Infrastructure facilities in Nantong. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Over the past 75 years, Nantong in Jiangsu province has made impressive achievements.

The city's GDP increased from 380 million yuan ($52.33 million) in 1949 to over 1.18 trillion yuan in 2023, ranking 23rd in China, while its per capita GDP rose from 81 yuan in 1949 to a whopping 153,000 yuan last year.

The primary, secondary, and tertiary industries in Nantong have also made big advancements. In 2023, the output of the agricultural, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery industries totaled 97.48 billion yuan, 337 times greater than the figure 75 years ago. Meanwhile, the industrial added value was 483.21 billion yuan, and the added value of the tertiary industry increased by an average of 11.1 percent annually from 1978.

Infrastructure in Nantong has been gradually improved. The city currently houses 486 kilometers of expressways and 452 km of railways. Last year, its railways transported 12.03 million passengers and 2.5 million metric tons of cargo, while the Nantong airport operated 62 flight routes and handled 3.66 million passengers and 60,000 tons of cargo and mail.

The per capita income of residents in the city was just 386 yuan in 1980, while last year the figure exceeded 60,000 yuan.

The average annual increase rate of foreign trade in Nantong expanded 24.3 percent from 1985 to 2023, while the actual utilization of foreign capital has also increased stably year by year. Since 2012, the accumulated actual use of foreign capital in the city has stood at $30.24 billion.