INGDAO has seen its comprehensive strength significantly improve in the past five years, which was called the “11th five-year development period” by the Central Government, said Xia Geng, the city mayor.

    With five years of rapid development, a modern industrial system has come into being, featuring three pillar industries: the advanced manufacturing industry, a modern service industry and modern agriculture.

    City revenue increased from 17.6 billion yuan (US$2.63 billion) to 45 billion in the past five years, with an average annual growth of 20 percent.

    The per capita gross domestic product has been close to US$10,000 and its comprehensive strength ranks in the top 10 in the country.

    In addition, the city invested 1 trillion yuan in fixed assets in the past five years, triple the amount between 2000 and 2005.

    Work started on key projects like Dongjiakou Port Area, a hi-tech zone and a new zone in the north of the city.

    City infrastructures had been gradually perfected in the past five years.

    The city spent 37 billion yuan on improving people’s well-being in recent years, covering compulsory education, government-subsidized housing, health care, public transport, public security and social security.

    The expenditure accounted for about 60 percent of the total budget during the period.

    A total of 11 billion yuan was spent on the improvement of the quality of life in 2010, more than triple the sum spent in 2005.

    In cultural development, the city completed its signature cultural and sports buildings like Qingdao Grand Theater, Qingdao Sports Center and the Olympic Sailing Museum.

    In addition, the construction of cultural activity centers, libraries and museums had been promoted throughout the city.

    In the annual report on city competitiveness released by the China Academy of Social Science, Qingdao was among the top 10 cities for two consecutive years.(Li Hao, Liu Fangbin)