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Profiles of China Provinces, Cities and Industrial Parks



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Content provided by :  China Knowledge
   
5 Sept 2011
Foshan ( Guangdong ) City Information

Major Economic Indicators (2010)

Land Area (km2) 3,868
Population (million) 6
GDP (RMB billion) 565.1
GDP Composition
Primary Industry 1.9%
Secondary Industry
(Industry & Contruction)		 64.6%
Tertiary Industry (Service) 33.5%
GDP Per Capita (RMB) 94,192
Unemployment Rate 1.84%
Fixed Asset Investment (RMB billion) 171.9
Utilized FDI (USD million) 1,960
Total Import & Export (USD million) 51,600
Export (USD million) 33,040
Import (USD million) 18,600
Sales of Consumer Goods (RMB billion) 168.7
Source Source: Foshan Economic and Social Development Report 2010

 
Introduction
 
Foshan is situated in the central and southern part of Guangdong Province. Lying in the Pearl River Delta, it is adjacent to Guangzhou to the east. It takes only two hours to drive from Foshan to Hong Kong and Macau, and one hour to Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong. Foshan covers an area of 3,868 sq km and has a population of 6 million. The city enjoys a humid subtropical climate, with mild winters and hot summers.

Bordering Guangzhou, Foshan is within one hour’s drive from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Guangzhou Port and Guangzhou Railway Station. Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport handled nearly 37 million passengers and 685,867 tons of freight in 2009, ranking second and third in mainland China. Guangzhou Port, ranked the third-largest container port in China in terms of cargo traffic in 2009, handled 11.2 million TEUs in the same year. Guangzhou Railway Stations offers daily routes to all the major cities, while Guangzhou-Zhuhai Highway, Guangzhou-Zhanjiang Highway, Guangzhou-Foshan Highway and Guangzhou-Zhaoqing Highway all run through Foshan.
 
Economic Features
 
In 2010, the GDP of Foshan increased by 14.3% to RMB 565.15 billion, ranking eleventh among the cities in mainland China and third overall in Guangdong. The added value from the secondary sector rose 16.9% to RMB 365.3 billion in 2010, contributing 64.6% to the city's GDP.

The value-added industrial output from the light industry rose 21.2% year-on-year to RMB 159.19 billion in 2010, while that from the heavy industry soared 17.6% year to RMB 169.99 billion in the same period. Foshan has developed equipment manufacturing, metallurgy, chemicals and petrochemicals, plastic products-manufacturing and electronics as its major industries. In 2010, the value-added industrial output from textiles and chemical fiber rose 22.8% to RMB 25.67 billion, accounting for 6.6% of the city's total.

Foshan is an important home appliance-producing base in China. Foshan serves as headquarters to many home appliance giants in China, such as Midea, Macro, Kelon and Glanz. Guangdong Macro, established in 1985, specializes in the manufacturing of gas heaters, stoves, ovens, electrical water-heaters, extractor hoods and other kitchen appliances. It has an annual production capacity of 2 million gas heaters and 1.5 million gas ovens, being the largest gas apparatus-producer in China. Midea Group was founded in 1968 and commenced producing electrical home-appliances in 1980. Major products include air-conditioners, refrigerators, microwave ovens, dishwashers, electric fans and other household appliances. In 2009, its sales revenue hit RMB 68.5 billion.

The foreign trade value of Foshan up 34.72% year on year to US$51.65 billion, comprising US$33.03 billion in export value and US$18.6 billion in import value. Major export products are mechanical and electrical products, which totaled US$20.62 in 2010 and accounted for 63.8% of the total export value in Foshan. The largest foreign-trade partner of Foshan is Hong Kong, with export value to Hong Kong hitting US$5.6 billion.

The utilized FDI amounted to US$1.96 billion in the same year, a rise of 5% year-on-year. Hong Kong is the largest investor in Foshan. Since 1997, nearly two-thousand Hong Kong-based companies have set foot in Foshan.
 
Cultural Highlights
 

Foshan has a long history of stretching back approximately five-thousand years, when the Baiyue Tribe started to live in the area of what is currently known as Foshan. During the Tang Dynasty (AD618-917), Foshan, which means “Buddha Mountain” in Chinese, got its current name when three Buddha statues were discovered in the area. Due to the temperate climate and abundant rainfalls, Foshan has been a land of fish and rice since ancient times. Foshan is also known as one of the homes to Chinese ceramics and Cantonese opera. 
 
Tourist Attraction
 

Highlights of tourist attractions in Foshan include Xiqiao Mountain, Sanshui Lotus World, Bruce Lee’s Ancestors’ House, Foshan Zumiao (Ancestral) Temple and Nanhai Kwan-yin Temple. Xiqiao Mountain, located in the south-west of the Nanhui District, has seventy-two peaks, thirty-six caves, two-hundred springs and twenty-eight waterfalls. The local cuisines in Foshan feature diversity of local flavors and specialties. The most popular cuisines in Foshan consist of Foshan Manggong (Blind Man) Cake, Double-skin Milk, Wonton Noodle and Jidi Porridge. 
 
Major Development Zones
 

There is one state-level development zone in Foshan; namely, Foshan High-tech Industrial Development Zone.

Name
Area (km²)
Pillar Industries
GDP in 2010
(RMB billion)
Foshan High-tech Industrial Development Zone
10
 Optical-mechanical-electronic integration, electronics, information technology, new materials
N.A.

Source: National Development and Reform Commission
 
Honors

National Environmental Protection Model City (2008)
- National Environmental Protection Bureau of P.R. China

National Hygienic City (2007)
- Ministry of Health of P. R. China

Historical and Cultural City (1994)
-State Council

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