Speech by the Governor
Sichuan, hometown of Deng Xiaoping, is famed for the' heavenly land'. In the upper reaches of Yangtze River, the province lies in the hinterland of Southwest China, covering an area of 485,000 sq km with a total population of 87.5 million people. Thanks to abundant resources, cogent technology, high calibers, and advantaged marketplace, the province's GDP, total grain yields, gross industrial output value, and total retail sales of all goods each makes up one fourth of the total sum of the 12 provinces and municipalities in West China.
Since the central government carried out the' Go West' strategy, we fully cascade the' Outlook on Scientific Development'.
We, incorporating the open policy with the strategy, make full use of both domestic and int'l markets and two kinds of resources, strategically adjust the economic system, and place heavy emphasis upon pillar industries and specialized sectors to have fulfilled, in an ongoing manner, a rapid economic growth.
Effects in foreign trade and cooperation are very evident, the province has cultivated an economic and trade cooperation with 100-odd countries and regions, additionally, the presence of 121 out of the world top 500 companies is unmistakably visible here.
Open Sichuan is full of vitality, we sincerely expect friends from all walks of life to visit the dynamic land for either pleasure or business! We indeed believe that, in collaboration with you, we are bound to jointly create a bright future!
I . Survey
i. Geographical position
Sichuan province is located in southwestern China and upper reach of Yangtze River which resides between 9721'-10831' east longitude and 2603'- 3419'n o r t h latitude, the province is highly accessible for its vicinity to Qinghai province, Gansu province and Shaanxi province at north, to Chongqing municipality at east, to Yunnan province and Guizhou Province at south and to Tibetan autonomous region at west. It spans 1,075km from east to west and 921km from south to north including 18 prefecture level cities and 3 ethnic autonomous prefectures. The provincial government administers 181 counties (cities and districts) including 43 city-administered districts, 14 county-level cities, 120 counties and 4 autonomous counties. The area of Sichuan province is the fifth largest one among all Chinese provinces covering 485 thousand square km. Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, is the western hub for business and trade, science & technology, finance, transportation and communication in China, It is also an attractive city for establishing development zone.
Sichuan province features the mountainous areas and plateaus supplemented with plain, hill, mountainous areas and plateaus.
Generally speaking, Sichuan province can be divided into two parts geographically: the eastern part features basin and western part features mountainous areas and plateaus.
ii. Climatic Characters
Sichuan province resides in subtropical zone with mild and humid climate, the average temperature is above 16 ℃ on yearly base, the annual precipitation is 1,000 to 1,400 mm. Because of different geographical features, the climate of basin is totally different from that of mountainous areas and plateaus at west. The basin part of Sichuan province bears mild subtropical monsoon climate which has warm winter, dry spring, hot summer and rainy autumn, while the mountainous areas and plateaus at northwest enjoys long lasting winter, absence of summer, mixing climate of spring and autumn, large temperature fluctuation between day and night, intense and long lasting sunshine during day time.
iii. Population and Ethnic groups
The total population of Sichuan province was 87.5 million in 2005, the third largest figure among Chinese provinces, 27 million out of it are the urban population, accounting for 33% of permanent population, and 54 million out of it are the rural population, accounting for 67% of permanent population.
Many ethnic groups inhabit in Sichuan province, except for Han nationality, there are Yi, Tibetan, Qiang, Tujia, Miao, Hui, Manchu, Zhuang, Bai, Dai, Lisu, Mongol, Naxi, Bouyei, Dong and Hani nationalities etc in Sichuan province, It also has the largest living compact for Yi nationality and the only living compact for Qiang nationality across the country, the Tibetan population in living compact here is only next to that in Tibet Autonomous Region. The ethnic autonomous region covers 304 thousand square kms of land, accounting for 62.7% of total area of the province.
iv. Infrastructure and Transportation
Airport, Aviation and Flight
Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport is the fifth in China, and there are 9 smaller airports for flights within the province. Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport handles 30 international flights and more than 200 domestic flights now. Airplanes taking off from the airport can directly reach Singapore, Hong Kong, Macao, Seoul, Tokyo, Penang, Fukuoka, Katmandu, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Phuket, Pairs, New York and San Francisco etc.
Road
The total mileage of road has reached 115 thousand kms at the end of 2005, including 12 thousand kms of first-class and second-class road. The total mileage of expressway in the province has reached 1,759km, ranking the first in West China and sixth across the country.
Railroad
The total length of railroad open to traffic reached 3,009 kms at the end of 2005, all major lines are of electrization.
Finance and Insurance
By the end of 2005 the total deposit balance of all social financial bodies reached 990.53 billion Yuan, all kinds of balance of loans reached 674.3 billion Yuan. The total volume of insurance premium reached 18.94 billion Yuan, and 4.61 billion Yuan were used for all kinds of indemnity and balance payment.
