Wuxi, also named “Liangxi”, is a famous city with a long history in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It is now a city directly under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province. Wuxi has under its jurisdiction Xishan, Jiangyin and Yixing Cities (county-level ) and Chongan, Nanchang, Beitang, Suburban, Mashan and New Districts. The total area of the city is 4650sq.km. and the population 4.33 million by the end of 1999, of which 1.1 million are in the metropolitan area.

Wuxi is an important economic center. Early this century, Mr Rong Zongjin and Mr Rong Desheng, representatives of China’s national industrialists, set up a group of industrial enterprises in their hometown, recording Wuxi as a birthplace in the history of China’s national industry. Due to developd industry and flourishing economy, Wuxi is reputed as “Little Shanghai” for half a century. Since the founding of New China, Wuxi’s economy is developing rapidly. And since the 3th Plenary Session of the 11th Party Central Committee and under the guild line of the Deng Xiaoping Theory and the basic line of the Party, the people in Wuxi emancipate their mind in high spirit, grasp the opportunity and have created unprecedented glories in the history of its development. Wuxi is listed as one of China’s 15 key economic centers.

It is also one of the 50 cities in China with powerful comprehensive strength, and among 40 cities in China with excellent investment environment. Wuxi has formed a processing system with complete category and powerful support capability. Its key sectors of industry include those of machinery, electronics, light and textile, metallurgical, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. It has also become a modernized industrial city with large scale and high standard along China’s coastal areas. In 1999, the GDP of the whole city was 113.8 billion Yuan and its public revenue 8.72 billion Yuan. Its per capita GDP surpassed 26,000 Yuan, which continued to rank the first place in Jiangsu Province.

Wuxi is a regional hub of transportation. With railways, highways, air routes, and waterways, Wuxi enjoys convenient transportation network and connects Jiangsu with Zhejiang and Anhui Provinces. Nine highways connect Wuxi with important cities like Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou. Shanghai-Nanjing Railway and Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway Pass through the city.