Rise out of the Ocean and into World Attention

Lianyungang City in Jiangsu Province is synonymous with the origins of the Chinese civilization. Originally called Yingzhou, 40,000 to 50,000 years ago it was the idyllic home of the primeval Shaohao tribe, according to Chinese myth. Historically, this region was also the location of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.) Quxian County, and the Eastern Wei Dynasty (534-550) Haizhou Prefecture. An abundance of salt and fish brought this region tremendous wealth, and secured its place as a pivotal point on China’s eastern seaboard.

The city of Lianyungang was created as the turbid Yellow River emptied into the sea close to the city’s vicinity, flushing silt and sand into this region. Over the centuries, from the Southern Song Dynasty Jianyang reign (1127-1130), to the Qing Dynasty Xianfeng reign (1851- 1861), these deposits have helped to push the coastline 120 kilometers further out to sea. Lianyungang has grown from a mere shoal submerged in tides 200 years ago to a city with modern facilities and thriving industries.

Cultural Charisma

The 123-meter-high Kongwang Hill is prominent in Lianyugang’s history and culture. Legend has it that 2,000 years ago, during a lecture tour around the small states in this region, Confucius stood on Kongwang hill to admire the sea.

The Qin (221-206 B.C) emperor Qin Shihuang came to Lianyung after his historic unification of China. The emperor selected Kongwang Hill to represent the eastern gate of his empire and erected two monoliths as its pillars. In the Han Dynasty (206 B.C -AD 220), one of the rocks was carved into an elephant 2.6 meters in height and 4.8 meters in length, the largest stone carving to date from this period. At once majestic and approachable, this elephant sculpture is viewed by locals as the best evidence of the city’s long history and splendid culture.

At the top of the hill, comfortably nestled away, lays the wondrous 1800-years-old Buddhist cliff carvings. The discovery of these carvings in 1980 aroused worldwide excitement. 300 years older than the Dunhung Grottos, these carvings are considered to be the No.1 Buddhist cliff carvings in China. These carvings offer an insight into the origins of Chinese culture.

The engravings on these escapements are actually a composite of Buddhist, Taoist and secular influences. Aside from scenes from Buddhist tales, the engravings also depict Taoist figures, such as the Lady of the Western Heavens, and worldly life scenarios, including vivid depictions of dancers and acrobatics. Amidst them lays an icon that resembles the Olympic emblem. In the vicinity of these carvings are also two objects that date back to the Han Dynasty - a stele stand in the shape of a steamed bun and a stone sculpture of a toad, a symbol of the moon in ancient China.

An established writer once remarked that every city has a charm of its own. The spirit of Lianyungang is that of innate romanticism, a rare quality for cities in China. This may explain why Wu Cheng’en (1500-1582), author of the Chinese classic Journey to the West, selected the Mountain of Flower and Fruit in this city as the home of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King hero of his legendary novel.

The Mountain of Flower and Fruit is actually part of the Yuntai Mountain range, whose highest peak, Yunu, at 625.3 meters above sea level, is also the highest peak in Jiangsu Province. As its name implies, the Mountain of Flower and Fruit is home to over 1,700 species of plants. Among them, the rarest is the gold-and-jade bamboo that is distinguishable from other varieties by its golden, green-striped stem .

What attracts most visitors to the mountain is the Water Curtain Wave, a cavern hidden behind a waterfall, which was where Sun Wukong of Journey to the West dwelt. The spring inside the cave, known as the Eye of the Sea, was the waterway through which the hero enters the crystal palace of the Dragon King to secure the magical “As-you-will” cudgel.

The Generals’ Cliff, a steep chiseled with codes and signs whose meaning has not been deciphered, is another of Lianyungang's mystical and evocative sites.

