PICTURESQUE Hangzhou might be well known as a key tourist destination, but there's more to the capital of Zhejiang Province than West Lake.

Known as the "Home of Silk" and "Paradise on Earth," the city is also the province's political center and plays a leading role in the region's economy.

Its educational institutions draw students from all over the world and, with a strong cultural history, the city deserves its titles of "Cultural State," "Tea Capital" and "Town of Fish and Rice."

The city governs eight districts - Shangcheng, Xiacheng, Gongshu, Xihu, Jianggan, Binjiang, Xiaoshan and Yuhang.

Five county-level cities of Fuyang, Lin'an, Jiande, Tonglu and Chun'an also come under its jurisdiction.

In fact, the total area of Hangzhou City covers 16,596 square kilometers with a population of 6,776,400 as of December 2008.

Fast gains

Double-digit growth in Hangzhou's GDP has been recorded for 18 consecutive years - a sign of the fast pace of development in this strategically located city.

In 2008, the city's GDP reached 478.116 billion yuan (US$70.04 billion), an 11 percent increase over the previous year.

According to the average exchange rate of yuan to the United States dollar in 2008, per capita GDP of Hangzhou's registered residents was US$8,699.

The city's financial income shows no sign of drying up.

In 2008, the total financial income of the city reached 91.055 billion yuan, 15.5 percent more than in the previous year. Investments

In 2008, investments in fixed assets reached 196.172 billion yuan, a rise of 16.5 percent over the previous year.

Investment in primary industry reached 308 million yuan, a 32.4 percent increase over the previous year; in secondary industry it hit 57.057 billion yuan, a 7.9 percent rise over the previous year; and in tertiary industry investment added up to 128.986 billion yuan, a 22.5 percent rise over the previous year.

Industry

Tertiary industry is expanding fast in Hangzhou, while secondary industry is optimizing conditions and primary industry is improving steadily.

The city is also making great efforts to facilitate harmonious development of the three industry sectors.

In 2008, the added value of primary industry was 17.864 billion yuan, a 3.6 percent rise over the previous year; 238.938 billion yuan in secondary industry, a 9 percent growth over the previous year; and 221.314 billion yuan in tertiary industry, a 13.8 percent gain over the previous year.

Foreign trade

Foreign capital continues to pour into Hangzhou, with a total of 483 contracted projects with direct foreign investment winning approval in 2008. The contract value of these projects reached US$6.22 billion, a rise of 11.6 percent over the previous year.

But actual foreign investment in the city totaled US$3.312 billion, which represented a gain of 18.2 percent over the year.

In tertiary industry, contractual foreign capital of US$3.103 billion accounts for 49.8 percent of total foreign capital in contracts, and actual foreign capital investment of US$1.954 billion accounts for 59 percent of total actual foreign capital.

Among all the projects, there were 282 with individual investments of more than US$10 million.

The city government has worked hard to improve foreign capital structure and quality. This is reflected in the fact that by December 2008, Hangzhou attracted 65 of the world's top 500 companies around the world to establish 107 enterprises in the city.

Exports are still growing fast. Total imports and exports totaled US$48.065 billion in 2008, a 10.7 percent gain over the previous year.

Total import volumes reached US$14.451 billion, a 7.4 percent rise over the year, while total export volumes were US$33.614 billion, a 12.2 percent increase over the previous year.

Exports have also been broadened to optimize Hangzhou's growing high-tech industries.

And its traditional lead in exporting mechanical and electrical products has also been strengthened and maintained.

Total exports of mechanical and electrical products in 2008 reached US$13.481 billion, a 4.8 percent gain over the previous year that accounted for 40.1 percent of the city's total exports.

During the financial crisis of 2008, Hangzhou's export volume to the US decreased 7.6 percent over the previous year. But this was offset by a 23 percent gain in the value of exports to the European Union and a 6.9 percent rise in exports to Japan.

And city enterprises are accelerating their overseas development.

The city's competitive ability in outbound investment, contracting and labor cooperation has been improved continuously by strengthening overseas ties.

In 2008, there were a total of 48 outbound investment projects worth US$133 million. This was an astonishing 109.4 percent gain over the previous year.

Scientific outlook

The city has revived its fortunes largely through placing science and education as a keystone in its strategy.

Innovation has been fostered in developing science and technology, attracting some of the brightest minds from home and abroad.

Further industrialization of scientific and technical results has been achieved, with Hangzhou actively encouraging the establishment of high-tech enterprises and research and development centers in the city.

More than 80 percent of Zhejiang Province's colleges, universities and research institutions are headquartered in Hangzhou.

The city has 36 general colleges and universities with 409,600 undergraduate students and 29,700 graduate students.

Tourism magnet

Hangzhou is proud of its rich tourism resources, with its most famous attractions being West Lake, Fuchun River, Qiantang River, Xin'an River and Thousand Islands Lake.

West Lake, one of China's top 10 tourist draws, has been redeveloped to rebuild the Leifeng Pagoda and create the New Lakeside Garden, Meijiawu Tea Culture Village and Yanggong Causeway.

In 2008, 2.21 million international tourists and 45.52 million domestic tourists visited Hangzhou.