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Every weekday at 7:12 a.m.,
Si Dong, a 26-year-old resident of Ma'anshan City in east China's Anhui
Province, gets on a high-speed train bound for Nanjing, capital of the
neighboring Jiangsu Province. In 18 minutes, he arrives there to start
the day's work. "There are many
passengers like me, who commute between the two cities by high-speed
rail in the morning and evening," said Si. "Both the frequent runs and
the about 20-minute ride make it as convenient as the subway." Si's
experience is echoed by Zhang Xiaochen, a Shanghai citizen who works as
a business manager in a company based in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. She
often needs to travel among cities along the Yangtze River Delta to
negotiate business deals. Last year,
China unveiled an outline for the regional integrated development of the
Yangtze River Delta, which is one of the country's most economically
active, open and innovative regions, and produces about one-fourth of
the country's GDP. Local governments have rolled out a raft of measures
to enhance cooperation and communication in the region. The
358,000-square km expanse, about the size of Germany, encompasses the
provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, and Shanghai Municipality. With
the continuously deepening integration of the Yangtze River Delta,
people there are experiencing lifestyle changes brought about by the
national strategy. "I often have
meetings in Shanghai in the morning and rush to Nanjing in the
afternoon. It is very efficient," said Zhang, who lives only 20-plus
minutes away from the Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station. Infrastructure
connectivity represented by improvement in railway density makes it
possible for people to live and work in different cities in the region. According
to plans, in 2020, more than 10 railway projects in the Yangtze River
Delta will open or start construction. The entire region's annual
railway investment is planned to exceed 80 billion yuan (about 11.73
billion U.S. dollars), accounting for nearly one-sixth of the national
total. Meanwhile, passengers can take
the subway in 10 cities in the region, including Shanghai, Nanjing,
Hangzhou, Hefei, Suzhou and Ningbo, by scanning the QR codes on their
local apps. "The dense transportation
network accelerates the integration of two places. With the opening of
roads, the cultural exchanges will be closer, administrative exchanges
smoother, and economic and trade exchanges more active," said Teng Qing,
deputy director of the development and reform commission of Ma'anshan
City. In addition, public services
such as medical care, social security, talent support and cultural
tourism are being improved in the region. Chen
Ju lives in Taozhuang Township of Jiashan County, Zhejiang Province,
which is close to Lili Township, Jiangsu Province. It takes Chen at
least 50 minutes to drive to the hospital in Jiashan, but only 20
minutes to the one in Lili, which is a better choice for her. "Before,
we had to pay for inter-provincial medical treatment in advance and
then return to the local medical insurance institution with the invoice
for reimbursement," said Chen. "After the integration, we can settle the
medical expenses directly at the outpatient clinic in other place in
the region, which saves us a lot of legwork." Data
from the National Healthcare Security Administration showed that by the
end of April, the direct settlement service for inter-provincial
outpatient medical expenses covered 41 cities in the Yangtze River
Delta, with a total settlement involving more than 1 million people and
240 million yuan.
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