Ganzhou, in east China’s Jiangxi Province, is dubbed the Tungsten
Capital of the World for its high-quality and large-reserve
tungsten resources. Hence, Ganzhou has rosy development prospects
thanks to its treasure trove.
During the 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-05) period, it will develop
into a prosperous modern city by fully making use of its
advantageous resources, according to Ganzhou Mayor Wang
Zhaoyou.
Ganzhou has an area of 39,400 sq km and a population of 8.05
million. It is one of the three ancient historical and cultural
cities in Jiangxi, together with Nanchang and Jingdezhen. The
Dongjiang River, originating from Ganzhou, flows southward and
provides Hong Kong with industrial water.
The city is home to 7 million Hakka, who have many unique customs
and a distinctive architecture. These are honored in a memorial
hall that has a wide array of Hakka features. Each year, it
receives many overseas Hakka descendants who want to trace their
family roots.
Owing to its favorable climate, Ganzhou boasts an abundance of
products. It produces qicheng (a kind of orange peculiar to
the area), sweet shaddocks, phyllostachys edulis (mao
bamboo), and salted ducks. Among these, qicheng compares well with
US oranges. Yet, until now, industrialized and large-scale
production has been missing.
Ganzhou has rich mineral resources such as the world-famous rare
earth and tungsten with respective proven reserves of 500,000 tons.
It produces 70 percent of the country’s rare earth and 60 percent
of the world’s total. It contributes 80 percent of the country’s
total tungsten ore production and 50 percent of the world
total.
Yet, owing to poor transportation, Ganzhou lacked contact with the
outside world. This has been changed owing to the opening of the
Beijing-Kowloon Railway, and national highways 105 and 323. Now,
the construction of the highway linking Ganzhou and Guangdong is
under construction. Ganzhou has also opened four domestic air
routes.
We
hope convenient transport facilities can fuel local economic growth
and attract more investment to fully exploit our competitive
resources, said Wang.
He
added that Ganzhou has opened more areas to remove restrictions and
encourage investment. During the past year, it received 2.5-3
billion yuan of investment. Private economic sectors have also been
flourishing which achieved half of the city’s total tax revenue
last year.
During the 10th Five-Year Plan period (2001-05), Ganzhou will
further transform its traditional industry and focus on its
materials sector, by relying on rare earth and tungsten ore.
Instead of producing raw materials as in the past, it will develop
a value-added processing industry. In addition, it will adopt
scientific management of resources production including
prospecting, exploitation, processing, and sales. A rare-earth
related hi-tech industry is taking shape in the city.
Ganzhou also plans to accelerate the development of foodstuff
processing, fruit and vegetable production, and a
bio-pharmaceutical industry.
Great potential for business and profits has already lured many
foreigners to invest and cooperate with the area, including
enterprises from the US, Japan, and South Korea.
(CIIC by Guo Xiaohong 03/28/2001)