September 2015
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Contents
Highways paved with gold
China’s push for a New Silk Road under its ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative has been described
as the most important economic development of the 21st century. But can President Xi
Jinping deliver on his lavish promise of a new world order in trade and commerce?
3
2
Crossing continents
The New Silk Road is not a single thoroughfare but — like its ancient
predecessor — a long and winding network of cross-continental trade routes by
road, rail and sea that will impact upon the lives and livelihoods of billions of
people
Milestones along the New Silk Road
6
5
Xining City Guide
Xining Municipal People’s Government
History-making Hangzhou is China’s best city
Its famous West Lake has been celebrated by poets and writers since the ninth
century. Now Hangzhou — which will host the 2022 Asian Games — has
been named Best China City 2015 in the first survey of its kind by Euromoney
17
16
China cities 2015: results
The New Silk Road
Highways paved with gold
China’s push for a New Silk Road under its ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative
has been described as the most important economic development of the
21st century. But can President Xi Jinping deliver on his lavish promise of
a new world order in trade and commerce?
CHINA’S PRESIDENT XI Jinping is a leader of sweeping ambition
worth of infrastructure projects are under way in neighbouring
and grandiose ideas. Soon after he came to office in 2012, he
Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, and a major new
spoke of the ‘Chinese Dream’ – an expression that quickly
port to export goods originating from Central Asia is being
became a mantra recited by officials to characterize a bold new
constructed in eastern China.
China striding out on the world stage.
Meanwhile, in key cities along the route, such as Xining on the
That dream, Xi and Communist Party experts explained, was
edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, where three key high-speed
one of national rejuvenation, improving people’s livelihoods and
rail lines converge, transformative infrastructure and building
building a better society and a stronger military. Its aims were
programmes are under way to prepare for a rush of new business.
prosperity, socialism, collective
effort and national glory.
First build the roads
Whatever the philosophy, the
Tian Guoli, chairman of
“Xi’s big idea is to create a New Silk Road –
most concrete manifestation
the Bank of China, which
restoring and revitalizing the ancient trade
of the concept is surely the
is investing $100 billion in
potentially world-shaking
loans for works along the New
routes across Asia, the Middle East and Europe by
initiative the president
Silk Road over the next three
road, by rail and by sea”
announced months after the
years, summed up the thinking
Chinese Dream came into
behind the grand plan. “The
circulation – ‘One Belt, One Road’.
Chinese have a saying: ‘If you
Xi’s big idea is to create a New Silk Road – restoring and
want to get rich, you have to first build the roads’,” he said in an
revitalizing the ancient trade routes across Asia, the Middle East
interview with state media. Countries along the route might be
and Europe by road, by rail and by sea, opening a new era of
relatively underdeveloped but they have enormous potential, he
commercial opportunity from eastern China to Western Europe,
said. “The epicentre of development will move towards the east
Africa and beyond.
ultimately and Xi is just summarizing this trend,” Tian said.
The concept is truly epic in scale. According to China, the
creation of a New Silk Road will benefit 4.4 billion people – 63%
In harmony?
of the world’s population – in 65 countries and generate trade of
Inevitably, the scope of the initiative has triggered concern
$2.5 trillion over the next 10 years.
and suspicion in some quarters that the New Silk Road has the
potential to spread Chinese hegemony and increase its naval
The biggest market in the world
strength in historically disputed parts of Asia.
Xi described the economic belt along the New Silk Road as “the
Foreign minister Wang Yi dismissed this, saying that rather
biggest market in the world” and said in his speech announcing
than a solo project by China the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative
the initiative: “This will be a great undertaking benefiting the
was a “symphony” performed by all the countries along the New
people of all countries along the route.”
Silk Road – although whether they remain in harmony long
The rich rhetoric is backed by hard cash. Since announcing
enough to reap its rewards remains to be seen.
the idea in September 2013, Xi has overseen the establishment
The real tests of this Chinese Dream in action will not be
of a $40 billion infrastructure investment fund to fund work
China’s proven ability to perform infrastructure miracles but its
across the region.
ability to forge closer diplomatic as well as economic ties with the
China has also set up the Asian Infrastructure Investment
countries along the route of the New Silk Road and the sheer cost
Bank, headquartered in Beijing and supported by 57
of the works. Does China have deep enough pockets to withstand
countries, and contracted an estimated $250 billion worth of
the winds of economic slowdown and maintain its commitment
infrastructure projects. Overseas loans since the September
to the project, and does it have enough capable diplomats to
2013 speech have been dominated by countries along the
smooth the path to development for mutual benefit?
route, a recent study found.
Those are the questions that will ultimately determine
The foundations of the New Silk Road are already being laid.
whether the New Silk Road is the route to a brave future for
Harbours are being built in Sri Lanka, tens of billions of dollars’
global commerce or a rhetorical road to nowhere.
2
SPECIAL REPORT : CHINA CITIES · September 2015
www.euromoney.com
Crossing continents
The New Silk Road is not a single thoroughfare but – like its ancient
predecessor – a long and winding network of cross-continental
trade routes by road, rail and sea that will impact upon the lives
and livelihoods of billions of people
THE NAME CARRIES with it the weight of history, evoking a
lost world of eastern empires, camel trains carrying cargoes
of spices and perfumes, Arabian nights and endless journeys
across deserts, mountains and through mysterious hidden
kingdoms.
The Silk Road is as much a place of the imagination as a
historic trade route – recalling an era of adventure, discovery,
romance and enough exotic promise to capture the emotion as
well as the intellect.
Small wonder then that when President Xi Jinping – in the
unlikely setting of Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan –
announced his ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative to create a New
Silk Road in September 2013, it set off a storm of interest and
speculation.
Who would pay for the vast infrastructure works needed to
recreate the ancient trade route in a modern context? Who
would tackle the regional differences of opinion that might
block it? What were China’s political objectives in opening up a
New Silk Road?
China has wasted little time in getting the project started and
setting up the funding bodies to pay for its various stages, while
at the same time ramping up its diplomacy to ward off fears of
Chinese hegemony and military influence along the routes.
Eastern promise
The New Silk Road is not a single trade artery but a complex
lattice of road, rail and sea routes that connect China to
Central Asia, southern Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe and Africa,
potentially reaching some two thirds of the world’s population.
In February, just 16 months after the ‘One Belt, One Road’
policy was made public, China released detailed maps and
costings showing how the New Silk Road would meander out to
65 countries to smooth the path of global commerce.
One Belt,
Road
TheOne
maps
produced by China show a land route tracing much
of the ancient route. It begins in Xian in northwest China before
Source: CLSA
stretching out west through Urumqi to Central Asia. It then goes to
northern Iran before swinging west through Iraq, Syria and Turkey.
From Istanbul it crosses the Bosporus and heads northwest
through Europe, including Germany and the Netherlands, and
then heads south to Venice in Italy. Meanwhile, branches of the
New Silk Road pass through Lhasa to Nepal and southern Asia
and through southern Xinjiang province to Central Asia.
The maritime route, meanwhile, begins in Quanzhou in
China’s Fujian province and heads south to the Malacca Strait.
From Kuala Lumpur it heads to India and then crosses the
Indian Ocean to Nairobi. From Nairobi it goes north round the
Horn of Africa and through the Red Sea into the Mediterranean,
ONE BELT, ONE ROAD
Moscow
Russia
Istanbul
Turkey
Venice
Italy
Urumqi
China
XiʼAn
China
Fuzhou
China
One belt
Nairobi
Kenya
One road
Kuala Lumpur
M alaysia
Source: CLSA
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SPECIAL REPORT : CHINA CITIES · September 2015
3
The New Silk Road
meeting the land-based Silk Road in Venice.
Perhaps deliberately, the routes chosen appear to ignore
present-day realities in countries like Iran and Syria. They put
Venice back in its historic position as a trading hub for Europe
rather than a city of summer crowds and gondola rides.
