The ancient city with water charm unfolds with shockingly beautiful pictures; the high-tech frontier Yandu inspires with the brilliant achievements.

As one of the main urban districts of Yancheng, Yandu District has a thousand-year-old traditional culture of salt, a rich and profound revolutionary culture, and a distinctive wetland culture. In recent years, by closely following the "four threes" work arrangement of the CPC Yancheng Municipal Committee, Yandu District has set a strategic goal to construct a leading area for industrial innovation, an agglomeration area for urban economy, a pilot area for green development, and a demonstration area for integrated and shared development. Yandu has carried out in-depth "six major" actions to enhance the capacity of reform and opening up, the industrial economy, the efficiency of scientific and technological innovation, the quality of integrated development, accelerating green transformation and improving people's livelihood and happiness. It has made every effort to stabilize growth, prevent risks, maintain stability, and benefit people's livelihoods, with solid steps towards high-quality development.

Yandu has witnessed booming economic and social growth, with the primary, secondary and tertiary industries working together to elevate people's well-being... Yandu is marching forward on the new journey of Chinese-style modernization. The cadres and masses of Yandu, as dream chasers in the new era, are contributing tremendous strength to the writing of a brilliant chapter in the realization of the dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Ecological Yandu: Achievements in both appearance and output

There is a kind of poetry called traveling in Yandu. Ecology is a great gift from Yandu, its most universal benefit to the people and its most lasting wealth. Yandu abounds in rivers and canals, which form a dense water network with unique wetland resources and rich product resources. It has been recognized as a national ecological civilization demonstration zone, a national "Two Mountains" practice and innovation base, and a national demonstration zone for leisure agriculture and rural tourism. It is a well-known lake and wetland tourism destination in the Yangtze River Delta. "Good ecology" has become Yandu's most distinctive business card as well as cultural and tourism IP.

The prosperity of the cultural and tourism industries enables the prosperity of all industries. Yandu fully leverages the ecological resource advantages of "the ancient city with water charm," further exploring people-oriented economy and ecological economy, with systematic efforts in ecotourism, ecological leisure, ecological health care, ecological research, and other aspects, so to accelerate the "five integrations of tourism," namely, culture, agriculture, health, sports, and commerce. By transforming "lucid waters and lush mountains" into "gold and silver mountains," the ecological beauty will give rise to high value in cultural tourism. Yandu takes all-for-one tourism as the overall guide and ecotourism as the focus. According to the four major themes of "ecology, leisure, people-orientation, and countryside", it constructs a macro tourism pattern of "leading by the top attractions, connecting with three corridors, and covering the whole district." At present, striving to build a well-known lake and pond tourism destination in the Yangtze River Delta, the district is home to 3 national 4A-level tourist attractions, 5 3A-level tourist attractions, 2 national key rural tourism villages, 2 Jiangsu provincial key rural tourism villages, and 1 five-star hotel. Following the trend of upgrading cultural and tourism consumption, Yandu promotes the renewal and upgrading of key scenic spots such as Dazong Lake Tourist Resort, Caofangzi, and Longgang Peach Blossom Valley by carefully planning a series of cultural and tourism theme activities for all seasons while actively improving characteristic business patterns such as parent-child study tours, ecological health care, and sports events. Yandu is also cultivating new business formats such as low-altitude tourism, short drama studios, micro-holidays, suburban tours and other boutique routes, so that more tourists can feel the unique grace of "the kind Yandu with water charm". Yandu has implemented ten major projects for ecological and environmental protection. The Dazong Lake "Ecological Island" experimental area was selected as one of the first batch of pilot projects in the province, and the Mangshe River was rated as a provincial-level water conservancy scenic spot. The quality of the air and water environment continues to improve. In the all six national and provincial test sections, Yandu has reached Class III water quality standards, rendering itself a climate-friendly city in China.

Industrial Yandu: Climbing Higher and Pursuing Innovation towards the Future

Climbing higher and pursuing innovation is the gene that enables Yandu to catch up across regions, with which, Yandu has built itself into a distinctive identity of "High-tech frontier Yandu". Yandu insists on taking economic development as the center, constantly seizing opportunities while deepening reform and opening up. The three industries advance abreast, with the local economy showing strong growth momentum.

Yandu adheres to the principles of "world vision, international standards, and Yancheng characteristics," positioning itself at a high starting point and at a high level. Yandu actively promotes project construction. By relying on national projects as its signature signs, Yandu makes green the background color of development and creates a modern new urban area that integrates industries into the city, suitable for living and working.

