Wenzhou

Economy

Wenzhou exports food, tea, wine, jute, timber, paper, Alunite (a non-metallic mineral used to make alum and fertilizer). Alunite is quite abundant here and sometimes Wenzhou claims to be the "Alunite Capital of the World". Its 10 main industries each exceeding 1.5 billion dollars are electrical machinery, leather products, general equipment, power supply, plastic manufacturing, textile and garment, transport equipment, chemical products, metal products and metal processing.

From the 1990s, low-voltage electric appliances manufacturing became one of the major industries in Wenzhou, with some of the large private enterprises setting up joint ventures with GE and Schneider.

In 1994, exploration for oil and natural gas commenced in the East China Sea 100 km (62 mi) off the coast of Wenzhou. Companies such as Texaco, Chevron, Shell and JAPEX have started to drill for oil but the operations have been largely unsuccessful.

Wenzhou is a city full of vibrant business activities. When China began economic reforms in 1978, Wenzhou was the first city in China to set up individual and private enterprises as well as shareholder cooperatives. It has also taken the lead in carrying out financial system reform and structural reform in townships. Being a pioneer in utilising marketing mechanism to develop urban constructions, Wenzhou has won a number of firsts in China and set many national records.

From 1978 through 2009, the GDP of the city has increased from 1.32 billion RMB to 252.8 billion RMB with the gross fiscal revenue increasing from 0.135 billion RMB to 36.1 billion RMB, and the net per capita income for rural residents increasing from 113.5 RMB to 10,100 RMB. The per capita disposable income for urban residents increased from 422.6 RMB in 1981 to 28,021 RMB in 2009, which is the third highest among Chinese cities, after Dongguan and Shenzhen.

GDP of the city in 2011 reached 335.087 billion RMB, a YOY growth of 9.5%. Per capita GDP reached 42,278 RMB, or USD 6,546 as per yearly average exchange rate, a 8.2% increase over the previous year.

Financial Reform Pilot Project

In late March 2012 China's State Council announced that Wenzhou would be the site of a pilot project for the reform of private investment rules. The city had been a significant source of illegal loans, and this project would legalize and provide a regulatory framework for such activities. It has been seen not only as an attempt to legitimize Wenzhou's private finance market, but as a model for cleaning up underground lending in China as a whole.^[8]

Birthplace of China's private economy

In the early days of economic reforms, the people of Wenzhou took the lead in developing a commodity economy, household industries and specialized markets. Many thousands of people and families were engaged in household manufacturing to develop individual and private economy. Up till now, Wenzhou has a total of 240,000 individually owned commercial and industrial units and 130,000 private enterprises of which 180 are group companies, 4 among China’s top 500 enterprises and 36 among national 500 top private enterprises. There are 27 national production bases such as "China’s Shoes Capital" and "China’s Capital of Electrical Equipment", China’s 40 famous trademarks and China’s famous-brand products and 67 national inspection-exempt products in the city. The development of private economy in Wenzhou has created the "Wenzhou Economic Model", which inspires the modernization drive in China.

The city of Wenzhou is a world leader in lighter manufacturing with over 500 such companies in the city.^[9] The plastic weaving cluster in Wenzhou comprised 1600 enterprises in 2001, employing 42,000 people with an annual output value of 20 billion Yuan. The Local cluster comprised 400 manufacturers in 2001 with a total output of 5 billion Yuan, representing 65 percent of the domestic market share. The cluster is the first in China in terms of market share and sold it products to 60 countries.^[10]

There are many areas in which people of Wenzhou opened the first example of private economy in post-1949 China. For instance, Juneyao Airlines started on July, 1991, which is the first private airline company in China. Jinwen Rail Way is also the first rail way company which is built with private capital.