Telecommunication
By the end of 2005, the subscribers of fixed phone reached 15.7736 million, and 38% of the population has access to phone.
The total number of subscriber of mobile phone reached 16.8973 million.
Internet
The number of registered users reached 3.16 million by the end of 2005.
v. Foreign Related Activities
Twin provinces, prefectures and cities
Sichuan province has established stable economic and trade relationship with more than 100 countries and regions, and paired with 48 provinces, prefectures and cities, including Washington State of the United States, Nordrhein-Westfalen of Germany and Hiroshima-ken of Japan.
International exhibitions
There are grand commercial gatherings every year in Sichuan province, such as West China International Economic & Trade Fair, China Spring Season Foodstuff and Beverage Trade Fair, China Western Cross-straits Economic and Scientific and Technical Corporation and Exchange Fair and Medical Products Exhibition and International Meeting for Modernization of Chinese Traditional Medicine etc.
The Western China International Economic & Trade Fair It is a state level large scale fair which integrates product exhibition, project negotiation and commercial seminar. It is held in Chengdu from May 25th to 28th each year. Till now we have seen success of seven years of The Western China International Economic & Trade Fair. They have been characterized as being professional, market-oriented, internationalized in a high degree. It is the pivot of information flow, cash flow, logistics, personnel flow, and is strong in commercial attractiveness.
There are manufacturers, investors, dealers, and suppliers from 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China taking part in this fair. This fair has also seen the presence of state leaders, foreign political celebrities, directors from international economic organizations, CEOs from World Top 500, Chamber of Commerce leaders, and foreign diplomats in China, etc
vi. Brief Introduction of Higher Education and S&T Research in Sichuan Province
Sichuan province enjoys strong S&T research capacity stemming from advanced equipment and large pool of talents in this regard; it has become another S&T research base after Beijing and Shanghai. There are more than 1 million technicians working in 15 state level key laboratories, 60 provincial level key laboratories and 9 state level engineering technology research center.
There are 57 academicians of Chinese Academy of Science and Chinese Academy of Engineering.
The development of education has been in full swing. By 2005, there were 72 Higher Learning Institutes with total student population of 775 thousand including 49 thousand graduate students, and 111 middle class professional schools with student population of 227 thousand, and 4,995 middle schools with student population of 4.855 million, and 19 thousand elementary schools with 7.145 million pupils.
vii. Tourism
Scenic Spots and Cultural Relics
There is a saying that the mountains and rivers in Sichuan province are the most beautiful ones in the world. Mountains and rivers here are full of vigor and reflects the divine spirits. The province is also famous as the" hometown of panda". Sichuan province has the largest number of places which are listed in world natural and cultural heritage and largest number of state-level scenic spots, out of which, Jiuzhaigou Scenic and Historic Area, Huanglong Scenic and Historic Area, Leshan Giant Buddha, Mt Emei and Wolong Natural Reserve have been included in World Natural and Cultural Heritage List and MAB Network by UNESO; Nine scenic spots, including Dujiangyan Ancient Water Conservancy Project, Mt Qingcheng, Jianmen Gate, Mt Gongga, Bamboo Sea in southern Sichuan, Mt Four Girls, Mt West-Summit and other two places are the state level scenic spots.
Besides, there are 11 national forest parks, 40 natural reserves and 44 provincial scenic spots including mountainous areas, gorges, basins, plains, rivers and lakes at various sizes, hotsprings, waterfalls, Karst Areas and Danxia landforms, so Sichuan province has been crowned with the name of" Province of Geographic Beauty".
Sichuan province has long history and brilliant civilization which have extended more than 4,500 years since the time of Cancong and Yufu. This place is blessed with abundant natural resources and suitable dry and flood periods of rivers, so it has been known as the" Land of Abundance". There are 7 national famous historical and cultural cities, 40 cultural relics under the national protection and 24 provincial famous historical and cultural cities (counties) in the province. There are also all kinds of tourist attractions including ancient water conservancy project, residents of ancient towns, former residence of celebrities, Buddhist and Taoist Temples, stone sculptured murals, museum for modern art, pre-historical relics and modern buildings.
The south Silk Road extends to south through the province; heroes of The Three Kingdoms left us with numerous legends; the world famous Long March of the Red Army added glory to our past by finishing the most arduous section of the March in western Sichuan province. Furthermore, there are many ethnic minorities living in this beautiful place, including Tibetan, Yi, Qiang and Naxi minorities. They have many different ethnic festivals such as Lantern Festival, Flower Fair, Mountain Strolling Fair, Racing Day and Torch Festival; the Sichuan cuisines and drinks are famous around the world and attract tourists both from home and abroad.
Local Products
With large areas, long history, abundant cultural and natural resources, Sichuan province has unique conditions for development of tourist products.
