In recent years, Suzhou has been striving to polish its image as a strong buyer and competitive seller. It came 57th on the “Global Top 500 Cities” released by Global City Lab last December, with brand values of US$ 294.984 billion.
The secret for Suzhou’s achievements lies in its perseverance to “build the city strong relying on industries and culture”.
Suzhou is one of the Chinese cities with the most optimized industrial layout and most integrated supply chains, and the total output value of enterprises above designated size in the city climbed above RMB 4 trillion last year. This has allowed products to be manufactured, marketed and consumed in Suzhou while related services be delivered efficiently.
Suzhou is also making great efforts to build and polish an increasing number of “Made-in-Suzhou” brands on and off line, hoping to drive upgrading of local manufacturing. Many of these brands will participate in this year’s Double 12 Suzhou Shopping Festival.
On the other hand, Suzhou is apt at using the profound local culture to facilitate economic growth. It has a number of time-honored brands and characteristic business streets full of diverse cultural elements such as amazing jade carvings and embroidery unique to the city.
At this year’s festival, there is an exhibition of snacks that are recognized as intangible cultural heritage, activities for experiencing local festival celebrations, specially designed gifts and so on. Participants can have opportunities to savor the most authentic culture in the region south of the Yangtze River.
