On June 27, 2015, the State Council officially approved the establishment of the Nanjing Jiangbei New Area, which is located in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

With a planning area of 788 square kilometers, it covers Pukou district, Luhe district and Baguazhou sub-district of Qixia district. It encompasses a group of industrial parks such as Nanjing New and High Technology Industry Development Zone, Nanjing Cross-Strait Technology Industry Park, Nanjing Chemical Industrial Park, and two ports along with Yangtze River, namely Xiba and Qiba.

As of 2014, Nanjing Jiangbei New Area had a population of 1.3 million, with its GDP reaching 143.5 billion yuan and budgetary revenues running at 16.3 billion yuan. The Area is aimed at pushing forward the development of the Yangtze River Delta region, thus creating a new growth engine in China’s east coast regions.

Nanjing Jiangbei New Area offers several advantages for development:

Advantageous location

Nanjing Jiangbei New Area is situated at the intersection of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the eastern coastal economic zone, linking core areas of the Yangtze River Delta Megalopolis in the east and the Wanjiang City Belt (consisting of nine cities along the Yangtze River in Anhui province) and other cities along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in the west.

Golden waterway of the Yangtze River and the Beijing-Shanghai Railway both go through Nanjing Jiangbei New Area. The area positively and strongly impacts on the economic development of the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

Long history and rich culture

Tong-eup (Luhe district today), one of the earliest cities ever appeared in China, first emerged here during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (771BC-221BC) more than 2,500 years ago.

In 1919, the construction of the Pukou Railway Station was listed as a priority in the Industrial Project Plan by Sun Yat-sen.

Well-preserved Luhe Confucious Temple, well-known classic song Jasmine and the legend related to Monk Ta-mo, who crossed a river by driving a reed over it, all reflect the profound cultural richness of Nanjing Jiangbei New Area.

Abundant innovative resources

Nanjing is the only State-level pilot city in science and technological comprehensive reform in China. It has 53 higher education institutions, more than 600 scientific institutions at the provincial level or above, more than 700,000 college and university students, 79 academicians at two academies (Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering) and 185 experts from the ‘Recruitment Program of Global Experts’, averaging 25 patents and more than 980 university students for every 10,000 people.

Nanjing Jiangbei New Area now has more than 50 scientific and technological innovation platforms as well as engineering and technology centers, with more than 100 high-tech enterprises and research and development institutions being based there.

Solid industrial foundation

Nanjing Jiangbei New Area is the chemical industry cradle in modern China. In 1937, China’s first chemical fertilizer was produced in a factory owned by Fan Xudong, the “father of Chinese chemical industry”. The area now has five State-level and provincial industrial parks. The gross industrial output exceeded 380 billion yuan in 2014. Strategic emerging industries are growing rapidly including the IT industry, high-end equipment manufacturing industry, and bio- pharmaceutical industry. The high-end equipment manufacturing industry, including the field of satellite applications and rail traffic, grows at an average annual rate of about 20 percent over the past three years. Traditional industries such as the chemical and steel industries are accelerating their paces of structural adjustment. Modern service industry, including shipping, logistics, R&D, design and creative industries grow at an average annual rate of more than 20 percent.

Perfect infrastructure

Nanjing possesses superb port and airport facilities, as well as a superb highway network. With the opening of the 12.5-meter deep-water channel, cargo ships of 50,000 tons can enter Nanjing waters directly while those of 100,000 tons can approach when the water level rises.

An abundance of bridges, subways and tunnels connect the north and the south areas of the Yangtze River. A fast viaduct network, including expressway, railway, inter-city highway and light rail connect Nanjing with Shanghai, Anhui and Zhejiang.

Strong environmental capacity

Nanjing Jiangbei New Area has a 94-km long river bank line, a 16-km scenic belt along the riverside and Laoshan National Forest Park with lakes, wetlands and great ecological environment. The ratio of days that the air quality was above the national level-2 has exceeded 60 percent over the past three years. Available water resources exceed 800 cubic meters per capita. Its State-level and provincial development zones cover an area of 140 square kilometers, with a green overlay rate of 40 percent in built-up areas.

Development orientation

In line with the national strategic orientation, Nanjing Jiangbei New Area aims to become a hub for innovation, a demonstration area for new-type urbanization, a cluster of modern industries in the Yangtze River Delta region and a major platform for opening-up and cooperation in the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

An area leading in innovation

The new area achieves a leading role among the innovative demonstration areas of south Jiangsu province by promoting the integration of industries, the innovative work and the construction of a pioneering new district.

A demonstration area for new-type urbanization

The new area boosts the urbanization of farmers and other permanent residents, and guarantees their rights to enjoy basic public services.

It promotes the new-type urban system as well as an innovative investment and financing system, while trying to build up a green, advanced and civilized neighborhood.

Hub for modern industries

The area speeds up economic transformation and promotes industrial adjustment. It encourages and supports strategic emerging industries and modern service industries and upgrades traditional industries by high technology and moves toward new industries. The area is set to become a cluster of modern industries in the Yangtze River Delta region.

A major platform for opening-up and cooperation

Following the Belt and Road Initiative and taking advantage of its geo-strategic and geo-economic position, the new area strengthens the linkage between ports across the Yangtze River Economic Belt, accelerates the construction of shipping logistic center and promotes cooperation between cities in the Yangtze River Delta region and those along the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

Short-term target

The overall plan underlines that the new area aims to have a strong and comprehensive competitiveness by 2025, with the development of new-type urbanization and innovation. The average annual growth rate of GDP in this area will obvious surpass that of Nanjing. The R & D input will account for more than 4 percent of the GDP. The output value of strategic emerging industries grows at an average annual rate of more than 20 percent. The urbanization rate will reach 80 percent.

Spatial distribution

According to the overall plan, the new area also aims to coordinate the spatial development of industry, living and ecology and form a regional distribution featuring ‘one belt, six zones and three corridors’. One ‘belt’ refers to the area along the River including Pukou, Gaoxin-Dachang and Xiongzhou, which aims to develop into a modern business district oriented towards the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the Wanjiang City Belt and the cities along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

Six ‘zones’ involve industrial clusters, including Nanjing New and High Technology Industry Zone for software, information technology service and bio-pharmaceutical, Nanjing Chemical Industrial Park for fine chemistry and new material, Pukou and Luhe economic development zones for intelligent manufacturing, Nanjing Cross-Strait Technology Industry Park for integrated circuit design and cultural creative industry and the old town of Pukou for modern service industry.

Three ‘corridors’ aim at ecological protection, which includes Mount Laoshan – Mount Tingzishan – the Yangtze River, the Chuhe River – greenbelt of Dachang – Baguazhou, and Mount Fangshan – Mount Lingyanshan – Baguazhou. The protection will focus on preserving clean air, water and ecological green space of the city.