The Economist.
There's an old Chinese saying that goes,
Above there is heaven, below there is Suzhou and Hangzhou.
For centuries, the eastern city of Hangzhou was known for its scenic beauty.
But now it's become China's Silicon Valley.
Hangzhou is the birthplace of DeepSeek,
the Chinese AI company that has stunned foreign competitors.
I'm Alice Su, The Economist's senior China correspondent,
and I'm joined by Gabriel Crossley, our China correspondent based in Beijing.
This week, we're asking,
what is special about Hangzhou
when it comes to building China's groundbreaking tech firms?
And will DeepSeek be a one-hit wonder?
This is Drum Tower from The Economist.
Gabriel, hello.
How are you doing?
Hey, Alice.
I'm good.
And Gabriel, you are in Beijing now, but you were recently in Hangzhou,
where you were looking into the birthplace of DeepSeek.