With the National Day holiday just around the corner, there is another new citywalk spot right at your doorstep! 🥰🥰🥰 In the industrial memory of the city, the Changzhou Navigation Instrument Factory (referred to as the "Navigation Instrument Factory") undoubtedly left a vibrant mark. 🎉 Now, as time strips away its heavy shell, amid green trees and red-brick walls, 🎊 an AI industry innovation community is rising vigorously.
Recently, the Navigation Instrument Factory located at No. 223 Sanbao Street in Zhonglou District has undergone a magnificent transformation. The newly built Navigation Instrument Factory · AI Application Innovation Pioneer Community has taken over the baton of the times, bringing new vitality to the old city center. 🥳🥳🥳
The history of the Navigation Instrument Factory dates back to the 1960s, when the then Changzhou Light Bulb Factory seized the opportunity to cooperate with Shanghai No. 442 Factory. With approval from national ministries and commissions, the Changzhou Navigation Instrument Factory was established. Afterward, the factory proactively undertook the national major scientific and technological research project on inertial navigation electrostatic gyroscopes, and developed a batch of military products and civil electronic products, becoming a star enterprise in the national radio industry system at that time. In the 1990s, the Navigation Instrument Factory merged with Changzhou Machine Tool Factory to form Changzhou Machine Tool General Factory. In 2005, the general factory completed an overall asset transfer. At that point, the story belonging to No. 223 Sanbao Street quietly pressed the pause button.
With the coordinated efforts of Zhonglou District and Changzhou Industrial Investment Group, the Navigation Instrument Factory · AI Application Innovation Pioneer Community officially launched its renovation early last year and was included in the "Changzhou Old City Center Revival and Development Implementation Project." After a year of meticulous refinement, the Navigation Instrument Factory from memory has reappeared in a brand-new guise.
"I worked at the Navigation Instrument Factory for more than 30 years. Back then, my office and workshop were in this very building, and the camphor tree in front of the door is still here — the layout hasn't changed." Xu Chunmei, an 86-year-old resident of Sanbao Street and a former employee of the factory, came early to "explore the park" after the renovation was completed. Gazing at every brick and tile before her, the elderly woman was filled with emotion.
As another masterpiece of industrial heritage renewal by Changzhou Industrial Investment Group, the project takes "protective development" as its core concept, preserving industrial symbols such as red-brick factory buildings, camphor forests, and old workshop structures, and creating a Navigation Instrument Factory cultural wall, achieving a beautiful transformation from an "industrial rust belt" to an "innovation showground."
In addition, from October 1 to 15, the "Celebrating National Day · Changzhou Navigation Instrument Factory Archival Physical and Photographic Exhibition" will be held at the Changzhou Archives Exhibition Center in Building 7 of the Canal No. 5 Creative Block, reproducing this piece of industrial memory through physical materials.
At present, the park has gathered more than ten diverse innovative businesses, including creative consumer lifestyle art and independent design. In the evening, stepping into THE TRUE inside the park — a uniquely atmospheric day-cafe and night-bar space — there is not a trace of noise or clamor. Many urban young people come here, order a glass of whiskey, and release the day's fatigue amid soothing music. "I personally really like red-brick factory buildings like this — they have a strong 'old Shanghai' flavor, so I chose to settle here." said Jiang Xinchen, the owner. He revealed that since opening, his small shop has already accumulated quite a few returning customers.
Next door, Linqin Opera is a retro Japanese-style tea shop. Owner Xie Zhenxi blends Japanese romance into coffee and light meals, attracting artsy young people to check in. "As a member of the post-2000 generation, I'm enchanted by the youthful consumption scenes along Sanbao Street. In May this year, I signed with the park." she said.
Owner Peng Mei also set the starting point of her transformation and development here. In July this year, her Shijian Shanxi Handmade Shop officially opened, with her business shifting from whole-home customization to the experience of making incense beads and incense sticks. "Currently, I'm adjusting the products, and the online store will also launch soon." Peng Mei said.
Focusing on the currently booming AI application scenarios, the Navigation Instrument Factory · AI Application Innovation Pioneer Community will prioritize attracting projects in directions such as AI + R&D design, content creation, intelligent manufacturing, and healthcare, promoting the formation of professional clustering and collaborative innovation among technology, talent, scenarios, and industrial resources within the community. The park actively integrates into the "Canal Sci-Tech Innovation Hub," jointly building an AI + innovation incubator with various parties, linking universities, research institutes, and investment institutions, and establishing a collaborative mechanism for incubation guidance, scenario opening, and capital services, providing resident projects with full-process companionship from landing and growth to business expansion.
Park address: No. 223 Sanbao Street, Zhonglou District, Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province. Contact: Mr. Xiao: 13861008813, Mr. Wang: 13775197783.
Relying on high-quality services and a mature operating model, in the future the Navigation Instrument Factory · AI Application Innovation Pioneer Community will become a gathering place for AI consumption scenarios, bringing together AI hardware, AI interactive experiences, and more, offering a touchable and perceptible AI technology consumption experience, allowing cutting-edge technology to step out of the laboratory so that citizens can feel the lifestyle innovation brought by technological innovation right at their doorstep. 💖💖💖 Hurry and call your "buddy" to check in at the Navigation Instrument Factory!