Cao Yunquan walked through the old Dasheng textile factory in Nantong, Jiangsu province, with a stride that was close to reverential.

The 77-year-old retired official and amateur historian paused in one dilapidated building, surveying the gossamer-like strands of cotton festooning the rafters, the peeling paint and warped wood.

In China, the manufacturing center of the world, this forgotten factory holds a special significance.

"This is where China's industrial revolution began," Cao said.

In the early 1900s, when the Dasheng textile factory was new, foreign powers and warlords bled China. Most people still scraped a living from the land, and education was the preserve of the rich. After centuries of corruption and decay, the imperial dynasty had entered its final death throes.

Against this backdrop of these tumultuous times, the Dasheng factory was a beacon of modernity beholden to no foreign interest. It was the first stepping stone in a process that would come to inspire a nation.

"It all started here, with a man named Zhang Jian," Cao said.

Like many in Nantong, Cao believes the ideas that eventually helped spark China's explosive growth in the 1980s can be traced back to Zhang, a local who opened the Dasheng factory some 120 years ago.

An unsung hero

Imperial scholar, frustrated statesman, entrepreneur and business pioneer, Zhang's fingerprints are all over modern-day Nantong. But beyond the borders of the metropolis of 7 million now thriving on the banks of the Yangtze, Zhang's legend and renown has largely faded, even in nearby Shanghai.

Today, China Daily turns the spotlight on this unsung hero of the nation's modern history, examining how his century-old spirit of reform and innovation is still driving Nantong.

Zhang Rouwu, 96, remembers Zhang Jian better than most. "He was my grandfather," she said.

Sitting in her apartment in Nantong, Zhang held up an old black-and-white family photo and pointed out a cherubic little girl standing on the far left of the imposing Zhang Jian.

"That was me," she said. "I was 8 when he died (in 1926, aged 73). He was a great person, a lovely person. He did a lot of things for this place, for the country."

Cao agrees that this is no understatement.

Born into poverty in Jiangsu province in 1853, Zhang Jian's drive and intellect saw him rise to become one of the 114 Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) scholars awarded the prestigious title of zhuangyuan.

During his time with the imperial court, he wrote a treatise for his superiors, urging them to implement industrial and educational reform. Without this, he believed, China would never be able to gain independence from foreign influence and alleviate poverty for its people. His pleas fell on deaf ears, and his ideas were ignored.

After securing funds from investors, Zhang returned to Nantong in 1899 and opened the Dasheng textile factory, determined to create an example for the rest of China by realizing his vision on a small scale.

In 1901, he began reclaiming tracts of land on the Yangtze River and started a successful salt company. He opened more companies to dredge canals and build the basis for what would become a shipping line that regularly made the overnight run, carrying goods to Shanghai and beyond.

He opened the Zisheng smelting and iron works, a cooking oil plant, a soap factory, a brewing company and a paper mill. He brought electricity to Nantong, created six parks and several public buildings including the city library, the Junshuan observatory and the Gengsu Theatre. He built orphanages and homes for the disabled.

Wherever he developed, he was careful to preserve and restore ancient cultural relics and sites, and opened China's first museum in 1905. Despite being ransacked during the Japanese invasion, it still stands today beside his stately family home. Both are open to the public.

As the industrial component of his vision began to make money and provide employment and his projects to transform Nantong from a rural backwater into a cultural beacon began to bear fruit, Zhang forged ahead with the next stage of his plan: educational reform.

In 1903, he opened a teachers college, Tongzhou Normal School. He went on to found the first teachers college for Chinese women, an elementary school and a number of vocational schools.

"My grandfather was busy all the time," said Zhang Rouwu. "Every day, there was someone reporting to him or there were important guests."

As he busied himself with his industrial and city-building endeavors in Nantong, Zhang Jian tried to bring in his reformist ideas at national level.

After turning his back on the corruption that cloaked the failing imperial court, in 1912 Zhang Jian was appointed minister of industry in the fledgling Republic of China by provisional president Sun Yat-sen.

He held several appointments until in 1915, frustrated by the lack of funds for reform and the infighting, he left politics to focus on making Nantong the best example of what could be possible for China.

When he was 46, he had a son, Zhang Xiaoruo, Zhang Rouwu's father.

Across town, another of Zhang Xiaoruo's children sat in his living room, surrounded by framed photographs of himself and generations of prominent Chinese political figures.

Zhang Xuwu, 87, remembered with pride a speech in which Mao Zedong said China should never forget Zhang Jian. "In Nantong, it is easy to think Zhang Jian belonged to this place, but he really belongs to the whole country," Zhang Xuwu said.

A dream not realized

Zhang Jian's grandson Zhang Xuwu said his grandfather was disappointed in his old age, because he had been unable to realize his dream of bringing reform to all of China.

"Many scholars have called my grandfather a great, but failed, hero," Zhang Xuwu said.

That he was successful in Nantong though, is indisputable.

The deputy mayor of the city, Sun Jianhua, said Zhang Jian's influence on industry, education and the preservation of culture is still inherent there today.

Last year, total output value in Nantong was 503.9 billion yuan ($82 billion). Per capita GDP was $11,150 and retail sales of consumer goods hit 192.71 billion yuan, a 13.4 percent increase on the previous year.

There are about 3,300 foreign companies operating in Nantong. Foreign investment reached $2.57 billion in 2013. In the same year, the value of bilateral trade with the European Union was $4.18 billion, of which export was valued at $2.96 billion and imports at $1.22 billion.

Just as in Zhang Jian's time, the city is changing and reforming to meet new challenges.

The port now handles 200 million metric tons of cargo annually. In 2013, the average annual income was 31,059 yuan for Nantong's urban residents and 14,754 yuan for people in rural areas.

The old cooking oil factory that Zhang founded has been transformed into an arts and cultural precinct called 1895, and there are plans to open a new bar and cafe strip nearby.

The waterfront is being redeveloped. A sixth national- level industrial park is being built and 15 Nantong enterprises now rank among China's top 500 companies.

After operating for nearly 120 years, the Dasheng textile factory will close soon, but only because the company plans to move operations to a new facility that is under construction.

Cao said he believed the Nantong and China of today are the realization of Zhang Jian's vision.

Grandson Zhang Xuwu said he wished he could sit down with his grandfather and discuss how far China has come.

"What I would like to tell him is, 'we are happy China has begun reforming like you hoped for. There are still a lot of different problems to solve, and it may take generations, but I am very hopeful."

Zhang Rouwu said the visionary would always be more than a historical figure to her.

She still remembers the thoughtful man behind the legend, who used to ruffle her hair and give her sweets. She said she never resented the fact that she had to share her beloved grandfather with Nantong and all of China.

"Even though he was so busy, we could feel his affection for us and we understood why he was busy," she said. "He was a patriot, and we loved him. We still love him."

Contact the writers through cangwei@chinadaily.com.cn.