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Quzhou on track to boost development as node city

chinadaily.com.cn| Updated: January 14, 2021 L M S

The dynamic city of Quzhou – located in East China's Zhejiang province – is well on its way to developing as a major node city, or centralized hub for the region, according to local officials.

The prefecture-level city in the west of Zhejiang province, in the upper reaches of the Qiantang River, has long been known as a thoroughfare between the provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi and Anhui. Surrounded by mountains, Quzhou looks like a spindle, with a river passing through the city. Locals say it is blessed with beautiful mountains and rivers.

The city has made strong achievements in its economic and social development over the past five years and has achieved the major goals it set for the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20).

As of Sept 30, 2020, the registered migrant population of Quzhou was 292,600, an increase of 68,000 compared with the same period in the previous year. That 30.3 percent increase ranked it first among all the cities in Zhejiang province.

"Node cities like Quzhou have to jump out of the traditional urban development mode, unswervingly gathering talent," said one official.

Upgrade of talent

Hu Jinfeng, dean of the Yangtze River Delta Research Institute at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, whose office is located in the Quzhou Epoch Innovation Building, is confident about the city's future. Hu said that Quzhou boasted an unusual development pattern, not only because of its impressive natural environment, but also because of its business environment and policy environment.

The institute has gathered 67 teachers with senior professional titles, 110 postdoctoral students and 12 postdoctoral scholars. Those who acquire talent will have the future, experts say. For Quzhou, the arrival of these topflight people has had obvious significance.

Upgrade of the city

The 2020 Melodious Quzhou Grassland Concert was held in the city last October. The stage was an urban lawn covering nearly 100,000 square meters, making it the largest single artificial lawn in Zhejiang. It is located in the center of Quzhou and is on the west bank of the Qujiang River, being proudly known as the Western Zhejiang Grassland by residents.

The lawn area was originally planned as an adornment for skyscrapers. But its role changed when Quzhou moved from its high-intensity development model of the land -- leaving the location more spaced out, in the process retaining the precious open area and waterfront space for the locals.

Officials say the city is continuing its upgrade, though. They said that a large number of top projects were accelerating their plans to settle in Quzhou last year.

A CRJ-900NG plane from Chongqing landed at Quzhou Airport on the morning of Dec 16, 2020. On that same morning, Quzhou Aviation Co Ltd was officially inaugurated.

In 2020, Quzhou signed a cooperation agreement with Zall Holding Co Ltd in Wuhan, with a total investment of about 30 billion yuan ($4.6 billion).

Officials say the cross-border e-commerce sector of the city has been growing exponentially over the past few years.