What happened to the sacred tree that frequently made the list after it was removed from the county and established as a city?

Written by Dan Feng

Recently, the "China Cities Investment Attractiveness Index Report" was released. Shaanxi Shenmu City is listed on the list of the top ten most attractive counties (cities) for investment in 2020, once again impacting people's attention.

After the reform and opening up, China's economic development center gradually shifted to the south of the Yangtze River and the southeastern coastal areas. Therefore, the most prosperous and prosperous strong cities and counties in China are now concentrated in the south of the Yangtze River and the southeastern coastal areas.

Benefiting from the influence of national policies, Shenmu, located in northern Shaanxi and bordering the three provinces (regions) of Qin, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia, has continued to rise strongly in the past decade due to its abundant coal and other resources. In 2017, the county was removed and established as a city.

After the GDP of Shenmu, which was "removed from a county and established as a city", returned to 100 billion yuan in 2017, it maintained a performance of over 100 billion yuan for three consecutive years in 2018, 2019 and 2020. And in the list of the top 100 counties and cities with comprehensive competitiveness in the country, Shenmu has been on the list for consecutive years, among which Shenmu City ranked 12th in 2020. At the same time, Shenmu ranked among the "Top 100 Counties and Cities in the Nation's New Urbanization Quality" in 2018 and 2019 and the "Top 100 County Economies in China in 2020". In the GDP ranking of districts, counties and cities in Shaanxi Province in 2020: Yanta District leads the way, Shenmu City ranks third, and the overall economic development level ranks at the leading level in the province.

In recent years, Shenmu has not only been the strongest county in Yulin City, but also the strongest county in Shaanxi Province, leaving many counties and cities from coastal provinces such as Jiangsu, Guangdong, and Zhejiang behind.

The reason is actually very simple. This county-level city across the river from Shanxi, a major coal-producing province, is rich in mineral resources.

As the largest county and city in Shaanxi Province, Shenmu City covers an area of ??7,635 square kilometers and is endowed with unique coal resources. The coal storage area is 4,500 square kilometers, accounting for 60% of the total, and the proven reserves are more than 56 billion tons, accounting for 60% of the total. 1/4 of the total reserves of Shenfu-Dongsheng coalfield. It is large in quantity, shallow in burial, and easy to mine. It is the largest coal-producing county (city) in China.

Huge reserves of coal resources affect Shenmu's industrial structure. In the "2018 Shenmu City National Economic and Social Development Statistical Bulletin", we can see that Shenmu's tertiary industry accounts for 10% of the total GDP. The proportions are 1.53%, 71.97% and 26.50% respectively. For Shenmu, industry is a "pillar industry" in the true sense. With coal as the leader, a series of industrial industries such as electricity, coal chemical industry, energy storage, and building materials formed in series are the foundation of this powerful inland county.

In this series of industrial chains, raw coal production and sales undoubtedly occupy an absolute proportion. It can be said that the rapid development of Shenmu's economy is precisely the result of "geographical convenience". Although it is located in an inland mountainous area and does not have access to river and sea transportation or plain land expansion, "mines" are the greatest confidence!

Shenmu City "rests on the mountains and eats the mountains", making full use of raw coal resources and embarking on the "fast lane" of economic development.

This small inland city completed the "removal of a county and establishing a city" in 2017. In 2018, the per capita regional GDP was 271,498 yuan, surpassing the four first-tier cities of "Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen" (Beijing: 140,000 yuan, Shanghai: 135,000 yuan, Guangzhou: 158,000 yuan, Shenzhen: 242,000 yuan).

The process of Shenmu’s removal from counties and establishment of cities:

Currently, there are seven county-level cities in Shaanxi Province, namely Hancheng, Huayin, Xingping, Shenmu, and Bin Zhou, Zichang, Xunyang. In addition, six counties including Mian County, Fuping County, Pucheng County, Jingbian County, Suide County, and Huangling County also reported to the provincial government to request the removal of counties and establishment of cities.

Leaving aside other regions, the former Shenmu County and today’s Shenmu City are developing well thanks to the “black gold” of coal. Especially after the removal of counties and establishment of cities, the systems, mechanisms and policies have become more flexible, which is conducive to the implementation of relevant policies and better expands the room for urban development.

