28 October 2008 – The groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of Haiyang Railway that links up Haian and Yangkou Port was held at Zhang Jia Yuan in Fengli Town.

The ceremony was officiated by Li Jinhua, Vice Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee; Lu Dongfu, Vice Minister of Ministry of Railways; Shi Heping, Vice Governor of Jiangsu Province; Liao Yongyuan, Deputy Managing Director of PetroChina Company Limited; Wu Ruilin, Vice Chairman of 9th CPPCC Jiangsu Province Committee; Luo Yimin, Secretary of Nantong Municipal Party Committee and Ding Dawei, Mayor of Nantong.

Zhou Tiegen, Vice Governor of Jiangsu Province confirmed the strategic significance of Haiyang Railway. The construction is not only setting a milestone effect for the economic development of coastal area at Nantong, but also motivate the economic development in Jiangsu Province. In addition, the train will speed up the formation of transportation network around Yangkou Port.

Shi Heping, Vice Governor of Jiangsu Province, stated that the construction of Haiyang Railway is an important project in the development of Yangkou Port. It boosts the transportation capacity of Yangkou Port. The Government of Jiangsu Province highly supports all the development projects related to Yangkou Port.