Major Economic Indicators (2007)

Source: Changchun Economic and Social Development Report 2007

Introduction

Changchun is the provincial capital of Jilin. It is located at the centre of the province, and, in terms of population, is the second-largest most populous city of North-East China, after the most populous city, Harbin.

Changchun has a comfortable climate, earning itself the nickname of "Spring City of Northland". Its four seasons are very distinct; however, Changchun enjoys a temperate, cool summer and relatively warm winter when compared to other cities on the same latitude. The average annual temperature in Changchun is 4.8 Celsius.

Changchun is located at the centre of North-East China, between Harbin and Shenyang. Major traffic lines include the Beijing-Harbin Railway, and four highways connecting it with surrounding cities such as Shenyang, Harbin, Yingkou and Jilin. Changchun also has an airport, of which the freight throughput ranked twenty-ninth overall in China in 2007.

Changchun has 27 universities and colleges, and 98 scientific institutes. Among them, the most renowned are Jilin University, Changchun University, and the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics (CIOMP).

Economic Features

In 2007, the industrial output of Changchun grew by 33.9% to RMB 283.9 billion. The pillar industries of Changchun include the production of automobiles, food processing, biopharmaceuticals, photoelectronics, construction materials, and the energy industry. The industrial output of these pillar industries accounted for 97.3% of the city's total industrial output.

Changchun is known locally as the "City of Automobiles", due to the importance of the automobile manufacturing industry within it; the industry provided 71.7% of the city's total industrial output in 2007. China's first self-made sedan and truck were born in Changchun in 1950s. They were made by the nation's first auto producer, the First Automobile Works (FAW). At present, FAW is the country's second-largest auto manufacturer, after the Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corp, with its sales reaching RMB 188.0 billion and the sales of 1.4 million vehicles in 2007. Led by FAW, there are over 240 upstream companies which produce auto parts, forming a comprehensive automotive industrial system.

Food processing is another major pillar industry of Changchun, for which the industrial output accounted for 13.2% of the city's total in 2007. Because of its fertile soil, Jilin has very rich land for growing crops, and is known as one of the “Golden Corn Belts” world-wide. As the largest granary of China, the province's grain-output accounts for 5.5% of the country's total output, thus providing abundant agricultural resources for the food processing industry in Changchun; each year, the city hosts an international agricultural products and food expo.

Changchun's first movements in the photoelectronics industry heralded the beginning of China's photoelectronics industry, and, for that reason, is known as the "City of Science and Technology". In addition to CIOMP, Changchun has a talent pool comprising of over 3000 researchers who have reached professorial level and above for photoelectronic research. From 2001 to 2007, the industrial output of the photoelectronics industry grew by over 30% each year. At present, there are over 300 enterprises in this sector; their industrial output accounted for 3.5% of the city's total in 2007.

In the same year, Changchun's foreign trade reached US$6.9 billion, up 32.9% over 2006, and taking up 67.0% of the province's total. The utilized FDI was US$530 million, accounting for 59.9% of the province's total.

Cultural Highlights

Changchun was first constructed in 1800. In 1932, it became the capital of Manchukuo, acquiring the name Hsinking, which means "New Capital" in Mandarin. From that time until 1945, China's last emperor, Pu Yi, was installed as the government head of Manchukuo by the Japanese. After the second World War, the city was liberated by the Soviet Red Army in 1945, and returned to Chinese rule in 1946.

After the founding of P.R.C., Changchun developed quickly. In addition to its nicknames "City of Automobiles" and "City of Science and Technology", Changchun is also called "City of Films", "City of Statues" and "Forest City". The Changchun Film Studio was the first film studio to commence filming in China, and was praised as being the cradle of the Chinese film industry. A national film festival is held in Changchun every second year.

Tourist Attractions

Being the capital of Manchukuo, Changchun has many historical and scenic spots, such as the Puppet Emperor's Palace and Badabu. Famous, natural must-see sights include the South Lake Park and the Jingyuetan National Forest Park. Another major draw-card is the vast variety of activities to be experienced at the Changchun Film Studio and Changchun Movie City.

In the culinary world, the most unique feature of Changchun's local dishes is the native countryside taste. The raw ingredients of the most famous dishes are mainly rare products found in Changbai Mountain, such as ginseng, antlers, bear's paw, Feilong, Xueha, Songermo, et cetera. The most well-known dishes include the eight major bowls of Manchu, sauce meats, frozen dumplings, hoof filament, dog's meats, fried mutton, etc.

Major Development Zones

By the end of 2007, Changchun had 4 state-level development zones.

State-level Development Zones in Changchun

Source: National Development and Reform Commission of P.R. China

Honors
National Environmental Protection Model City (2002)
---Ministry of Environment Protection of P.R. China

National Garden City (2001)
---Ministry of Construction of P.R. China

Best Tourism City (1998)
---National Tourism Administration of P.R. China