Major Economic indicators (2007)

Source: Qitaihe Economic and Social Development Report 2007

Introduction

Qitaihe, lying in the eastern part of Heilongjiang Province, borders Jixi and Mudanjiang to the south, Jiamusi and Hegang to the north, Shuangyashan to the east and Harbin, the provincial capital of Heilongjiang Province, to the west. The smallest city among 13 prefecture and prefecture-level cities in the province, Qitaihe covers an area 6,221 sq km. It has the smallest population of the cities in Heilongjiang except for Daxing'anling. Its population was 0.9 million at the end of 2007.

Qitaihe is rich in fresh water and minerals including coal, gold and graphite. There are 26 reservoirs. The water storage capacity of Taoshan Reservoir is 264 million steres. The coal reserves in the city total 5.3 billion, ranking third after Shuangyashan and Jixi in Heilongjiang Province. There are 3 power plants in Qitaihe, with total installed electricity generation capacity exceeding 2.45 million kilowatts.

Transportation in Qitaihe is very convenient. The Mudanjiang-Jiamusi Railway and the Boli-Qitaihe Railway connect the city with Harbin, Dalian, Jiamusi and other cities in Northeast China. Mudanjiang Airport and Jiamusi Airport, which offers regular flights to other domestic cities in China, are less than two hours away.

Economic Features

Qitaihe's economy is the second smallest among the 13 prefecture and prefecture-level cities in Heilongjiang Province in terms of GDP in 2007. In 2007, the city's GDP topped RMB 13.8 billion, featuring a growth of 14.9% over the previous year and accounting for 1.9% of the province's total. The private economy is every active in the city. The value-added output from the private sector rose 21.3% to RMB 8.4 billion, comprising 60.9% of the city's total.

Secondary industry (construction and industry), the largest contributor to the city's economy, realized value-added output of RMB 7.0 billion in 2007, contributing 50.5% to the city's economy. The value-added output from tertiary industry and primary industry soared 13.8% and 17.9% to RMB 5.1 billion and RMB 1.7 billion, constituting 37.1% and 12.4% of the city's GDP, respectively.

In 2007, the value-added industrial output generated by industrial enterprises with designated size or above grew 20.0% to RMB 5.3 billion, making up 79.1% of the city's total. Qitaihe hosts pillar industries like coal mining and dressing, coking and electricity production and supply, which generated value-added output of RMB 3.5 billion, RMB 810 million and RMB 570 million in 2007, accounting for 66.1%, 15.4% and 10.9% of the city's total, respectively. These pillar industries totally contributed 92.4% of the city's total value-added industrial output generated by enterprises with designated size or above.

Qitaihe is home to Qitaihe Coal Mining Group and Qitaihe No.1 Power Generation Company. Qitaihe Coal Mining Group, founded in 1958, is the largest coal miner in the city. It has an annual coal mining capacity of 11 million tons and a coal dressing capacity of 7.5 million tons. Qitaihe No.1 Power Generation Company, a major thermal power plant in Heilongjiang, has an installed electricity generation capacity of 2.4 million kilowatts per year.

The consumer market in Qitaihe is small. In 2007, sales of consumer goods in the city edged up 16.0% to RMB 3.0 billion, comprising merely 1.3% of Heilongjiang's total. Qitaihe has the second smallest consumer market out of 13 prefecture and prefecture-level cities in Heilongjiang Province.

In 2007, the foreign trade value in Qitaihe amounted to US$27.8 million, representing a sharp rise of 175% over the previous year. The export value reached US$25.7 million, up 240.3% year on year, while the import value stood at US$2.1 million, down 37.8% year on year. Coal, coking and agricultural products are the major export products from the city.

In 2007, the utilized FDI in Qitaihe was US$1.3 million, rising 96.9% from a year earlier. Investments from large multinational companies are still absent in the city.

Cultural Highlights

Qitaihe's history stretches back to 3,000-4,000 years ago during the Shang and Zhou Dynasties (1600BC-221BC), when it was inhabited by the ancient Sushen group, the ancestors of the Manchu. Qitaihe was designated a prefecture-level city late in 1970.

Ethnic minority groups make up 5.5% of Qitaihe's total population. Major ethnic groups include Manchus, Mongols and Koreans. Their customs, fork arts and cuisines are well-preserved.

Tourist Attractions

Qitaihe is famous for the fantastic scenery along the Ussuri River (or Wusuli River) and for beautiful Taoshan Park. The Ussuri River is a major tributary of the Heilongjiang River. It is rich in freshwater fish. Taoshan is a peach-shaped hill in the city center. Various trees and flowers are planted in the park.

The city offers a great variety of delicious characteristic local dishes, such as Stewed Pork with Potato Noodles, Fried Fish, Toasted Fish and Fried Pork Slices.