One such example is the Hongshan town, China's first IoT town. Situated in the Xinwu district of Wuxi, it is designed as a model for future large-scale IoT applications. According to Wang Jingjian, Party chief of the district, over 10,000 sensors have been set in place in Hongshan, enabling the retrieval of timely data concerning city management in aspects of water conservancy, environmental protection and transportation.

In 2009, Wuxi was designated as the first nationwide hub for IoT development, and since then has been spearheading the fledgling industry.

The city, now home to 2,000-plus IoT companies, saw an output value of more than 243 billion yuan ($35.5 billion) in 2017, accounting for 25 percent of the national total.