On 27 November, good news came from Andong, Korea that the treasure of Nantong Archives ‘files of Dasheng cotton mills in early stage after its establishment (1896 - 1907)’ was shortlisted in memory of the world Asia pacific directory successfully.

On the day, the 9th conference of UNESCO Memory of the World Asia Pacific Regional Committee was closed at Andong. By votes from review committee members, ‘files of Dasheng cotton mills in early stage after its establishment (1896 - 1907)’ and ‘Guizhou Shuishu documents’ representing China were shortlisted together. The file which has been kept for a along time by Nantong residents, became the collective memory of the world.

Dasheng cotton mills founded by Zhang Jian, famous industrialist and educationist of modern China and top scholar in late Qing dynasty, was a leading enterprise in early stage of cotton industry in China and east Asia.

There are 205 volumes of ‘files of Dasheng cotton mills in early stage after its establishment (1896 - 1907)’. They were done between 1896 to 1907, including manuscripts, accounting books and maps. They were historical records formed naturally in early manufacture, operation and management activities of Dasheng cotton mills. The files witnessed the hard progress in early stage since the establishment of Dasheng cotton mills.