Economy

Wuma Shopping StreetWenzhou exports food, tea, wine, jute, timber, paper, Alunite (a non-metallic mineral used to make alum and fertilizer). Alunite is abundant and Wenzhou claims to be the "Alunite Capital of the World". Its 10 main industries each exceeding 1.5 billion dollars are electrical machinery, leather products, general equipment, power supply, plastic manufacturing, textile and garment, transport equipment, chemical products, metal products and metal processing.From the 1990s, low-voltage electric appliances manufacturing became one of the major industries in Wenzhou, with some of the large private enterprises setting up joint ventures with GE and Schneider.In 1994, exploration for oil and natural gas commenced in the East China Sea 100 km (62 mi) off the coast of Wenzhou. Companies such as Texaco, Chevron, Shell and JAPEX have started to drill for oil but the operations have been largely unsuccessful.Wenzhou is a city full of vibrant business activities. When China began economic reforms in 1978, Wenzhou was the first city in China to set up individual and private enterprises as well as shareholder cooperatives. It has also taken the lead in carrying out financial system reform and structural reform in townships. Being a pioneer in utilizing marketing mechanism to develop urban constructions, Wenzhou has won a number of firsts in China and set many national records.From 1978 through 2016, the GDP of Wenzhou, a third-tier city in China, has increased from 1.32 billion RMB to 504.54 billion RMB with the gross fiscal revenue increasing from 0.135 billion RMB to 72.4 billion RMB, and the disposalbe net per capita income for rural residents increasing from 113.5 RMB to 22,985 RMB. The per capita disposable income for urban residents increased from 422.6 RMB in 1981 to 47,785 RMB in 2016, which is the among the highest in China.Financial Reform Pilot ProjectIn late March 2012, China's State Council announced that Wenzhou would be the site of a pilot project for the reform of private investment rules. The city had been a significant source of illegal loans, and this project would legalize and provide a regulatory framework for such activities. It has been seen not only as an attempt to legitimize Wenzhou's private finance market, but also as a model for cleaning up underground lending in China as a whole.Birthplace of China's private economyIn the early days of economic reforms, local Wenzhounese took the lead in China in developing a commodity economy, household industries and specialized markets. Many thousands of people and families were engaged in household manufacturing to develop individual and private economy (private enterprise). Up till now, Wenzhou has a total of 240,000 individually owned commercial and industrial units and 130,000 private enterprises of which 180 are group companies, 4 among China’s top 500 enterprises and 36 among national 500 top private enterprises. There are 27 national production bases such as "China’s Shoes Capital" and "China’s Capital of Electrical Equipment", China’s 40 famous trademarks and China’s famous-brand products and 67 national inspection-exempt products in the city. The development of private economy in Wenzhou has created the "Wenzhou Economic Model", which inspires the modernization drive in China.The city of Wenzhou is a world leader in lighter manufacturing with over 500 such companies in the city. The plastic weaving cluster in Wenzhou comprised 1600 enterprises in 2001, employing 42,000 people with an annual output value of 20 billion Yuan. The Local cluster comprised 400 manufacturers in 2001 with a total output of 5 billion Yuan, representing 65 percent of the domestic market share. The cluster is the first in China in terms of market share and sold it products to 60 countries.There are many areas in which people of Wenzhou opened the first example of private economy in post-1949 China. For instance, Juneyao Airlines started on July, 1991, which is the first private airline company in China. Jinwen Rail Way is also the first rail way company which is built with private capital.Industrial zonesWenzhou Economic & Technological Development ZoneWenzhou Economic & Technological Development Zone was established and approved by State Council in 1992. The main traffic system around the zone include No.104 National Highway, Ningbo-Wenzhou Expressway and Wenzhou Bridge. It is located near to Wenzhou International Airport and Wenzhou Port. Industries encouraged in the zone include electrical equipment, electronic information, chemical medicine, building materials, and textiles.Wenzhou Oujiang River Estuary Industrial ZoneLocated in the east of the city proper, it has an overall planned area of 3.3 million square kilometers, with industrial focuses mainly on logistics, cultual and tourism industry, smart manufacturing, information technology, as well as electronics and petrochemical industry near the coastal area of Dongtou.