Industrial zones

• Wenzhou Economic & Technological Development Zone

Wenzhou Economic & Technological Development Zone was established and approved by State Council in 1992. The main traffic system around the zone include No.104 National Highway, Ningbo-Wenzhou Expressway and Wenzhou Bridge. It is located near to Wenzhou International Airport and Wenzhou Port. Industries encouraged in the zone include electrical equipment, electronic information, chemical medicine, building materials, and textiles.^[11]

Transport

Air

The Wenzhou Yongqiang Airport serves the Wenzhou area, with scheduled flights to major cities in mainland China as well as Hong Kong and Macau. New direct air route to Taipei and Cheju Island of Korea have been opened in 2012. The Airport is situated on the southeast of Wenzhou city proper, 20 km (12 mi) away from the city center. It’s been graded as nation’s Category B civil airport, serving a population of 20 million spanning areas of Wenzhou, Taizhou and Lishui of Zhejiang and Ningde of the neighbouring Fujian. The correlated GDP of the area reaches 300 billion RMB.

The Airport started opening up in 1995 and direct flight to Macau was approved. Air route to Hong Kong was open in 1996. Linking 65 cities in the country with 34 permanently operating air routes, the Airport is among the fastest-growing and profitable among its peers in China.

The Airport ranks 1st in terms of passenger transit among cities of same level in China. In 2004, the Airport handled 29,700 landings, a passenger transit of 2.439 million, cargo throughput of 38,500 tons.

A new Terminal 2(T2) is being planned, with designed passenger throughput of 13 million per year, while the Terminal 1 will serve as international terminal.

Railway

Wenzhou South train station

Because of Wenzhou's geographic location, it is difficult to build a railway to connect it with other cities. Wenzhou's first railway, the Jinhua-Wenzhou Line, opened on June 11, 1998. The railway runs northwest to Jinhua and is operated by the Jinwen Railway Company. The railway has a total length of 251 km (156 mi), including 135 bridges of 14 km (8.7 mi) in length 96 tunnels of 35 km (22 mi) in length. The Jinwen Railway was the first in China to be built with local capital, and gave birth to China's first standardized joint-stock enterprise: Zhejiang Jinwen Rail Way Development Co., Ltd.^[12][13]

In September 2009, two high-speed railways opened in Wenzhou. The Hangzhou–Taizhou–Wenzhou Railway runs north to Hangzhou, and the Wenzhou–Xiamen Railway, runs south to Xiamen.^[14] Both lines accommodate high-speed CRH (China Railway High-speed) trains running at speeds of up to 200 km/h (120 mph) and have dramatically shortened rail travel time to neighboring cities. The city was the site of China's only major high-speed rail accident to date.

Culture and demographics

Language

Wenzhou natives speak a form of Wu Chinese, the language family shared by Hangzhou, Suzhou, and Shanghai. Geographic isolation and the immigration of Southern Min speakers from nearby Fujian have caused Wenzhounese (温州话, p Wēnzhōuhuà, lit. "Wenzhou dialect") to evolve into a "notoriously eccentric" hybrid.^{[citation needed]} As a result, people from all over China, including Wu speakers from neighboring regions of Zhejiang and Fujian, have trouble understanding or learning the local tongue.

Religion

As in most parts of PRC, the majority of residents are non-religious or atheists. Some claim that around 80% of Wenzhou residents who are religious are Buddhist, and numerous Buddhist temples are found over the landscape. But others note that recently there has been a rapid growth of Christianity in Wenzhou; one source claims^[15] that between 15 and 20% of the city's population is Christian. In addition,local family churches now saying 30% of the population is Christian. Before the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, there were 70,000 Christians in Wenzhou, representing one-tenth of the Christian population of China. There is no question that there are a number of religious families in the cities. Due to the ambitious Wenzhou business people, English is in high demand and some house churches are now offering English services ^[16] and Bible studies.