Aiming at the goal of "doubling the industrial economic output in three years and exceeding 100 billion yuan in total," Yandu fully integrates into the Yancheng's "5+2" layout for strategic emerging industries, accelerates the construction of a "3+3+N" modern industrial system, so to cultivate and strengthen the three major leading industries of electronic information, high-end equipment, and new energy, with proactive layout for the three future industries of third-generation semiconductors, new materials, and artificial intelligence. Yandu renews and upgrades N town-level characteristic industries such as gear transmission, chemical fiber coating, shoe machines, and power transmission and transformation, thus accelerating the formation of the "532" industrial matrix. Last year, Yandu's total industrial output value above the designated size was 50.46 billion yuan, up 7.2%. Industrial electricity consumption grew by 15.8%. 101 enterprises issued invoices exceeding 100 million yuan.

Yandu vigorously develops the urban economy, having built ten service industry clusters with high standards. Last year，the service industry above designated size achieved a revenue of 12.03 billion yuan, an increase of 15.4%; the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 31.7 billion yuan, an increase of 6.7%; the ten major service industry clusters issued invoices of 31.08 billion yuan, and 38 new service industry projects with investment above 100 million yuan were signed, including 24 productive-service industry projects. Yandu has successfully built the first cross-border e-commerce community, gathering 55 companies registered on Alibaba International, and the total import and export volume increased by 83.8%, ranking first in Yancheng.

To advance Chinese-style modernization, Yandu unremittingly consolidates the agricultural foundation and promotes the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas. The CPC Yandu District Committee and District Government have learned and applied the experience of the "Ten Million Projects" to comprehensively promote the construction of the first batch of national rural revitalization demonstration counties, striving to build itself into a land of plenty in the new era. Yandu has been rated first in Jiangsu's rural revitalization performance assessment for four consecutive years. The vast countryside is booming. In 2024, the total output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery in Yandu reached 10.47 billion yuan, with the added value standing at 6.76 billion yuan. It is a national production base for commercial grain, a major county for the vegetable industry, and the hometown of Chinese river crabs.

Innovative Yandu: Surging Energy Boosts Development

High-tech frontier Yandu is a perfect place for innovation. Yandu cradles the only national high-tech zone in Yancheng, having built high-end scientific and technological innovation platforms such as "three academies and two centers." It is home to Yancheng's first operational artificial intelligence accelerator, with the total number of national high-tech enterprises and specialized and innovative "small giants" ranking first in the city. The number of invention patents per 10,000 people is nearly twice the average in Yancheng. The city is striding forward with innovation and development.

Industries determine the regional status, while technology demonstrates the regional competitiveness. Yandu has earnestly implemented the relevant arrangements of governments at central, provincial, and municipal levels, mobilized the entire district to firmly establish the concept of "focusing on industry and strengthening scientific and technological innovation" while speeding up the promotion of the industrial economy to a larger scale and a higher level. Yandu is striving to build an influential regional industrial and technological innovation highland in the Yangtze River Delta. Last year, the R&D investment intensity of industrial enterprises above designated size was 4.2%, ranking first in the city; the output value of high-tech industries accounted for 68%, 15 percentage points higher than the provincial average; 733 new valid invention patents were added, with the number of invention patents per 10,000 people standing at 60, nearly twice the average level of Yancheng. The Yancheng Innovation Center of the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics (CAS) has been approved as a provincial cutting-edge technology research project, and Guotou Zhongke New Energy has been approved as a provincial R&D enterprise. Both are the only ones of their type in the whole city. Bodo New Materials has been selected into the national major talent plan project, which is the first one of its kind in the city; the Yancheng No.3 Hospital won the first place in provincial science and technology awards. Yandu took the lead in establishing the Industrial Science and Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance in Huaihe Economic Belt High-tech Zone, set up the city’s first science and technology investment company, which attracted 64 science and technology innovation projects.

Yandu also unswervingly promotes the expansion of existing enterprises. Dongshan Precision and MFLEX Electronics have been selected for the national 5G factory lists. Jiangsu Fangyi has been approved as the provincial industrial Internet platform, 5 companies as smart workshops at or above the provincial level, 3 companies as provincial smart factories, and 17 as provincial gazelle enterprises. Yandu has successively created the provincial characteristic industrial cluster of small and medium-sized enterprises of intelligent basic components, the pilot demonstration zone for provincial green and low-carbon circular development, and the provincial pilot zone for carbon peaking and carbon neutrality in urban and rural construction. Yandu has promoted the "three things" for enterprise development in an integrated manner, with a net increase of 100 national high-tech enterprises, 3 national specialized and new "small giants," and 13 provincial specialized and new small and medium-sized enterprises. Fangyi became the first company in the city to be listed on National Equities Exchange and Quotations.

Cultural Yandu: fertilizing the roots, forging the soul and nourishing the people's hearts

This is an ancient city with a history over a thousand years, standing by the ocean and embracing the wind; this is a city gathering shining talents. Yandu was named after salt. In the fourth year of Yuanshou during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (119 BC), Yandu County was established because of salt. Now it has a history of more than 2,100 years. Yandu District originated from the ancient Yancheng County. In 1983, Yancheng County was renamed the Yancheng Surburb. In 1996, Yandu County was established. In 2004, Yandu County was renamed Yandu District.

