The World Laureates Forum (WLF) will return to Shanghai's Lin-gang Special Area from Oct 30 to Nov 1. Over the past nine years, the forum has evolved alongside Lin-gang's growing innovation ecosystem, with changes extending beyond its agenda to the research and industrial landscape taking shape around it.

Since its inaugural edition in 2018, WLF has been bringing leading scientists to Lin-gang to share insights into the latest scientific and technological frontiers. The opening of its permanent venue, the Lin-gang Center, in 2022, has further amplified WLF's impact beyond the annual gathering. 

The Lin-gang Center, WLF's permanent venue. [Photo/Hi Lin-gang]

The surrounding Dishui Lake Youth Entrepreneurship Bay is currently home to a growing cluster of research institutions and innovative companies, including the PetroChina Shanghai Advanced Materials Research Institute and the Lin-gang Laboratory.

The scientific questions explored at the forum also resonate with Lin-gang's industrial development. At the Oriental IC Port, enterprises are working to meet AI's growing demand for computing power. Autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots are entering real-world applications across the area, while commercial aviation, biomedicine, and energy storage continue to advance. These industries offer opportunities to test emerging technologies and translate scientific breakthroughs into practical applications.

A self-driving car passes by the Lin-gang Center. [Photo/Hi Lin-gang]

This convergence of research and industry is reflected in Lin-gang's strong economic growth. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), the industrial output value of enterprises in the area above the designated size reached 451.8 billion yuan ($67.76 billion).