Chongqing’s "Treasures" Shine: Tech Innovations Drive Old Industrial Base Transformation

In April, along the winding Yangtze River in Chongqing, new greenery dots both banks. At the Mingyue Lake Sci-Tech Innovation Base in Liangjiang New Area, a nimble intelligent robot dog named "Xiaotian" (Sirius) responds to commands, sitting, barking and even dancing, looking as lovely as a real puppy. This "cute and tough" robot is one of Chongqing’s representative characteristic products, known as "Chongqing Treasures", which are thriving on this sci-tech hot land.

From characteristic agricultural products such as Fuling Zhacai (preserved mustard) and Wushan crisp plums to intelligent products like robot dogs and AI telephoto cameras, the "treasures" in the memories of old Chongqing residents have taken on a new look, reflecting the transformation of an old industrial base. As the first year of the "15th Five-Year Plan", 2026 has witnessed accelerated changes in Chongqing, with these "Chongqing Treasures" becoming a distinctive symbol of the city’s efforts in the first quarter.

"This year, our ‘Xiaotian’ has undergone a complete brain remodeling and truly gained a ‘sense of life’," said Kang Xiaohu, co-founder of Hengzhi Future (Chongqing) Innovation Technology Co., Ltd., who has witnessed the continuous "evolution" of "Xiaotian". The engineering team, with an average age of more than 20, started by Mingyue Lake and quickly achieved the leap from technology to products in just 3 years.

"After the product was launched, we continued to polish the mechanical control technology, adding autonomous mode and self-recovery function after falling to make ‘Xiaotian’s movements more realistic and diverse, and integrated an AI system at the software level," Kang added. This year, the team is striving to make the robot dog a new species that can understand and respond to human commands, "with soul, emotion and personality".

According to People’s Network Chongqing Channel, Zhang Yimeng, head of the headquarters of Mingyue Lake Sci-Tech Park, stated that the park has continuously improved the "Mingyue Lake Model", integrating talents, innovation, industry and capital to build a full-chain entrepreneurship support system. So far, the headquarters park has incubated and invested in 73 projects, with a total investment of 360 million yuan and a total project valuation exceeding 1.9 billion yuan.

Su Shoushun, founder of Yuanli Space (Chongqing) Technology Co., Ltd., is an entrepreneur nurtured here. He showed a smart Rubik’s cube whose colors can be constantly changed through algorithm design. "The Rubik’s cube has a high learning threshold, and many people give up because it is too difficult," Su said. The real-time light navigation visualizes the cube restoration process, turning boring challenges into interesting levels.

In the R&D workshop of Chongqing Yidong Technology Co., Ltd. in Liangjiang New Area, an amphibious micro UAV, as small as a palm and as light as an egg, performs automatic obstacle avoidance stunts smoothly. "Lightweight and miniaturization are its highlights and the biggest difficulties in R&D," said Le Fang, chairman of Yidong Technology. The team spent 7 months and 15 mold iterations to reduce weight by 1 gram and develop the optimal micro motor.

Data shows that Liangjiang New Area now has more than 2,500 high-tech enterprises and 14,900 tech-based enterprises. The new area has built "research institutes + sci-tech parks + industrial parks" with universities, introducing and cultivating more than 100 high-quality incubation carriers serving over 3,900 incubating enterprises. Along the Yangtze River, "Chongqing Treasures" such as robot dogs and micro UAVs are setting off from here to the wider world.