Tuesday, December 5, 2006
1. Background:
With a colorful history and a promising future, Shanghai has become China's largest commercial and financial centre. Shanghai is located at the estuary of the Yangtze River and is also a key river and seaport as well as a transport and communications centre. With an area of about 6,350 sq km and a population of some 14.7 million people, Shanghai is also a leading wholesale and distribution centre and China's largest and most alluring market for retailers.
With a colorful history and a promising future, Shanghai has become China's largest commercial and financial centre. Shanghai is located at the estuary of the Yangtze River and is also a key river and seaport as well as a transport and communications centre. With an area of about 6,350 sq km and a population of some 14.7 million people, Shanghai is also a leading wholesale and distribution centre and China's largest and most alluring market for retailers.
(Source: http://www.demographia.com/rac-shanghai.pdf1)
Central Government authorities announced in 1990 that Pudong, an undeveloped area in Shanghai east of the Huangpu River, would be an Open Area for development. Since then, Shanghai and its surrounding area have undergone massive physical and economic transformation that seems set to continue as Shanghai assumes its designated role as "Dragon's Head" in leading development in the Yangtze River Delta and basin. The Shanghai government, meanwhile, has established Economic and Technological Development Zones at the Minhang, Hongqiao and Caohejing districts and the Songjiang Industrial Park in South West Shanghai. Shanghai is also home to one of the two stock exchanges in the country and home to China’s foreign-currency.
Central Government authorities announced in 1990 that Pudong, an undeveloped area in Shanghai east of the Huangpu River, would be an Open Area for development. Since then, Shanghai and its surrounding area have undergone massive physical and economic transformation that seems set to continue as Shanghai assumes its designated role as "Dragon's Head" in leading development in the Yangtze River Delta and basin. The Shanghai government, meanwhile, has established Economic and Technological Development Zones at the Minhang, Hongqiao and Caohejing districts and the Songjiang Industrial Park in South West Shanghai. Shanghai is also home to one of the two stock exchanges in the country and home to China’s foreign-currency.
(Source: http://www.demographia.com/rac-shanghai.pdf2)
2. Shanghai City Demographic Profile:
Ø Ranked the fifth most populous city in the world after Tokyo, Mexico City, Sao Paolo, and New York, the city of Shanghai is thus the biggest city in China according to the fifth national population census conducted in the year 2000.
Ø Shanghai had a permanent population 16.41 million persons, an increase of 3.07 million persons over 1990.
Ø The increase rate of Shanghai’s population, 23%, was much higher than the national average of 11.7%.
Ø The natural growth rate in Shanghai has been negative for the last 8 years. This means that the strong population increase of the city is exclusively due to immigration.
Ø Population is the principal factor and the major constraint for China’s economic and social development. Shanghai is no exception, especially when taking into consideration that the city is playing more and more important roles in the regional economy, business, and culture.
(Source:
http://www.sinoptic.ch/shanghaiflash/texts/pdf/200302_Shanghai.Flash.pdf#search
=%22city%20of%20shanghai%20employment%226)
2. Shanghai City Demographic Profile:
Ø Ranked the fifth most populous city in the world after Tokyo, Mexico City, Sao Paolo, and New York, the city of Shanghai is thus the biggest city in China according to the fifth national population census conducted in the year 2000.
Ø Shanghai had a permanent population 16.41 million persons, an increase of 3.07 million persons over 1990.
Ø The increase rate of Shanghai’s population, 23%, was much higher than the national average of 11.7%.
Ø The natural growth rate in Shanghai has been negative for the last 8 years. This means that the strong population increase of the city is exclusively due to immigration.
Ø Population is the principal factor and the major constraint for China’s economic and social development. Shanghai is no exception, especially when taking into consideration that the city is playing more and more important roles in the regional economy, business, and culture.
(Source:
http://www.sinoptic.ch/shanghaiflash/texts/pdf/200302_Shanghai.Flash.pdf#search
=%22city%20of%20shanghai%20employment%226)
2.1 Shanghai Municipality:
Ø Shanghai’s demographic situation is characterized by factors such as the large scale of population, the increasing floating population, the relatively low level of education and well-being, the ageing of the population, its uneven population distribution, and so on.
Ø In order to solve the demographic problems and to promote social and economic development, the Shanghai government has made a series of important policy decisions concerning family planning, employment, social security and population distribution.
(Source:
http://www.sinoptic.ch/shanghaiflash/texts/pdf/200302_Shanghai.Flash.pdf#search
=%22city%20of%20shanghai%20employment%227)
Ø Shanghai’s demographic situation is characterized by factors such as the large scale of population, the increasing floating population, the relatively low level of education and well-being, the ageing of the population, its uneven population distribution, and so on.
Ø In order to solve the demographic problems and to promote social and economic development, the Shanghai government has made a series of important policy decisions concerning family planning, employment, social security and population distribution.
(Source:
http://www.sinoptic.ch/shanghaiflash/texts/pdf/200302_Shanghai.Flash.pdf#search
=%22city%20of%20shanghai%20employment%227)
3. Employment and unemployment profile in Shanghai:
3.1. Employment and unemployment during the transition period: a complex situation
Shanghai’s unemployment figures since 1985 show three trends. Firstly, a rising rate of unemployment over the past 15 years. Before 1992, the number of registered unemployed in Shanghai was insignificant: below 100,000, that is to say, less than 2%. From 1993 onwards, this grew rapidly: by the end of 1994, this figure was 148,500; and, by the end of 1999, 187,000((2). Secondly, there have been no dramatic surges in the rate, with the single exception of 1996. Thirdly, according to official figures, the unemployment rate in Shanghai is not high in absolute terms. By 1999 it was only 3.1% (see Figure 1). These three factors are significant when we consider the transition of the Chinese economy. They are largely explained by the reform of the employment system beginning in the 1980s, a period characterized by a particularly low rate of urban unemployment. At that time, almost the only people out of work in the towns were graduates. For all other employees, jobs were guaranteed for life: which meant no fear of losing them. After the reform of the employment system, it became clear that major unemployment did exist and had been hidden within the state industry sector, and unemployment figures rose((3). Thus, transition brought with it unemployment and, curiously, this was unconnected with whatever macro-economic variations were taking effect in the economy.
3.1. Employment and unemployment during the transition period: a complex situation
Shanghai’s unemployment figures since 1985 show three trends. Firstly, a rising rate of unemployment over the past 15 years. Before 1992, the number of registered unemployed in Shanghai was insignificant: below 100,000, that is to say, less than 2%. From 1993 onwards, this grew rapidly: by the end of 1994, this figure was 148,500; and, by the end of 1999, 187,000((2). Secondly, there have been no dramatic surges in the rate, with the single exception of 1996. Thirdly, according to official figures, the unemployment rate in Shanghai is not high in absolute terms. By 1999 it was only 3.1% (see Figure 1). These three factors are significant when we consider the transition of the Chinese economy. They are largely explained by the reform of the employment system beginning in the 1980s, a period characterized by a particularly low rate of urban unemployment. At that time, almost the only people out of work in the towns were graduates. For all other employees, jobs were guaranteed for life: which meant no fear of losing them. After the reform of the employment system, it became clear that major unemployment did exist and had been hidden within the state industry sector, and unemployment figures rose((3). Thus, transition brought with it unemployment and, curiously, this was unconnected with whatever macro-economic variations were taking effect in the economy.
Evolution of the unemployment rate in Shanghai (1985-2001): Figure-1
http://www.cefc.com.hk/uk/pc/articles/art_ligne.php?num_art_ligne=37023
3.2. Employment trends in relation to supply and demand on the labour front:
By comparison with other cities in China, employment in Shanghai is not yet a serious social problem. We shall try to estimate the prospects for employment by first considering how supply and demand in the field of work has developed over recent years. For those bound by the household registration system (hukou), the labour market in China still remains segmented. Thus, in Shanghai, the labour market is limited to the supply of labour originating in the city itself. The first factor influencing this market is the slow growth of the city’s population. Since the family planning policy was applied, the natural rate of growth of the Shanghai population has been extremely low. It dropped below zero in 1993, and this tendency persisted thereafter((9). At the same time, the migratory balance (the difference between the growth rates of the immigrant and emigrant populations) remained stable. The level for the rate has been maintained since 1993 at 5%. For Shanghai’s population, that has been reflected in a very low growth rate (see Figure 2).
http://www.cefc.com.hk/uk/pc/articles/art_ligne.php?num_art_ligne=37023
3.2. Employment trends in relation to supply and demand on the labour front:
By comparison with other cities in China, employment in Shanghai is not yet a serious social problem. We shall try to estimate the prospects for employment by first considering how supply and demand in the field of work has developed over recent years. For those bound by the household registration system (hukou), the labour market in China still remains segmented. Thus, in Shanghai, the labour market is limited to the supply of labour originating in the city itself. The first factor influencing this market is the slow growth of the city’s population. Since the family planning policy was applied, the natural rate of growth of the Shanghai population has been extremely low. It dropped below zero in 1993, and this tendency persisted thereafter((9). At the same time, the migratory balance (the difference between the growth rates of the immigrant and emigrant populations) remained stable. The level for the rate has been maintained since 1993 at 5%. For Shanghai’s population, that has been reflected in a very low growth rate (see Figure 2).
Figure: 2
Natural growth rate and migratory balance (1978-1999)
http://www.cefc.com.hk/uk/pc/articles/art_ligne.php?num_art_ligne=37024
4. Objectives & Future goals:
Shanghai is an international mega city with a permanent population of 18 million. Shanghai is also an economic centre, holding a very important position in the national economy. Since China adopted its reform and opening-up policies, in particular, after the central government made the decision to carry out pilot reforms and opening-up measures in Pudong, Shanghai has ushered in a new period and scored enormous achievements in its modernization drive, becoming an epitome of China's rapid socio-economic development.
4.1. Shanghai city development authority has realized sustained, smooth and
relative fast socio-economic development:
Since 1992, Shanghai's GDP has been growing at a double-digit speed for 14 consecutive years. The GDP of Shanghai in 2005 reached $11 billion. With rapid economic development, the social undertakings including science and technology, education, culture, public health and sports also made great progress. As a result, the living standards and quality of the Shanghai people have improved significantly. Now, the per capita floor area of urban residents reached 25M2, and the average life expectancy is 80 years old.
4.2. Shanghai stands at the forefront of China's reform and opening up.
By the end of 2005, Shanghai has attracted more than 40,000 foreign-invested companies and received actualized Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of nearly $60 billion. 430 out of the Fortune Global 500 have established presence in Shanghai. More than 400 regional headquarters of the multinational companies (MNCs), investment companies and R&D centers are now in Shanghai. What's more, Shanghai has successfully hosted many international conferences, such as the APEC meeting and the Fortune Global Forum. In December 2002, Shanghai won the bid to host the 2010 World Expo.
4.3. Shanghai is transforming from an industrial and commercial city to an
economic center of China.
Shanghai hosts a number of national-level factors market including securities, foreign exchange, gold, futures, IPR, technology and human resources, making shanghai an economic center of China. The volume of tradable securities of Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) accounts for nearly 80% of the national total, and the volume of the futures market 50% of the national total. Shanghai also hosts the largest number of foreign-invested financial institutions in China. As of the end of 2005, there were more than 300 foreign-invested and Joint Venture financial organizations.
4.4. Shanghai has strengthened its position as a trading port and boosted its
shipping capacity.
Shanghai is the biggest port in China. As a shipping center, Shanghai's capacity has been constantly enhanced. In 2005, Shanghai handled foreign trade worth $350 billion, up by 24.1% over last year, accounting for more than a quarter of the national total. The cargo throughput reached 443 million tons, up by 16.9% over last year, becoming the world's largest port. The container throughput of Shanghai reached 18 million TEUs, 3.5 million more TEUs than last year, remaining the third largest container terminal. Meanwhile, the Pudong and Hongqiao airports of Shanghai handled over 41 million passengers, up by 15.3% over last year. The throughput of air cargo and mail reached 2.2 million tons, up by 14% over last year. Shanghai will be implementing its 11th five-year program. The first two decades of the 21st century is an important period of strategic opportunities for China.
4.5. By 2020, Shanghai will become one of the economic, financial, trade and shipping centers of the world ("Four Centers"):
Focusing on this development goal, in the coming 5 years, Shanghai will implement in earnest the scientific approach to development, make efforts to build a harmonious society, stick to development as our top priority, forge ahead with reform and opening up, improve people's lives and rally our work around the central objective of increasing Shanghai's international competitiveness. Shanghai will put in place the general framework for the "Four Centers" initiative, host a successful, wonderful and unforgettable World Expo and continue to improve the living standards of our people through rapid and sound economic and social development. To this end, we would focus on the following priorities.
4.6. Shanghai city will transform the model of economic growth and put in place a
service sector-driven industrial structure:
Shanghai city authority unswervingly promote industrial restructuring, giving priority to the modern service sector and the manufacturing sector. The tertiary sector will contribute more than 50% to the city's GDP, and in the central districts, the percentage should be higher than 70%. On the one hand, by leveraging the strength of information and communications technology (ICT), shanghai city will place a premium on the financial and modern logistics industries and create modern service clusters so as to raise the level, size and added value of the modern service sector. On the other hand, shanghai city will introduce new technologies, processes and equipment to the advanced manufacturing sector so as to reach higher levels of technological sophistication, develop more proprietary core technologies and strong brands, thereby boosting the competitiveness of this sector.
4.7. Shanghai will increase the capacity for independent innovation and build an
urban innovation system.
Innovation capacity is crucial for a city's international competitiveness. By 2010, R&D expenditure will reach 2.8% of Shanghai's GDP. The contribution rate of technological progress will be around 65%. Therefore, shanghai city development authority is committed to developing an innovation system with stronger capacities for locally pioneered innovation, innovation through integration and re-innovation through the internalization of imported technologies. The development of a business-led innovation system will gain further momentum. Shanghai will become an innovation-oriented city.
