[Photo/VCG]

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology began commercializing 5G services with China Telecom, China Unicom, China Mobile and China Tower at the PT Expo China on Oct 31.

Fifty cities were selected to become among the first to access commercial 5G services, including 10 cities in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region, half of which are from Zhejiang province – Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Jiaxing, and Shaoxing.

The YRD region has been pioneering the application of 5G technologies in smart city construction and intelligent manufacturing in recent years.

Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang, is home to China's first 5G-powered bookstore, commercial complex, applications demonstration block and automatic public toilet.

China's first mass-produced 5G self-driving minibus was put into service in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province during the sixth World Internet Conference on Oct 20-22.

A 5G self-driving minibus runs along the road in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province during the sixth World Internet Conference on Oct 20-22. A driver is seated behind the wheel for safety reasons. [Photo/VCG]

An alliance for collaborative innovation on 5G intelligent driving in the YRD region was also established in Wuzhen during the period, in order to promote the commercialization of an intelligent connected transportation system.