Xiaogan Economic and Technological Development Zone, the predecessor of Xiaogan National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, was founded in 1989. It became a provincial-level high-tech zone in 1997 and a state-level high-tech zone in 2012, when it got its present name. It consists of three industrial parks including the core area Jiancheng District, Xiaotian Industrial Park and Liuhe Industrial Park, with a total area of 80 sq km.
Automobiles, auto parts, equipment manufacturing and high & new technology have become the four pillars of the zone. It is now consolidating its traditional industries of food processing and textiles and garments, and fostering emerging industries of biomedicine, new materials and new energies.
The hi-tech zone is home to a number of Fortune Global 500 companies such as Yazaki and Panasonic from Japan, Parker from the United States, Renault from France and Siemens from Germany. Its tenants include central state-owned enterprises, listed companies and leading enterprises in various industries.
The high-tech zone is located at the geographic center of China and is well connected to the rest of the country with developed highway and railway networks. It is only 35 km to the downtown of Wuhan, the megacity in Central China, and 22 km to Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, the largest in China's central region.