East China's Zhejiang province, one of the most developed regions in China, reported a GDP of 5.17 trillion yuan ($810.23 billion) in 2017, up 7.8 percent from last year, according to a work report from the provincial government on Jan 25.

It is the first time the province's GDP has surpassed 5 trillion yuan.

Taking a closer look at the numbers, the majority of GDP growth came from the development of real economy. In the past five years, Zhejiang has strongly emphasized development in this area, as well as the improvement of industrial economy. To achieve these ends, the province launched a series of development plans, such as "internet plus", "the return of Zhejiang merchants" and "robot plus".

The industrial economy of Zhejiang is consistently being optimized, especially with the rise of the service industry, which contributed to 57 percent of the GDP in 2017.

The rapid growth of new industries like digital economy and internet has greatly expedited Zhejiang's overall development. Figures from the province's commerce department showed that online retail sales reached 1.3 trillion yuan last year.

Zhejiang has also released a three-year plan to strengthen traditional industries. In 2017, a total of 308.7 billion yuan was invested in the traditional manufacturing sector, a year-on-year increase of 6.7 percent.

Scientific and technological innovation has been strongly promoted as well. In the last five years, the number of high-tech companies in Zhejiang has grown from 5,008 to 11,462.

The government work report stated that the GDP of the entire province is expected to reach 7 trillion yuan within the next five years and that the province will strive to create a modern, sustainable development model.