An aerial view of Tongxiang, a county-level city in Jiaxing. [Photo/Tide News]

Wuzhen ancient town, a historic part of Tongxiang in Jiaxing, East China's Zhejiang province, has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past 10 years, evolving alongside the World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit, which will be held this year from Nov 6 to 9.

Over the past decade, Tongxiang has doubled its economic scale, with the city's GDP growing from 65.2 billion yuan ($9.15 billion) in 2015 to 134.7 billion yuan in 2024 and showing an average annual growth rate of 8.4 percent.

A new industrial system integrating new energy and smart electric manufacturing has taken shape, giving the county-level city a complete automotive supply chain. Tongxiang is now home to more than 44,000 private enterprises — an increase of nearly 30,000 from a decade ago — with four of them listed among China's top 500 companies.

Tongxiang has also created new "scenes" of innovation and culture. In August, it hosted three national-level competitions across 11 days, drawing over 100,000 students and parents.

As one of twenty national pilot cities for smart transportation, Tongxiang has introduced smart roads, using real-time traffic monitoring and adaptive signal control to cut average travel time by over 15 percent. Meanwhile, collaborations with major internet companies such as Tencent have brought youth-oriented digital content into Wuzhen's ancient setting, blending traditional culture with contemporary creativity.