A view of Dream Town in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

Dream Town, a provincial level characteristic town famed as a hub for entrepreneurs due to its favorable environment for startups, has been listed as a national 4A tourist attraction, according to an announcement on Jan 6.

Situated in the northwest corner of Hangzhou with a total land area of three square kilometers, the town, which transformed from an ancient town to an incubation center for internet startups, is the first characteristic town to have won the honor in Yuhang district.

Approved in August 2017 as one of Zhejiang's first characteristic towns, Dream Town highlights the integration of innovation and entrepreneurship and tourism while giving full play to natural landscapes and time-honored culture, and supporting the development of characteristic industries. Now, the town has become a hotbed for over 1,652 startup projects and 15,200 entrepreneurial talents.

Official statistics reveals that in 2018, the town received a total of 534,300 domestic and international tourists, a nearly two-fold increase year-on-year. The number of inbound tourists from South Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia nations and other countries also showed an upward trend.

According to authorities, a characteristic town is neither a town defined administratively nor an industrial zone, but is rather an area with specific industry orientations, cultural elements, tourism features and community functions.

Since its inception in August 2014, four groups of characteristic towns have been rolled out with over one hundred set up as platforms for industrial innovation in Zhejiang.