Nantong Port. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the opening up of coastal port cities in China, including Nantong in Jiangsu province.

Bordering the Yangtze River to the south and Huanghai Sea to the east, Nantong has leveraged its convenient water transportation to become a place of prosperity and happiness.

Trains run in Nantong. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

In 1983, Nantong Port received its first international vessel, marking the start of its journey towards embracing the world. Over the past four decades, the port has grown from a small, insignificant port into a bustling trade hub both at home and abroad for its river and sea transportation.

Its cargo throughput increased from 3.06 million metric tons in 1978 to 340 million tons in 2023. The container business at the port developed from nothing, and in 2017 the throughput exceeded 1 million TEUs. The city has opened shipping routes to 312 ports in 96 countries and regions.

A steady stream of vehicles passes over a bridge over the Yangtze River in Nantong. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Nantong has formed a comprehensive traffic system integrating 17,524 kilometers of expressway, 428 km of railway, 3,207 km of shipping lanes, and air carriage.

Last year, Nantong transported over 30 million passengers, four times as many as the city's total population, and delivered more than 257 million tons of cargo.

Since 2021, Nantong's investment in traffic infrastructure has amounted to 10 billion yuan ($1.38 billion) per year. In 2023, the city allocated 41 billion yuan for traffic infrastructure, accounting for over one seventh of the provincial total, while this year it plans to invest over 50 billion yuan in traffic infrastructure.