Waves of Wealth

The sea has bestowed not only a terrific ocean view but also economic prosperity on this region. In 1984, Lianyungang was among the first wave of coastal cities in China that opened to the world, and for a period its per capita GDP was above the national average. Lack of planning and flawed economic structure, however, have impeded its sublime coastlines and openness to waterways -- an important resource and a vital condition for harbor businesses -- have failed to live up tohigh economic expectations.

Wang Jianhua, Lianyungang’s party secretary, remarks that without the support of growing industries, development remains a chimera for this harbor city. In order to pursue sustainable growth, Lianyungang has to accelerate its infrastructure construction. It must also work out a long-term development plan in order to find its place in the national economy and the world. This being the case, Lianyungang is now optimizing and reshuffling its harbor resources. “The two central tasks for the time being are to build strength in container terminals and to create a top-ranking economic-technical development zone,” says Wang.

Harbor city Lianyungang. (Image: China Today)

After an extensive period of research and intensive debates by experts and officials, the city proposed the idea of building a new district spanning 260 sq km along its seashore, which will incorporate modern architecture along with acres of wetland and dense woods.

Two industrial belts will also be built along the eastern line of the Lanzhou-Lianyungang Railway along its coast, spanning 176 kilometers. The goal of this project is to secure the city’s position as a pivotal point between the Yangtze River Delta and the Bohai Bay, and as an international harbor situated along a key transportation line for container shipping.

“The future of Lianyungang rests on the degree of industrialization, the growth of harbor industry and industrial clusters,” Wang explains. According to this vision, the economic-technical development zone will become the locomotive driving the growth of the local economy. Wang points out that mutual support between the industrial sector and harbor business in this project is critical in order for the city to realize its aspirations to becoming a modern international metropolis.

Lianyungang is making encouraging progress to this end. The various changes that have taken place in its economic-technical development zone testify to the success of this project. The area has been transformed from a slushy salt field into a highly developed area with high-grade tree-lined roads in just two years. A number of factories have moved in over the past year and more sub-zones are expanding across the Yuntai Mountain. This zone will eventually be transformed into a complex with five sections - the International Industrial Park, Songtiao-Dapu Industrial Park, Zhongyun Industrial Park, the Export Processing Park, and Banqiao Industrial Park. The Banqiao Industrial Park began construction early last year, and has taken initial shape.

Lianyungang is now a hot destination in the region for new industries producing wind power generating equipment, solar-energy-powered vehicles, bio-pharmaceuticals, digital TVs and carbon fiber.

These developments support the views of Xi Tongfu, another chief of the development zone. Xi states, “as the coastal areas in eastern China are approaching their full capacity of land development, and China is stepping up its macro-control of national economy, the Lianyungang Economic & Technological Development Zone will become a new but promising player in the arena.” Xi believes that this area will be favored because of its superior location, its rich land and labor resources, and congenial natural environment. This project represents the city’s last chance to catch up with the national pace of economic growth. “Falling back will absolutely wreck Lianyungangs’ hope for a renaissance,” Xi says.

Xi believes that what defines an economic and technological development zone is the special policies and measures it adopts. Without these, the zone has no reason to exist. The development zone in Lianyungang abides by the rules of market economy and international practice. Though setup by the government, the zone will operate following corporate models in terms of hiring and administration.

The zone’s chief administrator Tang Guohai shares Xi’s sense of urgency, and he has his own understanding of the parameters for the zone’s performance. “Without a solid industrial foundation, the harbor businesses will not see substantive growth,” Tang says.

Tang believes that since this development zone is expected to function as the economic engine of the city, its task is not merely to take in as many projects and factories as possible. The zone must compete with its peers nationwide in terms of both scale and performance. This zone must develop its strength and ability to work with its prime location on the seaboard. “We should place priority on harbor-related sectors, such as logistics and shipbuilding, that has far reaching effects on the industrial chain and can create a ripple effect on other realms of local economy,” Tang states.

