Branding initiative triggers city rejuvenation

Yantai, a coastal city in east China's Shandong province, is claiming great success in its bid to develop a range of regionally-branded products.

The city is now home to 28 leading Chinese brands, 171 leading Shandong brands, 28 Chinese famous trademarks and 211 well-known Shandong trademarks.

The lead in developing this brand initiative has been taken by five renowned Yantai-based businesses - Changyu Wine Group Co Ltd, Longda Food-stuff Group Co Ltd, Luhua Group Co Ltd, Wellong Grape Wine Co Ltd and Jinhua Vermicelli Co Ltd.

The city's most well-known branded products - Yantai apples, Yantai wine and Longkou bean vermicelli - are now under the protection of the Products of Origin by the State Quality Supervision and Inspection and Quarantine Administration. A "product of origin" refers to a product featuring defining characteristics from the place of production in terms of quality and reputation.

Thanks to the system of Product of Origin, which protects designated products from infringement by counterfeiting both at home and abroad, these three Yantai products have brought huge benefits to the city.

Changyu Wine, an important component among the Yantai Wine brand portfolio, has won 16 major international prizes and 20 national prizes. The Changyu Wine Group Co Ltd in the city is now the largest producer of wine in China, accounting for 23 percent of the country's wine market.

The Yantai Wine brand has attracted more than 50 well known wine makers to establish facilities in Yantai, making the city one of the world's top seven coastal grape planting areas and one of China's top three vineyard centers.

The Yantai International Wine Festival, held every two years, has become a platform for worldwide winemakers to showcase their latest products and for investors to find business opportunities. This September's wine festival saw Yantai sign agreements with 24 foreign-funded businesses, accounting for a total investment of $710 million. It also attracted 11 domestic-funded contracts, representing funding of 10.38 billion yuan.

Yantai's brand-building initiative has resulted in an all-round upgrade for the city, including its political, social and cultural development. This has seen city win almost all of the substantial prizes awarded by China's authoritative institutions. These include the National Civilized City, the National Garden City, the National Excellent Tourism City, one of China's top 50 cities of comprehensive strength, one of China's top 10 cities for living quality, a UN Habitat Scroll and one of China's Gold Medal Cities, in terms of its investment environment as defined by the World Bank.

These honors, seen as testaments to Yantai's defining qualities, have made the city a popular destination for both investment and relocation.

Since 1997, the city has hosted a wide range of economic exchange events, many of them related to Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

Yantai has been chosen as the host city for the International Fruit, Vegetable and Food Exposition by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

Over 70 of the world's top 500 companies have now established a presence in the city. Its international prominence has also seen more than 40,000 Korean nationals move to live in the city, creating residential and business centers with distinct Korean characteristics.