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City of the past and the future

By Xia Huan (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-17 13:38

The ancient and venerable Qinhuai River: a surging waterway that has served the people of Nanjing for more than 2,500 years.

As the capital of the eastern coastal Jiangsu province, Nanjing has a history stretching back more than 2,500 years, but while other ancient cities are content to revel in their past glories, it has been keen to embrace the challenges of the 21st century.

Its forward looking outlook has seen it applauded as one of the top three commercial cities on the Chinese mainland and selected by Forbes magazine as one of the most promising cities on the Pacific Rim.

Covering an area of 6,582 sq km with a total population of 7.41 million, Nanjing is now one of the four central cities in the Yangtze River Delta. It also ranks among the top 10 cities in China in terms of competitiveness.

Effortlessly straddling both its centuries of heritage and its more recent decades of innovations, the city's past has been sensitively preserved among its more modern flourishes. The Mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen still sits unmolested by progress at the foot of the Zijin Mountain. Its stunning Confucius Temple and its environs retain a heady redolence of the bustling street scenes of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911), while the Zhonghua Gate, still retains the power to impress with both its intricacy and longevity.

These ancient cultural sites are scattered throughout Nanjing, the capital of numerous dynasties throughout Chinese. More than 45 percent of the urban area is still covered with forest belts, giving it the distinction of being one of China's greenest cities.

It is also a city which enjoys an almost unique harmony with its many residents - a fact testified to by the "95 per cent satisfied" accolade bestowed on the city in a recent survey of the local populace.

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Nanjing is also now a city with highly-developed economy. In 2008, it recorded a GDP of 377.5 billion yuan. Its key industries - electronics, automotive, chemical engineering and steel and iron - account for 69 percent of the city's industrial earnings. It is also developing a number of the more emerging sectors, including software, medical biotechnology, and a number of other hi-tech industries. It is well on course to be a trade, business, finance, tourism and logistical center, complete with an enviable service sector.

Nanjing has long been a pioneer of international trade exchange. About 600 years ago, during the time of the Ming Dynasty, Captain Zheng He's fleet of 240 ships and 27,000 sailors, cast off from here. They sailed throughout the European and Asian continents seven times, creating an ocean-going "Silk Road" that opened up a new era of trade and cultural exchange.

In line with China's reform and opening up policy, the city has now attracted companies from more than 100 countries and regions and has become a microcosm of China's successful foreign trading initiatives. Some 85 of the world's Top 500 companies, including Samsung and Dell, have set up business within its walls, alongside 400 other multinational enterprises.

This has resulted in investments in excess of $20 billion across some 10,000 foreign-backed projects. The tax revenue from foreign businesses now accounts for 20 percent of the city's total.

Nanjing, by virtue of its investment in advanced communication technology and know-how, has also established itself as one of the most important information hubs in China.

High speed Internet access is now available to every household in the city. By the end of 2008, the number of Nanjing netizens had reached 1.06 million, with one million of them having broadband access. By the end of the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-10), it is envisaged an advanced, reliable information infrastructure will be in place, giving online access to more than 1.5 million users.

As part of its commitment to nurturing an ever-growing pool of talents, Nanjing is home to a large number of higher education institutions. These include 48 universities, 500 independent science research and development institutions, 26 State-owned laboratories and engineering technology research centers, as well as three State science and technology parks.

Nanjing also enjoys relatively cheap labor costs compared to many other areas of the Yangtze River Delta. There are now 79 academics and nearly 500 experts who enjoy State Council Special Allowances, as well as 530,000 researchers. Some 700,000 students graduated from Nanjing's universities during 2008, accounting for some 43 percent of the total number of university graduates in Jiangsu province.

Aside from its educational and economic successes, Nanjing is now also one of China's key transportation hubs, with an integrated offering combining of rail, road, water, and air options. The city's Lukou International Airport is one of the busiest in China, with services to 120 different destinations.