Readying nets.

Guiwa, mascot for the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

A young lady in Yangshuo.

Fangcheng Port Company.

Festive performance, Gepo Township, Hezhou City.

An export-oriented enterprise, Beihai City.

The most populous ethnic group in China, the Zhuang mainly reside in the regions and provinces of Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan. Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, as you may guess by the name, is home to most of these gracious and attractive people. Facing the vast Beibu Gulf, Guangxi is the only of China’s five autonomous regions with a coastline, and here is where began the ancient Marine Silk Road. From the Han (206 B.C. – 220 A.D.) to the Tang (618-907) Dynasties, back and forth across the waters of the Beibu Gulf, China has maintained long-established trade relationships with Southeast Asian nations.

Links Foreign and Domestic

November 4, 2002, witnessed the signing of the Framework Agreement on China-ASEAN Comprehensive Economic Cooperation, which designates 2010 as the year for the completion of a China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. Establishment of the free trade area offers Guangxi great opportunities for development.

Along with the industrial upgrading, the fast-developing eastern Chinese provinces began to transfer their labor-intensive primary industry to the less developed central and western regions. Against this backdrop, Guangxi is seeking to carve out a piece of the expanding economic pie. Benefiting from a shared border with Guangdong Province, with its thriving manufacturing sector, Guangxi presents an optimal scenario for industry relocation.

In the course of Guangxi’s renewed development, old enterprises, such as the Liugong Machinery Co., Ltd. and Yuchai Group, have returned to vitality. Lin Yinan, 56, has worked in Yuchai Group nearly all his life. The factory was ill equipped when Lin first began to work there, and a considerable portion of his day was devoted to repairing broken and problematic machines. Today, however, after years of development, Yuchai is now a competitive enterprise. Lin’s monthly salary has increased to more than 3,000 yuan, up from the original 19 yuan. His son, Lin Gangnan, also worked at Yuchai after graduating from university. “Many young employees, like me, see our own future with the expanding enterprise. The Group makes great efforts to facilitate our work and life. We even get subsidies when purchasing our homes. We have basketball courts, badminton courts, football playgrounds, as well as swimming pools in the employees’ dormitory area. My monthly income now exceeds 2,500 yuan,” says Lin Gangnan.

Foreign investment is another impetus for Guangxi’s development. The autonomous region offers investors highly preferential policies and quality service. Thibaud Mesthe, a French technician with Guangxi Yipinxian Biochemical Science & Technology Co., Ltd., explained to this reporter that the decision was made to locate their production base in Guangxi’s Laibin was based on the city’s ample water, power and energy supplies. Also, he says, production materials here are reasonably priced.

Agriculture and Tourism

A stable and ever-expanding agriculture base also adds momentum to Guangxi’s steady economic growth. A multidimensional model of Guangxi’s agricultural development serves as an example for other regions of China.

Ketun Village, located south of Dujie Township, Nanning City, is home to 29 households and 130 people. Boasting a total arable land of nearly 90,000 square meters, local people live by growing corn, soybean and chili. In 2007, with a financial support of 70,000 yuan from governments at higher level, the village self-financed 120,000 yuan to build roads. “My home is five kilometers away from Dujie. I used to walk one hour to get there, which was very inconvenient. Since the highway came into use, I can now get there much easier and quicker, and a one-way trip costs me only two yuan. We used to have our men carry fertilizer and farming chemicals into the village. Now, a farm truck can do all the work for us,” says 65-year-old villager Zhao Jingyu.

Gongcheng Yao Autonomous County is located southeast of Guilin City. Since the county did not benefit from coast, border, highway or railway, its economy and transit systems lagged. Hongyan Village is located south of the county. Making full use of festivals, Hongyan developed a unique ecological and cultural tourism program. In total, nearly 3,000 hectares of peach trees were planted, which come into full blossom in spring, attracting tourists from near and far.

Forty households opened family-style hotels in the village. In total, each day they can serve 1,800 people for dining and 400 people for accommodation. About 150 villagers are directly engaged in tourism. According to a local official, some villagers subcontract their land to other farmers while they devote more time to their tourism-based business. Those enjoying a stronger business generate 100,000 to 200,000 yuan per year. Zhu, a local farmer, talks with me about his experience of investing in tourism and shows me his loan note. “I got my loan from the local credit cooperative. With the money, I planted oranges and persimmons. I earned some money with these fruits and built a three-story house to start my family-style hotel. Now guests have to make reservations if they want to spend weekends at my place, and I have repaid all my debts,” says Zhu.

Satisfied Citizens

Nanning, Guangxi’s capital, is known as the “Green City.” The city is surrounded by trees and forests, offering a scenic stay for visitors. Walking along the streets is like roaming in a huge tropical arboretum. The city is blanketed with colorful flowers and green trees.

In terms of average income, Nanning people do not rank at the top in the country. However, in terms of being satisfied with life, they are close to first place. A native Guangxi resident, Li is now a Nanning taxi driver. He began to work in the city in 1997, and now his entire family lives there. Li loves to sing and sometimes vocalizes for his customers the renowned folk song Third Sister Liu. “You can’t expect to make big money from driving a taxi. But I feel very happy when driving in such a picturesque city,” says Li. Over the past 12 years, Li has witnessed Nanning’s development and change. To his great relief, Nanning didn’t develop at the cost of environment. The city remains very green.

In the course of a 2007 survey evaluating citizens’ satisfaction with their city, conducted by Outlook Weekly, Nanning, with its excellent urban construction and harmonious society, ranked fifth among the 31 subject cities. Many locals express the view that the city effuses warmth and hospitality. And many visitors say they enjoyed their stay in Nanning.

Guangxi’s overall development strategy reflects the city’s openness. Guangxi states its development goal as: Promoting development through cooperation and opening-up, further expanding the development space and enhancing the development level.