Guangrao county – located in the southern part of Dongying city, in East China's Shandong province – was the hometown of Sun Wu, the great military strategist, thinker and author of The Art of War during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). Today, leveraging its abundant natural resources and cultural heritage, it's embarked on a distinctive path to high-quality development.
In 2023, the county generated gross domestic product or GDP of 85.83 billion yuan ($11.92 billion), achieving a growth rate of 9.8 percent year-on-year. In the 2023 national ranking of the top 100 counties and cities by comprehensive strength, Guangrao moved up four places from the previous year to rank 46th, making it 6th in Shandong. It was also recognized as an advanced county in the province for the high-quality development of its economy. At end-2022, Guangrao had a permanent population of 525,000 people with an urbanization rate of 61.7 percent.
Thriving industries
In recent years, Guangrao has steadfastly strengthened its industrial base and nurtured six leading industries covering high-end papermaking, rubber tires, chemicals, electromechanical auto parts, textiles and food processing.
It has built the world's largest single-scale newsprint production base, the largest rubber tire industry cluster in China, the largest wheel production base in the country and an important petrochemicals industry base in Shandong. Moreover, Guangrao has cultivated five enterprises among China's top 500 companies.
Natural resources
The mineral resources in Guangrao include petroleum, natural gas, brine and geothermal energy. The total area explored to date for oil and gas resources is 51 square kilometers, with estimated oil reserves of 66.28 million metric tons and natural gas reserves of 250 million cubic meters.
In terms of animal resources, aquatic animals mainly include various fish, shrimp, shellfish and hairy crabs. Livestock and poultry cover horses, cattle, sheep, chickens, dogs and pigs; wild animals include more than 10 species such as wild rabbits, hedgehogs and yellow mongooses; and birds include sparrows, teal ducks, magpies and woodpeckers.
For plant resources, there is wheat, corn, soybeans and millet; economic crops include cotton, peanuts and sesame; vegetables are Chinese cabbage, radishes, garlic, eggplants, peppers, cucumbers, leeks, scallions, celery and tomatoes – covering more than 40 varieties. There are also 93 types of trees including variants, mainly poplars, willows, elms and paulownias; commercially produced fruit include apples, dates, peaches, apricots, mulberries, grapes, hawthorns and pears, with nearly 30 other varieties.
Tourist attractions
The county boasts 12 national-level tourist attractions, including two AAAA-level scenic spots and 10 AAA-level scenic spots. It has three provincial-level tourist towns, four provincial-level characteristic villages and six villages cultivated as provincial-level scenic areas.
The Sun Tzu Cultural Park, located in Guangrao county, is based on Sun Tzu culture and is a comprehensive tourist resort. It caters for leisure vacations, tourism sightseeing, trade services, and popular science education.
