Fangshan District (Simplified Chinese: ???; Traditional Chinese: ???; Hanyu Pinyin: Fángsh?n Q?) is situated in the southwest of Beijing, 38km away from the downtown Beijing. It has an area of 2,019 square kilometers and a population of 814,367 (2000 Census). The district consists of 24 townships and 6 section branch offices.

Demography and geography

The street committee area of Fangshan (population 187 667) contains an urban area, which from examination of the Google Earth image, has an area of 25 square kilometers and an estimated population of 200,000. Other major urban areas are Liangxiang (population estimate 110,000, 93,486 in township), Zhoukoudian (35,000, 39,877 in township), Doudian (30,000, 25,046 in township), and Liulihe (22,000, 37,936 in township).http://harrysworldatlas.blogspot.com/2007/02/china-cn-beijing-metropolitan-province.html

Fangshan is situated to the east of the Taihang Mountains. The east and south of the district is a fertile plain, with a narrow hilly area running from northeast to southwest. The district has many rivers and lakes; the Juma river, Dashihe river, Yongding river, and Xiaoqing river run through the district, assuring abundant water resources.

The location, climate and environment provide good conditions for agriculture. The district produces wheat, rice and various high quality fruits as well as large quantities of animal products.

Transportation and telecommunication

Jingguang railway and Jingyuan railway cross the district. In addition, the district is serviced by 4 branch railways and 24 railway stations. Jingshi Expressway also goes through the district. The four main roads are the Jing-Zhou, Jing-Bao, Jing-Yuan, Jing-Liang roads, with branch roads to townships and villages. The total length of roads is up to 1,800 kilometers. Tanggu Port is only 180km distant. The programme-controlled telephone capacity supports 128,000 phone sets.

Historical monuments

Fangshan district has a long history and many ancient sites. Best known is Zhoukoudian, location of the ?Peking Man Site?, which has gained Fangshan the name of ?Home of the Dragon?. The famous Buddhist shrine of Yunju temple has precious Buddhist relics, including ?Sakyamuni?s Bone? and 14,278 stone slabs with sculpted Buddhist sutras. There are also the remains of the Christian (Jingjiao) Monastery of the Cross from the Yuan dynasty. There are many ancient towers, temples, town sites and other sites in Fangshan. Fangshan also has many scenic spots like Shidu?s mountains and waters, the unique Stoneflower Cave and natural ancient forests in Shangfangshan Mountains. Ecologically, Fangshan has 554 kinds of wild plant and 22 kinds of wild animal.

Mineral resources

Fangshan has coal deposits up to 2.1 billion tons, which makes it a veritable ?coal storehouse? in the west of Beijing; building materials resources are also present in a variety of large deposits. Marble deposits total 450 million cubic meters. A total of 17 kinds have been developed, including ?Chinese white marble?, ?pink?, ?rosy cloud?, and ?black jade?. In particular, ?Chinese white marble? is famous worldwide and is regarded as a national treasure. There are also large deposits of quartzite (29 million tons); silica (28.6 million tons), granite and buhrstone, in addition to argil, mineral water and slab stones.

Industry and agriculture

Liao Dynasty (907–1125) furniture excavated from an underground palace in Fangshan District of Beijing

The foreign-oriented economy of Fangshan has developed rapidly in recent years. As of 1999, the District government had approved 345 foreign-invested enterprises. Over 20 countries and territories throughout five continents are represented. There are 100 export-oriented enterprises producing over 40 kinds of product. Liangxiang Satellite Town, approved by Beijing Municipal Government, has become a new hub of development. In 1998, the site of Fangshan People?s Government moved to Liangxiang, making it the district's center of politics, economics and culture. The development Zone of Liangxiang extends favorable policies to business. Under the Ninth Five-year Plan and Ten-year Outline, the zone will be further opened to the outside and encourage foreign investment in the following industries: electricity, machinery and electronics, instruments, textiles, printing, new building materials, new materials, new energy resources, fine chemicals, food processing, tourist facilities, commercial facilities and the animal industry. The zone welcomes overseas Chinese and guests from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and other countries.

References

External links

• Fangshan Information Network

de:Fangshan fr:District de Fangshan ja:??? no:Fangshan (Beijing) vi:Phòng S?n zh:???

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