Panjin
From China Liaoning Business Guide
Contents |
A Land of Rice and Fish
Panjin, a prefecture-level city in the southwestern part of Liaoning, is truly a land of rice and fish with beautiful sceneries and intact ecological environment. Situated in the heart of the Liaohe River Delta, its city proper is 155 kilometers from Shenyang, the provincial capital. The prefecture has a population of 1.3 million and a total area of 4,084 square kilometers, 2.75 percent of the area of Liaoning. It administers two counties, Panshan and Dawa, and two urban districts which are Shuangtaizi and Xinghongtai.
Geography
Panjin has an average temperature of 9.8°C. Compared with the Liaoning average, the annual climatic conditions are slightly higher temperature, slightly less precipitation, and less sunshine hours. From April to September there will be high temperatures, more rainfall and less sunshine. In summer, between June and August, cloudy and rainy weather predominates. Temperature is on the high end, with less rainfall and much sunshine in September and October. Panjin is situated in the Cenozoic sedimentary basin in the northeast of the North China Continental Platform. Due to reactions from alluvial rivers and alluvial floods, the city was continuously covered with loose sediments. The topography is characterized by low land with a slightly higher elevation in the north and a slope of less than 2 degrees. Average elevation is 4 meters above sea level, the maximum is 18.2, minimum 0.3 meters.
Economic Development
The 2008 regional GDP of Panjin was 67.5 billion RMB (about 8 billion USD), with a secondary sector of 72.5 percent (7 billion USD), a tertiary sector of 17.3 percent (1.6 billion USD) and a primary sector of 10.2 percent (1 billion USD). Investment in fixed assets was 36.7 billion RMB (5.2 billion USD). The average salary was 22,903 RMB (about 3,295 USD), per-capita disposable income 17,046 RMB (2,452 USD) and annual consumption per capita 12,631 RMB (1,817 USD).
Most of the 1.1 million employees of Panjin worked in the primary sector (452,000 persons), including 204,165 in farming, forestry, husbandry and fishing and 125,392 in mining. Manufacturing only employed 38,970 persons, public administration 22,066, and construction 17,730.
Industrial Pattern and Resources
Panjin is situated at the joint of river and sea and has a warm climate. The region is rich in flora and fauna, especially fish. Paddy fields yield grain and high-quality rice, river and sea are source of aquatic products. The world’s largest reed field is in the prefecture, source of raw materials for the paper and building industries. Panjin is said to be the land of milk and honey.
Underground are abundant oil and natural gas reserves, which account for 10 percent of China’s total proven reserves. Panjin is home to Liaohe Oilfield, the third largest in China, and is the largest production base of special oils in China and the fourth largest in the world.
Land Resources
Panjin covers a land area of 407,100 hectares. Panjin rice, famous both at home and abroad, is one of Panjin’s main export commodities. Panjin still has 20,000 hectares of land that can be planted. With increasing reclaimed coastal beaches each year, the land area keeps growing.
Mineral Resources
Panjin enjoys rich underground minerals such as oil, natural gas, well salt, coal and sulfur. Underground bittern resources were discovered in west Hujia and south Tianshui, Yangjuanzi, and Dongguo of Panshan County.
Reed Resources
The harvested area of reed fields in Panjin stands at 55,608 hectares, which produce about 500,000 tons of reed annually, making it one of the top producers in the world. The reeds are mainly used as raw material for paper, and account for more than 50 percent of the total reeds output in Liaoning.
Aquatic Resources
The south of Panjin has about 200,000 hectare of shallow waters, host to 40,000 to 50,000 tons of fish, shrimps, and crabs, which account for 70 percent of the total in Liaodong Bay.
Grassland Resources
Panjin City has 4,000 hectare of high-quality pastures, which are located in Shishan Breeder Farm and Panshan County Dahuang Farm.
Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment
Foreign trade in Panjin has increased quickly. According to customs statistics, the foreign trade volume in 2008 was 365.8 million USD, import was 106.7 million, export 259.1 million USD, and foreign direct investment 83.9 million USD.
Panjin has set up trade relation with 90 countries of the world. Top five trade partner countries of Panjin are India, South Korea, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
Travelling and Living in Panjin
Natural plains, rice and reed fields, grassland, red beaches, rare birds and spectacular rivers compose the picture of Panjin, making the region an ideal destination for tourists. More than 600 kilometers away from Beijing, Panjin has a beach where the Suaeda grass near the sea slowly turns red in autumn, spreading across the entire beach and forming a spectacular view, called the Red Beach.
Panjin has both star hotels such as Panjin International Trade Hotel, Kunlun Hotel, Panjin International Hotel, and small clean hostels providing inexpensive but comfortable accommodation for visitors. New-mart Mall and Xinghong Shopping Mall are right choices for shopping.
