Xinhua Insight: Beijing tech startup street still full of ideas, passion

It's a chilly weekday morning and Beijing's Zhongguancun Entrepreneurial Avenue is quiet. The transformation of this once sizzling area has led many to ask whether the subdued street hints at a larger picture.

So, like the foot traffic that has vanished from this particular thoroughfare, has the life gone out of China's mass entrepreneurship movement? Yes and no.

Once the barometer of China's entrepreneurial spirit, the avenue today apparently looks like a dead end. However, if you take a closer look there are cafes, bookstores and other outlets that provide all the support a budding entrepreneur could need.

On the surface Zhongguancun may appear uninspiring, however, for those who chose to stay, there are plenty of resources as long as they are equipped with passion to make things happen.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Garage Cafe is on the second floor of a hotel in the middle of the avenue. It was the first cafe in China to style itself as an open, creative studio, offering free work spaces and resources to investors and producers looking to collaborate. It is one of many "innovation incubators" in northwest Beijing.

The cafe is frequented by would-be entrepreneurs and has a healthy reputation, with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, the most vocal advocate of innovation, visiting last May.

Wang Chen, one of the waiting staff, has been struck by the enthusiasm of patrons to make ideas into real projects. "I have seen teenagers and pensioners walk through these doors. Some even bring suitcases, sleep on our sofas and wash their clothes in our restroom. They have become part of the furniture," he explained.

One man in his 70s came to offer his business idea to other entrepreneurs, because he "felt too old" to do it himself. It was very touching, Wang recalled.

An Meng, manager of the cafe, said he wanted to create a loving home for entrepreneurs, hoping that one day, "China's Microsoft or Apple" will attribute their rise to the support of the cafe.

The name "Garage" was chosen because many U.S. companies, like Amazon and Google, began life in garages. In the cafe's toilet, a placard reminds patrons, "Competition is everywhere: Do not lose."

CAFE CULTURE

Han Peizhou, 52, spent more than a decade building a three-wheel motorcar. It cost him 5,000 yuan (765 U.S. dollars) and his marriage. Now he is looking for investors to commercialize his creation.

"I will not give up as long as I can draw breath," Han said.

He has been in Beijing since he divorced his wife and quit his job as an art teacher in Liaoning Province. After unsuccessful meetings with over 70 venture capitalists, Han is considering a collaboration with a group of doctoral students from Tsinghua University, which would enable him to apply for entrepreneur funding. "I am not just an entrepreneur, I am also an inventor. Energy is a mankind's biggest problem, and I feel it is my responsibility to help find solutions," he explained.

Like Han, many of the cafe's patrons have big dreams.

Yin Jiansong, who used to work for Microsoft, told Xinhua that he and his partners had established an "innovation college."

"We hope the college will breed in people the passion to change the world," he said.

Fan Wei, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) enthusiast and another cafe regular, scoured the country for practitioners who, like him, wanted to promote TCM treatment. He finally found someone in central China's Hunan Province who specialized in TCM for diabetes. Fan is now looking for a TCM hospital that can trial the diabetes therapy.

"Promoting TCM will benefit our country and its people. My ideal investor would be Jack Ma, CEO of Alibaba," Fan said.

THE FUTURE IS NOW

While a few entrepreneurs admit that their ideas are "immature," they all talk about "seizing the day."

Yang Dongguo, 27, who cut his teeth at a well-known tech company, believes there is no better time than now to start his own business.

"Government policy is encouraging, and I don't have to worry about not having the 'right connections,'" Yang said, referring to the ancient practice of pulling strings or bribing officials to get ahead. "The environment is better since the anti-corruption campaign began. Competition now feels fairer," Yang added.

Since "mass entrepreneurship and innovation" became Premier Li Keqiang's rallying call more than a year ago, financial support has increased and become easier to access. As a result, millions of new companies were registered last year.

The central government is counting on entrepreneurship and innovation to generate jobs, boost structural reform and bring economic growth.

As An Meng put it, "A new era of mass entrepreneurship has come to China and it brings opportunities for all." Endi