4.8. Shanghai will forge ahead with reform and opening up by taking full advantage of Pudong's head start gained by the pilot projects being implemented there.
Reform is a strong driving force for economic and social development. Spearheaded by Pudong's pioneering efforts in development and opening-up, reforms will firmly maintain their socialist market economy orientation. City authority will intensify the comprehensive and simultaneous reforms of the government, the business, the market and society. City authority will also implement the opening up policies unswervingly in accordance with our WTO commitments and the master plan of the country.
4.9. Shanghai city will build a harmonious society and continue to improve the
living standards of the people.
The ultimate objective of development is to improve people's lives. The city development authority will adopt a putting-people-first approach, accelerate the development of social undertakings, improve public service and promote overall human development it will attach great importance to the living standards of our people by focusing our work on employment, housing and social security.
4.10. Shanghai city development authority is making proactive efforts to prepare for the 2010 World Expo with a view to presenting a successful, wonderful and unforgettable World Expo.
Regarded as "Olympics in the areas of economy, culture, science and technology", World Expos are top-level comprehensive exhibitions of far-reaching influence. The theme of 2010 Shanghai World Expo is "Better city, Better life". It is the first time for a developing country to host World Expo. It is estimated that nearly 200 countries, international organizations and companies will participate in it with an audience of more than 70 million people. Planning against high technological, ecological and cultural standards, we are now making all out efforts to make the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai a platform to show the fruits of world's economy, science and technology, to share cultures and arts and to promote friendly communication. A city's development would not be possible without the development of modern infrastructure. This is particularly so in Shanghai. In order for Shanghai to become an international economic, financial, trade and shipping center, Shanghai's role as the regional hub must be strengthened by laying emphasis on key projects of infrastructure. In this regard, Shanghai has formulated a good plan, the three pillars of which are
Ø Transportation,
Ø Environmental protection and
Ø Regeneration of old neighborhoods.
First, the city development authority will forge ahead with the development of key
infrastructure focusing on hubs, functionality and networks.
City’s objective in the area of seaport development is to rank Shanghai among ports with the largest container throughput and to establish Shanghai as one of the international shipping centers by 2010. Last year, the phase one project of Yangshan Deepwater Port and the Yangshan Free Port Area were officially put into operation. City development authority will expedite the development of follow-up projects and improve the soft environment for the shipping industry. In the area of airport development, Govt objective is for Shanghai to become an aviation hub by 2010. By then, there will be five runways in the Pudong International Airport, handling 80 million passengers and 5.7 million tons of cargo annually. For the Hongqiao International Airport, there will be two runways, handling 30 million passengers every year. In the area of Information Port, our objective is to build Shanghai into an ICT-enabled city by 2010. At present, Shanghai already has a relatively sophisticated information infrastructure. The next step of our work is to further expand ICT applications in economic and social development while improving the existing infrastructure. Shanghai city development authority’s objective in the area of rail transport is to put in place a basic network with 13 lines and total length in operation of 512 km. The target for 2010 is 11 lines and 400 km. In the area of expressways, the authority’s objective is to put in place a full-fledged network with 880 km of roads open of traffic. In the area of waterways, City development authority will step up the development of a high-grade inland waterway network featuring one ring and 10 spoke-like major waterways.
Second, Shanghai city development Authority will strengthen environmental protection and ecological conservation.
Since the 1990s, Shanghai has implemented the strategy of sustainable development. In particular, Shanghai implemented two rounds of the Three-Year Plan of Action for
Environmental Protection. For 6 years in a row, the investment in environmental protection has been more than 3% of Shanghai's GDP with a total of $14 billion. In 2002, Shanghai was awarded by the United Nations for its special contribution to urban sustainable development. Aiming at building an eco-friendly city, Shanghai will implement the third round of the Three-Year Plan of Action for Environmental Protection. Shanghai will further improve water quality, control air pollution, development treatment facilities to handle solid wastes, industrial and agricultural pollution. Meanwhile, we will also accelerate industrial restructuring so as to phase out heavily polluting enterprises and promote clean production. As a result, City Authority hope Shanghai will have bluer sky, greener land and cleaner water.
Third, Shanghai will strike a good balance between preserving the historical cultural heritage and regenerating the old neighbourhoods in our efforts to improve the living conditions and living environment of Shanghai people.
Shanghai will further increase the green area in the central districts and public space, control over development and the layout of high buildings so as to provide a better environment for the people.
(Source: http://in.chineseembassy.org/eng/sgxw/t246736.htm8)
References:
1. http://www.demographia.com/rac-shanghai.pdf1
2. http://www.demographia.com/rac-shanghai.pdf2
3. http://www.cefc.com.hk/uk/pc/articles/art_ligne.php?num_art_ligne=37023
4. http://www.cefc.com.hk/uk/pc/articles/art_ligne.php?num_art_ligne=37024
5. http://www.china.org.cn/english/Life/109942.htm
6.http://www.sinoptic.ch/shanghaiflash/texts/pdf/200302_Shanghai.Flash.pdf#search=%2 2city%20of%20shanghai%20employment%226
7.http://www.sinoptic.ch/shanghaiflash/texts/pdf/200302_Shanghai.Flash.pdf#search=%2 2city%20of%20shanghai%20employment%227
8. http://in.chineseembassy.org/eng/sgxw/t246736.htm8
9. http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/habitat/profiles/shanghai.asp)
10. Shanghai statistical bureau (1998, 200, 2004); Jinzhou Yin.ed (2001) institutional
reform & social transition. A report of economic Dev in shanghai 2000 (in Chinese)
shanfhai Academy of social secience press).
Natural growth rate and migratory balance (1978-1999)
http://www.cefc.com.hk/uk/pc/articles/art_ligne.php?num_art_ligne=37024
4. Objectives & Future goals:
Shanghai is an international mega city with a permanent population of 18 million. Shanghai is also an economic centre, holding a very important position in the national economy. Since China adopted its reform and opening-up policies, in particular, after the central government made the decision to carry out pilot reforms and opening-up measures in Pudong, Shanghai has ushered in a new period and scored enormous achievements in its modernization drive, becoming an epitome of China's rapid socio-economic development.
4.1. Shanghai city development authority has realized sustained, smooth and
relative fast socio-economic development:
Since 1992, Shanghai's GDP has been growing at a double-digit speed for 14 consecutive years. The GDP of Shanghai in 2005 reached $11 billion. With rapid economic development, the social undertakings including science and technology, education, culture, public health and sports also made great progress. As a result, the living standards and quality of the Shanghai people have improved significantly. Now, the per capita floor area of urban residents reached 25M2, and the average life expectancy is 80 years old.
4.2. Shanghai stands at the forefront of China's reform and opening up.
By the end of 2005, Shanghai has attracted more than 40,000 foreign-invested companies and received actualized Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of nearly $60 billion. 430 out of the Fortune Global 500 have established presence in Shanghai. More than 400 regional headquarters of the multinational companies (MNCs), investment companies and R&D centers are now in Shanghai. What's more, Shanghai has successfully hosted many international conferences, such as the APEC meeting and the Fortune Global Forum. In December 2002, Shanghai won the bid to host the 2010 World Expo.
4.3. Shanghai is transforming from an industrial and commercial city to an
economic center of China.
Shanghai hosts a number of national-level factors market including securities, foreign exchange, gold, futures, IPR, technology and human resources, making shanghai an economic center of China. The volume of tradable securities of Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) accounts for nearly 80% of the national total, and the volume of the futures market 50% of the national total. Shanghai also hosts the largest number of foreign-invested financial institutions in China. As of the end of 2005, there were more than 300 foreign-invested and Joint Venture financial organizations.
4.4. Shanghai has strengthened its position as a trading port and boosted its
shipping capacity.
Shanghai is the biggest port in China. As a shipping center, Shanghai's capacity has been constantly enhanced. In 2005, Shanghai handled foreign trade worth $350 billion, up by 24.1% over last year, accounting for more than a quarter of the national total. The cargo throughput reached 443 million tons, up by 16.9% over last year, becoming the world's largest port. The container throughput of Shanghai reached 18 million TEUs, 3.5 million more TEUs than last year, remaining the third largest container terminal. Meanwhile, the Pudong and Hongqiao airports of Shanghai handled over 41 million passengers, up by 15.3% over last year. The throughput of air cargo and mail reached 2.2 million tons, up by 14% over last year. Shanghai will be implementing its 11th five-year program. The first two decades of the 21st century is an important period of strategic opportunities for China.
4.5. By 2020, Shanghai will become one of the economic, financial, trade and shipping centers of the world ("Four Centers"):
Focusing on this development goal, in the coming 5 years, Shanghai will implement in earnest the scientific approach to development, make efforts to build a harmonious society, stick to development as our top priority, forge ahead with reform and opening up, improve people's lives and rally our work around the central objective of increasing Shanghai's international competitiveness. Shanghai will put in place the general framework for the "Four Centers" initiative, host a successful, wonderful and unforgettable World Expo and continue to improve the living standards of our people through rapid and sound economic and social development. To this end, we would focus on the following priorities.
4.6. Shanghai city will transform the model of economic growth and put in place a
service sector-driven industrial structure:
Shanghai city authority unswervingly promote industrial restructuring, giving priority to the modern service sector and the manufacturing sector. The tertiary sector will contribute more than 50% to the city's GDP, and in the central districts, the percentage should be higher than 70%. On the one hand, by leveraging the strength of information and communications technology (ICT), shanghai city will place a premium on the financial and modern logistics industries and create modern service clusters so as to raise the level, size and added value of the modern service sector. On the other hand, shanghai city will introduce new technologies, processes and equipment to the advanced manufacturing sector so as to reach higher levels of technological sophistication, develop more proprietary core technologies and strong brands, thereby boosting the competitiveness of this sector.
4.7. Shanghai will increase the capacity for independent innovation and build an
urban innovation system.
Innovation capacity is crucial for a city's international competitiveness. By 2010, R&D expenditure will reach 2.8% of Shanghai's GDP. The contribution rate of technological progress will be around 65%. Therefore, shanghai city development authority is committed to developing an innovation system with stronger capacities for locally pioneered innovation, innovation through integration and re-innovation through the internalization of imported technologies. The development of a business-led innovation system will gain further momentum. Shanghai will become an innovation-oriented city.
4.8. Shanghai will forge ahead with reform and opening up by taking full advantage of Pudong's head start gained by the pilot projects being implemented there.
Reform is a strong driving force for economic and social development. Spearheaded by Pudong's pioneering efforts in development and opening-up, reforms will firmly maintain their socialist market economy orientation. City authority will intensify the comprehensive and simultaneous reforms of the government, the business, the market and society. City authority will also implement the opening up policies unswervingly in accordance with our WTO commitments and the master plan of the country.
4.9. Shanghai city will build a harmonious society and continue to improve the
living standards of the people.
The ultimate objective of development is to improve people's lives. The city development authority will adopt a putting-people-first approach, accelerate the development of social undertakings, improve public service and promote overall human development it will attach great importance to the living standards of our people by focusing our work on employment, housing and social security.
4.10. Shanghai city development authority is making proactive efforts to prepare for the 2010 World Expo with a view to presenting a successful, wonderful and unforgettable World Expo.
Regarded as "Olympics in the areas of economy, culture, science and technology", World Expos are top-level comprehensive exhibitions of far-reaching influence. The theme of 2010 Shanghai World Expo is "Better city, Better life". It is the first time for a developing country to host World Expo. It is estimated that nearly 200 countries, international organizations and companies will participate in it with an audience of more than 70 million people. Planning against high technological, ecological and cultural standards, we are now making all out efforts to make the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai a platform to show the fruits of world's economy, science and technology, to share cultures and arts and to promote friendly communication. A city's development would not be possible without the development of modern infrastructure. This is particularly so in Shanghai. In order for Shanghai to become an international economic, financial, trade and shipping center, Shanghai's role as the regional hub must be strengthened by laying emphasis on key projects of infrastructure. In this regard, Shanghai has formulated a good plan, the three pillars of which are
Ø Transportation,
Ø Environmental protection and
Ø Regeneration of old neighborhoods.
First, the city development authority will forge ahead with the development of key
infrastructure focusing on hubs, functionality and networks.
City’s objective in the area of seaport development is to rank Shanghai among ports with the largest container throughput and to establish Shanghai as one of the international shipping centers by 2010. Last year, the phase one project of Yangshan Deepwater Port and the Yangshan Free Port Area were officially put into operation. City development authority will expedite the development of follow-up projects and improve the soft environment for the shipping industry. In the area of airport development, Govt objective is for Shanghai to become an aviation hub by 2010. By then, there will be five runways in the Pudong International Airport, handling 80 million passengers and 5.7 million tons of cargo annually. For the Hongqiao International Airport, there will be two runways, handling 30 million passengers every year. In the area of Information Port, our objective is to build Shanghai into an ICT-enabled city by 2010. At present, Shanghai already has a relatively sophisticated information infrastructure. The next step of our work is to further expand ICT applications in economic and social development while improving the existing infrastructure. Shanghai city development authority’s objective in the area of rail transport is to put in place a basic network with 13 lines and total length in operation of 512 km. The target for 2010 is 11 lines and 400 km. In the area of expressways, the authority’s objective is to put in place a full-fledged network with 880 km of roads open of traffic. In the area of waterways, City development authority will step up the development of a high-grade inland waterway network featuring one ring and 10 spoke-like major waterways.
Second, Shanghai city development Authority will strengthen environmental protection and ecological conservation.
Since the 1990s, Shanghai has implemented the strategy of sustainable development. In particular, Shanghai implemented two rounds of the Three-Year Plan of Action for
Environmental Protection. For 6 years in a row, the investment in environmental protection has been more than 3% of Shanghai's GDP with a total of $14 billion. In 2002, Shanghai was awarded by the United Nations for its special contribution to urban sustainable development. Aiming at building an eco-friendly city, Shanghai will implement the third round of the Three-Year Plan of Action for Environmental Protection. Shanghai will further improve water quality, control air pollution, development treatment facilities to handle solid wastes, industrial and agricultural pollution. Meanwhile, we will also accelerate industrial restructuring so as to phase out heavily polluting enterprises and promote clean production. As a result, City Authority hope Shanghai will have bluer sky, greener land and cleaner water.
