Major Economic indicators (2007)

Source: Huangshan Economic and Social Development Report 2007

Introduction

Huangshan is the southernmost prefecture-level city in Anhui Province. Huangshan is famous for Mount Huangshan, which is one of China's most notable mountains. The spectacular peaks, odd-shaped pines, diverse hot springs and cloud seas make Mount Huangshan the most popular scenic spot in Anhui Province. Huangshan has a wet mild subtropical monsoon climate, with frequent rainfalls in the period from May to August.

The city is adjacent to Chizhou to the northwest, Xuancheng to the northeast, Jiangxi Province to the southwest and Zhejiang Province to the southeast. Huangshan has an efficient transportation. Huangshan Airport, merely 5.5 km from the downtown area, offers daily flights to Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and other large cities. Regular Trains from the Huangshan Railway Station connect the city with other major cities throughout China.

Huangshan has plentiful natural resources, such as gingko trees, camphor, pines, macaques, zibeth and pheasant, as well abundant mineral resources such as limestone, gold, copper, molybdenum, and tungsten.

Economic Features

Huangshan has been experiencing a rapid economic growth since 2000. The city's GDP surpassed RMB 21.5 billion in 2007, featuring a growth of 13.5% from the previous year. However, its economy is still small in size. Its GDP comprised more than 2.9% of that of Anhui and ranked sixteenth among the 17 prefecture-level cities in Anhui. The agricultural sector, the secondary sector and the service sector constituted 14.3%, 37.9% and 47.8% of the city's GDP.

The value-added industrial output from Huangshan grew 24% from a year earlier to RMB 6 billion, making up 27.7% of the city's economy. Raw Chemicals and chemical products, machinery, auto and auto parts, food and beverages, agricultural products processing, printing, and construction materials are the major industries in the city.

The leading industrial enterprises in Huangshan include Huangshan Yongjia Group, Huangshan Jinma, Huangshan City Auto-electric Appliances and Anhui Hengyuan Chemicals. Huangshan Yongjia is a state-owned company specializing in pharmaceutical packaging, food packaging, new materials and printing machinery. The gross industrial output value from this group was nearly RMB 1.8 billion in 2007. Huangshan Jinma<000980> is a listed auto, auto parts and motor parts maker in Huangshan. It has annual production capacity of 2.5 million units of instruments for autos and motors.

The service sector, the main sector in Huangshan, gained value-added output of RMB 10.3 billion in 2007, contributing 47.8% to the city's economy. As the hottest tourism destination in Anhui, Huangshan attracted 15.4 million foreign and domestic tourists in 2007. The tourism revenue soared 31.2% year on year to RMB 11.1 billion, accounting for 19.2% of Anhui's total tourism revenue.

The foreign trade value in Huangshan rose 22.3% year on year to US$150 million, consisting of export value of US$110 million and import value of US$39.9 million. Exports of garments, rosin, tea and communication cables surpassed US$55 million, nearly one half of Huangshan's total export value. The export value to Asian nations and regions amounted to US$45 million, accounting for 40.5% of the city's total export value.

In 2007, 30 foreign-funded enterprises won the approval to be set up in the city. Contractual foreign investment almost tripled, skyrocketing to US$256.7 million. The utilized FDI in the city hit US$102.9 million in 2007, representing an increase of 56.4% over the previous year.

Cultural Highlights

Huangshan enjoys a long history of splendid culture. As early as 6,000-7,000 years ago, human settlers started living in this area. During the Xia and Shang Dynasties (2100-1600BC), the Shanyue tribe inhabited the area. Over 2,000 years ago, Shexian and Yixian were set up. During the Jin Dynasty (AD265-420), the region was named Xin'an Shire. Its name was changed to Huizhou during the Song Dynasty (AD960-1279), as the region was known for Hui Businessmen, Hui carvings, the Xin'an school of painting, Hui Architecture and Hui Opera, all of which are important parts of Hui Culture. As the city stands at the foot of the renowned Mount Huangshan, the city has been called Huangshan since 1987, so as to reflect the historical and cultural preeminence of the mountain.  

Tourist Attractions

The most famous tourist attraction in Huangshan is Mount Huangshan Scenic Spot, which consists of peaks, rocks, pine trees, seas of cloud, waterfalls, springs and a great many historical sites. The best time to visit Mount Huangshan is between April and October, when the weather is neither too cold nor too hot.

Around the city, there are also many places of interest, such as the Tunxi Ancient Street, Tangyue Memorial Archways, Xidi and Hongcun Ancient Villages, Mount Jiuhua and ancient residential houses in Shexian County. Tunxin Ancient Steet, a well-preserved street with architectural styles dating from the Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties, is situated in the Tunxi Old City. Travelers can buy folk artworks, such as Hui paintings, root-carvings, prints and miniature plants there. Shexian County is known as the Town of Arches in China, since there are abundant ancient residential houses, memorial archways and temples there.

The local cuisine in Huangshan belongs to Hui Cuisine. The most representative dishes in the city are Mandarin Fish (braised fish from the Xin'an River), Steaming Shiji (steaming brook frog with ham and fungi) and Stewed Fungus with Chicken.

Honors

Best Tourism City in China (2007)
---National Tourism Administration of P.R. China

National Garden City (2006)
---Ministry of Construction of P.R. China