Wuxi's Internet of things (IoT) industry has been developing for over seven years since the World SensingNet Group first set up in the city to become China's center of IoT. To date, Wuxi's IoT industry output has reached 150 billion yuan ($21.8 billion) with nearly 2,000 IoT companies producing applications which bring benefit to people's daily life in Wuxi.

There are nearly 600 electronic signboards in Wuxi, displaying different kinds of information related to residents' daily life, such as community notices, weather conditions, air quality, bus arrival times, vegetable prices and available taxis. According to the signboards provider Jiangsu Derhino Intelligent Technology Co, "The information shown on the 105-inch electronic signboards is selected through an IoT platform and is frequently updated."

At Powerlong Urban Square in the Wuxi National Hi-tech District (Xinwu District), drivers park their cars without parking passes and only need to give a license plate number when paying fees. Using IoT technology for automatic fare collection and parking guidance, this intelligent system has increased parking efficiency by 70 percent.

IoT is also applicable to medical treatments and agriculture. "Zhangzhongbao" of Wuxi Shiling Tech provides accurate medicine information, increasing the efficiency of medical workers. US-based BayNexus' R&D and production base in the Asia-Pacific region, specialize in RFID development and smart healthcare application services.

As of 2015, there have been 1,171 IoT companies in Wuxi with more than 150,000 employees, generating a total output value of 168.8 billion yuan. Wuxi has also undertaken over 2,000 provincial IoT R&D projects and applied for nearly 5,000 IoT patents. As China's only national innovative demonstration zone for IoT, more than half of current IoT international standards were first established in the city.

In the process of building a smart Wuxi, IoT technology will be applied in more areas, making work and life more convenient and enhancing the quality of life for local residents.