General information of Xianyang

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Xianyang is an ancient capital bearing a long history. It was established as a capital by the first Qin Emperor. From the Western Han Dynasty onwards, it was considered a city of great strategic significance because of its location near Chang'an, another ancient capital.

Xianyang City is located in the middle of the Central Shaanxi Plain. It has jurisdiction over Xingping City, two districts (Qindu and Weicheng), and ten counties (Sanyuan, Jingyang, Wugong, Qinxian, Liquan, Yongshou, Binxian, Changwu, Xunyi and Chunhua).

Xianyang is inhabited by a population of 4.981 million, which includes about 40 minority groups, of which the Hui people make up 80%. The city covers an area of 10,213 square kilometers. It has a mean temperature of 12℃ and an average precipitation of 540-630 millimeters annually. The frost-free period of the year lasts 213 days. With such a favorable climate, Xianyang is one of the major grain production bases in Shaanxi Province, as well as the only production base of commodity grain in Northwest China.

Xianyang is endowed with a large concentration of tourist attractions. As many as 27 emperors from the Han and Tang dynasties were buried on the tableland to the north of the city, while the number of their satellite tombs amount to 256, forming a large collection of imperial tomb complexes that appeal to almost every tourist.

Xianyang is a city with an advantageous geographical disposition and convenient transportation. The national artery railway line between Lianyungang and Urumqi runs across the city. An extensive network of highways and an international airport only 20 minutes by bus from Xi'an makes Xianyang highly accessible.



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General introduction to Xi'an

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Xi'an, located in the central Shaanxi Plains, was known as Chang'an in ancient times. The Weihe River lies to its north, and the Qinling Mountain Range to its south. As the capital of Shaanxi province, Xi'an is the political, economic, and cultural center. It stretches 204 kilometers from east to west and 116 kilometers from north to south, covering a total area of 9,983 square kilometers. The municipal government has jurisdiction over 9 districts (Xincheng, Beilin, Lianhu, Baqiao, Weiyang, Yanta, Yan Liang, Lintong, Chang'an), 4 counties (Lantian, Zhouzhi, Huxian, Gaoling), 174 villages and towns, 58 subdistrict offices, 3,156 administrative villages, and 1,694 resident committees.

Xi'an has a population of 8.55 million. The majority of Xi'an residents are Han Chinese, making up more than 98% of the city's total population. There are around 50 minorities living in Xi'an, the biggest of which is the Hui people.

The dialect of Xi'an, Shaanxi Hua, is strongly influenced by standard Mandarin. However, it still retains a lot of grammar and pronunciation from classical Chinese.

It has a semi-moist monsoon climate and there is a clear distinction between the four seasons. Except for the cold winter, any season is relatively suitable for traveling.


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Introduction to Dunhuang

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The historic city of Dunhuang is situated along the boundary formed by China's Gansu, Qinghai, and Xinjiang Provinces. Dunhuang, long ago, was referred to as 'Sha Zhou,' literally meaning "beautiful desert oasis," and served as the hub for silk routes in ancient times. The city is bordered by Mount Qilian in the south, Mount Mazong in the north, and desert on the east and west.

Dunhuang's inland location means the city is characterized by a very dry climate with lots of sunshine. Each year in Dunhuang can be divided into four distinct seasons, with vast temperature differences between winter and summer months. Sandstorms can be a problem in Dunhuang, with wind gusts sometimes reaching speeds of 3 meters per second. Edges of the city are threatened with being engulfed by the expansion of the Kumtag Desert, a result of longstanding overgrazing of surrounding lands.


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Introduction to Jiayuguan

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Jiayuguan is located in the middle part of Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province, which was the gullet of the ancient" Silk Road." It has a population of 200,000 and a total area of 2,935 square meters.

Jiayuguan is an industrial city flourishing with a large iron & steel production base. People of many different ethnicities, such as Han, Hui, Tibetan, Dongxiang, Yugu, Baoan, Hazake, Tu, Sala, Manchu, and Mongolian, live here. As Jiayuguan is in the warm variable zone, it has an arid climate.

The Jiayuguan pass is trapezoid-shaped with a perimeter of 733 meters and an area of more than 33,500 square meters. The total length of the city wall is 733 meters and the height is 11 meters. There are two gates: one on the east side of the pass, and another on the west side. The south and north sides of the pass are connected to the Great Wall. There is a turret on each corner of the pass. On the north side, inside the two gates, there are wide roads leading to the top of the pass. Jiayuguan has three defense lines: an inner city, an outer city, and a moat.


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About Lanzhou

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Lanzhou is situated on the upper course of the Yellow River, where the river emerges from the mountains. It has been a center since early times, being at the southern end of the route leading via the Hexi Corridor across Central Asia. It also commands the approaches to the ancient capital area of Chang'an (modern Xi'an) in Shaanxi province from both the west and the northwest, as well as from the area of Qinghai Lake via the upper waters of the Yellow River and its tributaries.


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[[i] Last edited by ASHLEYTUNG at 2008-7-7 19:06 [/i]]

Introduction to Hohhot

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         MY HOMETOWN   :handshake :)

Carrying the meaning of "the Green City" in the Mongolian language, Hohhot is the capital and the administrative, economic and cultural center in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Hohhot has under its administration 4 districts,4 counties,1 banner and 1 national level Economic and Technological Development Zone. It has a total land area of 17224 km2 including an urban one of 2054 km2 and a population of 2.58 million including an urban one of 1.5 million. It is an area inhabited by the 36 ethnic groups including the Mongolians as the main body, the Han as the majority, the Hui, Manchu, Korean, Daur, and Oroqen ethnic groups.

Hohhot is one of the famous historical and cultural cities of China and one of the origins of the Chinese civilization. Here, we have written records of over 2000 years ago, the relics of "Dayao Culture" indicating human activities of 500000 years ago, the Ancient City of Yunzhong of the period of Warring States, Zhaojun's Mausoleum evidencing the marriage between the princess of the Western Dynasty and the chief of the Xiongnu, Huayan Scripture Tower of the Liao Dynasty, and the Dazhao Temple, Xilituzhao Temple and 5-pagoda Temple of the Ming and Qing Dynasties and other famous historical sites. All this is a true record of the long history of Hohhot.

Enjoying a superior geographical location and the best of communication facilities, Hohhot serves as an important passage and a hub city linking Beijing, the capital of china, with the northwest of our motherland. We have a crisscrossing network of highways with a railway traversing the urban area. At Hohhot Airport, we have over 40air routes to the various major domestic cities and 2 direct ones leading to Mongolia and Russia.

