A stone strengthens ties between Rugao and Fujian
Passengers queue to board a plane to Quanzhou, Fujian province, at the Nantong Xingdong International Airport. [Photo/ntfabu.com]
On the latest flight schedule in Nantong, there are eight cities connecting to Nantong by three or more flights per day. One such city is Quanzhou, a coastal city in East China's Fujian province, and the only of the eight that is neither a first-tier city nor a provincial capital.
The increasing frequency of flights between Nantong and Quanzhou is a result of the booming stone industry in Rugao, a county-level city in Nantong.
Dongsheng International Stone City, located in the Rugao port area, was founded by Wang Jiafu, an entrepreneur from Quanzhou, more than seven years ago.
With a planned area of 1,067 hectares and 30 billion yuan ($4.62 billion) in investment, the stone city has become the third largest "one-stop" stone material purchase and distribution center after Shuitou town in Fujian and Yunfu city in Guangdong.
An aerial view of the Dongsheng International Stone City in Rugao, Nantong [Photo/ntfabu.com]
Located in the Yangtze River basin, Rugao does not have any stone mineral resources. Yet its vast area and strong transportation network still managed to attract Wang and his fellow-townsmen.
"The integrated development of railway, expressway, waterway, and air logistics at Rugao Port extend to many markets with a large demand for stone materials, such as Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Shandong, Hunan, and Sichuan, presenting unlimited potential for trade," said Wang.
The stone city is currently home to more than 40 processing factories and over 400 stores, with thousands of businesspeople from home and abroad. One-fourth of them come from Quanzhou, and more than 50 people from Fujian province have invested more than 100 million yuan each in the city.
To bring more convenience to businesspeople shuttling between Rugao and Nantong, Wang and the local Nantong chamber of commerce decided to communicate with the airport and airlines about their demands, resulting in the increased flight frequency.
