Taicang, a port city in East China's Jiangsu province, hosted its first international entrepreneurship contest on July 9 in an attempt to draw high-caliber professionals from across the world.

Organized by the Taicang government and Taicang talent office, the event consisted of initially three overseas divisions in the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom as well as a domestic division where the preliminary contest was held.

The 2018 Taicang Global Entrepreneurship Contest attracted a number of professionals from all over the world to showcase their innovative projects in the fields of high-end equipment manufacturing, new materials, biomedicine, new generation information technology, energy conservation and environmental protection.

After fierce competition, 24 elite teams won the chance to compete in Taicang on July 9 in the final session. After much deliberation from the judges, the first prize was awarded to Yang Tao for his work the "All-solid-state and high-energy-density energy storage battery project."

The winner will enjoy a series of preferential policies including office rent exemptions, financing matching services and startup subsidies of 500,000 yuan ($78,125).

In recent years, Taicang has rolled out a series of preferential policies and made great efforts to promote its innovative startup environment to attract more workers and high-end projects. To date, the city has attracted over 160,000 professionals in various sectors thanks to the measures.

The final round of 2018 Taicang Global Entrepreneurship Contest is held on July 9 at the Sheraton Hotel in of Taicang , in East China's Jiangsu province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]