Hohhot has over 40 kinds of minerals with rich deposits including coal, oil copper iron, zinc and gold in its urban and adjacent areas. We are proud of our fertile land and rich produce, which offers a unique advantage for the development of farming and animal husbandry. The city is rich in wheat, maize, naked oat, buckwheat, potato, sugar beet and flax. Our dairy industry is particularly outstanding in development and we rank the top in China in terms of the total quantity of milk, milk products, and the quantity of fresh milk available to each urban resident. As a result, the city is renowned as the Home Town of Milk of China by China Dairy Association and our milk products are distributed in all the major domestic markets. Meanwhile, we have cultivation bases of such quality medical herbs as wolfberry, Astragalus mongholicus, dangshen and licorice.

As an important industrial city in Inner Mongolia, Hohhot sticks to the path of new type of industrialization in the development of its industrial economy. At present, we have brought into being the 5 major groups of industries-dairy, electric power, electronic information biological and drug preparation, and metallurgical and chemical industries. A large number of mainstay enterprises such as YiLi,Mengniu, Datang Pharmacy, Tuoketuo Power Plant and Huameng Jinhe Group have seen fast expansion. The varied industrial estates are in vigorous development. All that has greatly promoted the local economy in Hohhot.

The urban construction of Hohhot changes for the better day by day, thus greatly improving the city's bearing capacity and sustainable development. Regarding the construction of a modernized capital city as the general goal, we have realized a readjustment of administrative districts, transformation of the old urban area, and expansion of the new urban area, and putting in great efforts in ecological improvement and environmental protection. We are working to make the city more beautiful day by day with remarkable impact and the living environment has seen further improvement. Today, Hohhot has become a civilized city full of vitality and modernization drive.

The constant progress in the city's construction has given direct impetus to the fast development of the tertiary industry. Such traditional service sectors as trading, restaurant business, and communication and transport have seen further expansion. Such new service sectors as finance, information consulting, real estate development and tourism have seen fast development. Meanwhile, we have achieved overall progress in the social undertakings of science and technology, education, culture, public health and sports.

Regarding development as the top priority, Hohhot has formulated the opening-up strategy of linking its south with the north, complementary advantages between the east and the west, mutual benefit, and quickening the development in order to meet the needs of the times. You will find in Hohhot a beautiful natural environment, strong economic foundation, convenient communication facilities, perfect service function and various potential advantages in resources. We sincerely welcome you here for sightseeing, research, and investment in cooperation with us.

(Credit: The Government Website of Huhhot. Click here for further information.)


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[[i] Last edited by ASHLEYTUNG at 2008-7-7 19:07 [/i]]

About Ordos

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Ordos has an area of 86,752 km? and covers the bigger part of the Ordos plateau. The city borders Hohhot which is to its east, Baotou to its northeast, Bayan Nur to its north, Alxa to its northwest, Wuhai to its west, Ningxia to its southwest, and Shaanxi and Shanxi to its south. At the end of 2004, Ordos had a population of about 1.36 million inhabitants.

The area of Ordos city can roughly be divided into a hilly area in the east, high plateaus in the west and center, sandy deserts in the north and south and the plains at the southern bank of the Yellow river. The highest elevation (2,149 m) is located in the west, the lowest point (850 m) in the east. The annual rainfall is 300-400 mm in he eastern part and 190-350 mm in the western part. Most of the rain falls between July and September.


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Summary of Baotou

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"In north China, a long distance is covered with ice and snow??."

The mysterious north area of China and the beautiful grassland in Inner Mongolia have long been a paradise in people's hearts. Blue sky, green grassland and an expanse of white snow can be seen there. In such a picture??like place, there situated the biggest industrial city in Inner Mongolia---Baotou.

In Mongolia language, Baotou is a homophonic word of "Bao Ketu", meaning a place with deer. Thus, Baotou is also called "dear city". Early in the New Stone Age in 6000 B.C, human activities could be found here.

In 1937, Baotou was built up into a municipality. Nowadays, Baotou has jurisdiction over nine countries and districts and one national development zone (Rare??earth High??tech Industrial development zone) with a total area of nearly 30,000 k㎡ and a population of 2,400,000.

In such a land full of enthusiasm, people from the other places of the country are admitted by the industrious, frank and open??minded Baotou people and they cooperate with each other to build their beautiful home, performing the tonic of building a harmonious society.

(Credit: Baotou.China. Click here for further information.)


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Beijing Olympic Torch Relay City profile: Chifeng

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            Statue in Chifeng (Photo credit: China Photo Press)

Located in the southeastern part of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Chifeng is bordered by Hebei province's Chengde and Liaoning province's Chaoyang. Literally meaning "red peak," Chifeng was thus named because of a reddish brown peak in the city's northwest.

Chifeng has a population of 4.39 million, 19 percent of whom are ethnically Mongolian; the remainder of the population is composed of people belonging to 29 other ethnic groups of China.

Visitors will enjoy an array of natural scenery, including grasslands, desert, glaciers, stone forests, hot springs. Around 30 percent of the city is covered by forest.

Chifeng was the cradle of Hongshan, Qidan (Kitanye), Liao and Mongolian culture and boasts 6,800 cultural heritage sites. Today, the city is an important component of the Bohai Economic Rim.


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Economy development of Harbin

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Harbin is the center of Heilongjiang province economy development and also is an integrated city with industry as the principal part of economy and all three industries general booming.

During " the first five and the second five year-plan", Harbin engendered industrial economics framework, the main body of which was comprised of large and medium-sized state-owned enterprises, the core of which was heavy industry, and had become an important industrial base of our country. At that time, the main products accounted to more than 3,000 varieties, covering the whole country, remotely exported to over 100 countries and areas. Thereinto, electricity station equipments, facility and measure, areoplane and engine, linen textile, magnalium artifactitious products, exactitude meter, axletree, cable, relay protection sets and other items, dominated the top status in China.

Since the implement of reform and open, Harbin had increased the stride of economics configuration modulation, meanwhile, pharmaceuticals, vehicles, vivers, electronic information and other high new-tech industries were progressing at full speed and formed new industrial situation. During " the tenth five plan", the target of industrial development, was to accelerate the industrialized process with informationization, to arduously struggle to cultivate electronic information, vehicles, vivers, pharmaceuticals, four pillar industries, and to develop furnishment produce, environmental protection, wielding, new materials, biological project ??etc. five preponderant industries, to the largest extent, with actively adjustment and alteration of mechanism, textile, metallurgy, construct material, petroleum chemistry, light industry, six traditional industries, and they fabricated new industrial economics situation.

Reform and open has boosted the fast growing of Harbin tertiary industry which plays a more and more prominent function and status in Chinese National Economy. During "the tenth five plan", with tightly orientation of serving for National Economy and society development, the tertiary industry in Harbin will continue to emphasize on developing foreign trade, finance insurance, real estate, municipal transportation, tourism and scenery and technological education, information consultation, culture and sanitation and other social enterprises, so as to configurate perfect marketing economy system and satisfy the economy progress and citizen lives'necessity.

