A rural view of Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/hz66.com]

Huzhou ranked first in the provincial evaluation of rural vitalization efforts in 2021, according to a circular recently released by the Zhejiang provincial government.

This was the second year in a row that the city ranked first. Its administrative areas – Deqing county, Changxing county, Anji county - were also classified as "excellent" in the assessment.

In 2021, the added value of Huzhou's agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishing industries amounted to 15.81 billion yuan ($2.43 billion), a year-on-year uptick of 3 percent, official statistic show.

The per capita disposable income of the city's rural residents hit 41,303 yuan that same year, rising by 10.9 percent year-on-year, while the income ratio between its urban and rural residents narrowed to 1.65.

In addition, Huzhou topped Zhejiang in the provincial assessment of agricultural modernization level for the sixth consecutive year.

It also ranked first in the province in terms of digital development in county-level areas for the third year in a row.

A drone is used to spray pesticide on a rice field in Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/hz66.com]