Friday, October 17, 2008

Dongyang

Dongyang Traditional Chinese: 東陽, simplified Chinese: 东阳; pinyin: Dōngyáng) is a city of about 800,000 people in the middle of Zhejiang Province, about 200 kilometers south of Hangzhou. Dongyang lies in the central area of Zhejiang Province, covering an area of 1739 square kilometers. It administrates 11 towns, 1 county, 6 subdistrict offices, and it belongs to the Delta Economic Region of the Yangtze River. It has been ratified by the State Council as an open-up city and a famous cultural city with a long history in the central area of Zhejiang.



History



Dongyang county was first set up in 2nd year of XinPing Reign of East Han Dynasty around the late 2nd Century AD and known as Wuning .In 688 AD, the name was changed to Dongyang . The name Dongyang means "Eastern Sun".

Economy



Dongyang is famous for its numerous construction companies, the primary one being Zhongtian.
Dongyang is also famous for beautiful wood carvings and wooden statues. Dongyang is also famous for magnets,chemicals, plastics, garments and agriculture. The people of Dongyang are known for their knowledge and intellect and many people work as teachers in this city.

The reform and opening policy has accelerated development of economy, growth of comprehensive strength, enlargement of opening, change of city and country appearance, promotion of standard of people’s living. The city ranks among the top 100 counties in china, and the first well-off counties in Zhejiang Province .It is listed as one of the 17 cities with strong economic development, and of the first 13 highly civilized cities in zhejiang. In the year 2005, the city's GDP reached 15.984 billion RMB yuan , and its revenue added up to 1.379 billion RMB yan. The per capita disposable income for urban households totaled 13,349 RMB yuan , and the per capita net income for farmers amounted to 6,903 RMB yuan.

Industry is an important pillar for the economy of Dongyang. The city boasts a wide range of industrial sectors, led by electronic, machine building, magnetic material producing, and medical and chemical industries. At present, Dongyang has become the largest magnetic material production and exportation base in China. It is also the third largest medical and pharmaceutical city in Zhejiang, and boasts a group of leading companies in this sphere, such as Hengdian Kangyu Pharmaceutical Co.Ltd, Zhejiang Garden Biological High-tech Co.,Ltd, and Zhejiang Hansheng Pharmaceutical Co.Ltd.

Dongyang is experiencing a period of great growth, comparable to other regions and cities in Eastern China. Many new high rise apartments have been built, along with many new coffee bars, KTVs and other entertainments. In the city square , many couples on pleasant evenings dance to taped traditional and Chinese pop songs.

In the nearby sister city of Hengdian, there is a famous , where many films and TV shows about ancient China are made. Considered the Hollywood of the East, this vast movie set is a great day trip that is usually very quiet and empty. The movie set is home to a recreation of the Summer Palace, the Great Wall, an ancient Chinese Village and several small European Villages as well as a Pirate ship in a manmade lake. The movie Hero, starring Jet Li was filmed there, as well as the recent video game adaptation,



.

Miscellaneous



The people of Dongyang also pride themselves in having an excellent educational system. Many Dongyang people have excelled in academia and the sciences. Many professors from elite universities in the United States grew up in this city.

One of the famous names is professor Jianwei Pan, who graduated from Dongyang Number 1 High School, is now doing cutting edge research work on quantum physics.

Dongyang also has Baiyun Cultural Park, a place for relaxation with several representations of Daoism and Buddhism including a 50 foot statue. A beautiful place to relax and enjoy this interesting city.

Travel


Dongyang is approximately 5 hours by train from Shanghai, where it is also possible to catch a long-distance bus. Close to Dongyang is Yiwu, which is a 25 minute bus ride away. Hangzhou is approximately 2 hours travel from Dongyang.

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