Peony Fair Promotes Luoyang's Foreign-Oriented EconomyThe annual peony fair in Luoyang, capital of several ancient Chinese dynasties, in central China's Henan Province, brings the city a booming foreign-oriented economy while giving a push to its tourism industry as well.The recently-closed 19th Luoyang Peony Fair brought the city a total economic and trade volume of 2.05 billion yuan (about 247 million US dollars)-worth, and attracted 1.8 million visitors from both China and overseas. In 1983, when the first peony fair was staged, the first overseas-funded enterprise was founded in Luoyang. During the past 16 peony fairs since 1985, the city has held economic and trade fairs to promote its foreign trade and economic cooperation. Liu Dianli, mayor of the city, said the peony fairs have become the showcase of the city's opening to the outside, and also an important channel for attracting overseas investment. Statistics show that the past 18 peony fairs attracted a total of 46 million overseas and domestic visitors, and saw economic and trade deals worth 17.2 billion yuan (about 2.1 billion US dollars), including 720 million US dollars in overseas capital. Luoyang's overseas investment comes from 33 countries and regions in Asia, Europe, America and Australia. By 1999, overseas-funded enterprises in Luoyang had generated 1.7 billion yuan in taxes, and earned 300 million US dollars in foreign exchange through exports. Through its peony fairs, Luoyang has formed friendship ties with cities in Japan, France, Bulgaria, the United States, and the Republic of Korea. The city has trade relationships with more than 100 countries, and has generated foreign exchange totaling 1.1 billion US dollars, making it the leader in the province in this respect. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ |