Rizhao's marine economy blooming

Rizhao, a coastal city in East China's Shandong province, has been ramping up efforts to advance its modern marine economy to serve the city's high-quality development, local officials said.

Stretching along 226.35 kilometers of coastline, Rizhao boasts rich marine resources. It is home to Shandong's largest seahorse breeding base, with an annual output of more than 1 million species of fish fry and seahorses.

The city also has the province's first modern fishery park, the country's first large-scale aquaculture ship, and the world's first fully submersible deep water intelligent cage.

The port economy has played a vital role in boosting the city's marine economy. In 2022, the throughput of Rizhao Port exceeded 500 million metric tons, ranking sixth in the country and ninth in the world. The port has cargo routes connecting more than 500 ports in over 100 countries.

The output value of port industries above designated size currently accounts for 80 percent of the city's total industrial output value by above designated size entities.

Rizhao currently has a modern marine system featuring coastal cultural tourism, transportation, fisheries, equipment manufacturing, and biomedicine.

"The ocean is the most distinctive feature of Rizhao," said Dong Jianhua, director of the Rizhao marine development bureau.

According to Dong, Rizhao has made great efforts to restore the coastline environment and is striving to find a balance between city's development and marine ecology.

The renovation project of Hailong Bay, for example, has added 460,000 square meters of sandy beaches that have attracted an increasing number of rare marine animals. The pine forests, beaches, reefs and wetlands have also been preserved to create a "green ribbon" along the coastline.

Its coastal scenery has made Rizhao a popular tourist attraction. Boasting a 5-kilometer-long coastline, the Wanpingkou Seaside Scenic Spot is one of the most popular places for tourists to relax and play.

According to the city's three-year plan (2023-25) to promote the green, low-carbon and high-quality development of the marine industry, Rizhao will strive to increase the average annual growth rate of the marine economy's gross output by over 7 percent during the period. More efforts will made to develop emerging marine industries and promote the transformation of the traditional fishery industry.