Lijin county in Dongying city – located in East China's Shandong province – is moving to boost its overall development and as part of the process it is implementing its new development philosophy on all fronts.
The county had a resident population of 239,900 by the end of 2022 and in 2023, Lijin's GDP grew by a hefty 9.2 percent year-on-year.
Per capita disposable income for urban and rural residents surged 7.1 percent year-on-year in 2023. Even more impressive, the county achieved a 21.3 percent year-on-year increase in the value added of manufacturers above a designated size – those companies with main annual revenue of 20 million yuan ($2.78 million) or more – and there was 5.3 percent year-on-year growth in the general public budget revenue.
Natural resources
The water from the Yellow River is the main water source for Lijin, with an average annual inflow of 42.31 billion cubic meters.
Overall, the county is rich in natural resources such as petroleum, natural gas, fresh water and geothermal energy. Of these, underground oil and gas resources are abundant, with over 3,300 producing oil and gas wells drilled to date, making it one of the main production areas of the Shengli Oilfield.
The national-level nature reserves within the county are home to rare birds such as red-crowned cranes and whooper swans. There are also over 200 species of wild plants including reeds, bulrushes, Chinese silvergrass and tamarisk. On top of that, various medicinal herbs are to be found there – like Chinese wolfberries, honeysuckles, motherwort, plantain seeds, and common purslane.
Scenic spots
The Phoenix City Riverside Leisure Tourism Area there has completed cumulative investment of 76 million yuan ($10.55 million). Landscape sites have been constructed in the area – such as the Happiness Park, Yellow River Bund, Yellow River Pier, Dongjin Ferry Site and Yongli Bridge.
Beautification and greening have been rolled out, lighting systems installed and a tourist information service center has been built in the scenic area. In addition, there has been an improvement in support public facilities such as roads, parking lots, public toilets and garbage bins. The scenic area has also introduced social capital to develop tourism attractions – such as Yellow River farmhouse homestays, Yellow River boat tours, and Yellow River swimming pools.
One big draw is the Lijin Museum. It spans an area of about 14,000 square meters, with its building covering a floor space of 7,168 square meters and an exhibition area of 6,410 sq m. The museum opened on Oct 26, 2011. Its main functions are storing cultural relics, staging human history exhibitions, conducting Party education, examining urban development planning prospects and carrying out wide-ranging services. It is a comprehensive museum integrating collections, displays and exhibitions.
The museum houses 3,706 cultural relics, with 100 now on display – including one national-level cultural relic, three secondary-level cultural relics and 50 tertiary-level cultural relics.
Based on its extensive collection, the museum integrates collections, research and social education. It bears the responsibility of showcasing the rich traditional cultures of the Yellow River Delta region, popularizing natural science and conducting patriotic education.
