Quzhou City is fast developing a range of new-generation industries. Coupled with its advantageous location, sophisticated transportation network and various business-friendly policies, this picturesque city is a rising star in Zhejiang Province.
Located in the west of Zhejiang Province, Quzhou has been a major gateway to south-eastern China and a thoroughfare to four provinces (Fujian, Jiangxi, Anhui and Zhejiang) and a business hub since its establishment over 1,800 years ago. Today, Quzhou plays a key role in connecting the Yangtze River Delta and the west coast of the Taiwan Strait, as it is both a member of the Inter-city Conference on the Yangtze River Delta Economic Coordination and a co-ordinating city of the Economic Zone on the West Coast of the Taiwan Strait.
Quzhou boasts splendid cultural heritage, magnificent scenery and superb ecological environment. Some of the city’s attractions include the Family Temple of Confucius’ Descendants from the South, which disseminates the Confucian culture; the Lanke Mountain with the story of immortals playing the game of Weiqi; the Longyou Grottoes, which are named the ninth world wonder and are full of mysteries; the Ancient Xianxia Passage that leads visitors through the mountains and to the legends of heroes. Located at the source of the Qiantang River, Quzhou is blessed with lush mountains and lucid waters, contributing to a beautiful view in the south of the Yangtze Delta.
Advantageous location and convenient transportation network
Situated at the source of the Qiantang River in the west of Zhejiang Province, Quzhou is at the junction of Nanping City of Fujian Province on the south, Shangrao City and Jingdezhen City of Jiangxi Province on the west, Huangshan City of Anhui Province on the north and Hangzhou City, Jinhua City and Lishui City of Zhejiang Province on the east. Quzhou has been a transportation hub and a distribution centre of goods since ancient times.
Quzhou strives to develop a modern, comprehensive transportation system that integrates high-speed rails, motorways, air transport and shipping. The land acquisition process for the Jiande–Quzhou section of the Hangzhou–Quzhou High-speed Railway commenced on 6 December 2019. The railway is scheduled to complete in 2022 and by then the travelling time between Hangzhou and Quzhou will be shortened to about 40 minutes to facilitate the connection and integration of the two transportation hubs.
With the completion of the 500-tonne berths in two of Quzhou’s counties, namely Fujiang and Longyou, the city’s waterway can now reach the ports in Hangzhou, Ningbo and Shanghai, as well as the Beijing–Hangzhou Canal. Quzhou Airport offers direct flights regularly to Beijing, Shenzhen, Kunming, Qingdao, Chongqing, Jinan, Haikou, Dalian, Chengdu, Guiyang, Xi’an, Guangzhou, Zhoushan, Wuhan, Zhuhai, Zhengzhou, Sanya, Nanning and Xiamen. It is within a one- or two-hour drive from Xiaoshan International Airport, Yiwu Airport, Huangshan Airport, Shangrao Sanqingshan Airport and Wuyishan Airport. During China’s 14th Five-Year Plan period, Quzhou will build two Class I and II general aviation airports in Jiangshan City and Kaihua County. The government of Quzhou is also planning to build the intermodal West Zhejiang Aviation and Logistics Hub to serve not just the Yangtze River Delta but the entire eastern China.
Industrial clusters
- Digital economy and smart industry
Quzhou is rapidly developing the digital economy and smart industries. Leading tech enterprises such as Alibaba, NetEase, ZTECLAA and DBAPP Security have invested and launched their businesses in Quzhou.
- Scenic economy and well-being industry
Quzhou is pushing forward the construction of the Ancient Southern Confucianism Town in its historical blocks, the City Balcony in the core area of the city and the Future Community in the High-speed Railway New Town, in a bid to inject the city with both historical and futuristic elements. Meanwhile, the city has been deepening the development of the Quzhou model of Picturesque Zhejiang with the completion of the scenic road along the banks of the Qujiang River and the construction of the “Virtuous Quzhou” picturesque landscape belt.