Third, Shanghai will strike a good balance between preserving the historical cultural heritage and regenerating the old neighbourhoods in our efforts to improve the living conditions and living environment of Shanghai people.
Shanghai will further increase the green area in the central districts and public space, control over development and the layout of high buildings so as to provide a better environment for the people.
(Source: http://in.chineseembassy.org/eng/sgxw/t246736.htm8)
References:
1. http://www.demographia.com/rac-shanghai.pdf1
2. http://www.demographia.com/rac-shanghai.pdf2
3. http://www.cefc.com.hk/uk/pc/articles/art_ligne.php?num_art_ligne=37023
4. http://www.cefc.com.hk/uk/pc/articles/art_ligne.php?num_art_ligne=37024
5. http://www.china.org.cn/english/Life/109942.htm
6.http://www.sinoptic.ch/shanghaiflash/texts/pdf/200302_Shanghai.Flash.pdf#search=%2 2city%20of%20shanghai%20employment%226
7.http://www.sinoptic.ch/shanghaiflash/texts/pdf/200302_Shanghai.Flash.pdf#search=%2 2city%20of%20shanghai%20employment%227
8. http://in.chineseembassy.org/eng/sgxw/t246736.htm8
9. http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/habitat/profiles/shanghai.asp)
10. Shanghai statistical bureau (1998, 200, 2004); Jinzhou Yin.ed (2001) institutional
reform & social transition. A report of economic Dev in shanghai 2000 (in Chinese)
shanfhai Academy of social secience press).
Figure 1: Location of Suzhou
Suzhou is located on the shores of Lake Taihu in the lower reaches of the Yangtze between 119o55' and 121o20' east longitude and between 30o47' and 32o02' north latitude. The city covers a total area of 8,488 square km with 1,650 square km of urban area. It enjoys a mild and humid climate with an annual rainfall of 1,100 mm, an average annual temperature of 15.7Co. Suzhou has a vast number of ponds and streams. The Grand Canal flows from its north to south, with rivers like Wangyu, Loujiang and Taipu connecting its east and west. Dotting in this chessboard are lakes like Yangcheng, Kuncheng and Dianshan. 90% of the Taihu Lake is within the territory of Suzhou. The natural scenery of hills and waters in Suzhou is as charming as a delicate beauty. Of the whole area, 10 per cent is cultivated fields, 30 per cent hills, and the rest covered with water. The average altitude of Suzhou is 4 meters.
2. Data on Demographic and Related Issues
2.1 Demographic
Suzhou has a population of 5.83 million with 2.12 million in urban area. The main inhabitants are Han nationality, which takes 99% of total population. The main religion here is Buddhism and Taoism. The natives speak Suzhou dialect (Wu dialect), but the government language is still mandarin.
2.2 Tourism
The revenue from the tourism sector totaled 23.596 billion yuan in 2003, up by 19% over the previous year. The city received 815,700 overseas tourists, a decrease of 8.5%. The income from these overseas tourists was 291 million USD, up by 4.5%. The number of domestic tourists was 23.5017 million, increasing by 16.9%. Through tourist agencies 693,400 Suzhounese visited other places, which increased 13.6%. The city carried out the strategy of “Grand Tourism” further perfecting its famous tourism brands of “Three ancient towns and one lake”. It also developed new tourist attractions such as “Tour around the City's ancient canal” and “Dreaming Suzhou ”a large-scale performance of ballet and acrobatics. By the end of 2003 there were 95 star hotels in the city, 5 more than that in the previous year. 20 of them were 4 or 5 star ones and total beds provided by these star hotels were over 20,000. The standardization of tourist sites was in full swing and 13 scenery places were listed as 4A class.
Suzhou is located on the shores of Lake Taihu in the lower reaches of the Yangtze between 119o55' and 121o20' east longitude and between 30o47' and 32o02' north latitude. The city covers a total area of 8,488 square km with 1,650 square km of urban area. It enjoys a mild and humid climate with an annual rainfall of 1,100 mm, an average annual temperature of 15.7Co. Suzhou has a vast number of ponds and streams. The Grand Canal flows from its north to south, with rivers like Wangyu, Loujiang and Taipu connecting its east and west. Dotting in this chessboard are lakes like Yangcheng, Kuncheng and Dianshan. 90% of the Taihu Lake is within the territory of Suzhou. The natural scenery of hills and waters in Suzhou is as charming as a delicate beauty. Of the whole area, 10 per cent is cultivated fields, 30 per cent hills, and the rest covered with water. The average altitude of Suzhou is 4 meters.
2. Data on Demographic and Related Issues
2.1 Demographic
Suzhou has a population of 5.83 million with 2.12 million in urban area. The main inhabitants are Han nationality, which takes 99% of total population. The main religion here is Buddhism and Taoism. The natives speak Suzhou dialect (Wu dialect), but the government language is still mandarin.
2.2 Tourism
The revenue from the tourism sector totaled 23.596 billion yuan in 2003, up by 19% over the previous year. The city received 815,700 overseas tourists, a decrease of 8.5%. The income from these overseas tourists was 291 million USD, up by 4.5%. The number of domestic tourists was 23.5017 million, increasing by 16.9%. Through tourist agencies 693,400 Suzhounese visited other places, which increased 13.6%. The city carried out the strategy of “Grand Tourism” further perfecting its famous tourism brands of “Three ancient towns and one lake”. It also developed new tourist attractions such as “Tour around the City's ancient canal” and “Dreaming Suzhou ”a large-scale performance of ballet and acrobatics. By the end of 2003 there were 95 star hotels in the city, 5 more than that in the previous year. 20 of them were 4 or 5 star ones and total beds provided by these star hotels were over 20,000. The standardization of tourist sites was in full swing and 13 scenery places were listed as 4A class.
Figure 2: The attractive view of the city
2.3 Preservation of the Historic and Cultural CityThe city boasts 2 National Historic and Cultural Cities: Suzhou and Changshu, 3 Historic and Cultural Towns: Luzhi, Tongli and Zhouzhuang, 6 historic and cultural towns protected at provincial level as well as a group of well preserved ancient towns and villages. There are 487 cultural relics protected at different levels. Old city proper owns 5 historic neighborhoods: Pingjiang, Humble Administrator's Garden, Yi Garden, Shantang and Changmen, 200 buildings and more than 790 architectures under protection. In order to strengthen the management of renowned historic and cultural cities and towns, “ Suzhou City 's Protection Measures for Renowned Historic and Cultural Cities and Towns” was promulgated. It also takes the lead in China to introduce the “Management Measures for Purple Lines in Suzhou
2.3 Preservation of the Historic and Cultural CityThe city boasts 2 National Historic and Cultural Cities: Suzhou and Changshu, 3 Historic and Cultural Towns: Luzhi, Tongli and Zhouzhuang, 6 historic and cultural towns protected at provincial level as well as a group of well preserved ancient towns and villages. There are 487 cultural relics protected at different levels. Old city proper owns 5 historic neighborhoods: Pingjiang, Humble Administrator's Garden, Yi Garden, Shantang and Changmen, 200 buildings and more than 790 architectures under protection. In order to strengthen the management of renowned historic and cultural cities and towns, “ Suzhou City 's Protection Measures for Renowned Historic and Cultural Cities and Towns” was promulgated. It also takes the lead in China to introduce the “Management Measures for Purple Lines in Suzhou
Figure 3: beautiful heritage building
2.4 Industry
In 2003 Suzhou 's industrial output was 701.077 billion yuan, among which 497.651 billion yuan was the output of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and non-SOEs whose annual sales volume is over 5 million yuan. The figures increased 37.8% and 39.1% respectively compared with those of the previous year. The city's total power consumption by industrial sectors in 2003 was 30.413 billion kwh, an increase of 30% over the previous year. The level of heavy industrialization reached 64.5%, up by 9.1%. The operation quality of industrial economy has been further enhanced.
The sales volume of above-scale enterprises reached 492.487 billion yuan, increasing 41.4%. Their revenue reached 33.265 billion yuan, up by 35.8%. Their profit was 21.449 billion yuan, up by 35.8%. The comprehensive index of economic performance of above-scale industries reached 159.3%, a record high in recent years. The sales volume of 100 biggest enterprises was 252.4 billion yuan and their revenue was 18 billion yuan, up by 56.2% and 38.8% respectively.
2.5 Traffic
2.4 Industry
In 2003 Suzhou 's industrial output was 701.077 billion yuan, among which 497.651 billion yuan was the output of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and non-SOEs whose annual sales volume is over 5 million yuan. The figures increased 37.8% and 39.1% respectively compared with those of the previous year. The city's total power consumption by industrial sectors in 2003 was 30.413 billion kwh, an increase of 30% over the previous year. The level of heavy industrialization reached 64.5%, up by 9.1%. The operation quality of industrial economy has been further enhanced.
The sales volume of above-scale enterprises reached 492.487 billion yuan, increasing 41.4%. Their revenue reached 33.265 billion yuan, up by 35.8%. Their profit was 21.449 billion yuan, up by 35.8%. The comprehensive index of economic performance of above-scale industries reached 159.3%, a record high in recent years. The sales volume of 100 biggest enterprises was 252.4 billion yuan and their revenue was 18 billion yuan, up by 56.2% and 38.8% respectively.
2.5 Traffic
Figure 4: crowded street in Suzhou
Except for public bus service, six routes of special tour buses reaching to all of the traveling spots of Suzhou have been provided to travelers in recent years. Besides, tourists can rent bicycles and tri-bicycles to travel around the city, which is convenient and cheap. Taxi is another one of major and common means of transport here. Additionally, water transport is a local character of Suzhou for it sits beside the old canals. For railway transportation, Suzhou railway station is one of standard stations of China, from where trains can go to all other main cities of China. For airline service, travelers can go to the airports of Shanghai and Nanjing by bus or train to take flights there to everywhere in China and abroad.
3. Overview of the local economy
The development of Suzhou primarily depends on tourism. To accelerate the development, Suzhou have been developed as important industrial city in Changjiang triangle islet as well There are some well-known light industrial products, such as silk and embroidery. Also there are some new kinds of products, such as iron and steel, chemistry, machine and electron, etc.
4. Major issues
(1) Between the protection of heritage buildings and development of tourism. Some tourists do not have positive attitude towards these heritage sites. Investors do not put protection of heritage buildings on first place.
(2) Between development of industry and maintenance of culture in Suzhou. Local government spends much on industry development. Half land of Suzhou has been used for industry already. It is suspected that original culture of Suzhou will be lost.
Except for public bus service, six routes of special tour buses reaching to all of the traveling spots of Suzhou have been provided to travelers in recent years. Besides, tourists can rent bicycles and tri-bicycles to travel around the city, which is convenient and cheap. Taxi is another one of major and common means of transport here. Additionally, water transport is a local character of Suzhou for it sits beside the old canals. For railway transportation, Suzhou railway station is one of standard stations of China, from where trains can go to all other main cities of China. For airline service, travelers can go to the airports of Shanghai and Nanjing by bus or train to take flights there to everywhere in China and abroad.
3. Overview of the local economy
The development of Suzhou primarily depends on tourism. To accelerate the development, Suzhou have been developed as important industrial city in Changjiang triangle islet as well There are some well-known light industrial products, such as silk and embroidery. Also there are some new kinds of products, such as iron and steel, chemistry, machine and electron, etc.
4. Major issues
(1) Between the protection of heritage buildings and development of tourism. Some tourists do not have positive attitude towards these heritage sites. Investors do not put protection of heritage buildings on first place.
(2) Between development of industry and maintenance of culture in Suzhou. Local government spends much on industry development. Half land of Suzhou has been used for industry already. It is suspected that original culture of Suzhou will be lost.
Figure 6: demolished heritage building
(3) Between development of traffic and preservation of heritage buildings. The population of Suzhou still maintains increasing. Some streets will become very crowded.
(4) Increase of population and preservation of heritage buildings. More building for living space are required, whereas heritage buildings have already taken too much land.
5. Constrains and barriers to problem solving
All constrains and barriers aggregate around preservation of heritage buildings
1. Limiting number of tourists visiting is used as a way of protecting of heritage buildings. Price of entering heritage of building has been increased. Whereas according to recent survey, tourists feel the price is acceptable. It is impossible to increase tour price unlimitedly.
2. The attitude of local government towards economic development is attracting external investments as much as possible. Development of industry has been strengthened. It results that the pollution of environment gets serious. Tourism will get negative impacts from this.
3. Some tourists and residents still have not noticed the importance of heritage.
4. For traffic development, widening streets is always a controversial issue discussed in local government. However, widening street is opposed strongly by heritage government.
6. Resources
1. China Classic Tours
2. Journey beyond travel: World Pride: Heritage vs. Tourism – China
3.
4. MickTravels World Travel Guide
5. Suzhou Garden
6.Single Planethttp ://singleplanet.blogs.com/single_planet/2004/05/demolitions_in_.html>
(3) Between development of traffic and preservation of heritage buildings. The population of Suzhou still maintains increasing. Some streets will become very crowded.
(4) Increase of population and preservation of heritage buildings. More building for living space are required, whereas heritage buildings have already taken too much land.
5. Constrains and barriers to problem solving
All constrains and barriers aggregate around preservation of heritage buildings
1. Limiting number of tourists visiting is used as a way of protecting of heritage buildings. Price of entering heritage of building has been increased. Whereas according to recent survey, tourists feel the price is acceptable. It is impossible to increase tour price unlimitedly.
2. The attitude of local government towards economic development is attracting external investments as much as possible. Development of industry has been strengthened. It results that the pollution of environment gets serious. Tourism will get negative impacts from this.
3. Some tourists and residents still have not noticed the importance of heritage.
4. For traffic development, widening streets is always a controversial issue discussed in local government. However, widening street is opposed strongly by heritage government.
