Premier Li Keqiang visited the Jingrong makers town in Chengdu city, Sichuan province, on April 25, saying it is an innovative way to transform empty buildings into startup venues.

“It is just like a new economy coming to the market in the form of traditional industries,” he said.

The town had once served as workers’ dormitories. With the slowdown in traditional industries, the local government decided to rearrange the dorms into a makers town and offer free rent as an attraction.