The phrase ‘science and technology are the primary productive forces’ is often used to guide current social production practices.
In fact, looking back at ancient times, the prosperity of the commodity economy inevitably brought about a revolution in productivity, which is already a highly summarized historical law.
In the millennium long history of our country, the Yangtze River Delta region, which represents the barometer of the market economy, particularly regards science and technology as a breakthrough point for productivity development, leading the national economy towards a qualitative leap.

1.
Zhenjiang is the starting point of the Yangtze River Delta. During the Six Dynasties, Zhenjiang was an important location in the capital.
Since ancient times, Zhenjiang has been a natural fertile ground for cultivating innovation in the shipping industry.
In the 13th year of Jian’an (208 AD), Sun Quan of Eastern Wu moved his capital to Jingkou, Zhenjiang. He excavated an artificial waterway in the Maoshan hills of Zhenjiang, and craftsmen used a series of weirs to raise the water level, forming a large-scale cascade waterway that allowed ships to cross mountains and valleys, known as the “Breaking Gangdu” in history.

This is the earliest Dai in China and a great innovation in the history of Chinese waterways. The cascade waterway is still in use today.
After the Jin Yongjia Rebellion (307 AD), he crossed south in his attire. During the Song, Qi, and Liang dynasties, Zhenjiang was the hometown of emperors and kings, with a large number of military and political institutions and population following suit. Various bulk products were distributed and sold here, and the economy and society flourished.
The rapid development of the economy in Jiangnan has promoted technological progress. There are several government-owned shipbuilding workshops in Jingkou, Zhenjiang, which can build larger building ships, and civilian shipbuilding is also very common.

In 479 AD, the powerful minister Xiao Daocheng deposed the last emperor of the Liu Song Dynasty, Liu Zhun, and changed the country’s name to Qi, known as Emperor Gao of Qi in history.
The founding emperor generally paid more attention to recuperation, development of production, and external exchanges and trade. Under the rule of Emperor Qi Gao, the social situation was relatively stable.
The famous ancient scientist Zu Chongzhi held the important position of Changshui Colonel during the Southern Qi Dynasty.

Zu Chongzhi has lived in Jingkou, Zhenjiang for generations and has gained insights into the shipping industry through his upbringing. He found that the Southern and Northern Dynasties were divided by regions, and the Yangtze River, the Pearl River and other major river systems were all in the territory of the Southern Qi Dynasty. Therefore, ships were the most important means of transportation of the Southern Qi Dynasty.
Before the arrival of Zuchong, sailing ships that could sail far had already existed for thousands of years. But at that time, sailboats had a great limitation, which was that they needed wind to sail far, and the wind could neither be small nor large. When the wind is weak, it cannot run far, and when the wind is strong, the ship may capsize, which greatly limited the long-distance trade at that time.
Zu Chongzhi believes that to solve this biggest problem, the first step is to solve the power source of the ship, so that the sailboat can get rid of its dependence on wind or water power.
But in ancient times without steam engines, where was the source of ‘new power’?
Zu Chongzhi decided to seek inspiration on the small boat. Although small boats can be rowed manually, human efficiency is too low. It is inevitable that some people dream of using oars to control large boats.
However, Zu Chongzhi discovered that oars do not need to be confined to a single form. In order to overcome the weakness of large oars and insufficient power, Zu Chongzhi transformed the long wooden oars into circular wheel oars and placed them at the bottom of the ship.
In order to save manpower, Zu Chongzhi used the most common source of power in agricultural society – the cow on the boat, which rotated around the power machinery of the wheel paddle to drive the wooden teeth to do work, becoming the power for the rotation of the wheel paddle.
After several months of experimentation, Zu Chongzhi finally succeeded in transforming the first sailboat powered by cows.
According to the “Biography of Zu Chong” in the Book of Southern Qi, “(Zu Chong) built a vessel without relying on feng shui, using machinery for transportation, and without labor. He also built a thousand mile boat and tested it on the Xinting River, traveling over a hundred miles a day.
In addition to the “Da Ming Calendar” and pi, another advanced scientific and technological invention by Zu Chongzhi – the “thousand mile ship” – was born.

From a global perspective, it was not until around the 16th century that paddle ships appeared in Europe. The father of steamships, American mechanical engineer Robert Fulton, designed the world’s first steamship in 1807.
In total, Zu Chongzhi’s “thousand mile ship” was about 1000 years earlier than Western paddle steamships.
Until now, the vast majority of ships in the world still use oars, and its foundation and origin lie in Zhenjiang where Zu Chongzhi invented the thousand mile boat.

