Weihai Torch Hi-Tech Industries Development Zone ,one of the three torch high-tech industries development zones in china, was developed by China Ministry of Technology, Government of Shandong Province and Government of Weihai City under the approval of the State Council in March,1991.
　　 Geographic Position
　　The zone is situated in the area advanced in education and scientific research, northwest Weihai , with the total area of 39.2 square kilometers ,the population of 100 thousand. Its main part lies in the area between 122o02'EL---37o31'NL, 3 km away from the downtown,4 kms Weihai harbor,10 kms the railway station, and 30 kms the airport,80 kms Yantai airport. Its coast line is 12.5 kms long. Under it jurisdiction are 4 subdistrict offices,22 administrative villages and 11 neighborhood committees.
　　Climate feature
　　Weihai features a continental monsoon climate with the characteristic of maritime climate. The temperature here does not vary much throughout the year, warm in winter, cool in summer and moderate in autumn. It has the annual average air temperature of 12.1oC ,monthly average highest air temperature of 24.6oC and monthly average lowest air temperature of -1.5oC. Featuring the mountain and sea, the scenery in the zone is very beautiful. There are coastal line more than 10 kms, pinetree belt and soft sands. It is generally recognized as an ideal place for developing hi-tech industries, commerce and tourism.
　　 Since the founding date, the zone has realized 17.6 billion yuan's worth of GDP increasing by an annual average of 30%; 35.8 billion yuan's worth of gross industrial output value increasing by an annual average of 30.7%; 30.3 billion yuan's worth of industrial proceeds of sale increasing by an annual average of 37.2%; and 2.9 billion dollars' worth of profits and taxes increasing by an annual average of 32.1%. In the year of 2002,the zone has completed 3.51 billion yuan's worth of GDP, annual mean growth rate being 31.1%; 7.25 billion yuan's worth of gross industrial output value, annual mean grow rate being 31.1%; 6.82 billion yuan's worth of industrial proceeds of sale, annual mean grow rate being 32.7%; and 0.7 billion dollars' worth of profits and taxes, annual mean grow rate being 30.4%.
　　 Investment Environment
　　 The zone has completed 0.86 billion yuan's worth of infrastructure construction, with the complete facilities concerning water, electricity, road, heat and communication in the 7-km2 region, plants-covering rate reaching 40.3%. Up to now, the ground has been broken for the construction of 3985000-sqm area, among which 2972000 sqms has been completed. The zone has established perfect social agencies such as lawyer's office, accountant's office, audit office and notary office etc., and has set up the one-stop Investment Service Hall where several services are offered including chain-like coordinating services concerning projects examination and approval, omnidirectional service concerning projects construction, commitment service and the service that the coming investor will be fully guided by anyone he met, which considerably simplify the formalities concerned. The E-government system is also carried out in the zone, which improves the efficiency and quality of services. In 2001, of 53 state-level hi-tech industries development zones, our zone is the second one to be authorized by China Environment Management System and UK Administration System for the conformity with the requirements of ISO14001, and has been checked and accepted as ISO14000 national demonstration area of environmental protection by China General Ministry for Environmental Protection and Ministry of Technology. It has increasingly strong attractive power to the traveling merchants from fours seas.
