| About Beihai - Sister cities |
Tulsa, U.S.A. (March 1987)
Tulsa is the second-largest city in Oklahoma, U.S.A., 184 km away from the state capital Oklahoma City. It covers an area of 480 square km with a population of about 390,000. Blessed with clear water, air and environment, it was given the honorable names of ¡°Green Capital¡±, and one of ¡°the Nation¡¯s Most Beautiful Cities¡±. In 2005, it was also listed as one of the ¡°America¡¯s Most Livable Large Cities¡±. In the 20th century, Tulsa was well known as ¡°Oil Capital of the World¡± because of its abundant oil resources. Today, it is still an important energy and oil center, but other industries have taken the spotlight, such as aerospace, banking, telecom, high tech and insurance. Tulsa is served by convenient transportation facilities, including the Tulsa International Airport, Tulsa Water Port (the nation¡¯s largest inland water port) and expressways. The city is the art and cultural center of Oklahoma. Multiple art & history museums, art deco architecture and 14 institutions of higher education can be found here.
Yatsushrio, Japan (March 1996)
 Located in the middle of Kyushu Island and at the lower reaches of the Kumagawa River, the City of Yatsushiro is facing the Kyushu Mountains in the east, the Shiranui Area in the west, and the famous Amakusa Isles across the sea. Stretching about 50 kilometers from east to west and 25 kilometers from north to south, the City covers a total land area of about 680 square kilometers and has a population of more than 139,000. The Kunimidake Mountain, which is situated in the east of Yatsushiro, is the highest one in Kyushu Mountains. Yatsushiro is blessed with a pleasant climate, featuring an annual average temperature ranges from 14.5¡æ~16.5¡æ and an average annual rainfall between 1,800mm~2,000mm.
Yatsushiro has a long history and rich traditional culture. Owning to prosperous agriculture and industry, it has been serving as one of the important transportation centers in Kyushu Island. Moreover, with the advanced transportation facilities such as the Kyusyu Shinkansen (bullet train), which travels from Shin-Yatsushiro Station to Kagoshima-Chuo Station and a regular international container service from Yatsushiro Port to South Korea, Yatsushiro, as the second largest city in Kumamoto Prefecture, is now playing a more active part in international communications and sustainable development.
Gold Coast,Australia (September 1997)
 Situated on the east coast of Australia in Queensland, Gold Coast (GC) is the six-largest city in Australia, covering 1,400 square km with a population of nearly 500, 000. It is well known as a popular holiday and shopping destination. And fine environment, comfortable sub-tropical climate and superior geographic location have made GC the Australia¡¯s growth ¡°hot-spot¡±. Key industries include tourism, marine, medical care, education, environment and telecom.
With abundant tourist resources & attractions, tourism remains the backbone of the economy. The city attracts over 10.5 million visitors annually, contributing over 4.3 billion AUD in direct expenditure. Apart from its broad beach, three world-class theme parks have brought GC the honorable name of ¡°Capital of Theme Parks¡±.
Suva, Fiji (April 1998)
 Suva is the capital city of Fiji. Located on the southeast coast of viti levu Island, it is the political, business and cultural center of the country. Suva has a land area of 20 square km and a population of over 80, 000. English is the main written and spoken language. The city is blessed with a number of spacious and clean beaches. It also has vibrant cultural heritage. Suva City Council is responsible to create an attractive lively city, with cleaner and safer public places & facilities, markets new developments, buildings and multistory with better car parking provisions. Suva Port is one of the two fine nature seaports in Fiji, as well as the transfer hub of marine and air transit in South Pacific area. It is also the largest urban area in the south Pacific area apart from Australia and New Zealand.
Lugano, Switzerland (December 2004)
 Lugano is located in the southern state of Ticino, the Italian-speaking district of the Switzerland. Its population amounts to about 52,000 inhabitants extending an area of 48 square km. It has been serving as the transport gateway to Switzerland and Europe. Lugano is blessed with fine climate, beautiful environment and tourist attractions. The economy of the City is organized revolving around three great sectors. The first leading sector is the tourist industry. The conditions of its birth and development are closely linked to the peculiar qualities of the sub alpine landscape, lakes, mountains of volcanic origin and the favorable climate conditions of the region.
The second characteristic of its economy is trade. Since as early as the Middle Ages, Lugano has been the hub of a thriving traffic of goods. The third component of economy is the sector of financial and banking services, which is presently the main mechanism. It started to develop in the post-war years following the Second World War; between the 60s and the 70s it made the city the third financial market in the confederation.
Hatyai, Thailand (October 2005)
 Established in 1949, Hatyai is a municipality in southern province Songkhla. It is over 990 km away from the Capital Bangkok, nearly 60 km to Malaysia. It is considered to be the economic, educational and cultural center of South Thailand, as well as the third-largest business, second-largest financial and foreign trade city in the country. Thus it was given the name of ¡°Heart of South Thailand¡±. The municipality covers 21 square km with a population of about 180,000. It is the distribution center of some natural resources such as tin and rubber. With its sound transportation facilities, the booming business permits Haiyai to have the nickname of ¡°Little Bangkok¡±. Hatyai offers many tourist attractions, which brings itself foreign visitors mainly from Malaysia and Singapore. The tourism industry contributes large number of foreign exchange to the country.
Leduc City & Leduc County, Canada (November 2006)
 Leduc City is located in the most prosperous and thriving province Alberta. Since it is only 15-minute-drive away from the province capital Edmonton, Leduc is a gateway not only to Alberta, but also to the world. It has a land area of about 37 square km with a population of 17,000. Dominant industries are energy, tourism, agriculture and hi-tech. The Leduc-Nisku Industrial Park, with the backbone industry of oil, is the largest one of its kind in West Canada.
The County of Leduc is situated in the south of Edmonton, covering an area of about 2,600 square km with a population of 12, 500. Local economy is supported by agriculture and oil industries. Oil boom hit the area in 1947 and that led to its development. Thus it has been known as ¡°County of Black Gold¡±. (Black Gold is referred to oil.)
Puerto Princesa, Philippines (April 2007)
 Located in the middle of Palawan Island in the Philippines, Puerto Princesa is the capital of the Palawan Province. It is only not more than an-hour flight from Manila. The city is the cleanest as well as the largest city of the nation, with a land area of about 2,500 square km and about 300 km of coastline. It has a population of around 200,000 people. Local economy is supported by backbone industries of agriculture, fishery and tourism. The best time to visit the city is during the months of March to May. Ample tourist resources including clean beach and seawater, comfortable climate and cultural relics can be found in the city. The Underground River National Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
As a local government unit, Puerto Princesa has won the most awards in the country for its consistent pursuit of sustainable development and its strict enforcement of environmental laws. In 1997, the city was given the Global 500 Roll of Honor Award by the UN.
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Semarang, Indonesia (October 2008)
 Semarang is the capital of the province of Central Java, Indonesia. It has an area of over 370 km² and
a population of approximately 2 million people, making it Indonesia's forth largest city. The port of Semarang, which is the third main ports of Indonesia, exports cane sugar, rubber, Coffee, tea, copra, wood, etc. Local economy is backed up by major manufacturing industries of glass, shoes, electrical appliance, textile, wood processing and shipbuilding. Semarang is also the home to agricultural & handwork products and sugar industries. The city is well-connected with other cities and towns by railway and airport. |
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