Transport

Air[edit]The Wenzhou Longwan Airport serves the Wenzhou area, with scheduled flights to major cities in mainland China as well as Hong Kong and Macau. New direct air route to Taipei and Cheju Island of Korea have been opened in 2012. The Airport is situated on the southeast of Wenzhou city proper, 20 km (12 mi) away from the city center. It’s been graded as nation’s Category B civil airport, serving a population of 20 million spanning areas of Wenzhou, Taizhou and Lishui of Zhejiang and Ningde of the neighbouring Fujian. The correlated GDP of the area reaches 300 billion RMB.The Airport started opening up in 1995 and direct flight to Macau was approved. Air route to Hong Kong was open in 1996. Linking 65 cities in the country with 34 permanently operating air routes, the Airport is among the fastest-growing and profitable among its peers in China.The Airport ranks 1st in terms of passenger transit among cities of same level in China. In 2004, the Airport handled 29,700 landings, a passenger transit of 2.439 million, cargo throughput of 38,500 tons.A new Terminal 2(T2) is being planned, with designed passenger throughput of 13 million per year, while the Terminal 1 will serve as international terminal.Railway[edit]Wenzhou South train stationBecause of Wenzhou's geographic location, it is difficult to build a railway to connect it with other cities. Wenzhou's first railway, the Jinhua-Wenzhou Line, opened on June 11, 1998. The railway runs northwest to Jinhua and is operated by the Jinwen Railway Company. The railway has a total length of 251 km (156 mi), including 135 bridges of 14 km (8.7 mi) in length 96 tunnels of 35 km (22 mi) in length. The Jinwen Railway was the first in China to be built with local capital, and gave birth to China's first standardized joint-stock enterprise: Zhejiang Jinwen Rail Way Development Co., Ltd.[28][29]In September 2009, two high-speed railways opened in Wenzhou. The Hangzhou–Taizhou–Wenzhou Railway runs north to Hangzhou, and the Wenzhou–Xiamen Railway, runs south to Xiamen.[30] Both lines accommodate high-speed CRH (China Railway High-speed) trains running at speeds of up to 200 km/h (120 mph) and have dramatically shortened rail travel time to neighboring cities. The city was the site of China's only major high-speed rail accident to date.Wenzhou Mass Transit Railway Investment Group was launched in Feburary 2011 with registered capital of 2 billion RMB, sole purpose being in the design, investment, construction and operation of commuter rails, or S-Lines, and Metro in Wenzhou. The S-Lines serve the transportation among Wenzhou's Counties and Districts. The S-Line 1, a hybrid of light-rail and subway, streching 77 kilometer, will be open to traffic in October 2018. Construction of S-Line 2 started on December 30, 2015, while S-Line 3 already in the pipeline. Preliminary application with the National Development and Reform Commission(NDRC) is underway for the initiation of Metro construction.

Geography

With jurisdiction over four districts, two county-level cities and five counties, Wenzhou covers a land area of 11,784 km2 (4,550 sq mi) and sea area of 11,000 km2 (4,200 sq mi). The population of the prefectural level city is 9.12 million including 2.30 million urban residents, divided among 2 county-level cities and 4 districts.Much of Wenzhou is mountainous, with many mountain tops reaching altitudes in excess of 1,000 m (3,300 ft), for example in the Yandang Mountains, a coastal mountain range dominating the eastern part of prefecture. Another dominating landscape element is the Ou River, the largest river in Wenzhou prefecture. There are some coastal plains, notably around the mouth of the Ou (where the city proper of Wenzhou is located), and further south, around the mouth of the Feiyun River (in Rui'an, a county-level city). Other notable rivers include the Nanxi River, a tributary of the Ou. Coastal plains are used intensively for agriculture but also host much of the population and industry.The 339 kilometres (211 mi) long coastline gives the city abundant marine resources and many beautiful islands. Dongtou, one of the districts in Wenzhou, has also been called the "County of one hundred islands"(Dongtou County was re-named as Dongtou District in September 2015 following the State Council-sanctioned administrative region adjustment)Wenzhou boasts wonderful landscapes with rugged mountains and tranquil waters, including three state-level scenic spots, namely the Yandang Mountains, the Nanxi River and the Baizhangji Fall-Feiyun Lake, and two national nature reserves, namely the Wuyanling Ridge and the Nanji Islands, among which Yandang Mountain has been named as World Geopark, while Nanji Islands are listed as UNESCO’s Marine Nature Reserve of World Biosphere Reserves. Scenic area accounts for 25% of the city’s land space.Climate[edit]Wenzhou derives its present name from its climate, and has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa) with short winters and long, hot, humid summers. Summers are similar to the remainder of the province (albeit slightly cooler during the daytime as compared to inland areas), but winter is much milder, partly due to the southerly location and partly due to the sheltering effect of the surrounding mountains. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from 8.0 °C (46.4 °F) in January to 28.0 °C (82.4 °F) in July and August, while the annual mean is 18.08 °C (64.5 °F). Heavy rainfalls occur in late spring and early summer due to the plum rains of the East Asian monsoon, while typhoons are commonly a threat in the second half of summer causing considerable damage and destruction. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 26% in March to 53% in August, the city receives 1,706 hours of bright sunshine annually.

History

Ancient historyWenzhou has a history which goes back to about 2500 BC, when it became known for its pottery production as one of the cities of origin of celadon in ancient China.Wenzhou was the capital of the ancient Dong'ou Kingdom (東甌) which existed from 191 BC until it was conquered by Minyue Kingdom in 138 BC.Imperial ChinaIn the early 2nd century BC, shortly after the destruction of Qin Dynasty, military and political leader Zou Yao (驺摇) of Wenzhou helped the emperor Gaozu of Han, the first emperor of Han Dynasty, defeat the prominent warlord Xiang Yu of Qin Dynasty. After the victory, emperor Hui of Han, the second emperor of Han Dynasty named Zhou Yao the King of Dongou(Wenzhou), and under the administration of emperor Hui, Wenzhou became the capital of the Kingdom of Dongou which is the now area of Southern Zhejiang Province. Around 760AD in Tang Dynasty, the founding emperor Emperor Gaozu of Tang named Yongkia(earlier as Dongou) by its current name Wenzhou because of its mild weather.Modern eraThroughout its history, Wenzhou's traditional economic role has been as a port giving access to the mountainous interior of southern Zhejiang Province. In early European sources, the name Wenzhou-Fu or -Foo was often transcribed Ouen-tcheou-fou after the accounts of French-speaking missionaries. In 1876, Wenzhou was opened for tea exports, but no foreign settlement was ever established there. Between 1937 and 1942, during the Second Sino-Japanese War (i.e., World War II), Wenzhou achieved importance as one of the few ports still under Chinese control. It declined in the later years of the war, but began to recover after coastal trade along the Zhejiang coast was re-established in 1955.