Historic awareness
By faithfully respecting and sticking to the ancient route, the
New Silk Road will reopen trade networks that have in some
cases been closed by warfare, disease and development of new
shipping routes for more than 500 years.
The ancient Silk Road stretched 4,000 miles from eastern
China to the Mediterranean. It took its name from the Chinese
silk first carried along it more than 2,000 years ago at the time
of the Han Dynasty. For centuries, its network of land and sea
routes carried rich cargoes from east to west and west to east,
flourishing under the Roman empire, the Byzantine empire and
even under the Mongol domination of Asia.
The Silk Road played a major part in the economic and
social development of China, Persia, Africa and the Indian
subcontinent, forging political and commercial relations
between countries that were continents apart in an era of slow
long-distance travel.
It nurtured the formidable reputations for trading of many
different nationalities including the Chinese, Greeks, Persians,
Somalis, Armenians, Indians and Arabs and inspired the 13th
century travels of Marco Polo through China, Mongolia and
Southeast Asia.
But the influence and importance of the ancient Silk Road began
to crumble when the Mongol empire fell apart. Warlords seized
territory along the western part of the route and political powers
along the Silk Road became economically and culturally distant.
The Black Death sealed sections of the route for fear of disease
spreading. The transport of gunpowder and modern weaponry
along the Silk Road led to security fears and tighter border controls.
European maritime exchanges led to a decline in trade along
the Silk Road and it stopped serving as a shipping route for silk
in 1453 when the Ottoman rulers at Constantinople blocked
trade with the west.
Funding vehicles
Half a millennium on, China’s concern is how to fund the New
Silk Road and its plan for infrastructure projects along the route
to be financed by three key sources – the Silk Road Infrastructure
Fund, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the New
Development Bank.
Launched in February 2014, the $40 billion Silk Road
Infrastructure Fund is capitalized by China’s forex reserves and
managed in a similar way to a sovereign wealth fund. The Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched in October 2014, is
intended to be a global development bank. Headquartered in
Beijing, it already has the support of more than 50 countries and
territories inside and outside the region.
The New Development Bank is a multilateral development
bank established in July 2014 and based in Shanghai with an
initial $50 billion seeding by China, India, South Africa, Brazil
and Russia – each with an equal share of control.
4
SPECIAL REPORT : CHINA CITIES · September 2015
Those arrangements have already caused some friction in
the West as the three new funding bodies are seen in some
quarters as alternatives to the established World Bank, Asian
Development Bank and International Monetary Fund.
In a report on the ‘One Belt, One Road’ project, excitedly
titled ‘A Brilliant Plan’, Asia brokerage and investment group
CLSA suggests that the initiative may be founded more in
diplomatic expediency than in a dreamy reimagining of past
trade pacts and partnerships.
“There are compelling geopolitical reasons, such as energy
security, for China to push ahead with its plans at a time when
its trading partners are potentially excluding it from strategic
agreements,” says the report, which was discussed at a major
investors’ forum in Hong Kong in September.
“Trans-Pacific Partnership countries, the Transatlantic Trade
and Investment Partnership and the EU-Japan agreement show
comprehensive liberalisation agendas, but do not include China
and have the potential to increase trading costs.”
Under the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative, China plans to
negotiate free-trade agreements with 65 countries along the
route, the report says – significantly more than the total number
of such agreements it currently has.
Reaping benefits
The New Silk road would also have significant benefits for
China’s domestic economy, according to the CLSA report.
“China’s top priority is to stimulate the domestic economy via
exports from industries with major overcapacity such as steel,
cement and aluminium,” it said.
“Many will be build-transfer-operate schemes in which
large SOEs will lead the way, but smaller companies will
follow. The domestic plan divides China into five regions with
infrastructure plans to connect with neighbouring countries
and increase connectivity.”
A briefing by David Beaves, senior partner at international
commercial law firm Ince & Co, described the ‘One Belt, One
Road’ policy as “the most important economic event of the
21st century” but agreed that it was driven largely by China’s
own interests.
“It is all about selling Chinese products and commodities
and securing supply points,” he said, pointing out that in the
maritime route, China was seeking a diversification of trade routes
by investing in ports such as Colombo in Sri Lanka. The reason
for this was that the Malacca Strait had long been a source of
concern to China as a potential “choke point” for its trade with
around 70% of China’s imported oil passing through it.
Whatever the underlying motives, there is no question that
the New Silk Road project is the most flamboyant and significant
manifestation yet of China’s assertive role on the world stage.
In May this year, just 20 months after his landmark speech
announcing the ‘One Belt, One Road’ policy, President Xi
Jinping was back in Kazakhstan to discuss the progress of the
New Silk Road. He carried on to Russia and Belarus, two other
vital allies on the route.
The foundations are in place – and the engineer of this
potentially world-changing project is impatient to see the New
Silk Road take shape.
www.euromoney.com
Milestones along the New Silk Road
China has turned the concept of a New Silk Road from rhetoric to practical reality in the two years since the
initiative was revealed by Xi Jinping. Here are some of the key dates along the journey so far.
September 2013: Chinese President Xi Jinping announces
the concept of a Silk Road Economic Belt covering China and
Central Asia for the first time during a visit to neighbouring
Kazakhstan. Speaking at the Nazarbayev University in
Astana, he says the area covered is the biggest market in the
world and describes the New Silk Road initiative as “a great
undertaking benefitting the people of all countries along the
route”. This is the first public mention by a Chinese official
of the strategic vision.
October 2013: In his maiden Southeast Asian tour, President
Xi proposes a new Maritime Silk Road in a speech to the
Indonesian parliament, and also proposes the establishment
of an Asian Infrastructure Bank to finance infrastructure
construction and promote regional economic integration.
November 2013: The Central Committee of the Communist
Party endorses the New Silk Road initiative and calls for the
accelerating of infrastructure links among neighbouring
countries to make it possible.
December 2013: President Xi, speaking at the Communist
Party’s Central Economic Work Conference, calls for strategic
planning for the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative and speaks
of building a “community of common interests” along the
route.
February 2014: President Xi and Russian President Vladimir
Putin agree to work together on the New Silk Road project
and to connect the routes to Russia’s railway network
stretching from Asia to Europe.
March 2014: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivers a
government work report in which he calls for a speeding
up of construction work on the New Silk Road routes. The
report also cites the need for balanced development of the
Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor and the
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
May 2014: The Marine Silk Road begins to take shape as the
first phase of a $98 million logistics terminal in the port of
Lianyungang in China’s Jiangsu province goes into operation.
The terminal is designed to be a base for goods travelling
along the New Silk Road from Central Asia to travel on to
overseas markets.
October 2014: Twenty-one Asian countries sign up as
founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment
Bank and, in a memorandum of understanding, agree that
Beijing will be the base for the bank’s headquarters when it is
formally established at the end of 2015.
November 2014: President Xi announces a Silk Road Fund to
pay for infrastructure and other projects targeting industrial
www.euromoney.com and financial cooperation between countries along the route
of the New Silk Road and pledges $40 billion to the fund
from China.
December 2014: The ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative is singled
out as a priority for the year ahead by the Central Economic
Work Conference. In the same month, China and Thailand
agree a draft memorandum of understanding on cooperation
over railways between the two countries.
January 2015: New Zealand, the Maldives, Tajikistan and
Saudi Arabia add their support to the Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank. By August, the number of regional and nonregional founding members of the bank will climb to 57.
February 2015: The Silk Road Fund goes into operation.
In the same month, China sets out a detailed vision of
the New Silk Road, spelling out its priorities as transport
infrastructure, increased trade and investment between
countries along the route along with cultural exchange and
financial cooperation.
March 2015: In a keynote address at the opening of the Boao
Forum on Hainan Island in China, President Xi outlines the
‘One Belt, One Road’ strategy to an international audience.
