The mainland's Golden Projects first reared their glittering heads in mid-1993 when the Ministry of Electronics Industry (MEI) announced the building of three nationwide information networks - Golden Bridge, Golden Card and Golden Customs.
Since then, the government has laid millions of kilometres of fibre-optic cable, interlinked hundreds of offices, and lured a multitude of hi-tech firms hoping to get a piece of the pie.
Total spending on these projects ranged between US$1 billion and $3.5 billion by 2000, a report by the United States Commerce Department said.
Not everyone thinks the projects are so golden, however.
Jared Peterson, an International Data Corp analyst, calls the projects 'a lot of hype' - with actual investment so far low, and building work sporadic.
Beijing has announced nine Golden Projects in all.