During "the tenth five year plan", Harbin agriculture and rural economics would focus on solidifying the agriculture basis and augmenting peasant's income, and regulate agriculture framework.. Harbin still ameliorated traditional agriculture production pattern, stabilized foodstuff and enhanced animal husbandry, extruded to develop molar profits agriculture with the emphases on green agriculture. We persisted in prospering agriculture by technology and extended advanced proper techniques, implemented excellent seed project, and set up modern agriculture technological region and techno-exemplification base. At the same time, it actively facilitated agriculture synthetic exploitation and the concerned department constructed fourteen green-food base chains in the whole city in order to accelerate agriculture industrialization process and promote rural economics fully booming.

In 2006, the total value of regional production reached to 209.4 billion, which increased at 13.5% by contrast with the last year and averagely increased by 13.9% that achieved the target of being double on the basis of 2000 year's budget; the gross income of finance average budget reached to 19.23 billion which rose by 12.5% compared with the last, increased by 13% annually, in which local fiscal average budget revenue accounted to 11.83 billion, increasing at 14.7% in contrast with the last and augmenting at 15% annually; the investment of capital asserts amounted to 81 billion which rose by 26.7% compared with the last, increased by 22.4% annually; the gross retail income of social consumable amounted to 89.54 billion which increased at 13.5% by contrast with the last year and annually increased by 12.5%. Municipal synthetic power has entered into the top ten of the whole country.

(Credit: Official Website of Harbin Goverment. Click here for further information.)


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[[i] Last edited by ASHLEYTUNG at 2008-7-10 17:53 [/i]]

History of Daqing

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(BEIJING, May 3) -- Daqing, which means "Great Celebration" in Chinese, is a city in Heilongjiang province. Originally built in 1959 for workers of the area's oilfields and energy and petrochemical industries, Daqing is now well-respected by the Chinese government for its industry and healthcare standards.


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An introduction to Qiqihar

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(BEIJING, May 1) -- Qiqihar is located in the northeastern Songnen Plain of China, adjacent to Daqing City in the east, Baicheng Area of Jilin Province in the south, Hulunbeir League of Inner Mongolia in the west, and the greater Xing'an Mountains in north. It covers a total land area of 42,289 k㎡.

Qiqihar is horse-hoof shaped, high on both sides and low in the middle, with altitude decreasing from north to south.

Not only the second largest city of Heilongjiang Province, Qiqihar stands as the economic and cultural center of the western part of Heilongjiang. Qiqihar administers 7 districts, 8 counties, and one city. There are 156 towns and townships and 1,361 villages in Qiqihar City with a total population of 5.61 million.


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General information of Changchun

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General Information

Changchun City is situated at the heart of Songliao Plains in northeast China, and it's counties and districts located at 124'18" - 127'02" east longitude, 43'05" - 45'15" north latitude.

The total area of Changchun is 20,571 square kilometers, including municipal areas of 2,583 square kilometers, and the municipal constructed area is 159 square kilometers. The city is 250 - 350 meters above the sea level. The city stands at the center of the three northeast provinces, and at the crisscross point of the third east-westward "Europe-Asia Continental Bridge".

Topographic Features

Changchun area shows the variety of topographic features combining mountainous regions, mesas and plains, accounting for 9 per cent, 41 per cent and 50 per cent of total area.

Water Resources

Changchun area is dotted with 222 rivers and lakes, the tributaries of Songhua River, Rinma River and Yitong River. Of them, there are 10 rivers cover a total water area of over 1, 000 kilometres, accounting for 4.5 per cent. The number of the river with a total water area range between 200 kilometres and 1, 000 kilometres is 206, making up 92.8 per cent. The rest 2.7 per cent is the 6 rivers with a total water area of less than 200 kilometres. Mushi River, Yinma River, Yitong River, Shuangyang River, Wukai River and Xinkai River, etc., situating from the east to the west, run all the way into the Second Songhua River.

(Credit: The Official English Website of Changchun City, China. Click here for further information.)


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Brief introduction to Songyuan

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Located in the central west of Jilin Province, the city of Songyuan has an area of 22,000 square kilometers and a population of 2.62 million. It is richly endowed by nature and has always been known as "an oil city, a grain store, a meat store, a sea of forestm and a fish producer." The Songhua, Second Songhua, Nenjiang, and Lalin rivers flow through the city. Songyuan enjoys conveinet transportation and prompt commuications facilities. Urban construction has changed the city's outlook with each passing day, while people's livelihood has improved year by year. At presnet, the overall economic strenth of Songyuan holds the fourth place among cities in the province.

(Credit: Jilin Travel and Tours Guide . Click here for further information.)


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Brief introduction to Jilin

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Jilin was formerly called "Jilin Wula", which means "along the river" in the Manchu language. Jilin is referred to as a river city because of Boat Sailing on the Songhua River, a verse composed by Emperor Kang Xi of the Qing Dynasty during his inspection tour of the east. It is surrounded on all sides by the offset of the Changbai Mountains, and the Songhua River that flows in a S-shaped course through the urban area looks like a blue ribbon.


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Profile of Yanji City

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                    Yanji City

Yanji City is located in the east of Jilin, and is the capital of Yanbian Korean autonomous prefecture; its eastern part links with Huichun city and is adjacent to Russia, southern part links with Longjing city and faces to Korea that Tumen River traverses the border between Yanji of China and Korea, western part neighbors with Baishan Mountain city, and northern part neighbors with Heilongjiang. It is multiethnic and miscellaneous city that Korean and Han ethnic oriented.

Yanji City is located in hillock land of the east hillfoot of Changbai Mountain and situates at the basin embraced by mountains, with higher in its eastern, northern and southern part, and wide in its western part, slants toward its central, slow in central part and flat that forms the basin with horseshoe-style. Maoer Mountain, the highest point in throughout the city locates in the southern part positive of urban district. Boolean Hatong River flows downstream from west to east traversing the central part of the urban city, and Yanji River flows into Boolean Hatong River from north to south. The urban district is divided into south, north and west three natural fields by Yanji River and Boolean Hatong River, the whole urban district integrated into a whole by five bridges crossing the two rivers.

Yanji owns miscellaneous historical and cultural relics. Humanity sight architectures in the era of Bo Hai Nation----Chengzishan Mountain Town, Aidan Town, Great and Little Abutment, the Great Wall in ancient times and so on around hundred ancient relics. The natural sceneries in urban district are gorgeous, with green mountains and clear and fresh water. Grand Maoer Mountain dominates the southern part of the urban district, with dense and thick forests, and greenery everywhere, which is a really natural tourism famous scenic spot. Golem Valley locating in its northern suburb is a natural wild resource treasure house and tourism spot, with unique and spectacular sceneries, and high mountains and dense and thick forests. In Snake Island with mysterious and thick greenery, the wild resources are very abundant. The People's Park and the Youth Lake Park in the city own elegant environment and dense and thick trees in where set up zoo, arboretum and entertainment club and so on amusement sites.

