The once-obscure city of Tieling in Liaoning province became a household name overnight due to Chinese comic star Zhao Benshan.
Playing an old farmer from a remote village in a televised skit for Spring Festival Eve of 1999, Zhao said he would love to travel with his wife to "the big city"- Tieling.
Most of the tens of millions of viewers had never visited or even heard of the city, but in their laughter they became quite familiar with the name.
With nearly 70 percent of the population involved in agriculture, Tieling in northeast China's Liaoning province was seen as lagging behind many others.
Yet after the Shenyang-Tieling Industrial Corridor began construction in 2004, Tieling was no longer the subject of jokes.
The city's name is now connected with busy construction sites and rising economic figures.
With a State-level highway as its axis, the development zone in Tieling faces towards Shenyang. It is planned to accommodate 17 key industrial parks.
The zone is projected to realize 150 billion yuan in annual industrial output by 2010 and provide work for 60 percent of the city's population.
Though accounting for less than 10 percent of Tieling's land, the zone is expected to contribute 80 percent of the city's GDP by the end of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10).
To meet the goal the city government has offered favorable terms to attract investors and speed up the pace of urbanization and industrialization.
The authorities invested 3.5 billion yuan in infrastructure projects in the 17 key industrial parks by the end of 2007.
Its location is another asset for the zone. Neighboring Shenyang, capital of the province, is seen as a flourishing market to many investors.
An investment boom provides evidence of commercial faith in Tieling's future.
By the end of last year, 1,100 companies had established a presence in the zone, including 113 projects each with investment surpassing 100 million yuan. They created jobs for nearly 80,000 locals.
Another 187 new projects had signed with the zone by end June, including 39 each with more than 100 million yuan in investment.
The projects mostly involve in coal power, new energy, equipment manufacturing, farm products, coal and biological chemicals, special-purpose autos, new construction materials and hi-tech industries.
More than 60 percent of the investment projects came from Shenyang. Some 70 percent of the zone's operations consider Shenyang as their target market to provide components for Shenyang's manufactures.
Source: China Daily
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