The inaugural Paulson Prize for Cities of the Future was awarded to the Nanhu Country Village project in Zhejiang province.

The award was launched by the Paulson Institute and China Center for International Economic Exchanges to encourage sustainable urban practices in China. The Nanhu project preserves the village's agrarian sector with modern farming techniques and turned the village into an agricultural supplier to Shanghai, Hangzhou and Suzhou.

The project was chosen from 30 projects across China by a jury of experts on urbanization and sustainability, including Jury Chairman Richard M. Daley, the mayor of Chicago from 1989 to 2011; Lu Mai, secretary-general of the China Development Research Foundation; and Yi Jun, chairman of the China State Construction.

"The Nanhu Country Village is an excellent example of what cities and villages everywhere can do to have a positive impact on our collective economic growth and development," Huang said.

The Paulson Prize will be awarded annually to a sustainability project in China that offers an innovative and effective solution to promoting sustainability.

"This prize provides an incentive for developing innovative, sustainable solutions and promotes collaboration between China and the US," former US treasury secretary Henry Paulson said. "It is about encouraging leaders — economic, political, and otherwise, to push for practical solutions to real challenges."

The Paulson Institute, an independent center that Paulson established, promotes sustainable economic growth and a cleaner environment by facilitating cooperation between the US and China.