　　 Hi-Tech Industry
　　 The zone has always been endeavoring to create sound technological innovation environment. Many parks have been successively established here, such as Electronic Industry Park, Top Software Park, Weihai Hi-Tech Pioneering Park for Overseas Intellectuals and Nongyou Software Park. Seventeen scientific institutes and 9 institutes of high learning introduced into the zone have set up their own R&Ds and technical entitities. Weihai Hi-tech Pioneering center, an incubator for hi-tech industries, has the incubated area of 25000 sqms, and has over 65 enterprises incubated here with another area of 20 thousand sqms available for incubation this year. The incubator was approved as the state-level one by the National Science&Technology Ministry. Another one named Sunfull Privately-Owned Incubator has the total area of 4600 sqms. Eleven million yuan's worth of seed money, five million yuan's worth of technological venture investment funds, and Gaofa Capital Management Company was one after another established providing financial guarantee to those small and medium-sized technology-oriented enterprises. Up to present, the R&Ds and scientific institutes in the zone have successively developed over 400 new products, among which 51 kinds of products such as the image sensor and PHDF etc. have supplied the domestic gap, 346 products have been patented. Up to 40 enterprises and 95 products have been recognized as hi-tech ones . Accumulatively, all kinds of scientific programs carried out in the zone have amounted to 193,among which there are 24 Spark Programs and 25 Torch Programs. Successively 595 hi-tech projects have been introduced, accounting for 39.8% of total projects in the zone. Till now four pillar industries have taken into shape, which contains electronic information industries with the main representative products of thermal printer head and CIS; electromechanical integration with the representative product of offset duplicator; bioengineering and pharmacy with the representative products of recombinant human interleukin-2, headache-killer and blood separator etc, and new materials with the representative products of carbon compound cloth and medical biodegradable polyester material. In 2001, industrial value added accounts for 37% of GDP, The revenue submitted by hi-tech enterprises makes up 35.9% of the local total financial revenue in the zone. The contribution rate of technical progress to economic growth amounts to 47.8%.
　　 Export-Oriented Economy
　　 The zone has accumulatively authorized and absorbed 364 foreign projects, the contractual foreign capital reaching 0.56 billion, paid-in foreign capital reaching 0.35 billion,in-place rate of foreign capitals being 63. Ten years passed, the zone has established relations in business with 24 countries and areas, having completed 2.6 billion dollar's worth of import&export value among which the exportation value is $1.5 billion with the annual increasing rate of 45.2%, and the export value of hi-tech products accounts for 68% of the total export volume in the zone. The proportion of export value to GDP in the zone is 69.3%.Consequently the zone was granted to be one of the first sixteen exportation bases for hi-tech products by the National Science&Technology Ministry and Foreign Economic&Trade Ministry. In the year of 2002, the contractual foreign capital reached 165 hundred million dollars, and paid-in foreign capital reached 66.13 million dollars.558 million dollars' worth of import&export value among which 324 million dollars' worth of the export value hase been completed, the respective increasing rate being 30.3% and 29.9%.
　　 Commerce&Trade &Tourism
　　 A batch of commercial facilities have been one after another put to use, such as Liqun Shopping Mall, Liquor and Sugar Supermarket, Special Sales and Repair Shop for Honda Auto, Yinda Auto Trade Company and so on. There are altogether 2002 private industrial and commercial units and 1013 privately-owned enterprises in the zone. Paid-in revenues for microeconomics reached 31.6 million yuan ,making up 19.9% of local financial proceeds in the zone. The main scenic spots in the zone include two natural bathing beaches , Wolong Mountain, Little Stone Island Fishing Park and Sino Environmental Protection Park. There are one million in-and-out tourists on the average in the zone every year. The International Bathing Beach has been ranked by the State Ocean Administration as one of the top 10 bathing beaches which need monitoring regularly. In the year of 2002, the zone completed 0.98 billion yuan's worth of added value of third industry , 25.8% more than that in the last year, and 0.95 billion yuan's worth of retail sales volume, 35.7% more than that in the last year.
　　 Education and sanitation
　　 According to the high standard for building the new industrial town, the zone has been paying more attention to infrastructure, economic construction and overall development of social undertaking, and has been gradually increasing the investment in education, sanitation, culture and physical culture and so on. Till the year of 2002, the zone has had one vocational senior middle school(technical secondary school), one six-grade secondary school, one middle school, 10 primary schools and 34 kindergartens. Shandong Province Scientific Technical Secondary School at Weihai, Shandong University at Weihai and Harbin University of Technology at Weihai are also located in the zone. Diffusion rate of compulsory education in the zone is 100%. Medical Heath Services has been developing towards standardization stage by stage. Fodingshan hospital is first-rate according to the national standard in the zone ,under which there are 13 branch offices.
