Major Economic Indicators (2007)

Source: Pingliang Economic and Social Development Report 2007

Introduction

Pingliang is in the east of Gansu Province and neighbors Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in the north and Shaanxi Province in the south and east. It covers an area of 11,325 sq km. Population of the city amounted to 2.3 million by the end of 2007.

Pingliang enjoys temperate semi-dry continental monsoon climate. Average temperature of the city is between 8.5 Celsius. It is warmer and wetter in the eastern area of the city compared with the western. Average annual precipitation is 511 mm, while average annual evaporation amounts to 1430 mm.

Pingliang is rich in natural resources. There are 15 main rivers running through the city with average annual runoff of 3.2 cubic meters. Reserves of mineral resources include oil, chromium, vanadium, tungsten, gold, asbestos, coal, lead, zinc, copper, iron, limestone, glauber's salt, magnesium and silica.

Transportation in Pingliang, the important pass linking the inner Gansu with the east region of China, is very convenient. The State Highway 312 (Shanghai-Yining) and the provincial Highway 203 run through the city. Pingliang is about 350 kilometers (217 miles) from Lanzhou, and there are several buses running between the two cities.

Economic Features

Pingliang realized GDP of RMB 14.8 billion in 2007, representing a rise of 12.5% year on year. The city's GDP accounted for approximately 5.5% of Gansu's total and ranked eighth out of fourteen prefecture-level cities in Gansu Province.

The agricultural sector, the smallest contributor to the city's economy, generated value-added output of RMB 3.6 billion in 2007, accounting for 24.2% of the city's GDP. Grain output of Pingliang totaled 872,700 tons in 2007, accounting for 10.6% of the province's total.  

In 2007, secondary industry (industry and construction), the largest contributor to the city's economy, realized value-added output of RMB 5.9 billion, accounting for 39.7% of the city's total.  

During 2007, value-added industrial output of industrial sector amounted to RMB 5.0 billion, while total value-added industrial output of the enterprises above designated size reached RMB 4.0 billion, accounting for 79.6% of industrial sector's total. Heavy and light industries realized value-added industrial output of RMB 3.6 billion and RMB 409 million, contributing 89.7% and 10.3% respectively to the total generated by enterprises above designated size.

Coal, electricity, building materials, medicine, food processing, leather production are pillar industries of the city. Coal and electricity are the most important pillar of the city. In 2007, coal and electricity industries realized net profit of RMB 540 million, accounting for 92.3% of the total generated by enterprises above designated size.

The service sector generated value-added output of RMB 5.3 billion, accounting for 36.1% of the city's total GDP in 2007.  

In 2007, transportation, storage and postal business generated value-added output of RMB 1.2 billion, contributing 22.6% to the service sector's total.

Tourism is also an important pillar of the service sector. During 2007, 1.9 million tourists visited the city, up 28.2% year on year, while tourism income totaled RMB 563 million, representing a rise of 30% compared to the previous year.

In 2007, export value of Pingliang amounted to US$7.5 million, up 49.3% year on year.  Agriculture and sideline products are major export goods of the city. Germany, the U.S., Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Hong Kong are major export destinations of the city.

Cultural Highlights

Pingliang City, located at the geometrical center of three capital cities of Xi'an, Lanzhou and Yinchuan, is an important area at the eastern end of the northern branch of the ancient Silk Road.

Pingliang is one of the important birthplaces of the Chinese nation and one of the cradles of Chinese civilization. Dating back 200,000 and even 300,000 years ago, Chinese ancestors lived and procreated there.

More than 3,000 years ago, people prior to the Zhou Dynasty created advanced agro-farming culture in Jinghe River Valley, representing the beginning of agricultural civilization.

Tourist Attractions

Pingliang has 465 cultural relics representing the Yangshao culture, the Qijia culture and the culture of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, of which five are key cultural relics under the state-level protection and 59 are under provincial-level protection.

The Gold and Silver Coffin Buddhist relics unearthed in Dayun Temple of Jingchuan County, the bronze ware of the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Yinhezi-currency of the Southern Song Dynasty in Lingtai County, are known as the best of Chinese Cultural Relics.

The Taoist shrine of Kongtong Mountain, ancient Chengji (where Chinese common ancestor Fuxi was born), Huizhong Palace of Queen Mother of Western Heaven (a deity in Taoist mythology), and the sacrificial altar of ancient Lingtai and Lianhuatai where Emperor Qinshihuang performed sacrificial rituals to heaven, are the best known among the numerous historic and cultural relics in the world.

In Pingliang, Mutton Paomo, which comprises mutton soup and pancake, is the most popular Islam snacks among local people. In addition, Guokui (pancake) and potato paste are also popular in Pingliang.