Academicians

The Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering are home to experts on the most advanced scientific and engineering technologies.

Since 1949, when the People's Republic of China was founded, 32 people have joined the CAS and 20 have joined the CAE.

Some of the academicians are top scientists in fundamental research, such as mathematicians Yang Le and Li Daqian.

Some have made incredible contributions in key core technologies, such as materials scientist Wang Xi and biophysicist Zhuang Xiaowei.

Some have made breakthroughs in key technologies in fields that drive national economic growth, such as Zhou Chenghu, who specializes in geographic information systems and cartography, Liu Jiaping who specializes in civil engineering materials, and geologist Sun Youhong.

Some have contributed to the development of national defense, such as communications and information systems expert Lu Jianhua, fine chemical engineer Wu Weizu, and Huang Xianxiang, an expert in missile launch and application technology.

Others have devoted themselves to life sciences and health, such as Gu Xiaosong, who specializes in medical tissue engineering and neural regeneration.

Athletes

Nantong is the home of sports and is known as the "cradle of world champions". Since China's reform and opening-up in the late 1970s, there have been 29 world champions from Nantong.

They won a total of 120 gold medals in world competitions, ranking Nantong first in terms of number of gold medals among prefecture-level Chinese cities.

Of the 29 athletes, seven are Olympic champions, 14 are world champions, four are paralympic champions, three are world champions with disabilities, and one is a world champion in Go.

On Aug 12, 2008, Nantong athletes won three gold medals in a single day at the Beijing Olympic Games. Since then, August 12 has been designated Nantong Sports Day.

Writers and Artists

Nantong is also home to numerous artists who are prominent in literature, film, performing arts, and painting.

In their artistic works, they integrated Nantong's distinctive style with Chinese culture.

Bian Zhilin, an eminent translator and poet of the Crescent School from Nantong, wrote the following famous line in one of his poems: "The bright moon adorns your window, while you adorn another's dream."

Moreover, famous literati such as Lu Xinhua, Xia Jianyong, Lu Tianming, Fan Xiaoqing, and Huang Beijia have also produced notable works.

Nearly 100 people in the film industry from the city have made significant contributions throughout the history of Chinese cinema.

Painters such as Zao Wou-Ki, Wang Geyi, Fan Zeng, Yuan Yunfu, and Yuan Yansheng all come from Nantong and have created numerous magnificent artworks, resulting in what is known as the "Nantong phenomenon" in the history of Chinese art.

Editor-in-chief: Yu Lei

Editor: Wang Yun

Photo by Gu Yao

Translated by Wang Haifei from the Shanghai Waiyuan Translation Agency