Yantai makes waves with new marine -based economy

Washington Post,Sept. 23, 2009 page H8:

As a coastal city, with a 900 km-long coastline Yantai sees fully utilizing its marine capabilities as crucial to its development.

According to the Guidelines, Yantai will accelerate the pace of its drive toward a marine-reliant economy.

In the first four months of 2009, the shipbuilding and marine machinery manufacturing industry production value came to 3.9 billiion Yuan, an increase of 17% year-on-year.

Red is the color most frequently associated with Yantai, due to the ever popular Changyu wine sourced from the region, but that will change if the city succeeds in its bid to become a "blue tourism" resort.

I had the opportunity to lecture at Yantai University decades ago in 1980s and I enjoyed the city very much. I happened to learn a bit of the Mandarin accent of Shandong Province with fun.

Francis Shieh a.k.a. Xie Shihao,reminiscing the past years when I was lecturing in various cities in China with fond memories.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 9.46 a.m. at Andrews AF Base Library due to the illness of my student of the Wu dialect,Shanghainese, my mother tongue.

P.S. Photo of the first Shanghai Jin Mao Tower international Parachuting Show on Oct.5,, 2003 from the tallest building in China published in the same issue.