CHINA DAILY WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, 2012 jilinspecial 7

PHOTOS PROVIDED TO DAILY Corn heaped in a mound in a facility of the Dacheng Industry Group. 14.6 percent annual GDP growth in over past five years 50.5 percent of Jilin’s GDP contributed by private sector 31.7 million tons grain production of Jilin in 2011 2.55 million number of beneficiaries of the Warm Houses Project 31.63 million Jilin walking road to prosperity people covered by the province’s social insurance system

economy. In 2011, a total of Food Park was planned in Investments in innovation, 744.2 billion yuan was invested 2008 at the seventh Asia- in fixed assets, growing more Europe Meeting. It is the third infrastructure have led to than 30 percent. Thanks to this strategic joint project by the injection of funding, high-tech two nations after the sectors and service industries Industrial Park and the Tian- explosive GDP growth have emerged. jin Eco-City. At the same time, the effi- The food park is to be locat- By ZHANG ZHAO by 15.5 percent to reach nearly ciency of large-scale indus- ed in Yongji county, which has [email protected] 17,800 yuan, and the per capita trial enterprises has been upgraded its food safety infra- net income for people in the improved, with energy con- structure through such actions A Jilin local who has been countryside also grew to more sumption per unit GDP as establishing five roadside away from the province for than 7,500 yuan, up 20.4 per- reduced by 4.25 percent. The animal inspection stations. years will find great changes in cent. sulfur dioxide emission and With investments totaling 23 his home after he comes back. The northeastern Chinese chemical oxygen demand billion yuan, the nation’s larg- He will lead a life of greater province is undergoing great were cut to meet the national est tourism project was also convenience, enjoy more days changes because of increased standard over the 11th Five- started on Baishan Mountain. of blue skies every year and investment, a growing num- Year Plan (2006-2010). Additionally, Changchun, witness his neighbors getting ber of industrial projects and With a series of encouraging the provincial capital city of richer. preferential policies to promote policies, the private economy Jilin, has attracted many of The province achieved a innovation. is also developing quickly in the Fortune 500 companies, GDP of 1.05 trillion yuan The provincial government Jilin, with 50.5 percent of the including Toyota, General Employees work at the production lines in a factory of FAW-Volkswagen Automotive Co Ltd. ($166.5 billion) in the last year, is prioritizing upgrades and GDP last year contributed by Motors and Ireland’s CRH. an increase of 13.7 percent over optimization of the industrial the private sectors. Six highways were complet- cultural industry. for about 70 percent of the “If industrialization and the year previous. It was the structure while enlarging its The government aims to ed in the last year, bringing the industrial volume of Changc- urbanization are the two wings first time provincial GDP sur- scale. double the province’s GDP by total length of the province’s Innovation, industry hun, but in recent years, new of a plane, modern agriculture passed 1 trillion yuan. “We want high speed and 2016. The province also seeks highways to 2,250 kilometers, Jilin was one of the nation’s sectors, such as food process- is the tail,” said the provincial Grain production reached high quality as well,” said Sun to double the net income of half of which was added in the earliest industrial bases when ing and train manufacturing, Party chief, “without a firm tail, a record 31.7 million tons in Zhengcai, Party chief of the people in urban areas and the last two years. the People’s Republic of China are taking off. the plane will be off course.” the same year, 3.3 million tons province. “Quality should be countryside by then, Sun said. The cultural industry has was founded, but it has lagged Both the government and Jilin province has led China in more than in the previous year. the priority.” also caught the eye of policy- behind the coastal regions in companies in Jilin see innova- per capita consumption of meat Large-scale industrial enter- The government has taken a Major projects makers. Jishi Media Co Ltd, recent decades. To revive the tion as a new source of devel- for 12 consecutive years, and prises generated a total profit of series of measures over the past Jilin has a number of ongo- a cable TV operator based in province’s industry, the gov- opment. In the last year, eight the province is also the only one 112.1 billion yuan, increasing two years to boost its economy ing infrastructure and tourism Jilin, was listed on the ernment is planning nearly 90 achievements by Jilin compa- in the nation where per capita 44.6 percent year on year. on a county-by-county basis. projects as well as plans for Stock Exchange in February, major projects to boost emerg- nies and research institutes grain ownership is more than 1 The per capita disposable It believes that investment building industrial parks. marking a milestone for the ing sectors. were granted national techni- ton. Six of the top 10 grain pro- income of urban residents rose is a key driving force of the The China-Singapore Jilin development of the province’s The auto industry accounts cal awards. ducing counties are in Jilin.

