Haimen district, a vital part of Nantong's main urban area, boasts a 61-kilometer coastline along the Yangtze River and a 25-kilometer coastline along the Yellow Sea. Renowned as the "Gateway to the Yangtze River and the Yellow Sea" and "Little-Pudong", the district has a total area of 1,149 square kilometers and nearly 1 million permanent residents. 

It is the hometown of Zhang Jian, a top scholar in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and a well-known industrialist and educator. It is also recognized as a hub for science and technology, education, textiles, construction, safety, and ecological conservation.

Foreign friends pose for a photo during the Sino-French cultural exchanges event in Haimen district, Nantong on April 14. [Photo provided to en.nantong.gov.cn]

Haimen, previously a county-level city, became a district of Nantong in 2020. It is the first county-level city north of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu to meet comprehensive socioeconomic well-being standards, with a GDP exceeding 100 billion yuan ($13.81 billion), and has been awarded the title of "Advanced County (City, District) in Promoting High-Quality Development" by the province.

Haimen reported industrial invoiced sales of 209.57 billion yuan ($28.86 billion) in 2024, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 19 percent. The district added 75 new industrial enterprises above designated size, bringing the total to 950. It also recognized two additional national-level specialized, refined, unique, and innovative "Little Giant" enterprises, certified 347 provincial cloud enterprises, and designated five provincial smart manufacturing demonstration factories.

In 2025, Haimen aims to achieve approximately 6.5 percent GDP growth, secure a general public budget revenue of 8.1 billion yuan, elevate societal R&D investment to around 2.9 percent of GDP, achieve 3 percent growth in fixed asset investment, improve foreign trade and foreign investment utilization, and ensure growth in urban and rural residents' incomes keeps pace with economic performance.