Heihe's icy appeal lures car testers by the drove

Cars attend a snowfield race at a testing ground in Heihe, Heilongjiang province, on Jan 10. QIU QILONG/FOR CHINA DAILY

HARBIN — With the outdoor temperature approaching — 20 C, Wang Botao, a testing engineer at Chinese automaker Geely Auto Group, was busy driving a car across a frozen lake. For the third year, Wang has come to Heihe, a city in Heilongjiang province, to conduct testing.

Heihe's varied landscapes, cold, dry winter weather and excellent services are luring more and more manufacturers to test their new cars there.

Early in 1989, the Jiefang truck division of China FAW Group did the first test in Heihe. Since then, the city has witnessed a rapid increase in the type and range of testing, as well as in the number of companies and personnel. To date, there are eight cold-area car testing companies, 16 testing centers and 24 exclusive testing centers in Heihe.

During a normal year, about 170 domestic and foreign car companies come to the city, with roughly 7,000 people taking part in the testing of some 4,000 vehicles, according to Diao Weidong, director of the Heihe municipal industry and information bureau, who added that 80 percent of the cold-area car testing done in China happens in Heihe.

The city is improving its infrastructure and services and accelerating the construction of digital projects to upgrade its cold-area car testing sector. A reception center has been set up to offer car testers business consultation, publicize policy, register company employees, issue green passes, provide 24-hour rescue services, deal with hotel bookings and catering recommendations, and dispense tourist information.

Heihe has also built eight testing sites with ABS testing runways and circular ice runways to meet test requirements in different conditions.

Zhao Xinhong, general manager of Honghegu, the city's leading car testing company, said that for companies unable to come to Heihe, Honghegu also offers a commissioned car testing service. "Many drivers are hired to test cars each year, creating jobs and income for local residents," Zhao said.

According to data, Heihe grosses more than 400 million yuan ($59.2 million) in revenue for hotel, catering, retail, transportation and other services during the annual testing season.

It is also speeding up construction of digital projects, and a 78-hectare autopilot test site equipped with a 5G base station has been put into use. It is the first time that 5G technology has been applied to an autopilot test field in a cold region in China.

"With the construction of the high-tech industrial park for testing, and the deepening of cooperation with technology companies and research institutes, Heihe's test sector will be upgraded and become more intelligent," Diao said.

Xinhua