China’s rapid urbanization and its success in developing the Internet of Things (IoT) will decide its future development direction. The construction of sustainable cities is crucial to China because China has such a large population. The Xiamen Long-term Urban Ecosystem Observation and Research Station (Xiamen LUEORS) was started in 2006, together with the research related to the Environmental Internet of Things (EIoT) for Xiamen LUEORS. This paper explains the purpose, general framework and main features of the EIoT, and outlines the results of performing EIoT experiments in some areas, including a ‘town village’, a peculiar phenomenon of China’s urbanization. It also discusses the development trends of the IoT and proposes the concept of ZeroSpace Interconnection of Things (ZeroIoT, or ZeroSIT).

The locations of Xiamen LUEORS and other monitoring sites

The central platform of our EIoT to support Xiamen LUEORS

The outline of our EIoT