The city of Nantong was awarded the honorary title of national forest city by the State Forestry and Grassland Bureau. 27 cities across the country were awarded the honor. Nantong becomes the latest Jiangsu city on the list following Wuxi, Yangzhou, Nanjing, Xuzhou, Zhenjiang and Changzhou. Since 2016, Nantong has taken the lead in the province to include the "forest cover rate" and "natural wetland protection rate" in the audit of resources and environmental responsibility of the main leadership of the local party and government. In the past three years, the city has added a total of 314,000 mu of forest areas. The city's per capita park and green area is 18.67 square meters, continuing to lead the province.
