Yantai Special: Muping: 100 billion yuan in construction

Visitors to the Muping district of Yantai are often impressed by the level of construction underway.

"Projects costing more than 100 billion yuan are under construction in the district," said Jiang Zuojun, head of the Muping publicity department.

"When they are finished, Muping will be a new coastal district integrating tourism, exhibitions, software, outsourcing and biomedicine," Jiang added.

The district will also include an ecological area, the Yangmadao Island Resort, Jinshan Bay Resort and parkland.

"The coastline is our source of wealth. To protect it, Muping's marine economy has to highlight ecological development," said Wang Zhong, Party chief of Muping district.

To ensure environmentally friendly development, the local government has spent 1.5 billion yuan to protect the Yuniao and Qinshui rivers that run through the district.

Among the projects is a top-class, 10-billion-yuan international wine center that will be a hub for wine trading, quality inspection, tasting, winemaking instruction and R&D.

Construction on a 3-billion-yuan permanent venue for the North China Forum, organized by the China Center for International Economic Exchange - one of the nation's think tanks - will start later this year and is scheduled to be completed in 2013.

Other projects include a 23.8-billion-yuan Yangmadao Island tourism project, a 13.5-billion-yuan business complex and the 50-billion-yuan Longhu real estate development.