A panoramic view of Hangzhou. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, has maintained its leadership position in economic and social development in recent years, Liu Jie, the city's Party secretary, recently wrote.

In 2021, Hangzhou's general public budget expenditure reached 239.26 billion yuan ($33.83 billion), a year-on-year increase of 15.6 percent and ranking first among provincial capitals in China.

With preferential policies, a friendly business environment, and welcoming cultural and social customs, the net inflow rate of talent, especially those engaged in the internet industry, in Hangzhou has led domestic cities for many years.

Hangzhou ranks second in innovation capabilities among domestic cities and 14th in the world in the science and technology cluster innovation index.

In 2021, the revenue of the core digital economy industry in Hangzhou exceeded 1.6 trillion yuan, among which the market share of the digital security industry ranked first in the world, the market share of cloud computing infrastructure as a service (IaaS) ranked first in the Asia Pacific, and the trading volume of e-commerce platforms ranked first in China.

Hangzhou also boasts picturesque natural landscapes. It has carried out the first pilot project for ecological compensation for interprovincial river basins in China. Its forest coverage rate has reached 66.9 percent, ranking first among provincial capitals and sub-provincial cities in China.

Hangzhou has also been crowned one of the "happiest Chinese cities" for 15 consecutive years.

Natural scenery in Hangzhou. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]