He says: “The programmes will be open and inclusive, not
exclusive. They will be a real chorus comprising all countries
along the routes.”
March 2015: Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi says China
will focus its international diplomatic efforts in 2015 on the
New Silk Road initiative and dismissed comparisons between
the ‘One Belt, One Road’ policy and the US Marshall Plan
which saw the US funding post-war economic recovery in
Europe.
May 2015: President Xi returns to Kazakhstan, where he first
announced the ‘One Belt, One Road’ policy, and also visits
Russia and Belarus to discuss cooperation over the New Silk
Road.
June 2015: A study by a London-based investment bank
finds that the majority of 67 overseas loan commitments
since late 2013 made by China’s largest policy lenders – the
China Development Bank and the China Ex-Im Bank –
have been in areas that fall under the ‘One Belt, One Road’
strategy. The bank calculates that infrastructure project
loans accounted for 52% of the loans and trade finance for
30% with the value of the 67 loans totalling $49.9 billion.
September 2015: A major international auditing firm estimates
that more than $250 billion worth of infrastructure projects
have been contracted since the launch of the ‘One Belt, One
Road’ strategy two years earlier.
SPECIAL REPORT : CHINA CITIES · September 2015
5
Xining City Guide
Xining - A city at the crossroads
of history
An introduction by Zhang Xiaorong, Mayor of Xining
Zhang Xiaorong, Mayor of Xining
I
t is a tremendous honour for
me to present this City Guide
of Xining to the readers of
Euromoney.
Xining is a city with a rich past
and a brilliant future. It is the capital
of Qinghai province in northwest
China and is known throughout the
country as the ‘cool city’ because of
its climate and high altitude. We have
a thriving industrial sector, a wealth of
natural resources, and we are visited
by 14 million tourists a year who
come here to enjoy the spectacular
natural beauty on our doorstep.
What makes our city so special
is its unique geography on the
edge of the vast and enchanting
Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Xining is
the gateway to Tibet and, critically, a
hub city on the New Silk Road that
China is creating under the ‘One
Belt, One Road’ policy announced
by President Xi Jinping in 2013.
Under this visionary policy,
global trade is being reshaped and
reimagined. High-speed express
railway lines and a network of
national highways are step by
step linking China to southern
Asia, Central Asia and Europe.The
process is opening up a new world
of commercial opportunity and
connecting hundreds of millions of
people from east and west – and
each of the key land routes along the
New Silk Road passes through Xining.
Throughout the centuries,
Xining has been a buzzing centre
of commerce and transportation
set at the heart of the ancient Silk
Road. Our position at a vital key
intersection of the great trade
route has given us a colourful
history and made our city a melting
pot of nationalities and religions.
We are a city where Muslims,
Buddhists, Taoists and people from
35 different national and ethnic
groups live and work side by side,
in harmony.
Our city’s character and
prosperity has been shaped in
part by our illustrious visitors.
In the seventh century, Princess
Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty
travelled through Xining on the
Silk Road to marry King Songtsan
Gampo of Tibet in a union that
introduced Chinese culture to
Tibet and opened up the Silk Road
to centuries of flourishing trade.
Today, Xining faces a new
challenge of history. We are
working tirelessly to enhance our
infrastructure and upgrade our
industry and commercial sector for
our role as a hub city on the New
Silk Road. Across Xining today, you
will see new homes, new roads
and new transportation links such
as our dazzling new railway station
catering to the high-speed rail
network that opened in December.
We are focusing our efforts on
making the best use of our natural
resources and developing our key
industries such as the production
of lithium batteries for electric
vehicles and the production of
Tibetan carpets, which are being
sold everywhere from Sydney to
Berlin to the US.
As the city’s mayor, however,
I am determined that as we
modernise, we safeguard our
ecology and ensure that we
create a green, liveable city for our
citizens and for the many people
who will come to Xining from
China and abroad in the years to
come. We have taken effective
steps to reduce air pollution, plant
trees, clear our roads of polluting
vehicles and create green spaces
across our city in recent years and
will continue that mission. Our
city will only prosper in future if it
cares for and nurtures its ecology
and environment.
In Xining today, we stand at the
crossroads of history. We have in
our hands a historic opportunity to
be part of an exciting new chapter
in the story not just of China but
of trade and commerce across the
continents. Our responsibility is to
rise to that challenge and play our
place in a world of exciting new
commercial and cultural connections
along the New Silk Road.
Many of you picking up this City
Guide to Xining – a city thousands
of miles away from your offices
and workplaces overseas – may
have heard little or nothing about
our city. As you will discover,
however, we are much closer than
you might imagine and we have
an extraordinary future ahead
of us, where our destinies are
intertwined.
The New Silk Road offers us a
way to overcome the barriers of
geography and nationality and hold
out the hand of friendship across
continents. Xining is opening up to
the world, and I hope you can join
us on the journey of discovery and
opportunity that lies ahead.
Xining City Guide
Creating a liveable, green city
Xining is a centre for culture as well as for commerce – and its leaders have seized on
the importance of creating a liveable, green city for its residents
A
t the Grand Theatre in
Xining, the ticket office
is doing brisk business as
it takes bookings for a
remarkably diverse line-up of events
that includes a performance by an
Australian company of Mozart’s
Marriage of Figaro and the ballroom
dancing sensation Burn The Floor.
Entertainment of this
cosmopolitan kind would have
been hard to imagine before the
striking new theatre complex
covering 36,000 square metres,
including a concert hall, theatre and
multifunctional hall opened in 2010
with a Mandarin-language version of
the Broadway hit Mamma Mia.
It was a runaway success, and
the theatre has since been serving
up a rich international diet of
entertainment for the residents of
Xining that will this autumn and
winter include the operas Carmen
and La Traviata.
Local heroes
Not all of the imported shows
attract sell-out crowds, one of
the theatre managers concedes.
“The market is still growing and
it still has a long way to go,” he
says diplomatically as we tour the
complex. “People in Xining still like
to see the Chinese stars most –
famous pianists for example – when
they come to perform here.”
But the venue is a community
venue and has a multitude of
uses. As we tour the complex,
the stage of the Grand Theatre is
being prepared for a Teacher’s Day
performance that will see some 800
students from the city perform to a
guaranteed sell-out audience.
The building of the theatre
complex is one of a number of
steps taken to upgrade the living
A wetland park in the
heart of Xining
environment in Xining in recent
years, transforming it from a relative
backwater to a frontline city on the
New Silk Road. That transformation
is being handled with an overriding
imperative in mind: to ensure Xining
is a green and liveable city as well
as a commerce hub for the new
wave of business with Central Asia
and beyond that the ‘One Belt, One
Road’ policy will bring.
in fresh air. You can feel the air is
full of oxygen. It is a very good
environment for people living and
working in the city. When they
come here they relax and feel good
about themselves.”
As he speaks, a procession of
young couples walks through the park
to have photographs taken ahead of
their weddings.The park has become
one of the favourite locations for
wedding shoots since it opened.
Green spaces
A quiet example of the policy
at work is in the wetland park
spanning two sides of one of three
rivers running through Xining. The
park with lush riverside walkways,
trees and picnic spots runs along
a 2.4km stretch of river and cost
RMB300 million to create.
Li Dongbing, a warden at the
park which opened two years ago
and is the biggest urban wetland
park in Qinghai province, says it has
become a much-loved recreational
resource for the city. “It was built as
part of our city government’s goal
to make Xining a happy, liveable
city. When you come here, you
can breathe easily and breathe
Cleaner air
Xining’s progressive mayor Zhang
Xiaorong is adamant that creating
a cleaner, greener environment is
critical to the city’s future prospects.
“I don’t believe Xining will attract
investors without clean air or a
beautiful environment,” he tells
Euromoney. “As a city set on a
high latitude, we see ecological
conservation as a priority. We are in
the west of China and the climate
is dry and we have a low level of
green cover.