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Shenyang, a city full of vitality

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Shenyang is the economical, cultural, communication, trade and commercial hub of the Northeastern region of China; it is also a major industrial and cultural city with historical importance. Shenyang is located at the center of the Northeast Asian economic ring and Bohai economic ring, so it has important strategic status. With its advantageous geographical position, Shenyang has tremendous absorbing, radiating and driving force to the whole country and even Northeast Asia.

(Credit: Shenyang Government Official Website. Click here for further information.)


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[[i] Last edited by ASHLEYTUNG at 2008-7-14 18:34 [/i]]

Introduction to Benxi

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Benxi is located in the southeast part of Liaoning Province and in the central region of Liaodong peninsula, with Shenyang and Fushun on the north, Dandong on the south, Liaoyang and Anshan on the west, and Jilin on the east. Benxi covers an area of 8411.3 square kilometers and is shaped like a dumbbell. The region is described as "eighty percent mountain, ten percent water, five percent farmland, and five percent road and manor."

The city's 1.57 million residents enjoy mild, sunny springs, hot, rainy summers, clear, cool autumns, and cold, snowy winters


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Background of Liaoyang

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Liaoyang, an ancient civilized city with a long history of 2400 years, is the earliest built city in the Northeast China.

Liaoyang, a city with a population of 1,820,000, is one of the 14 cities directly governed by Liaoning Provincial Government. It has the jurisdiction over 4731 square km, including a county town, a county city and 5 districts.

In 2003, Liaoyang was rated one of the Top-100 cities evaluated in comprehensive strength among the rank of prefecture-level cities and also one of the China excellent tourism cities in 2004.

It is 59 km from Lioayang to Shenyang Tiaoxian Airport, and 120 km to Yingkou Harbour. Ha Erbin-Dalian Railway and Shenyang-Dalian Expressway pass through Liaoyang.

Liaoyang owns sufficient water resources and power supply. It has 7 power stations and is covered by the northeastern electricity network. Tanghe and Shenwo Reservoirs have 1.5 billion cubic meters of water, which contains 0.5 billion cubic meters of surface water.

With the solid industrial foundation, the chemical fibered plastic, nonferrous metal processing, equipments and spare parts making, and agricultural products, the four pillar industries, have initially come into form, and are gradually changing into an advantaged industry group.

Liaoyang is the main producing base for the raw materials of chemical products, fiber and plastic in the North of China. Meanwhile, it is also the steel and non-ferrous metal processing base. Some big enterprises can produce zinc electroplated steel boards, colored painted steel sheets and straight seam steel tubes, etc. Roughly 2 million tons of steel is going to be consumed and 2 million tons of brass and aluminum respectively. Also, Liaoyang is the base for the agricultural products without environmental pollution all over the country. Besides, Liaoyang is the only promoted experimental city for agricultural products without environmental pollution, including non-polluted food and organic food. The total output of the agricultural products is 2 million tons and it has a good sale at home and abroad.

The private sectors in Liaoyang are very prosperous, it takes up 60% of the whole GDP. The backbone company, Liaoning Zhongwang Group is the biggest enterprise in Asia which produces the aluminum alloy and the plastics packaging bags; Xingzhe Steel Sheet Group is the largest manufacturing enterprise with its products of spiral steel tubes in China; Liaoning Ruixing Chemical Company, the biggest enterprise for carbon disulfide in Asia; Liaoyang Huaxing Chemical Products LTD, the biggest enterprise for surface active chemical preparation; And Fuhong Edible Oil Group is an important enterprise which realizes the modernization of agriculture in Liaoyang vicinity.

Liaoyang is completely opened to the world, and offers the preferential forms for investments. In the field of industry and agriculture, we encourage foreign businessmen to invest in the four pillar industries and actively participate in the reform of stated-owned enterprises in order to revitalize stock assets. In the service section, we support foreign businessmen to invest in tourism and expand merchandising enterprises and the social service institutions. In the field of social undertaking, we welcome businessmen from overseas to cooperate with high-level education, vocational education and literal and physical organizations. In the field of public affairs, we encourage foreign investment to assist the infrastructures??such as the traffic system, municipal works, environment protection and the real estate, etc.

(Credit: People's Municipal Government of Liaoyang. Click here for further information.)


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History of Anshan

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History

Anshan has a very long history though the city's formation is short. Anshan is the cradle of the mankind' remote antiquity. It has been proved by the archaeological studies of Xiaogushan Paleoanthropelogical Relics in Haicheng that mankind had propagated and multiplied in this area about 20 thousand years ago. In addition, there has found some stony sheds and stone wares of the New Stone Age in Haicheng's Shimu, Pailou, Datun, Chagou and Tengao, etc. In Jiubu of Anshan City, it has been further proved that Anshan had entered the rank of the Human Civilization, long ago, just as the Central Plains of China, and became a composite unit of the Chinese nation.

At the time of the Warring States Period, Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty, the most area of today's Anshan was administered by Shou County, Xiangping county and other counties of Liaodong Jun. The area of today's Haicheng was under the jurisdiction of Liaodong Jun's Xinhui County, Liaodui County and Anshi County in the Western Han Dynasty. The area of today's Taian County was under Xiandu's jurisdiction in the Western Han Dynasty. Today's area of Xiuyan County was also administered by Xiangping county of Liaodong Jun, Yan State. Anshan had been administered by juns, country (Liaodong Country once built in the Western Jin Dyrasty), daos, lus, weis, prefectures, zhous, provinces and counties throughout the whole history. After October 1,1949. when the People's Republic of China was founded, Anshan's administration subordination system has been varied for many times accompanying the flourishing development of the socialist undertakings. During this period, Anshan once was an administrative region, under the central jurisdiction or provincial jurisdiction.

In Warring States Period (475B.C-221B.C.), Anshan was a part of Marquis of Yan's Liaodong Jun.

In Qin Dynasty(221B.C.-207B.C.), belonged to Liaodong Jun.

In Han Dynasty(206B.C.-220), during this period, the county administrative installments were always increasing in today's Northeastern Region.

Among which:

Western Han Dynasty, belonged to Liaodong Jun of Youzhou.

Eastern Han Dynasty, administered by Liaodong Jun and the Liaodong Dependency.

Three States Period and Western Jin Dynasty(220-316), administered by Liaodong Jun's Xiangping county, Xinchang county, Liaodui County, Anshi county and Changli Jun's Changli County.

Eastern Jin Dynasty and Sixteen States Period (317-420), belonged to Ex-Yan, Ex-Qin and Later-Yan's Liaodong Jun. Afterwards, it had been occupied by Gaogouli for a time. Sectional area of today's Taian County was administered by the Northern Yan State.

The Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-589), during the Northern Dynasty, today's city proper of Anshan and Haicheng City was occupied by Gaogouli.

