When people talk about golden statuettes, most of the time they are referring to the Academy Awards. However, when you mention golden statuettes to the people of Nantong, the first thing comes to their minds is the Luban Awards.

The Luban Award, also called the Luban Prize for Construction Projects, is the top construction and engineering quality award in China.

After the Lhasa Hotel built by Nantong Si Jian Construction Group won the first Luban Award for Nantong in 1988, the construction groups in the city went on to win a total of 100 Luban awards by 2017. The Hai'an Culture and Art Center constructed by Nantong Huaxin Construction Group won the 100th Award.

In the exhibition room of Nantong Si Jian Construction Group, 28 golden statuettes of the Luban Awards are showcased. [Photo/Ntjoy]

Nantong Construction Groups' hard work has earned them the name "Iron Army". About 90 percent of their Luban-winning projects were constructed in other cities, and have become their calling cards.

Meanwhile, for the fortunate cities, the buildings constructed by the "Iron Army" represent safety and quality.

At present, there are 2,150 construction enterprises in Nantong, gathering more than 1.5 million employees. The annual output value has exceeded 760 billion yuan ($110.35 billion), and the contribution rate of the construction industry to the city's GDP has held steadily at about 10 percent.