The Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone is also known as the China Speech Valley and Quantum Center. [Photo/xuexi.cn]

Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone in Hefei, capital of East China's Anhui province, reported strong economic performance in the first quarter.

In the first three months, the zone's GDP increased by 7.5 percent year-on-year and the growth rate was 2.7, 2.3, and 2.2 percentage points higher than that of the country, the province, and the city, respectively.

The consumer market in the zone also experienced steady growth as the zone's retail sales of consumer goods during the period grew by 8 percent year-on-year, ranking first in the city.

A night view of the Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone. [Photo/xuexi.cn]

The general public budget revenue of the zone reached 1.59 billion yuan ($236.6 million), growing 31.5 percent year-on-year, ranking first among development zones in the city.

Among key industries in the zone, the biomedicine, new energy and intergraded circuit industries maintained rapid growth as major enterprises in the industries reported a surge in their output value.