“A beautiful city should have
good green cover and clear air and
that is why we make ecological
conservation a priority. The
competitiveness of our city depends
on our ecology. As mayor, I intend to
plant trees and tackle pollution.”
Because of its climate and setting
surrounded by mountains, Xining
used to rank as one of the most
polluted cities in China, but policies
of recent years have triggered a
remarkable change in the quality
of the city’s air. In 2013, Xining
recorded clear air days for just
over 60% of the year. In 2015, the
city expects to record clear air
days on an impressive 83.5% of
the year. “Pollution levels are much
lower than before,” says Zhang.
“We have shut down many heavy
polluting industries. We have also
adopted some measures to control
the dust pollution in construction
areas. We are taking 88,000 cars
with excessive pollution off the
roads every year. And our winter
calefaction is now natural gas
instead of coal.”
These measures – combined with
the continual upgrading of the city’s
facilities and cultural venues – are
aimed at ensuring that Xining is a
city where people want to live as
well as to work.
Xining City Guide
Small city is towering giant
of northwest
With nearly 2.3 million residents, Xining is a relatively small city in Chinese terms. But its influence
is immense and its contribution to the region’s economy far outweighs its size as a world of new
opportunity opens up along the New Silk Road
I
t is the most spectacular view in
Xining and arguably one of the
best views in northern China.
From the revolving restaurant
on the Pearl of Plateau tower high
above the city, you look out over
a strikingly unusual and distinctive
metropolis.
It takes the restaurant one
hour and forty minutes to do a
complete revolution. Start on the
right table and you can tuck into
your first course while gazing out
over a bustling cityscape spread out
in the bowl of a mountain valley
with high-rise tower blocks and a
maze of ultra-modern roads and
infrastructure. By the time you
get to dessert, you will be looking
out over magnificent and almost
deserted grasslands rolling towards
the horizon – the beginning of the
great Qinghai-Tibetan plateau that
stretches out from the very edges
of the city of Xining.
This breathtaking contrast – seen
from the RMB50 million tower
donated by the Shanghai municipal
government in 2008 and designed
by those responsible for the famous
Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Shanghai
– is the key to understanding the
uniqueness of Xining.
It is a city set amid the most
extraordinary geography with a
wealth of natural resources on its
doorstep and an economic and
social chemistry unlike anywhere
else in China. It is also a city with
a hugely important role to play
in the country’s ‘One Belt, One
Road’ approach as China builds the
foundation for a New Silk Road
Provincial heavyweight
“It is a city set amid
the most extraordinary
geography with a
wealth of natural
resources on its
doorstep and an
economic and social
chemistry unlike
anywhere else in
China”
Xining is the capital of Qinghai
province. It accounts for just
1.06% of the province’s area but
43.2% of its population. The Xining
population accounted for 46.8%
of the province’s GDP in 2014.
This year, the figure is expected to
rise to more than 50% as the city’s
dynamic growth continues apace.
GDP grew at an impressive rate
of between 13.5% and 15% a year
from 2011 to 2014. This year, city
officials predict GDP growth of 10%
– lower than in recent years but
comfortably higher than the national
average and 2-3% higher than the
rate for the rest of the province.
Consumer spending in Xining
accounts for 67.2% of spending for
the whole of Qinghai province.
When you look out from the
Pearl of Plateau tower at the
forbidding expanse beyond the
city’s borders, it is clear why there is
such a concentration of economic
power within the metropolitan
area. The city sits at 2,200 metres
above sea level while most parts of
Qinghai province are around 3,000
metres, making Xining a relatively
comfortable and liveable city
compared to the harsher highlands
surrounding it.
Beating heart
Xining is the beating heart of
Qinghai. It is the centre of politics,
economics, technology, culture,
transport, medicine and education.
All the universities of Qinghai
province are in Xining, as are all the
major hospitals.
Made up of four districts,
three counties and a nationallevel economic-technological
development area, Xining has
a total area of 7,665 square
kilometres, an urban area of 380
square kilometres and a resident
population of 2.29 million.
Because of its altitude and
climate, it is known nationally
as the ‘summer city’ or the
‘cool city’ – a powerful draw for
domestic tourism – and enjoys
unique advantages because of its
rich natural resources, abundant
hydropower potential, salt lakes,
minerals, oil and natural gas.
Most significantly, Xining is a
transport hub not just for the
province but for the western
channel of the New Silk Road.
With the Qinghai to Tibet and
the Lanzhou to Xinjiang highspeed railways completed, Xining’s
gleaming new RMB2.6 billion
railway station – which opened
in December 2014 – can handle
a freight volume of 73 million
tonnes a year. When a further
high-speed line to Chengdu and
Kunming opens as the next stage
of the network’s development, that
volume will climb to nearly 100
million tonnes.
Xining’s international airport has
a passenger throughput of 8 million
and handles 24,000 tonnes of cargo
a year. It operates 59 domestic
flights to all major cities across
China except Lanzhou, as well as
flights to Bangkok, Seoul and Taipei.
It is the most important airport in
northwest China.
Xining City Guide
Xining’s cityscape (left); employees work at the Qinghai Guoxin Aluminium Industry Incorporated Company workshop in Xining (right)
The Xining expressway
connects Lanzhou in the east,
Geermu (Golmud) in the west,
the Sanjiangyuan region in the
south and the Hexi corridor in
the north. With the Beijing-Tibet
expressway, two national roads and
12 other highways, Xining is a road
hub for the northwest of China
with 120,000km of road around it
connecting the region to central,
western and southern Asia.
Natural bounty
Few areas in China or the region
are blessed with such a wealth of
natural resources. A total of 129
minerals have been found in the
province, and the mineral resources
of the province are valued at
RMB17 trillion – 13% of China’s
total mineral resources.
The most striking feature of
the province is its astonishing salt
lakes, which provide China with
rich reserves of sodium chloride,
potassium chloride, magnesium salts,
lithium chloride and strontium ore
– accounting for 90% of national
reserves. Potassium salt in Qinghai
accounts for 79% of national
reserves and magnesium salt
accounts for 93.5%. Qinghai’s lithium
reserves account for one third of
the world’s reserves of saline lake
lithium resources, while lithium
chloride accounts for more than
90% of proven national reserves.
Qinghai also boasts rich reserves
of copper, lead, zinc, cobalt and
gold as well as the country’s leading
reserves of asbestos, quartzite
and limestone. Oil and natural gas
resources rank 13th and eighth
respectively in the country. Qinghai
has one of the top four gas fields
in China.
Qinghai is the source of three
major rivers – the Yellow, the
Yangtze and the Lancang – and has
a wealth of hydropower resources
as a result, particularly on the
Yellow and Yangtze rivers. Estimates
put the total hydropower reserves
of the province at 3.3% of the
national total.
Industrial muscle
The industrial muscle of Qinghai is
concentrated in Xining, which has
developed a network of industrial
zones in recent years including
Ganhe industrial park, Nanchuan
industrial park, Dongchuan
industrial, biological science and
technology industrial park and
Beichuan industrial park.
Xining has concentrated its
efforts in eight pillar industries:
new energy, new materials,
non-ferrous metal smelting and
processing, special chemicals, deep
processing of plateau animals
and plants, Tibetan carpets, wool
spinning, equipment manufacturing,
new building materials, energy
conservation and environmental
protection. Xining also serves as an
important producing base of special
steel, electrolytic aluminium, Tibetan
carpets and numerical control
machines for the whole of China.
Xining is also a base for the
burgeoning solar power industry,
with an annual output of 14,500
tonnes of polycrystalline silicon and
4,000 tonnes of monocrystalline
silicon as well as polysilicon
solar cells and photovoltaic (PV)
components. The city aims to
continue its development to
become an important new energy
base for China and the next step
will be to create a silicon materials
and PV manufacturing industry
chain.
