Wenzhou

Geography and Climate

Wenzhou (also called Yujeu, Dongou, Lucheng) is located in the southeast of Zhejiang Province, its east is near to the East Sea, its south is adjacent to four counties of Fuding, Zherong, Shouning of Ningde Prefecture in Fujiang Province, its west and northwest are joined to three counties of Jinyun, Qingtian, Jingning of Lishui Prefecture, its north and northeast border on four counties and cities of Xianyan, huangyan, Wenling, Yuhuan of Taizhou Prefecture. The city is located near the middle of the East China Sea coastline, is the economic, cultural and transportation center of southern Zhejiang Province. The whole city lies in between north latitude 27.03'~ 28.36'and east longitude 119.37'~121.18'. The total square of the whole city is 11,784 square kilometers, among which, the urban area is 1082 square kilometers. Because of its location in the mountainous region, Wenzhou bears a very different local culture and language from those of neighboring areas. Also due to the position advantages and the geographical isolation leaving the city with a tradition of foreign trade.

Wenzhou derives its present name from its mild climate. Located in the sub-tropical zone, the city has a humid subtropical climate with short, mild, dry winters and long, hot, humid summers. Summers are similar to the remainder of the province, but winter is much milder, partly due to the southerly location and partly due to the sheltering effect of the surrounding mountains. It has an average annual temperature ranging between 1500 to 1900 mm and a frost-free period of 260 to 280 days. The city can enjoy sunshine up to 1700 to 2000 hours annually.

History and Culture

Wenzhou, also known as Yongjia (or Yung-chia) has a history which goes back to about 2000 BC, when it became known for its pottery production. In the 2nd century BC it was called the Kingdom of Dong'ou. Under the Tang Dynasty, it was promoted to prefecture status and given its current name in 675 AD. In 1876 Wenzhou was opened to the foreign tea trade, but no foreign settlement was ever made there. In 1937–1942 during the war with Japan, Wenzhou became an important port due to its being one of the few Chinese ports still under Chinese control. On May 7, 1949, Wenzhou was liberated peacefully and established Wenzhou City Military Control Commission. Wenzhou Prefecture and Wenzhou City were merged into Wenzhou City, and carried out the system of City governing County In September 1981.

In the past, Wenzhou was famous for its handicraft industry. Today Wenzhou is known for business. But it is not simply a commercial city. It also has a rich culture and is the hometown of Nanxi Opera - the earliest form of Chinese opera. 

Economy

Wenzhou exports food, tea, wine, jute, timber, paper, Alunite (a non-metallic mineral used to make alum and fertilizer). Alunite is quite abundant here and sometimes Wenzhou claims to be the "Alunite Capital of the World". Its main industries are food processing, papermaking, and building materials, with some engineering works producing mostly farm machinery. In the early days of economic reforms, the people of Wenzhou took the lead in developing a commodity economy, household industries and specialized markets. Many thousands of people and families were engaged in household manufacturing to develop individual and private economy. Up till now, Wenzhou has a total of 240,000 individually-owned commercial and industrial units and 130,000 private enterprises of which 180 are group companies, 4 among China’s top 500 enterprises and 36 among national 500 top private enterprises. The quantity, industrial output, tax, export and number of employees of the private enterprises account for 99%, 96%, 75%, 95% and 80% of the whole city respectively. There are 27 national production bases such as “China’s Shoes Capital” and “China’s Capital of Electrical Equipment”, China’s 40 famous trademarks and China’s famous-brand products and 67 national inspection-exempt products in the city. The development of private economy in Wenzhou has created the “Wenzhou Economic Model”, which inspires the modernization drive in China.

Wenzhou mode

Wenzhou Mode was mainly based on developing privacy economy. It is a kind of market mode or a kind of spontaneous development mode and automatic organization mode. Among which, the function of government is important, but it only gives play to the function of promotion, assistance and guidance, it is not the function of economic management. In another word, in Wenzhou, the market gives play to the function of automatic organization, but the government gives play to the function of promotion and assistance, So, Wenzhou Mode can extend, which is the inner vitality of Wenzhou Mode.

Educatio n
 
Wenzhou is abundant with educational resources and there are several reputed institutes in the city. Founded in 1933, the Wenzhou University is the most renowned institute in the region. Currently there are 20 colleges in WZU, with a full-time student population of 24,960. The number of faculty members, administrative and supporting staff is 1,950, among which 1,310 are full-time teachers (including 167 professors, 448 associate professors), 181 are mentors for postgraduates and doctorate students, and 201 are academic or technological leaders at the provincial or municipal level.