Compared with several other county-level cities in the province, Shenmu has the smallest population but the largest area; the most mineral resources, but the most monotonous industrial development; and the highest GDP, but faces the greatest challenges.

Therefore, the strength of Shenmu is based on resources. The transformation of resource-based cities has always been a prominent issue that needs attention and discussion in economic and social development.

After Shenmu was removed from the county and established as a city, the biggest problem faced was how to avoid becoming a resource-depleted city.

Although Shenmu has completed initial wealth accumulation relying on energy and entered the "fast lane" of development, the industry is single, resources are non-renewable, capital has flowed out, and a positive development closed loop has not been formed locally. It is still irrefutable. , a problem that is also difficult to avoid. Looking around at many brilliant energy-based cities, it is self-evident that they have not found a way out.

Completing the "removal of counties and establishment of cities" is the key to this breakthrough.

Some insiders analyze that the original meaning of "city" is a trading market and a commercial center, and the transformation from "county" to "city" is the key to the full layout of Shenmu's industry and the expansion of its development path. location.

Railway transportation has always been the main transportation mode of coal due to its advantages of large capacity, fast speed and low cost.

Although Shenmu is limited by the special geographical location of the connection zone between the Ordos Plateau and the Loess Plateau, the proportion of commerce and logistics in the overall industrial pattern is slightly lower. However, we cannot ignore its special location advantages of being bordered by Shanxi and Inner Mongolia and located at the head of the Shaanxi urban belt.

The huge traffic flow when Shenmu completes the transportation of raw coal through railways brings 100 million tons of internal transportation capacity. Can Shenmu use the "removal of counties and establishment of cities" to broaden the "development lane" and integrate the logistics industry and business interaction? The increased proportion has become the top priority for Shenmu's future development.

At present, it seems that Shenmu has realized the powerful potential of its existence. In the “Thirteenth Five-Year Plan”, Shenmu proposed to build a “five horizontal and seven vertical” railway network. Among them, the second largest coal transportation channel in my country's "West-East Coal Transport" - the Shenhuang Railway and Baoxi Railway leading to Huanghua Port in North China, and the north-south freight channel Haoji opened in 2019 connecting Haole Baoji in Inner Mongolia and Ji'an in Jiangxi The railway (formerly Menghua Railway) has provided Shenmu with stronger freight capacity and railway network radiation capacity. Combined with Baomao, Yushang, Shenjia and other high-speed routes, Shenmu City’s railway and road transportation capabilities have been greatly enhanced.

According to data, in 2017, Shenmu received more than 5,000 heavy-duty trucks every day, nearly 10,000 transit trains, and the train’s external transportation capacity exceeded 100 million tons. However, this powerful internal transportation capacity is facing vacancy. ——Come empty and leave full. After Shenmu was removed from the county and established as a city, the provincial media and industry experts discussed the topic of whether Shenmu could become a trade and logistics center with an air transport capacity of over 100 million tons.

How to convert this wasted transportation capacity into logistics carrying capacity will also provide an opportunity for Shenmu to become a huge logistics center in Shaanxi and further enhance the regional development potential.

The Shenmu West Railway Station Logistics Park, which is currently under construction and established, is being built into a comprehensive modern logistics service base in Shenmu, a high-end industry cultivation and incubation base, an industrial transformation and upgrading demonstration base, and a key base for undertaking industrial transfers.

The increasingly accessible transportation network gives Shenmu Unicom the confidence to connect all directions, and it can be said that the future is promising.

Before Shenmu was established as a city, many energy cities were already trying to transform and develop and establish a complete industrial system. For example, in Ordos, its private enterprises have been on a roll in recent years, moving fast and furiously.

In 2021, Shenmu will accelerate industrial transformation and upgrading and create new highlights in industrial development. 456 fiscal investment projects and 174 corporate investment projects will be implemented, and 23.5 billion yuan of investment funds will be completed.

Shenmu City’s coal-based industrial system has also taken initial shape, and the blue carbon industry has developed rapidly. It has now formed a circular economy and industrial cluster covering multiple fields such as power generation, chemical industry, and magnesium metal.

