In the history of modern China, Nantong set records as a kind of “city of firsts”. The new nation’s first museum, first textile school, first embroidery school, first drama school, and the first Chinese-run school for the blind and non verbal; all were established in Nantong.

在近代中国历史上，南通作为一种“第一城市”创造了记录。 新国家第一所博物馆、第一所纺织学校、第一所刺绣学校、第一所戏剧学校，以及第一所中国经营的盲人和非语言学校；都建立在南通。

Such made it in many ways the birthplace of China’s modern industry. Indeed, Nantong came to be regarded as producing some of the finest cotton in the entire country, attracting traders from as far as Guangzhou and even other countries. A reputation forged then as an area of textile-industry excellence still stands today.

在许多方面，这使它成为中国现代工业的发源地。 事实上，南通被认为是全国最好的棉花，吸引了来自广州甚至其他国家的贸易商。 当时作为纺织业卓越领域的声誉至今仍然存在。

Illustrative of the city’s cultural, industrial and economic development is the Nantong Museum, founded by illustrious local, Zhang Jian. Regarded as the Number One Scholar of the Imperial Exam in the late Qing Dynasty, Zhang was a well-known modern Chinese educator, entrepreneur, social activist and industrialist, who played a fundamental role in reconstruction efforts after the Second Sino-Japanese War.

由当地杰出的张健创立的南通博物馆说明了这座城市的文化、工业和经济发展。 张是清朝晚期帝国考试的第一学者，是一位著名的现代中国教育家、企业家、社会活动家和实业家，在第二次中日战争后的重建工作中发挥了根本作用。

More up to date, in 2014, Nantong was awarded a global first; “World Longevity City”, by the International Natural Medicine Association and the World Longevity Township Certification Committee. In particular, the award was referencing the city of Rugao, which falls under Nantong’s jurisdiction. There, with its total population of 1.2 million, one will find over 500 centenarians.

更新的是，2014年，南通被国际天然医学协会和世界长寿乡镇认证委员会授予全球第一奖；“世界长寿城”。 特别是，该奖项指的是属南通管辖的如高市。 在那里，总人口为120万，将有500多名百夫老人。

Many put such longevity down to the local climate. Jiangsu Provincial records note that Rugao is “mild and humid, without intense heat and most suitable for human survival and animal reproduction”.

许多人把这种长寿归结为当地的气候。 江苏省的记录指出，如高“温和潮湿，没有强烈的热量，最适合人类生存和动物繁殖”。

This century has also seen Nantong boast some impressive economic-development data; a growth in GDP of 15.4 percent in 2005, the highest among the 13 cities of Jiangsu Province. That’s helped boost Nantong’s overall GDP to become the highest of all cities in Jiangsu which lie north of the Yangtze River; some ¥1.103 trillion in 2021. The average Nantongnian brings home ¥11,883 each month, again the highest north of the River.

本世纪南通也拥有一些令人印象深刻的经济发展数据；2005年国内生产总值增长15.4%，是江苏省13个城市中最高的。 这有助于推动南通的整体国内生产总值，成为位于长江以北的江苏所有城市中最高的城市；2021年约为1.103万亿元。 南通人平均每月收入11,883元，也是江北最高的。

This has all been in part down to the previous century of dynamism as the first place in China to be developed into a modern city after the Qing dynasty collapse. More recent roles are also being played by developments such as the opening of the Shanghai-Suzhou-Nantong Yangtze River Bridge in 2020, bringing great benefit to Rugao and the Nantong area in terms of interconnectivity with other cities across the Yangtze River Delta, and slashing journey times to Shanghai from 3 hours to 1 hour.

这一切都部分归功于上个世纪的活力，作为清朝垮台后中国第一个发展成为现代城市的地方。 2020年上海-苏州-南通长江大桥开通等发展也发挥了最近的作用，在与长三角其他城市的互联互通方面为如高和南通地区带来巨大好处，并将前往上海的旅行时间从3小时缩短到1小时。

Nantong’s links with its big neighbouring municipality are next set to go into overdrive, with the enormous project that is Nantong New Airport, intended in part as a third airport for Shanghai. Located in Tongzhou District, some ten times bigger than the Nantong’ existing airport and bigger than Shanghai Hongqiao, the new facility shall have an initial capacity for 40 million passengers per year. A 2027 opening is predicted.

南通与邻近的大城市的联系接下来将加速，南通新机场是一个巨大的项目，部分打算作为上海的第三个机场。 该新设施位于通州区，比南通现有机场大约十倍，比上海虹桥大，初始容量为每年4000万名乘客。 预计2027年开幕。

Being on the Yangtze in a strategic location in the River’s estuary, shipping has also long been a staple of Nantong. Today, it has forged a reputation for the construction of low or zero-emission ships, while shipping conglomerate, Cosco, maintains a large port and ship repair yard with over a kilometre of berthing facilities along a strip of Nantong’s riverfront. 

航运位于长江口的战略位置，长期以来，航运也是南通的主食。 如今，它因建造低排放或零排放船舶而享有盛誉，而航运集团Cosco则拥有一个大型港口和船舶维修场，沿南通河岸地带拥有超过一公里的泊位设施。

Nantong is 2.5 hours by high-speed train from Nanjing and less than 1.5 hours from Shanghai. The city is also presently served by Nantong Xingdong International Airport.

南通从南京乘坐高铁需要2.5小时，从上海乘坐不到1.5小时。 该市目前也由南通兴东国际机场提供服务。