Rizhao is one of the first places in the country to see the golden hues of sunrise because of its geographical location in East China.

Located on the Yellow Sea, the city in East China's Shandong province is one of the eastern starting points of the new Eurasian Continental Bridge, making it a major station for Central Asian countries reaching out to sea, and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road extending to the West.

The 5,348-square-kilometer city stretches along the 168.5-km coastline and is home to 2.93 million people. With years of development, Rizhao has strengthens in several areas.

Massive cargo handling capacity

Rizhao Port has 56 berths for coal, ore, containers, crude oil and grains. With links to more than 100 countries and regions, the port's total throughput last year hit 353 million tons, ranking it 11th among the world's ports and the eighth among China's ports.

The port's throughput of iron ore, nickel ore, wood chips and soybean tops the list of Chinese ports.

According to the development plan for Rizhao Port approved by the Ministry of Transport and Shandong provincial government in 2009, the number of berths at Rizhao Port will reach 280, bringing the total throughput to 600 million tons.

Competitive industries

Industries at Rizhao Port have maintained brisk development for years. The city produces 12 million tons of steel every year, as well as 750,000 automobiles, 780,000 engines and 1 million automatic gearboxes. The city can produce 8.4 million tons of soybean oil each year, ranking it second in China in terms of soybean processing.

Rizhao has the world's largest production base of refined sugar. Annual sugar production has reached 2.4 million tons.

Coastal resort

Annual sunshine duration in Rizhao reaches 2,540 hours. The city is blessed with clean seas, golden beaches and large stretches of green space.

The city is home to a 4,000-year-old gingkgo tree and several renowned mountains, creating an ideal resort destination.

City of water sports

The city has a world-class 9.2-sq-km Olympic park for water sports. More than 40 world-class and national-class water sports competitions, including sailing competitions, the National Water Sports Games and the Laser Worlds 2013 have been held in the city.

Environmentally-friendly

More than 40 percent of the city is covered by forest.

Scientific research park

Eight universities and colleges, including Qufu Normal University and Shandong Sport University, have set up branches in Rizhao. Renowned Peking University and Tsinghua University also have research and production bases in the city. Rizhao was the first city named as a national pilot zone for attracting foreign professionals to develop its maritime economy.

Rich historical culture

Rizhao is one of the birthplaces of Longshan culture, which dates back to 3,000 BC. The city boasts 5,000 years experience in black pottery.

Rizhao was also home to many renowned Chinese, including Jiang Shang of the Western Zhou Dynasty (c.11th century- 771 BC) and Ding Zhaozhong, Nobel laureate in physics.

Green tea city

Rizhao is a major production base for peanuts, seafood and fruit. The city is one of China's four centers of aquatic product cultivation.

The city has 14,660 hectares of tea plantations, accounting for 60 percent of the total tea planting area in Shandong province. The city produces more than 10,000 tons of tea every year, accounting for 75 percent of the total tea production in the province.

The city's green tea, blueberry and mactra antiquata spengler, a kind of clam, are certified by the national trademark of geographical origin.

zhaoruixue@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/13/2015 page12)