Journalists from the People's Daily recently visited Gongliu county in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, to experience the county's development with the support from Zhangjiagang city in Jiangsu province.

Since Gongliu's Tianshan Mountains became a world natural heritage site in 2013, Gongliu has received an increased amount of attention from around the country, and Zhangjiagang's strong support has contributed to dramatic changes in Gongliu.

According to Wang Songshi, head of Zhangjiagang's supporting team in Gongliu, the team has mainly focused on supporting Gongliu in terms of its economy, science and technology and talents this year.

The supporting team has launched training courses to help local officials improve their professional skills and carried out a pairing assistance program between Zhangjiagang and Gongliu to enhance exchanges between the two sides. The program involved 59 schools, 14 medical organizations and 12 government departments.

Mutual visits between the two areas have helped boost the progress of the project and support for it.

In 2015, around 500 million yuan ($81.72 million) will be invested on a 50MW solar PV power plant. The team will also help Gongliu launch tourism and industrial promotion activities in Zhangjiagang, Suzhou and other cities in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. A tourism website for Gongliu has also been launched, funded by Zhangjiagang's supporting team. It aims at transforming the county's tourism industry into a pillar sector that can drive its economic growth, encourage employment and increase the income levels of local people.