Special Supplement: Changchun: A city of many wonders

An automobile city, a movie city, a forest city, a science and culture city - these are the unique images that the dynamic city of Changchun, capital of Northeast China's Jilin Province, presents to the world.

Indeed, the people of Changchun have created many wonders for the city, making it an ideal place to do business, a convenient place for living and an attractive destination for tourists.

Automobile city

China's first city to produce trucks, Changchun - with its 54 years of auto-making history - is regarded as the cradle of the country's automobile industry, and has made great contributions to the history of the national automobile sector.

Changchun has strong teams engaged in automobile technology research and development (R&D), which have helped it become the nation's most important automobile base.

The China First Automotive Works (FAW) Group Corporation in Changchun is the largest auto producer in the country.

In 2006, the total production capacity of all the automobile corporations in Changchun reached 1.07 million units.

Changchun thus ranks eighth among the cities in the world with an annual automobile production capacity exceeding 1 million units, after Detroit in the United States, Toyota in Japan, Stuttgart in Germany, Turin in Italy, Wolfsburg in Germany, Tokyo in Japan and Paris in France.

Changchun has also witnessed rapid progress in R&D, manufacturing and export of railway passenger train rolling stocks and city subway trains.

Half the railway passenger train rolling stocks operated in China are manufactured in Changchun, with its clients including all national railway bureaus (groups) and local railway companies.

City subway trains made in Changchun account for 80 percent of those currently in use in the nation.

About 80 percent of Chinese cities choose to use the trains made by CNR Changchun Railway Train Co Ltd, which is one of the two high-speed 200 km/h EMU train manufacturers in China.

The other manufacturer is Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co Ltd based in Qingdao, a coastal city in East China's Shandong Province. It is a subsidiary of China Southern Locomotive and Rolling Stock Industry (Group) Corporation.

Changchun is also known as "a city on wheels"-an apt description of its automobile industry and related achievements.

Green food city

Changchun is one of China's major grain production bases with an annual output of 8 million tons, enough to feed 51.6 million people for one year.

In 2005, China named 10 key grain production centers, of which three were in Changchun.

The city is dedicated to developing a green agriculture, including organic, ecological and pollution-free agriculture.

Agricultural product processing has become another pillar industry in Changchun, which includes corn, soybean, vegetable, animal products, and dairy products processing.

A number of well-known agricultural product processing companies have been established in Changchun, including the Dacheng Group, the largest corn processing company in Asia, and the Haoyue Group, a large export base of beef and beef products in China.

Science and culture city

There are 27 full-time universities in Changchun with their students accounting for more than 10 percent of the city's population.

It also has 103 scientific research institutions, 38 State-level laboratories and 25 post-doctorate workstations.

These universities and research institutes are home to 26 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, 237 experts who receive special State allowances, and about 1,000 professors and senior researchers.

With a powerful R&D force, Changchun has created several records in scientific research, including the development of the country's first synthetic rubber, the first ruby laser generator, the first aero camera, the first portion of borosilicate glass, the first laser and the first electron microscope.

Movie city

Regarded as the cradle of Chinese movies, Changchun is proud of its contribution to New China's movie industry.

The Changchun Film Studio was established in 1945, laying a solid foundation for film development in New China.

The studio created a number of records in the national movie history, producing the first puppet film - Emperor's Dream, the first animation film - Trap and Catch, the first feature film - Bridge, and the first dubbed film - An Ordinary Soldier.

In all, Changchun Film Studio has so far produced more than 700 feature films, 300 art films, 50 opera films and 800 dubbed films.

At present, Changchun has the only film TV channel in Northeast China.

The Changchun Movie Wonderland, regarded as the Hollywood of the east, is located in the west of the Jingyuetan Scenic Area, the largest urban forest park in Asia. It gives people a real close-up view of movie making and movie tricks, as well as special cinematographic effects.

The wonderland is not only an attractive tourism destination but also the new location of Changchun Film Studio.

Forest city

Changchun has 41.5 percent forest coverage, the highest among all of China's cities.

Its strengthened efforts in environmental protection, urban forestation and ecological construction have helped Changchun win the title of Environmental Protection Model City in China.

Sculpture city

Approved by the Ministry of Culture and in cooperation with the National Urban Sculpture Construction Guidance Committee, Changchun has successfully hosted the International Sculpture Symposium eight times since 1997.

Hundreds of artists from home and abroad come to the city to display their works and realize their artistic dreams at the event.

The International Sculpture Park, covering 1 sq km of the city center, is the biggest open-air sculpture exhibition venue in the world.

It has 391 sculptures made by 347 sculptors from 172 countries, which leads many to call the city "a world sculpture park."

Sculptures can also be seen in streets, parks, gardens, and residential areas, pleasing locals and tourists alike.

Tourism hotspot

In addition to its movie industry, forests and sculptures, Changchun's beautiful landscape and other historical and cultural legacies attract overseas tourists throughout the year.

Its famed historical and cultural sites include the Puppet Manchurian Imperial Palace Museum, rebuilt on the site of the former Puppet Manchurian Imperial Palace in 1982 and opened to the public in 1984; and the Liao Dynasty (916-1124) Tower in Nong'an, an architectural masterpiece built in the 10th century and well preserved to this day.

(China Daily 11/15/2007 page15)