Small Towns,Big Dreams.docVIP

Small Towns,Big Dreams 　　During this year’s Valentine’s Day， Zhang Rui， a 22-year-old woman living in Beijing， received a box of chocolates from a place that is akin to the whimsical setting of the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The place―known locally as the Chocolate Town―is located in Jiashan， east China’s Zhejiang Province. “People say that it’s like Hershey’s Chocolate World， so I want to go there，” Zhang said. 　　The Chocolate Town that Zhang longs to visit is one of the first batch of “specialty towns” in Zhejiang， which brought in 1.12 million visitors and produced over 20，000 tons of chocolate throughout 2015. 　　On January 29， Zhejiang’s Provincial Government announced the list of the second batch of specialty towns， with 42 new additions. With the first batch of 37 such towns that were announced on June 4， 2015， the province is getting closer to its goal of building a total of 100 specialized towns within three years. 　　As an innovative model of economic development， these towns have become a new source of growth in the period of economic transformation that China is undergoing. The country is trying to shift the focus of its economy from industry-based to serviceand consumption-oriented. These towns also provide useful information for additional reforms of the supply side. 　　But what are these so-called specialty towns？ According to official accounts， such areas are neither administrative units， nor industrial parks， but platforms developed under the principles of innovation， coordination and common development， as well as being environmentally friendly. They’re also open to the seven emerging industries of information economy， environmental protection， health， tourism， fashion， finance and high-end equipment manufacturing. These platforms all have multiple functions as areas for residence， industries， tourism and cultural life. 　　Weng Jianrong， Deputy Director of the Zhejiang Development and Reform Commission， said that Zhejiang’s vers