Taicang is the biggest port on the Yangtze River for international trade. It serves 174 container shipping lines and is the biggest importer of timber in China. [WANG ZHUANGFEI / China Daily]

The biggest port on the Yangtze for international trade, Taicang serves 174 container shipping lines and is the biggest importer of timber in China. It has 78 ship moorings, 34 of which can accommodate vessels of more than 10,000 tons, and 10 that can serve container ships.

As China's second-largest railway hub, the Xuzhou train station is the meeting point for the Beijing-Shanghai railway and the Lianyungang-Horgos rail.

With a workforce of 5.8 million, the city, with a 9.5 percent GDP, creates 120,000 new jobs every year and has 12 institutes of higher learning.

The emphasis on education is a vital ingredient in the province's planning. The Nanjing University of Post and Telecommunications in Nanjing caters to both domestic and international students. In 2014, it had 44 international students. The figure rose dramatically this year to 116 students from countries as diverse as Russia and Cambodia.

But in terms of delivery for the Belt and Road, the city can vie with the best, thanks to the "X factor".

Xuzhou Construction Machine Group, or XCMG, is the leading company in its sector in China and ranks among the top five globally. Founded in 1943 during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45), it employs 20,000 in China and 25,000 worldwide. With 28 overseas offices and 10 spare parts centers in 170 countries and regions, it is literally building the road and paving the way for future generations.

It manufactures construction equipment: vehicles, cranes, as well as one of the world's biggest dump trucks, which is capable of disgorging 400 tons. Apart from quality, its efficiency is the envy of many. A mobile crane is priced at 9 million yuan and takes just 12 days to travel from the drawing board to the building site.

The shiny corridors and control panel of Jiangsu Sailboat Petroleum Co, another powerhouse, resemble a space station more than a chemical company. A 30-meter closed-circuit TV screen allows monitoring of all aspects of the chemical company's production in real time. It takes raw materials from the US, Canada and the Gulf countries and turns it into much-needed industrial chemicals.

Foreigners may find the tone separating Xuzhou from Suzhou difficult to get their tongues around. Though close, the cities have different characteristics.