Staff members of China Telecom check the 5G signal in a village in Zhangjiagang. [Photo/zjgonline.com.cn]

The digital village construction of Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province has been included in the Digital Village Construction Guide compiled by the central government, local media reported on Sept 6.

As a national digital village pilot area, Zhangjiagang has been striving to bridge the "digital divide" between urban and rural areas.

The download speed of fixed broadband network of 98 percent of the rural households in Zhangjiagang has reached 50 Mbit/s. By the end of 2021, more than 90 percent of the administrative villages in the city will have 5G coverage.

Zhangjiagang has also established an internet of things platform to monitor local pollution source companies, surface water stations, water level monitoring points, as well as meteorological stations.

In terms of the digital transformation of rural industries, the city has been promoting the integration of modern information technologies such as IoT, big data and artificial intelligence with the planting, animal husbandry and fishing industries.

Zhangjiagang currently has 50 agricultural IoT application bases. In the first half of the year, the e-commerce trading volume of Zhangjiagang's agriculture industry amounted to 847 million yuan ($131.07 million).

The agricultural IoT application base in Zhangjiagang. [Photo/zjgonline.com.cn]

Zhagjiagang's digital reform also extends to medical care, senior residents' care, cultural service, and administrative procedures. For example, it has established an authoritative knowledge base for 145 diseases, launched a WeChat application to facilitate home-based care for senior residents, as well as built online cultural platforms and a social management platform.