From a dormitory to an office building—it’s far more than just a difference in architecture. Across over two decades of change, what remains unwavering is persistence and innovation. Every footprint SuperMap has left behind is a story woven with sweat and wisdom.
Time: 1995-1997
Location: North Campus Student Dormitory, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Employees: <10
In the late 1990s, China's geographic information system (GIS) software began to flourish. At that time, the predecessor of SuperMap was still a research team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), conducting GIS research while providing GIS consulting and project development services.
Dr. Zhong Ershun was already a renowned scholar back then. In the years that followed, he spearheaded the establishment of China's first research center dedicated to GIS technology and industrial development—the CAS Center for Geographic Information Industry Development. Having worked at the CAS Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research for 15 years, he mentored dozens of doctoral and master's students specializing in GIS.
Song Guanfu was one of Zhong Ershun's most accomplished students.
In 1996, Song was pursuing his Ph.D. While completing tasks assigned by Dr. Zhong, he often found time to experiment with new ideas, driven by boundless enthusiasm. During this period of self-driven creation, he developed a software called MapStudio.
Looking back, Song remarked, "By today's standards, it could hardly be called software—at best, it was just a program. MapStudio had some basic GIS functionalities, allowing data conversion from other GIS software, thematic map configuration, and even some specialized dynamic labeling symbols that were hard to achieve in commercial GIS software. Later, this program became the mapping tool for SuperMap's initial component-based GIS software."
One day in 1996, Zhong Ershun brought back a beta version of a foreign GIS component software, which immediately captivated Song. He installed it right away and began practicing secondary development using Visual Basic till late into the night. The next morning, he demonstrated his newly developed application to Dr. Zhong and his colleagues. Everyone was amazed that he had mastered the GIS software in just one night.
Over the next few months, he built upon MapStudio's functionalities to develop a similar program—ActiveMap. Using COM/ActiveX technology, ActiveMap encapsulated fundamental GIS capabilities, laying the groundwork for what would later become SuperMap.
Relying on the ActiveMap geospatial platform, the early team developed the "Hong Kong Comprehensive Geographic Information System" and the "Nanning Land Resource Management System." With the deployment of these systems, SuperMap gained recognition in the industry, sparking the vision for industrial application and growth.
