The burgeoning growth of ecological tourism around the world in recent years has encouraged more and more cities in China to jump in to go with the flow, one of which is Jixi, a city in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. 

"Jixi's traditional economy was based on coal, but now we are determined to develop Jixi into a comprehensive ecological tourism city,'' Wu Wei, mayor of Jixi municipal government, said recently.

Adjacent to Russia on its eastern side, Jixi is located in the hinterland of the Three Rivers Plain and boasts forest coverage rate of more than 40 percent.

With an area of 22,531 square kilometers, the city itself boasts considerable coverage of cultivated land, lakes and wetlands.

Its 11 nature preserves and forest parks cover 26.1 percent of the city's total area.

Xingkai Lake, on the border between China and Russia, is only 110 kilometers from Jixi.

It is one of the few lakes in the world of its size that features an undisturbed ecological system, unpolluted and with a great diversity of species.

The Xingkai Lake National Nature Preserve is also included in the chain of Northeast Asia natural habitats for cranes. And the 220,000-hectare Xingkai Lake swamp is listed among the world's key wetlands.

The area's natural beauty, together with the local folklore, has inspired Jixi municipal government to develop its tourism potential.

A string of tourism products have been developed, such as a scenic tour of Xingkai Lake and Wusuli River along the border with Russia, a wetland tour of Wandashan Forest and Zhenbao Island and an ice and snow sports tour.

With a population of 1.97 million, Jixi includes 700,000 hectares of cultivated land, 66,000 hectares of grassland and 200,000 hectares natural lakes and rivers.

Its rich resources provide a solid foundation for the city's agricultural development.

There are currently 11 large State-owned farms in the city, which yield various crops, including soybeans, rice and corn, with an annual production of 1.3 million tons.

Green agriculture has been strongly promoted in recent years.

So far the city has seven bases that produce organic crops, covering a total area of 150,000 hectares.

There is one State-level agro-industry company and three provincial-level agricultural enterprises in the city.

Today, Jixi produces a total of 31 brands of organic food such as Ludu, Hulin and Zhenbaodao, with an annual production of 980,000 tons.

Its green products are sold to more than 40 large and medium-sized domestic cities and some international markets including the United States, Russia, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

Jixi is also noted for its abundant mineral reserves.

The city has proven reserves of 54 different kinds of minerals, including coal, graphite, sillimanite and marble, 20 of which have been developed and utilized.

Coal reserves total 8 billion tons, and an annual coal production reaches up to 30 million tons.

The prosperity of the local coal industry is in part the result of the area's centuries-long history of coal production.

A number of related companies have been set up and are moving ahead thanks to the central government's recent decision to revitalize northeast China's economy, such as Jixi Coal Mine Machinery Co Ltd and the Heilongjiang Tianyuan Coal Co Ltd.

With a total asset of 531 million yuan (US$64 million), Jixi Coal Mine Machinery Co Ltd has a staff of 2,452.

The company has won several provincial prizes with its JMC series of coal extractors, according to its Chairman, Xing Donghui.

And the Heilongjiang Tianyuan Coal Co Ltd has an annual production capacity of 2 million tons of coal.

Its current yearly sales income on average reaches 580 million yuan (US$70 million).

The city also has proven reserves of 540 million tons of graphite and 67 million tons of sillimanite. Both top in Asia.

The Jixi Liumao Graphite Mine, established in 1936, is so far the largest export-oriented base for graphite products in China, whose proven reserves of graphite amounts to 360 million tons.

Some other heavy industries in the city have also witnessed a steady growth year-on-year, such as electric power, machinery, petrochemicals and metallurgy.

One of the pioneering firms is the Jixi Iron and Steel Company, which was built in 1969.

Considered as the largest local industrial company, it plans to increase the annual comprehensive production capacity to 600,000 tons by 2004.

At the same time, the city's light industries have been developing quickly, including organic food processing, medicines and biological feed.

A border city, Jixi shares a 641-kilometre border with Russia.

It has opened two State-level exit-entry ports, which have a combined annual handling capacity of 1.8 million tons.

Jixi has established stable trade partnerships with more than 10 countries and regions such as Russia, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

In 2002, the border city realized a gross domestic product of 14.9 billion yuan (US$1.8 billion) and a total export-import volume of US$57 million.

The total income of the tourist trade reached 752 million yuan (US$91 million) last year.

The city's fiscal revenues for 2002 totalled 974 million yuan (US$118 million), and the per capita disposable income of its residents was 5,512 yuan (US$667).

The sound infrastructure of Jixi has helped in the modernization of the city.

It currently has 400 kilometres of highway and is served by a national railway.

According to Wang Jiaju, general manager of the Jixi Shizheng Construction Company, another railway connected with Russia and an airport are under construction, and are expected to strengthen the city's ties with the outside world.

There are two institutions of higher education in Jixi, one of which is Jixi University.

For the recent four years, the university has raised its fixed assets from 20 million yuan (US$2.4 million) to 160 million yuan (US$19 million).

And now it has 10 professors, 129 associate professors and more than 8,000 regular students.

Jixi is also well known for its banhua, pictures printed from engraved plates, photography and its paper cutting art.

Following the central government's recent strategy for revitalizing Northeast China, the local government has laid out a series of favorable policies to create a sound environment for attracting overseas investment, Wu stressed.

(China Daily January 15, 2004)