A meeting on progress made on jazzing up towns in China's East Zhejiang was recently held, where the Zhejiang 2020 annual beautiful town construction excellent city, excellent county list was announced, according to local media reports on May 25.

Among the cities, Quzhou was recognized as an "excellent city for the construction of beautiful towns in the new era" and Longyou county and Changshan county were given the appellation "excellent counties (county-level cities and districts) for the construction of beautiful towns in the new era".

Located in western Zhejiang province in the upper reaches of the Qiantang River, Quzhou has long served as a thoroughfare between the provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi and Anhui.

The city has done particularly well in its economic and social development over the past five years and had achieved major goals set for the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20) and it has targeted innovation-driven growth and expanded international cooperation in the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25).

Quzhou, a core "big-garden" city in Zhejiang, is said to strongly adhere to the concept of green development while seeking to improve the quality of life of its residents. A total of 1,143 projects were launched last year worth 12.34 billion yuan ($1.94 billion).