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Chapter I: Pressures and Challenges Faced by Industrial Towns under the Background of Globalization
I. Origin of Industrial Towns
Since the start of the Industrial Revolution of the Britain, the processes of both industrialization and urbanization in human society were linked closely and promoted to each other. Due to industrial development, some industrial cities rise rapidly, such as Manchester and Liverpool in England, Dortmund and Düsseldorf in Germany, Detroit in the United States and Nagasaki and Yokohama in Japan. Those cities have became the world metropolis from small to big, and even started from nothing through the drive of industrialization and urbanization. It is the power of rapid development of industry that made those cities famous all over the world.
China is going through a process of urbanization involving the widest range, largest population and economic scale. There will be 300million population entering into the cities in the future 10-20 years. Such great urbanization process will be acted and promoted at the same time with magnificent industrialization, which will decide the future of the entire word ultimately. A new industry has produced a new city. The cluster development of the industry and construction of the industrial zones has led to the movement of population, expansion of the city scale and rebuilt of city space. On the land of 9.6millionkm of China, more than 3000 cities with large, medium and small size are facing different stages of development; lots of cities are rising following the trace of the Europe, America and Japan, and have possessed some new connotations under the background of globalization, and became industrial towns combined with production, life and ecology all together. Among them, Beijing and Shanghai have already entered into the era of post-industrialization. Others are still growing in the industrialization and urbanization. Meanwhile, they are positively participating into the globalization, and bring huge changes to the global economy. Those cities are eager to the capital and talents, and they do not only need to promote their notability and reputation, which make them take an advantageous position in the fierce competition. Influenced by the unique eastern values and concept of development, more and more cities are exploring and summarizing the concept, strategies and methods of the urban marketing, which also got constantly improved in practice, forming a set of distinctive concept and methods of
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the urban marketing. Among those cities, Gu?an, next to the south part of Beijing, has been taken its own development practice as the background, walked out a successful road of the urban marketing, and effectively promoted its own notability and influence. At the same time of creating a concept of the industrial towns, it has brought an innovative connotation to the marketing of industrial towns.
Being close to Beijing, Gu?an has borrowed much experience on development from various industrial countries, such as Manchester in England, Wolfsburg in Germany, Detroit in the United States and Saitama County in Japan, in the respect of sustainable urban development as a latecomer in industrial towns. And it has shaken off the wired circle of pollution first, recovery second. While in the aspect of urban marketing, it has created a unique road of successful marketing for China?s industrial towns, through excavating its own characters and through borrowing international experience.
II. Development of Industrial Towns in China
Since the Reform and Opening policy, China?s development zones have became a window of the reformation and opening; the engine of the economic growth; a bridge of advance techniques and productivity spread; a study lesson for modern management experience and a place to solve the employment and improve people? well being. While the industrial towns followed the development zones, are essential driving forces for the industrialization and urbanization in China. Some industrial towns with rapid development and good economic benefit, such as the Shekou industrial zone in Shenzhen, a representative of the early economical and technological development zones; Suzhou industrial zone, a representative of high-tech zones; Kunshan zone followed by Shanghai; and Gu?an, Hebei province close to Beijing. They have won a wide attention and attracted plenty of resources by rapid economic development and successful urban marketing, and lay a solid foundation for their later development.
III. Challenges Faced for the Development of Industrial Towns in China
As the increasing development of economy and the constant requirement to its own resources and environment, the sustainable development of China?s industrial towns has been encountered a bottleneck-styled restriction. It urgently needs to change the development mode, and adjust the
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industrial structure. Meanwhile, industrial towns are facing with various challenges, for instance, more capital, talents and resources need to be attracted; more advanced development concept and mode need to be sought, and environment needs to be protected to avoid pollution following rapid development; and some proper planning and scientific construction are also needed, avoiding the traffic jams in dome metropolis, and the resources tight. These need more social resources, including manpower, materials and financial resources to satisfy, which requires industrial towns to improve their notability and reputation subjectively, and realize the industrial development, ecological living style and harmonious society.
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Chapter II: New Operating Thoughts of Industrial Towns
I. Basic Introduction of Gu’an
Gu?an is located in the north part of China, and its ancient name was Fangcheng city. It is an eastern ancient city with a history of two thousands years, and it was known by the fertile land and colorful culture since the period of the Spring and Autumn Warring States. Gu?an is 50km far away from the Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the south, and is 120km to Tianjin in the southeast. It covers 696 square kilometers with 4 million populations. The physical feature of Gu?an id flat, with many rivers crisscrossing. It has convenient and advanced transportations with various highways and railways, among which the roads and railways are advanced all over China. It possesses sorts of resources as oil, gas, hot springs and geothermal, etc. In the year 2002, the government of Gu?an has signed a contract and cooperated with the Huaxia Happiness Foundation Corporation on the development of Gu?an industrial zones by developing industries to promote urban development. An innovated city has risen up in the south of the capital of China. Under the guidance of integration of industry and the city, and aiming at promoting development of high-quality industries, reasonable population agglomeration, and urban sustainable development by investing and constructing the zones, such city assembles all complex functions as a whole, like industries, business, housing, and entertaining, including the industry zones, urban core zones and eco-residential area, etc, which helps to realize the industry integration, ecological, happy and harmonious life. Through systematic urban marketing activities, the notability and influence of Gu?an have been conspicuously promoted. And its performance and ideas are also reported by some mainstream medias in China.
II. Operating Mechanism of Government-enterprise Cooperation
While most of China?s development zones are operated and managed by government investment, Gu?an has adopted the way of integration of government administration with enterprise. The role of government is the executive leader of the zones, but the construction of the infrastructure; operating management, investing service and the brand marketing of the zones are
