Inner Mongolia works for northward opening up

(chinadaily.com.cn)

Updated: 2014-07-22

Efforts in building international logistics parks

Erenhot is currently working to establish an international logistics park. To date, the number of enterprises dedicated to logistics, including freight transportation, warehousing and freight agency, have surpassed 90. A total of eight logistics parks have been built up and put into service.

Huanyu Export Logistics Park was established in July, 2011, with a total planned area of 550,000 square meters.

It has a customs inspection area, an inspection and quarantine area, a vehicle parking area, a container yard and customs supervision warehouse. Offices of the departments of customs and inspection & quarantine were in the logistics park. The volume of transit freight vans was around 200 to 300 daily.

An import logistics park stands opposite the export logistics park. The two create favorable conditions for the development of both countries’ imports and exports.

Erenhot plans to establish a regional international logistics hub for two-way opening up, domestically and internationally, which will lay a solid foundation in building the region into a bridgehead for the opening up of the northern border and a vigorous border economic zone.

Three logistics parks are now under construction; in addition to an international airport logistics park which is in the planning stage to bring the cluster effect into play in the logistics industry’s development.

Small businesses make large profits

Import and export processing enterprises are the major driving force for local economic development in Erenhot.

As the industries progress, Erenhot has built up a port processing park of 18 square kilometers. Currently, it is home to more than 80 enterprises, while an industry pattern consisting of iron ore, wood, cement and animal by-products has been developed.

Erenhot has attached great importance to the development of imported resource processing. On the premise of water conservation, low carbon and being environment-friendly, an industrial chain incorporating primary overseas processing abroad and domestic fine and secondary processing has been designed by the city, aiming to reach a breakthrough in the processing of imported resources with high added value, such as nonferrous metals and petroleum.

At the same time, Erenhot is striving to push forward export products for processing. Taking advantage of the favorable policies of Zamyn-Uud free economic zone, Erenhot is encouraging the local export-oriented processing enterprises to set up branch companies in both countries and cross-border processing. Erenhot is endeavoring to be a major base for export product processing in the autonomous region. And its main processing products include daily necessities, hardware mechanical and electrical products and new types of building material.

Attractive cultural tourism

Boundary markers

Erenhot city is an attractive tourist resort, featuring traditional customs, ethnic characteristics and exotic culture. . For tourists bound for Erenhot, they may attracted by a variety of charms, such as Russia and Mongolia lying to the north, flourishing Xilingol Grassland, the magnificent gateway, solemn boundary landmarks and the ancient post house in the Gobi desert.

Among them, Xilingol Grassland is well-known as a natural pasture and an ancient battlefield for Genghis Khan and also as the Silk Road in North China. Erenhot provides various and splendid experiences for tourists, covering cross-border tourism, prairie sightseeing, dinosaur culture and exotic scenery.

Erenhot is dedicated to developing a unique and attractive cross-border cultural tourism base. The city is positioning itself as the “Gateway of North China, Ancient Post House, a City in Tea Road and City of Dinosaurs”.

Statues of dinosaurs

It will further strengthen the cooperation with Mongolia, Russia and even European countries in regards to cross-border tourism. Erenhot is working hard in applying the Tea Road for World Cultural Heritage in collaboration with other countries and becoming an important cross-border tourism hub.

The city has attached a lot of interest in its characteristic tourism surrounding dinosaur culture, ancient post house culture and frontier culture. Furthermore, Erenhot is developing its horse culture industry oriented to equestrian sports, in cooperation with Mongolia. Meanwhile, it has been promoting the integrated development of tourism and culture through cooperation with Mongolia and Russia in terms of movie and television making, sports competitions and cultural performances.