By WU XINYI

Chahai Paleoanthropological Site, a Neolithic site dating back 7,600 years, known as "the first village of China."

FUXIN, in northwestern Liaoning Province, was one of China's earliest energy industrial bases. During the First Five-Year Plan period (1953-1957), four of the 156 national key energy projects were carried out here. Fuxin has made great contributions to China's economic development, but its coal deposits are now seriously depleted. In 2001, the Chinese State Council selected Fuxin for a trial economic transformation. This has created new opportunities for the Fuxin people.

A Matter of State Concern

Fuxin's development is an issue closely followed by Chinese state leaders, in particular former premier Zhu Rongji and former vice premier Li Lanqing. Having conferred with Fuxin's provincial leaders, on December 14, 2001 Li Lanqing and then vice premier Wu Bangguo presided over a State Council meeting and confirmed that there would be a trial reform of Fuxin's economic pattern. On March 12, 2003, Li Lanqing presided over the Third Meeting of the State Council on the Fuxin Economic Transformation and confirmed that Fuxin's economic transformation would continue under the new government.

Searching out a New Development Pattern

On visiting Fuxin it is not obvious that its main industry is coal mining. The air is fresh, buildings tall and the environment is green. It has an appearance similar to that of a southern Chinese city, but there are large areas of subsidence in the city as a result of prolonged coal mining. This has made a serious impact on the lives of Fuxin residents.

Coal miners made great contributions to the development of Fuxin.

The registered unemployment rate in Fuxin is the highest in the country. To date, 14 pairs of main mineshafts have been abandoned, and it is estimated that by 2007, the famous Haizhou opencast coalmine will also be abandoned. The city's industrial slow-down has also influenced the lives of the local people. From 1996 to 2000, the average annual GDP increase of Fuxin was just 2.7 percent -- lower than China's western regions, and the average per capita GDP was 3,650 yuan -- half the national average, and one third that of Liaoning Province. In 2000, Fuxin's revenue stood at 440 million yuan, making it the only one of Liaoning's 14 cities to receive a total financial subsidy from the provincial government.

The Fuxin government leaders have long sought a way out of this quandary. In July 2000, the city government began planning Fuxin's economic transformation, and in May 28 the following year, the transformation strategy was included in the city's Ninth CPC meeting report. On December 28, 2001, the State Council issued a document selecting Fuxin as trial city for economic transformation, for which it required the Fuxin city government to formulate new measures and policies. In early 2002, the city government made the decision to accelerate its pace of reform by developing agriculture and the service industry in the mining and urban areas. To strengthen its technological force it has formed cooperative partnerships with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China Agricultural University, Shenyang Academy of Agricultural Sciences and other research institutes.

Developing Modern Agriculture

There are still large areas of cultivated lands in Fuxin, and its soil, water and climate make it eminently suitable for agriculture. The local government has therefore decided to replace coal industry with agricultural product processing.

A street in Fuxin.

This economic transformation cannot occur without funds, and the city government is now open to investment, its leaders having traveled extensively as far as Japan, the Republic of Korea and Europe, to attract investors. Some 80 domestic and foreign agricultural enterprises have since come to Fuxin. These include the Shanghai Bright Dairy & Food, Beijing Shunxin Agriculture Co., Ltd., Shanghai Xinghui Vegetable Co., Ltd., and Shenyang Baoyan Enterprise. Local agricultural enterprises, like Xiangxiang Food and Wucai Grain, are also gradually growing. The Shanghai Dajiang (Group) Stock Co., Ltd., decided to move its 15 million chicken feeding project to Fuxin, and the Henan Shineway Group, which came to Fuxin four years ago, decided to double its investment in Fuxin.

Green agriculture is becoming Fuxin's new economic growth point. Five of the city's towns have been approved as green food and vegetable planting bases, and produce 15 registered green foods. Fuxin's agricultural products are a feature of the markets of Beijing, Shanghai and Shenyang, and are exported to Malaysia and the ROK. To make optimum use of cultivated land, agricultural gardens have been built in the suburban areas, providing employment opportunities for more than 3,000 laid-off workers. In 2001, the first year of Fuxin's economic transformation trial, the city's GDP increased by 8.5 percent, and in 2002 increased by 20.4 percent. Fuxin is now the fastest growing city in Liaoning Province.

Phalaenopsis garden.

Skilled application of science and technology guarantee rapid economic development. The Fuxin Agricultural Science Park was one of the first 21 agricultural parks approved by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology. The Fuxin Development Zone has also developed rapidly over the past three years, its 2002 financial revenue showing a 2.6-fold increase over that of 2000. Large domestic and foreign enterprises have initiated projects in the zone that will create for it an annual output value of 80 million yuan.

Finding Way out for the Old Industrial Area

Since 2001, the Fuxin city government has invested over 100 million yuan in cleaning up the Xi River, and in 2002 it was opened for tourism and as a place for the Fuxin people to go for summer leisure pursuits.

Fuxin is best known for its coal industry, but it also has a rich cultural heritage. The clif-side carvings on Haitang Mountain are a masterpiece of traditional Chinese folk art, and the Chahai Paleoanthropological Site is known as the "first village of China." Mayor Yao Zhiping is very optimistic about the future of his city, and is determined to bring new opportunities and a better life to Fuxin residents.