Northern Wei Dynasty(386-534), the most part of Anshan's territory was annexed by Gaogouli. Taian County's area of today was belonged to Guangdu County, Youzhou.

Sui Dynasty (581-618), Anshan's city proper, Haicheng, a part area of Taian County was seized by Gaogouli. The territory situating to the western bank of the Liaohe River was administered by Huaiyuan Town, Yan Jun.

Tang Dynasty(618-907), the most part of Anshan was occupied by Gaogoli at the initial stage of the Tang Dynasty. In 668, it was recaptured by Tang's emperor, Gaozong. At the same period, the administrative division system of Dao, Prefecture and Zhou was built in the Northeastern China of today.

Liao Dynasty (907-1125), the names of the counties in this area were changed many times, but all of them were belonged to Liaoyang Prefecture, Dongjing Dao.

Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), the area of today's Anshan was belonged to Dongjing Lu, Beijing Lu and Yisuguan Lu respectively.

Yuan Dynasty(1271-1368), today's city proper of Anshan and Haicheng City was subordinated to Liaoyang County, Liaoyang Lu. At that time, Taian County's area was belonged to Wangping County, Guangning Lu. The location of present Xiuyan Manchu Autonomous County was under control of Gaizou Lu.

Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), administrered by Liaozhong Wei, Haizhou Wei, Guangning Wei and Gaizhou wei, Liaodong Jun.

Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), belonged to Fengtian Prefecture's Liaoyang Zhou, Haicheng County, Jinzhou Prefecture's Zhenan County and Gaiping County and Fengtian Province's Dongbian Dao.

Republic of China (1912-1949), administered by Liaoyang County and Haicheng County. The area of today's Haicheng was Haicheng County. Taian's region was Zhenan County and then changed its name as Heishan County, but Taian County was established there finally. Today's Xiuyan Manchu Autonomous County was named Xiuyan County at that time.

On october 1,1949, the People's Republic of China was found, the proper of Anshan was administered by the Northeastern People's Government(renamed as the Northeastern Administration Commission on November 15.1952), Anshan became a municipality directly under the Central Government on March 12,1953. Haicheng County and Xiuyan County were subordinated to Liaodong Province. Taian County was subordinated to Liaoxi Province.

August 22,1954, the Central Government decided that Anshan be administered by Liaoning Province. Anshan and its county were subordinated to Liaoning Province and Liaoyang Subprovincial Administrative Region early or late. An county was subordinated to Liaoyang Subprovincial Administrative Region, Shenyang City, Tieling Subprovincial Administratwe Region and Panjin Reclamation Area successively.

The State Council ratified that Anshan be in charge of liaoyang City and Haicheng County on January 5,1959. At the same time, former Liaoyang County was abolished and merged it into Liaoyang City. Taian County was administered by Shenyang City. Xiuyan County was administered by Andong City(renamed Dandong City in 1965), Liaoyang County was resumed on April 29,1961 and was still administered by Anshan City.

December 16,1965, Liaoyang County and Haicheng County were put under the Liaonan Subprovincial Administrative Region's administration. Liaonan Subprovincial Administrative Region was revoked on December 26,1968 and Haicheng County was merged into YingKou City .

January 1,1973, the State Council ratified that Anshan be in charge of Haicheng County. January 17.1985, the State Council decided that Haicheng County be canceled and Haicheng City (county rank of municipality )was set up. January 1,1976, Taian county's jurisdiction was shifted from Panjin Reclamation Area to Anshan City. January 17,1985, the State Council sanctioned the cancelment of Xiuyan County and the estabishment of the Xiuyan Manchu Autonomous County. The State Council sanctioned the jurisdictional transfer of the Xiuyan Manchu Autonomous County from Dandong City to Aushan city.


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Brief introduction to Dalian

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Geographic Situation:

On the east coast of Eurasia and the southern tip of Liaodong peninsular in northeast China, Dalian stretches from 120??58' to 123??31' east longitude and 38??43' to 40??10' north latitude, with the Yellow Sea on the east, Bohai Sea on the west, facing the Shandong peninsular across the sea on the south and backed up by the vast Northeast Plain on the north. Dalian is the marine gateway of northeast China, North China, East China and the whole world. It is also an important port, and a trade, industry and tourism city.

Dalian covers an area of 12574 square kilometers, among which 2415 square kilometers of area is the old city. This area abounds with mountains and hills, while plains and lowlands are rarely seen. The terrain, high and broad on the north, low and narrow on the south, tilts to the Yellow Sea on the southeast and the Bohai Sea on the northwest from the center. The region which faces the Yellow Sea is long and gentle. The Qianshan Mountain range of Chang Baishan Mountain system passes through the whole region from north to south. Mountain regions and long eroded foothills are widely dispersed within the region. Plains and lowlands are only interspersed near the confluence and in some valleys. Kast topography and sea erosion topography are everywhere.

Climate:

Dalian lies in the warm temperate zone of the North Hemisphere, with maritime feature of warm temperate continental monsoon climate. Thus, its four seasons are distinct with neither extremely cold weather in winter nor extremely hot weather in summer. The average temperature of the year is 10.5??C, the rainfall of the year is 550 to 950 millimeters and the whole year sunshine is 2500 to 2800 hours.

Water Resources:

There are mainly two large river systems, the Yellow Sea system and the Bohai Sea system. The large rivers which flow into the Yellow Sea are Biliu River, Yingna River, Zhuanghe River, Xiezi River, Dasha River, Dengsha River, Qingshui River, and Malan River, etc. while the main rivers which flow into the Bohai Sea are Fuzhou River, Li Guancun River, San Shilipu River. Among them, the largest one is Biliu River, the source river of cross-valley water diversion. In addition, there are more than 200 small rivers. The total amount of fresh water resource is 3.786 billion cubic meters, among which 3.42 billion cubic meters of water is ground water, 88.4 million cubic meters of water is underground water and 58 million cubic meters of water is shared by them both.

Administrative Divisions:

Dalian has 3 county-level cities (Wa Fangdian city, Pu Landian city and Zhuanghe city), 1 county (Changhai county) and 6 districts (Zhongshan district, Xigang district, Sha Hekou district, Gan Jingzi district, Lu Shunkou district and Jinzhou district). In addition, there are 4 state-level leading areas for opening up (the Development Zone, the Free Trade Zone, the Hi-Tech Industrial Zone and the Golden Pebble Beach National Holiday Resort.)

(Credit: Dalian Government Official Website. Click here for further information.)


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Brief introduction of Yantai

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                                   Yantai

Infiltrating into a long history, Yantai was called Zhifu in the ancient times. In 200 B.C. the first emperor of China once shot fish here with bows drawn and arrows set, formingafterwards "the fish shooting platform". For fighting against the sea rovers, the Ming Dynasty set up the beacon-fire stand in the year of 1398 and Chinese "Yantai" hereby achieved her nomenclature. And Yantai became one of the first ports that opened up to the outside in 1861.

