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Geographic location
Tianjin is located in the northeast of the North China Plain, facing the Bohai Sea in the east and lying between 38°33'-40°15' N, and 116°42'-118°03'E. It adjoins Beijing in the north and borders on Hebei in the east, west and south, covering an area of 11,305 sq km. Its coastal line stretches about 133 km long. Its name first appeared in the early years of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty, meaning the ferry port used by an emperor. In 1404, it became a military position of strategic importance, and construction of city walls and garrison installations began. The city was eventually called Tianjin Fort. |
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Tianjin 2004 - The Year in Review |
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General Economy
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Gross domestic product (GDP)
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GDP for 2004 was 293.188 billion yuan, up 15.7% from the previous year.
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GDP ratio (primary, secondary and tertiary industries)
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The primary industry yielded a value added of 10.229 billion yuan, 5.1% more than that of the previous year; the secondary industry, 156.016 billion yuan, a growth of 19.8%; the tertiary industry, 126.943 billion yuan, a growth of 11.7%. The proportion of the three sectors is 3.5: 53.2: 43.3.
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Revenue and expenditure
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Municipal revenue was 50.213 billion yuan, an increase of 26.7% over the previous year. Municipal expenditure was 43.15 million, 23.3% up.
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Consumer price index (CPI)
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CPI was up 2.3% from the previous year.
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Investment in fixed assets
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Fixed asset investment was valued at 125.898 billion yuan, up by 20.3% from the previous year.
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Major Industries
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Agriculture
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In 2004, the total agricultural output value was 22.135 billion yuan, an increase of 5.3% from the previous year.
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Industry
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The industrial added value totaled 143.673 billion yuan, an increase of 21.5%.
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High-tech
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The total output value from high-tech industries was 173.102 billion, 36.1% up.
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Construction
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Its output value was 63.133 billion yuan, up by 26.6%.
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Transportation
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The annual volume of goods handled through various modes of transport was 434.88 million tons, 9.4% up from the previous year, while annual passenger flow reached 59.368 million, 27.1% up.
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Postal services
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The annual turnover of postal operations totaled 14.471 billion yuan, 29.2% up from the previous year.
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Telecommunications
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The annual turnover of telecom services was 13.548 billion yuan, 31.5% up from the previous year.
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Retail
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The annual turnover from retail sales reached 105.27 billion yuan, an increase of 14.1% from the previous year.
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Tourism
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Foreign exchange earnings from tourism totaled US$412 million, up by 25.2%. Revenue from domestic tourism totaled 48.514 billion yuan, up by 22.8%.
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Continued Effects of Market Reform
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Imports & exports
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The annual value of imports and exports totaled US$42.019 billion, an increase of 43.2% from the previous year.
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Economic and technological cooperation
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Overseas project and labor contracts signed during the year totaled 777. Business turnover for the year totaled US$527 million, an increase of 30.1% from the previous year. A total of 12,500 people were working outstation at the year-end. The year also witnessed conclusion of 489 technology import contracts valued at US$492 million.
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Foreign investment
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Foreign direct investment realized in monetary terms was US$2.472 billion, up 51.4% from the year before.
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Urban Construction and Management
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Road transport
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The year saw the construction of 156 km of express highways.
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Social Undertakings
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Science and technology
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The number of technological contracts signed during the year reached 8,002, worth some 4.503 billion yuan, 7.2% up from the year before.
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Education
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There are 40 institutions of higher learning and polytechnic schools in Tianjin. The number of students enrolled in postgraduate schools during the year stood at 9,200, 8.2% up from the previous year.
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Culture
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Tianjin had 15 professional performing organizations, 19 cultural and science and technology centers, 31 public libraries, and 17 museums at the end of the year.
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Sports
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A total of 391 community sports facilities were established during the year.
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Welfare and aid
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Various welfare units were equipped with 14,011 beds and put up 11,003 homeless and vagrant people during the year. There were 112 urban community centers at the end of the year.
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Public order
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The number of criminal cases dropped by 7.6%, and the death toll from traffic accidents reduced by 13% compared with the 2003 figures.
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Population, Employment, Social Security and Living Standards
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Population
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The birth rate in 2004 was 7.31‰, while the mortality rate was 5.97‰. The natural growth rate of the population stood at 1.34‰. At the end of the year, the total population stood at 10.237 million.
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Employment
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The employed population stood at 5.302 million at the end of 2004, an increase of 3.8% from the previous year end. A total of 214,500 new jobs were created during the year.
