Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station [Photo provided to en.shhqcbd.gov.cn]
The latest statistics indicate that the research and development investment in the Yangtze River Delta region has surpassed the national average by nearly 30 percent, and the region has 71.18 R&D staff per 10,000 people, nearly twice the country's average.
The remarkable achievements can be attributed to the significant advancements in resource sharing. The Yangtze River Delta Scientific and Technological Resource Sharing Service Platform, established in 2019, has successfully brought together an impressive array of resources. With over 40,000 units of large scientific instruments, 22 scientific apparatus, 2,377 service institutions, and 3180 scientific research bases, the platform has played an essential role in optimizing the allocation efficiency of regional scientific, technological, and innovation resources.
In the transportation sector, the total operating mileage of high-speed railways in the region exceeded 6,700 kilometers in 2022, accounting for nearly 16 percent of the country's total. Intercity travel between major cities such as Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hangzhou takes less than one hour and a half.
Twenty-three of the 41 cities in the YRD region have airports, while another nine are planned or under construction.
A world-class port cluster with Shanghai and Zhoushan ports as the core is taking shape. The region's container throughput in 2022 accounted for about 38 percent of the country's total.
Ten cities in the region have allowed people to take the subway using the same QR code ticket, and 41 cities have networked 140 of their administrative items, including identification cards, driving licenses, and more.
The cross-city and cross-provincial reimbursement of medical bills is available at over 15,000 medical institutions in 41 cities, benefiting more than 13 million people.