(Credit: Yantai Government Office. Click here for further information.)


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Qingdao, an important coastal city in East China

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   Qingdao Wusi Square (Photo credit: China Foto Press)

Qingdao is a key economic center and port city in China famous for its cultural heritage and picturesque scenery. Qingdao is one of China's top ten economically dynamic cities and top ten business cities. It is the winner of the country's "Entrepreneur's Satisfaction Award". Qingdao is a national model for environmental protection, city sanitation and landscape development. It is the winner of "China Human Settlements and Environment Award". Qingdao is a sailing city in China. The 29th Olympic sailing regatta will be held here in 2008. Qingdao is one of the 14 coastal cities opening up to the outside world and one of the eight cities authorized to hold international conferences. Qingdao is one of China's major seaports for foreign trade. Qingdao is an important base for marine science research in China.

(Credit: Qingdao Government Official Website. Click here for further information.)


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Linyi introduction

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Linyi city is located at the southeast of Shandong Province,bordering Jiangsu Province in the south and facing the Yellow sea to the east Linyi has a temperate climate and rich precipitation,with mountain areas,hillyland and plains taking 1/3 respectively.

Linyi exercises jurisdiction over 9 counties, including Linshu, Tancheng, Cangshan, Junan, Yishui, Pngyi, Feixian and Mengyin as well as three districts such as Lanshan, Luozhuang and Hedong. Linyi, with a total area of 17,184 sqkm and a total population of 10.0 million, is the largest administrative division of the whole province in terms of area and population.

The Yihe River,which flows across Linyi from south to north,is the longest river in Shandong Province with a total flowing distance of 574 km.On the east of Linyi City,The longest rubber dam is built across the Yihe River,which forms a scenic lake of 8.24 sq km in Linyi. The lake and dam have been listed in Guinness Bood of World Records.

Linyi is an ancient city with long history with splendid culture.It has a history of more than 2,400 years.Here was once the location of the Langyajun and Yizhoufu. Within the boundaries of thf city, there are bany ancient cultural relics, among which there are many ancient cultural relics,among which there are 40-odd historical and cultural sites under province and state protection. In1992, Linyi was listed as a provincial-level historical and cultural city by the People's Government of Shandong Province. The Museum of Bamboo Slips Unearthed from Linyi Yinqueshan Tomb of the Han Dynasty,the Former Residence of Wang Xizhi, Linyi Municipal Museum,zhuge Liang's Memorial Museum and Yinan Beizhai Painted Stone Tombs of the Han Dynasty,have become the tourist resorts with distinctive features and have been taken on the list of toutist oine opening to the international market. The Bamboo Slips Museum of the Yinqueshan Tomb of of the Han Dynasty is licated in the city proper of Linyi.On the 7,500 pieces of bamboo slips unearthed in 1972,such ancient books of pre-Qin days (i.e.before 221B.C.when the first Emperor of Qin united China)as Sunzi's Art of War,Sun Bin's Art of W ar,Liutao and Weiliaozi, were recorded.The excavation of Sun Bin's Art of War, which had been lost for 1,700-odd years,caused a sensation throughout the world.Since it proved the existences of Sun Wu (author of Sunzi's Art of War ) and SunBin (author of Sunzi's Art of War ) and their books, which had been an outstanding question over the past numerous years.So the excavation was listed among the 10great discoveries of archaeology in the 1970s. From ancient times Linyi had given births to bany famous men of letters. Among them,the famous stateaman and strategist Zhuge Liang of the Three Kingdom Periods (220-280 A.D.) and the famous calligrapher sage,Wang Xizhi of the Jin Dynasty(165-420 A.D),were both born here.

Advanced communication installations.Program-controlled telephones, optical- fibre communication, digital microwave, mobile phones and wireless pagers cover both the urban and the rural areas. Internet is now in ascendant. EMS is also available in Linyi. Enough power supply. The power installation capacity of Linyi reaches 540 MW.the city posses one 500 Kv substation,eight 220 Kv substations, forming a modernized power grid backing by the 220 Kv lines of high-tension, big capacity and high parameterx.Complete service departments involving foreign affairs.There are complete service departments involving foreign affairs in Linyi,including the Customs,commodity inspection, health quarantine,animal quarantine,Service Center for Foreign Investment, council for trade promotion,arbitration concerning foreign affairs,insurance and finance.there are one four-stsr hotel,3 three-star hotels and 2 two-star hotels in the city,both of which engage in businesses concerning foreign affairs and foreign nationals.Various facillties for culture and entertainment are complete as well.

A three-dimensional network of communication lines, including the sea,land and air,has been formed in Linyi City.Jinghu Expressway and the Asia-Europe Continental Bridge Railway (Starting from Rizhao and Linyi eastward to Rotterdam, Netherlands westward) join together here as well. Ridong (Rizhao- Dongming) Expressway, which is under construction, crosser the Linyi proper from east to west. The coastal railways in the east area (Starting from the northeast area in the north to Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the south) pass through Linyifrom south to north.In addition,there are 4 national highways and 18 provincial highways crisscrossing to all directions. The distance from Linyi to Rizhao port, Lanshan port and Lianyugang port is within 100 km respectively. the distance from Linyi to Qingdao port is 200-odd km. The highways to all the ports are high-grade highways.So the sea transportation is convenient.Linyi Airport is the biggert civil airport in south Shandong..The scheduled flight routes from Linyi to more than 20 cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Jinan and Qingdao, have been opened. Chartered planes also can take off and land on the airport.

Linyi abounds in mineral resources.The deposits of 26 kinds have been proven. Aong them, the deposits of diamond,granite,quartzite,pottery's clay and alumstone rank the top position in ShandongProvince.linyi is one of the two big production bases of China.The famous "Changlin Diamond" was discovered here.In addition,is one of the gold production areas of Shandong Province.

The water resources of Linyi are very rich.The water quality is fine as well. For many years runing,the average annual precipitation and runoff has kept 824.8 mm The total amount of water resources reaches 59.6 billion cubic m. The amount of groundwater exploitable can reach 18 billion cubic m.36 medium-and large-sized reserv ours are constructed in the city.So Linyi is one of the richest areas in Shandong Province in terms of freshwater resources.

Linyi abounds in natural resources. The output of honeysuckle ranke the top position in the country. The output of ginkgo ,garlic,Chinese chestnut and husbandry products ranks the top position in Shandong Province.The outputs of grain,fruits and peanut rand the second position in Shandong Province As for the production of vegetables,Linyi is called the "south vegetable garden of Shandong" due to its large scale, good quality and non-pollution .Other special lical products,such as Pingyi honeysuckle,Cangshan garlic,Tancheng ginkgo and eight-treasure fermented soybean, are well-known at home and abroad as well.

