Zhongshang - How to Create Chinese Tycoons

Author: Wang Hongyi / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features:
(1) Natural Geography and History of Zhejiang Province
Zhejiang Province is located on the southeastern coast of China and the southern wing of the Yangtze River Delta. It borders China's largest city, Shanghai, to the northeast. The provincial capital, Hangzhou, is 130 kilometers away from Shanghai by highway. Zhejiang covers a land area of 101,800 square kilometers and a sea area of 260,000 square kilometers. The mainland coastline and island coastline extend for 6,500 kilometers, accounting for 20.3% of China's total coastline and ranking first in China. The province has 3,061 islands larger than 500 square meters, making it the province with the most islands in China. Zhejiang is home to famous mountains such as Yandang Mountain, Putuo Mountain, Xuexiu Mountain, Tianmu Mountain, and Tiantai Mountain, as well as famous lakes like West Lake in Hangzhou, Dong Lake in Shaoxing, and Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing. The province also boasts the largest artificial lake in China—Qiandao Lake in Hangzhou—as well as famous rivers like the Qiantang River and Nanxi River. The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal passes through the northern part of Zhejiang and merges with the Qiantang River in Hangzhou. Zhejiang has a subtropical monsoon climate with distinct seasons, abundant sunshine, and ample rainfall. The average annual temperature is between 15°C and 19°C. January is the coldest month of the year, while July is the warmest. May and June are the concentrated rainy seasons. In terms of water resources per unit area, Zhejiang ranks fourth in China. The province is rich in economic forests and bamboo resources, with bamboo production ranking among the top in the country. It is also known for its high-quality specialty products, such as tea, mulberry, and tangerines, which are renowned both domestically and internationally. The province produces more than 70% of the country's nuts like mountain walnuts and fragrant walnuts. Zhejiang has a rich variety of tree species and is known as China's "Southeast Botanical Treasury." Over 50 wild plant species, including the "living fossil" ginkgo, are listed in the national rare and protected plant list. There are 1,900 known wildlife species in Zhejiang, of which more than 120 are listed in the national key protected wildlife list, accounting for one-third of China's protected wildlife species. Zhejiang's mineral resources are primarily non-metallic. Among the minerals with proven reserves, stone coal, alunite, pyrophyllite, and construction-grade tuff rank first in China, while fluorite ranks second. The continental shelf is rich in oil and natural gas resources, with promising development prospects. Zhejiang's coastal waters are abundant in fishery resources, and Zhoushan Archipelago is the largest marine fishery base in China. Zhejiang is administratively divided into 11 prefecture-level cities: Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Jiaxing, Huzhou, Shaoxing, Taizhou, Jinhua, Quzhou, Lishui, and Zhoushan. It includes 36 counties, 22 county-level cities, and 32 urban districts. Zhejiang has a long history. As early as the Old Stone Age 50,000 years ago, primitive humans known as the "Jiande People" lived in the western mountainous areas of what is now Zhejiang. During the Neolithic Age, human activities in Zhejiang were widespread. Over 100 Neolithic sites have been discovered in the province. During the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD), Zhejiang had a provincial-level administrative system. In the first year of Qianyuan (758 AD) during the reign of Emperor Shaozong of the Tang Dynasty, Zhejiang began to take shape as a provincial-level administrative region. The Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279 AD) established its capital in Lin'an (now Hangzhou) for 150 years. During the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 AD), the name "Zhejiang Province" was officially used. Historically, Zhejiang was economically prosperous. Its silk, porcelain, papermaking, printing, and shipbuilding industries were among the leading ones in the country at the time. Zhejiang has produced many outstanding figures. Thinkers like Wang Chong, Wang Yangming, Huang Zongxi, and Gong Zizhen, poets such as He Zhizhang, Luo Binwang, Meng Jiao, and Lu You, scientist Shen Kuo, and dramatists like Li Yu and Hong Sheng are all notable examples. In the 20th century, literary giants such as Lu Xun and Mao Dun, educator Cai Yuanpei, and renowned scientists Mao Yisheng, Zhu Kezhen, Qian Xuesen, and Chen Shengshen, as well as figures like Li Shu Tong, Wang Guowei, Xia Yan, Ai Qing, Xu Zhimo, Chen Wangdao, and Ma Yinchi, were all from Zhejiang.
(2) Overview of Zhejiang's Economic Development Since the reform and opening-up, Zhejiang has developed a unique path that suits its local conditions and has become one of the fastest-growing and most dynamic provinces in China. It is remarkable that Zhejiang achieved rapid economic growth despite its inherent resource disadvantages. Compared to other regions, Zhejiang is relatively resource-poor and has historically received limited state investment. However, the people of Zhejiang did not wait for or rely on external support; instead, they leveraged their traditional business acumen, demonstrated perseverance and entrepreneurial spirit, and engaged in practical efforts across the country. As a result, the province has maintained high-speed economic growth for over 20 years, significantly enhancing its comprehensive strength and becoming one of the most competitive provinces in China. What are the key factors behind Zhejiang's success? For a region's economy to grow rapidly, it must be pragmatic, tailored to local conditions, leverage comparative advantages, set clear development goals, and find a path that suits its specific circumstances. Since the reform and opening-up, Zhejiang's remarkable development has been largely due to its regions fully utilizing their commercial strengths. For example, Yiwu, despite lacking geographical advantages, has cultivated the world's largest daily consumer goods market. Yiwu is located in central Zhejiang, far from the coast and major cities, with no geographical or transportation advantages. However, today, Yiwu has become a "sea of small commodities and a paradise for shoppers," the largest single-market in the world, and its market structure has evolved from a traditional rural fair to a modern, commercialized, and internationalized specialized market. Yiwu pioneered the opening of urban-rural markets, land-use rights reforms, and investment and financing system reforms, leading to the rapid rise of the private economy and the formation of a highly dynamic social and economic system. In recent years, with the expansion of its specialized markets, Yiwu's open economy has grown rapidly, and its level of internationalization has improved significantly. In the coordinated development of its characteristic industries, the market drives industry, and industry supports the market, forming a close symbiotic relationship, which is unique to Yiwu. Leveraging its strong commercial capital, sensitive market information, and abundant business talent, Yiwu actively implements strategies such as "attracting commerce to industry" and "linking trade with industry." It guides private entrepreneurs and commercial capital to use their market information and sales networks to expand into industry, vigorously developing small commodity manufacturing closely linked to the market, thereby promoting the scale expansion and industrial upgrading of the industrial sector. P3-5