Laibin

Laibin [Photo/laibin.gov.cn]

Laibin is located in central Guangxi, 156 kilometers away from Nanning, the provincial capital of Guangxi. The Hunan-Guangxi Railway, Guilin-Beihai Highway and no. 209, 322 and 323 national highways run through the city. Laibin is one of the Xijiang River Economic Belt cities. Ships of 1,000 tons can set sail from Laibin to the Pearl River Delta. The inland navigation routes of Laibin are 341 kilometers long. 

The city's land area is 13,411 square kilometers. It is located in the low hilly area of Guizhong. The landform type is mainly mountains and hilly with the mountainous areas taking up 38.4 percent and the hills 26.2 percent. The plains account for 22.5 percent, the plateaus account for 8.8 percent, and the rest of the topography is water. The amount of cultivated land per capita in Laibin is 2.82 mu (0.19 hectares). The annual average temperature is 21.2 C and the annual rainfall is 1,959.6 mm. The forest area is 687,813 hectares, a coverage rate of 51.4 percent.

Laibin has a long history and profound culture. In 1956, the researchers of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered a skull fossil in Qilin Mountain of Laibin, proving that people lived in the Qilin Mountain in the Paleolithic Age about 35,000 years ago. Laibin was the birthplace of Chinese Pangu culture. Laibin City was formally established on December 28, 2002. The city administers Xingbin District, Heshan City, Xiangzhou County, Wuxuan County, Xincheng County and Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County.

Laibin is known as the "Sugar Capital of China", "Yao Ethnicity Capital", "Pangu Culture Capital" and "China Ornamental Stone City". It has over 20 kinds of mineral deposits, as well as sugarcane, silkworm cocoons, fruits, edible fungi, tea, star anise, honeysuckle, and gynostemma resources. The city also has abundant tourism resources and ethnic customs including the Mt. Shengtangshan Scenic Resort, Xiangzhou Hot Spring Resort, and Baiya Canyon, etc. 

The industrial characteristics of Laibin City are very distinct. It is an important pivot point for the layout of "One Axis and Two Corridors" in Guangxi's industrial development. The main pillar industries in Laibin include electricity, sugar, metallurgy and aluminum. The 500,000-volt hub substation of Guangxi is located in urban Laibin and 500,000 volt AC and DC power transmission lines pass through the city.

In 2017, the city's regional GDP was 66.37 billion yuan ($9.64 billion), an increase of 7.4 percent over the previous year. The added value of primary industry was approximately 16 billion yuan, an increase of 4.6 percent over the previous year. The added value of secondary industry was 25.01 billion yuan, an increase of 5.3 percent over the previous year, whereas that of the tertiary industry reached 25.37 billion yuan, an increase of 11.5 percent over the previous year. The city's fixed assets investment amounted to 43.22 billion yuan, an increase of 16.5 percent over the previous year.

Thanks to the development of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, the regional cooperation strategy and the Pan-Pearl River Delta regional economic cooperation, the Pearl River-Xijiang Economic Belt national strategy, and its emergence as an important portal for the "Belt and Road Initiative", Laibin has ushered in an important historical development opportunity. The city will closely focus on the construction of the Xijiang Economic Belt and its role as a National New-Type Urbanization Pilot City, giving full play to the advantages of location and resources, further stimulating development potential and vitality of Guangxi.