Zhongguancun's Maker Town became officially operational on Nov 24, with over 350 maker teams as tenants. [Photo.xinhuanet.com]

Zhongguancun's Maker Town at the center of the Zhongguancun Science Park officially became operational on Nov 24, with over 350 maker teams as tenants.

The town combines public rental housing with entrepreneurship and innovation. It has realized the transformation from "co-working" to "co-working + living", allowing startup teams to live and work in the same place in a bid to ease the pressures of expensive accommodation, commercial rental costs and long commutes.

The town has constructed the country's first public rental service specially for startups, offering a total of 2,772 furnished flats and 26,800 square meters of office space. The occupancy rate of the rental housing reached 70 percent this September.

Targets are mainly those startups which have registered in the Haidian district of Beijing within the last five years. Applicants must pass evaluation by a panel made up from a hundred incubation and financial institutes before entering the Maker Town.

A startup begins work in the Maker Town. [Photo.xinhuanet.com]

The Housing Administrative Bureau of Beijing's Haidian District, Wenquan Town, the Bank of Beijing's Zhongguancun branch and Zhongguancun Maker Town signed a strategic cooperation agreement to provide financial services to startups in the town. The line of credit is expected to reach 2 billion yuan ($300 million).

"The biggest benefit of Maker Town is the cheap rent. The rent can be cut to half compared to other areas in Beijing," said Zhang Jing, regional manager of Beijing Baifeng World Biological Technology Co Ltd, a startup in the town.

Unlike traditional industrial parks and maker spaces, the Zhongguancun Maker Town provides businesses with a 50 percent rent subsidy from local government.

Facilities such as a road show hall, an exhibition center, kindergartens, shared canteens, gyms and nursing services are provided in the park to deal with entrepreneurs' work and family considerations.

Startups can also enjoy such resource services as entrepreneurial training, investment funds, and lay consultancy.

The government of Wenquan town, in which the Maker Town is located, has put forward a policy prioritizing entrepreneurs' children for school entrance to further encourage talents to settle in the zone.

Flats in Zhongguancun World Maker Town are equipped with kitchens, bathrooms and modern furnishings. [Photo by Tao Ran/bjnews.com.cn]