Culture is the root and soul of a city. Yandu is a historical city with age-old cultural heritage. Chen Lin, one of the "Seven Scholars of the Jian'an", Zhu Sheng, a founding minister of the Ming Dynasty, and Zheng Banqiao, a representative of the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou", left moving legends in Yandu. The Lixiahe reaches' culture, formed in the thousands of years, has also nurtured a dazzling array of outstanding talents such as Song Cao, a great calligrapher in the early Qing Dynasty, Hu Qiaomu, the "first policy writer of the CPC Central Committee," and Cao Wenxuan, winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award. In addition, this is also a glorious city with rich revolution traditions. Liu Shaoqi, Chen Yi and other revolutionaries of older generation left their glorious footprints here. To this day, more than 80 revolutionary relic sites and 22 martyr towns and villages on the land of Yandu are shining brightly, leaving the revolutionary tradition to the people of Yandu.

Known as the "Hometown of Chinese Opera", Yandu has hosted the "National Excellent Rural Opera Program Exchange and Exhibition" event for many years. Yandu's Huai Opera has repeatedly won major awards such as the "Five One Project" Award of the CPPCC Publicity Department, the "Wenhua" Award of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the "Meihua Award" of Chinese Drama. The intangible cultural heritage represented by paper-cutting, tiger shoes, clay sculptures, and Lianxiang Stick Dance is rich and colorful, with great local characteristics and appreciative value.

Yandu upholds integrity and builds consensus, while cultivating virtue and leading the trend. Yandu insists on improving its soft power through cultural development. By actively integrating into the creation of a national historical and cultural city, Yandu creates a cultural business card with distinctiveness and explores the connotation of Lixiahe water town culture, folk culture, Huai opera culture, and red revolutionary culture. By implementing cultural benefit projects for the people, Yandu creates more high-quality literary and artistic works, advancing high-quality cultural resources to reach the grassroots level. To further the creation of civilization, Yandu vigorously practices the core socialist values, widely selects moral models, good people around us, as well as other advanced models,cultivating more "most beautiful Yandu people" in all walks of life.

Happy Yandu: A Place Suitable for Living, Working and Benefiting People’s Livelihood

Investment in people's livelihood continues to increase, with reforms in people's livelihood issues being deepened. The CPC Yandu District Committee and District Government have always adhered to the people-centered development philosophy, and have remained committed to safeguarding and improving people's livelihoods. They have worked one term after another and finished one task after another. The people's sense of gain, happiness, and security has been continuously enhanced, and the process of building a comprehensive, moderately prosperous society has been continuously accelerated. There is excellent education for students, good doctors for the sick, nursing homes for the elderly, and livable housing for those who settle here. The "Yandu temperature" that can be shared, felt, and gained has become a new dimension of urban development.

Yandu has always regarded the "key small things" of the people as "top priorities" and completed 77 people's livelihood projects with high satisfaction last year. The per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents increased by 4.7% and 6.5%, respectively. The reform of Nanjing Normal University Yancheng Senior High School from a private one to a public-run one was successfully completed. The High-tech Zone Hospital of the Yancheng No.3 Hospital was officially put into operation. The reform of the social governance system was steadily advancing, with the full-chain rectification of key areas of work safety carried out in depth.

Yandu ranks among the top in Yancheng in terms of the high-quality and balanced development of compulsory education. Yandu ranks first in the city in terms of per capita area of sports facilities. Two new schools with national-level campus football demonstrations have been added. The "ten networks" of Yandu's digital close-knit medical community have been basically completed. The country's first district-level cancer prevention and control center and district chronic disease medical and prevention integration management center have been established. Yandu has been approved as a national chronic progressive liver disease prevention and control demonstration zone and a pilot county (district) for the disease control supervisor system in medical institutions in Jiangsu Province. Grid-based social governance has ranked first in the city and among the best in the province for five consecutive years. The satisfaction rate of "12345" provincial and municipal work orders has increased for three consecutive years. The satisfaction rate of cracking down on gangsters and the comprehensive satisfaction rate of rule of law are both ranked first in Yancheng.

By focusing on the construction of an all-age-friendly city, Yandu coordinates the implementation of 96 key urban construction projects and 10 urban renewal projects. The city’s first improved residential demonstration project, “Liuyuan”, was sold out as soon as it was opened. The Yandu section of the Fuli Expressway was completed and put into operation. Yandu was rated as a national demonstration county for urban and rural transportation integration. Yandu insists on the linkage of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries, interaction between industry, academia, and research, and integration of breeding, production, and promotion, and creates "one park, two belts, and four bases" at a high level. It was rated as Jiangsu's cultivated land protection incentive zone and was selected into the province's first batch of livable, business-friendly, and beautiful rural area construction lists. The East China Agricultural and Sideline Products Trading Center was selected as a provincial agricultural and rural major project construction demonstration project, the only one of its kind in the city.

编辑：刘志红 赵新立 王心怡