Overview

Yangjiang is a prefecture-level city situated on the coast of southwestern Guangdong Province. As a prefecture-level city, Yangjiang comprises much more territory beyond simply the city proper of Yangjiang: the prefecture, with the city of Yangjiang as its seat, stretches from Maoming in the west-southwest to Jiangmen in the east-northeast, and from Yunfu in the north to the South China Sea in the south. Yangjiang also comprises some 30 islands, the most prominent of which is Hailing Island, a major tourist attraction in itself. The city's close proximity to Hong Kong and Macau, its mild, South China Sea climate and its many tourist resources - not least of which are its sandy beaches as well as its many other natural attractions such as mountain peaks, mountain streams, waterfalls, limestone caverns, hot springs, lakes and rolling hills - make Yangjiang a popular getaway for foreign and domestic tourists alike.

The modern city of Yangjiang, due partly to the fact that it represents a natural tourist resource and partly due to the fact that there are plenty of other cities in the region that fulfill the country's need for heavy industry, is founded on two pillars: tourism and light industry. The latter is seen as a necessary corollary to the former, especially since heavy industry could compromise the quality of the city as a seaside resort. In addition, the city of Yangjiang remains a fishing "village", with 6 fishing harbors, and has a well-developed agricultural sector that provides most of the produce on sale in Yangjiang's markets.

Some of the light industry highlights that put Yangjiang on the map, as it were - either within China or on the global level - are the following:

* Yangdong Company, a producer of consumer-oriented puddings, is not only China's largest, but the largest such manufacturer in all of Southeast Asia,

* Yangjiang Knife Company, with a hundred-year history, manufactures the famous Shibazi stainless steel cutlery series, as well as several other renowned stainless steel cutlery series such as the Happy Kitchen, Shengda, Silvery Eagle and Three People cutlery series. The Shibazi cutlery series has won Chinese achievement awards, and is a major export item for the company. Yangjiang Knife Company is China's largest manufacturer of stainless steel cutlery, and

* Yangjiang Kite Company has a history of more than 1300 years, with employees whose parents, grandparents, great grandparents, great-great grandparents, etc., all worked at the kite factory. The company's popular Ganoderma Lucidum kite won the 1990 international award as one of the 10 best kites in the world, based on aerodynamic design, artistic decoration, and durability. In recognition of its longstanding manufacturing excellence, the Yangjiang Kite Company was awarded the Chinese title of "The Hometown of Kites" in 1993 by the government of the PRC.

Other consumer products that have helped to make the city of Yangjiang a household name in China are Yangjiang lacquer and Yangjiang lobster sauce.

Yangjiang's main tourist attractions include: Hailing Island, including Dajiao Bay; Yangchun Spring Bay; Lingxiao Cave in Chunwan; Yangjiang's 7.4 kilometer long Silver Beach, which is registered in the Shanghai Branch of the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's longest beach; Jinsha Beach; Horse Tail Island; Dongyue Park; Forest Park; Mandarin Duck Lake Park; North Lake Park; Linggu Temple; Shijue Temple; the Cemetery of Song Tiafu; and the city's own famous museum, the Marine Silk Road Museum, which now houses the salvaged remains - and booty - of the Nanhai No. 1.

Yangjiang is also a popular venue for sports events such as beach volleyball (eg., Yangjiang hosted China's 9th National Beach Volleyball Match), kite flying and hot air balooning. The city annually holds the Men's National Indoor Volleyball Tournement, the National Hot-Air Balloon Championship, an International Kite-Flying Festival, and the Asian Beach Volleyball Championship.