Major Economic indicators (2007)

Source: Jixi Economic and Social Development Report 2007

Introduction

Jixi, seated in the southeastern part of Heilongjiang Province, is adjacent to Mudanjiang and Qitaihe to the west. It shares a border of 631 km with Russia to the east and southeast. It covers an area of 22,531 sq km and has a population of 1.9 million. It enjoys a cold temperate continental monsoon climate, and its average temperature is about 4 Celsius.

Jixi is rich in mineral resources, such as coal, graphite and marble. It has coal reserves of 8 billion tons, ranking second out of 13 prefectures and prefecture-level cities in the province. The graphite reserves in the city amount to 780 million tons, ranking first in Asia. Jixi is also rich in Chinese medicinal herbs and freshwater resources. It shares the Khanka Lake with Russia. The Muling River runs through the city.

Transportation in Jixi mainly relies on railways and highways. Trains from Jixi Railway Station run from Jixi to Beijing, Harbin, Daqing and other cities in Heilongjiang Province. The Qiqihar-Daqing Highway, the Chengzihe-Peide Highway and State Highway 201 go through the city, connecting the city with most cities in Northeast China.

Economic Features

In 2007, Jixi's GDP reached RMB 27.6 billion, representing a steady growth of 12.0% from a year earlier. It comprised 3.9% of Heilongjiang Province's total GDP and ranked seventh among the 13 prefectures and prefecture-level cities in the province.

The service sector, the largest contributor to the city's economy, realized value-added output of RMB 11 billion in 2007, and contributed 40% to the city's GDP. Secondary industry (construction and industry) generated value-added output of RMB 8.4 billion, accounting for 30.3% to the city's GDP, while primary industry generated value-added output of RMB 8.2 billion, comprising 29.7% of the city's GDP.

Animal husbandry and agriculture are the pillars of primary industry. Gross output value from animal husbandry sank 1.1% to RMB 2.3 billion, comprising 33.2% of primary industry's total. In 2007, the city produced 3.75 million tons of crops, accounting for 9.5% of the province's total.

In 2007, value-added industrial output generated by enterprises with designated size or above rose 16.2% to RMB 4.2 billion, making up nearly 70.2% of the industrial sector's total. Coal mining is the most important pillar industry in Jixi. In 2007, Jixi produced 18.5 million tons of coal in 2007, making up 23.1% of Heilongjiang Province's total.

Other pillar industries in Jixi include wood products, food and beverages, electricity production and supply and metallurgy. Jixi hosts large industrial companies such as Huawei Wood and Heilongjiang Rixin Food. Huawei Wood, founded in 1999, is a large wooden door producer in northeast China. Heilongjiang Rixin Food was set up in 2006. It is mainly engaged in edible fungus processing. It has annual processing capacity of 2,500 tons of edible fungus.

Wholesaling and retailing are the pillars of the service sector. Sales of consumer goods stood at RMB 7.3 billion, rising 16.1% from the previous year. However, Jixi's consumer market is relatively small, compared with that of Harbin or Daqing. It only accounted for 3.1% of Heilongjiang Province's total sales of consumer goods, ranking seventh out of 13 in the province.

In 2007, the foreign trade value of Jixi totaled US$365.9 million, up 89.2% year on year. Its export value almost doubled to US$357.1 million, while import value fell 17.2% to US$8.8 million. Russia is the largest export destination. Exports to Russia soared 102.1% to US$333.7 million, comprising 91.2% of the city's total export value.

The utilized FDI in Jixi was US$18.2 million in 2007, representing a rise of 20.3% from a year ago. However, investments from large multinational companies are still absent in the city.

Cultural Highlights

Jixi's history stretches back to 6,000 year ago, when the ancestors of the Manchu people started inhabiting in this region. Jixi is the origin place of Xinkailiu culture, the ancient fishing culture in China. About 3,000 years ago, during the Shang Dynasty, the local people began communicating with people in central China. Jixi was designated a prefecture-level city in 1968.

Tourist Attractions

Jixi is rich in historical sites, such as ancient burial mounds and city walls. The Liao and Jin Ancient City Ruins are located 4 km northwest of Yongqing County. They feature ancient walls built during the Liao and Jin Dynasties as well as horse sculptures and ancient pottery. Jixi also enjoys beautiful natural scenic spots, such as the Khanka Lake Scenic Spot and the Muling River Scenic Spot.

The most famous local dish in Jixi is Jixi Cold Noodles, which is made of buckwheat noodles or wheat noodles, beef slices, chili, preserved-vegetables, pear, sesame oil and beef soup.