A high-speed train at Nanjing Railway Station.
Over the past year, Jiangsu has promoted the coordinated growth in local levels as a means to boost the overall integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region, which has been upgraded as a national strategy.
Main works in Lianyungang for the Lianyungang-Huai’an-Yangzhou-Zhenjiang railway were recently completed, laying a foundation for the opening of the Lianyungang-Huai’an section before the end of this year. When the railway is fully open, Lianyungang will have a quick railway access to metropolises like Nanjing and Shanghai.
A series of transportation plans in Jiangsu have been approved, and construction of the new high-speed railway along the southern bank of the Yangtze River has started. Building of the railway in the north of the Yangtze River will commence this year. Efforts have been made to accelerate the construction of railways such as the Nanjing-Huai’an line, while the high-speed railway network in northern Jiangsu will quickly take shape as Xuzhou-Suqian-Huai’an-Yancheng and Lianyungang-Huai’an-Yangzhou-Zhenjiang railways will be put into operation next year. Eight cross-river passages, such as the Shanghai-Nantong Yangtze River Bridge and Nanjing Yangtze River 5th Bridge, are under construction, which has facilitated the integrated development of southern and northern areas along the Yangtze River.
To promote the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region, it’s important to let key cities play leading roles. Jiangsu has supported Nanjing, Suzhou and Wuxi to give full play to their advantages. The province’s other initiatives, such as the integrated development in Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou, the joint urbanization drive in Nanjing, Zhenjiang and Yangzhou, and the Wuxi-Changzhou-Taizhou and Shanghai-Suzhou-Nantong city clusters, will inject new momentum of integrated development across the Yangtze River Delta.
Progress has been made in other fields too. A pilot program to promote real-time reimbursement from basic medical insurance across the delta region was launched in last September. In the first half of this year, Jiangsu and Zhejiang will build a city-level network of basic medical insurance. Rail transit is becoming more convenient for people in the region, too. Residents in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou and Hefei can use the app of the local metro system to travel in any of these cities, a classic example of the convenience brought by the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region.
