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Profiles of China Provinces, Cities and Industrial Parks



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

Major Economic Indicators (2010)

Land Area (km2) 18,380
Population (million) 3
GDP (RMB billion) 68.3
GDP Composition
Primary Industry 13.7%
Secondary Industry
(Industry & Contruction)		 42.6%
Tertiary Industry (Service) 43.7%
GDP Per Capita (RMB) 23,000
Unemployment Rate 3.21%
Fixed Asset Investment (RMB billion) 43.37
Utilized FDI (USD million) 212
Total Import & Export (USD million) 1,570
Export (USD million) 659
Import (USD million) 912
Sales of Consumer Goods (RMB billion) 49.2
Source Source: Shaoguan Economic and Social Development Report 2010

 

 
Introduction
 

Shaoguan, lying in the northern part of Guangdong Province, is situated at the meeting point of Guangdong Province, Hunan Province and Jiangxi Province. The city adjoins Chenzhou (Hunan) and Ganzhou (Jiangxi) to the north, Heyuan (Guangdong) to the east, Qingyuan (Guangdong) to the west, Huizhou (Guangdong) and the provincial capital, Guangzhou to the south. Covering an area of 18,385 sq km, Shaoguan is the second largest city in Guangdong Province after Qingyuan. The city enjoys a subtropical, humid monsoon climate.

As the northern gate of Guangdong Province, Shaoguan has convenient transportation. The Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, the Beijing-Zhuhai Highway, State Highway 323 and State Highway 106 run across the city, connecting the city with most major cities in mainland China. It takes less than 3 hours to go from Shaoguan downtown to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, which ranked second in mainland China by passenger traffic in 2007 and third by cargo traffic in 2007.

The city has abundant nonferrous metal resources, such as silver, zinc and lead. It also has plentiful forest resources. Over 2,000 species of plants and 500 species of wild mushrooms are found in this region.
 
Economic Features
 
Shaoguan's GDP paced up 12.5% year on year to RMB 68.3 billion in 2010, ranking fifteenth among the 21 prefecture-level cities in Guangdong.

The value-added industrial output rose 15% year on year to RMB 25.24 billion, accounting for 36% of the city's GDP.

Tobacco, toys, pharmaceuticals, metallurgy, electricity, steel and iron, machinery are the major industries in the city. In 2010, they generated value-added industrial output of RMB 15.57 billion, up 15.8% year on year. Major players include Guangdong Shaoguan Iron & Steel Group, Guangdong Shaoneng Group and China Tobacco Guangdong Industrial Corporation (Shaoguan Cigarettes Plant).

Guangdong Shaoguan Iron & Steel Group, an important steel and iron production hub in Guangdong, was set up in 1966 in Shaoguan. Guangdong Shaoneng Group, a listed company on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange 1996, is a leading producer of electricity, equipment, construction materials, paper and coal in Guangdong. In 2009, the company's revenue was RMB 1.7 billion.

In 2010, the sales of consumer goods was RMB 49.2 billion, up 21.4% year on year. The sales in urban areas was RMB28.82 billion, while that in rural areas was RMB4.15 billion.

In 2010, the city's export value was US$659 million. Toys and electronic and mechanical products are the major export products. In 2010, the export value of toys rose 11.5% year on year. Hong Kong, Japan and the U.S. are the major export destinations.

In 2010, Shaoguan utilized US$212 million in foreign direct investments (FDI), representing an increase of 12.1% year on year. John Deere, the world's largest agricultural machinery maker, and Wal-Mart, the retail giant, have started businesses in the city.
 
Cultural Highlights
 

Shaoguan is home to "Maba Man", the remains of one of the early human beings living in Guangdong Province. During the Warring States Period (476BC-221BC), this region was governed by the Chu Kingdom. It has been called "Shao" since the Sui Dynasty (AD581-AD618). During the Ming and Qing Dynasties (AD1368-AD1911), it was changed into "Shaoshan" as the government set up passes to collect taxes in this region. In 1975, Shaoguan became a prefecture-level city in Guangdong.
 
Tourist Attraction
 

Shaoguan has rich tourism resources. Danxia Mountain Scenic Resort, a state-level scenic area, is named for the Danxia Landform. The resort consists of nearly 700 pieces of large red glutenite and many grotto temples. Nanhua Temple, located 22 km from the city center of Shaoguan, is famous Buddhist site with a history of 1,500 years. Hui Neng, the sixth founder of Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty founded the southern sect of "Zen" (or "Chan") there. Tourists should also visit "Maba Man", Shi Zi Rock, Old Buddhist Rock and Zuji Road.

As a home for a large number of Chinese nationalities, Shaoguan has diverse characteristic local-flavored dishes, such as Pickled Duck Meat in Nanxiong, Crucian in Wengyuan and Fried Spiral Shell.
 
Honors
 

Best Tourism City in China (2002)
-National Tourism Administration of P.R. China

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