SOCIAL SAFETY Project brings much needed heat NET EXPANDED By ZHANG ZHAO shantytowns once stood, while property management in the resi- [email protected] old houses are being repaired to dential communities. At the end of the last year, be warmer and more comfortable. Three villages in Jilin were grant- the social insurance system The winter of 2009 was extraor- Many farmers are now rich enough ed the status of national ecological covered the entire population dinarily chilly in Jilin, with cold to buy their own cars. villages, and 17 towns were named in the province, including rural spells and snowstorms raging in the In the last two years, the total national ecological towns. There are residents. province. heating capacity in the province also 38 nature reserves in the prov- Social insurance for rural But thanks to the Warm Houses increased by more than 55 million inces covering altogether 2.3 million residents, a new type of social Project carried out by the govern- sq m after authorities reconstructed square kilometers. insurance system, was listed ment, the people of Jilin have a 818 kilometers of pipelines and 811 While rapid urbanization has in the top 10 issues that the warmer winter to look forward to. boiler houses. meant more people living in newer provincial government identi- As part of the project, municipal Using investments totaling more areas, farther from their workplace, fied at the beginning of this workers replaced the old plastic cov- than 140 billion yuan, the provincial robust scientific and technological year as focal points for quality ered steel windows with new materi- government built affordable houses development has brought about The Warm Houses Project is part of the provincial government’s overall of life projects. als that cost only 130 yuan ($20.6) covering a combined floor space of more complicated, multi-layer traf- plan to improve quality of life in recent years. Residents in 53 counties per square meter. 149 million sq m. fic systems. are covered by the pilot pro- A resident in Changchun, the pro- More than 20 percent of the prov- The first subway line in Changc- 18.5-kilometer route. gram, accounting for 88.3 vincial capital, surnamed Zhao, aged ince’s population benefited from the hun is expected to be complete by A white-collar employee in the percent of the total number of over 60, never misses a chance to project, which has helped more than 2015, and it will cross the city surnamed Bai said the subway counties in the province, 28.3 show off her affordable, high-tech 6 million people in 2.1 million house- city north to south, would save him 100,000 yuan percentage points higher windows to friends and relations holds improve their living conditions. with 15 stops because he would not have than the national average. whenever they drop by. The Warm Houses Project and over an to buy a car to commute More police cars are seen in “I paid only 2,000 yuan for 15 sq home reconstruction, along with to and from his work the evening in the provincial m of windows in my home,” Zhao a number of other projects place. capital Changchun since July proclaimed, noting that she had have improved not only last year. It is a new service heard that the same materials can infrastructure but model for the city’s public security bureau, and it allows cost at least 260 yuan per sq m on the also services police to engage communi- open market. “It’s so cheap because including ties at a grassroots level to the government subsidizes our pur- enhance the people’s sense chases.” of safety. The project is part of the provin- The crime rate of the city cial government’s overall plan to declined 8.7 percent in 2011 improve the quality of life in compared with the previous the region. year. At the same time, the Statistics shows that the number of traffic accidents average income of Jilin resi- fell by 18 percent, with the dents in urban areas and the A more complicated, multi-layer traffic system, including death toll down 2.2 percent. countryside has been increas- rail transportation, will make getting around Changchun, the And the number of people ing faster than the province’s capital of Jilin, much more convenient. injured in fire accidents GDP growth rate. declined by nearly 70 percent. Modernized residential com- munities are being built where