, has reached all urban areas of prefecture-level and county-level cities.
This robust coverage meets a wide range of computing power scenario demands.
To foster the cloud computing industry’s growth, China plans to enhance the connectivity of various computing power infrastructures, expedite breakthroughs in iconic technology products and solutions, and promote the integrated development of computing power and traditional industries.
Cloudsky, in partnership with Chinese cloud service providers and internet firms, is exploring the potential of customized cloud computing services.
The company also plans to invest in related technologies and expand service scenarios in areas such as education and agriculture.
“There are just so many market opportunities to be tapped here in China,” said Crusoe Mao, highlighting the vast potential of the cloud computing market in the country.
