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An ancient city dating back 2500 years, Wuhu has played various roles in different historic stages. As a modern city, it exemplifies the merits of the opening-up policy.
Located in the northwestern part of the Yangtze River Delta, Wuhu in Anhui Province nestles against the picturesque Mount Huang and Mount Jiuhua to the south and the Jianghuai Plain to the north. Its geographical central position in East China makes Wuhu a regional economical and cultural hub.
Heritage During the Warring States Period (475 - 221 B.C.) Wuhu was a strategic town that was vied for by lords of various states. The remains of the ancient Dagong Mountain Copper Mine in the city shows it to be the largest copper smelting base in China from the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B.C.) through to the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - A.D. 220). Two 3,000-year-old bronze swords have been unearthed here, highlighting the advanced bronze smelting and workmanship level of ancient Wuhu. By the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Wuhu was a prosperous agricultural, handicraft and commercial city blessed with a rich river transport hub. It was a major waterway convergence point for both imperial grain and commercial goods transport. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), capitalism found its niche in Wuhu and helped turn the city into an industrial and commercial cradle and an economic center along the Yangtze River. In 1876 Wuhu was made a treaty port. The city bustled with merchants from around the country, and commodity transactions on its business streets, as historical documents recorded, "lasted late into the night." Many Anhui merchants that later became famous nationwide as business tycoons made their first bucket of gold in the city. Wuhu ranked with Wuxi, Changsha and Jiujiang as the four largest rice markets in China. Many foreign businesses, including Taikoo, ExxonMobil and Mitsubishi, opened branches and industrial enterprises in the city. During its prime in the late 19th century, Wuhu's exports contributed three percent to China's total foreign trade. Meanwhile, Western civilization has also left its mark in Wuhu. French architects designed and built the first Catholic church in the city, still a noted landmark. Many other buildings also manifest contemporary political, economic and cultural activities of Western countries in China, such as the Old British Consulate, Old Wuhu Customs, St. James School and Yiji Mountain Hospital. The assimilation of different civilizations has created a Wuhu culture characterized by openness, compatibility and commerciality. In the early 20th century, Wuhu was also a center of the New Culture Movement in Anhui as a group of avant-garde thinkers, including Sun Yat-sen, Hu Shi, Zhang Henshui, Chen Duxiu and A Ying, disseminated new knowledge and concepts.
Home of National Brands
Today's Wuhu, with a population of 2.3 million, is an integral part of the Yangtze River Delta Economic Region. It is crisscrossed by five railways and three expressways and equipped with the fifth largest deep-water harbor and largest coal wharf of the Yangtze River. The coastal and Wuhu-Taihu expressways and the Wuhu-Shanghai canal, which will soon go into construction, will further boost the city's momentum for economic development. As an old industrial city, Wuhu has experienced economic restructuring, recovery, expansion and consolidation periods in the past years of reform and opening. In recent years, the city has concentrated on structural optimization, investment expansion and environment optimization in order to maintain a healthy and sustainable development momentum. In 2003, Wuhu realized a GDP growth of 14.1 percent, and its per capita GDP reached US $1,560. Meanwhile, its revenue increased by 18.6 percent, fixed asset investment by 47.1 percent, and above-scale industrial added value by 37.2 percent. Its comprehensive industrial performance index stood at 199 percent, ranking first in Anhui Province for five consecutive years. In the Report of Competitive Power of Chinese Cities in 2003 issued by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Wuhu was 31st. Chery Automotive Company, noted as a dark horse in China's current booming auto industry, is located in Wuhu. Established in 1999, Chery has been devoted to developing a national auto brand. Since its first Wind and Cloud drove off the line in 2001, Chery has rolled out a series of products that are popular with average Chinese consumers. With its sales rocketing, Chery has quickly become one of the best sellers on the Chinese auto market. Today it is merited as China's largest home-brand saloon car exporter and the first Chinese automaker that owns production facilities abroad. A group of industrial enterprises like Chery have boosted Wuhu's rapid development in recent years. The auto and accessory industry represented by Chery Automotive, the new building materials industry represented by Conch Group and electronics and electrical appliance industry represented by Midea and Kelon have formed the city's industrial foundation and propelled its economic growth and competitiveness. Chery will increased its current production capacity of 350,000 cars to one million by 2007. Conch is the largest cement producer in Asia and third in the world, and it is the largest PVC pipe producer in China. Wuhu-based Midea, Kelon and Hitachi have turned the city into a major home electric appliance base in China. The city's textile, cast iron and steel pipes, fine chemicals, shipbuilding, new materials and computer software also occupy a leading position in Anhui Province. With a group of electric power projects whose construction is soon to be completed, Wuhu is expected to be an important energy supplier for East China.
Wuhu's congenial environment has attracted many investors from China and around the world, most of whom are settled in the Wuhu Economic and Technological Development Zone, the Wuhu Export Processing Zone, and a number of specialized industrial parks.
Prospects Currently Wuhu is revising its municipal development plan. Mayor Shen Weiguo defines the goal of the city as to build Wuhu into a city that is ideal for both human inhabitation and investment and enterprise activities." The immediate objectives are to scientifically re-allocate and optimize its production forces and resources during the course of its development with a view to turning the city into a communications hub for the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, a regional economic center and a river garden city. Over the past years of development, Wuhu has formed several functional areas: the central downtown area, pillar industrial area in the north, hi-tech and education area in the south, strategic industrial area in the east, and the coastal industrial area in the west. To sustain the city's immediate and long-term development, Wuhu plans to invest a total of 140 billion yuan by 2007 in municipal infrastructure improvement, building modern logistics, expanding pillar industries, upgrading old industries and developing strategic industries. To promote sound development of Wuhu, we are suggested to follow Anhui Provincial 861 Plan and Wuhu Municial 11th Five-Year Plan. Mr. Shen Weiguo proposed a guideline?foster and support our pillar industries; advance the upgrading of traditional industry; forming competitive industry block. We are dedicated to build Wuhu into a modern manufacturing base under the fulfillment of “2215 Objectives”. That is, in the following five years, we strive to achieve the goal of fixed assets investment 200 billion RMB yuan. By the year 2010, the city is expected to achieve GDP of 100 billion RMB yuan with per capita GDP US$5,000 and industrial sales revenue of 200 billion RMB yuan. Wuhu has become an important stage for investors at home and abroad. Vigorous and open-minded Wuhuese are using their hands and brain to build a more charming city with limitless business opportunities. |
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