Nanjing City in China Launches Government-Backed Metaverse Initiative

The capital of China’s Jiangsu Province, Nanjing, has launched the “Blockchain Technology and Application Innovation Platform of China.” The state-backed initiative is dedicated to advancing metaverse research and development nationwide, as well as bringing together academic institutions and businesses.

Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology (NUIST) leads the metaverse initiative, joined by academic institutions and blockchain-related companies across China. In September 2022, the university launched China’s first metaverse major. Building upon this progress, in April 2023, NUIST established a dedicated department catering to wearable virtual reality devices.

Nanjing is one of the Chinese cities competing to play a prominent role in the country’s metaverse development. In February 2023, the city revealed its metaverse strategy, aiming to establish a robust metaverse industry that would generate annual revenues surpassing 135 billion yuan (around $19 billion) by the end of 2025.

Eastern China’s Zhejiang province, the home of e-commerce giant Alibaba, had also set its sights on developing a metaverse. The newly released strategy for 2023-2025 focuses on key objectives such as fostering an industry ecosystem, establishing a complete supply chain, driving innovation, and facilitating metaverse applications in diverse sectors such as entertainment, e-commerce, product design, surgery practice, and government services. To achieve these ambitions, Zhejiang aims to train ten industry leaders and support 50 enterprises specializing in AR, VR, AI, and blockchain-related industries.

In early 2023, China’s metropolis Shanghai showcased an initial collection of 20 metaverse use cases, demonstrating the vast potential of this immersive technology across various domains. These applications ranged from virtual hospital diagnoses and business operations to digital recreations of the city’s iconic architectural landmarks.

Despite China’s stringent regulations on cryptocurrencies and NFTs, the country recognizes the potential of web3 technologies, including the metaverse, in propelling its digital economy forward. China’s metaverse industry secured a substantial investment of $780 million in September 2022.

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