Auto Valley ranks 11th among China's industrial districts

The Metro Line 16 runs across the river in WHDZ. [Photo provided to en.whkfq.gov.cn]

Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone (WHDZ) in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province, ranked 11th in the 2021 list of China's top 100 industrial districts, according to a report recently issued by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

In addition, WHDZ ranked first among other industrial zones on the list located in Central China and Hubei province.

After eight years of integrated development with Hannan district in industry, city construction, quality of life improvement and ecological construction, WHDZ has transformed large-scale rural areas into a promised land for industrialization. The urbanization development path has been recognized by the National Development and Reform Commission and has been popularized nationwide.

There is a group of 10-billion-yuan ($1.57 billion) industrial projects gathered in Hannan district, including those funded by Lotus, XPeng Motors, CALB and China Special Aircraft Research Institute.

Progress on the Shamao rural construction project has been accelerated, with 11 high-quality relocated communities established, raising the urbanization rate of Hannan district to 86.3 percent, up 22 percentage points.

Major strides have been made in industrial upgrading, and both the economic scale and comprehensive strength of WHDZ have been enhanced. The zone's GDP in 2021 is expected to reach 190 billion yuan, ranking first in Wuhan.

The districts of Dongxihu, Qingshan, Huangpo, and Jiangxia in Wuhan also made the list.