As the only city that is both riverside and seaside in Jiangsu, Nantong is the city with the greatest potential for development in the “1+3” key function zone strategy. It is not only a part of the Yangtze River urban agglomeration, but also an important member of the coastal economic belt. What’s more, it is close to Shanghai. So it is impossible to exclude Shanghai when we study Nantong’s development strategy.How to promote the urban integration? The basic elements of urban integration are fragmentation reduction and interconnection, including the integration of industrial layout, integration of transportation, integration of commuting employment, integration of population living, integration of public service standards, integration of environmental protection, etc. Several major issues need to be considered for the urban integration of Nantong and Shanghai: The first is to make a high starting point and high-level positioning of urban planning.The secind is to transfer Shanghai's technologies to Nantong and industrialize them.The third is that Nantong can give Shanghai relatively rich land resources and relatively cheap real estate market.The fourth is how Nantong uses its advantages as a sea port to enhance its opening-up level.