Already, it is home to a rapidly
developing lithium battery
production centre – producing
batteries that power mobile phones
and the increasingly popular electric
vehicles seen in cities worldwide.
Xining has an annual output of
3,750 tonnes of li-ion battery
cathode materials.
The metals industry is also
extremely well developed in Xining.
The city has an output of 2.2 million
tonnes of electrolytic aluminium, 1.3
million tonnes of special steel and
1.2 million tonnes of steel, making
it a major domestic metal smelting
and deep processing base.
New horizons
With its meticulously planned
strategies for economic
development and its heady pace
of growth, Xining will continue to
rise in prominence as it enters a
new era of commerce under the
national ‘One Belt, One Road’ policy.
That policy makes the pace
of development and the sense
of vision critical in reshaping the
city’s infrastructure, economy
and industrial base to meet the
challenges and opportunities that
lie ahead on the New Silk Road.
As its modernization and
development continues, the view
across the city for visitors to the
revolving restaurant at the top
of the Pearl of Plateau tower will
become even more dazzling and
impressive.
Xining City Guide
Magical appeal of Tibetan carpets
The traditional handicraft of making Tibetan carpets has been transformed into a multi-million-dollar
industry in Xining – and the opening of the New Silk Road will see the carpets flying to new markets
throughout the world
I
n a vast aircraft-hangar sized
workshop on the southern
outskirts of Xining, hundreds of
women toil on gigantic imported
mechanical looms as fine carpets
of every imaginable size, colour and
design are slowly woven together.
Outside the factory gates,
thousands more women in homes
across Xining use small hand looms
to make individual carpets, expertly
working the wool as they produce
the exotic and unique carpets that
have been made by their ancestors
in Qinghai and Tibet for centuries.
Meanwhile, more than 7,000km
away in St Petersburg, customers
line up to buy the carpets in one
of the first of a chain of overseas
shops that cater to global demand.
These three threads – the
factory and homes in Xining and
the shop in St Petersburg –tell the
colourful story of the successful
commercialization of a traditional
skill that is now spreading from
Qinghai’s capital Xining around the
world. In a hi-tech world where
business is done at the push of a
button, it is the refreshingly old-
fashioned story of the continuing
appeal of a commodity that is as
much in demand in homes today
as it was centuries ago: A beautiful
carpet to cherish for life.
And in a fitting twist to the
story, the carpets being made in
Xining today are following the
same route from Qinghai around
the world as they have done
throughout the centuries – along
the Silk Road. The difference today,
of course, is that with the help of
21st century infrastructure and
communication networks, they go
much faster and further and arrive
on doorsteps in Russia, the US,
Europe and Asia far sooner.
Weaving wonders
It is Qinghai’s unique geography
that makes the carpets so special,
says Ma Xin Min, general manager
of the Tibetan Sheep Carpets
Group, as he proudly shows off a
collection of ornately patterned
hand-made rugs in his factory’s
showroom. “The art of Tibetan
carpets goes back 2,200 years and
this area is renowned around the
world for weaving carpets. The
Qinghai-Tibetan plateau is 2,500
metres above sea level and the hair
of Tibetan sheep grows to 22cm in
length. They are sheared only once
a year, between June and August.”
The unique material provided by
the sheep from the plateau provides
a particularly hardy and fine wool
for the manufacture of the carpets.
His factory also produces carpets
made with yak hair, which is
renowned for its softness but comes
at a premium: three times the price
of sheep hair.
Ma’s factory employs more than
12,000 but 70% of them weave
carpets in their homes, working to
designs and using looms provided by
the company. The rest make carpets
on modern machines at the factory
imported from Europe since 2008.
The factory turns out a staggering
1.68 million square metres of
carpets a year and sells in countries
and territories including the US,
Germany, the UK, Russia, Japan,
Singapore and Hong Kong. It also
makes Muslim prayer mats that
are sold throughout Asia and the
Middle East.
The appeal of Tibetan carpets is
global and growing. Ma says there
are powerful reasons for their
popularity. “They are principally
made by hand and the weaving
technique is very unique and
idiosyncratic,” he said. Tibetan carpet
making in particular uses a knotting
method not used in other countries
and regions.
“They aren’t just carpets – they’re
works of art. They are very special
and they have a different feel to
them. The other element is the
Tibetan culture that gives the
carpets their distinctive design and
“The carpets being
made in Xining today
are following the
same route from
Qinghai around the
world as they have
done throughout the
centuries – along the
Silk Road”
Xining City Guide
colours. This culture is very famous
throughout the world.”
Domestic surge
The Tibetan Sheep Group
encompasses 13 enterprises and
produces 48 types of hand-made
and machine-made carpets. One
of its objectives is to make Xining
the centre for Tibetan carpet
production.
The carpet factory in Xining was
founded more than 50 years ago
and moved to its current home in
1996. Until 2008, all of its carpets
were exported but since then there
has been a surge in demand from
the domestic market. “There is a
tremendous amount of potential
in China,” says Ma. “In 2008, the
economic crisis hit the US and
Europe and demand slowed down.
In China, though, demand is growing
rapidly. There are a lot of people
who want carpets for their homes.
People are going up in the world
and demand is rising.
“The economy in China is
getting better day by day and living
standards have improved. People
have money and they can afford
to buy high quality carpets. China
is now the number one country
in the world for buying carpets as
well as the number one country
for making carpets. That is why we
are paying more attention to the
domestic market.”
On a guided tour of the huge
workshop, one of the factory
managers points out a loom
producing brightly coloured large
floor carpets. “These are for
Xinjiang province,” she says, referring
to the neighbouring far northwest
province of China. “People there
have large houses and it is cold so
there is a long tradition of using
carpets in their home and now
that the area is more prosperous,
we find more and more business
coming from Xinjiang and other
northern provinces.”
Before 2008, the company’s chief
business was hand-made carpets
for export. Then it imported its
giant industrial looms from Europe,
allowing it to expand into machinemade carpets which have opened
the door to a whole new world of
trade. Being less labour-intensive,
they produce carpets that are less
expensive than the hand-made
ones. “As a result, many more
people can afford them,” says Ma.
Westward bound
The New Silk Road has turned the
focus of Ma’s company to Central
Asia, as road and rail links put Xining
within easy reach of a host of new
markets. “We want to increase
our business there,” Ma says. “We
want to open our own shops to
sell carpets there. Qinghai province
is very important to the ‘One Belt,
One Road’ policy. The old Silk Road
crosses this area. It carried Muslim
culture and Buddhist culture around
the world. You can see the Muslim
culture expressed in the carpets
that travelled along the Silk Road
from Iran. Another route crossed
Tibet and took a totally different
culture around the world.
“There are two main types of
carpet in the world now. The first
one is Persian rugs. The second is
Tibetan rugs. Persian carpets have
a history of 3,000 to 4,000 years.
Tibetan carpets have a history of
more than 2,000 years.”
Ma’s target markets with the
opening up of the New Silk Road
are countries such as Kazakhstan,
Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan, which
have traditionally sourced their
carpets from Turkey. The opening of
the corridors of communication will,
he hopes, persuade them to turn
their eyes eastwards.
As well as its shop in St
Petersburg, the company has three
shops in Moscow, two in Kazakhstan
and one in Belarus. The aim is to
expand that network significantly
as the New Silk Road branches out
across Central Asia.
Unbroken thread
A traditional handicraft has become
a global phenomenon as the appeal
of Tibetan carpets continues to
grow. From Sydney to San Francisco,
there are customers for the Qinghai
Tibetan Sheep Carpet Group as well
as a flourishing domestic market.
It has, however, become a
truly international operation. The
company is holding talks with
companies from Berlin to talk
about setting up outlets for its
carpets in the German capital.
Meanwhile, it has drafted in
experts from overseas to teach its
employees new skills.
