The Dingyan Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Park covers an area of 243.3 hectares. [Photo/WeChat account: rugaofabu]

Dingyan, an industrial town in Rugao, has been intensifying efforts to upgrade its traditional textile and household products sectors and develop its intelligent equipment industry.

Over the past two years, the town's intelligent manufacturing industrial park has attracted 20 major projects, including one receiving 2 billion yuan ($289 million) in investment, two receiving 1 billion yuan, and three receiving 500 million yuan. Five of them completed construction in 2020.

In addition to attracting new industrial projects, the town has also taken measures to help traditional industrial businesses such as MLily, a leading memory-foam manufacturer in China, penetrate into the high-end, environmentally friendly, and intelligent manufacturing sector.

Jiangsu Qichen New Materials Co, which was built and began operating over the course of a single year, serves as a good example for traditional industries looking to transform and upgrade.

According to Xu Chenbing, general manager of the company, five new production lines, each valued at 40 million yuan, will begin operating by the end of December.

"The traditional industrial sector has made significant achievements during the 13th Five Year Plan period," said Chu Kaiping, Party secretary of Dingyan town.

"A total of seven major projects, including two receiving over 1 billion yuan ($144.96 million) in investment, have been completed and started operating since 2016, and a new project valued at 2 billion yuan will start construction next year."