The autonomous county of Kuandian Manchu is a part of Dandong situated along the bank of the Yalu River facing the DPRK, to the southeast. It covers a 6193.7-sq-km area that contains 27 ethnic groups, some of the more common of which are the Manchu, Han, Korea, Mongolia and Hui. Manchus, account for 56 percent of the population of 440,000.

The county has plenty of resources, such as minerals, forests, hydraulic power, and tourism, and has tremendous development potential. Scientists have discovered 57 types of minerals, 28 of which have been mined. Its boron accounts for 50 percent of China’s total reserves. Kuandian has 7.41 million mu (494,000 hectares) of forest land, with timber growth accounting for 24.5 million cubic meters. Its forest coverage is as high as 78 percent and it is an important conservation area for eastern Liaoning.

Kuandian has 548 rivers and 3.83 billion cubic meters of water resources, and it has 32 hydropower stations.

The county is an agreeable travel destination, so, 50 percent of the land, or 3,100 square kilometers is being planned for scenic spots. Many of these spots have great development potential, for example, the Yalu River resort area, Qingshangou, the Baishilizi nature reserve, Tianqiaogou, Tianhua Mountain, Huangyi Mountain forest, Huabo Mountain forest, Xiangshui Temple, Golden Water Bay, and the Lvjiang River.

Industrial parks

General plans for the industrial area cover a 52.5-sq-km area and include the Chengnan and Qingyishan industrial parks, and the Hushan Culture industry park. By the end of December 2010, the Kuandian Industrial Park had 54 development projects with 8.86 billion yuan in total backing.

Chengnan is expected to occupy a 23.5-sq-km area at the core area of the Kuandian Industrial Park, with three areas of concentration -- biomass energy development, nutritional foods, and a non-resource processing area. By the end of December, 2010, Chengnan had 35 development projects with 3.37 billion yuan worth of investment.

Qingyishan has a planned area of 15 sq km, and will concentrate on the processing of minerals in five separate areas -- masonry, magnesium chemicals, boron chemicals, new materials, and a metallurgical and foundry base. By the end of December, 2010, it had 17 projects with an aggregate investment of 3.09 billion yuan.

Hushan has a planned area of 14 sq km, separated into three areas -- comics, film and television, and border-area tourism. By the end of December, 2010, it had two development projects with a total of 2.4 billion yuan in backing.

Website: www.lnkd.gov.cn