Africa -China Review Africa -China Cooperation and Transformation
By Gerald Mbanda
Hangzhou the capital city of Zhejiang Province located in the central eastern coast of China was recently rated as “The Best Meeting and Business City in China.” The ranking done by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), showed Chinese cities with the greatest economic potential in a few years to come. The top 10 cities are mainly found in east and south of China apart from the capital city Beijing. The top 10 cities in descending order include; Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Zhuhai, Beijing, Suzhou, Hefei, Nanjing and Ningbo.
“With the government’s urbanisation strategy focusing increasingly on creating city clusters, metropolitan areas, and industrial clusters, we also advise firms to pay close attention to broader, multi-city urban geographies,” said Yue Su, principal economist for China at the EIU. China is in the process of making the growth model of most of the cities to be technology-driven. China is expected to increase its annual research and development spending by over 7% in the period of five years 2021-2025, according to the government’s development plan. The EIU noted that, the cities of Hangzhou, Nanjing and Suzhou are expected to further attract huge inflows of skilled workers. This in turn translates into increased productivity and economic growth.
China plans to build 10,000 kilometres (6,214 miles) of intercity and urban railway lines in 2021-2025 in the Yangtze River Delta in the east, the Greater Bay Area in the south and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in the north. It also aims to create over 50 million new urban jobs during the period.
On the historic and tourism side, Hangzhou is ranked as one of the most scenic cities in China, with gardens, temples, and lakes. Hangzhou’s beauty is praised in all ages. There is an old Chinese saying that: “In heaven there is paradise; on earth there are Suzhou and Hangzhou.” The beauty of Hangzhou stretches for centuries in history. In the 13 century, European explorer Marco Polo, who visited the city is said to have described it as, “beyond dispute the finest and noblest [city] in the world.” Marco Polo did not only fall in love with Hangzhou but also was highly impressed by China’s cultural customs, great wealth and complex social structure.
He was impressed with the Kingdom of Hangzhou that was using paper money at the time, had efficient communication system, coal burning, gunpowder and porcelain. Marco Polo described the king’s palace in Hangzhou as large enough to accommodate 10,000 persons, and magnificently decorated, “On every wall and every ceiling nothing met the eye but a blaze of gold and brilliant color.” Marco Polo must have realized that the development of China at the time, before foreign invasion and interference was far ahead most of the European countries he had visited.
Dating back more than 2,200 years, Hangzhou city was the capital of the Wu and Yue states in the 10th century for 5 dynasties. According to history records, it was during the Tang Dynasty that Hangzhou really flourished, coming to a peak in the Song Dynasty when it became the capital of a united China. Latter in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, that is when the city is said to have rapid grown and expanded into a commercial hub.
Fabulous symphony performance with tantalizing lighting on West Lake- Hangzhou. Photo: Gerald Mbanda. October 10, 2019.
My personal experience when I visited Hangzhou during the summer of 2019, will last a life time, thanks to Peking University Dong Fang program. The beauty, the green scenery and spectacular symphony performance “on the water” of West Lake and much more!” As I watched the performance, I realized the great art, creativity and the technology involved made the place like a dream land. The evening West Lake show organized by the famous art Director Zhang Yimou, is an attraction of its own kind. It is something that is not easy for me to describe by mere words and I would just tell the reader that it’s a must-see! Lastly, do not die before you visit Hangzhou!
Gerald Mbanda is a Researcher and publisher on China and Africa.
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