In an interesting meeting of
different cultures within the same
industry, experts from Pakistan
have been brought to Xining to
teach hand stitching of carpets to
employees. Meanwhile, experts from
Belgium have visited to train staff in
the using of the vast imported looms
used for machine-made carpets.
Globalization has clearly made
its mark on a traditional industry
that has always held a fascination
for foreigners looking in on one of
the less visited corners of China.
But it has done nothing to dim
the mystique of Tibetan carpets.
More than 100 years ago, a
European traveller on the Tibetan
plateau described his wonder as
he stumbled across “a courtyard
entirely filled with the weaving
looms of men and women workers”
making what he described as
“beautiful” rugs.
Today, as ‘One Belt, One
Road’ opens the way to new
opportunities, the future for
Tibetan carpets looks certain to be
every bit as exotic and colourful as
their past.
Xining City Guide
Rising to a historic challenge
Xining has a historic opportunity to raise its profile and become a hub city with the creation of
the New Silk Road under China’s visionary ‘One Belt, One Road’ policy. Mayor Zhang Xiaorong
tells Euromoney how the city is rising to the challenge
M
ayor Zhang Xiaorong
is a man who feels the
hand of history on
his shoulder. A native
of Qinghai province, he has taken
office at a time when Xining has
an unparalleled opportunity to
raise its profile and become one of
China’s key cities.
As he outlines his vision for the
future of his city, Zhang speaks with
awe and excitement at the size
of the task ahead to ensure that
Xining rises to the challenge. “In
the 30 years since the opening up
of China, much of the development
has been in the east of the
country,” he says in an interview
with Euromoney in the city’s
atmospheric Qinghai Hotel. “Cities
along the coast have developed
very quickly and people’s lives have
been improved immeasurably. Our
city stands at a very important
point strategically in the Silk Road.
It is a hub of the eastern cities
along the Silk Road, so in the future
we have to make sure that we are
ready to play the role of a hub.
“We have to accelerate the
development of logistics and
the concentration of human
resources and green finance and
new materials in our city. Xining
has a very big role to play in the
future development of culture and
commerce along the Silk Road.”
The crackle and energy of
Zhang’s rhetoric mirrors the
frenetic buzz of the city around
him. There is a fierce urgency and a
sense of restless purpose in every
quarter as new highways, new
power networks and new buildings
take shape at an extraordinary
pace. The hum of building work
“Xining has a very
big role to play in the
future development of
culture and commerce
along the Silk Road”
continues night and day. This
is a city waking up to a new
economic reality and a new world
of opportunity that most of its
citizens and businesses have not yet
fully grasped.
Global connections
Zhang, who took office in May,
bubbles with enthusiasm as he shows
the map of high-speed railways
that pass through Xining. The lines,
extending thousands of miles in all
directions, make Xining a key node
city in the vast area known as the Silk
Road Economic Belt.
The most important connection
along the New Silk Road, says
Zhang, is the Lanzhou-Urumqi
express railway – the longest railway
in northwest China running nearly
2,000km from Gansu province to
Urumqi in Xinjiang and passing
through Xining.
The half-century-old line has
been upgraded to a high-speed
line, meaning it now takes only
10 hours to travel from Xining to
Urumqi – a connection that opens
up a wealth of opportunity for
trade with neighbouring Central
Asia. Simultaneously, a XiningGolmud-Korla railway connecting
China to Pakistan is now under
construction, These two railways
not only complement the existing
rail network of Xining, but bring
historical opportunities for
resource integration and common
development with Central Asia
in this process of accelerated
opening up.
Another key link in the New
Silk Road is the Qinghai to Lhasa
line which opened in 2006 to
great fanfare as the world’s
highest railway line, climbing to
5,072 metres above sea level as
it crosses the Tibetan Plateau.
That spectacular line has already
been extended to Shigatse in
Tibet and, if extended to Nepal in
future, will open the door to huge
commercial possibilities through
the collaborative development of
Xining and southern Asia.
Meanwhile, high-speed railways
linking Xining to Chengdu and
Xining to Kunming among other
lines are being planned – all of
which will reinforce Xining as
the key strategic city in China in
connecting the country to western,
central and southern Asia.
As well as its rail links, highways
throughout western China to Xining
Xining City Guide
are being upgraded and built to
improve connections with the rest
of the country and westwards to
the borders of Central Asia.
Xining’s international airport
is meanwhile becoming an
increasingly important hub for the
region, the mayor said. It handles
some 8 million passengers and
24,000 tonnes of cargo a year with
57 domestic and overseas routes.
There are direct flights to every
major city in China except Lanzhou
and direct flights to Bangkok, Seoul
and Tapei.
By the end of 2015, there will
be direct flights to Hong Kong
and there are plans for further
direct flights to Istanbul in Turkey
and Bishkek in the strategically
important neighbouring country of
Kyrgyzstan.
Zhang believes that as well as
a transport hub, Xining will again
become a hub of commerce on
the Silk Road. “We will trade goods
here from other cities and areas
near Xining and these links mean
that the distance to central and
southern Asia is less,” he says.
Infrastructure is only part of the
recipe, however. Having the right
environment and the right cultural
mix are also factors that Zhang
believes will be essential to Xining’s
future prosperity.
“It will be convenient and easy for
businesses to reach these markets
through Xining. We also have the
advantage of climate, because the
climate in Xining is very similar
to that of south Asia,” he says.
“Furthermore, we have mosques
and the Islamic faith and so much
halal food.”
Xining’s spectacular scenery
Tourist mecca
The introduction of more direct
flights to overseas cities has the
potential to provide a major boost
for the city’s tourism. Although it is
a key resort for domestic tourists
– who know it as the ‘cool city’
because of its altitude and climate
– Xining is currently only visited by
around 50,000 overseas tourists
a year.
The figure is remarkably low
considering the stunning natural
beauty of the surrounding Tibetan
Plateau, and the wealth of scenery
and places to visit around Xining
including the breath-taking Qinghai
Lake, the Ta’er Lamasery, the Chaka
Salt Lake and an astonishing variety
of national parks and forests.
“We have abundant tourism
resources,” says Zhang. “We have
magnificent mountains and rivers.
The mountains around us are
known as the Roof of Asia. We have
wetlands and the largest nature
reserve in China and a salt lake
known as the Mirror of the Sky.”
Spreading the word about
Xining’s tourism potential has
been made easier by the internet.
“The internet is changing our life
and our minds,” he says. “We don’t
have to send delegations to foreign
countries to promote ourselves any
longer.” The internet can also help
Xining overcome the challenges
presented by its geography. “We are
not so advantaged by geography
but with the internet, the advantage
can be with us.”
Cultural appeal
Zhang’s vision for Xining is of a
dynamic city that will take on a
new high-profile role as a hub
along the New Silk Road but
without losing its sense of history
or culture. “We have a very long
history – a history of more than
2,100 years,” he says. “There are
35 different nationalities in Xining
living together in harmony. It is
a melting pot for religion with
different cultures and different
nationalities. That is something we
are proud of and something we
must preserve.”
The key to success in the hugely
important and challenging years
ahead, says Zhang, is confidence
– and the mayor is a man with
an unshakeable belief in Xining’s
significant position, both in China’s
remarkable past and in its thrilling
future.
Xining City Guide
A taste of the high life in
China’s ‘cool city’
Xining draws competitors from around the world for one of the most
spectacular – and exacting – sporting events in Asia, the annual Tour of Qinghai
Lake. It also has world-class sporting facilities and the potential to become a
magnet for global tourists as well as international sportsmen and women
F
lag-waving crowds line
the streets and cheer in
excitement beneath crystal
clear summer skies as scores
of bikes ridden by some of the
world’s top cyclists flash past in one
of Asia’s most gruelling and fiercely
contested sporting events.
