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Sparkling Tianjin
(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-09-18 17:44 Editor's Note: With the 2008 Summer DAVOS World Economic Forum to be held in Tianjin, the coastal opening-up city is fully geared up to showcase its charm and the development blue print to be the next growth engine of China. The Tianjin Municipal Information Office has complied a book consisting of 100 sparkling aspects of Tianjin, in order to make the city better acknowledged both at home and abroad. Sparkling Tianjin (Click to see Sparkling Points of Tianjin) (Chinese version)Tianjin, a famous city of history and culture, is one of the four municipalities of China and the biggest coastal opening-up and port city in North China. Situated in the north-east of North China Plain, it occupies the lower reach of the Haihe River and is located at the center of the Bohai Bay, covering an area of 11,919.7 square kilometers and enjoying a coastline of 153.3 kilometers, from which it has derived the names of “Lower Tip of Nine Rivers” and “Communications Center of Rivers and the Sea”. Six hundred years of history has nurtured a rich culture of the city and its special geographic situation has created a unique natural environment. The city is located east to the Bohai Sea and north to the Yanshan Mountain. The 72-kilometer Haihe River flows across the city like a jade belt. In the new century, Tianjin, blessed by its vantage spirit, is right on track to modernization. At the new stage of the new century, based on the holistic socio-economical developing blueprint of China, the Central Government of China and the State Council have made important strategic planning to push forward the development and opening-up of the Tianjin Binhai New Area. The area is also entrusted with important tasks of being a growth engine to drive up the economical development of the area of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province and the circum-Bohai Sea region, promoting the interaction between China and the West and the balanced economical development of the whole country. Tianjin has become crucial in the economy of China and is emerging as a sparkling point in the global economy. The Tianjin people are greatly motivated by the sense of responsibility generated by the era. With the Binhai New Area serving as the growth engine, the downtown area of the city is developing fast and the surrounding districts and counties are following suit. These three tiers of development are well coordinated and connected. United and full of energy, Tianjin residents are aiming for the best, and they are determined to have better performance. Tianjin is emerging as a rising star along the Bohai Sea Coast. Developing Binhai Hot Area In the 1980s, Shenzhen City was the focus of attention. In the 1990s, Pudong Area was in the spotlight. It is Tianjin’s show time in the 21 Century. Proposals of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China have changed from “further exerting the force of special economic zones and Shanghai Pudong New Area, pushing forward the development and opening-up of advantageous areas such as Tianjin Binhai New Area” to “…better exerting the important force of special economic zones, Shanghai Pudong New Area and Tianjin Binhai New Area in the Reform and Open-up and the independent innovation campaign”; and from “…expediting the development and opening-up of Tianjin Binhai New Area has become a crucial step in the development of areas around Bohai Sea and the whole country” to “…should correctly define its function, perfect the systems, highlight the developing direction and make full use of Binhai New Area in leading the fast and healthy socio-economic development of the (Tianjin) city, making it the pioneer in implementing scientific development perspective”. These proposals, reflecting the forward-thinking and long-sightedness of the Government and the State Council, have set a high expectation of and made clear orientation for the New Area. Since then, the Area has become the focus of people’s attention. A number of high-end projects are now in full swing, including the Airbus A320 project, the ethylene cracker with one-million-ton capacity, the oil refinery of 10-million-ton capacity, the new generation carrier rocket, the Sino-Singapore eco-city, so on and so forth. Apart from these, the Bohai Bank was put into operation as the first national joint-equity commercial bank in the past decade. The Bohai Industrial Fund has been established in Tianjin, taking the lead in the nation’s development campaign of private equity. The integrated and comprehensive reform and experimental plan of the Area has been approved by the State, which includes pioneering moves such as venture capital, international factoring business, financial lease, foreign exchange reform and comprehensive operating pilot points. The system and mechanism innovation has become a powerful tool in the development of this area. The Area has shown its strength in the project-concentrating zones, the development of industry clusters, the efficient use of resources and integrated function development. Besides, modern manufacturing industries are driving forward fast, including electronic information, space flight and aviation, petrol chemistry, equipment manufacturing and so on so forth. Furthermore, modern service industries, including finance, logistics, convention and exhibition and outsourcing, are growing rapidly. At present, the Binhai New Area embodies the best development area of China, the biggest international logistics center in North China, the largest bonded area with the most favorable preferential policies and a comprehensive port. The Tianjin harbor is a comprehensive port with a capacity ranking the sixth in the world. The Binhai New Area has many advantageous resources, adopting a clear developing structure of “one axis, one zone, three urban areas and eight functional areas”. Gradually step by step, the Binhai New Area has entered a stage of full development and opening-up. Tianjin residents are seizing the second in building the New Area into a window of North China to the world, a high-end hub for modern manufacturing industry and a base for research and development, and the international shipping and logistics center of North China. The Area will gradually develop into an economically prosperous, socially harmonious and environmentally friendly new eco-city suitable for human habitation. |
