Economic Essay | The Subway in Shanghai and Jiangsu and the "Huguan'er" Connection of the Six Cities in Northeast China | Subway | Economy

Shanghai and Suzhou are adjacent across provinces.

Two months ago, on June 24th, Suzhou Metro Line 11 was opened. The opening of a new subway line in the city has long been a novelty. But the novelty of this Line 11 lies in its eastern end, connected to Shanghai Metro Line 11 at Kunshan Huaqiao Station.

This means that the central urban areas of Shanghai and Suzhou can now be reached by subway. The two "Line 11" seem like two cities stretching out their arms and tightly embracing each other.

The connection of the Shanghai Suzhou subway is a new choice and beneficial supplement for the citizens of both cities. There are already developed highways and high-speed railways between Shanghai and Suzhou, while the subway has a unique style - although slower than high-speed railways, it has more stations, is easy to come and go, has cheaper ticket prices, and can divert the ultra-high passenger flow of high-speed railways during peak hours.

Ten years ago, the Shanghai subway was connected to Kunshan, achieving "cross provincial subway". Kunshan is not an idle land. Every day, a large number of people travel between the main urban areas of Shanghai and Jiangsu, and this "strongest county-level city in the country". The connection of two "Line 11" constitutes the longest cross city subway line in the country.

The subway connecting cities has a significant psychological impact. Because the subway is a typical way of transportation within cities and at the doorstep of homes. When you can take the subway from your doorstep and reach another city, the essence is not that the subway is doing high-speed rail work, but that these two cities are moving towards urbanization.

Looking back at the "14th Five Year Plan for the Integrated Development of the Yangtze River Delta" issued two years ago, we can see key statements such as "actively promoting the integration of Shanghai and the nearby Shanghai region". In fact, the entire three provinces and one city in the Yangtze River Delta, not only between Shanghai and Suzhou, but also in urban areas such as Nanjing, Hangzhou, Hefei, Suzhou Xichang, and Ningbo, are all improving their level of urbanization according to the requirements of this plan. This is not only an exploration of relevant areas, but also a major national strategy.

In southern Jiangsu, if you drive, you will intuitively find that the boundary between cities is very blurred. Low density urban areas are continuous, and rural areas are also clean and tidy, with elements of urban life such as convenience stores and public service centers. Living in this city, working in another city, living in the countryside, and working in the city have become the norm. This is precisely the soil of the "same city" of the Shanghai Suzhou Tong subway.

A few days ago, the main event of the National Ecological Day was held in Huzhou, Zhejiang. People here are eagerly anticipating the upcoming opening of the high-speed railway between Huzhou and Shanghai. The Shanghai Suzhou Lake high-speed railway is a backbone line under construction in the intercity rail transit network of the Yangtze River Delta. When it is completed and opened to traffic next year, it will only take half an hour from Shanghai to Huzhou on the south bank of the Taihu Lake Lake via Suzhou.

The first continuous green mountain you can encounter while traveling west from Shanghai is Mogan Mountain in Huzhou. This is a summer resort in East China, with a plethora of visitors this summer. Soon, it will enter the "half hour living circle" of Greater Shanghai.

"Same city" is not just about transportation connectivity. In Shanghai, there are 8 automobile companies gathered. And 60% of the automotive industry chain's large-scale enterprises in Suzhou are important suppliers. In the Suzhou Linhu area, there are dozens of large warehousing enterprises gathering and circulating food, agricultural and sideline products, electronic products, e-commerce express delivery, etc. related to the daily lives of over 20 million people in Greater Shanghai. Many Fortune Global 500 companies have their headquarters in Shanghai and factories in Suzhou.

The urban mobility of people is most perceptible. Among the passengers on the subway and high-speed rail, many are witnesses and beneficiaries of advanced industrial clusters, numerous scientific research institutions, etc., achieving integrated layout and urbanization in the region.

Coincidentally. Just five days after the connection of the Shanghai Suzhou Line 11, six mayors from across three provinces and districts sat together in Liaoyuan City, Jilin Province. The conference they are attending has a long name - the Second Conference on Integrated and High Quality Collaborative Development of Six Cities in Jilin, Southern Liaoning, Northern Mongolia, and Eastern Mongolia.

Siping, Liaoyuan, and Tonghua in the southern part of Jilin, Fushun and Tieling in the northern part of Liaoning, and Tongliao in the eastern part of Inner Mongolia. These six cities have adjacent mountains and rivers, similar customs, and a total population of 11.23 million; The economic size is not large, with six cities added together, roughly the same as Kunshan, only equivalent to one-fifth of Suzhou; Most of them are old industrial cities and resource-based cities, facing enormous transformation pressure while also having significant growth potential.

Instead of fighting alone, it's better to develop in groups. Under the advocacy and promotion of relevant national departments, the six cities are seeking integrated development, which is not only pressure but also in line with the overall trend. A year ago, when we first sat together to plan, we proposed the concept of "One Body, Six Harmonies" - adhering to integrated planning, sharing the same transportation network, park construction, industry development, openness and smoothness, serving the same city, and ecological governance. This year, a consensus on integration has been further formed in ten areas.

"Embracing a group" is not easy, there are many difficulties. Previously, everyone was busy with their own tasks, but now there are many things to get used to discussing. In attracting investment and talent, we should shift from focusing on competition to focusing on cooperation. In terms of ecological environment governance, public service co construction and sharing, we need to break down institutional barriers and do more, deeper and more practical work.

Objectively speaking, there is still a considerable gap in the overall level of integration among the six cities in Northeast China compared to the integration of the Yangtze River Delta and the urbanization of Shanghai and Jiangsu. But they are already standing in the same direction and in the same trend.

From a historical perspective, the pioneers of "urbanization" exploration were Guangzhou and Foshan. The integration of Guangzhou and Foshan started more than a decade ago. The subway in Guangzhou has been directly connecting to the main urban area of Foshan for a long time, and the synergy between Guangzhou service and Foshan manufacturing continues to deepen. Today, two more words have been added before "urbanization" in the local area - "global".

From a national perspective, there are subways connecting cities, as well as Hangzhou and Shaoxing, Wuhan and Ezhou, Xi'an and Xianyang, and so on. Other cities that have proposed the goal of "urbanization" include Chengde Meizi in Sichuan, Ningzhenyang in Jiangsu, Jizi in Shandong, and so on. Promoting the urbanization development of central cities and surrounding cities has become a common requirement for the whole country.

"Integration" does not mean "homogenization", and "urbanization" does not mean "homogenization". The essence of "integration" and "same city" is to pursue high-quality development, deeply optimize resource allocation within the region, promote complementary advantages and reasonable structure, form better matching of their respective characteristics, promote a unified large market, and smooth the domestic circulation.

Leaders huddle together for strength. The laggards huddle together in order to become stronger.

Taking the subway to another city feels wonderful today and ordinary tomorrow.