For 14 consecutive summers,
Xining has hosted the Tour of
Qinghai Lake – an elite cycling
contest covering nearly 3,000
kilometres and passing through
some of China’s most spectacular
scenery, including the serene beauty
of Qinghai Lake. In 2015, the
competition was staged over 14
days from 5-18 July and attracted 22
teams and 154 riders battling it out
for prize money and performance
fees of more than $1 million.
The race follows a route
through three provinces – Qinghai,
The annual Tour of Qinghai Lake
Gangsu and Ningxia – and is the
leading road cycling race in Asia.
Past winners have come from
the US, Croatia, Italy, the Czech
Republic, the Netherlands, Iraq and
Kazakhstan. Some of the world’s top
cycling teams take part.
It is a truly international event
and one of the ways in which
Xining and Qinghai have promoted
themselves as a top sporting and
tourism destination not just for
China but for competitors and
visitors from around the world.
Exhilarating highs
There is a distinctly festive
atmosphere to the Tour of Qinghai
Lake, organized by the Qinghai
provincial government in association
with the General Administration
of Sport of China, and the State
General Administration of Press,
Publication, Radio, Film and
Television. Since its launch in
2002 it has attracted interest
from road cycling fans around the
world because of its distinctive
geographical features and the
diverse range of cultures along
the route. For Chinese fans, it
has become a massively effective
platform for promoting the sport
within their country.
The features that make it so
special for overseas riders are
the extraordinary altitudes and
the astonishing scenery along the
route. Former competitors write
with awe about the experience
of taking part. Australian Jono
Lovelock, from the Marco Polo
Cycling Team, described it in an
online blog as the “premier race” in
the Asian road cycling calendar.
“It is at Qinghai Lake where the
hardest, fastest and most painful
racing takes place,” he wrote.
“Teams spend large parts of their
time and budgets getting prepared
to assault the high altitude and
come away with the spoils.”
Describing the stages around
Xining as relatively comfortable
at an altitude of 2,200 metres,
Lovelock says the route out to
Qinghai Lake includes “brutal
climbs that often just fall shy of
4,000 metres”. “We are talking
serious altitude – ear-popping,
headache-inducing heights that
mean even when climbing at
gradients of just 2-3%, your legs,
lungs and in my case your lower
lumbar all burn like never before,”
he wrote.
For the world’s top cyclists,
of course, those conditions are
not a deterrent but a challenge
and an opportunity to test their
physical fitness to the limit. And the
international coverage and video
clips of the annual race have helped
make the incredible scenery of
Xining and Qinghai Lake known
around the world.
Known throughout China as
the ‘cool city’ for its climate and
altitude, Xining welcomes 14 million
domestic tourists a year but only
around 50,000 foreign tourists.
The success of the Tour of Qinghai
Lake is beginning to even out the
imbalance between foreign and
domestic tourism.
Sporting chance
One of the most striking
architectural sights on the first day
of the Tour of Qinghai Lake through
Xining is the city’s ultra-modern
sports centre, opened to promote
healthy lifestyles with the best
sporting facilities possible.
The centre – with a distinctive
wall of brilliant silver hexagonal
shapes – opened in October
2014. It has an indoor sports hall
with 7,500 seats for badminton,
basketball and table tennis, an
Olympic-sized swimming pool,
tennis courts, gymnastics area and
a full-sized international standard
football pitch with artificial turf –
one of only two pitches of its kind
in China, the other being in Ordos
in Inner Mongolia.
It is a venue that seems to
symbolize Xining’s modernity and
ambition, and in July it hosted
a special event – the Silk Road
International Football Tournament
2015, which saw a Shanghai team
square up against a team from
Bishkek, the capital of China’s
Central Asia neighbour Kyrgyzstan.
The players from both teams
– who are used to playing at far
lower altitudes – had to prepare
carefully for the showdown at 2,250
metres above sea level, spectators
said, and Shanghai emerged winners
of the inaugural competition with a
Xining City Guide
Six must-see tourist destinations in
and around Xining
1. Qinghai Lake
The largest inland salt lake in China covers 4,500 square kilometres and
is famous for its mists and blue water. It is surrounded by atmospheric
grasslands where sheep, cattle and horses graze and has a bird sanctuary
that is habitat for 100,000 migrating birds.
2. Sangjianyuan National Nature Reserve:
This is the largest and highest natural wetland in China, covering an area
of 150,000 square kilometres and with inhabitants that include Tibetan
antelopes, gazelles and yaks.
3. Mengda Nature Reserve:
This reserve is just over 100km southeast of Xining and is famed for its
scenery and mild climate. Set up in 1980 it features waterfalls and the
Mengda Heavenly Lake.
4. Dongguan Grand Mosque
This mosque in Xining has a 600-year history and is the largest in
northwest China, covering an area of nearly 12,000 square metres.
Its prayer hall can hold up to 3,000 people and it is famed for its
architecture which features a mix of Islamic and Chinese styles.
Dongguan Grand Mosque
5. Ta’er Monastery
This monastery is said to be the birthplace of Zongkaba, the founder
of the Gelugpa Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Located on a mountainside
25km southwest of Xining, it dates back to the 13th century and
includes scriptures halls, lamas’ residences and pagodas among a vast
complex of more than 9,000 structures.
slender one-goal win.
“Both teams had something of a
reaction to the altitude,” says former
gymnast Guo Linsheng, the manager
of the Xining sports centre. Guo,
who moved to Xining from Beijing,
appears to sympathize with the
players and says they are not alone in
struggling to adapt to the thinner air.
“Because of the high altitude,
many people find they can’t do
sports here,” he says. “At the same
time, however, many competition
athletes come here for high-altitude
training so Xining does draw a lot
of elite athletes such as runners
preparing for demanding races.”
Healthy challenge
As he shows us around the facilities
on a cloudy Monday afternoon
when the majority of visitors are
indulging in the less demanding
sports of badminton and table
tennis, Guo says: “When I first
came here I felt very tired when I
exercised. It’s normal when you are
not used to living at high altitude.
Now I am more used to it and in
the summer I can walk 10km a day.
In the winter, though, when the air is
thinner, I can’t do it and I have to go
shorter distances.”
The centre nevertheless
encourages residents to do regular
exercise. Banners around the
complex tell them to exercise for
a stronger body, to be healthy in
middle age and reminds them that a
healthy body is a happy body.
6. Huzhu Tu Ethnic Tourist Area
In the northeast of Qinghai, this area allows visitors to see the people
and cultures of the Tu ethnic minority, famed for their singing and
dancing and colourful traditional costumes. The area includes the Beishan
National Forest Park, which is home to many rare birds and animals.
To encourage more people to
take up sport, the centre offers
1,100 free hours a year of sports
centre use to Xining residents –
enough for around three hours’
exercise a day for every man,
woman and child in the city.
The sports centre is some 8km
from the city centre in an area
of new and unfinished housing
blocks but has become increasingly
popular, Guo says. “Many people
have two apartments – one in the
city centre which they use during
the week and one out here where
they live at weekends.
“The air here is cleaner. Other
people are choosing to live here
because they find the environment
is better. Also many younger
people are choosing to live out
here because apartments are less
expensive than in the city centre. In
the evenings we have a lot of young
people here and we cooperate with
schools to encourage young people
to do more sport.”
Like the cyclists who travel from
around the world to race across
the province in one of the toughest
sporting challenges on the planet,
residents who take up sport and use
the facilities provided for them will
find that the gain is worth the pain.
As Tour of Qinghai Lake
competitor Jono Lovelock concludes
in his blog after recalling the agonies
of competitive cycling at high altitude:
“If you ever have the chance, go to
Qinghai Lake. It really is breathtaking.”
Leading China cities
History-making Hangzhou
is China’s best city
Its famous West Lake has been celebrated by poets and writers
since the ninth century. Now Hangzhou – which will host the 2022
Asian Games – has been named Best China City 2015 in the first
survey of its kind by Euromoney
CITIES IN CHINA face a constant dilemma as they race to
improve their infrastructure to keep up with their country’s
astonishing pace of economic development. How do they
modernize without sacrificing their heritage and liveability?