2.
The seasons flow like a stream, with each passing year. Between ups and downs, it has been a thousand years, and Zhenjiang’s innovative genes in the shipping industry have never been eliminated. Now, Zhenjiang has once again stood on the peak of the world’s shipbuilding industry.
In recent years, China’s shipbuilding industry has made rapid progress on the international track, ranking first in the world in terms of shipbuilding volume.
On May 20th, the China Shipbuilding Industry Association released data showing that the new shipbuilding orders received in the first quarter of this year reached 24.14 million deadweight tons, a year-on-year increase of 59%, accounting for nearly 70% of the global total.
Especially since the beginning of this year, the demand for new shipbuilding market has been active. According to the production and construction plans of shipbuilding companies holding orders, 2024 to 2025 is the peak period for ship delivery.
Among them, it is expected that 100 ships will be completed and delivered in Zhenjiang City this year, creating a historical high.
Jiangsu Zhenjiang Shipyard Group is the first shipbuilding enterprise in Jiangsu Province and also the first high-tech shipbuilding enterprise after re certification.

Jiangsu Zhenjiang Shipyard Group is a leader in the field of special engineering ships in China, creating “59 Chinese firsts”.
Among special vessels, the multifunctional fully revolving workboats produced by Zhenjiang Shipyard have a market share of over 70% in China, and their total construction volume ranks first in China.
The first aircraft carrier of our country, Liaoning, entered and exited the port, which was towed by a fully revolving tugboat manufactured by Zhenjiang Shipyard.

In addition to shipbuilding, the ship power manufacturing industry in Zhenjiang is also a leader in the international market.
China Shipbuilding Power Zhenjiang Co., Ltd. is a core manufacturer of medium speed marine engines in China. The company’s main products have consistently ranked first in the domestic market share for many years.

China Shipbuilding Power Zhenjiang Co., Ltd. is mainly engaged in marine diesel engines and ship power equipment, with a business pattern of power integration systems, electrical integration systems, mechanical complete sets and marine equipment, and global technical services.
Last year, China Shipbuilding Power Zhenjiang Co., Ltd. achieved a production value of billions of yuan, but orders are still scheduled for 27 or 28 years later.
Relying on strong core technology, strict production capacity standards, and competitive prices, CSSC Power Zhenjiang Co., Ltd. has almost occupied the main component market of medium and low-speed engines in Europe.

3.
The strong influence demonstrated by Zhenjiang in the shipbuilding industry truly deserves the title of ‘Zhenjiang Shipbuilding Leading the World’.
At the same time, it also shows the world that no matter how stagnant the global economy is or how turbulent the global situation is, China can win orders from all over the world with its strength.
This makes us ponder the most fundamental question: why should we value the shipbuilding industry?

Ships are the most important means of transportation at sea, and as representatives of the ocean manufacturing industry, the shipbuilding industry gathers a large amount of capital, technology, and labor.
The migration path of the shipbuilding industry not only places high demands on a country’s manufacturing, technological, and capital foundations, but also follows the law of transferring from a country with manufacturing costs to a country with low manufacturing costs.
Throughout the development history of the shipbuilding industry, from Europe to Japan, South Korea, and even to China, it conforms to this law.
The reason why China’s shipbuilding industry has been able to catch up from behind is mainly due to its strong cost advantage, economies of scale brought by a large number of orders, world-class order response speed, continuous technological innovation rewards, tax incentives from the government, and a mature and complete supply chain system. These are advantages that the vast majority of countries in the world do not possess.
Secondly, the shipbuilding industry, like the automotive industry, is a culmination of industrial manufacturing and a symbol of a country’s national strength development.
Shipbuilding strength means control over marine resources, including fishery resources, shipping resources, and even global economic and trade cooperation rights.
At the same time, the rise and fall of a country’s shipbuilding industry directly affects its ability in international economic, cultural exchange, and national defense.
Shipbuilding companies often need to be built by water and located near the sea, with special requirements for geographical location. Coastlines and ports are precious military strategic assets of the country.
So, when an industry is highly concentrated in the means of production, subordinate to important national resources, and has international characteristics, the rise and fall of this industry often reflects the overall national strength of the country.
Zhenjiang seized this opportunity quickly and decisively, continuing to set sail in the new era after a thousand years.
China’s shipbuilding industry, on the fertile ground of cultivating innovative genes in the shipping industry for thousands of years in Zhenjiang, will write a magnificent chapter in the development of new quality productivity