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AnqingAnqing, a city with an urban population of 730,500, is situated in the southwestern part of Anhui province, bordering Hubei and Jiangxi. Dabie Mountain lies to the north of the city and the Yangtze to the south. The cities of Chizhou and Tongling are to the east, on the other side of the river, while Jiujiang is to the south.
Between 1760 and 1937, Anqing was the provincial capital of Anhui. It is best known as a city of culture, being the place where both Peking Opera and Huangmei Opera originated. It was also the birthplace of Chen Duxiu, one of the founding fathers of the Chinese Communist Party, Buddhist leader Zhao Puchu and Deng Jiaxuan, a pioneer of China’s nuclear industry.
Anqing is a major producer of cotton, grain and vegetable oil, and is one of the largest producers of freshwater fish on the Yangtze. Its most important industries are petrochemicals, machinery, textiles and construction materials. Copper and iron ore are the area’s principal natural resources.
The birthplace of China’s first steamboat, Anqing has a long history of shipbuilding and ship repair, particularly of medium-sized and small vessels. In an effort to rejuvenate the industry, one of the city’s deputy mayors is spearheading a drive to attract foreign investors to the Westgate Shipbuilding Base.
Sinopec Anqing Co is a major petrochemical producer with a workforce of 3,900. With a base covering an area of 10 sq km in the northwestern outskirts of the city, its major products include fertiliser, chemical products and acrylic fibres. The Anqing TP Goetze Piston Ring is a joint venture between Anqing Piston Ring, Teikoku Piston Ring of Japan and Federal-Mogul of the US. It is one of the largest and most technologically advanced producers of piston rings in China.
There are 10 investment zones in Anqing, of which the most important is Anqing ETDZ. Officially opened in 1992, the ETDZ is situated in the northern suburbs of the city. Major industries include machinery, automotive components, textiles, petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals. The number of FIEs and the total of foreign investment in the ETDZ each account for one-third of the city’s total. However, there are still few big-name foreign investors.
Three national highways pass through Anqing: the 105 (Beijing-Zhuhai), the 206 (Yantai-Shantou) and the 318 (which runs all the way from Shanghai to Nielamu in Tibet). An additional five expressways passing through or near the city have recently been built or are under construction.
The Anqing Yangtze Bridge and the Anqing section of the Shanghai-Chengdu Expressway are operational, while the Hefei-Tongling-Huangshan Expressway that opened in September 2007 has reduced the journey time between Hefei and Huangshan from six hours to three hours. The Yangtze Riverside Expressway and the Dongying-Hong Kong Expressway (due to open in 2009) also pass through Anqing.
The Hefei-Jiujiang Railway, a branch of the Beijing-Kowloon line, runs through the city. It provides freight and passenger connections to the rest of the country, and connects Anqing with Beijing, Hefei, Nanjing, Suzhou, Guangzhou and Shanghai. The Hefei-Wuhan Railway is expected to operate services in 2009.
The Nanjing-Anqing intercity railway should be completed by 2010. The 250km line will be double-tracked for passenger transportation.
Anqing airport was originally a military facility, but in 1993 the local government allowed it to become a civilian airport. It was subsequently acquired by Hainan Airlines, which changed the name to Tianzhushan Airport, after the famous mountain near the city. Regular services operate to Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xiamen.
Anqing is one of five Category One ports in Anhui and the only one on the northern bank of the river. A series of reefs near Anqing was removed by controlled explosions in 2007. Until this time, they were a significant impediment to shipping.
The state-owned Anqing Port Corporation owns several terminals in the city, including Wulimiao, the major public terminal in its portfolio. The port handles coal, oil, metals, cement, fertiliser and raw chemicals for domestic markets, and timber, fertiliser, machinery, electrical goods, raw chemicals, medical products and fish products for export.
The local government plans to spend five to 15 years setting up a large-scale logistics park in the port area. The park will comprise five main elements: a logistics centre, a shipbuilding base and the three terminals of Wulimiao, Mawo and Changfeng.
Wulimiao terminal will focus mainly on foreign trade and container handling. In 2006, the provincial government approved a feasibility study for the first phase of Mawo terminal, a new bulk cargo facility. This terminal will focus on commodities such as coal and cement clinker, and is designed to serve major industrial enterprises such as Anqing Power Plant and Conch Group, the Wuhu-based cement producer, which has a plant in Anqing.
The construction of a new terminal in Changfeng county, in the east of Anqing, was approved by the provincial government in July 2007. Apart from bulk goods transferred from Wulimiao terminal, it will handle mainly raw materials and finished goods for companies located in the industrial park, such as construction materials, textiles, auto parts and paper.
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