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Registered unemployment rate
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The registered urban unemployment rate was 3.76%, down 0.04 percentage points from the previous year.
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Social security
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In 2004, insurance plans for medical treatment, unemployment and industrial injury covered a population of 2.63 million, 51,300 and 1.11 million respectively.
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Residents' income
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The disposable income of urban residents was 11,467 yuan per capita, up 11.2% from 2003. Rural residents' per capita net income was 6,525 yuan, up 11.3%.
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Residents' consumption
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Urban residents' per capita expenditure was 8,802 yuan, up 11.9% from the previous year while that of rural residents was 3,297 yuan, up 9.4%.
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Geography and Natural Conditions
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Geography
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Tianjin is located at the lower reaches of the Haihe River, its territory lying on both sides of the river. Besides Haihe, several other rivers also run into the sea through the area, such as the New Ziya River, the Duliujian River, the New Yongding River, the New Chaobai River and Canal Ji. The distance from the city proper to the sea coast is 50 km and that to Beijing is 120 km. It is an important passage by sea to Beijing, having served as an important fort and doorway to Beijing since ancient times. It is also a communication hub linking north China, northeast China and northwest China. The direct distance from Tianjin to Shenyang in northeast China, to Baotou in northwest China and to Xuzhou and Zhengzhou in the south is less than 600 km. The city boasts the largest man-made harbor in the north; its Tianjin Port is an important passage linking a dozen of provinces and cities in the north with the sea. With more than 30 navigation routes leading to more than 300 international ports, it serves as a major channel linking the continents of Asia and Europe by sea. Tianjin's geographical position and strategic importance is unmatchable.
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Climate
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The city is located in the middle latitudes on the east bank of the European-Asian continent, facing the Pacific. The monsoon circulating winds bring a sharp impact on the city. In winter, wind often blows from the north because of the cold high pressure from Mongolia. In summer, affected by the subtropical high pressure from the western Pacific, the city sees much southerly wind. It has a semi-moist warm temperate continental monsoon climate, with an apparent feature of transit from continental climate to marine climate: there are four clearly divided seasons, but the duration of each is different; precipitation is not high, with uneven distribution over the year. Monsoon wind is high and sunshine is adequate. Located near the seacoast, the city has a strong continental climate. The annual average temperature is 12.3°C. The hottest month is July, during which the average temperature can reach 26°C. January is the coldest month, its average temperatures being -4°C. The yearly average rainfall is 550-680 mm, 80% of which is concentrated in summer.
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Natural resources
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More than 20 varieties of minerals worthy of excavation have been discovered. These include manganese, manganese-boron stone, gold, tungsten, molybdenum, copper, aluminum, zinc, limestone, marble, medical stone, barite, and natural oilstone. Petroleum and natural gas are reserved underground in the plain and the continental framework of the Bohai Sea.
The city is located across the River Haihe, the largest river in north China, which has at its upper reaches more than 300 tributaries of more than 10 km or longer. These tributaries converge into the North Canal, Yongdin River, Daqing River, Ziya River, and South Canal, which, further converge themselves into the Haihe River at Sanchakou near the Jin'gang Bridge of Tianjin. The Haihe, which flows into the Bohai Sea at Dagukou, runs 72 km long with an average width of 100 meter and a depth of 3-5 meter. It used to have 3,000-ton ships navigating on it. Since the project of diverting the water from the Luanhe River to Tianjin was finished in the 1980s, a billion cubic meters of water has been sent to the city every year. The city also has a rich deposit of underground water. In the mountainous area, quality mineral water with low mineral contents oozes from cracks of rocks at a rate of 7.2-14.6 tons per hour, and the flow can reach 720-800 tons per hour during the rainfall reason. There are three large reservoirs with a total capacity of 340 million cubic meters.
In the coastal area, there are a lot of salt- and alkali-resistant plants, such as Chinese ash, Chinese scholar tree, Chinese toon, willow, poplar, and phoenix tree. In recent years, orchards of pear, Chinese date, apricot, peach, grape, and apple have been developed. In the wetlands, there are reeds, calamus, and cultivated water chestnut and lotus root. In the northern mountainous area, there grow Chinese pine, Chinese walnut, walnut, haw, and persimmon. The wild animals are mostly herbivores, such as wild goat, river deer, hedgehog, squirrel and birds. There are about 30 varieties of freshwater fish in ponds and reservoirs, most of which being common carp, snail carp, grass carp, silver carp, and mullet.
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