The city of Harbin, known as China's "Ice City" because of its cold temperatures and its annual ice and snow festival, has attracted the attention of global IT companies who are seeking to turn the city into a base for cloud computing.

As the capital of northernmost China's Heilongjiang Province, the city has an average temperature of 3.5 degrees Celsius, which can help IT companies to save on costs related to heat dissipation in their server banks, said Mou Weibo, head of the Gopha Group, the main investor and operator of the city's new "China Cloud Valley."

"We've got the geography, the temperature and the networks. We've got the electricity, the cooling water, and we've got the talent," said Mou, vowing that his "China Cloud Valley" project is ready to take off.

Cloud computing is a burgeoning trend in IT. It allows users to store files in a remote data center, or "cloud." These clouds can be accessed online from any computer, offering limitless possibilities for companies and individual users who wish to decentralize their data.

The cloud computing project, unveiled in Harbin in December of last year, is now entering its second phase of construction with an investment of 2.8 billion yuan (US$433 million).

The project has attracted large companies such as Siemens, Schneider Electric and CIT, all of whom have signed cooperative agreements with the project operators.

Cloud computing platforms will prove to be indispensable in future, said Fang Zhenghui, deputy director of the research office of the Harbin municipal government.

Although data centers and server banks are currently concentrated in more developed areas like the Yangtze and Pearl River Deltas, Fang believes that increased costs will drive them further inland.

HARBIN HAS IT

The world's largest cloud computing centers are often located in regions with colder climates, as the low temperatures help to defray the costs of operating heatsinks and other units that are required to keep the centers' massive banks of computers from overheating, according to Mou.

Harbin's independent electrical grid is also a boon for the new cloud computing project, Mou said, as the project will require a large, stable supply of uninterrupted electrical power.

Finally, Harbin's close proximity to the Songhua River means that it has ample supplies of cool water, which can be used in heatsinks and other cooling devices in the center, Mou said.

As the telecommunications center of the northeast, Heilongjiang Province is rich in broadband resources, with the construction of a third Sino-Russia cross-border fiber-optic cable currently under way.

Harbin is also home to dozens of universities and research facilities, which will help to give the center access to a pool of talented IT specialists.

Cong Guozhang, vice mayor of Harbin, said cloud computing will play an important role in improving the advancement of information technology and promoting local economic growth.