Gateway to Opportunities: Where Innovation Serves People -- Hangzhou's Journey from Countryside to Robotics Labs
Hangzhou's 'Gateway to Opportunities' program showcases how the city is integrating technology and e-commerce to drive rural revitalization and social welfare. International influencers and journalists visited the region to observe advancements in agricultural livestreaming and assistive robotics.
Why it matters
The program highlights China's efforts to bridge the gap between rural development and high-tech innovation, serving as a model for inclusive growth.
HANGZHOU, China , July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In a village agricultural livestream studio in Tonglu, Klara Tania Tandika, an Indonesian YouTuber with over 23 million followers, held up a live chicken and hawked it to online shoppers with infectious enthusiasm. Commenters exclaimed: "The livestream is getting international!"
"Using e-commerce to help people earn more, that's really interesting," Klara said.
A few weeks later, in a Hangzhou tech company, Esmira Gasimova, a senior editor at Azerbaijan's Public Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, strapped on an exoskeleton and took her first assisted steps. The machinery was light; the support was steady. Then tears filled her eyes. "In my country, many elderly and disabled people need technology like this," she said, her voice trembling. "I truly want to bring this technology back to Azerbaijan."
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