A design rendering of the French Village in Dream Town, Yuhang district [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

Yuhang district in Hangzhou stepped up its efforts in attracting international talents by commencing construction of a French Village located in the Dream Town on June 30.

Expected to be completed within two years, the first phase of the 2.3-hectare village is designed to host business incubators, boutique stores and entrepreneur clubs, while the second phase will have AI-facilitated hotels, talent apartments, high-tech centers and roadshow halls.

Zhu Yong, the founder of the project, said the village plans to attract 500 high-end French talents, 100 high-tech companies and three French enterprises that are among the global top 500.

"The village will be a magnet for international talents and infuse new momentum to the region's development," Zhu said.

Last December, Yuhang laid the foundations for an aeronautics university, the first project in the district to boost educational and aeronautical development with French support.

Yuhang district has in recent years been striving to attract international talents. It has set up talent service centers in the United States, Ukraine, Canada, France, Sweden, Denmark and Australia, and has attracted over 5,000 talents, 155 of which were national high-end talents.