An introduction to Zhejiang

This is Zhejiang… Located at the southern branch of the Yangtze River Delta, in the southeast of China, it borders Shanghai to the north. Zhejiang has been known as “the land of fish and rice”, “the capital of silk and tea”, and a land in rich history and culture since antiquity --- it has been a tourist destination for more than a thousand years.

The province is a little more than 100 thousand square kilometers in area. 60% of it forest, making it the most heavily-afforested province in China. On of China’s maritime provinces, the marine area of Zhejiang Province is 260 thousand square kilometers --- its nearly 6500 kilometers of coast line is the longest in the nation.

The residential population of the province is more than 50 million. Both the capital, Hangzhou, and the city of Ningbo, are prefectures, administered at the vice-provincial governor level, while nine cities of regional level, and 36 counties, 22 cities of county level, 32 urban districts subordinated to different cities.

History and culture

Zhejiang has a long history and a rich and diverse culture, and it one of the cradles of ancient Chinese civilization. The province was home to five late Mesolithic or Neolithic cultures of key importance in Chinese and human history: the Shangshan Culture of some 10,000 years ago; the Kua’hu’qiao Culture of 8,000 years ago; the Hemudu Culture, dating back some 7,000 years ago); the Majiabang Culture of 6,000 years ago; and the peoples of the Liangzhu Culture, some 5,000 years ago. Zhejiang was one of the stops on the “Silk Road” of the sea.

Many famous persons made their mark in the history of Zhejiang. More than one thousand Zhejiang-born writers have gone down in history since the Eastern Han Dynasty (A.D.25-220), accounting for about one-sixth of the country’s most famous writers. Since the beginning of the People’s Republic of China, almost one-fifth of the members of the Academic Committee of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering have hailed from Zhejiang.

With such a long and extraordinarily rich past, the Zhejiang of today is working to maintain and develop its position as a province based on – and committed to the pursuit – of culture. For Zhejiang, and the people of Zhejiang, culture is the foundation of the province’s economic and social development.

Zhejiang is endowed with beautiful landscapes, and enjoys many and diverse tourism resources – Zhejiang is in fact the top-ranking province in China for tourism industry assets. Zhejiang has 17 national scenic resorts, one national resort district, and 9 national natural reserves. Six of the province’s cities are designated as national-level historic and cultural cities - Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Ningbo, Quzhou, Linhai and Jinhua. 132 key cultural relic units are under national protection. Every year, Zhejiang attracts millions of tourists from both home and abroad. In the year 2008, Zhejiang received around 210 million domestic tourists, drawing revenue amounting to 204 billion RMB. In the same year, more than 5 million foreign tourists visited the province --- foreign exchange revenue from their visits amounted to more than 3 billion RMB.

Economy

With an increasingly strong and flourishing economy, Zhejiang has taken a leading role in strategic branding and marketing reforms, and is regarded as one of the most dynamic provinces in China, with the highest economic growth in the nation. Overall, the level of economic and social development in Zhejiang has seen a drastic improvement, maintaining a leading position of economic rank within the nation. From 1978 to 2008, provincial GDP achieved an annual increase of 13%. In 2008, Zhejiang’s GDP exceeded 21 trillion RMB --- per capita GDP exceeded 42,000 RMB (or roughly 6000 US dollars) on the average rate in 2008). Both provincial and per capital GDP ranks fourth of China. The fiscal revenue of the provincial government and local governments achieved 370 billion RMB and 190 billion RMB respectively, with the standard of living increasing markedly. In the year 2008, the per capita disposable income of urban households exceeded 22,000 RMB, and the per capita net income of rural households exceeded 9200 RMB --- both figures are the highest among the provinces and regions of mainland China.

The economy of Zhejiang does indeed have particular characteristics; two among these have been described as tremendous creativity, and a unique the structure of ownership. Private business contributed more than 70% of the provincial industrial output，and accounts for more than 50% of provincial tax revenue. Of the top 500 private enterprises in China, almost half - 203 - are based in Zhejiang. Of the 50 most innovative private enterprises in China, 28 are in Zhejiang --- the largest group from any single province. The province’s specialized markets are busy, prosperous, and growing, and have earned Zhejiang the reputation of the "major market province" of China.

In 2008, there were more than 4,000 markets in Zhejiang, with a combined turnover of 970 billion yuan – the highest in China. The Yiwu China Commodity City and Shaoxing China Light Industrial Products and Textiles City are two of China's largest specialized markets, while various industrial parks promote the growth of local economies and their regional characteristics. Clothing made in Ningbo, Leather garments from Wenzhou, chemical fiber from Shaoxing, Low-voltage electrical appliances from Yueqing, and hardware from Yongkang all enjoy nationwide acclaim.

Zhejiang’s impressive economic dynamic is due in part to the fact that it has become an excellent environment for development. Advances in transportation, communication, and energy infrastructure have made the province an ideal location for countless investors from across China and around the world. Five big multi-million dollar projects have already been completed. More than 2600 [[2651]] kilometers of highway criss-cross the province, providing a convenient and efficient network of motorways.

Zhejiang has made the most of its coastal orientation to become the home of a number of large and leading ports. 127 berths have 10 thousand ton or more handling capabilities -- last year, the provincial throughput of freight was some 630 million tons, the second highest in mainland China. The Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea Bridge with a total length of 36 km was completed and opened to traffic; construction on the maglev train connecting the provincial capital, Hangzhou, with Shanghai a will start soon..

Scenic, resplendid in natural beauty, sitting atop more than 10,000 years of culture, and yet modern and ever-modernizing, Zhejiang continues to speed ahead with intelligence, sophistication, and grace. Innovation and restructuring; further and deeper reform; enhanced development of urban and rural areas; energy conservation; environmental protection --- these are all among the ways Zhejiang strives to enhance the lives and livelihoods of its citizens and residents. Imagination and creativity fuel plans and projects aimed at bringing even greater harmony to society, and advancing the mission of delivering prosperity, happiness, and the opportunity to pursue these, to Zhejiang’s people.