Part of the city’s modern highway network.[Photo by Zhang Xiaofeng for China Daily]

I’d like to express my warmest congratulations on the launch of the special English version of the Nantong Report to be co-published by China Daily and Nantong Daily.

Listed as a national historical and cultural city, Nantong was among the first 14 Chinese coastal cities that opened to the outside world.

For centuries, residents have enclosed tidelands for cultivation and produced salt from seawater, gradually turning the previous wastelands into a place of rich productivity.

Zhang Jian (also known as Chang Chien, 1853-1926), who pioneered modernization in China, established the nation’s first normal college in Nantong.

He also attempted a dozen other unprecedented initiatives, including the development of Nantong according to advanced ideas of modern urban planning, winning Nantong the name of “the first modern city in China”.

Nantong is conveniently linked to major rivers and the ocean. It is also close to major cities such as Shanghai. Located at the point where southern and northern China meet, the city is also a tourist attraction with rich local characteristics.

Since the opening-up of China, especially since the beginning of the new century, Nantong people have been turning their ambitious dreams into reality by grasping opportunities and through constant innovation.

Famous for its textiles, construction, education, sports, longevity, cultural relics and new-generation emigrants, Nantong — inspired by the city’s spirit of inclusiveness, openness and pioneering — is bursting with vitality today.

A place where modernity and history exist together, and the beauties of sea, river and other landscapes come into focus, Nantong is rising fast and taking on a brand new look.

It has attracted a large number of foreigners to work, study or settle down. They have become a common sight on the city’s streets or in residential communities.

In 2013, nearly 200,000 foreigners visited Nantong for tourism, business or work. Currently, more than 4,000 expats from more than 20 countries are living in the city.

We hope that with the help of China Daily, an authoritative platform for international communications, the Nantong Report can become an important window for foreigners to understand the city.

It will show the rich history and notable economic achievements of Nantong as a national historical and cultural city. It should also fully demonstrate the spirit of the open, pioneering and hardworking Nantong people.

The Nantong Report will comprehensively introduce the city’s advantages in resources and transportation, its good environment for business, industries and living, as well as the city itself as a booming national-level platform for opening-up and development.

It will further unite local residents and all those who are connected to Nantong, and encourage them to work together to support the city’s development.

I truly envision that the collaboration will be a successful example of win-win integration and interaction between State media and regional governments.

The author is Party chief of Nantong.