6. Resources
1. China Classic Tours
2. Journey beyond travel: World Pride: Heritage vs. Tourism – China
3.
4. MickTravels World Travel Guide
5. Suzhou Garden
6.Single Planethttp ://singleplanet.blogs.com/single_planet/2004/05/demolitions_in_.html>
Prepared By:
Sandy Lam
PLAN 9067: Metropolitan Planning
Semester 2, 2006
SID 305250078
Introduction to Wuxi
Wuxi, a Prefecture level city in Jiangsu Province of the People’s Republic of China, is an industrial city located west of Shanghai (Appendix A and Appendix B). The city was previously called Yaosih, which means “with tin” until 3rd century BC when it was renamed to Wuxi, meaning “without tin”, once local tin ores were depleted (Encarta 2004). It is a major transportation centre and is accessible through its airport, highways, railways, and waterways. The city is regarded as a regional economic centre, being one of fifteen economic centres and one of the ten leading tourist cities in the country (Wuxi Municipal 1996).
Geography and Administration
Wuxi is situated 128 kilometres west of Shanghai, and is located south of Zhenjiang, east of Nanjing (the provincial capital), and north of Suzhou (Appendix B). The Yangtze River is located north of the city and Taihu Lake to the south. Numerous canals “crisscross” Wuxi and the city has a typically traditional Chinese circular city plan with a central city. Wuxi covers an area of 4,650 km², of which 517.7 km² is the city centre (Wuxi Municipal 1996). It is a Prefecture level city and has nine county-level divisions, including seven districts and two county-level cities, under its jurisdiction – Chong’an District, Nanchang District, Beitang District, Binhu District, Huishan District, Xishan District, Wuxi New District, Jiangyin City, and Yixing City (Wuxi Municipal People’s Government 2002).
Population
According to the Public Security Bureau, the population of Wuxi Prefecture in 2001 was
4.359 million people, with 1.8002 million classified as urban residents (IPDFS). The population density of Wuxi Prefecture was 935 km² and 2,182 km² in the city centre. The natural growth rate of the population in Wuxi was 1.2 in 2001 (IPDFS).
History
The history of Wuxi dates back to 11th century BC when the founders of the city, Taibo (the eldest son of Emperor Zhouwu from Shaanxi) and his younger brother Zhongyong, set up the State of Gouwu (now Meicun Town of Xishan city) in present day Wuxi (IOWMPG). In 202 BC, or the 5th year of the West Han Dynasty, Wuxi County was established and the city was renamed from Yaosih to Wuxi when local tin resources were exhausted. Building water works for agricultural production and handicrafts were the main industries. The importance of Wuxi increased during the Sui Dynasty (AD581-618) when the Grand Canal was built in AD609 and the city became accessible by boat. During the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), Wuxi was a transport centre for grain tributes between surrounding areas and the imperial court of Beijing. From 1368-1911, or during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Wuxi was an important national centre for the rice, silk and textile industries (Wuxi Municipal People’s Government 2002). Industrialisation began in the 1890s with an emphasis on silk and cotton textiles, and expanded into the manufacture of precision and high-technology products and the production of both light and heavy industry after 1949 (Encarta 2004).
Culture
Taibo, the founder of Wuxi, has been attributed to creating the Wu Culture which is a combination of central and southern Chinese cultures (IOFWMPG). Originally a mining town, it is now known for its production of Huishan clay figurines, red pottery, embroidery, silk, and opera and play characters (Encarta 2004 and Wuxi Municipal People’s Government 2002).
Wuxi has natural, historical and cultural attractions including:
• Taihu Lake and surrounding gardens such as Yuantouzhu or Turtle Head Garden;
• “Nine-Dragon Spine” comprising Huishan and Xishan Mountains;
Giant Statue of Buddha at Lingshan;
• Temples and Lava Caves in Yixing;
• Gardens and Parks such as Jichang Garden, Plum Garden and Xihui Park;
• And cultural institutions such the Great Hall of the People, Radio Broadcast and TV Centre, Wuxi Taihu Film and Television City, and Wu Cultural Park.
Education
Wuxi has 11 independent universities and colleges including the Southern Yangtze University, and vocational institutions such as the Wuxi Institute of Technology (WXIT) and Wuxi Institute of Commerce. The city also has international schools for children of foreign expatriates. In Wuxi, 548 of every 10,000 people and 46% of young people between ages 18 and 22 have received tertiary education (WBFTEC 2006).
Transportation and Major Infrastructure
Wuxi is a regional transportation hub and has an extensive network of highways, railways, air routes and waterways. Nine highways connect Wuxi with large cities such as Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou. The city is on the railway line that connects major cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing, and other cities like Xinyi and Changxing. Wuxi Airport has eleven domestic air routes including charter passenger flights to Hong Kong. Wuxi has seven waterways including the Yangtze River, Grand Canal and Taihu Lake. The city has waterways, ports and harbors. Jiangyin Port is located 38 km from the city centre and is an international port with the handling capacity of 10,000 tons. Other ports such as Jiangyin Harbor and Zhangjiang harbor are located 40 km away. Other major infrastructure in Wuxi includes power, telecommunications and water supply and sewage disposal systems including the Lucun Waste Water Disposal Plant. The city has 38 comprehensive hospitals, 18 specialist hospitals and 6 traditional medicinal centers.
Economy
Wuxi is one of fifteen key economic centres in the country and is a regional economic centre in Jiangsu Province. Wuxi has three main industries and continues to be an important manufacturing and production base for the region’s economy.
Local Employment
In 2001, the labour market was standardised and employment was relatively stable with 2.16 million people employed in Wuxi at the end of the year, a decrease of 49,400 from the previous year. Employment at collective businesses at or above town level was 543,700, which is a decrease of 49,300 from the previous year. Private businesses and self-employed individuals increased with a growth rate of 18.1% and total employment reached 542,600. The unemployment rate in the urban area was 3.6% (IPDFS).
Major Industries
The main industries in Wuxi can be divided into three categories – primary (agriculture), secondary (industry and commerce) and tertiary (foreign and domestic trade) (IPDFS).
Primary Industry: Agriculture Wuxi has fertile and arable land and is known for its production of rice and cultivation of freshwater fish. The city has made efforts to modernize its agricultural system in recent years by increasing the area of land for profitable commercial crops such as oil-bearing crops, cotton, tea and vegetables. Facilities for agricultural production and flood prevention have improved. Forestry, animal husbandry and fishery maintained a steady growth in 2001.
Secondary Industry: Industry and Commerce:
Wuxi is the economic centre in Jiangsu Province and the Shanghai Economic Zone, and is called “Little Shanghai” for its rapid industrial and commercial development over the last century. Wuxi has approximately 20,000 enterprises and specialisation in a variety of industrial sectors including the manufacture and production of machinery, electronics, textiles, metallurgy, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
Tertiary Industry: Foreign and Domestic Trade:
The city’s economic strategic policy is “enhancing development through opening up to the world trade market” and has programs to promote and encourage foreign investment and trade with overseas enterprises (IPDFS). As a result, there has been a gradual increase of imports, exports, foreign trade and investment in Wuxi over the years (Table 1).
Sandy Lam
PLAN 9067: Metropolitan Planning
Semester 2, 2006
SID 305250078
Introduction to Wuxi
Wuxi, a Prefecture level city in Jiangsu Province of the People’s Republic of China, is an industrial city located west of Shanghai (Appendix A and Appendix B). The city was previously called Yaosih, which means “with tin” until 3rd century BC when it was renamed to Wuxi, meaning “without tin”, once local tin ores were depleted (Encarta 2004). It is a major transportation centre and is accessible through its airport, highways, railways, and waterways. The city is regarded as a regional economic centre, being one of fifteen economic centres and one of the ten leading tourist cities in the country (Wuxi Municipal 1996).
Geography and Administration
Wuxi is situated 128 kilometres west of Shanghai, and is located south of Zhenjiang, east of Nanjing (the provincial capital), and north of Suzhou (Appendix B). The Yangtze River is located north of the city and Taihu Lake to the south. Numerous canals “crisscross” Wuxi and the city has a typically traditional Chinese circular city plan with a central city. Wuxi covers an area of 4,650 km², of which 517.7 km² is the city centre (Wuxi Municipal 1996). It is a Prefecture level city and has nine county-level divisions, including seven districts and two county-level cities, under its jurisdiction – Chong’an District, Nanchang District, Beitang District, Binhu District, Huishan District, Xishan District, Wuxi New District, Jiangyin City, and Yixing City (Wuxi Municipal People’s Government 2002).
Population
According to the Public Security Bureau, the population of Wuxi Prefecture in 2001 was
4.359 million people, with 1.8002 million classified as urban residents (IPDFS). The population density of Wuxi Prefecture was 935 km² and 2,182 km² in the city centre. The natural growth rate of the population in Wuxi was 1.2 in 2001 (IPDFS).
History
The history of Wuxi dates back to 11th century BC when the founders of the city, Taibo (the eldest son of Emperor Zhouwu from Shaanxi) and his younger brother Zhongyong, set up the State of Gouwu (now Meicun Town of Xishan city) in present day Wuxi (IOWMPG). In 202 BC, or the 5th year of the West Han Dynasty, Wuxi County was established and the city was renamed from Yaosih to Wuxi when local tin resources were exhausted. Building water works for agricultural production and handicrafts were the main industries. The importance of Wuxi increased during the Sui Dynasty (AD581-618) when the Grand Canal was built in AD609 and the city became accessible by boat. During the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), Wuxi was a transport centre for grain tributes between surrounding areas and the imperial court of Beijing. From 1368-1911, or during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Wuxi was an important national centre for the rice, silk and textile industries (Wuxi Municipal People’s Government 2002). Industrialisation began in the 1890s with an emphasis on silk and cotton textiles, and expanded into the manufacture of precision and high-technology products and the production of both light and heavy industry after 1949 (Encarta 2004).
Culture
Taibo, the founder of Wuxi, has been attributed to creating the Wu Culture which is a combination of central and southern Chinese cultures (IOFWMPG). Originally a mining town, it is now known for its production of Huishan clay figurines, red pottery, embroidery, silk, and opera and play characters (Encarta 2004 and Wuxi Municipal People’s Government 2002).
Wuxi has natural, historical and cultural attractions including:
• Taihu Lake and surrounding gardens such as Yuantouzhu or Turtle Head Garden;
• “Nine-Dragon Spine” comprising Huishan and Xishan Mountains;
Giant Statue of Buddha at Lingshan;
• Temples and Lava Caves in Yixing;
• Gardens and Parks such as Jichang Garden, Plum Garden and Xihui Park;
• And cultural institutions such the Great Hall of the People, Radio Broadcast and TV Centre, Wuxi Taihu Film and Television City, and Wu Cultural Park.
Education
Wuxi has 11 independent universities and colleges including the Southern Yangtze University, and vocational institutions such as the Wuxi Institute of Technology (WXIT) and Wuxi Institute of Commerce. The city also has international schools for children of foreign expatriates. In Wuxi, 548 of every 10,000 people and 46% of young people between ages 18 and 22 have received tertiary education (WBFTEC 2006).
Transportation and Major Infrastructure
Wuxi is a regional transportation hub and has an extensive network of highways, railways, air routes and waterways. Nine highways connect Wuxi with large cities such as Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou. The city is on the railway line that connects major cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing, and other cities like Xinyi and Changxing. Wuxi Airport has eleven domestic air routes including charter passenger flights to Hong Kong. Wuxi has seven waterways including the Yangtze River, Grand Canal and Taihu Lake. The city has waterways, ports and harbors. Jiangyin Port is located 38 km from the city centre and is an international port with the handling capacity of 10,000 tons. Other ports such as Jiangyin Harbor and Zhangjiang harbor are located 40 km away. Other major infrastructure in Wuxi includes power, telecommunications and water supply and sewage disposal systems including the Lucun Waste Water Disposal Plant. The city has 38 comprehensive hospitals, 18 specialist hospitals and 6 traditional medicinal centers.
Economy
Wuxi is one of fifteen key economic centres in the country and is a regional economic centre in Jiangsu Province. Wuxi has three main industries and continues to be an important manufacturing and production base for the region’s economy.
Local Employment
In 2001, the labour market was standardised and employment was relatively stable with 2.16 million people employed in Wuxi at the end of the year, a decrease of 49,400 from the previous year. Employment at collective businesses at or above town level was 543,700, which is a decrease of 49,300 from the previous year. Private businesses and self-employed individuals increased with a growth rate of 18.1% and total employment reached 542,600. The unemployment rate in the urban area was 3.6% (IPDFS).
Major Industries
The main industries in Wuxi can be divided into three categories – primary (agriculture), secondary (industry and commerce) and tertiary (foreign and domestic trade) (IPDFS).
Primary Industry: Agriculture Wuxi has fertile and arable land and is known for its production of rice and cultivation of freshwater fish. The city has made efforts to modernize its agricultural system in recent years by increasing the area of land for profitable commercial crops such as oil-bearing crops, cotton, tea and vegetables. Facilities for agricultural production and flood prevention have improved. Forestry, animal husbandry and fishery maintained a steady growth in 2001.
Secondary Industry: Industry and Commerce:
Wuxi is the economic centre in Jiangsu Province and the Shanghai Economic Zone, and is called “Little Shanghai” for its rapid industrial and commercial development over the last century. Wuxi has approximately 20,000 enterprises and specialisation in a variety of industrial sectors including the manufacture and production of machinery, electronics, textiles, metallurgy, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
Tertiary Industry: Foreign and Domestic Trade:
The city’s economic strategic policy is “enhancing development through opening up to the world trade market” and has programs to promote and encourage foreign investment and trade with overseas enterprises (IPDFS). As a result, there has been a gradual increase of imports, exports, foreign trade and investment in Wuxi over the years (Table 1).