- New materials industry
The three key fields to be developed are high-performance new silicon fluoride materials, high-end electronic chemical materials and materials for batteries and generating power. The key products are fluorinated speciality monomers, fluorine-containing polymers, fluorine-containing fine chemicals, new-generation refrigerants, new-generation fire extinguishing agents, high-performance organic silicon, wet electronic chemical products for integrated circuit production and high-purity speciality gases for the electronics and semiconductor industries.
- New energy industry
Quzhou will speed up the development of the photovoltaic industry, foster the hydrogen energy industry, make breakthroughs in key technologies, including high-efficiency photovoltaic modules, high-energy battery diaphragms, perovskite solar cells and hydrogen fuel cells. Priority has been given to the R&D of the high-efficiency safe energy storage system, high-efficiency hydrogen filling equipment, solid state hydrogen storage, organic liquid storage for hydrogen and the purification and application of hydrogen.
- Integrated circuit industry
Quzhou plans to make breakthroughs in key technologies, including the new-generation information technology and advanced semiconductor chips and materials. It will foster the development of industrial software, embedded software, application software for smart cities and IT services. Priority has been given to advanced storage and the third-generation compound semiconductor industry. It will actively develop new sensors, silicon wafers for large-sized integrated circuits, strengthen the weak points in the design, production, packaging and testing of the integrated circuit manufacturing industry, and build a provincial-level industrial base for integrated circuit materials.
- Smart equipment industry
Quzhou will build a nationally renowned industrial base for smart equipment manufacturing. It will speed up the development of unmanned aerial vehicles, industrial robots, sensors, equipment for rail transport, aerodynamic and excavation equipment, smart electricity transmission and distribution equipment. It will push forward the upgrade of smart manufacturing units and equipment and make breakthroughs in key generic technologies in smart manufacturing.
- Healthcare industry
Drawing on the quality water resources, Quzhou will boost the development of the green and organic food industry with key products including fruit and vegetable juices, tea beverages, dairy beverages, functional beverages, health supplements, snacks and organic food. Taking advantage of its rich ecological resources and the R&D enclave in the Shanghai Zhangjiang Hi-tech Park, Quzhou will speed up the development of the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries and make breakthroughs in key technologies in bio-pharmaceuticals, modernisation of traditional Chinese medicine and innovative equipment for medical treatments.
- Speciality paper industry
Quzhou has the ambition to foster a globally leading speciality paper industrial cluster. It will further the smart transformation of the specialty paper industry. It will speed up the construction of smart factories, strengthen the development and technology of paper used in the medical and food sectors, and develop high value-added products for the fields of aeronautics and astronautics, medical, healthcare, national defence and transportation.
A model city for business friendliness
In recent years, Quzhou has been rapidly implementing the instructions from the central government to streamline administration and delegate power, improve regulations, upgrade services and provide one-stop administrative services. Through the implementation of “one window for integrated services”, Quzhou has become a model for the One-stop Administrative Services reform in Zhejiang Province.
Quzhou has been in the leading position in the One-stop Administrative Services reform since it was initiated in the province. Premier Li Keqiang praised Quzhou’s practices of integrating multiple administrative reviews and approvals and applying the results of comprehensive surveying and mapping of construction projects to their completion acceptance process. During his inspection in Quzhou in September 2018, Li Zhanshu, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress, spoke highly of the One-stop Administrative Services reform. The reform was also promoted as a model practice by the General Office of the State Council during the fifth national supervision and inspection.
Quzhou has been at the forefront in creating a pro-business environment. It had participated in the national business environment assessment from 2018–2020 and was designated as one of the 15 benchmark cities by the National Development and Reform Commission. The reform practices were included in the Chinese Business Environment Report 2020, among which registering property, getting credits and applying for construction approvals were listed as model cases for improving the business environment.
Quzhou is also at the top of the nation when it comes to developing the social credit system. Aiming to build Quzhou into a model city for credibility, the city has developed the innovative Xin’an Credit System to record personal credit scores and formulated 22 measures to encourage credibility. At the 2019 Forum for Credit System Construction of Chinese Cities, the National Urban Credit Monitoring Rankings of Top 10 Chinese Cities were announced. Quzhou ranked eighth in China and first in Zhejiang Province.
