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There are more than 400 foreigners working and living in the city of Nantong， Jiangsu Province and the number is still growing. At a time when the local citizens are warmly discussing possibilities of the future development of the city， why should we neglect ideas of this group of Nantongers? Thus， from the end of March 2005， the Nantong Foreign Affairs Office has sent out questionnaires， held meetings， etc.， seeking “golden ideas” of foreign residents in Nantong. According to the statistics， more than 120 foreigners from 11 countries including the United States， Japan， Britain， Canada， Australia and the Republic of Korea， have taken part in the activity. On May 13， a grand ceremony was held by the Foreign Affairs Office of the Nantong Municipal People’s Government. Mayor of the city Ding Dawei presented the Award of Ten Best Golden Ideas to eight foreign friends.

Good Investment Environment

About the conditions of Nantong asked in the questionnaire， public security gets the highest mark. Ninety percent of the participants answer: Nantong’s public security is “good” or “fairly good”. On the question of “what is the difference between Nantong and other developed cities abroad?”， the answers are quite similar: “The public security is good here and the crime rate is low”. Han Soon Hee， a teacher of Nantong University from the ROK who has been in the city for more than 7 months， has lost nothing， which is a surprising experience for her.

Eighty-six percent of the foreign friends praise the investment environment in Nantong. It is worth mentioning that four of the nine criterions， namely “investment environment”， “character of the citizens”， “degree of convenience of life” and “administrative efficiency”， have not received any negative comments from the foreign friends. In their eyes， the local residents of Nantong are quite “lovable”， and their main virtues in order are “industrious”， “reliable”， “economically-minded”， “proud of their hometown”， “concerned about the world and regional affairs and problems” and “far-sighted” especially on the part of the leaders.

Akira Terashi who has lived in Nantong for 4 years， has felt keenly the great changes and rapid development of the city. He says that it is lucky for him to work in this dynamic city. Although his hometown is Kyushu， Japan， he feels quite at home while living and working in Nantong， which he regards as his “second hometown”.

According to the questionnaire survey， while Nantong’s society and economy keep on developing， the foreign friends are becoming more interested in the city. A preliminary statistics shows that in recent years， more and more foreigners have come to make investments and set up enterprises. The registered foreign investment amounted to US$3.78 billion last year， of which US$1.104 billion have been realized.

Enthusiastically Contributing “Golden Ideas”

Comparing Nantong with cities of their home country or other international cities familiar to them， the foreign friends give many suggestions on improving the economic and social development of the city. They believe that the aspects that should enjoy priority are: transportation， environmental protection， city planning， city construction (including infrastructure construction)， tourism and entertainment， education (education of foreign residents’ children) and the citizens’ manners and quality.

The survey reveals that most of the foreign residents are interested in the Suzhou-Nantong Bridge under construction， and are “very glad” to learn it will be completed ahead of schedule. As to the traffic plan of the city proper， many of them think there is no need for more cars or roads but more buses and taxis. To improve the current traffic situation， a Japanese friend， Seji Kanada， suggests practising the “pedestrians first” principle by popularizing related traffic knowledge among the citizens， thoroughly clearing obstacles on the sidewalks and building flyovers or underground tunnels in places where the traffic is busy.

Many foreigners are pleased that some world retail giants have had their stores opened in Nantong， and that western-style pubs and hotels are all around in the streets， which remind them of the high speed with which the city is integrating with the outside world. In their response to the question of “what is the difference between Nantong and other developed cities abroad?”， the foreign friends frankly give their views. Some say: “the continuity of social and economic development and city planning should be maintained”. Others say: “The great density of population， noise and environmental protection issues should be given attention”; “the civility standard of the city as a whole should be raised”.

Being “the honoured citizen of Nantong City” who has lived here for over 20 years， Yoshio Kato， the general manager of Jiangsu A-Z Group Co.， Ltd.， gives an advice which weighs a lot. A city， he said， should establish its own characteristics and image. Education is Nantong’s special characteristics. He suggests that the universities in the city should set up more specialities to meet the needs of enterprises and society， so that after graduation students can put what they have learned into practice and serve the city’s economy and society.

In the questionnaire， one of the questions asks where the city’s most attractive place is. Nearly all the foreigners regard the Hao River under moonlight and the Langshan Mountain scenic spot as the most attractive. Although Anna Hetherton， a teacher of the Nantong No. 3 Middle School， has not been in the city for long， she is already fascinated by the river scenery. She often takes her friends to the river under moonlight. Daniel James who teaches at the Nantong Textile Vocational Technology College， is particularly fond of riding a bicycle to the Langshan Mountain. At the foot of the mountain， he would buy and eat a deep-fried dough cake at a stall. He would also climb up the mountain for a view of the Yangtze River and the city proper in the distance， which would arouse a wonderful feeling of being a part of nature.

Out of loving the beautiful scenery， many foreign friends suggest that the surrounding environment of the Hao River and the Langshan Mountain should be looked after well. Cement should be used as less as possible; bare plots should be covered with grass and trees. It is also suggested that the city should fully exploit its natural and cultural resources in areas near the river， following Xintiandi of Shanghai， Shichahai of Beijing and Lijiang of Yunnan， by opening shops with special local features and recreational centres to attract more local inhabitants as well as tourists and， thus， the reputation of the river scenery and the city will be enhanced.

At the ceremony for awarding “Golden Ideas”， Mayor Ding Dawei highly praised the foreign friends for taking Nantong as their “second hometown” and contributing their objective comments and practical suggestions. He said that these “Golden Ideas” would be set as the goals of relevant government departments which will be required to work hard to achieve them and the progress of the work will be duly checked.