CHANGSHA -- The gross domestic product (GDP) of China's Hunan province totaled nearly 2.17 trillion yuan (about $334.8 billion) in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 11.7 percent, local authorities said Monday.

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, the province's GDP saw a modest increase of 1.3 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2020.

However, thanks to its rapid economic recovery, Hunan's average GDP growth for the same period of the past two years reached 6.4 percent, said the provincial bureau of statistics.

In 2021, Hunan aims to achieve GDP growth of more than 7 percent, according to the provincial government work report delivered at the annual session of the provincial people's congress held in January.