Table 1: Total GDP and Output of Major industries
Development Zones
The development zones see the greatest economic growth in the city and are the “locomotive of Wuxi’s open economy” (Wuxi Municipal 1996). Development zones were created as centres of economic activity within the city. The zones comprise of state-owned large and medium sized enterprises and international corporations. Each zone or “park” is designed to provide companies with business and community services and infrastructure. At present, Wuxi has four national-level and ten provincial-level development zones.
One of the major development zones is the Wuxi High-Tech Industrial Development Zone. A national level zone approved by the State Council, this zone was established in November 1992 and specialises in the manufacture, production and exportation of electronics, information technology (IT) and software, electro-machinery and auto parts, bioengineering and pharmaceuticals, and new materials.
Regional Plans
A regional plan, the Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou Plan (SWC Plan), was implemented as part of Jiangsu’s Province’s Urban System Plan in 2001 to coordinate the cities’ development and achieve regional integration (Luo and Shen 2005, p. 3). The objectives of the plan include regional economic development, urban and regional competitiveness, and improvement of the region’s relationship with Shanghai (Luo and Shen 2005, pp. 3-6). Due to problems with conflicting interests of stakeholders in the three cities of the SWC Plan, Wuxi developed its own plan, Wuxi Development Strategic Plan, in which the city changed the region by removing Suzhou and replacing it with Taizhou. In this plan, Wuxi became the leading city in the region. The city was also able to expand the areas allocated for development through the plan (Luo and Shen 2005, p. 16).
Major Projects
Wuxi has two projects with the objective to reduce the amount of time needed for customs clearance. One project is “E-Port”, a computer software program that will enable import and export companies to complete commodity inspection and customs declaration procedures over the Internet. Another is the launch of the Shanghai-Wuxi and Shenzhen-Wuxi Air-and-Land Coordinated Transportation (IOWMPG).
As part of an initiative to develop Wuxi’s modern logistics industry, the city has planned and implemented the construction of “Two Parks and One Centre” (IOWMPG). The parks will include Wuxi General Logistics Park, Jiangyin Yangtze River Port Logistics Park, and Wuxi Port Logistics Centre. A project to build an integrated waste management system, where the waste constituents are recycled and reused, will be implemented in Wuxi New District from January 2006 to December 2007 to resolve the city’s waste water issues (UNEP).
Major Issues & Constraints to Problem Solving
The major issues within the city of Wuxi and the region of Jiangsu Province include inequitable income distribution, disposal of waste water and solid waste, and constraints to problem solving in the local and regional governments.
Intense development and economic growth has benefited Wuxi and Suzhou, two prosperous cities in southern Jiangsu Province, but there remains a significant income disparity between these two cities and other areas of the province (Jiangsu). For example, Wuxi’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per-capita in 2001 was RMB 31,246 while Jiangsu Province’s GDP per-capita in the same year was RMB 12,933 (IPDFS and Demographia 2005). With increasing industrialisation and development, disposal of waste water and solid waste has become a problem. Three waste water treatment plants have been installed to resolve this issue, but increasing industrialisation and improving living standards means that the quantity of solid waste is expected to rise. The project to build an integrated waste management system is expected to fix this problem (UNEP).
The regional plan, SWC Plan, was implemented by the provincial government to coordinate the development of the province’s three subordinate cities (Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou), but the plan was ineffective due to the following constraints to problem solving:
• Conflict of interests among the three cities and competition for investment and infrastructure development;
• No coordinating mechanisms including implementation and administration measures for the plan;
• City governments were unable to “translate” the plan into concrete plans due to the unfeasibility of its planning contents;
• And power distribution and conflicts among government departments (Figure 1) (Luo and Shen 2005, pp. 12-13)
Development Zones
The development zones see the greatest economic growth in the city and are the “locomotive of Wuxi’s open economy” (Wuxi Municipal 1996). Development zones were created as centres of economic activity within the city. The zones comprise of state-owned large and medium sized enterprises and international corporations. Each zone or “park” is designed to provide companies with business and community services and infrastructure. At present, Wuxi has four national-level and ten provincial-level development zones.
One of the major development zones is the Wuxi High-Tech Industrial Development Zone. A national level zone approved by the State Council, this zone was established in November 1992 and specialises in the manufacture, production and exportation of electronics, information technology (IT) and software, electro-machinery and auto parts, bioengineering and pharmaceuticals, and new materials.
Regional Plans
A regional plan, the Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou Plan (SWC Plan), was implemented as part of Jiangsu’s Province’s Urban System Plan in 2001 to coordinate the cities’ development and achieve regional integration (Luo and Shen 2005, p. 3). The objectives of the plan include regional economic development, urban and regional competitiveness, and improvement of the region’s relationship with Shanghai (Luo and Shen 2005, pp. 3-6). Due to problems with conflicting interests of stakeholders in the three cities of the SWC Plan, Wuxi developed its own plan, Wuxi Development Strategic Plan, in which the city changed the region by removing Suzhou and replacing it with Taizhou. In this plan, Wuxi became the leading city in the region. The city was also able to expand the areas allocated for development through the plan (Luo and Shen 2005, p. 16).
Major Projects
Wuxi has two projects with the objective to reduce the amount of time needed for customs clearance. One project is “E-Port”, a computer software program that will enable import and export companies to complete commodity inspection and customs declaration procedures over the Internet. Another is the launch of the Shanghai-Wuxi and Shenzhen-Wuxi Air-and-Land Coordinated Transportation (IOWMPG).
As part of an initiative to develop Wuxi’s modern logistics industry, the city has planned and implemented the construction of “Two Parks and One Centre” (IOWMPG). The parks will include Wuxi General Logistics Park, Jiangyin Yangtze River Port Logistics Park, and Wuxi Port Logistics Centre. A project to build an integrated waste management system, where the waste constituents are recycled and reused, will be implemented in Wuxi New District from January 2006 to December 2007 to resolve the city’s waste water issues (UNEP).
Major Issues & Constraints to Problem Solving
The major issues within the city of Wuxi and the region of Jiangsu Province include inequitable income distribution, disposal of waste water and solid waste, and constraints to problem solving in the local and regional governments.
Intense development and economic growth has benefited Wuxi and Suzhou, two prosperous cities in southern Jiangsu Province, but there remains a significant income disparity between these two cities and other areas of the province (Jiangsu). For example, Wuxi’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per-capita in 2001 was RMB 31,246 while Jiangsu Province’s GDP per-capita in the same year was RMB 12,933 (IPDFS and Demographia 2005). With increasing industrialisation and development, disposal of waste water and solid waste has become a problem. Three waste water treatment plants have been installed to resolve this issue, but increasing industrialisation and improving living standards means that the quantity of solid waste is expected to rise. The project to build an integrated waste management system is expected to fix this problem (UNEP).
The regional plan, SWC Plan, was implemented by the provincial government to coordinate the development of the province’s three subordinate cities (Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou), but the plan was ineffective due to the following constraints to problem solving:
• Conflict of interests among the three cities and competition for investment and infrastructure development;
• No coordinating mechanisms including implementation and administration measures for the plan;
• City governments were unable to “translate” the plan into concrete plans due to the unfeasibility of its planning contents;
• And power distribution and conflicts among government departments (Figure 1) (Luo and Shen 2005, pp. 12-13)
Figure 1 – Reasons for the unsuccessful implementation of SWC Plan based on interviews.
As a result, Wuxi “defied” the provincial government’s plan and formulated its own plan – Wuxi Development Strategic Plan (Luo and Shen 2005, p. 16).
Planning for the Future
Wuxi continues to intensify efforts to develop the city into a science and technology oriented regional economic centre, transportation hub, and promote its reputation as a scenic destination for local and international tourists (IPDFS). In the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-10), Wuxi will focus on “developing into an advanced manufacturing centre, a modern logistics centre and a national first-class historical, cultural and ecological city of the Yangtze River Delta” (China Daily 2005).
References
1. China Daily 2005, Wuxi, a metropolis full of vigour. Retrieved 12 September 2006, from
http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/fortune2005/ft050516p2n.pdf#search=%22wuxi%2011th%2
0economic%20development%20plan%22
2. Demographia 2005, China: GDP (PIB) per Capita by Region (Province): 2001. Retrieved
12 September 2006, from http://www.demographia.com/db-china-reggdp-2001.htm
3. Encarta 2004, ‘Wuxi’, Encarta Encyclopedia Standard 2004.
4. Industrial Promotion and Development Foundation of Sagamihara (IPDFS), The City of
Wuxi (China). Retrieved 12 September 2006, from
http://www.ssz.or.jp/yukotoshi/en/ew03.html
5. Jiangsu. Retrieved 12 September 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiangsu
6. Jiangsu Economy & Trade Cooperation 2001, A brief introduction to Jiangsu. Retrieved 12
September 2006, from http://jm.js.cei.gov.cn/english/e012.htm
7. Luo, XL and Shen J 2005, Why Urban Planning Does Not Work Well as Expected?
Retrieved 12 September 2006, from http://mumford.albany.edu/chinanet/shanghai2005/luoxiaolong_en.pdf#search=%22wuxi %20development%20plans%22
8. New Wuxi [Image] 2005. Retrieved 6 September 2006, from
http://www.newwuxi.com/english/index11.htm
9. The Information Office of Wuxi Municipal People’s Government (IOWMPG), New Wuxi.
Retrieved 12 September 2006, from http://www.newwuxi.com/english/index11.htm
10. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Sustainable Production and
Consumption – Projects. Retrieved 12 September 2006, from
http://www.unep.or.jp/ietc/SPC/projects.asp
11. Wuxi. Retrieved 12 September 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuxi
12. Wuxi [Image] 2006. Retrieved 12 September 2006, from
http://china.scmp.com/map/wuxi_index.html
13. Wuxi, a metropolis full of vigour [Image] 2005. Retrieved 12 September 2006, from
http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/fortune2005/ft050516p2n.pdf#search=%22wuxi%2011th%2
0economic%20development%20plan%22
14. Wuxi Bureau of Foreign Trade & Economic Cooperation (WBFTEC) 2006, About Wuxi.
Retrieved 12 September 2006, from http://www.wxmofcom.gov.cn/english/about.asp
15. Wuxi Municipal People’s Government 2002, Wuxi Survey. Retrieved 12 September 2006, from http://old.wuxi.gov.cn/english/landscape/index.asp
16. Wuxi Municipal The People’s Government Foreign Economic Relations & Trade
Commission (Wuxi Municipal) 1996, Survey of Wuxi. Retrieved 12 September 2006, from
http://www.chinapages.com/jiangsu/wuxi/wx_gk.htm
Appendix A – Location of Wuxi Prefecture
Appendix B – Wuxi and Surrounds
As a result, Wuxi “defied” the provincial government’s plan and formulated its own plan – Wuxi Development Strategic Plan (Luo and Shen 2005, p. 16).
Planning for the Future
Wuxi continues to intensify efforts to develop the city into a science and technology oriented regional economic centre, transportation hub, and promote its reputation as a scenic destination for local and international tourists (IPDFS). In the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-10), Wuxi will focus on “developing into an advanced manufacturing centre, a modern logistics centre and a national first-class historical, cultural and ecological city of the Yangtze River Delta” (China Daily 2005).
References
1. China Daily 2005, Wuxi, a metropolis full of vigour. Retrieved 12 September 2006, from
http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/fortune2005/ft050516p2n.pdf#search=%22wuxi%2011th%2
0economic%20development%20plan%22
2. Demographia 2005, China: GDP (PIB) per Capita by Region (Province): 2001. Retrieved
12 September 2006, from http://www.demographia.com/db-china-reggdp-2001.htm
3. Encarta 2004, ‘Wuxi’, Encarta Encyclopedia Standard 2004.
4. Industrial Promotion and Development Foundation of Sagamihara (IPDFS), The City of
Wuxi (China). Retrieved 12 September 2006, from
http://www.ssz.or.jp/yukotoshi/en/ew03.html
5. Jiangsu. Retrieved 12 September 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiangsu
6. Jiangsu Economy & Trade Cooperation 2001, A brief introduction to Jiangsu. Retrieved 12
September 2006, from http://jm.js.cei.gov.cn/english/e012.htm
7. Luo, XL and Shen J 2005, Why Urban Planning Does Not Work Well as Expected?
Retrieved 12 September 2006, from http://mumford.albany.edu/chinanet/shanghai2005/luoxiaolong_en.pdf#search=%22wuxi %20development%20plans%22
8. New Wuxi [Image] 2005. Retrieved 6 September 2006, from
http://www.newwuxi.com/english/index11.htm
9. The Information Office of Wuxi Municipal People’s Government (IOWMPG), New Wuxi.
Retrieved 12 September 2006, from http://www.newwuxi.com/english/index11.htm
10. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Sustainable Production and
Consumption – Projects. Retrieved 12 September 2006, from
http://www.unep.or.jp/ietc/SPC/projects.asp
11. Wuxi. Retrieved 12 September 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuxi
12. Wuxi [Image] 2006. Retrieved 12 September 2006, from
http://china.scmp.com/map/wuxi_index.html
13. Wuxi, a metropolis full of vigour [Image] 2005. Retrieved 12 September 2006, from
http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/fortune2005/ft050516p2n.pdf#search=%22wuxi%2011th%2
0economic%20development%20plan%22
14. Wuxi Bureau of Foreign Trade & Economic Cooperation (WBFTEC) 2006, About Wuxi.
Retrieved 12 September 2006, from http://www.wxmofcom.gov.cn/english/about.asp
15. Wuxi Municipal People’s Government 2002, Wuxi Survey. Retrieved 12 September 2006, from http://old.wuxi.gov.cn/english/landscape/index.asp
16. Wuxi Municipal The People’s Government Foreign Economic Relations & Trade
Commission (Wuxi Municipal) 1996, Survey of Wuxi. Retrieved 12 September 2006, from
http://www.chinapages.com/jiangsu/wuxi/wx_gk.htm
Appendix A – Location of Wuxi Prefecture
Appendix B – Wuxi and Surrounds
Location
Changzhou is located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River in the province Jiangsu. Changzhou is a prefecture-level city which means that it is not a “city” in strict terms but an administrative unit comprising an urban core and surroundings that are less-urbanized or rural. Changzhou borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Zhenjiang to the nortwest, Wuxi to the east and the province of Zhejiang to the south. The area is 4.375 square kilometre and the urban centre is 1.864 square kilometre.