Linyicity has formed an industrial structure with some production scale and technological level backed by light industry,textile,machinery,chemical industry, electronic, building materials, coal,cedicine and gold. There are 2000-odd enterprises of and above township level (including 168 medium-and large-sized enterprises), with more than 3000 kinds of products,among which granite plates,cement,building ceramics,plaster products,engineering machinery, plant protection machinery,motorcycle,knit goods,cotton yarn,food and beverage, tennis shoes,daily-use ceramics and fine chemical industry products are all famous and excellent and sold well both at home and abroak.

As a booming commercial city cmerging after the reform and opening,the city proper of Linyi is distributed with numerous commercial mansions and many businessmen gather here.In the city,999 markets of various kinds have been constructed In 2001,the total volume of business hit 423billion yuan,among which 255 billion yuan was turned over in Wholesale City.Linyi Wholesale city ranks the top position among the industrial products wholesale markets of Shandong Province in terms of comprehensive returns and ranks the third position among the 10 big industrial products wholesale markets in Cahina It has preliminarily become an importand circulation center of talent, materials and fund in southeast Shandong as well as the biggest collection and distribution spot of commodities of such regions as Shandong, Jiangsu, Henan and Anhui.In addition,in the city proper of Linyi,there are 10-odd large-large-sized plazas and numerous supermarkets.

Linyi City has established cooperative relations of economy,technologies and culture with more than 100 countries and reions in the world .One after another,some international consortia,companies and foreign traders of Europe, America and the Asia-Pacific region with atrong economic powers have come here for investment and cooperation as well as engaging in various other businesses. Sino-foreign joint ventures, cooperative businesses and wholly foreign-funded enterprises totally.the cooperative fields mainly include textile, foodstuff,light industry,building materials, electronics,machinery,agriculture and real estate .All of the enterprises put into operaton have achieved good economic benefits.


(Credit: Linyi Government Official Website. Click here for further information.)



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Qufu in brief

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Qufu is located in the southwest of Shandong Province,It covers an area of 896 sq km.And it has a population of 630,000.Qufu is the hometown of the great thinker,statesman and educator. It is listed in the first group of 24 national famous cities of historical and cultural relics designated by the State Council.

Qufu is also the hometown of Shen Nong(God of agriculture).Huang Di,Shao Hao and Mencius,and has been the site for ancient states and capitals like the Shang dynasty,the Yin state,the Lu state,etc.In the city,there are now over 300 historic relics under protection, among which six sites are of national level, eleven are of provincial level.The Confucian Temple,the Confucian Mansion and the Confucian Cemetery were ranked as one of the world cultural heritages.

Qufu enjoys a convenient transportation. There is a network of railways and highway in it.Beijing-Shanghai Railway and Beijing-Fujian Expressway run north and south of Qufu and Xinxiang-Shijiusuo Railway and Rizhao-Dongming Expresswaypenetrate Qufu east and west.And it is also the intersection of No.104 National Road and No.327 National Road. Qufu is rich in natural resources.Water is plentifuland highquality.Mineral　deposits　are　mainly　coal　,　limestone,marble,granite,phosphorous and so on..The coal mining in Qufu is part of the Yanzhou Coalfield,which is one of the eight biggest coalfield in China.And its annual yield is 800 thousand tons.

Qufu has favorable investment policies.Qufu economic development zone is of provincial level. In it there are high-tech industrial park,a private-owned enterprise park ,a tourism industrial park and an international trade park,etc.ang it is well equipped with water,gas and electricity.To serve domestic and foreign investors well,the Municipal Administration set up an investment service center,with its aim of providing all-around,high-quality services.

Qufu`s economy is prosperous,It has a solid base of agriculture.It is the base of national commodity grain and agriculture..Industry runs smoothly and its main industries　include　food　processing,textile,construction　materials,chemistry,coal mianing,pharmacy,paper making and mechanical and electrical machinery and so on.Education in Qufu is advanced with 209schools of different levels.Among them is Qufu Teacher`s University,which ranks as one of Shandong`s key universities.

Qufu is an old city while it is young with the ages. Its hard-working and hospitable people are striving to build it into a world ¡§Cfamous historical and cultural city!

(Credit: Qufu Government Official Website. Click here for further information.)



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Taian overview

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Located in the center of Shandong Province, Tai'an lies at the southern foot of Mount Tai (Taishan) and adjoins Jinan to the north, Qufu to the south, the Yellow River to the west, and Zibo to the east. Taishan and Daiyue Districts, Ningyang and Dongping Counties, and Xintai and Feicheng County-level Cities all fall under Tai'an's administrative jurisdiction.


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Brief introduction of Jinan

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Situated at 36?40'N and 117?00'E, Jinan neighbors Mount Tai to the south and the Yellow River in the north. The terrain of Jinan slopes down from south to north. There are two major water systems in Jinan-- the Yellow River and the Xiaoqing River. Daming Lake and Baiyun Lake are the major lakes.

Located on the east coast of China, Jinan is the capital city and the political, economic, cultural, scientific and technological, educational and financial center of Shandong Province. It is also a city at the vice??provincial level and a foreign-oriented city approved by the country. Jinan covers an area of 8,177 square kilometers with 3,257 square kilometers of urban area.

Jinan municipality governs 6 districts which are Lixia, Shizhong, Huaiyin, Tianqiao, Licheng, and Changqing, 3 counties which are Pingyin, Jiyang, and Shanghe, and Zhangqiu City.

Jinan has a long history. As a culturally famous city approved by the State Council, Jinan is glorified as the "Spring City" for its numerous springs.

The city tree is willow and the city flower is lotus.

(Credit: Jinan Government Official Website. Click here for further information.)


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General information of Zhengzhou

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Situated in the Central Plains, Zhengzhou rests on Mount Songshan in the west, borders on the Yellow River in the north, and connects the Huang Huai Plains in the east and south. It is one of the oldest central cities in China, a hub of communications directly accessing 10 provinces, and a strategic place throughout the various dynasties. In modern history Zhengzhou was the source of the great February 7 Strike launched by the railway workers along the Beijing-Hankou line ,adding a glorious chapter to the history that could move people to song and tears. Today's Zhengzhou is the capital of Henan Province, has jurisdiction over 6 districts, 5 county-level cities and 1 county, covers a total area of 7446.2 square kilometers and presently owns a total population of 6.977 million. The city proper of Zhengzhou has an area of 1062 square kilometers (of which, 137 square kilometers belongs to the developed urban area), a population of 3.22 million, and two national development zones.

Zhengzhou has also taken great pride in being a major central city along the Long Hai and Jing Guang railways, a key national hub of communications, a famous commercial city, a National Famous Historical and Cultural City, a Top Tourist City of China, a National Model City for Cleanliness and Tidiness, a National Model City for Supporting Military Work, a Model City in the Campaign of Building National Civilized Cities, and some other honorary titles.

