Nanning, China（Shot by Liao Jianning）

　　Nanning, China（Shot by Tan Jiaqiang）

　　Nanning, China

　　Nanning, China

　　Nanning, China 

Nanning, also known as “Yong”, is the capital city and the center of politics, economy, transportation, science, education, culture, public health, finance and information of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. As the forefront city for China’s opening up to and cooperation with ASEAN countries and the permanent venue for China-ASEAN Expo, it is also a core city in Beibu Gulf Economic Zone and an important gateway for the Belt and Road Initiative. Nanning has jurisdiction over seven urban districts, five counties, and three state-level development zones, namely Nanning High-tech Industry Development Zone, Nanning Economic and Technological Development Zone, and Guangxi-ASEAN Economic and Technological Development Zone. Nanning is also known as the Paradise of Folk Songs for the world-famous annual International Folk Song Arts Festival held in the city.

History

Nanning is a time-honored city with rich culture developed through a long history of 1700 years. In 318 A.D., Nanning was established as the capital of Jinxing Jun, marking the start of Nanning’s administration history. It became the capital city of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, which was established in March, 1958.

Geographical Location

Blessed with unique location in the South of Guangxi in the subtropical zone, Nanning lies to the south of the Tropic of Cancer, faces Beibu Gulf and Southeast Asia in the south, links with the Southwest of China in the west, and connects with Guangdong Province and Hong Kong and Macao SARs in the east. It is favorably located at the junction of South China Economic Rim, Southwest China Economic Rim and China-ASEAN Economic Rim. It also lies significantly at the joint of the Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation Zone, the Greater Mekong River Sub-region Cooperation Zone and the Pan-Pearl River Cooperation Zone.

Population and Ethnic Groups

Nanning has a multi-ethnic population with the Zhuang people as the majority and 50 ethnic groups, including Han, Yao, Miao and Dong, etc. By the end of 2019, the registered population in Nanning reached 7.8197 million, 111,400 more than that of the previous year, increasing by 1.4%.

Advantageous Resources

Located in the subtropical zone and surrounded by lush mountains and lucid water, Nanning has a dense growth of evergreen trees and fragrant fruits. Grasses and flowers flourish all year round regardless of the season. Nanning boasts 21 National 4A-rated Scenic Spots and above, including Qingxiu Mountain (5A) and Daming Mountain Scenic Area.

Transportation

Nanning has an extensive transport system as it is close to rivers, seashores and borders, and has built a well-developed transportation network of highways, railways, flights and waterways. The new terminal of Wuxu International Airport was completed and put into use in 2014, connecting Nanning with capitals of ASEAN states and major cities in China. High-speed rails have linked Nanning with 16 provinces and cities in China and 11 cities in Guangxi Region. Nanning Port, allowing the passage of 2000-ton cargo ships to travel directly to Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, has 105 berths in operation and 17.18 million tons of annual throughput capacity, making it an important port of Xijiang Golden Waterway.

Economy and Society

In 2019, Nanning registered a total GDP increase of 5.0% at comparable price, topping 450.656 billion yuan. The gross value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishery and services was 82.558 billion yuan, up by 4.2% over the previous year. The industrial output and total fixed asset investment grew respectively by 1.4% and 9.9% over the previous year. Total retail sales of consumer goods was 230.741 billion yuan, grew by 4.2%. Total freight and passenger volume hit 413.244 million and 95.202 million, up by 7.7% and 0.5% respectively over 2018. Total import and export value reached 74.779 billion yuan, up by 1.0% compared with the previous year. Fiscal revenue recorded 80.069 billion yuan, jumping by 6.3% over the previous year.

Industrial transformation and upgrading are accelerating. The aluminum products for aerospace and high-speed railways developed by Alnan Aluminium Co., Ltd. have reached the international advanced level, and the advanced equipment manufacturing industry has made historic breakthroughs and made it possible to produce metro trains and buses in Nanning. Nanning Zhongguancun Innovation Demonstration Base was unveiled and put into use. A number of Global 500 companies and leading enterprises have settled in the base. In the past five years, Nanning has introduced 19 Global 500 enterprises, including IKEA of Sweden, Chalco, GLP of Singapore, Amazon, Jiaxing Group and Greenland Group, and 38 top 500 domestic enterprises and leading enterprises in specific industry, such as EVOC Group, Neptunus, CRRC and Scisky.

Nanning is expanding its influence. China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business & Investment Summit have been successfully held for 16 sessions. China-ASEAN Expo has become one of the Top 3 Convention and Exhibition Events of China. Nanning has successfully hosted many international events, such as the 45th World Gymnastics Championships, China-Vietnam Youth Festival, China Cup International Football Invitational Tournament, China 2016 Asian International Stamp Exhibition, the 12th China (Nanning) International Garden Expo and the 7th China-Central Asia Cooperation Forum.

In August 2019, the establishment of China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone (119.99 km²) was approved, with the Nanning Area (46.8 km²) based in Wuxiang New District, which will focus on the development of modern services such as modern finance, smart logistics, digital economy, culture and media, and emerging manufacturing industries, in an effort to build this area into a core gateway for financial cooperation with ASEAN and a key node of the New International Land-sea Trade Corridor.

City Honors

Nanning has won the honors of “National Civilized City”, “National Clean City”, “UN Habitat Scroll of Honors”, "China Baosteel Environment Prize”, “China Habitat Environment Prize”, “China Excellent Tourism City”, “National Water-saving City”, “Forbes Best Business City in China Mainland”, China’s “City of Regimen and Leisure”, “China’s Top-10 Happiest City” etc.