Wuxi, China
Cable Bridge over the Yangtsee River
Taihu Lake
Wuxi is a well-known city in the areas south of the Yangtze River in China enjoying a history of over 3000 years. With Yangtze River to the north and Taihu Lake to the south, it is reputed to be a “brilliant pearl of Taihu Lake.” Encompassing 4788 km and with a population of 4.4 million, Wuxi has under its jurisdiction two county-level cities of Jiangyin and Yixing and seven districts of Chong’an, Beitang, Nanchang, Xishan, Huishan, Binhu, and New District.
Situated at the heart of Yangtze River Delta Region on the southeast coast of China, close to the international metropolis of Shanghai, Wuxi is also known as “little Shanghai” in China due to its developed industry and flourishing economy. It is the cradle of the contemporary national industry in China and the birthplace of both China’s township and village enterprises and the semiconductor industry. After over two decades of reform and opening up, Wuxi has been listed among the most dynamic cities as well as the best commercial cities in China. In 2005, Wuxi registered a GDP of US$35 billion and a per-capita GDP of over US$ 7000. With 0.05% of China’s land and 0.4% of its population, Wuxi achieved 2% of the nation’s GDP and 1.35% of the national financial revenue. Wuxi is ranked No.2 on Forbes’ list of best business cities on Chinese Mainland. It has taken the lead in Jiangsu Province to build a well-off society.
Wuxi has since the ancient times attached great importance to education. It is known as the hometown of academicians for its developed education. Of the members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, over 70 are natives of Wuxi or are working in Wuxi. In addition, Wuxi is home to 722,000 talents, of whom 309,000 are professionals and technicians specializing in different fields. At present, Wuxi has 11 independent universities and colleges including Southern Yangtze University, a national-level university. 548 of every 10,000 people and 51.4% of the population aged between 18 and 22 in Wuxi have received tertiary education.
The City’s solid industrial foundation, rich human resources and its people’s strong sense of opening-up have made Wuxi a popular destination for foreign investment. By the end of 2005, Wuxi has approved the establishment of 9,659 foreign-funded enterprises with a total contracted capital of US$41.57 billion. In 2005, the imports and exports totaled US$29.19 billion. Currently Wuxi has 204 trade partners around the world including Japan, European Union, Hong Kong, and ASEAN nations. So far 72 Fortune 500 companies have invested in 134 projects in Wuxi.
Located at the center of the Yangtze River Delta and blessed with a favorable geographical location, Wuxi is a key transportation hub and logistics center in East China. The Shanghai-Nanjing railway, Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway, Beijing-Shanghai Expressway, Nanjing-Hangzhou Expressway, Along-the-Yangtze-River Expressway, Wuxi-Yixing Expressway and around-Taihu Expressway all run through Wuxi. Wuxi Airport has opened 12 domestic air routes and air routes to Hang Kong and Macau. Based on the Yangtze River, Beijing-Hangzhou Canal and Taihu Lake water system, there are 7 major waterways linking Wuxi with other parts f China. The City’s complete infrastructure facilities such as telecommunications, power and water supply and water treatment has rendered strong support to Wuxi’s economic and social development.
Wuxi Skyline
Located on Taihu Lake, Wuxi is blessed with the most beautiful part of the Lake. Due to its unique natural scenic beauty, 3000-year-old civilization, rich cultural heritage, Wuxi has been listed as one of the excellent tourist cities in China. The beauty of Wuxi is embodied in the Taihu Lake, hills, gardens, forests, and Karst caves. In 2005, Wuxi played host to over 32.65 million tourists from at home and abroad.
Wuxi has established sister-city relations with Akashi, Japan; Sagamihara, Japan; Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA; Hamilton, New Zealand; Cascais, Portugal; Scarborough, Canada; Leverkusen, Germany; Vicenza, Italy; and Gimhae, Republic of Korea. The county-level cities and districts under the jurisdiction of Wuxi have been twinned with Belo-horizonte, Brazil; Fujioka, Japan; Novo Mesto, Slovenia; Oldham, UK; and Ratlingen, Germany. Wuxi also maintains regular friendly exchanges with over 20 cities across the world. Wuxi carries out various fruitful exchanges and cooperation with these cities in economy, culture, education, public health, science and technology, sports and other fields.
Wuxi is now opening wider to the outside world and accelerating the pace of economic development and urban construction. Wuxi tomorrow will be more attractive and full of greater vigor and vitality.
November 2006, prepared for Wuxi International Sister Cities Forum on Educational Internationalization and the 2nd Jiangsu School Principals Forum on International Exchange, courtesy of the Wuxi Foreign Affairs Office.
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