Yueqing, a county-level city under the jurisdiction of the municipality of Wenzhou-is situated in the coastal area of southeast Zhejiang Province. Bordered by the rippling sea off the shore of the Yueqing Bay, it faces downtown Wenzhou across a river to the south. The city covers a land area of 1,174 square kilometres and a sea area of 270 square kilometres. The weather is typical of the subtropical marine monsoon climate. Yueqing was incorporated as a county in 374, or the second year of the Ningkang reign of the East Jin Dynasty, and had remained as such until it was established as a city in 1993. The municipal people'government of Yueqing is seated in Yuecheng Town, and under its jurisdiction are 21towns and 10townships, with a population of 1.139 million.

Yueqing abounds in natural resources. The Yueqing Bay is an excellent fishing ground, and its 185-kilometre-long coastline is dotted with natural deep-water harbours. The national scenic resort, Yandang Mountain, forms a seaboard tourist corridor along with the Central Yandang Mountain.

Yueqing was one of the first group of coastal cities in China to be opened to the outside world. In 1993 it found itself among the nation's 100 top counties (cities at the county level included) in terms of comprehensive rural economic strength. In 1999 its GDP reached 13.18 billion yuan, its total industrial output amounted to 26.08 billion yuan, its revenue totalled 788 million yuan, and local living standards measured up to the state standards for a relatively comfortable life.

Yueqing was the first pilot case for the "Wenzhou Mode of Economic Growth".It was also the forst to promote a shareholding economy - by the end of 1999 it had established 19 joint-stock companies and 3,253 shareholding cooperative enterprises, which contributed 55 percent of the city's total industrial output value. Pursuing a strategy to rejuvenate the city with science and technology and boost the city's reputation with quality products and services, local enterprises spare no effort to increase their economic scales and upgrade their technology and products. As a result, 154 enterprises passed the ISO9000 product quality authentication and three had passed the ISO14000 environmental protection authentication. "Zhengtai" and "Delixi" are nationwide famous trademarks. Liushi Town, extolled as an "oriental metropolitan of electrical appliances", has acquired such a comprehensive economic strength that has qualified it as one of the ten richest towns in Zhejiang. Three other towns in Yueqing - Hongqiao, Yuecheng and Beibaixiang - are among the ten most prosperous towns of Wenzhou Municipality.

To develop high-quality, high-yielding and high-efficiency agriculture, the government of Yueqing has rendered financial suppout to local farmers to introduce new strains of crops and popularise advanced technology. Yueqing farmers were the first in China to till the farmland on a moderate scale with heartening results. More than one third of the farmland is now in the hands of 3,200 households pursuing moderate scales of farming, including 249 farms each with no less than 100 mu of land. The call of the day is to turn the farmland into farden-like farms and mechanize the farm chores.

A central location, fine infrastructure, and powerful economic prowess will stand Yueqing in good stead to turn itself into a medium-sized modern city with a fine harbour and flourishing industry, trade and tourism.