The launching ceremony of the Collaborative Innovation Project on Smart and Healthy City Construction of Nantong, also the Experts Advisory Meeting on Smart and Healthy City Construction, was held in Nantong University from March 25 to 26, 2013. The event was hosted jointly by the Division of Medical and Health Engineering of CAE and the Nantong Municipal People’s Government of Jiangsu Province, and organized by the Public Health Bureau of Nantong City as well as Nantong University. 
 

The launching ceremony witnessed the presence of Bai Yuliang, Secretary-General of the CAE, CAE Members Yang Shengli, Gu Jianren and Xu Jianguo, all from the Division of Medical and Health Engineering of CAE, Prof. Jiang Lixin, from the Fuwai Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) & PUMC, Prof. Jia Weiping, from the Sixth People’s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, as well as Zhang Guohua, Mayor of Nantong City, Zhu Jin, Vice Mayor of Nantong City, Lu Shanping, Deputy Secretary-General of Nantong People’s Government, Prof. Yuan Yinnan, President of Nantong University, Lu Shaolin, Vice President of Nantong University, and Prof. Ding Fei, among others. 

Over 100 representatives from the Education Bureau, Public Health Bureau, Association for Science and Technology of Nantong City, as well as health related departments of various counties (cities), districts of Nantong City and relevant associations and societies, attended the meeting. CAE Members Yang Shengli, Gu Jianren and Xu Jianguo, together with Prof. Jia Weiping and Jiang Lixin, made academic presentations centered on themes such as “translational medicine and health management”, “cancer as a systematic disease”, “dealing with new infectious diseases”, “diabetes in China and prospects for translational medicine in China” and “national acts on cardiovascular disease prevention strategies” respectively.

At the ceremony, a number of experts were appointed to be Senior Advisors to the construction of “Smart Nantong”. Among them were all invited participating experts to the launching ceremony, CAE Member Gao Runlin, Chief Scientist in internal medicine of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, CAE Member Xiang Kunsan, Honorary Chairman of the Shanghai Diabetes Institute, CAE Member Wang Hongyang, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Oriental Institute of Hepatobiliary Surgery, as well as CAE Member Cheng Jing, from the Biomedical Engineering Department as well as the Biological Research Center on Medical System of School of medicine of Tsinghua University. Mayor Zhang Guohua issued Letters of Appointment for Senior Advisors to “Smart Nantong” Construction accordingly. 

CAE Member Yang Shengli made a speech on behalf of all newly appointed senior advisors. He put in his address that, the construction of a smart and healthy city, guided by the government and jointly conducted by the experts, institutions of higher learning and enterprises, was a systematic project that was truly beneficial to the public. As one of the pilot cities of this huge project, Nantong should attach due attention to the intelligence and health of Nantong during the construction process while taking into account the overall plans for urban construction and civil engineering. More efforts should be made to make the project benefiting people’s livelihood in the real sense. Yang said that he would actively get himself engaged with planning and implementation process of the “Smart and Healthy” system.

Bai Yuliang said in his speech at the launching ceremony that, Nantong University had provided great intellect support and hardware platform for the construction of a smart and healthy city, while Nantong People’s Government had attached great importance to the mission and offered powerful support in its own way. CAE would make great efforts to enhance the construction of a “smart and healthy” city of Nantong and earnestly promote the collaborative innovation project. Bai hoped that, after years of construction, Nantong could play a demonstrating and leading role in the construction of “smart and healthy” cities in China, making full use of its geographical advantage of being adjacent to Shanghai as well as its convenient transportation. (By Yan Huici and Guo Shuqin, May 2013; translated by Liu Chang)