Photo by Ma Jun, a reporter at the project signing site

　　Spring tides surge along the banks of the Golden City, and with horses galloping, a new chapter begins. On February 24th, the eighth day of the first lunar month in the Year of the Horse, the first working day after the Spring Festival holiday, Lanzhou City's Strong Provincial Capital Conference was held as scheduled. This marks the third consecutive year that Lanzhou has taken the Strong Provincial Capital Conference as the "first meeting of the new spring". Inside Ningwozhuang Hotel, the main venue, warmth filled the air, the atmosphere was enthusiastic, and waves of applause conveyed the power of forging ahead; all branch venues were linked synchronously, uniting hearts and efforts, together sounding the charge horn of "Being pragmatic and taking the lead to strengthen the provincial capital". This grand event is not only a heartfelt review of past struggles but also a solemn oath-taking for the future journey. It mobilizes the whole city to set out from spring with the pioneering spirit of "taking the lead like a horse" and the diligence of "keeping going without stopping", wasting not a single moment, and striving to turn the grand vision of strengthening the provincial capital into a splendid reality.

　　A lone runner struggles to rise, but a group of travelers finds it easy to move forward. At 2 p.m., the conference kicked off amid warm applause. Responsible comrades from relevant provincial government departments, central units in Lanzhou, research institutes, institutions of higher learning, and provincial enterprises, as well as academicians, talent representatives, and enterprise representatives, gathered together to discuss development, deliberate on major plans, and jointly depict a blueprint. Sincere New Year greetings and firm vows to forge ahead filled the entire conference with a strong atmosphere of unity, progress, and high spirits, demonstrating Lanzhou's firm determination to promote high-quality development.

　　The spring breeze caresses both banks, and the Golden City takes on a new look. At the beginning of the conference, the special film "Golden City Takes on a New Look" was shown, presenting a panoramic view of Lanzhou's struggle in the action to strengthen the provincial capital in recent years, and focusing on the gratifying achievements made through concerted efforts and down-to-earth work - the continuous improvement of industrial level, the continuous burst of scientific and technological innovation vitality, the ever-changing urban landscape, and the continuous improvement of people's well-being. These vivid pictures and frames of development are not only the best interpretation of past practical work, but also a beautiful vision for a promising future.

　　"Since the province-wide conference on promoting the strong provincial capital initiative in July 2023, we have blazed the 'Lanzhou Path' for strengthening the provincial capital, pooled the 'Lanzhou Strength', solved the 'Lanzhou Difficulties', and achieved the 'Lanzhou Changes'." Secretary Zhang Xiaoqiang's speech is far-sighted and inspiring. It not only affectionately looks back on the efforts and gains since the launch of the strong provincial capital initiative, but also, standing at the new starting point of the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan, clarifies the future development direction. He emphasized that we should forge the character of "being practical" and adhere to the pursuit of "striving for the first", advance the strong provincial capital initiative in depth with higher standards and stricter requirements, focus on the high-quality development of the "six major economies", vigorously cultivate new productive forces, make Lanzhou's "3+2" modern industrial system stronger, and march forward with great momentum on the road of high-quality development. His words are sonorous and powerful, and his instructions are encouraging, pointing out the way forward for the whole city, providing fundamental guidelines, and igniting the passion of every striver to start businesses and make achievements.

　　Policies empower and add momentum, gathering hearts and strengths to promote development. Subsequently, the "Xiaolan" video released on-site the municipal support policies and several measures for the strong provincial capital action. A series of policy "gift packages" with wide coverage, strong orientation, and high gold content are truly valuable. They not only reflect the firm determination of the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government to promote the strong provincial capital initiative but also provide a solid guarantee for the next step of quality improvement and upgrading. Representatives attending the meeting have stated that these policies accurately meet development needs and align with enterprise expectations. They will surely inject strong impetus into Lanzhou's industrial upgrading, scientific and technological innovation empowerment, and people's livelihood improvement, enabling various market entities to have great potential and achieve great accomplishments in the strong provincial capital action.

　　If the provincial capital is strong, the whole province is strong; if the provincial capital prospers, the whole province prospers. Representatives from relevant provincial government departments, institutions of higher learning, central units in Lanzhou, and provincial enterprises delivered speeches one after another. Based on their own functions and in combination with the actual situation of Lanzhou, they put forward ideas, offered suggestions, provided support, and contributed good strategies, gathering a strong synergy to promote the "Strong Provincial Capital" initiative. Liu Peng, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, stated that as the office of the Coordination and Guidance Group for the "Strong Provincial Capital" initiative, the Provincial Development and Reform Commission will provide proactive guarantees in terms of planning, projects, funds, and policies, focus on major landmark projects and infrastructure projects, fully support the development of Lanzhou, and ensure that what is said is done, what is decided is implemented, and things are handled immediately. Han Xianming, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Director of the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, said that efforts will be made to consolidate the foundation for stable industrial growth, build a full-chain emerging industry, push Lanzhou's industrial growth to a new level, and help Lanzhou become the main engine and solid support for driving the improvement of the province's industrial economy in terms of quality and efficiency.

