In 1980, four years after the death of Communist Chinese leader Mao Zedong and the opening of China, Chen walked away from a coveted position at the national Chinese Academy of Sciences to launch a high-tech development company in the Zhongguancun area of Beijing.

Chen, a Soviet-trained scientist and one of China's top plasma researchers at the time, was apparently inspired to set up the firm after a visit to California's Silicon Valley. Although his company eventually failed, his pioneering effort is credited with helping other tech-minded entrepreneurs.

Sitting on the northwest outskirts of Beijing, Zhongguancun eventually transformed from a sleepy academic district into a bustling electronics bazaar, with a mlange of privately funded retail shops driving its growth. In 1988, the city government officially established the Haidian Science Park within the Zhongguancun area and about a decade later the central government created the Zhongguancun High-tech Zone, encompassing about 100 square kilometers and making it Beijing's largest tech-oriented zone.

Considered the cradle of China's fabless industry, Zhongguancun also houses more than half of the countries Internet firms and the park administration believes some 6,000 companies — 70 percent of which are tech firms — have offices within its borders. In 2000, the park's revenue of $14 billion accounted for 60 percent of Beijing's industrial growth, according to the park administration.

More than a decade after Chen's pioneering endeavor, the failure of his company still registered more with Chen then the IT legacy he had been a part of. He was quoted as saying: "I don't consider myself a hero. A true hero should be rewarded with success."

State media did not report the cause of Chen's death.

By: DocMemory
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