FOR over 20 years Zhong-guancun in northwestern Bei-jing has been a commercial colony of IT companies and a veritable beehive of promotion for the latest electronic products. Dominating a swath of commerce bordering sev-eral top Chinese universities， including Peking and Tsinghua， and the Chinese Academy of Sciences， this former sub-urban community is often compared with Silicon Valley. Today however， its leadership in the nation's IT industry faces new challenges. Local companies and government alike hope the region can retain its dynamics by leading and fostering greater innovation.