On September 27, Henan, a northern province in China, published its 2022-2025 metaverse action plan. The plan states Henan expects its core metaverse industry scale to exceed 30 billion yuan and related industry scale to exceed 100 billion yuan.

According to the plan, the province aims to establish 10 first-class metaverse technology research and innovation platforms, form a set of technology standards and rules, build a system that’s open for collaboration, and reach breakthroughs in software, hardware, and wearable devices.

The plan also aims to build 1 metaverse industry park, and 3-5 specialty industry parks, as well as nurture 10 competitive metaverse enterprises, 200 specialized enterprises in the field, and 500 innovative SMEs.

Henan’s metaverse action plan puts Zhengzhou, its capital city, at the center, while nearby cities such as Luoyang, Nanyang, and Jiaozuo will focus on IT and software, to develop metaverse-related smart devices, consumer electronics, and digital content. In addition, Henan will promote autonomous intelligent computing centers in Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Xuchang, and Puyang.

Last month, a metaverse industrial park broke ground in Zhengzhou, Henan. The 600-acre park is expected to achieve a total annual output value of about 40 billion yuan, contribute about 3.33 billion yuan in tax revenue and provide about 60,000 jobs after it becomes fully operational.