The city of Xinghua in East China's Jiangsu province is striving to build itself into a new hub of the food industry.
The proportion of Xinghua's water area is as high as 26 percent, giving birth to nine national geographical indication products such as Xinghua rice and Xinghua hairy crab.
With one of China's strongest food industries, Xinghua's health food output generated by enterprises above a designated size exceeded 30 billion yuan ($4.21 billion) in 2024.
The Xinghua Economic Development Zone. [Photo/WeChat account: tzfabu]
The Xinghua Economic Development Zone is the city's main area for the production of health food. The zone has formulated a plan to develop an 8-square-kilometer seasoning industry cluster, equipped with modern standard factories of 1 million square meters.
The city has planned three advantageous agglomeration areas to promote the continuous expansion of industrial scale and improvement of quality. The Xinghua EDZ focuses on developing health food, Xingdong town and Duotian sub-district mainly produce dehydrated fruits and vegetables, while Daiyao town highlights rice processing.
A food production line in Xinghua. [Photo/WeChat account: tzfabu]
Relying on abundant agricultural resources and advanced freeze-drying technology, Xinghua has built a complete industrial chain from planting to sales. In 2024, the city's sales revenue of the dehydrated vegetable industry reached 5.3 billion yuan, accounting for over 42 percent of the nation's total.
Comprehensive services have also enhanced the confidence of local enterprises in future development. Li Jianguo, general manager of Wudeli Group Xinghua Flour, praised Xinghua EDZ's high-quality services.
The local enterprise service bureau has proactively provided on-site guidance for the construction of a photovoltaic energy storage power station, reducing energy costs for the company.
Xinghua's excellent business environment has also attracted many second-phase and new projects.