Shigang town in Tongzhou district has a developed a premium-quality rice industry. [Photo/WeChat account: southtongzhou]

A list of towns in East China's Jiangsu province famous for the quality of their rice was recently announced and the prefecture-level city of Nantong had two towns that made the cut – Shigang town in its Tongzhou district and Qutang town in Hai'an, a county-level city administered by Nantong.

By virtue of its favorable location, Shigang town has cultivated rice for thousands of years and has been dubbed a granary of the Nantong region. At present, the agricultural acreage in the town covers 5,600 hectares and the rice planting area occupies 4,533 ha of that, accounting for 81 percent of the total area.

Nowadays, the town's rice industry is developing towards mechanization, specialization and large-scale cultivation.

An integrated production and marketing model featuring "farmers + cooperatives" and "family farms + grain processing and marketing enterprises" has taken shape. In 2021, Shigang town had 1,000 ha of rice under cultivation that was recognized as national pollution-free rice.

With many rice processing enterprises, Shigang town is now focusing on brand creation. Several Shigang-based brands are highly popular with consumers.