China's mighty Yangtze River has harbored many of the country's largest industrial bases over the years. Its lower basin and delta are among the most economically developed areas in the country. But as China enters a new era, sliding away from manufacturing and into more knowledge-based systems, even the most successful enterprises are being forced to innovate, to not only compete, but to survive. Ning Hong visited one such company in central China's Hunan province.

This is a model of an intelligent manufacturing facility. It belongs to Sany, China's top heavy equipment manufacturer. Information technology is getting merged into the production process.

SHU HAOJUN, SECTION CHIEF FINAL ASSEMBLY DEPARTMENT, SANY GROUP "If this post needs a part, it can notify the warehouse by this platform. And an automated vehicle will bring the part here."

This production line used to take 300 people three days to deliver a pump truck. Now it only needs 56 people, and every sixty minutes, a truck will drive off the production line.

NING HONG CHANGSHA, HUNAN PROVINCE "You can see the scale of this facility here, and because of that, building a smart factory could help it to reduce costs and improve production efficiency."

Sany enjoyed a more than 200 percent rise in profit for the first half of this year. The company is spending 5 percent of its sales income on research and development. That includes setting up overseas branches in the US, Germany, India and Brazil.

XIANG RUAN, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT SANY GROUP "It could attract more talents overseas, and most of all, it is a process of localization, making our contribution to the economy there."

The company expects its overseas sales to double this year. Ning Hong, CGTN, Changsha.