Many local traditional products have been famous for a long time for their refined craftsmanship: the Shu Brocade which is one of the most famous Brocades in China, Shu Embroidery which is one of the most famous Embroideries in China, lacquer wares, woven bamboo wares and silver thread etc are the representatives of Sichuan traditional tourist products.
Delicacies
As one of the four major Chinese cuisines, Sichuan cuisine features spicy dish and is famous both at home and abroad for its special cooking methods and strong local flavor. All this characters make Sichuan cuisine a shining pearl in Chinese food culture and to be known as the cuisine of "every dishes has its own character and taste". The representative dishes include Diced Chicken with Chili Peanuts, The Braised Fish with Chili Sauce, Twicecooked Pork, Mapo Tofu, Couple's Slices of Lung, Tea Smoked Duck, Stewed Thin Beef Slices, Fish-flavored Pork Threads and Beef Boiled in Spicy Sauce etc.
viii. Chengdu, A City Once You Come, Never Wish to Leave
Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, has been the important city in southeastern since the ancient time: it was the capital of Kingdom of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period and the capital of Former Shu and Later Shu, so it has many cultural relics and was named as the national historical and cultural city by state council in 1982.
Chengdu is located in the center place of Chengdu Plain and covers 12,390 square km.
City of Glamour
Chengdu is a beautiful and modernized metropolis, 35.7% of main urban areas hasbeen greened up. After the implementation ofFunan River construction and comprehensive renovation project which took 5 years and involved 2.7 billion Yuan, Funan River has become a model of environmental protection work in Chengdu. UN granted Chengdu with Habitat Scroll of Honor Award, Local Innovation Award and Dubai International Award for Best Practice to Improve the Living Environment. The 2004 Award for National Model City on Human Settlements was granted to Sha River comprehensive renovation project, the upgrading project for flood prevention facilities in Jintang County and ecological campus construction project of Southwest University for Nationalities. Chengdu is the famous tourist destination with 172 historical sites, among which some are highly known around the world.
The most representative historical sites include Wuhou Temple, Dufu Thatched Cottage, The Royal Tomb of Wang Jian, Dujiangyan ancient water conservancy project, Erwang Temple, Mt Qingcheng. There are 19 historical sites under national and provincial protection and the only Base of Giant Panda Breeding in the world.
Chengdu resides at the converging point of country tourist routes circle and Sichuan tourist routes circle on which the ancient Shu Road of Jianmen gate, Jiuzhaigou Scenic and Historic Area, Mt Emei and Three Gorges are the tourist destinations, it is also the main way to go to Tibet on land, so Chengdu enjoys obvious advantage for tourist development.
An open city
The people's government of Chengdu municipality has been laying great importance to the establishment of good investment environment; a multi-layer and comprehensive opening up pattern has come into being under those efforts. The export oriented enterprises in Chengdu are actively exploring international market to keep the rapid growth of export volume, the trade of processing industry and export of machine and electronic products have registered strong increase. Chengdu has constantly expanded the export volume to many countries and regions including United States, Europe Union, Japan, Southeast Asian, Africa and Latin America etc. Many export oriented products, including silk and satin, textile, measuring and cutting tools, household appliance, meats and meat-related foodstuff, agricultural and side-line products, chemical raw materials and steels, are enjoying reputation in international market.
A City of Development
As the transportation hub of southwestern China, Chnegdu has the largest airport in this area, that is Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, Chengdu is also the converging point of Baoji-Chengdu railway, Chengdu-Chongqing railway, Chengdu- Kunming railway and Chegnda railway, the trunks of 6 national highways, including that of No 317 national highway, cross Chengdu; the construction of 7 highways within Sichuan province have been finished and all of them have been opened to traffic; the cyclic and radioactive 3-D urban transportation network has come into being after completion of construction of the major urban trunk including First Ring Road, Second Ring Road, Third Ring Road and the expressway circling downtown area etc. The total number of fixed phone subscribers is 3.838 million and 6.581 millions of mobile phones.
Chengdu center of Sichuan Internet Network has been in operation, which smoothes the communication in downtown area. The reform of power generation facilities in urban and rural areas has been basically finished, which enables enough power supply in urban and rural areas, with the annual power supply to downtown area of 14.52 billion kwh; the downtown areas can be supplied with 1.971 million tons of water every day; the capacity of supplying natural gas and liquidized oil gas has increased, with 2.6 billion square meters of natural gas extracted and supplied.
The supply of water, power and natural gas to downtown and suburban areas (including surrounding districts and cities) is abundant to meet the people's need for living, production and construction. With all the aforementioned achievements, an ideal municipal utilities structure with comprehensive functions has come into being.
Related Articles:
Doing Business in Sichuan Province of China:II. Economy
Doing Business in Sichuan Province of China:III. Investment
Doing Business in Sichuan Province of China:IV. Development Zones