Between late 2000 and early 2002 the government began destroying or closing churches and temples. This affected Christians, Buddhists and Taoists.^[17]

Tourism

Nanxi River located in Yongjia County, Nanxi River was famous for its 36 bends and 72 beaches. The main scenic spots of the Nanxi River area include the Furong Triangle Rock, the Waterfall of Tengxi Pool, the Twelve Peaks, the Taogong Cave, the Warehouse Under The Cliff, the Furong Ancient Hamlet and the Lion Rock.^[18] It was named as the one of National Tourist Scenic Spot by the State Council and has been list in Tentative Lists of UNESCO World Heritage.^[19]

view Yandangshan in Qing Dynasty, a Traditional Chinese Art depicting the ranges of attractive Yandang Mountains

Yandang Mountains or Yandangshan Mountains, literally the wild goose pond mountain(s), it is known for its natural beauty, arising from its many vertical rock faces and pinnacles, mountain slopes with lush forests and bamboo groves, streams with clear water, waterfalls and caves.

Covered bridges, Taishun County has more than 900 covered bridges, Wuyanling National Nature Reserve in the west of the county represents significant natural values as well as being a touristic attraction.

Art and literature

Wenzhou is 1682 years old with a profound and brilliant cultural background. It has given birth to many outstanding people and great scholars. Among them were Wang Shipeng, Chen Fuliang, Ye Shi, Huang Gongwang and Liu Ji during the South Song Dynasty, as well as Sun Yirang, Xia Nai, Xia Chengtao and Su Buqing and others of the modern era. All of them have exerted significant influence in the history of Chinese philosophy, literature and science. Wenzhou is also the origin of China’s landscape poetry, the founder of which, Xie Lingyun, was the chief of Wenzhou’s Yongjia Prefecture in the Nan Dynasty. In Song Dynasty, there were 4 distinguished poets from Yongjia representing the River and Lake Poetry. In addition, Wenzhou is home to Nan Drama of China, which is said be the origin of Chinese traditional drama. "The Romance of a Hairpin", a tale about Wang Shipeng and Qian Yulian, is well known among locals and serves an inspiration for many who have endured life pains but still have faith in love. For instance, "Tale of Lute", a play by Gao Zecheng of Ming Dynasty, is renowned abroad as one of the most outstanding works of Chinese drama along with Kun Opera of Yongjia which is recognized as the verbal and non-material human heritage. Dancing in public is also part of the Wenzhou culture. Wenzhou is also the birthplace of China’s Mercantilism. From the Southern Song Dynasty, in contrasted to the Confucianism represented by Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan in China urging people to study to be officials in the future, the theory of Wenzhou’s Yongjia School represented by Ye Shi, emphasized the importance of business. The theory has an enduring impact on the mindset of Wenzhou natives and has become the "cultural gene" in the economic development of Wenzhou ever since.

Renowned as the cradle of mathematicians in China, the city has teemed with over 200 mathematic professors in the recent 100 years, among whom Su Buqing, Gu Chaohao, Jiang Lifu and other mathematicians have enjoyed great fame both at home and abroad. Furthermore, Wenzhou is also reputed as the "Home of Swimming in China", "City of Chess" and "City of Poetry in China".

Business culture

Due to both Wenzhou's cultural and geographical remoteness and its lack of natural resources (land, minerals, etc.), the Chinese central government has left the people of Wenzhou relatively autonomous^{[citation needed]}. Away from the center of the political and economic stage, its people are more independent, self-reliant, and generally more business-oriented. Numerous books have been published about the business sense of people from Wenzhou. Hence, when China switched from its planned economy to its so-called capitalist economy with Chinese (socialist) characteristics in the late 1980s, its people adjusted well to the new system and took advantage of it. A popular saying calls Wenzhounese the "Jews of the Orient" (东方的犹太人). Wenzhounese have been stereotyped by other Chinese as real estate speculators. China Daily notes that investments from Wenzhounese buyers play a disproportionately large role in the increase in Chinese property prices.^[20]

The people of Wenzhou are equipped with business sense and a commercial culture more dominant than anywhere else in China. Wenzhou has two economic characteristics: it was the first to launch a market economy, and it has the most active and developed private economy in China.

Education

There are two major universities in Wenzhou: Wenzhou University and Wenzhou Medical College. Wenzhou University resulted from the merger of the former University of Wenzhou, Wenzhou Normal College and other various normal colleges in the rural towns of Wenzhou. Its main campus is situated in the University Town, Cha Shan (茶山). The former campus of Wenzhou Normal College on Xueyuan Road (学院路) is still in use, while the former main campus of the University of Wenzhou now serves as the campus of the Wenzhou Foreign Language School and the Second Experimental Middle School of Wenzhou (No.13 Middle School).

