First of all, talk about location factors. Speaking of the Yangtze River Delta, we should know that the center of the Yangtze River Delta is Shanghai, and almost all cities in the Yangtze River Delta are more or less radiated by Shanghai. Suzhou, as the nearest prefecture-level city to Shanghai, benefited the most, followed by Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou. From Nanjing to Shanghai, the Shanghai-Nanjing line enjoys convenient transportation and high economic development. North Jiangsu and Shanghai are separated by a river, so there are many disadvantages in traffic. Of course, the opening of Sutong Bridge and Chongqi Bridge has greatly shortened the distance between Nantong and Shanghai, and also facilitated the cities in northern Jiangsu. I believe that with the passage of time, the role of these two bridges will become more and more obvious.
Since the reform and opening up, the southern Jiangsu model has stood out and been imitated by the whole country for a long time, mainly developing the collective economy, which has laid a good foundation for heavy industry and light industry in southern Jiangsu. At the same time, the hydropower facilities supporting the industry have basically taken shape. At this time, the industrial development in northern Jiangsu is not fast, so historical factors make southern Jiangsu always one step ahead.
I come from Changzhou and studied in Nantong for four years. I have direct feelings about southern Jiangsu and northern Jiangsu. It should be said that southern Jiangsu has a good foundation and is leading at this stage, while northern Jiangsu has a poor foundation, but it is developing rapidly and is catching up. I believe that with the passage of time and the inclination of national policies, the gap between southern Jiangsu and northern Jiangsu will become smaller and smaller.