Ｙａｎｇｐｕ：Ａ　Ｓｅａｓｉｄｅ　Ｉｎｄｕｓｔｒｉａｌ　Ｌａｎｄｍａｒｋ.docVIP

Ｙａｎｇｐｕ：Ａ　Ｓｅａｓｉｄｅ　Ｉｎｄｕｓｔｒｉａｌ　Ｌａｎｄｍａｒｋ 　　 　　HAINAN Island off China’s southern coast boasts more than just beautiful seascapes. A popular tourist destination, it has top-notch hotels, convention facilities and golf courses. As well as stunning natural scenery, the island features several notable cities, including the seaside metropolis of Haikou in the north, the scenic “tourist resort and ecological city” of Sanya in the south, and the historic city of Qionghai and picturesque Bo’ao in the east. However, these cities alone are not adequate to propel the ambitious economic plans of this young province. The northwestern Yangpu Peninsula has become a national-level economic development zone with a view to making the area a leading industrial center. 　　 　　An Industrial Zone Rich in Natural Advantages 　　 　　In March 1992, Hainan won the State Council’s approval to build the Yangpu Economic Development Zone as the island’s industrial engine. Surrounded on three sides by sea, Yangpu has a tropical island monsoon climate but is seldom affected by typhoons. The economic zone sits at the center of major international shipping lanes between Southeast and Northeast Asia, looking across the sea to Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in the north and Vietnam to the west. Yangpu Peninsula features 50 kilometers of deep-water coastline able to accommodate more than 80 large-tonnage berths. 　　Though the flat coastal area is not suitable for farming, it is ideal for large industrial projects. Yangpu’s offshore seabed is rich in oil and natural gas resources. A preliminary study revealed the geological petroleum reserves of the surrounding South China Sea to be between 23 and 30 billion tons. This natural blessing provides a great advantage for Yangpu’s development as a coastal petrochemical base. 　　In addition to shipping, the area is well serviced by overland transport. Yangpu is connected to inland areas by the cross-sea railway from Guangdong抯 Zhanjiang to Hainan抯 Sanya, and th