Chen Siqi

vankochensq@163.com

A GROUP of more than 32 international Ph.D. candidates from 16 universities across China visited the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone (HTCZ) on Thursday, exploring its favorable policies, technological advancements, and state-of-the-art high-tech products.

“Shenzhen is developing so fast,” remarked Gracious Tshepiso Masule, a doctoral student from Botswana studying at Beijing Language and Culture University, after touring the HTCZ Exhibition and Exchange Center.

The visitors experienced vehicles equipped with the L2 autonomous driving system developed by DeepRoute.ai, a startup based in the Hetao Shenzhen Park.

At the company’s display hall, Wang Haozun, project application manager of DeepRoute.ai, noted that its L2 autonomous driving technology has already been integrated into mass-produced vehicles through partnerships with automakers such as Great Wall Motor, Geely Auto, Smart, and Volkswagen.

Wang explained that the Level 2 autonomous driving system offers steering, braking, and acceleration support, as well as lane centering and adaptive cruise control features.

“I will definitely buy a car like this,” said Anastasia Eganova, a Russian Ph.D. candidate from Fudan University, after a test drive. “I have a Chinese driver’s license, but I don’t drive much and even feel nervous while driving. That’s why I think self-driving cars could be a great solution for people like me,” said Eganova.

Despite the current high cost, Eganova predicted such cars would become much more common within five years and be a normal part of people’s everyday lives.

Masule also expressed excitement about the cars’ potential in Africa, saying, “Even in Africa, this kind of vehicle would work perfectly on the roads without any issues.”

During the tour, Guo Zhi, CEO of Shenzhen Yijia Yiban Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd., demonstrated the company’s AI-driven educational toys, which are designed to interact with children as playmates and study assistants. He also engaged in a lively discussion with the Gen Z students.

“While listening, I thought that having these kinds of toys to help my students practice Chinese would be great,” Masule said. Being a Mandarin teacher in Botswana, where Chinese speakers are rare, he believes the AI toys would be very helpful to teaching Mandarin in Africa.

The HTCZ visit was part of the group’s six-day Shenzhen tour, which started Tuesday. Their itinerary also included Shenzhen University, Tencent, Insta360, and Nantou Ancient Town.