Innovation is the panacea for development of any nation and people, Lianyungang in particular. To alleviate funding deficiencies, the development zone has secured multiple financing channels, such as investments in land and resources, and the transfer of franchise rights in order to entice private and international capital for infrastructure and public utilities construction. In 2006, there were RMB 2.75 billion was spent on infrastructure construction, equivalent to the total spent over the previous 22 years.

Container terminal at Lianyungang Port. (Image: China Today)

Innovation is also the secret weapon of maintaining scientific and technological edge. The development zone has established three state-level hi-tech bases in recent years. A string of policies and measures have also been undertaken to upgrade institutional and technical conditions, to attract talents and to incubate innovative enterprises. Science and technology consume more than 24 percent of the zone’s annual budget expenses.

The development zone has undertaken a range of construction since 2006 to accommodate newcomers. It has completed them with impressive efficiency, driven by the determination to have in-coming enterprises be operational and profitable at the earliest possible date. For instance, the US$23 million container manufacturing project of the Dongfang International Container Co.,Ltd. in Liangyungang was the first investment to exceed RMB100 million in this zone. Its construction was completed in a mere five months, despite challenges imposed by the marshy landscape. Many investors have lauded the pace of work on this project as among the most efficient in the world.

The desire to serve investors to their best ability has prompted changes in the zone’s administrative system. In January 2007, the newly opened Administrative Service Center of the development zone was able to carry out industrial and commercial registration procedures for a US company with an investment worth US$29.8 million within 20 minutes. The zone’s staff are always looking for new ways to reach investors and to listen to their needs, as well as to take flexible approaches to problem solving. Many investors are impressed with the new energetic vibe in the zone. In the past, only ten percent of enterprise delegates that visited actually moved their businesses into the zone. Today, the figure stands at 50 percent.

Marching to the Sea

Lianyungang is now taking more extensive efforts to make a “journey to the east” in order to develop its connections with eastern regions. Since the city’s conventional center is located 30 kilometers from the sea, at first glance Lianyungang can seem like a quiet city. Upon entering the city, however, it is plain to see that new districts - buzzing with business and flooded with tourists - regale this eastern coastal region.

Located at the eastern end of the Lianyungang-Lanzhou-Urumqi Railway that runs from east to west across China, Lianyungang offers China’s central and western provinces easy access to waterways. When the port opened in 1933, its vehicle handling capacity was a few thousand tons. Now it stands as one of China’s 25 major sea harbors and one of 12 pivotal regional harbors.

In January 2007, premier Wen Jiabao inspected Lianyungang, and observed that the city is situated adjacent to the Yangtze River Delta in the south, neighbors the Bohai Bay in the north, looks to Northeastern Asia in the east, while it is also linked with central and western China by the Lianyungang-Lanzhou Railway. Wen stated that “the city is located in a strategic position in China’s efforts to coordinate regional economic growth, and it is expected to take the role of an international pivotal harbor that connects Qingdao, Shanghai, South Korea, Japan and Central Asia.”

Echoing his words, various ministries vowed full support for Lianyungang. The provincial government has also moved Lianyungang affairs to the top of its agenda. Domestic and international corporations have begun to discuss projects on new shipping routes, the construction of new docks and facilities, and different ways to set up new industries. Renowned corporations such as Yihai Group, a subordinate of Wilmar Singapore, China Shipping, and COSCO are among those involved.

The Lianyungang port was flung into the spotlight overnight, and projections for potential business have multiplied. In this situation, the Lianyungang Port Group is planning to investment RMB 20 billion by the year 2010, to add 16 more berths, and to expand its capacity by 50 million tons. It will also upgrade a 150,000-ton deep-water shipping line, and build several special-purpose docks. By 2010, its anticipated capacity will exceed 80 million tons, and its vehicle handling volumes will reach 100 million tons.

Meanwhile local industries will grow more diversified with improved structures. This will serve as a constructive complement to the harbor sector adding another dimension to the local economy.

A brighter future for this city lies ahead of the briny waves that have lapped Lianyungang for millions of years.