An EV charging station at the Rugao service station of the Shenyang-Haikou Expressway [Photo/ cpcrugao.cn]

Rugao, a county-level city in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, is currently home to eight electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.

The stations are located at the Rugao service station of the Shenyang-Haikou Expressway, the administrative office of Rugao Port, the Guzhuang Ecological Park, Motou Middle School, Yangma River, the Shidai Mansion in the city's economic and technological development zone, and Red Star Macalline (a furniture store).

People can download an app called Echarge onto their mobile phones to find the exact locations of the stations and pay their charging bills.

"A convenient charging network will encourage more people to use electric vehicles," said Gao Jinlin, an executive of the city's power supply company.

"Annual electricity consumption was only about 5,000 kW•h when the company first started operating its charging stations. The figure rose to more than 30,000 kW•h from January to June this year," Gao added.

He said that more charging stations will be introduced in the future.