Special Supplement: The Yellow River grows through it

Dongying on the Yellow River Delta is where the Yellow River flows into Bohai Bay and famed among all cities in the region for its abundant natural resources.

It is home to Shengli Oilfield, the second-largest in China.

The city has 805,333 hectares of developed land and green coverage of 160,000 hectares, with another 350,000 hectares of undeveloped land.

Every year, the Yellow River carries massive amounts of sediment to its estuary, literally creating new fertile land at an remarkable pace where there was none before, giving Dongying the greatest potential for land resources in east China.

Oil reserves are distributed at an area of more than 1,600 sq km in and near Dongying, which is broadly called the Shengli Oilfield. Eighty percent of its oil reserves and 85 percent of production are concentrated in the city.

The city has a coastline of 350 km, earning it appellations like "hometown of hundreds of fishes" and "hometown of prawns in the east".

It is also a noted tourism resort. The 153,000-hectare Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve is the largest and most complete wetlands system in the warm temperate zone of China.

The reserve is home to 1,520 known species of animals. Recognized as an important stopover for migratory birds, the reserve hosts 268 rare and endangered bird species.

More than 390 kinds of plants grow in the reserve.

Its blue sky, greenery and Yellow River all make Dongying an attractive destination for tourists.

To help meet their needs, the city has well-developed infrastructure, including highways, railways, airport and seaports.

Dongying Port is now a busy transport hub connecting the Yellow River Delta with the world.

The city has a rapidly growing telecommunication industry with telephone user base ranking first in Shandong province.

Relying on its rich resources and geographic advantages, the city has built a powerful industrial system including petrochemicals, machinery, electronics, food processing and pharmaceuticals. The service industry featuring information, tourism and real estate has also experienced rapid development.

Dongying's gross domestic product hit 165 billion yuan last year.

As a new hotspot of investment in east China, the city has attracted investors from more than 50 countries and regions including the United States, Japan, Germany, Canada and Australia.

(China Daily 12/13/2008 page10)