Zhoushan in East China's Zhejiang province has been working to improve its business environment over the past five years, local media reported on Dec 22.

Shandong Wanda Real Estate Co took just 24.5 days to finish the entire approval process for its investment project in the city, a process which would have taken about 100 days before 2018.

"We received guidance from local government departments from the very beginning, which saved us from the need to make several visits," said Huang Jiajia, development manager of Zhoushan Wanda Real Estate Co.

Huang also said that the government departments sacrificed their lunch break to help them handle the matters requiring approval.

According to the development manager, so long as the submitted materials are complete, they can obtain the certificate they applied for in one working day, including land use permits and land certificates.

"The entire approval process for investment projects by general companies has been streamlined more than 20 percent and will take a maximum of 80 days this year," said Shao Yanling from the Zhoushan development and reform commission.

Shao noted that the approval time before the investment project breaks ground has been reduced from more than 100 days to 50 days, saving more than 10,000 yuan ($1,500) per project.

In addition, Zhoushan has continued its "Starting Businesses in One Day" reform, which means that business licenses, invoice applications, official seals, and bank accounts can all be completed in one working day, according to Shao.

Thanks to these reforms, the number of newly-established companies in Zhoushan is expected to total 9,500 this year.