　　Technological innovation is the core driving force for building a strong provincial capital, and talent is the primary resource for development. Yang Yongping, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, deputy secretary of the Party Committee and president of Lanzhou University, stated that Lanzhou University will actively align with the development needs of Lanzhou, build high-level innovation platforms, promote the efficient local transformation of innovative achievements, strengthen the in-depth integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, construct a collaborative innovation network where universities and enterprises coexist, and fully support Lanzhou in becoming an important regional technological innovation center in the country, providing solid technological and talent support for the action to build a strong provincial capital. Liu Jian, Party secretary and president of the Gansu Branch of the People's Bank of China, said that they will focus on financing support, structural optimization, service innovation, and financial stability, guide financial institutions to accurately meet development needs, fully support the action to build a strong provincial capital to reach a new level, and contribute financial strength to a splendid start of Lanzhou's "15th Five-Year Plan". Ruan Ying, Party secretary and chairman of Jinchuan Group Co., Ltd., also expressed a strong desire to deepen cooperation with Lanzhou and seek common development, promising to leverage its own advantages to help Lanzhou's industrial upgrading and achieve win-win results for enterprises and the local area.

　　Enterprises are the cornerstone of industrial development and even more important participants and promoters in the action to strengthen the provincial capital. Subsequently, representatives of enterprises in the "Six Major Economies" delivered speeches through video clips. The person in charge of 12 enterprises sincerely shared their entrepreneurial insights and development plans, expressed their firm confidence in taking root in Lanzhou, 深耕 (deeply cultivating) Lanzhou, and building Lanzhou, and showed their deep feelings of sharing weal and woe with Lanzhou. Representatives from various counties, districts, functional zones, and municipal departments also made statements through video clips. Their ideas were clear, their goals were clear, and their words were concise and powerful. They all stated that they would firmly establish the "one chessboard" concept, work together with one heart and one mind, concentrate their efforts, decide on something, do it, and accomplish it, so as to show new responsibilities and new achievements in the action to strengthen the provincial capital.

　　Projects are the lifeline of development, and signing contracts marks a new starting point for cooperation. The most exciting part of the conference is undoubtedly the centralized signing ceremony for key industrial projects. A total of 86 projects were collected and signed at this conference, with a total investment of 76.082 billion yuan, covering fields such as urban economy, county economy, development zone economy, private economy, digital economy, and open economy. These projects are characterized by large investment scale, high technological content, good economic benefits, and strong relevance. 21 key projects were signed on site, ranging from scientific and technological achievement transformation, new energy equipment manufacturing to biomedicine and cultural tourism complexes. The implementation of these major and good projects is like injecting a source of vitality into Lanzhou's high-quality development, and will surely provide strong support for cultivating new productive forces and enhancing industrial levels. When representatives from both sides solemnly signed their names and shook hands firmly, the audience burst into thunderous applause. This applause is not only a blessing for the cooperation, but also an expectation for Lanzhou's future development.

　　In addition to the 21 projects signed on-site, 65 high-quality projects were also signed simultaneously through the "screen-sharing" method. The implementation of these projects will further improve Lanzhou's industrial layout, enhance development momentum, promote the quality and efficiency of the "six major economies", and continuously inject new impetus into the "Strong Provincial Capital" initiative. All counties, districts, functional zones, and municipal departments will take the initiative to provide high-quality services, make every effort to promote the projects to start construction, complete and achieve results as early as possible, so that each signed project can take root, blossom and bear fruit.

　　The journey of ten thousand miles is vigorous with the wind, and we must strive again under a thousand junctures of heavy responsibilities. The conference concluded successfully amid warm applause, but the journey to strengthen the provincial capital has just begun. The participating representatives, with hurried steps and firm expressions, have expressed that they will quickly convey and study the spirit of the conference, transform the conference's arrangements into specific actions, and turn their full enthusiasm into practical results in doing business and starting undertakings.

　　Spring awakens the Golden City, and we ride forth with vigor; staying true to reality, prioritizing action, and striving tirelessly. The year 2026 marks the first year of the "15th Five-Year Plan" and also the Bingwu Year of the Red Horse. The loyalty, responsibility, speed, and strength of the horse perfectly embody the spirit of Lanzhou's strivers. Standing at this new historical starting point, the entire city will take this Strong Provincial Capital Conference as an opportunity, keep in mind the instructions, move forward with gratitude, dare to explore and experiment with the courage of "taking the lead like a horse", work diligently and pragmatically with the drive of "keeping going without stopping like a horse", and persist in our efforts with the tenacity of "achieving success immediately like a horse". With one heart, working together, and winning as one, we will continue to turn the grand vision of building a strong provincial capital into a magnificent reality, and strive to compose a chapter of Chinese-style modernization in Lanzhou! (Reporter: Zhao Wanshan)