Photo by Zheng Weiming/Provided to chinadaily.com.cn

I Brief introduction

Haicang is an area in the west of Xiamen Island, whose name means "a coastal prosperous land" in Chinese. It is home to a Taiwanese investment zone, which was set up in 1989 as the first of its kind in China. The district also has an import and export processing zone, a bonded port area and a pilot free trade zone. Haicang's administrative system was set up in 2003, covering 186.46 square kilometers and having four streets – Haicang, Xinyang, Songyu and Dongfu. As present, 520,000 people live in the area with a registered population of 190,000. 

II Distinctive characteristics

(I) To cultivate world-leading industries. The district prioritizes the development of integrated circuits, biomedicine, and new materials industries. It strives to promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries such as intelligent bathrooms and mechatronics, and is building an internationally renowned integrated circuit base featuring design, packaging and testing. The district's Xiamen Biobay, the only national "pilot site for the aggregated development of strategic emerging industries", has developed several products, such as the world's first hepatitis E vaccine. A new materials industrial park and a hard alloy industrial park were also settled in the district by Xiamen Tungsten Co, with total investment of 6 billion yuan ($892 million). 

(II) To build a world-class district. Haicang sits in the core area of the Southeast International Shipping Center, the fourth-established international shipping center after Shanghai, Tianjin and Dalian. It is the host area of World Ocean Week in Xiamen, Xiamen (Haicang) International Half Marathon and other international events. It is building a 21-kilometer-long coastal half marathon track stretching from Songyu Wharf to the estuary of Guoyunxi River. Haicang Avenue is also one of the 10 most beautiful roads in Xiamen, while the district was listed in the first batch of National Ecological Civilization Construction Demonstration Sites in 2017. 

(III) To create a world-class business environment. The district is striving to create a stable business environment featuring legalization, globalization and facilitation. It will promote the government's public data services by developing an intelligent decision-making system with the internet as the base and big data as the helping hand. Haicang district ranked 38th among 190 economic entities in the 2017 World Bank Evaluation System. 

(IV) To develop a world-class highland for talents. Haicang is trying to explore and innovate in terms of talent introduction, evaluation and cultivation, and in cross-Straits talent exchanges. It will focus on high-caliber talent and commit to fields such as integrated circuits, biomedicine, new materials, healthcare, education and rural revitalization. It is a pioneer in employing Taiwan people as assistants to the directors of local residential communities. The move was well received by the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, the Chinese Academy of Social Science, and scholars across the Straits. The district was honored as the first talent base of the biomedicine industry and was selected as a provincial pilot talent zone. It ranked first among all counties and districts in Fujian province in terms of the total number of high-level talents.