The total production value of Harbin’s information industry reached 42 billion yuan ($6 billion) in 2016, an increase of 16.4 percent year-on-year.

The data released by a meeting on the development of Harbin’s big data industry on Feb 24 also showed that the production value of the communication industry reached 20.9 billion yuan, up 24 percent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the production values of the software industry and the electronic information manufacturing industry reached 10.7 billion yuan and 10.4 billion yuan, increasing by 18 percent and 10.4 percent.

There are now more than 10 well-known companies with established branches in Harbin that are building big data centers.

These companies include Gopha Group, Inspur Group and China Mobile.

Big data systems have been established in some industries in Harbin. For example, some government departments have built information systems for permanent residency, vehicles and environmental monitoring.

As early as 2014, Harbin was included on the list of pilot cities for cloud computing innovation. In 2016, Harbin also enacted measures to promote the industrial development of big data, providing policy and capital support for companies to reduce their costs and expand their markets.

In December 2016, about 5 million entries were opened to the public on the Harbin government website, involving information on 10 key areas, including sanitation, traffic and livelihoods.