Located at the mouth of the Yellow River – in the northeastern part of the Yellow River Delta region in East China's Shandong province – the Kenli district of Dongying city is on a journey towards the coordinated development of its sea and land.
To be sure, it boasts rich resources, a solid economic foundation and diverse cultures, with a population of 259,000, according to the latest data.
In 2023, the total GDP of Kenli hit 37.56 billion yuan ($5.23 billion), an increase of 8.2 percent on the previous year – which was 2.2 and 1.2 percentage points higher than the provincial and municipal levels, respectively.
Fixed-asset investment grew by 10.4 percent year-on-year, with high-tech industry investment accounting for 17.5 percent – ranking it first in the city. Urban and rural residents per capita disposable income last year surged by 5.9 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively, marking a new step in the construction of a high-level modernized and dynamic area.
Kenli is located at the apex of the Yellow River Delta and is where the Yellow River flows into the sea. In normal years, the Yellow River deposits sand to create around 20,000 mu (1,332 hectares) of land annually.
That makes it one of the fastest-growing areas in China and one of the regions with the richest reserve land resources along the eastern coast of China.
Kenli has 142.8 kilometers of pristine coast, where river and sea converge. As a result, it is rich in Yellow River Delta hairy crabs, Yellow River Delta knife fish, Yellow River Delta sea cucumbers, oriental giant prawns and horseshoe crabs, among other high-quality aquatic products.
In February 1965, the first high-yield oil well in the Shengli Oilfield was drilled in Shengli village, Kenli – hence its name. Since the development of the Shengli Oilfield, 43 percent of its oil and gas production and 45 percent of its proven reserves have come from underground in Kenli.
Kenli is a typical immigrant region, with residents coming from 11 provinces and 109 counties across the country. The integration of immigrant culture, Red culture, Yellow River culture, oil culture, ecological culture and marine culture is widely said to have created the traits of unity, harmony, inclusiveness and openness in Kenli.
Overall, the district is at the forefront of the main thrust for the development and construction of the Yellow River Delta – and it's in a strategically important position in the Blue Economic Zone of the Shandong Peninsula.