Main infrastructure
Changzhou is located on the main rail line between Shanghai and Bejing and is a main stop on the Shanghai Nanjing route. There is an airport about 15 kilometres from the city centre with flights to more than 20 domestic cities including Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shenyang, Kunming, Harbin and Dalian. Six expressways are running through Changzhou in all directions; Shanghai-Nanjing, Nanjing-Hangzhou, Beijing-Shanghai, expressway along the Yangtze river, Wuxi-Yixing, Yangzhou-Llyang and national highway no. 312 Shanghai- Xinjiang. Changzhou has a port on the Yangtze river and is situated on the Grand Canal between Beijing and Hangzhou. Appendix 1 shows the main infrastructure network in Changzhou.
History
The earliest record of a settlement on the site of the modern Changzhou was founded in
221 BC. Changzhou got its present name in 589 AD which means “ordinary prefecture”. In 609 AD when the Grand Canal was constructed Changzhou became a canal port and a transhipment point for locally grown grain. The rural areas around Changzhou are noted for the production of rice, fish, tea, silk, bamboo and fruit. In the 1850’s one of the 5 palaces for the housing of the leaders of the so-called “Kingdom of Celestial Peace” was constructed in Changzhou. The ruins of the “Kings Palace” can these day be found near the People’s No.1 Hospital.
Changzhou started to attract cotton mills in the 1920’s. When business started to relocated outside Shanghai in the late 1930’s the cotton industry got a boost. The cultural revolution of 1966-1976 didn’t stop Changzhou to continue to prosper. These days Changzhou is an important industrial centre for engineering, food processing, textiles and high technology. At the beginning of the 1980’s, Changzhou became a well-known industry city and created the South Jiangsu Mode with other cities. Changzhou became the model town for China’s one child policy in 1982. In that year officials reported that nearly 100 percent of the married couples pledged to have only one child.
Population
The population of Changzhou counted 3.489.000 people in 2004. About 2.17 million people live in the urban area. The current population is about 5 million people. More than 200.000 person of the total population are experienced scientists, engineers and technical & vocational specialists. Figure 1 shows the distribution of the population in Changzhou.
Figure 1
Changzhou is located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River in the province Jiangsu. Changzhou is a prefecture-level city which means that it is not a “city” in strict terms but an administrative unit comprising an urban core and surroundings that are less-urbanized or rural. Changzhou borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Zhenjiang to the nortwest, Wuxi to the east and the province of Zhejiang to the south. The area is 4.375 square kilometre and the urban centre is 1.864 square kilometre.
Main infrastructure
Changzhou is located on the main rail line between Shanghai and Bejing and is a main stop on the Shanghai Nanjing route. There is an airport about 15 kilometres from the city centre with flights to more than 20 domestic cities including Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shenyang, Kunming, Harbin and Dalian. Six expressways are running through Changzhou in all directions; Shanghai-Nanjing, Nanjing-Hangzhou, Beijing-Shanghai, expressway along the Yangtze river, Wuxi-Yixing, Yangzhou-Llyang and national highway no. 312 Shanghai- Xinjiang. Changzhou has a port on the Yangtze river and is situated on the Grand Canal between Beijing and Hangzhou. Appendix 1 shows the main infrastructure network in Changzhou.
History
The earliest record of a settlement on the site of the modern Changzhou was founded in
221 BC. Changzhou got its present name in 589 AD which means “ordinary prefecture”. In 609 AD when the Grand Canal was constructed Changzhou became a canal port and a transhipment point for locally grown grain. The rural areas around Changzhou are noted for the production of rice, fish, tea, silk, bamboo and fruit. In the 1850’s one of the 5 palaces for the housing of the leaders of the so-called “Kingdom of Celestial Peace” was constructed in Changzhou. The ruins of the “Kings Palace” can these day be found near the People’s No.1 Hospital.
Changzhou started to attract cotton mills in the 1920’s. When business started to relocated outside Shanghai in the late 1930’s the cotton industry got a boost. The cultural revolution of 1966-1976 didn’t stop Changzhou to continue to prosper. These days Changzhou is an important industrial centre for engineering, food processing, textiles and high technology. At the beginning of the 1980’s, Changzhou became a well-known industry city and created the South Jiangsu Mode with other cities. Changzhou became the model town for China’s one child policy in 1982. In that year officials reported that nearly 100 percent of the married couples pledged to have only one child.
Population
The population of Changzhou counted 3.489.000 people in 2004. About 2.17 million people live in the urban area. The current population is about 5 million people. More than 200.000 person of the total population are experienced scientists, engineers and technical & vocational specialists. Figure 1 shows the distribution of the population in Changzhou.
Figure 1
Industries
The four supporting industries of Changzhou are: agricultural machinery manufacture, electricity transmission & transformation equipment manufacture, engineering machinery and vehicle manufacture and new style textile garment. Electronic information, new type material and biological medicine are 3 new booming industries in the area. Changzhou has become an important manufacturing base for diesel engine, high speed locomotive, transformer, super VCD and DVD, jeans, engineering machinery etc. There are about 28.000 manufacturing enterprises in Changzhou that provide various associated products
for manufactures around the world.
Changzhou has about 350 software enterprises. The combined revenue of these enterprises was more than US$ 120.9 million in 2004. However, these software enterprises are still poor performers on the international markets. The main reason for these poor performances is the lack of innovation and their relatively small scale. Japan is the most important export market for Changzhou’s export industry. On the boarder of the Yangtze river is the Changzhou National High and New Technology Industry Development Zone situated. At the side of the college town Wujin High a New Technology Industry Development Zone is engaging to constructed a bonded logisticscentre, Jingtong Industry Park and New Type Material industry park. The electronics information industry, the equipment manufacture industry, the new material industry and the modern service industry will be formed in a near future. Changzhou has established one high and new technology development zone on state level and 9 development zones on provincial level.
The State-Level High-Tech Industrial Development Zone
The State-Level High-Tech Industrial Development Zone was founded in 1992 and has grown into an important investment designation in the Jiangsu Province. The zone is a powerful engine for Changzhou’s economic development. Efforts of local authorities to improve facilities and services have supported the growth of the zone. The zone had in 2005 five provincial-level engineering technology centres and approximately 100 high tech enterprises. There are more than 4000 enterprises registered in the zone, about 1000 of these enterprises are industrial and about 600 are foreign. Until 2005 authorities forged the zone as an export-orientated development model. The model required labour-intensive processing and lower set-up costs which coincided with the circumstances of China’s initial reform and opening stage. The model boosted the regional economic growth in the past but defects became apparent with the deepening of the countries opening up policy. Some of the enterprises in the zone were weak in the terms of technological and scientific innovation. Most joint-ventures relied on overseas parent companies and were lacking independent research and development capacity. Local enterprises were mostly engaged in low-profit production because of the shortage in core competitive technology. The zone’s party committee points out that it is necessary to increase the high-tech contend of industries when the economics have developed to a certain level. The Yangtze River Delta cannot maintain growth without technological innovation. Authorities have embarked on new supportive measurements to help local enterprises to develop their own brands and technologies to penetrate into high end markets. The authorities will encourage foreign companies to settle down in the district and will assist competent enterprises to establish and improve their own engineering technology and R & D centres. Nowadays the focus has been shifted from attracting capital investment to advanced technology. Changzhou’s aim is to shift from a low to a high profit industry.
The National Torch plan
The National Torch plan is a high-tech development plan from the Chinese government that gives funding to academic institutions and new small companies to commercialise products of academic research and build 19 software parks around the country. The National Torch plan was approved in 1988 and involves the formulation of a complete set of policies, laws and regulations for the development of high tech industries, the establishment of a venture capital system and the establishment of high and new technology industrial development zones.
In 1995 the Ministry of Science and Technology started to select and recognize high quality software parks in China as National Torch Plan Software Industry bases. These industries are entitled to State support and relevant State preferential policies.In accordance with the National Torch plan a software park will be set up in the Changzhou State-Level High-Tech Development zone. Starting in 2005 the Changzhou local government has arranged a special annual fund for the next 3 years of $2.4 million dollar (US) for the construction of the base. The Xinbei government district will also fund the software park with $604.600 US dollars and will provide 13.33 hectares of land for the base of the software park.
The Jiangsu Province Urban System Plan
In 2001 the Jiangsu provincial government attempted to formulate an Urban Region Planfor coordinating the development of Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou (SWC). The provincial government gave birth to the so called SWC plan in 2002. The plan was strongly supported and highly praised by the Ministry of Construction and became a model for urban region planning and a solution to heavy urban competition. The plan was the first urban region plan that was approved by the government. The plan was produced by theJiangsu Urban and Rural Planning institution and the Urban Planning Institution of Nanjing University.
The four major objectives of the plan were:
1. To make use of the dominate role of the Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou urban region in regional economic development;
2. Alleviate serious urban competition and enhance urban and regional competitiveness. This includes coordination of the development of various cities, simulate city cooperation, sharing resources, cooperation and coordination of industry development;
3. To improve the relationship between SWC and Shanghai and created and create a win-win situation;
4. To enhance regional competitiveness in response to challenges of economic globalisation and WTO accession.
The content of the plan focused on the following 5 categories: industry planning, spatial planning, environment protection, tourism planning and infrastructure. Research1 has shown that the implementation of industry planning, spatial planning, environment protection and tourism planning were unsuccessful. The main problem is the conflict between individual (each city) and collective interests (province and SWC) which can not easily can be solved by provincial government. Lack of necessary coordination mechanism and interest conflicts among governments at various levels are also major causes of unsuccessful planning implementations.
Economics
The GDP (gross domestic product) of Changzhou was in 2004 110.06 billion Yuan (US$ 13.8 billion) and in 2005 130.2 Yuan (US$16.4 billion), which is an increase of 17.7 percent. The GDP per capita increased from US$ 3000 in 2003 to US$ 4.000 in 2004 and to US$ 4.500 in the 2005, an increase of 12.5 percent. The main force of the cities economic drive is the high-tech industry. Figure 2 and 3 show the GDP of Changzhou and the GDP per capita in Changzhou.
1 Xiao Long Luo and Jianfa Shen, “Why urban region planning does not work well as expected?”, A case study of Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou Urban Region Planning, Department of Geography and Resource Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
The State High-Tech zone increased its GDP with 25.4 percent to US$ 1.58 billion in 2004, which is 7.4 percent higher than the cities average. The gross industrial value of the zone reached a value of US$4.6 billion in 2004 and is up with 41 percent on yearly basis. The sales revenues hit US$ 4.4 billion, an increase of 42.5 percent and the profit and taxes were US$ 350.6 million and were up with 40 percent.2 The number of large enterprises rose in 2004 from 418 to 453 an increase of 35. 69 of these companies had sales revenues over US$ 12.1 million, the year before there were 49 companies who reached this amount of revenues. The incremental value of the primary industry was US$ 63.5 million, an increase of 5 percent compared to 2003. The incremental value secondary industry had a value of US$ 1.1 billion and increased with 29 percent. The tertiary industry developed rapidly and grew with 20 percent, a incremental value of US$413.5 million. The high-tech zone’s investment in fixed assets increased with 30 percent year on year and reached a value of US$ 1.55 billion, 882.7 million of this amount went to industry3. Figures of the State High-Tech zone can be found in appendix 2. Changzhou attracted in 2004 investments in 129 foreign projects worth more than 2.2 billion (US dollar), about 650 million dollars is realized. This is an increase of 8 percent compared to 2003.
Employment
Residents are benefited by the economic growth of the area. In 2005 about 10.000 unemployed locals founded jobs. The authorities provided free vocational training for the urban unemployed and the rural poor. The authorities also launched a campaign to transfer rural labour to the urban area. Training will be provided to 6000 rural worker per year, about 5000 of these workers are expected to move to the city to work. By the year of 2008 one of every farmer households will be engaged into non-agricultural businesses. The average income of rural people is expected to reach US$ 892, an increase of 12 percent on yearly base.
Education
There are many educational institutions in Changzhou. There are several universities including the Ho Hai University and the Jaingsu University of Science and Technology. Middle schools include the Changzhou Middle School and The Changzhou International School. There are more than 13 colleges and scientific research institutions, 5 vocational schools and more than 700 training centres
Tourism
The Chinese tourism industry has been growing at an exponential rate in the last years, surpassing even the most traditionally popular tourists designations. China was the most visited nation in Asia Pacific in 2001 with more than 33 million arrivals. The World Tourism Association forecast that China will be the most visited nation in the world by 2020. The increase in visitor numbers will require sufficient planning and coordination of
development. Changzhou is famous for its Dinosaur Park in the North district of the city. The city is the home of the Tianning Temple and is building a new pagoda (Tianning Baota). The pagoda has reached its full height and it the tallest in the world. Changzhou is also famous for its combs that can be purchased in most places in the city. The Hong Mei Park, the archaeological ruins of the sunken city, the Tianmu Lake Tourism Resort and the Maoshan Mountain Tourism Resort are high grated tourisms places and a visit worth. Changzhou was in 2001 named “ China Excellent Tourism City” by the State Tourism Administration. The city offers a wide range of accommodation and has more than 200 fine restaurants of Chinese or Western Cuisine.
Environment
Changzhou is a National Clean City and a National Model City in Environmental protection. Its has 17 scenic sports and there are 7 national demonstrative spots for industrial or agricultural tourism. The ecological Tianmu Lake Resort is designated by the State Environmental Protection Bureau. To improve the environment there were more than 10 large green public areas established. The Red Plum Park, Orchid Park, People’s Park, Lushu Park and Jingchuan Park have been expanded. The green area occupies 38.8 percent of the total urban area, the public green area per capita is 8 squire meter.
