China Accelerates Government GIS ProjectIt may take months for China, the world's most populous country, to finish a census through traditional means, but it may take only several days to do the same thing if the so-called GIS (geographic information system) is widely used.Zhang Qingpu, a research fellow with the China Academy of Surveying and Mapping, showed the prospects for this technology today at a forum sponsored by the Organizing Committee of the Third Beijing International High-Tech Week. "Better application of GIS by government departments will help make timely and better decisions," he said. "As part of the efforts to build a 'digital China,' the government GIS project launched years ago should be accelerated," he told Xinhua. China started to build a comprehensive GIS for the State Council in 1992, and the system is expected to be completed by the end of this year. According to Zhang, China so far has completed 14 provincial digital map systems and a number of information systems such as the basic national situation system and the flood-control and weather-forecast information service system. |
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