Cangnan County

Cangnan County (simplified Chinese: 苍南县; traditional Chinese: 蒼南縣; pinyin: Cāngnán Xiàn Pronunciation of "Cangnan"^ⓘ) is a county in the prefecture-level city of Wenzhou in southern Zhejiang, China. The county government is in Lingxi. Cangnan has 20 towns, 14 townships, and two nationality townships. Cangnan and Taishun are a part of the Min Dong, Eastern Min cultural region of Zhejiang province. Wenzhou dialect and Jinxiang dialect, are also spoken.

Founded in 1981, Cangnan County is the south gate of Zhejiang Province, the major birthplace of the “Wenzhou Pattern” as well as an open door to the outside world authorised by the State Council. Its total land area is 1,261 square kilometres and its sea area is 3,783 square kilometres. Governing 10 towns, two minority towns and with a registered population of 1.3 million people, it is the most populous county in Zhejiang. In 2014, the county realised a GDP of US$6.3bn and total fiscal revenue of US$658m.

The annual outputs of the packaging-printing and plastic-plating industries are 15 per cent and 20 per cent of national outputs respectively. The annual sales volume of the gift industry is about 10 per cent of China's sales volume, and the area has acquired 14 golden “Guo Zihao” business cards such as “China Printing City”.

Nowadays, Cangnan is implementing the development strategy of “double-sea, double-district”. The construction of the Zhejiang-Taiwan (Cangnan) Economic and Trade Co-operation Zone focuses on: the construction of core platforms, advancing deep industrial connections, promoting comprehensive co-operation and exchange, pushing forward institutional innovation and accelerating the formation of the pattern of “three-cores, three-passageways”. Cangnan is actively engaging in constructing a vigorous ecological, industrial and trading coastal city.

Cangnan is part of the greater Municipal region of Wenzhou, It comprises 10 towns and two Ethnic towns, which covers 1,261.08 square kilometres, 28 square kilometres of which are urban area of 1,184,600 people (2010 estimate).

The seventh national census in 2020 concluded that Cangnan County has a resident population of 840,000 people as compared to the result of 785,000 people that was calculated by the sixth national census in 2010. A total population increase of 55,000 people with an increase rate of 7.01% was reached during the period of 2010 to 2020 with an average annual growth rate of 0.68%.

The overall industrial economy of Cangnan County maintained a smooth operation in 2013. The annual total industrial output value of 67,976,000,000 RMB was achieved in 2013, of which more than 24,938,000,000 RMB of industrial output value was reached. This was following by the completion of a planned industrial investment of 7,741,000,000 RMB. As the traditional-manufacturing industry has not yet fully regained its vitality in 2013 after it experienced its declining, a new force of 37 high-tech enterprises suddenly rose in Cangnan County, which gave Cangnan County a strong boost in its development of industrial economy in 2013. As the result, the annual total industrial output value of 3,751,000,000 RMB with an increase rate of 26.55% were achieved by the year of 2013. As compared to the year of 2012, there were six more companies were found in 2013. Cangnan County had one company achieved an industrial output value over 500,000 RMB, two companies over 300,000 RMB, and four companies over their first billion RMB.[2]

The County New Area is located in the east of Lingxi New Area, close to the 104 National Highway, the entrance of the Ningbo-Taizhou- Wenzhou Expressway and Cangnan Railway Station. It is the main area of urbanisation in the county, planned to be about 6.56 square kilometres. The infrastructure of the new area has recently been greatly improved. Based on the planning pattern of “one centre, two shafts and two blocks”, the new area is being constructed with administration, trade, finance, culture, sports and living areas all integrated as a whole. Project proposals for investment include a County New Area complex, five-star hotel and economic headquarters building in the near future.