Changzhou’s honors
Changzhou has been awarded many honours including:
• The earliest city for the experiment on comprehensive reform of economic structure and city to open to the outside world;
• One of the 50 Chinese cities with the biggest comprehensive power;
• China Excellent Tourism City;
• National Clean City
• National Model City in Environmental Protection;
• Provincial Green City;
• National Award for Human Inhabitation Environment;
• One of the 50 Chinese cities with best investment environment;
• National Advanced City in Development of Science and Technology;
• National Excellent City in Public Safety;
• National Advanced City in Social Progress.
Strengths and weaknesses of the Region
Changzhou’s economy and population has been growing with an enormous amount over the last years. The strengths of the region are the low operation costs in the High-Tech district (half of the cost in Shanghai), the competitive labour costs, its location, low overheads and a skilled workforce. The weaknesses are the poor communications and competitiveness between Wuxi, Suzhou and Changzhou, the lack of innovation in industries like the software industry and the weak position of local companies in the international market.
Reference list
Wikipedia free encyclopaedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changzhou
World Tourism site,
http://www.worldtourism.org/regional/east_asia_&_pacific/states/china/MissionChangzhou.pdf#search=%22changzhou%20%20wto%22
Chinese government site, http://www.changzhou.gov.cn/czenportal/
China Practice Group,
http://www.perkinscoie.com/content/ren/updates/china/august2001.htm
China Jiangsu Provincial Economic and Trade Office in Europe,http://www.china-jiangsu.org/
China Dialy News, Special Supplement, Monday May 16 2005
http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/fortune2005/ft050516p14n.pdf#search=%22changzhou%20china%20daily%22
Why Urban Planning Does Not Work Well as Expected, a case study of Suzhou Wuxi
Changzhou Urban Region Planning, Department of Geography and Resource Mangement, University of Hong Kong
http://mumford.albany.edu/chinanet/shanghai2005/luoxiaolong_en.pdf#search=%22urban %20planning%20changzhou%22
Appendix 1 Main infrastructure Changzhou
The four supporting industries of Changzhou are: agricultural machinery manufacture, electricity transmission & transformation equipment manufacture, engineering machinery and vehicle manufacture and new style textile garment. Electronic information, new type material and biological medicine are 3 new booming industries in the area. Changzhou has become an important manufacturing base for diesel engine, high speed locomotive, transformer, super VCD and DVD, jeans, engineering machinery etc. There are about 28.000 manufacturing enterprises in Changzhou that provide various associated products
for manufactures around the world.
Changzhou has about 350 software enterprises. The combined revenue of these enterprises was more than US$ 120.9 million in 2004. However, these software enterprises are still poor performers on the international markets. The main reason for these poor performances is the lack of innovation and their relatively small scale. Japan is the most important export market for Changzhou’s export industry. On the boarder of the Yangtze river is the Changzhou National High and New Technology Industry Development Zone situated. At the side of the college town Wujin High a New Technology Industry Development Zone is engaging to constructed a bonded logisticscentre, Jingtong Industry Park and New Type Material industry park. The electronics information industry, the equipment manufacture industry, the new material industry and the modern service industry will be formed in a near future. Changzhou has established one high and new technology development zone on state level and 9 development zones on provincial level.
The State-Level High-Tech Industrial Development Zone
The State-Level High-Tech Industrial Development Zone was founded in 1992 and has grown into an important investment designation in the Jiangsu Province. The zone is a powerful engine for Changzhou’s economic development. Efforts of local authorities to improve facilities and services have supported the growth of the zone. The zone had in 2005 five provincial-level engineering technology centres and approximately 100 high tech enterprises. There are more than 4000 enterprises registered in the zone, about 1000 of these enterprises are industrial and about 600 are foreign. Until 2005 authorities forged the zone as an export-orientated development model. The model required labour-intensive processing and lower set-up costs which coincided with the circumstances of China’s initial reform and opening stage. The model boosted the regional economic growth in the past but defects became apparent with the deepening of the countries opening up policy. Some of the enterprises in the zone were weak in the terms of technological and scientific innovation. Most joint-ventures relied on overseas parent companies and were lacking independent research and development capacity. Local enterprises were mostly engaged in low-profit production because of the shortage in core competitive technology. The zone’s party committee points out that it is necessary to increase the high-tech contend of industries when the economics have developed to a certain level. The Yangtze River Delta cannot maintain growth without technological innovation. Authorities have embarked on new supportive measurements to help local enterprises to develop their own brands and technologies to penetrate into high end markets. The authorities will encourage foreign companies to settle down in the district and will assist competent enterprises to establish and improve their own engineering technology and R & D centres. Nowadays the focus has been shifted from attracting capital investment to advanced technology. Changzhou’s aim is to shift from a low to a high profit industry.
The National Torch plan
The National Torch plan is a high-tech development plan from the Chinese government that gives funding to academic institutions and new small companies to commercialise products of academic research and build 19 software parks around the country. The National Torch plan was approved in 1988 and involves the formulation of a complete set of policies, laws and regulations for the development of high tech industries, the establishment of a venture capital system and the establishment of high and new technology industrial development zones.
In 1995 the Ministry of Science and Technology started to select and recognize high quality software parks in China as National Torch Plan Software Industry bases. These industries are entitled to State support and relevant State preferential policies.In accordance with the National Torch plan a software park will be set up in the Changzhou State-Level High-Tech Development zone. Starting in 2005 the Changzhou local government has arranged a special annual fund for the next 3 years of $2.4 million dollar (US) for the construction of the base. The Xinbei government district will also fund the software park with $604.600 US dollars and will provide 13.33 hectares of land for the base of the software park.
The Jiangsu Province Urban System Plan
In 2001 the Jiangsu provincial government attempted to formulate an Urban Region Planfor coordinating the development of Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou (SWC). The provincial government gave birth to the so called SWC plan in 2002. The plan was strongly supported and highly praised by the Ministry of Construction and became a model for urban region planning and a solution to heavy urban competition. The plan was the first urban region plan that was approved by the government. The plan was produced by theJiangsu Urban and Rural Planning institution and the Urban Planning Institution of Nanjing University.
The four major objectives of the plan were:
1. To make use of the dominate role of the Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou urban region in regional economic development;
2. Alleviate serious urban competition and enhance urban and regional competitiveness. This includes coordination of the development of various cities, simulate city cooperation, sharing resources, cooperation and coordination of industry development;
3. To improve the relationship between SWC and Shanghai and created and create a win-win situation;
4. To enhance regional competitiveness in response to challenges of economic globalisation and WTO accession.
The content of the plan focused on the following 5 categories: industry planning, spatial planning, environment protection, tourism planning and infrastructure. Research1 has shown that the implementation of industry planning, spatial planning, environment protection and tourism planning were unsuccessful. The main problem is the conflict between individual (each city) and collective interests (province and SWC) which can not easily can be solved by provincial government. Lack of necessary coordination mechanism and interest conflicts among governments at various levels are also major causes of unsuccessful planning implementations.
Economics
The GDP (gross domestic product) of Changzhou was in 2004 110.06 billion Yuan (US$ 13.8 billion) and in 2005 130.2 Yuan (US$16.4 billion), which is an increase of 17.7 percent. The GDP per capita increased from US$ 3000 in 2003 to US$ 4.000 in 2004 and to US$ 4.500 in the 2005, an increase of 12.5 percent. The main force of the cities economic drive is the high-tech industry. Figure 2 and 3 show the GDP of Changzhou and the GDP per capita in Changzhou.
1 Xiao Long Luo and Jianfa Shen, “Why urban region planning does not work well as expected?”, A case study of Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou Urban Region Planning, Department of Geography and Resource Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
The State High-Tech zone increased its GDP with 25.4 percent to US$ 1.58 billion in 2004, which is 7.4 percent higher than the cities average. The gross industrial value of the zone reached a value of US$4.6 billion in 2004 and is up with 41 percent on yearly basis. The sales revenues hit US$ 4.4 billion, an increase of 42.5 percent and the profit and taxes were US$ 350.6 million and were up with 40 percent.2 The number of large enterprises rose in 2004 from 418 to 453 an increase of 35. 69 of these companies had sales revenues over US$ 12.1 million, the year before there were 49 companies who reached this amount of revenues. The incremental value of the primary industry was US$ 63.5 million, an increase of 5 percent compared to 2003. The incremental value secondary industry had a value of US$ 1.1 billion and increased with 29 percent. The tertiary industry developed rapidly and grew with 20 percent, a incremental value of US$413.5 million. The high-tech zone’s investment in fixed assets increased with 30 percent year on year and reached a value of US$ 1.55 billion, 882.7 million of this amount went to industry3. Figures of the State High-Tech zone can be found in appendix 2. Changzhou attracted in 2004 investments in 129 foreign projects worth more than 2.2 billion (US dollar), about 650 million dollars is realized. This is an increase of 8 percent compared to 2003.
Employment
Residents are benefited by the economic growth of the area. In 2005 about 10.000 unemployed locals founded jobs. The authorities provided free vocational training for the urban unemployed and the rural poor. The authorities also launched a campaign to transfer rural labour to the urban area. Training will be provided to 6000 rural worker per year, about 5000 of these workers are expected to move to the city to work. By the year of 2008 one of every farmer households will be engaged into non-agricultural businesses. The average income of rural people is expected to reach US$ 892, an increase of 12 percent on yearly base.
Education
There are many educational institutions in Changzhou. There are several universities including the Ho Hai University and the Jaingsu University of Science and Technology. Middle schools include the Changzhou Middle School and The Changzhou International School. There are more than 13 colleges and scientific research institutions, 5 vocational schools and more than 700 training centres
Tourism
The Chinese tourism industry has been growing at an exponential rate in the last years, surpassing even the most traditionally popular tourists designations. China was the most visited nation in Asia Pacific in 2001 with more than 33 million arrivals. The World Tourism Association forecast that China will be the most visited nation in the world by 2020. The increase in visitor numbers will require sufficient planning and coordination of
development. Changzhou is famous for its Dinosaur Park in the North district of the city. The city is the home of the Tianning Temple and is building a new pagoda (Tianning Baota). The pagoda has reached its full height and it the tallest in the world. Changzhou is also famous for its combs that can be purchased in most places in the city. The Hong Mei Park, the archaeological ruins of the sunken city, the Tianmu Lake Tourism Resort and the Maoshan Mountain Tourism Resort are high grated tourisms places and a visit worth. Changzhou was in 2001 named “ China Excellent Tourism City” by the State Tourism Administration. The city offers a wide range of accommodation and has more than 200 fine restaurants of Chinese or Western Cuisine.
Environment
Changzhou is a National Clean City and a National Model City in Environmental protection. Its has 17 scenic sports and there are 7 national demonstrative spots for industrial or agricultural tourism. The ecological Tianmu Lake Resort is designated by the State Environmental Protection Bureau. To improve the environment there were more than 10 large green public areas established. The Red Plum Park, Orchid Park, People’s Park, Lushu Park and Jingchuan Park have been expanded. The green area occupies 38.8 percent of the total urban area, the public green area per capita is 8 squire meter.
Changzhou’s honors
Changzhou has been awarded many honours including:
• The earliest city for the experiment on comprehensive reform of economic structure and city to open to the outside world;
• One of the 50 Chinese cities with the biggest comprehensive power;
• China Excellent Tourism City;
• National Clean City
• National Model City in Environmental Protection;
• Provincial Green City;
• National Award for Human Inhabitation Environment;
• One of the 50 Chinese cities with best investment environment;
• National Advanced City in Development of Science and Technology;
• National Excellent City in Public Safety;
• National Advanced City in Social Progress.
Strengths and weaknesses of the Region
Changzhou’s economy and population has been growing with an enormous amount over the last years. The strengths of the region are the low operation costs in the High-Tech district (half of the cost in Shanghai), the competitive labour costs, its location, low overheads and a skilled workforce. The weaknesses are the poor communications and competitiveness between Wuxi, Suzhou and Changzhou, the lack of innovation in industries like the software industry and the weak position of local companies in the international market.
Reference list
Wikipedia free encyclopaedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changzhou
World Tourism site,
http://www.worldtourism.org/regional/east_asia_&_pacific/states/china/MissionChangzhou.pdf#search=%22changzhou%20%20wto%22
Chinese government site, http://www.changzhou.gov.cn/czenportal/
China Practice Group,
http://www.perkinscoie.com/content/ren/updates/china/august2001.htm
China Jiangsu Provincial Economic and Trade Office in Europe,http://www.china-jiangsu.org/
China Dialy News, Special Supplement, Monday May 16 2005
http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/fortune2005/ft050516p14n.pdf#search=%22changzhou%20china%20daily%22
Why Urban Planning Does Not Work Well as Expected, a case study of Suzhou Wuxi
Changzhou Urban Region Planning, Department of Geography and Resource Mangement, University of Hong Kong
http://mumford.albany.edu/chinanet/shanghai2005/luoxiaolong_en.pdf#search=%22urban %20planning%20changzhou%22
Appendix 1 Main infrastructure Changzhou
Lacated at the eastern part of China, Nanjing is the capital of jiangsu Province which is developed in economy in China and an important central city on the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtse River. Nanjing is situated on the vast plain of the lower reaches of the Yangtse River and at 32°03'N, 118°47'E. It belongs to the northern subtropical monsoon climate zone where the four seasons are clearly demarcated, the annual mean temperature is 16℃, the annual even precipitation is 1,106 mm and the frost-free period is 237 days.At present, Nanjing has jurisdiction over 10 districts and 5 counties,covering an area of 6,516 square kilometres and having a population of about 5,200,000.
Nowadays, Nanjing has developed into a multiple-producing industrial base in eastern China, an important hub of transportation and communication center, one of China's four major scientific research and educational central cities. The gross national products of the whole city in 1995 amounted to 58 billion yuan, a 12% increase over the previous year.
