Gu Qiulin, member of the standing Committee of the Communist Party of  Shaoxing City and Party Secretary of Shaoxing County

Xu Jiping, Magistrate of the Shaoxing County People's Government

    Shaoxing County lies in the western Ningbo-Shaoxing Plain in Zhejiang Province. To its north is the Hangzhou Bay; to its South is Guiji Mountains; to its west is Hangzhou City and to its east is the Ningbo Harbor. The county has an area of 1,400 square kilometers and a population of 970,000.Under the county administration there are 25 towns and 1,014 administrative villages.

      Shaoxing is one of the first 24 cities named as ¡°Famous Historic and Cultural City¡±.Located within the sphere of the Hemudu Culture, humans began to in habit the county area in the primitive society, making it one of the original regions of Chinese civilization. From the Qin Dynasty to the downfall of the Qing Dynasty (221 B.C.-A.D. 1911) Shaoxing had remained a political, economic and cultural center in South China. Many famous people were born there and the county is called ¡°a pearl in the South'', ¡°a city of silk¡±,¡±a land of culture¡± and ¡°birthplace of celebrities¡±.

        Shaoxing County, one of the open regions along the coast, has strengthened its traditional industries such as chemical fibre, printing and dyeing, clothes making and wine-making, and developed new industries such as machine-building, electronics, chemicals and building materials. The county government takes agriculture as the foundation and industry as a leading factor. In 1998 the GDP of the county was 19.0 billion yuan, the county¡¯s revenue, 1.01 billion yuan and the per capita income of the farmers, 5,150 yuan. In the same year the county produced 480,000 tons of grain. The comprehensive economic strength of the rural areas in the county is the 10th among the 100 richest counties in China and the county¡¯s scientific and technical power is the 5th strongest in the country. Shaoxing has been listed among the national ¡°Ten Gods of Wealth¡± many times, and has been leading other counties in Zhejiang Province in economic production in successive years. It is among the first batch of ¡°Well-to-Do Counties¡± named by the Zhejiang Communist Party Committee and Zhejiang provincial government.

     Shaoxing is a large national trading market in China. The China Light and Textile Industry City in Keqiao is the largest if its kind in Asia. Its total sales account for one third of the national total, making it the second largest specialised wholesale market in China. The Shaoxing Keqiao Economic Development Zone centered around the China Light and Textile Industry City has taken its initial shape and become an important place for outside investment.

       As the economy develops, education culture and public health have also made fast progress. Rural villages and towns have taken on a new look. People there enjoy a life as convenient and comfortable as that in big cities, it not better. The environment has become much more pleasant.

         The Shaoxing people have formulated even grander plans for the 21st century. The county will be even more prosperous economically and socially.