　　 Living Conditions
　　 The development of production improves the standard of living. In the year of 2002, per capita income for all staff and workers in the zone is 9000 yuan , per capita net income for farmers is 5719 yuan , and saving balance of urban and rural inhabitants reached 1.49 billion yuan .There is one social welfare house in the zone. Up to 11789 people effected the endowment insurance, 11477 people effected medical insurance, and 8566 people effected industrial injury insurance.
　　 Preferential Policies
　　 All preferential policies carried out by the State will be granted. The productive enterprises in the zone, will be granted preferential policies in land-use, necessary facilities and fund for development, upon approval of the Administrative Committee according to their scale, technological level and the marketing of the products.
　　 Guide to Investment
　　 1. Electronic Information
　　 Network equipment; optical transmission system; cut-in network system equipment; digital mobile communication products, satellite telecommunication; digital audio&video frequency products; computer products; computer exterior equipment and its relevant products, LINUX-based operational system and its integrated-application settings; embedded operational system and its relevant products; network support board and middle ware; Chinese information processing; E-business; large-scale information application system; practical software; in formation security system and its products; IC; electronic material for special purpose; electronic equipment, instrument and tools for special purpose; electronic equipment, instrument and tools for special purpose; new computer screen; new apparatus; electronic products for automobile.
　　 2. Bioengineering an pharmacy
　　 Genetic engineering polypeptcide medicine with the basis of heavy histocyte factor for clinical use; product series of monoclone antibody and diagnosis medicine; bio-technological vaccine; biomedical materials and implant in vivo and artificial organs; marine active substance products; genetic engineering products of animal s and plants; bio-engineering products of breeding stock embryo; bio-products for livestock farm and agriculture; polyploid breeding technology and its application for marine culture; biological reaction and separation technology and its complete equipment; key technology and major products of fermentation engineering; modern Chinese medicine; novel medicine; prophylactico-therapeutic medicine for critical diseases; novel medical doses; advanced manufacturing and complete equipment for Chinese medical doses; novel instruments for medical diagnosis and treatment; medicine and tools for birth control.
　　 3. New Materials
　　 Rare-earth materials and their application; composition medal material manufacturing and its complete equipment; engineering plastic production technology and general plastic high-performance; high-performance encapsulant and its end-products; nanometer material and special powder and its end-products; membrane engineering; radical tire production technology and its key equipment and raw materials.
　　 4. Electromechanical Integration
　　 Networked manufacturing; open decentralized control system based on the field bus technology and its intelligent instrument; novel sensor; efficient precision work and forming manufacturing and equipment; laser processing technology and its complete equipment; digital-control machine tools and open digital system; industrial robot and robot auto production line, power semiconductor apparatus and frequency-conversion rectifying device; key apparatus for automobiles.
　　 5. Tourism Service
　　 Coastal tourism resource development; construction of holiday-making spots, and tourist products.
　　 According to the requirements made by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Shandong Province and Weihai City, the zone has put forward its own thoughts, the Second Pioneering Stage. Under the instruction of 'Three Represents' and the sixteenth National Congress of CPC, with the dynamic force of system reform and technological innovation, the zone will with a firm hand develop foreign trade, hi-tech industries, microeconomy and city construction, build up a technical, green and digital gold coast, and finally realize the extraordinary development of national economy and make contributions to taking the lead in realizing the whole city modernization. Under careful analysis and argumentation, we ascertain that the annual mean increasing rate of main economic indicator remain 40%. By the end of 2007,GDP will have reached 16.8 billion yuan ,making 8 times as much as that in the year of 2002,and per capita income will be 13000$. And after that, the zone will be keeping a high development speed and is definitely expected to develop as a modern seashore, ecotechnological area and a large-scale base for hi-tech industries, with strong independent innovating ability, developed international trade, perfect market-oriented economic system, high living standard and steady political environment.