At present, Shenmu City should also consider how to use the power of "road expansion" to avoid homogeneity and establish unique advantages.

In fact, Shenmu is broadening its development “lane” and enriching its industrial structure. The removal of counties and establishment of cities also brings favorable policies and the advantage of priority allocation of resources to Shenmu. A more flexible management mechanism and greater autonomy are helping Shenmu's economy to further upgrade.

Everyone knows that before the county was established as a city, Shenmu was famous throughout the country as a "rich man". "Rich" is people's first impression of Shenmu. However, the private lending crisis that began in 2012 plunged Shenmu's economy, dominated by the coal industry, into a trough. According to some estimates, more than 60% of private coal mines have stopped production or experienced operating difficulties. The total amount of private loans may be as high as 20 to 30 billion yuan.

Having money but not knowing how to spend it is a pity that many outsiders have for the sacred trees. In fact, as early as 2009, some experts suggested setting up a county financial pilot zone in Shenmu. Huang Zhen, a professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics, even made a plan for this. The core of the plan is to rely on active and abundant private capital, introduce new business formats through reasonable capital planning, and build a financial center to dilute the single and single business format that relies on the energy industry. The abnormal economic development problems caused by this.

Let’s make an assumption. If the regional financial center plan could be successfully promoted and implemented from paper, maybe the “destructive power” of this loan crisis would not be so great. Fortunately, Shenmu, who "tumbled" hard, finally stood up.

Shenmu, who has improved his "financial intelligence" and found the method of "money begets money", has a longer-term development plan.

Shenmu County’s “Thirteenth Five-Year Plan” has determined the implementation of the “Internet + Finance” development strategy to promote the development of the financial industry to a new level. According to the plan, the Shenmu government is building a financial street and introducing various business formats such as funds and securities, hoping to build Shenmu into a financial center in the northwest region. Although there is no case in the country where a county-level city has become a regional financial center, with the huge amount of cash in Shenmu itself and the people who have experienced the baptism of the loan crisis, it is the time when "formal financial activities" are needed to guide industrial development. , "Basics + Needs" may bring success.

Currently, Shenmu is focusing on developing the modern financial industry and accelerating the reform of the investment and financing system. Establish a state-owned capital investment operation group and set up a government investment guidance fund of 12.5 billion yuan. At the end of 2019, the deposit balance of the city's financial institutions was 116.694 billion yuan, and the loan balance was 49.424 billion yuan.

In addition to the financial industry, which still needs work, Shenmu also has "capital" to develop the tourism industry.

Shenmu has a special geographical location. It is an important place on the fortress of "Guanzhong in the south, Hetao in the north, the danger of Jinyang on the left, and the rush of Lingxia on the right." The unique location gives Shenmu City numerous tourism opportunities. resource.

From Hongjiannao, the largest desert freshwater lake in China known as the "Sacred Lake", to Erlang Mountain known as the "Hump Mountain"; from Shimao known as "the eve of Chinese civilization" The ruins and Gaojiabao Town, where Lu Yao's "The Ordinary World" was filmed, are extremely valuable natural and human resources. In addition, in terms of exploring urban culture, Shenmu City fully utilizes the functions of various types of exhibition halls at all levels to inherit urban civilization; it develops industrial tourism based on the history of the formation, mining and utilization of coal, and builds a world-class coal geology theme park to express the city's spirit, Show the charm of the city.

Whether it is a cultural landscape or a natural landscape, Shenmu City has precious and abundant resources. Whether it can form a natural landscape as the background and the cultural landscape as an embellishment is the key to developing Shenmu's local tourism industry.

It has been four years since Shenmu was removed from the county and established as a city. Currently, the overall layout is being carried out in accordance with the "promoting the 'one, three, six'" and building new sacred trees", and accelerating the construction of the "high-quality development demonstration city of the "Yellow River" bend urban agglomeration". Whether Shenmu City can continue to take advantage of this east wind to soar upward, enrich its industrial layout, and achieve urban development and transformation, let us pay long-term attention.