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Geographic location
Fujian, situated in the southeast China on the coast of the East China Sea, covers a land of 540 km from east to west and 550 km from north to south. It faces Taiwan Province across the Taiwan Straits and adjoins Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Guangdong on the northeast, northwest and southwest, respectively. Its territory includes 121,400 sq km of land and 136,300 sq km of sea. Its coastline stretches 3,324 km. Encompassing 1,401 islands of different sizes, Fujian is a vital navigation hub between the East China Sea and the South China Sea. It is one of the Chinese provinces closest to Southeast Asia, West Asia, East Africa and Oceania. |
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Fujian 2004 - The Year in Review |
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General Economy
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Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
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GDP for 2004 was 605.31 billion yuan, up 12.1% from the previous year.
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GDP ratio (primary, secondary and tertiary industries)
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The primary industry yielded a value added of 77.787 billion yuan, 4.5% more than that of the previous year; the secondary industry, 295.033 billion yuan, a growth of 15.2%; the tertiary industry, 232.494 billion yuan, a growth of 10.8%. The GDP ratio of the three sectors is 12.9: 48.7: 38.4.
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Revenue and expenditure
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Provincial revenue was 62.276 billion yuan, an increase of 18.5% over the previous year. Provincial expenditure was 50.52 billion yuan, an increase of 11.7%.
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Consumer Price Index (CPI)
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CPI was up 4.0% from the previous year.
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Investment in fixed assets
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Fixed asset investment was valued at 189.91 billion yuan, up by 25.9% from the previous year.
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Major Industries
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Agriculture
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In 2004, the province's total agricultural output value was 131.728 billion yuan, an increase of 5.1% from the previous year.
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Industry
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The industrial added value totaled 253.268 billion yuan, an increase of 15.5%.
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High-tech
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The export value from high-tech industries was US$6.839 billion in 2004, up 46.9% The high-tech products imports were valued at US$3.2 billion, up 13.4%.
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Construction
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Its added value was 41.765 billion yuan, up by 13.2%.
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Transportation
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Freight carried by various means of transport for the year was 10.6% up from the previous year to reach 137.77 billion ton-kilometers while the number of passengers carried by various means of transport was 11.4% up to reach 44.093 million person-kilometers.
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Postal services
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The annual turnover of postal operations totaled 2.266 billion yuan, 1.4% up from the previous year.
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Telecommunications
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The annual turnover of telecommunications services totaled 40.414 billion yuan, up by 37.0%.
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Retail
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The annual turnover from retail sales reached 199.582 billion yuan, an increase of 11.7% from the previous year.
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Tourism
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Revenue from tourism totaled 55.074 billion yuan, up by 42.2% from the 2003 figure.
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Continued Effects of Market Reform
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Imports & exports
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The annual value of imports and exports totaled US$47.55 billion, 34.6% up from the year before.
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Economic and technological cooperation
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Overseas project and labor contracts signed during the year, numbering 1,265, were valued at US$568 million, up 0.9% from the previous year. Business turnover for the year totaled US$504 million, an increase of 0.4% from the previous year.
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Foreign investment
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The foreign direct investment which was materialized during the year stood at US$5.318 billion, up by 7.6%.
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Urban Construction and Management
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Road transport
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By the end of 2004, a total of 56,208 km of highways, including 1,043 km of express highways, had opened to traffic. The rural highways connecting various villages amounted to 7,500 km.
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Social Undertakings
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Science and technology
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The investment in scientific research and technological innovations totaled 8.05 billion yuan, up by 16.3% from the previous year. A total of 75,300 people in the province are engaged in various scientific and technological activities.
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Education
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There are 66 institutions of higher learning in the province. The number of students enrolled in postgraduate schools and institutions of higher learning during the year stood at 7,275 and 119,900 respectively. The province also has 66 special schools for the handicapped, with registered number of students totaling 37,600.
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Culture
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By the end of 2004, the province had a total of 94 arts performance organizations, 76 cinemas and theaters, 88 cultural and arts centers, 82 public libraries, and 79 museums.
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Public health
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At the end of 2004, there were 8,600 health and medical institutions staffed with 98,000 people and equipped with 88,000 beds.
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Sports
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A total of 500 community sports facilities were built during the year. The sports lottery reaped sales of 1.72 billion yuan.
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Welfare and aid
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713 welfare units across the province were equipped with 15,891 beds. A total of 587 townships, 62% of the total, had established social security network for rural residents. The funds raised through selling welfare lottery totaled 74 million yuan in 2004. Public donations totaled 2.55 million yuan.
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Poverty relief
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All the rural families whose per capita annual income is less than 1,000 yuan has been covered by the minimum living allowance system.
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Population, Employment, Social Security and Living Standards
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Population
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The year 2004 saw a birth rate of 11.58‰, and a mortality rate of 5.62‰. The natural growth rate of the population stood at 5.96‰. At the end of the year, the total population stood at 35.11 million, an increase of 230,000 people.
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Employment
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The employed population stood at 17.954 million, an increase of 387,100 from the previous year end. A total of 75,000 laid-off workers got re-employed.
