Taichung Mayor Chia-lung Lin visited renowned Silicon Valley network equipment manufacturer Cisco and Apple Inc. headquarters on the 11th. He commented that Silicon Valley is the paradigm of innovation and entrepreneurial spirit, with many company headquarters applying people-oriented philosophy in designing their headquarters, and ecological landscape has also been incorporated into the design. The city government’s Shuinan Smart City also aims to integrate production with ecology and citizens’ life, so that company headquarters established in the park can allow room for individual creativity and let people enjoy good quality life.

Mayor Lin visited Apple Inc. and network equipment giant Cisco Systems headquarters today, where he was welcomed by 2 Cisco VPs, including Shaw-jen Chang and Rick Harris. While visiting Cisco, Mayor Lin suggested that Taichung City is gradually being developed into a smart city, and Shuinan Smart City is used as the demonstration district. In 2015, the city government signed a smart city MOU with Cisco, and Cisco has already surveyed the site of last year. For Mayor Lin’s visit this time, he intends to continue discussing issues related to the application of smart transportation in Shuinan Smart City and further cooperation with Cisco.

After visiting several corporate headquarters in the Silicon Valley (including Apple Inc.), Mayor Lin noted that Silicon Valley is a paradigm of innovation and entrepreneurship, with many of them applying people-oriented philosophy in designing their headquarters, and ecological landscape has also been incorporated into the design. At the end of his visit to Apple headquarters, he discovered that the employees are working in buildings that are designed to blend into the natural surroundings, therefore they are able to brainstorm and unleash their creativity in a more carefree environment.

He emphasized, designed by the city government, Shuinan Smart City features Central Park, International Conference Center, Taichung Green Museumbrary, Central Taiwan Film Center and Smart Operations Center. It is hoped that the future development Shuinan Smart City will follow in the footsteps of Silicon Valley, turning it into a place where people can unleash their creativities and enjoy quality life. This is his vision for the smart city.

He also mentioned that companies including Apple and Cisco do not only focus on hardware construction but also soft power. Soft power places emphasis on people, therefore a relaxing work environment must be created. Taichung is already the second largest metropolis in Taiwan, the next step is to enhance the overall work and living quality, so that people can perceive work as a form of enjoyment in life, thereby unleashing their vitality and creativity. If the vision is materialized, it is believed that more people will be drawn to live in Taichung.

According to the Transportation Bureau of Taichung City Government, Cisco’s has always been a leading network solutions provider, offering products such as routers and switches that are currently global market leaders. Now, the company has invested in the development of IoT, where transportation, emergency services and infrastructure monitoring are integrated through its proprietary Smart Connected Digital Platform and high quality roadside network equipment. Currently, more than 121 related projects have been implemented in more than 64 cities worldwide, demonstrating remarkable success.

In 2015, the city government signed a smart city MOU with Cisco to forge collaboration on aspects including Smart Operations Center, Wireless Network, Smart Transportation, Smart Parking, Smart Streetlight and Smart Policing etc. It is hoped that the cooperation will facilitate industry upgrades starting from Shuinan Smart City to progressively transform Taichung into a smart city.