As one of the central experimental cities for commercial and trade reforms listed by the State Council, Zhengzhou has earned a nationwide reputation for its developed commerce and trade. It possesses a large number of high-grade and multi-functional large commercial and trading facilities and distribution markets attracting businesses from the various parts of the country, 30 of them have annual business volume of above 100 million yuan; each year more than a hundred international, national, regional and specialized fairs, talks and other major business events are held in this city; and over 10,000 domestic and overseas business organizations have established offices or operating facilities here.

Along with the going of the new century, Zhengzhou has been tightly grasping the significant opportunities related to China's entry into WTO, the great development of the west and the approval by the state of the Overall Plan of Zhengzhou Municipality for Building the Regional Central Municipality, and worked out its strategic objectives for the national economy and social development for the "Tenth Five-year Plan" Period: Till 2005, the GDP will exceed 100 billion yuan, and till 2010, increase 1.5 times the GDP for 2000; the comprehensive economic strength, the level of urbanization, the radiating capacity of the city and the people's living standard will scale a new high, the people's comfortably-off life get more ample, the socialist market economy system get relatively complete, and a solid foundation be laid for the city to first basically realize the modernization in Henan Province.

In the light of the objectives for the "Tenth Five-year Plan" Period, the Zhengdong New Area will be built with a high starting point and high grade so as to expand the city's overall frame. The planned area for the Zhengdong New Area starts in the west from the National Highway No. 107, reaches in the east the Jing Zhu freeway planned to be built; starts in the north the Lian Huo freeway, reaches the fast highway to the airport. The Area covers a total area of about 150 square kilometers and is expected to have a population of 1.5 million. A number of advanced concepts such as "Co-growth City", "Metabolistic City" and "Ring-shaped City" are incorporated in the designing and building process. Meanwhile, the principles of paying equal attention to the transformation of the old town and the development of the new town, coordinated development, common growth and common prosperity, always stressing the needs of the people, and planning goes first, will be observed in improving the appearances of the old town and heightening the quality of the living environment, the final goal will be building Zhengzhou step by step into a modernized socialist commercial and trade city with the characteristics of the Central Plains culture and a regional central city in the country.

(Credit: Zhengzhou Government Official Website. Click here for further information.)


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About Kaifeng

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Kaifeng is a city in Henan Province. It has about more than 2700 years history and owns splendid culture which makes it become one of the first-announced 24 historical and cultural cities in China. In history it once was renowned as the centre of the politics, economics and culture of China.

(Credit: Kaifeng Tourist Bureau Official Website. Click here for further information.)


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Luoyang introduction

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Luoyang lies in the west of Henan Province,crossing two banks of middle reach of Yellow River and is one of the first historical cities recognized by the Council of State and famous ancient capital of some dynasties. It covers 8 counties,1 city and 6 districts with 1.5 rnillion population and total 152 thousand k㎡,of which,the urban area is 544km2.Luoyang, used to be a well-known city with long history,is nowadays an energetic and charming city.

This spring is an integral of water,light,power,color and appreciation value,further perfecting the urban area of Luoyang.The over 300k㎡water coverage of Xiaolangdi Reservoir of Yellow River shows the beautiful lake,splendid mountains and scattered islands.BaiyunShan Mountain in Songxian County is awarded as one of the top ten beautiful places in China.Xin'andaimeiShan Mountain is listed as the world nature park.Except those,the Longyuwan Bay,as the forest oxygen bar,JiguanShan solution cavity,named as the First Cavity of North China,Chongdugou Canal,called river town of North China,Shenlingzai village,town of bamboo are also the wonderful spots for the traveling in Luoyang.You can enjoy spectacular mountains,birds singing and flow fragrance.These large-scale,high taste nature scenes form the basis of the landscape garden city,which will enable the tourism become the most potential industry of Luoyang along with the precious historical and cuitural background.

Luoyang is also a city of peony,which has over 1500years history in planting and the peony here is well-known since the ancient.Now,there are nearly thousand varieties of peony in Luoyang with more than 30thousand mu planting and viewing area,forming the pattern that peony's successive blossoming in urban,suburb and southern mountain area.

Luoyang is the city with the most complete varieties,best flower nature and up-to-date planting technology.ln April every year,the blossoming of peony overflows the city and decorates Luoyang like paradise.Until now,we have successfully held 24 sessions of Peony Fair,which has become a namecard of Luoyang so that the world may know Luoyang further.

Luoyang has sound environment for tourism and convenient traffic facilities,which lies in the middle of China since the ancient and is called as the hinterland of nine provinces and thoroughfare of ten provinces.Luoyang is the important traffic hinge in the middle and western area,the key pivot of Eurasian Continental Bridge,and the eastern start of the ancient Silk Road,where is the interjunction of Lianyungang-Lanzhou and Jiaozuo-ZhiCheng Trunk Railways,and five expressways including Lianyungang-Huocherlgand Erlianhaote-Guangzhou etc.,and the cross of city ring expressway and trunk roads in southern mountain area-Luoyang Airport is Class Ⅱairport with best obstruction clearance criteria in China,covering the domestic and overseas airlines such as Luoyang to Hong Kong,Beijing,Shanghai ,Qingdao ,Chongqing or Guangzhou.

Now,there are 63 star level hotels,including 29 of which is above 3-star;there are 109 travel agencies and 9 of them are international agencies.

Over recent Years,we have made great effort in carrying out the strategy of Flourishing Luoyang in respect of lndustry, Tourism and Science &Education,and achieved high increase in the overall economic strength. ln 2006,the total productive value and total financial income reached up to RMB133billion and RMB15.45billion respectively.The tourism had received 28million visitors, 30.5% increase comparing to the last year,among which, 210 thousand are domestic visitors,representing 52.7% increase.ln that year,the total revenue of tourism industry was RMB13.6billion,increasing 29.8%,including USD67million foreign exchange,an increase of 59.4%.We,in particular,depend on our blessed tourism resource and try our best to build the tourism brand of Thousand Years Emperor Capital,Peony City,Start Point of Silk Road and Brilliant LuoYang Scene,and construct the most livable city of China.To this end,LuoYang has been successively awarded China's Excellent Tourism City,National Garden City,National Advanced City in Making Civilized City,Most Charming City of China,Favorite Chinese Tourism City by European Tourists or like,and become one of important destinations for the historical and cultural travel and the holiday travel.

As described by the great historian Sima Guang in North Song Dynasty History of ancient China is all shown in Luoyang. The centuries-old history and brilliar1t cultural background gives the splendid history of Luoyang,and the dramatic changing Luoyang in nowadays is unfolding her glamour and elegance to the world.Luoyang wil1 look forward to your presence with the wonderful environment and quality service for experiencing the history and culture,enjoy the enchanting scene and peony and jointly create the brilliant future.

(Credit: Luoyang Tourism Official Website. Click here for further information.)


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