In the rush to be economically competitive, some cities
risk being overwhelmed by change and losing their character,
sometimes seeing their historic districts lost beneath urban
pollution and the wrecking ball of progress, their citizens’ lives
diminished.
By careful and intelligent planning, however, many more
cities escape this fate. One Chinese city in particular that has
impressively maintained its quality of life in the face of great
change is Hangzhou, winner of the inaugural Euromoney Best
China City 2015 survey.
The capital of China’s southeastern Zhejiang province,
Hangzhou has been celebrated by poets and artists since the
ninth century for its stunning West Lake, which features islands,
temples, pavilions, arched bridges and the 1,000-year-old, fivestorey Leifeng Pagoda.
At the same time, it has created a healthy economic
environment that welcomes investors and provides outstanding
conditions for businesses and residents alike – putting people
ahead of infrastructure to ensure its continuing success.
“This history-laden city is moving well with the times,
attracting investment from around the world and receiving
praise from citizens for several aspects of day-to-day life in the
city,” Euromoney managing director Christopher Fordham said
at a presentation ceremony.
Top marks
Four other cities were given top honours in the awards, which
were described by Fordham as an authoritative ranking of
the best cities in the country. Shenzhen was named best city
for Innovation Technology and also won the Best City for
Environment award.
Shanghai, meanwhile, was named Best City for Financial
Competitiveness. Suzhou won the award for Best City for Forward
Visibility of Tax Liabilities while Chengdu, capital of western
Sichuan province, won the award for Best City for healthcare.
The winners were chosen on the basis of hard data and
executives’ opinions from a broad variety of sources to produce
definitive rankings in what will become an annual survey to
16
SPECIAL REPORT : CHINA CITIES · September 2015
identify the best Chinese city. Cities were judged on a broad
spectrum of categories. Hangzhou was ranked top in a number
of fields including law and order and security, mass transport,
tax system, ability to attract foreign investment, technological
infrastructure and promotion of green policies.
Beijing scored best for education, with Hangzhou in second
place, and also received the highest score for hard infrastructure
and availability of city employees. Shenzhen was ranked top for
sustainability, followed by Hangzhou.
Shenzhen was a runaway winner in the environment category,
scoring 83.6 out of 100 to second place Hangzhou’s 49.6, with
Shanghai in third place on 47.9. In technology and innovation,
Hangzhou was also second to Shenzhen, with Suzhou in third
place ahead of Beijing and Shanghai.
Beijing scored highest for long-distance travel, followed by
Shanghai and Hangzhou, while Chengdu got the top score
for roads and driving experience followed by Hangzhou and
Shenzhen. In the final overall rankings, Hangzhou finished top
in a field of six ahead of Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Suzhou
and Chengdu.
Sporting chance
At a ceremony attended by more than 500 delegates from over
30 countries, Fordham said China was the natural choice for a
new programme of city surveys. “China’s cities are as diverse
as they are exciting,” he said. “This country has forged an
incredible growth pattern and the continued success of all major
cities is expected. Competition in all the categories of these
awards was strong.”
He concluded: “I believe that the best years are ahead for
China, for the province of Zhejiang and the city of Hangzhou.
As China’s economy continues its transition into a worldclass one, this affluent region with its innovative mindset and
established advanced manufacturing base offers the most ideal
conditions in all of China for more domestic companies like
Alibaba and Geely to rise and flourish from.”
Hangzhou’s success comes at a time when it has been
confirmed as host of the 2022 Asian Games – a showpiece
event that will further raise its profile and will play a key role
in the future development of the city, according to its mayor,
Zhong Hongming. Beijing will host the Winter Olympics in the
same year.
www.euromoney.com
China cities 2015
Overall
Rank City
1Hangzhou
2Shanghai
3Beijing
4Shenzhen
5Suzhou
6Chengdu
Score (out of 700)
526
524
515
504
486
464
Hard infrastructure
Rank City
1Beijing
2Shanghai
3Chengdu
4Hangzhou
5Suzhou
6Shenzhen
Score (out of 100)
86.8
81.3
80.1
70.5
65.0
53.1
Technology & innovation
Rank City
1Shenzhen
2Hangzhou
3Suzhou
4Beijing
5Shanghai
6Chengdu
Score (out of 100)
92.4
86.7
77.4
77.4
73.6
57.6
Education
Rank City
1Beijing
2Hangzhou
3Chengdu
4Shanghai
5Shenzhen
6Suzhou
Score (out of 100)
90.2
87.0
81.6
74.7
74.2
72.4
Healthcare
Rank City
1Chengdu
2Hangzhou
3Beijing
4Shanghai
5Suzhou
6Shenzhen
Score (out of 100)
87.8
81.4
73.0
71.6
66.8
54.6
Environment
Rank City
1Shenzhen
2Hangzhou
3Shanghai
4Suzhou
5Chengdu
6Beijing
Score (out of 100)
83.6
49.6
47.9
45.1
42.9
32.1
Tax system
Rank City
1Beijing
2Shanghai
3Hangzhou
4Suzhou
5Shenzhen
6Chengdu
Score (out of 100)
88.9
86.9
83.4
78.3
71.1
56.3
Financial competitiveness
Healthcare accessibility
Rank City
1Shanghai
2Suzhou
3Shenzhen
4Hangzhou
5Beijing
6Chengdu
RankCity
1Hangzhou
2Shanghai
3Suzhou
Score (out of 100)
87.8
80.8
75.1
67.7
66.5
58.1
BY SECTOR
Quality of mass transit transport
RankCity
1Hangzhou
2Suzhou
3Shanghai
Score
6.3
5.9
5.8
Law, order and security
RankCity
1Hangzhou
2Shanghai
3Beijing
Score
6.7
6.4
6.3
Quality of roads and driving
experience
RankCity
1Chengdu
2Hangzhou
3Shenzhen
Score
5.7
5.5
5.4
Quality of long distance travel
RankCity
1Beijing
2Shanghai
3Hangzhou
Score
6.3
6.3
6.0
Technology & innovation:
Availability of funding
RankCity
1Hangzhou
2Beijing
3Suzhou
Score
6.3
6.1
5.9
Quality of technological
infrastructure
RankCity
1Hangzhou
2Shanghai
3Shenzhen
Score
6.5
6.07
6.06
Education: Availability of
qualified employees
RankCity
1Beijing
2Shanghai
3Shenzhen
Score
6.6
6.17
6.12
Sickness and absenteeism of
employees
RankCity
1Hangzhou
2Shanghai
3Shenzhen
Score
6.0
5.4
5.2
Score
6.3
6.02
6.00
Promotion of green policies
and initiatives
RankCity
1Hangzhou
2Shenzhen
3Suzhou
Score
6.5
6.1
5.7
Air quality
RankCity
1Shenzhen
2Hangzhou
3Suzhou
Score
6.1
5.2
5.0
Efficiency of tax system
RankCity
1Hangzhou
2Suzhou
3Shenzhen
Score
6.2
5.8
5.7
Forward visibility of tax liabilities
RankCity
1Suzhou
=1Hangzhou
2Shenzhen
Score
6.0
6.0
5.7
Financial competitiveness:
Connectivity
RankCity
1Beijing
2Shanghai
3Hangzhou
Score
6.29
6.27
6.2
Breadth and diversity of
financial services
RankCity
1Hangzhou
2Beijing
3Shanghai
Score
6.33
6.29
6.2
Quality and efficiency of
regulatory framework
RankCity
1Hangzhou
2Shanghai
3Shenzhen
Score
6.00
5.98
5.94
Ability to attract foreign
direct investment
RankCity
1Hangzhou
2Shanghai
3Shenzhen
Score
6.00
5.98
5.94