It is boom time in capital's old district
Chongwen District of Beijing has seen rapid economic growth and considerable success in various social undertakings over the past three years, according to the local government's 2007 work report.
The GDP (gross domestic product) of Chongwen reached 12 billion yuan last year, an average rise of 14.5 percent yearly since 2003, while fiscal revenue grew by 24.7 percent annually to 1.351 billion yuan, 1.94 times that of 2003.
The past three years have seen fixed assets investment and retail sales of consumer goods earn 24.4 billion yuan and 2.5867 trillion yuan respectively, up 24.5 and 15.3 percent yearly. Both are above the average figures for Beijing.
Since 2004, a total of 397 corporations have set up operations in Chongwen, 81 of which possess registered capital of more than 5 million yuan. Among them is the Jinggang Subway Operation Company, the largest joint venture between a Beijing company and a partner outside the capital in the field of urban construction, with a registered capital of 1.38 billion yuan. Others include China National Philatelic Corporation and the Beijing News.
Fifty-nine Sino-foreign joint ventures, cooperative businesses and solely foreign-owned enterprises have received approval for operations in Chongwen between 2003 and 2006, utilizing foreign capital worth $213 million, up 75 percent on an annual average.
The district has launched a total revamp of the Front Gate area. The task of renovating the villages within the city has been completed, and great care has been taken to restructure unsafe buildings in key areas. A series of urban road construction projects have also either been completed or are underway.
Total area under construction in Chongwen over the last three years was 9.64 million square meters, out of which work on 5.02 million square meters has already been completed, giving the district a completely new look.
The district government has taken several effective measures to remove 297,000 square meters of unauthorized construction, considerably improving traffic flow in key areas.
Further, an additional 598,000 square meters have been beautified by the planting of trees and grass over the past four years. Three large-scale green belts have been created and 16 streets have so far been beautified in this way.
To date, Chongwen has 15 large public green spaces and five top-quality parks, including the Temple of Heaven, Longtan Lake Park and Beijing Ming Dynasty City Wall Relics Park. Its urban green coverage rate and per capita green land area are both greater than the other three central districts of Beijing.
Chongwen's outstanding educational resources have been distributed more widely, with educational quality steadily rising. Moreover, the construction of the national sanitary district has been inspected and approved by the municipal government.
In terms of cultural construction, Chongwen pays great attention to the combination of inheritance and innovation. While successfully forging some cultural brands, the district has organized an array of large-scale cultural activities, such as the First Hongqiao International Pearl Cultural Festival, the First Cross-Straits Cultural Festival Beijing-Taiwan Cultural Forum and the First Beijing Longtan Cartoon Festival.
The protection of non-material cultural heritage has always been top priority for Chongwen. Ivory sculptures, carved lacquerware, cloisonn manufacture, and Tongrentang traditional Chinese medicine culture have been added to the national intangible cultural heritage list.
Eight heritage items, including Beijing jade articles and Zhonghe Shao Music, are on the municipal list, while 33 items, including Beijing Silk Doll manufacture and Old Beijing Peddlers' Cries, have been added to the district list.
Chongwen ranked fourth among the eight urban districts of Beijing in terms of per capita disposable income last year at 20,600 yuan, up 13.1 percent year-on-year. It ranked second among the districts in terms of per capita deposit during the same time, with 116,000 yuan.
The local government has helped 3,035 unemployed people find jobs within less than two years. The re-employment rate of the jobless remains above 70 percent in the district, with the registered unemployment rate of urban residents under 2.65 percent.
Chongwen takes the lead in the country in various social undertakings, winning laurels such as "National Model City for Mutual Support between the Civilian and Armed Forces" and "National Advanced Unit in Population and Family Planning Work".
The municipal government last year assessed the 18 districts and counties under its jurisdiction in terms of coordination between economic and social development, and Chongwen District topped the list in the index of progress.
(China Daily 03/09/2007 page19)
