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Profiles of China Provinces, Cities and Industrial Parks



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Content provided by :  China Knowledge
   
12 Sept 2011
Datong ( Shanxi ) City Information

Major Economic Indicators (2010)

Land Area (km2) 14,176
Population (million) 3.2
GDP (RMB billion) 69.43
GDP Composition
Primary Industry 5.1%
Secondary Industry
(Industry & Contruction)		 48.8%
Tertiary Industry (Service) 46.1%
GDP Per Capita (RMB) 21,696
Unemployment Rate 3.1%
Fixed Asset Investment (RMB billion) 57.67
Utilized FDI (USD million) 157
Total Import & Export (USD million) 567.67
Export (USD million) 124.93
Import (USD million) 442.74
Sales of Consumer Goods (RMB billion) 30.3
Source Source: Datong Economic and Social Development Report 2010

 

 
Introduction
 

Seated in the center of Datong Basin, Datong is located in the northern part of Shanxi Province. The city neighbors Zhangjiakou (Hebei Province) to the east, Xinzhou (Shanxi Province) to the south, Suozhou (Shanxi Province) to the southwest, and Wulanchabu (Inner Mongolia) to the north. The city has a population of 3.2 million and covers an area of 14,176 sq km. It enjoys a warm temperate continental monsoon climate, with dry, cold winters and hot summers.

The city lies at the intersection of the Beijing-Baotou Railway, the Datong-Qinhuangdao Railway and the Datong-Fenglingdu Railway. Datong Airport, which opened in 2005, offers regular flights to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Changzhi. Huairen Airport in Suozhou and Wushu Airport in Taiyuan are less than one and three hours by car from Datong downtown, respectively. The city also has well-established highway network, with the Datong-Yuncheng Highway, the Datong-Yuncheng Highway and the Datong-Zhangjiakou-Beijing Highway running through the city.

Datong is famous for its large coal and coal-bed gas reserves. Datong Coal Field is the largest one in China. With coal reserves of 71.8 billion tons, Datong won the name of "Capital of Coal in China". Datong also has plentiful graphite, lime and kaolin resources.
 
Economic Features
 
Datong's GDP amounted to RMB 69.43 billion in 2010, representing an increment of 14.1% over the previous year, ranked 8th in the province. The secondary sector generated RMB 33.88 billion in value-added output, accounting for 48.8% of the city's GDP.

The value-added industrial output from the industrial sector increased 20% from the previous year to RMB 29.88 billion. The city is a traditional heavy industrial base in Shanxi Province. In 2010, the value-added industrial output from heavy industry increased 30.07% from a year earlier to RMB 26.96 billion, while that from light industry decreased 2.82% year on year to RMB 1.54 billion. Heavy industry and light industry constituted 95.59% and 5.41% of the city's total value-added industrial output, respectively.

Datong is one of the largest coal production hubs in China. In 2010, the city produced 94.03 million tons of coal, up 31.95% year on year. Datong Coal Mine Group, set up in 1949, is the third largest state-owned coal miner in China. The company was listed on Shanghai stock exchange on June 2006. In the first of 2010, the company's sales revenue and net profit amounted to RMB 5.2 billion and RMB 632 million, respectively.

Other pillar industries in the city include electricity production and supply, nonferrous metal products, construction materials, equipment manufacturing, and textiles. Examples of the major industrial enterprises in the city are China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Datong Gear Co Ltd and GD Power Development Co Ltd (Datong No.2 Power Plant).

China Heavy Duty Truck Group Datong Gear Co Ltd is a subsidiary under China Heavy Duty Truck Group, the largest heavy-truck producer in the county. The Datong unit began as Datong Gear Plant, which was set up in 1958. It focuses on the manufacture of gear-boxes for heavy-trucks. It had an annual production capacity of 150,000 gear-boxes and 800,000 gear wheels.

The service sector was the second largest contributor to the city's economy in 2010. In 2010, the added-value output from the service sector rose 11% year on year to RMB 32 billion, comprising 46.1% of the city's GDP. Datong attracted more than 13.9 million tourists in 2010, while the tourism income rose 21.55% to RMB 11.82 billion.

In 2010, the foreign trade value in the city increased 191.1% from a year ago to US$567.67 million. The export value was US$124.93 million, with an increased 9.6% year on year. Import value increased 446.6% to US$442.74million. Coal and coke are the major export products from the city. The U.S., Japan and South Korea are the main foreign trade partners of the city.

The city attracted foreign contractual investment of US$150 million, increased 145% year on year, while the utilized FDI in the city increased 71% to US$157 million. ABB, the world's leading power and automation technologies provider, and China Northern Locomotive & Rolling Stock Group (Datong Power Car Company) together invested US$15 million in a traction transformer production base in Datong in 2005.
 
Cultural Highlights
 

Datong's history can be traced back to as early as 100,000 years ago, when this area was  inhabited by the Xujiayao man. During the Spring-and-Autumn Period (770BC-476BC), the territory was known as a base for several nomadic tribes. In about 300 BC, during the Warring States Period (476BC-221BC), Yanmen Shire and Dai Shires were set up by the Zhao State. Then Datong became the capital of Northern Wei (AD 386-534) for 96 years and the "support capital" of the Liao Dynasty (AD916-1125) and the Jin Dynasty (AD1115-1234). The famous Italian traveler, Marco Polo, visited the city in AD1277 and praised it for its beauty and thriving businesses. Due to its important geographic location, the city saw many battles during the Tang Dynasties and Yuan Dynasties.
 
Tourist Attraction
 

A long history endows the city with abundant historic and cultural landmarks, such as the Yungang Grottoes, the Hanging Monastery, the Huayan Monastery and the Nine Dragon Screen. The Yungang Grottoes, the Longmen Grottoes and the Dunhuang Grottoes are the Top 3 Grottoes in China. The Yungang Grottoes, also known as the Cloud Ridge Caves, are located 16 km west of Datong. The 53 grottoes are 1,000 years old and contain 51,000 statues. The Hangying Monastery is located at the foot of Mount Hengshan, about 65 km from downtown Datong. Because it hangs down from the cliff of the Jinxia Gorge 50 meters above the ground, it was given the name Hanging Monastery. The monastery was first built in 491 and was largely rebuilt during the Ming and Qing Dynasties (AD1368-1911).

Datong has diverse local snacks, among which the most famous ones are Yangza Soup and Ya Jiu Qie Zi. Yangza Soup is a kind of soup made from the entrails of a sheep, shallot, chili, salt and other ingredients. Ya Jiu Qie Zi is a kind of eggplant eaten with sugar.
 
Honors
 

Best Tourism City in China (2000)
-National Tourism Administration of P.R. China  

National Historical and Cultural City (1982)
-State of Council of P.R. China

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