History tells us how progressive Nantong is, and perhaps every Chinese tends to connect the city with Zhang Jian (1853-1926), an industrious and aspiring entrepreneur who not only established Dasheng Cotton Mills that once led China's cotton-spinning industry in the early 20th century, but also built museums, hospitals, nursing homes, founded and co-founded some 370 schools in Nantong. It was he that earned his hometown the title of the first city in modern China.

"I think he is remarkable, and what he did changed Nantong," said Lina Paola Angel, a Columbian doctoral student majoring in English language and literature, after she was told about Zhang's legendary life.

"I think he might struggle a lot to do what he did because people, especially ambitious ones, have to go against the flow and convince people to do what they have to."

Unlike most profit-driven merchants, Zhang did his business to save his homeland, and most of the sales he earned were spent on education, philanthropy and public facilities.

While speaking about China's national industries, the late Chairman Mao Zedong hailed Zhang as a lighthouse that should be remembered in the history of the Chinese light industry.