Jiangsu is a leading production centre for gifts and premiums, with an array of quality brands and products that are both sought-after on the international market.

Jiangsu Province, also known as “Su”, is located on the east coast of China and is a key member of the Yangtze River Delta region. With a total area of 107,200 square kilometres, the province administers 13 prefecture-level cities, namely Nanjing, Wuxi, Xuzhou, Changzhou, Suzhou, Nantong, Lianyungang, Huai’an, Yancheng, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Taizhou and Suqian. As of the end of 2021, Jiangsu registered a permanent population of 85.05 million. Its GDP in 2021 was RMB11trn, an 8.6-per-cent increase over the previous year, while the disposable income per capita grew by 9.5 per cent to RMB47,498.

A developed economy and a place of prosperity

Jiangsu, Shanghai and Zhejiang form the Yangtze River Delta urban cluster, which is one of six largest urban agglomerations in the world. Jiangsu’s GDP per capita and development and life index (DLI) both rank first in China, making it one of the provinces with the highest comprehensive development level in the country. Situated at the heart of the Yangtze River Delta, Jiangsu has been a place of prosperity since ancient times. It is the only province where all of its prefecture-level administrative regions are among the top 100 in China. Among the top 100 counties in the country, the top four are all located in Jiangsu. Moreover, three Jiangsu cities have a GDP that exceeds RMB1trn. Jiangsu has an open economy that is well developed. In 2021, it recorded a total import and export value of RMB5,213.06bn, an increase of 17.1 per cent over the previous year.

An advantageous location with an efficient and convenient transportation network

Located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and Huai River, Jiangsu borders the Yellow Sea in the east, Shandong in the north, Anhui in the west, and Shanghai and Zhejiang in the southeast. Jiangsu has 161,000km of motorways, over 5,000km of expressways and 2,215km of high-speed rails. The Beijing–Shanghai Railway and the Lanzhou–Lianyungang Railway, two of the main railways of China, pass through the province. The Nanjing–Shanghai section of the Beijing–Shanghai Railway is one of the busiest railways in the country.

Jiangsu has a dense water network of lakes and rivers and is the only province in the country to have access to long and large rivers, lakes and seas. There are 426km of the Yangtze River passing horizontally through Jiangsu and 718km of the Grand Canal cutting vertically through the province. It has more than 20,000 waterways that are above the township level and about 2,000 of the county level, 723 of which are listed as its main waterways. Jiangsu ranks first in the country in terms of comprehensive port capacity (2.36 billion tons), the number of berths with over 10,000-ton capacity (529) and the number of 200-million-ton ports (seven). In 2021, Jiangsu realised 500 million tons of foreign trade throughput and handled 7.86 million TEUs of foreign trade. Meanwhile, Jiangsu’s capability as an aviation hub has also been enhanced, as all of its nine civilian airports are classified as first-class ports. In 2021, Jiangsu airports’ cargo and mail throughputs were 653,000 tons.

A cradle of prominent figures

With the Yangtze River and Huai River running through it, Jiangsu has a multitude of cultures and terrains and is one of the birthplaces of ancient Chinese civilisation. It’s no wonder that numerous educators, painters, writers, scientists and economists have hailed from the province.

Spectacular scenery contributes to booming tourism

Jiangsu has a long history and a high concentration of gardens, historic sites and scenic spots. A number of Jiangsu cities has been listed as China’s historic and cultural cities, including Nanjing, which is famous for its majestic and impressive terrains; Suzhou, which is affectionately called “paradise”; Yangzhou, which is the capital east of the Huai River; as well as Zhenjiang, Huai’an, Xuzhou and Changshu.

The province is also rich in historic and cultural monuments. The Stone City (the site of an ancient fortified city) and the mausoleums of the Hongwu Emperor (founder of the Ming Dynasty) and Sun Yat-sen (founder of the Republic of China) are in Nanjing. Xuzhou is famous for the terracotta warriors and horses from the Han Dynasty and the stone stelae inscribed with lyrics composed by Liu Bang, first emperor of the dynasty. Changzhou is home to the Tianning Temple. Suzhou’s historic spots include the Tiger Hill Pagoda, Hanshan Temple and the ancient Grand Canal, the latter of which is as spectacular as the Great Wall.

Renowned as a province of water, Jiangsu is blessed with many picturesque lakes (including Lake Taiwu and Lake Xuanwu) and magnificent mountains (including Zhongshan, Yuntaishan, Huishan and Jinshan). These natural resources have provided a solid foundation for the province to create world-famous garden cities, such as Suzhou, Yangzhou and Zhenjiang.

Competitive edge of the gifts and premium industry

Jiangsu is a leading production centre for gifts and premiums, with a large number of enterprises and brands based in almost every corner of the province to offer a wide range of product categories and quality items. Different cities and regions of the province specialise in different products.

• Nanjing’s gift and premium enterprises are highly export oriented, many of which are experienced in the business of foreign trade. Their offerings include clothing, accessories and toys.
• Vacuum cleaners, projectors and audio-visual equipment are some of the small household appliances from Suzhou that are perfect as gifts and premiums. Local brands including Ecovacs and Tineco are popular on the market.
• Wuxi is good at producing ceramics and stationery. The city’s Yixing clay teapot is a national geographical indication product.
• Changzhou exports outdoor activities products and gardening tools, which are firm favourites of the gift and premium market.
• Nantong is well known for manufacturing sporting goods. Its small fitness products and sports balls cater to the trend of personalised and lifestyle-oriented gifts.
• Yangzhou offers a whole host of plush toys and personal care products. The Hanjiang District is praised as “China’s capital of plush toys”. Hangji Town of the Guangling District is named “China’s capital of hotel amenities”.
• The glass handicrafts from Yancheng sell well at home and abroad. Yilin Town of Funing County, one of the counties of Yancheng, has the highest output of glass handicrafts. The town is also famous for the wholesale of glass handicrafts.
• Known as “the world’s capital of crystals”, Donghai County of Lianyungang is an international distribution centre for crystal raw materials and an important distribution hub for the global crystal trade.
• Towels from Huai’an, festive supplies from Taizhou and many other gifts and premiums from Jiangsu Province are all highly reputed on the international market.