The Tencent Global Digital Ecosystem Summit, also the 2019 Yunnan International Smart Tourism Conference, kicked off in Kunming, Yunnan Province on May 21.

Focusing on smart tourism, cloud-computing and others, the three-day Tencent global summit is slated to spur digitalization in Yunnan, a Chinese plateau province that embraces digital economy.

In 2018, Yunnan GDP amounted to 1.78 trillion yuan, representing a year-on-year growth of 8.9% that is well above the national average.

In the first quarter of 2019, Yunnan provincial GDP reached 384.96 billion yuan, an increase of 9.7% year on year.

Behind the positive economic indicators is the momentum brought about by digital upgrade and transformation. 

The Digital China Index Report 2019 released at the summit shows the Yunnan total index has increased by 75% year-on-year, ranking 11th among the Chinese provinces.

The report also shows the digital changes of various industries in Yunnan, of which the change in tourism is the most striking.

"The 'Travel in Yunnan' app has wowed global tourists and tourism professionals alike,” said John Koldowski, advisor on research issues to the CEO of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).

John was invited to speaker at the 2019 Yunnan International Smart Tourism Conference, and he was impressed by the fine cooperation between Yunnan province and Tencent company, after experiencing the Yunnan app on a smart phone. 

Since the Yunnan-Tencent cooperation was incepted in September 2017, the 'Travel in Yunnan' app, together some WeChat mini programs and networks, has served around 20 million tourists. More than 20 upgrades or improvements have been fulfilled.

Besides the tourism sector, the Tencent company has also cooperated with Yunnan schools and hospitals in smart services, including Yunnan Agricultural Vocational School and the First Hospital of Kunming.

According to statistics, 120,000 natives in Yunnan worked on Alibaba's e-commerce platforms in 2018, with online sales growing fast in Yuanyang and other nine poverty-stricken counties.

Citing the rapid digitalization and informationization in China in the past few years, the Digital China Index Report 2019 pointed out there still exist a large number of new opportunities in the emerging mobile internet.

Reporting by Wang Huan and Han Chengyuan (Yunnan Daily); trans-editing by Wang Shixue