Industry:
Nanjing is an important industrial base of China where a multi-producing industrial system taking electronics, automobiles, chemicals and a number of special products as the leading factors and having 36 industrial trades, over 200 industrial branches and more than 2,000 categories of products have been established. The industrial output value of the whole city in 1995 amounted to 81,800 million yuan, a 24.4% increase over the previous year, and the ratio of output to sales reached 96.4% which took the lead throughout the province. Commerce and Finance Nanjing is a major international commercial port in the Yangtse delta region, second only to Shanghai. The total turns over of retail sales of the social consumer goods in 1995 amounted to 24 billion yuan, a 27% growth over the previous year, ranking among ten major cities of the country. The monetary market plays an important controlling role in the economic operation of the city.
Transportation and Communication
Five means of transportation such as railway, waterway, air transport and piping constitute a three-dimensional and mass transport volume traffic network in an all-round way. Nanjing Port is a port for foreign trade leading to the ocean. The port area is 98 kilometres in full length and has 64 berths including 16 berths for ships with a tonnage of more than 10,000. Within the boundary of Nanjing, there are over 60 highway long-distance passenger traffic lines leading to all parts of the province; the Tianjin-Pukou, Shanghai-Nanjing and Nanjing-Wuhu Trunk Railways meet in Nanjing which has become an important hub of railways linking north China, east China with central China. After extension, the Nanjing Airport has more than 20 air lines leading to all major cities in the country. With the start of construction of the new airport,Nanjing will have an international modernized airport. Being one of six major telecommunication hubs in the country, Nanjing has a telecommunication network which is composed of multiple modes and linking with all parts of the country and all countries in the world.
International Contacts Nanjing is well known at home and abroad. Now it has entered into amical relations with Nagoya of Japan, Florence of Italy, Saint Louis of the United States, Eindhoven of the Netherlands, Leipzig of Germany, Mecicali of Mexico, Limassol of Cyprus and Daijun of the Republic of Korea to make an extensive exchange and cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, science and technology and culture, and joined the Transpacific Technical cooperation Network as one of two member cities from China.
Foreign Economic Relations and Trade:
The total purchasing value of commodity for foreign trade in 1995 amounted to 6.718 billion yuan, a 41.5% growth over the previous year; the delivery value of export commodity for foreign trade amounted to 8.4 billion yuan, up 40%; the actual export amounted to 0.808 billion US dollars, up 46.4%. By the end of 1995, 4119 foreign-invested enterprises in tatal have been approved by the government of Nanjing City, including 663 enterprises newly-approved in 1995 and the foreign investors in Nanjing came from 50 countries and regions. The contracts for construction projects abroad and cooperation of labour service in 1995 amounted to 64.84 million US dollars,up 43.6%. 68 non-trading units have been established abroad.
Science and Technology:
In Nanjing there are over 460 natural science research institutions with more than 320,000 technical personnel of different specialities and over 40 social science research institutions with more than 50,000 researchers. The scientific and technological strength thereof ranks third in the country. 291 major achievements have been made in the fields of science and technology throughout the city in 1995, of which 6% are up to the international standard and 42% are up to the domestic advanced standard.
Tourism:
Nanjing is very rich in natural and artificial landscapes and one of the first 24 well-known historic and cultural cities announced by the state. Dr.Sun Yat-Sen's Mausoleum, the Ming Tomb, the King Palace of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the ancient city wall of Nanjing, the stone carvings of Southern Tang Dynasty, Pagoda for Buddist Relics, the Tombs of Southern Tang Emperors, the Rain Flower Terrace, the Mural Painting in Tangzi Street and other places are the main scenic spots and historic sites. The Eastern Suburbs Scenic Area, the Qixia Mountain, the Xuanwu Lake, the Mochou Lake, the Qinhuai River Scenic Belt and other scenic areas are well-known far and near. Among them, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen's Mausoleum and the Qinhuai River Scenic Belt are among 40 best tourist scenic spots in China. There were over 220,000 tourists from abroad in 1995.
OVERALL CITY PLANNING OF NANJING
The developing targets put forward by the "Overall City Planning of Nanjing" are as follows:
--At the end of this century, the city's modernization level will take the lead among the similar cities in the country.
--In the year 2010, to reach the level of the similar cities in the intermediate developed countries in the world.
--Before and after the year of 2050, to take the building of an internationalized metropolis as the long-term target, so as to rank among the developed cities in the world.
The key planning area of the "Overall City Planning of Nanjing"(1991-2010) is the metropolitan circle of Nanjing, of which the scope includes all urban districts on both banks of the Yangtse River at the Nanjing section and of Luhe, Jiangpu and Jiangning Counties respectively with a total area of 2,753 square kilometres.
The main parts of the city include the city proper, 12 satellite towns and 14 organic towns laying stress on development. The downtown area is bounded by the Chengdong Trunk Road, Chengxi Trunk Road, New Model Road, Jiankang Road and Shengzhou Road, mainly consisting of Xinjiekou-Gulou financial, commercial and trading center, Gulou information center, East and West Beijing Roads administrative center, Shanxi Road, Zhongyang Road,South Taiping Road and Mochou Road shopping centers, Changjiang Road where the cultural institutions are concentrated and Zhujiang Road/Guangzhou Road where scientific and technological products are sold. No industrial real estate is to be added in the city proper and the factories located within downtown and the historical/cultural relics protective zones are required in principle to move or to change the purpose of land use.
The overall planning demarcates 13 key protective zones where natural landscapes, cultural relics and historic sites are concentrated such as Zhongshan Scenic Area, Stone City Scenic Area, and 12 key protective sections such as Chaotian Palace, the Presidential Palace of the Republic of China and it is required to protect 3 central axes left over by the capitals of the past dynasties such as Zhonghua Road, Yudao Street and Zhongshan Road. Stress is put on the protection of 5 traditional houses such as Mendong, Menxi and Nanbuting. 7 major museums including ancient and modern history museums are to be set up and some important and memorable historical and cultural relics are to be repaired.
The residential construction in the city proper shall change with the transformation of the old city, as the main task is the development of new districts. Complete facilities shall be provided and the standard for residential construction raised. The per capita living space in 2010 will reach 12 square meters or more and each household shall have a complete residence.
According to the layout framework of "forming a cluster along the Yangtse River and rings by spanning the Yangtse River with bridges,and spokes radiating to the north and south, linking up this city with other places," Many projects are being planned. These include: a new southern railway station, the Shanghai-Nanjing, Nanjing-Wuhu and Nanjing-Hangzhou Express-ways, the Baguazhou and Dasengguan Yangtse River Bridges, the ring roads at the southern and northern part of the Yangtse River, the arrangement of main channels across the Yangtse River composed of 4 bridges and 1 tunnel, the lukou Airport, rebuilding of the Nanjing Passenger Traffic Port, the construction of the Longtan Deepwater Port, improved urban transport system, complete the trunk system of Jingwu and Weiba express Roads, complete the construction of branch roads and build urban subways.
Nowadays, Nanjing has developed into a multiple-producing industrial base in eastern China, an important hub of transportation and communication center, one of China's four major scientific research and educational central cities. The gross national products of the whole city in 1995 amounted to 58 billion yuan, a 12% increase over the previous year.
Industry:
Nanjing is an important industrial base of China where a multi-producing industrial system taking electronics, automobiles, chemicals and a number of special products as the leading factors and having 36 industrial trades, over 200 industrial branches and more than 2,000 categories of products have been established. The industrial output value of the whole city in 1995 amounted to 81,800 million yuan, a 24.4% increase over the previous year, and the ratio of output to sales reached 96.4% which took the lead throughout the province. Commerce and Finance Nanjing is a major international commercial port in the Yangtse delta region, second only to Shanghai. The total turns over of retail sales of the social consumer goods in 1995 amounted to 24 billion yuan, a 27% growth over the previous year, ranking among ten major cities of the country. The monetary market plays an important controlling role in the economic operation of the city.
Transportation and Communication
Five means of transportation such as railway, waterway, air transport and piping constitute a three-dimensional and mass transport volume traffic network in an all-round way. Nanjing Port is a port for foreign trade leading to the ocean. The port area is 98 kilometres in full length and has 64 berths including 16 berths for ships with a tonnage of more than 10,000. Within the boundary of Nanjing, there are over 60 highway long-distance passenger traffic lines leading to all parts of the province; the Tianjin-Pukou, Shanghai-Nanjing and Nanjing-Wuhu Trunk Railways meet in Nanjing which has become an important hub of railways linking north China, east China with central China. After extension, the Nanjing Airport has more than 20 air lines leading to all major cities in the country. With the start of construction of the new airport,Nanjing will have an international modernized airport. Being one of six major telecommunication hubs in the country, Nanjing has a telecommunication network which is composed of multiple modes and linking with all parts of the country and all countries in the world.
International Contacts Nanjing is well known at home and abroad. Now it has entered into amical relations with Nagoya of Japan, Florence of Italy, Saint Louis of the United States, Eindhoven of the Netherlands, Leipzig of Germany, Mecicali of Mexico, Limassol of Cyprus and Daijun of the Republic of Korea to make an extensive exchange and cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, science and technology and culture, and joined the Transpacific Technical cooperation Network as one of two member cities from China.
Foreign Economic Relations and Trade:
The total purchasing value of commodity for foreign trade in 1995 amounted to 6.718 billion yuan, a 41.5% growth over the previous year; the delivery value of export commodity for foreign trade amounted to 8.4 billion yuan, up 40%; the actual export amounted to 0.808 billion US dollars, up 46.4%. By the end of 1995, 4119 foreign-invested enterprises in tatal have been approved by the government of Nanjing City, including 663 enterprises newly-approved in 1995 and the foreign investors in Nanjing came from 50 countries and regions. The contracts for construction projects abroad and cooperation of labour service in 1995 amounted to 64.84 million US dollars,up 43.6%. 68 non-trading units have been established abroad.
Science and Technology:
In Nanjing there are over 460 natural science research institutions with more than 320,000 technical personnel of different specialities and over 40 social science research institutions with more than 50,000 researchers. The scientific and technological strength thereof ranks third in the country. 291 major achievements have been made in the fields of science and technology throughout the city in 1995, of which 6% are up to the international standard and 42% are up to the domestic advanced standard.
Tourism:
Nanjing is very rich in natural and artificial landscapes and one of the first 24 well-known historic and cultural cities announced by the state. Dr.Sun Yat-Sen's Mausoleum, the Ming Tomb, the King Palace of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the ancient city wall of Nanjing, the stone carvings of Southern Tang Dynasty, Pagoda for Buddist Relics, the Tombs of Southern Tang Emperors, the Rain Flower Terrace, the Mural Painting in Tangzi Street and other places are the main scenic spots and historic sites. The Eastern Suburbs Scenic Area, the Qixia Mountain, the Xuanwu Lake, the Mochou Lake, the Qinhuai River Scenic Belt and other scenic areas are well-known far and near. Among them, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen's Mausoleum and the Qinhuai River Scenic Belt are among 40 best tourist scenic spots in China. There were over 220,000 tourists from abroad in 1995.
OVERALL CITY PLANNING OF NANJING
The developing targets put forward by the "Overall City Planning of Nanjing" are as follows:
--At the end of this century, the city's modernization level will take the lead among the similar cities in the country.
--In the year 2010, to reach the level of the similar cities in the intermediate developed countries in the world.
--Before and after the year of 2050, to take the building of an internationalized metropolis as the long-term target, so as to rank among the developed cities in the world.
The key planning area of the "Overall City Planning of Nanjing"(1991-2010) is the metropolitan circle of Nanjing, of which the scope includes all urban districts on both banks of the Yangtse River at the Nanjing section and of Luhe, Jiangpu and Jiangning Counties respectively with a total area of 2,753 square kilometres.
The main parts of the city include the city proper, 12 satellite towns and 14 organic towns laying stress on development. The downtown area is bounded by the Chengdong Trunk Road, Chengxi Trunk Road, New Model Road, Jiankang Road and Shengzhou Road, mainly consisting of Xinjiekou-Gulou financial, commercial and trading center, Gulou information center, East and West Beijing Roads administrative center, Shanxi Road, Zhongyang Road,South Taiping Road and Mochou Road shopping centers, Changjiang Road where the cultural institutions are concentrated and Zhujiang Road/Guangzhou Road where scientific and technological products are sold. No industrial real estate is to be added in the city proper and the factories located within downtown and the historical/cultural relics protective zones are required in principle to move or to change the purpose of land use.
The overall planning demarcates 13 key protective zones where natural landscapes, cultural relics and historic sites are concentrated such as Zhongshan Scenic Area, Stone City Scenic Area, and 12 key protective sections such as Chaotian Palace, the Presidential Palace of the Republic of China and it is required to protect 3 central axes left over by the capitals of the past dynasties such as Zhonghua Road, Yudao Street and Zhongshan Road. Stress is put on the protection of 5 traditional houses such as Mendong, Menxi and Nanbuting. 7 major museums including ancient and modern history museums are to be set up and some important and memorable historical and cultural relics are to be repaired.
The residential construction in the city proper shall change with the transformation of the old city, as the main task is the development of new districts. Complete facilities shall be provided and the standard for residential construction raised. The per capita living space in 2010 will reach 12 square meters or more and each household shall have a complete residence.
According to the layout framework of "forming a cluster along the Yangtse River and rings by spanning the Yangtse River with bridges,and spokes radiating to the north and south, linking up this city with other places," Many projects are being planned. These include: a new southern railway station, the Shanghai-Nanjing, Nanjing-Wuhu and Nanjing-Hangzhou Express-ways, the Baguazhou and Dasengguan Yangtse River Bridges, the ring roads at the southern and northern part of the Yangtse River, the arrangement of main channels across the Yangtse River composed of 4 bridges and 1 tunnel, the lukou Airport, rebuilding of the Nanjing Passenger Traffic Port, the construction of the Longtan Deepwater Port, improved urban transport system, complete the trunk system of Jingwu and Weiba express Roads, complete the construction of branch roads and build urban subways.
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