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Registered unemployment rate
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The registered urban unemployment rate was 4.0%.
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Social security
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In 2004, insurance plans for unemployment, endowments and medical treatment covered a population of 2.664 million, 2.396 million and 2.86 million respectively. About 200,000 urban residents received minimum living allowance from the government.
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Residents' income
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The disposable income of urban residents was 11,175 yuan per capita, up by 7.7% from 2003. Rural residents' per capita net income was 4,089 yuan, up by 5.5%.
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Residents' consumption
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Urban residents' per capita expenditure was 8,161 yuan, up by 10.9% from the previous year while that of rural residents was 3,015 yuan, up by 10.9%.
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Geography and Natural Conditions
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Topography
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Mountains and hilly areas constitute over 80 percent of Fujian's land area. Plains are concentrated in its southeast coastal areas.
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Climate
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Fujian has a subtropical humid monsoon climate, with annual temperature averaging between 17-21℃. The average temperatures in the coldest month (January) are 10-13℃ in the southeast coastal parts and 5-8℃ in the inland mountainous areas. In the hottest month (July) the temperature averages 26-29℃. The average annual precipitation is 1,000 mm and frost-free period lasts 240 to 330 days a year.
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Natural resources
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Fujian possesses 86 kinds of minerals with verified reserves, including 34 kinds of metallic minerals and 47 nonmetallic minerals. Among those with considerable reserves are gold, silver, lead, zinc, manganese, kaolin, limestone, granite, alunite, pyrophyllite and sulfur. Its reserve of quartz-sandstone ranks among the national tops in both quantity and quality.
Forests cover 52.4% of Fujian's total land area. Plant species are abundant. There are 1,943 kinds of woody plants, including 400 species of timber tree and 140 varieties of bamboo. Fujian has 400 million cubic meters of timber reserved, its timber production ranking third in China.
Incomplete statistics show that there are several thousand species of terrestrial wild animals in Fujian, including 100 species of beasts, 540 species of birds, 115 species of reptiles and 44 species of amphibians. There are also more than 5,000 kinds of insects. The Wuyi Mountain Nature Reserve is abundant in wildlife resources. It is also a world-renowned specimen base for new species of vertebrates and insects. The Meihua Mountain Nature Reserve in Longyan City is home to large numbers of birds and animals.
Fujian has five big fishing grounds which abound in marine resources. Among the more than 3,000 species of marine organisms, 750 are fishes, accounting for 50 percent of the country's total marine fish species.
Fujian is rich in water resources, and its annual rainfalls total 201.1 billion cubic meters. More than 500 rivers in the province have their drainage area of over 50 sq km each. The total volume of river runoff stands at 115 billion cubic meters a year on average. The province's theoretical waterpower reserves total 10.46 million kw which can generate 91.6 billion kwh of power annually. There are 1,000 places suitable for building a hydropower station with a generating capacity of over 500 kw. Their combined generating capacity can reach 7.05 million kw and their annual power generation, 32 billion kwh, both ranking first in eastern China. The existing generating capacity accounts for only 30 percent of the province's total potential, leaving big room for development. Fujian also has rich underground water resources. More than 100 hot springs have been discovered, their water temperatures ranging from 40℃ to 60℃.
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Tourism resources
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Fujian is rich in tourism resources, abounding with numerous places of historical and cultural interest, and beautiful scenic spots.
Fujian preserves many cultural sites from the Qin (221-207 BC), Han (206 BC-AD 220), Tang (618-907), Song (960-1279), Yuan (1271-1368) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties. There are numerous ancient temples, pagodas, bridges and castles, as well as former residences of celebrities. Fujian has a wide variety of navigation relics and religious legacies thanks to its long history of navigation and frequent contacts with the outside world.
There are many beautiful mountains in the province. The famous seaside resorts include Wuyi Mountain, Gushan (Drum Hill) in Fuzhou, Tailao Mountain in east Fujian and Wanshiyan in Xiamen. The province also has many beautiful beaches, such as the bathing beach on Gulangyu Islet of Xiamen, the Luanwan Beach on Dongshan Island, the Longwangtou Beach at Pingtan and Meizhou Island at Putian. Its numerous rivers offer many picturesque water spots, including the Jiuqu (Nine-Bend) Stream in Wuyi Mountain and Jinhu Lake, the largest artificial lake in Fujian. Northwest Fujian is noted for danxia and karst landforms, with countless grotesque rocks and fantastic caves. The Wuyi and Meihua mountain nature reserves preserve vast expanses of virgin forests, with rich fauna and flora resources. These reserves and other scenic resorts are ideal places for enjoying the charms of nature, making holidays and conducting scientific explorations. In addition, Fujian has a host of gardens, parks and hot springs of different types.
Colorful ethnic customs, unique local cultures and rich products also add attraction to the province's tourism resources.
Currently, Fujian encompasses two national tourist holiday resorts, nine national scenic spots, four national nature reserves (forest parks), four national-level famous historic and cultural cities, 29 key cultural sites under state protection, 19 provincial-level scenic spots, six provincial tourist economic develop areas, and 204 cultural sites under provincial protection.
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