Haimen district, a vital part of Nantong's main urban area, boasts a 61-kilometer coastline along the Yangtze River and a 25-kilometer coastline along the Yellow Sea. Renowned as the "Gateway to the Yangtze River and the Yellow Sea" and "Little-Pudong", the district has a total area of 1,149 square kilometers and nearly 1 million permanent residents. 

It is the hometown of Zhang Jian, a top scholar in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and a well-known industrialist and educator. It is also recognized as a hub for science and technology, education, textiles, construction, safety, and ecological conservation.

Foreign friends pose for a photo during the Sino-French cultural exchanges event in Haimen district, Nantong on April 14. [Photo provided to en.nantong.gov.cn]

Haimen, previously a county-level city, became a district of Nantong in 2020. It is the first county-level city north of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu to meet comprehensive socioeconomic well-being standards, with a GDP exceeding 100 billion yuan ($13.81 billion), and has been awarded the title of "Advanced County (City, District) in Promoting High-Quality Development" by the province.

In 2023, it ranked 18th in the "National Top 100 Areas in Comprehensive Strength" and 6th in the province.

Haimen reported a 6 percent year-on-year growth in GDP in 2023, reaching 169 billion yuan ($23.62 billion). Its general public budget revenue was 7.5 billion yuan, up 33.6 percent. The actual received foreign investment was $360 million.

Its industrial taxable sales of industrial enterprises above designated size amounted to 98.74 billion yuan. Service taxable sales stood at 67.32 billion yuan and the output of the construction industry was valued at 223.3 billion yuan.

The import-export volume was valued at 32.24 billion yuan, up 36.4 percent.