General Economy

Gross domestic product (GDP)

GDP for 2005 was 405.62 billion yuan, up 12.8% from the previous year. The per capita GDP stood at 9,439 yuan.

GDP ratio (primary, secondary and tertiary industries)

The primary industry yielded a value added of 77 billion yuan, 6.5% more than that of the previous year; the secondary industry, 191.49 billion yuan, a growth of 17.1%; the tertiary industry, 137.13 billion yuan, a growth of 10.8%. The GDP ratio of the three sectors is 19.0:47.2:33.8.

Revenue and expenditure

Provincial revenue was 42.59 billion yuan, an increase of 21.4% over the previous year.

Consumer price index (CPI)

CPI was up 1.7% from the previous year to be 101.7.

Investment in fixed assets

Fixed asset investment was valued at 229.3 billion yuan, up by 26% from the previous year.

Major Industries

Agriculture

In 2005, the province's total agricultural output value was 114.3 billion yuan, an increase of 6.8% from the previous year. The grain production totaled 18.5 billion kg.

Industry

The industrial added value totaled 145.55 billion yuan, an increase of 20%.

Construction

Its added value was 45.94 billion yuan, up by 8.6%.

Transportation

Freight carried by various means of transport for the year was 0.9% up from the previous year to reach 87.4 billion ton-kilometers, which included 60.9 billion ton-kilometers by railway, down 0.2%; 18.3 billion ton-kilometers by highway, up 2.3%; and 8.2 billion ton-kilometers by waterway, up 6.3%.

The number of passengers carried by various means of transport was 4.9% up to reach 60.5 billion person-kilometers, which included 38.6 billion person-kilometers by railway, up 5.2%; and 20.4 billion person-kilometers by highway, up 2.9%.

Postal services

The annual turnover of postal operations totaled 1.8 billion yuan, 16.5% up from the previous year.

Telecommunications services

The annual turnover of telecommunications services totaled 24.3 billion yuan, up by 27.1%.

The year 2005 saw an increase of 1.27 million in the number of mobile phone subscribers. The Internet users numbered 3.17 million at the year-end.

Retail

The annual turnover from retail sales reached 123.62 billion yuan, an increase of 15.0% from the previous year.

Tourism

Revenue from tourism totaled 32 billion yuan, up by 32.9% from the 2004 figure. Domestic tourists contributed 31.15 billion yuan while overseas tourists contributed US$100 million.

Continued Effects of Market Reform

Imports & exports

The annual value of imports and exports totaled US$4.06 billion, up 14.9%. Of this figure, US$2.44 billion were from exports, up 22.3%, and US$1.62 were from imports, up 5.4%.

Economic and technological cooperation

Overseas project and labor contracts signed during the year numbered 32 and were valued at US$290 million, up 33.3% and 75.7% from the previous year. Business turnover for the year totaled US$210 million, up by 31.6% from the previous year.

Foreign investment

The foreign direct investment which was materialized during the year stood at US$2.42 billion, up by 18.0%.

Social Undertakings

Science and technology

A total of 3,321 technological contracts were signed during the year, with the business turnover standing at 1.11 billion yuan, an increase of 18.1% from the year before.

Education

The number of students enrolled in postgraduate schools and institutes of higher learning during the year stood at 4,173 and 207,900 respectively, an increase of 988 and 19,900 from the previous year. A total of 79,800 people got rid of illiteracy during the year, dropping the illiterate rate of the province to below 1%.

Culture

By the end of 2005, the province had a total of 79 arts performance organizations, 113 cultural and arts centers, 104 public libraries, and 82 museums. About 93.22% and 95.44% of the provincial population respectively had access to various radio and TV programs.

Public health

At the end of the year, there were 10,664 medical and health institutions staffed with a work force of 116,000 people.

Sports

The sports lottery reaped sales of 820 million yuan, raising a total of 28 million yuan of public funds.

Welfare and aid

A total of 2,067 welfare units across the province at the end of 2005 were equipped with 10,800 beds and put up 93,000 homeless and vagrant people during the year. There were 3,053 urban community service facilities at the end of the year. The welfare lottery reaped sales of 510 million yuan in 2005. Public donations totaled 67 million yuan. A total of 1.245 million urban and rural residents received regular financial aids from the government.

Population, Employment, Social Security and Living Standards

Population

The year 2005 saw a birth rate of 13.79‰ and a death rate of 5.96‰. The natural growth rate of the population stood at 7.83‰. At the end of the year, the total population stood at 43.112 million, an increase of 277,000 from the previous year-end.

Employment

The employed population of the province was 22.767 million at the end of 2005, an increase of 627,000 from the year before. A total of 208,800 laid-off workers got re-employed during the year.

Registered unemployment rate

The registered urban unemployment rate was 3.48%.

Social security

In 2005, insurance plans for endowments, medical insurance and unemployment covered a population of 3.874 million, 2.767 million and 2.307 million respectively. About 1 million urban people shared 730 million yuan of minimum living allowances.

Residents' income

The disposable income of urban residents was 8,620 yuan per capita, up by 14.0% from 2004. Rural residents' per capita net income was 3,266 yuan, up 10.6%.