Wenzhou Medical College is a well-known college specializing in ophthalmology (national level key discipline), as well as the provision of other medical courses. Several of Wenzhou's major hospitals are affiliated to this college.

The Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China approved the establishment of Wenzhou-Kean University on November 16, 2011. It is one of the first two Chinese-American cooperatively run universities with legal person status, the other one being NYU Shanghai inaugurated on Oct. 15, 2012.

There are also a few vocational colleges, including:

• Zhejiang Industry and Trade Polytechnic

International relations

Twin towns, Sister cities and Friendship cities

Wenzhou is twinned with:

Notable people

• Wang Xizhi 王羲之 (303–361), sage of Chinese calligraphy
• Xie Lingyun 謝靈運 (385–433), poet
• Yongjia Xuanjue 永嘉玄覺 (655–713), Chán monk and author of the Song of Enlightenment
• Wang Shipeng 王十朋 (1112–1171), statesman and writer
• Ye Shi 葉適 (1150–1223), philosopher, most important figure of the neo-Confucianism Yongjia School
• Liu Ji 劉基 (1311–1375), great strategist and statesman of the Ming Dynasty
• Zhang Cong 张聪 (1475–1539), Ming Dynasty prime minister
• Sun Yirang 孫詒讓 (1848–1908), scholar and educator, early dicipher of the Oracle Bone Script
• Zheng Zhenduo 鄭振鐸 (1898–1958), writer and scholar
• Zheng Manqing (Cheng Man-ch'ing) 郑曼青 (1902–1975), painter, calligrapher, poet, doctor, taijiquan master
• Su Buqing 苏步青 (1902–2003), mathematician and educator, president of Fudan University
• Xia Nai 夏鼐 (1910–1985), archaeologist
• Gu Chaohao 谷超豪 (1926–2012), mathematician, president of University of Science and Technology of China
• Yang Huanming (1952–), geneticist
• Feng Zhenghu (1954–), economist
• Zhu Chen 诸宸 (1976–), female chess international grandmaster and a world champion
• Zhu Qinan 朱启南 (1984–), 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist in sport shooting
• Sui He (1989–), Victoria's Secret fashion model, supermodel

References

• Economic profile for Wenzhou at HKTDC

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wenzhou.

• Government website of Wenzhou (Chinese)
• Government website of Wenzhou (English)
• Wenzhou Foreign Affairs Office (English)
• China, China's Boomtowns - National Geographic Magazine
• US Army Service Map of Wenzhou from 1945
• Manufacturing a China crisis - stratfor.com, reprinted by Business Spectator

v t e Zhejiang topics Hangzhou (capital) General History Politics Economy Geography Cities Huangyajian Peak Mount Mogan Tiantai Mountain Yangtze Delta Grand Canal of China Qiantang River Oujiang River Zhoushan Island Hangzhou Bay Education Zhejiang University Zhejiang University of Technology Zhejiang Normal University Shaoxing University Culture Hangzhou dialect Ningbo dialect Wenzhou dialect Jinhua dialect Quzhou dialect Shaoxing opera Cuisine Longjing tea Shaoxing wine Visitor attractions Baoguo Temple Mount Putuo Tomb of Yu the Great Mount Tiantai Qiandao Lake Guoqing Temple Category     Commons

v t e Economic Development Zones of China The original four Special Economic Zones Shenzhen Zhuhai Shantou Xiamen New open development zones Hainan Province Dalian Qingdao Qinhuangdao Lianyungang Pudong Yantai Zhanjiang Ningbo Wenzhou Nantong Fuzhou Guangzhou Beihai

v t e Jinhua–Wenzhou Railway (← Zhejiang–Jiangxi Railway) Jinhua South Wuyi Yongkang Jinyun Lishui Qingtian Wenzhou Connecting Railway Ningbo–Taizhou–Wenzhou Railway