Zhongshan Guzhen Town Mayor Yang Rongjian: Building a Global Lighting Industry Center in the Next Five Years

　　Recently, the newly appointed Deputy Party Secretary and Mayor Yang Rongjian of Guzhen Town frankly stated in an interview with reporters that in the next five years, Guzhen Town will comprehensively upgrade its lighting decoration industry by relying on the "Six Lights Strategy," striving to build Guzhen Town into a global lighting and lamp decoration industry center. It is expected that the town's GDP will reach 14.9 billion yuan in five years.

　　Reporter: In the town government's work report, you put forward several concepts of "lights." Please briefly introduce the "Six Lights Strategy."

　　Mayor Yang: Based on the thinking of this government, we will focus our efforts on six "lights."

　　For example, implementing the "Quality and Brand Strengthen Lighting" strategy, taking product quality and brand building as the lifeline of industrial development and enterprise survival. This issue is "a well-worn topic"—counterfeit and inferior products persist despite repeated bans, affecting the reputation of Guzhen Lighting. Analysis suggests this may be related to the lack of industry standards; for example, LED has no national standard. We hope to leverage the industrial cluster advantages of the Lighting Capital, actively participate in the formulation of national and industry standards, improve corresponding quality management systems and various testing and inspection platforms, and strengthen industry discourse power such as the Guzhen Lighting Price Index.

　　Another example is establishing the awareness of "Technology Innovation Revitalizes Lighting," taking independent innovation as the central link of industrial optimization and upgrading, and building an innovative ancient town. In this regard, several key platforms are being established, including the entrepreneurial incubation base, the Lighting Creative Design Industrial Park, the Guangdong Industrial Design Demonstration Base, the Skills Training Base, and the Science and Technology Enterprise Incubator.

　　Reporter: Among the concepts you proposed, there are also several related to the tertiary industry?

　　Yang: Yes, for example, adhering to the principle of "Industrial Plants Nurture Lighting," making every effort to promote the construction of standardized industrial plants and strengthening the carriers of economic development. The focus is on accelerating the construction pace of industrial parks such as Tongyi Industrial Park, Beihai Industrial Park, Shuncheng Industrial Zone, and Qifang Industrial Park.

　　We will also promote the "Tertiary Industry Boosts Lighting" measures to comprehensively develop modern service industries. This includes planning and laying out various specialized markets, introducing capable logistics intermediary management companies to participate in the development and management of a 300-mu warehousing and logistics center, making our town a city-wide standardized private finance pilot zone, as well as accelerating the integration of distinctive tourism resources such as the Green Expo Garden, the Lighting Street, and historical cultural relic sites, gradually developing the ancient town into a tourist destination for industrial sightseeing and ecological leisure.

　　Reporter: Talent is a key element for industrial upgrading. What plans does Guzhen have regarding the introduction or cultivation of talents in the lighting industry?

　　Yang: We will establish the concept of "lighting up talent development," using the construction of a talent highland as a strong support for the optimization and upgrading of the lighting industry, promoting its sustained development. We are planning to establish the Guzhen Lighting Academy and will also set up a special fund for talent cultivation and development. Both the government and enterprises will work together to cultivate, introduce, retain, and make good use of talents.

　　Reporter: Could Mayor Yang talk about the city upgrade?

　　Mayor Yang: A key focus of Guzhen's future development is to emphasize planning and improve urban functions. The priority planning includes the construction of a global lighting industry complex centered on the Lamp King project, the Guzhen light rail station commercial district, a comprehensive service supporting area for the upgrading of the lighting industry, and a modern lighting trade district.

　　Over the next five years, we propose to complete key projects such as the Century Lamp King and the Modern Lighting Technology Exhibition Center, striving to achieve a zero-to-one breakthrough in IPO listings for lighting enterprises. We will also seize the opportunity of the "Three Olds" renovation to support village collectives and individuals in renovating and building a batch of high-quality, large-scale specialized markets for lighting and lighting accessories.