Geography and Natural Conditions

Topography and geomorphology

The topographies of Jiangxi are dominated by mountainous and hilly land, with mountains covering 36% of the province's total territory, hills, 42%. The remaining 22% is composed of plains and waters. Most of its mountains lie on the provincial borders. Mount Huaiyu in the northeast has the province's largest copper reserve; Wuyi Mountain, a World Cultural Heritage site, lies in the eastern part; the Dageng Ridge and Jiulian Mountain in the south are known as the "capital of tungsten"; in the west there is the Luoxiao Mountain; and in the northwest lie the mountains of Mufu and Jiuling.

Climate

Jiangxi's annual average temperature is around 18°C. Temperatures in the northeastern and northwestern areas and that along the Yangtze River are lower than other parts of the province, ranging from 16°C to 17°C. The other parts of the province are warmer, with temperatures ranging from 18°C-20°C.

Jiangxi has plentiful rainfall. The average annual rainfalls range between 1,341 mm and 1,940 mm. Precipitation is richer in its southern, eastern and mountainous regions and less in the northern, western and basin areas. The average annual rainfall in the mountains of Wuyi, Huaiyu and Jiuling can be as high as 1,800-2,000 mm while that of the area along the Yangtze River and the Poyang Lake and the Jitai Basin is between 1,350 mm and 1,400 mm. The other parts of the province have average annual rainfalls of 1,500-1,700 mm.

Natural resources

Jiangxi has abundant mineral resources. Of the 150 known minerals, more than 140 have been found in Jiangxi. Among these, the deposits of 89 have been verified, with 33 of them ranking among the top fives of the country. Ferrous metals in Jiangxi include iron, manganese, titanium and vanadium. Among the 13 non-ferrous and precious metals are copper, lead, zinc, gold and silver. There are also 29 rare and rare-earth minerals, such as niobium and tantalum. The province has developed the largest copper mine in Asia and its copper smelting base is the largest in China.

59% of Jiangxi's territory is covered with forest. Its timber reserve amounts to 250 million cubic meters, in addition to 1 billion plants of bamboo, both figures taking leading positions in the country. Most of the forests in the province belong to natural secondary forests. Coniferous forests occupy a larger proportion, with pine and masson pine being the major species. Tea-oil tree, tung tree and Chinese tallow tree are the major economic species scattering across the province.

The province boasts more than 4,000 species of seed plants, some 470 types of pteridophyte and over 100 types of bryophyte. Among the low plants, the varieties of large fungus alone are as many as 500. There are more than 2,000 species of woody plants, including over 400 kinds of arbor. Jiangxi is also home to many ancient trees, such as ginkgo, known as the "living fossil" of plants.

The good ecological environment characterized with rich water resource, changing topographies and wide coverage of vegetation ensures Jiangxi's abundance in wildlife. The 30 nature reserves cover a total area of 9,016 square km, accounting for 5.4% of the province's territory.

Jiangxi now has over 600 kinds of vertebrates, including over 170 species of fish which account for 21.4% of the national total of freshwater fish. There are more than 40 species of amphibious animals, accounting for 20.4% of the national total; some 70 species of reptiles, accounting for 23.5% of the country; 270 species of birds, accounting for 23.2%; and 50 species of beasts, accounting for 13.3% of the nation's total.

Fish and birds, large in number of species, have great economic value and therefore have the priority for protection. Poyang Lake presents an ideal winter shelter for migratory birds.

Jiangxi boasts more than 2,400 rivers and streams, some 160 of which, totaling 18,400 km in length, having water running all year round. Ganjiang, Fuhe, Xinjiang, Xiuhe and Raohe are the five largest rivers in the province. Jiangxi's total water reserve is 150.5 billion cubic meters, with the per capita figure standing at 3,491 cubic meters, 1,393 cubic meters more than the national average. The annual rainfall in 2005 totaled 1,661 millimeters, an increase of 16.1% from the year before. The total water storage in 253 reservoirs of the province amounted to 9.15 billion cubic meters at the year-end. The yearly consumption of water stood at 20.805 billion cubic meters, at a rate of 10.5%.

Tourism resources

Jiangxi has beautiful landscapes with green mountains and clear waters. The major scenic spots include: Mount Lushan, Jinggang Mountain, Longhu (Dragon and Tiger) Mountain, Sanqing Mountain, Poyang Lake, and the cities of Nanchang and Jingdezhen.

Mount Lushan has been listed as a World Heritage site by the UNESCO. Together with Jinggang and Sanqing mountains, it offers charming peaks and quiet valleys.

Guifeng Peak and Dragon Palace are noted for their precipitous cliffs and deep caves. The landscapes of Poyang Lake and Ganjiang River are attractive while ancient temples at Longhu Mountain, Qingyuan and Donglin attract visitors with unique religious architectures.

Other scenic attractions or sites of historical interest include Tengwang Tower, Bajing Terrace, the former residences of historical nobilities in Linchuan and Jiujiang, headquarters of the Red Army on Jinggang Mountain, Memorial Museum of Nanchang Uprising and Ruijin, the first capital of the Communist administration in China.

The northern Jiangxi triangle tourism zone comprising Nanchang, Lushan Mountain, Jiujiang, Poyang Lake and Longhu Mountain is one of the 14 major international tour routes in China. The province has 11 cultural relics put under state protection and 2,406 of its scenic spots or tourism areas have been registered as major provincial projects.