Yonglian village in Zhangjiagang, East China's Jiangsu province, witnesses an economic takeoff since the country's reform and opening-up started in the 1980s. [Photo/zjgonline.com.cn]

The county-level city of Zhangjiagang in East China's Jiangsu province has made great efforts to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects, according to a local news report Oct 21.

The city, once a less-developed city, ranked third among China's 100 strongest counties in 2020 after more than 30 years of development, following Kunshan and Jiangyin.

As an example, 50 years ago the city's Yonglian village was once the poorest village in Suzhou. The village has witnessed an economic takeoff since the country's reform and opening-up process started in the 1980s, and eventually became the richest village in Suzhou through the development of its industries.

Statistics show that in 2019, Yonglian was in the top three among more than 600,000 administrative villages across the country in terms of its economy. The sales revenue of the village totaled 75 billion yuan ($11.25 billion) last year, and the per capita annual income of its residents exceeded 58,000 yuan.

The city has also paid much attention to the sustainable development of its economy and environment, pursuing harmonious coexistence between man and nature.

Zhangjiagang has been increasing its efforts to better coordinate environmental conservation along the banks of the Yangtze River, and it has achieved initial success in environmental protection and ecological development over recent years.

Serving as a port along the Yangtze River, Zhangjiagang has striven to take advantage of its location to develop a port-vicinity industry, and it has developed into a visually appealing modern port city.