Economy and business
Major industrial zones in Xi'an include:
Software, outsourcing industry and BPO
The growing economy of Xi'an supports the development of a software industry, and the city is a pioneer in software industry in China.
In 2005, the production value of software industry reached RMB 8.2 billion Yuan, with export revenue up to $US 42 million.
In recent years, service outsourcing industry in Xi'an has maintained robust growth. The outstanding contractor enterprises, rich human resources and preferential policies have paved a solid foundation for Xi'an to becoming a capital for service outsourcing.
Xi'an, as a second-tier city in China after the likes of Beijing and Shanghai, has a track record in the Business Process Outsourcing field. The local government is using tax and other incentives to encourage companies and professionals to relocate there.
A Silicon.com article describes Xi'an: "But Xi'an is selling on its own merits - with a large pool of cheap human resources from the 100 universities in the area, it hoovers up around 3,000 computer graduates every year, each earning approximately $120 a month - half the wages for the equivalent job in Beijing."[8][9]
Telecommunications industry
Many domestic and multinational telecommunications vendors have set up their R&D centers and/or factories in Xi'an, including Huawei, ZTE, CATT, NEC, Fujitsu and Siemens. Xi'an is China's leading center of training for engineers. The universities and local companies of Xi'an have provided hundreds of thousands of engineers for the Chinese telecommunications industry.
Game Industry
The largest internet bar in the world with more than 3000 computers is located in Xi'an. As one of the largest educational centres in China, with a huge number of undergraduate students, online games are very popular in the area. Xi'an has already hosted worldwide game competitions such as ACON5, CEG2006, and WCG2006.
Aerospace industry
In 2008, after the launch of the initial aerospace center in Shanghai, China is constructing another civil aerospace center in the Shaanxi province. The State Development and Reform Commission approved the planning of Xi'an National Civil Aerospace Industrial Base on December 26, 2007. The National Civil Aerospace Industrial Base of Xi'an, set to cover 23 square km, will focus on developing satellites, new materials, energies, IT and other technologies for civil applications.
In November 2006, Xi'an and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation jointly set up Xi'an Aerospace Science and Technology Industrial Base. From its establishment, the base has focused on the development of the civil space industry, including equipment manufacturing, software and service outsourcing, new materials and solar photovoltaics.
Apart from the core area, the base will cover Xi'an and the Guanzhong area (the central China) and the expansion zone will reach Northwest China and Southwest China. It is expected that by 2012 the total industry output can reach 2.8 billion us dollars with about 10 to 20 brand products with intellectual property rights and 5-8 products with global competitiveness.
International events
World Horticultural Expo 2011
Xi’an was chosen to host the 2011 World Horticultural Exposition by the Association of International Producers of Horticulture (AIPH) at its 59th congress, held at Brighton, United Kingdom on September 4, 2007. The 2011 World Horti-Expo will be held from April 11 to October 11, 2011. The exhibition will be located in a new district of the city, Chanba district, and is expected to bring some 10 million visitors to Xi’an