By staff reporters WU XINYI & GAO YAN

Huai'an City,with an area of over 10,000 square kilometers, is located on the Subei Plain of Jiangsu Province. The name Huai'an brings Zhou Enlai, the first premier of the People's Republic of China, to many people's minds. Zhou was born in Huai'an on March 5, 1898, and lived here for 12 years. A Zhou Enlai Memorial now stands on the site of the former residence of the Zhou family, and has become one of the city's major landmarks. In its 2,000 or more years of history, Huai'an has been home to other notable personages, including militarist Han Xin of the Han Dynasty, Wu Cheng'en, author of Journey to the West, and noted Peking Opera actor Zhou Xinfang.

One of Huai'an's attractions is Hongze Lake, the third largest freshwater lake in China. Occupying an area of 2,069 square kilometers, Hongze has been dubbed "lake of treasure" for its abundant aquatic resources, of which crab is the most famous. Visitors converge in Huai'an in September and October every year for the Hongze Golden Autumn Crab Gourmet Festival.

By Hongze Lake sits the Ming Ancestors Mausoleum, which archaeologists call "China's Pompeii." The mausoleum houses the personal effects of the father, grandfather and great grandfather of Zhu Yuanzhang, founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty. It remained under water for over 300 years after a flood, and re-emerged in 1963, 1993 and 2001 due to drought. Today, 21 pairs of stone sculptures of officials, grooms, lions and qilin (a mythical animal), all well preserved, stand along its divine path.

Huai'an is also noted for its local delicacies, of which Wenlou steamed dumpling, Pingqiao bean curd and fish banquet are the best known. Making Wenlou steamed dumpling is an art in itself. The wrapper is so thin that it may be ignited, and the stuffing is a delectable mixture of minced bacon, chicken, crabmeat, shrimp, sea cucumber and bamboo shoots. After being steamed the creamy stuffing melts, and the dumpling becomes translucent.

An Ecological City of Developed Communications

Adjacent to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, the Huaihe, Yanhe and Huaishu New rivers, and the Subei Irrigation Channel, Huai'an was formerly a hub of water transportation. Its decline in modern times was due to the change of course of the Yellow River, and destructive wars. It became so isolated and underdeveloped that as recently as a decade ago the city was still inaccessible by railway. Now, however, this situation has changed dramatically.

The Beijing-Shanghai, Tongjiang-Sanya and Huai'an-Nanjing (under construction) expressways link Huai'an with more developed areas, such as Beijing, Shanghai and southern Jiangsu Province, and strengthen the cooperation between southern and northern China. The expressways in Huai'an have a total length of 330 kilometers, and the city is also traversed by the railway line linking the coastal areas in eastern China. Huai'an has now become a pivot of water and land transportation.

A city of rivers, Huai'an has made great efforts to make itself as green as possible. There are dozens of parks within the city, including Qingyan Garden, formerly the private garden of a Qing director general of grain transport, and the Chinese Rose Garden, that houses scores of traditional breeds of Chinese rose, the emblem flower of Huai'an. The city has also planted lawns along the ancient Grand Canal, as well as a 5,000-meter long greenbelt in an abandoned runway of the Yellow River.

An Export-Oriented Land of Rice and Fish

Covered by a network of water courses, Huai'an is rich in aquatic resources, including prawns, crabs, Chinese perch, turtles, and eels, and agricultural produce, such as rice, wheat, cotton, oil-bearing crops and timber. In recent years Huai'an has adjusted its agricultural structure according to market demand, consolidating its predominance in the sectors of vegetables, poultry and aquatic products. The city advocates standard production and agricultural industrialization, and Huai'an has now become a well known green food production base in China.

Huai'an is an emerging industrial city. Its pillar industries are metallurgy, machinery, textiles, chemicals and tobacco. The bio-engineering, pharmaceuticals, energy-saving, and environment-friendly and new materials sectors are also thriving. Some major enterprises such as the Huai'an Steel Group, Huaiyin Cigarette Factory and Qingjiang Petrochemical Group are among the first ranks of their respective industries in China.

Huai'an is also a key commodity distribution center on the Jianghuai Plain. Improvements in communications have markedly spurred the local economy, and the city now has some 50,000 retail outlets and 450 marketplaces of various kinds, 20 of which register an annual business volume of over 100 million yuan.

In recent years Huai'an has made great achievements in foreign trade and economic cooperation. It has established trade and economic ties with over 100 countries and regions, with more than 400 varieties of export products. Transnational companies and consortiums from 20 countries and regions have invested in Huai'an, and a total of eight development zones that feature preferential policies, complete infrastructure and, first-rate service have been set up in the city. These zones house businesses from countries and regions including the U.S., the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Egypt, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Today Huai'an is opening its door even wider by promoting contacts with foreign countries. It has been twinned with Gomel in Belarus, Cuenca in Equador, and cities in France, the U.S and ROK. It has moreover established friendly ties with over 30 countries and regions.

The 5 million people of Huai'an are striving towards their target to revitalize the local economy. Through carrying out the strategies of developing Huai'an through science and technology, industrialization, and opening up and reform, Huai'an is rapidly growing into a modern city with a booming economy and a beautiful environment.