Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, plans to enact legislation this year to further push forward its "city brain" plan, which uses data to make the city "smarter".

The plan, a bold step forward for the modernization of city governance systems in Hangzhou, has been included in the city's 2020 list of key legislative programs, according to the Standing Committee of the Hangzhou Municipal People's Congress.

The Hangzhou government announced its "city brain" plan in 2016 with the aim of improving urban management via advanced technologies, especially big data. Currently, the "city brain" system covers 11 aspects of urban life, including law enforcement, traffic, tourism and health.

In Hangzhou, data information from 68 government departments has been collected and put online to facilitate administrative services for companies and individuals.

The application of the health code system, which was first launched in Hangzhou in February for the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus, will be more widely applied in public services after the epidemic. The Hangzhou government is working to apply health codes in healthcare, public transportation and services for the elderly in the future to better safeguard the health of its residents.

The government is speeding up the digitalization of operation systems in different fields. By the end of 2020, digitalized systems for city inspections, healthcare, market supervision, real estate management and work safety will be put into operation as part of the "city brain" plan. By 2022, the fields will be extended to include environmental protection, tourism, fire safety and the organization of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games.

Lyu Gangfeng, deputy director of the city's data management bureau, said they are giving full play to new technologies to integrate data from all government departments, counties and other institutions. "The 'city brain' system will coordinate the data to facilitate services for companies and people," he said.