Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture Overview — Industry (Part 1)
Chapter 5 Industry. The rolling Wuling Mountains have witnessed the course of Xiangxi's industrial development. Since the founding of New China, industry in Xiangxi has grown from nothing to something, from small to large, from handicraft workshops to modern production and from a single type to a full range of sectors, becoming the pillar of prefecture finances. Section 1 Development Course. 1. Modern industry founded in the 1950s...
This article has been compiled from historical materials in the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com · City Overview section). Some administrative divisions, population, socioeconomic data, and policy information may be outdated and are for reference only; for the latest situation, please refer to official releases by the local government and scenic areas.
Chapter 5 Industry
The rolling Wuling Mountains have witnessed the development of industry in Xiangxi. Since the founding of New China, the industry of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture has grown from nothing to something, from small to large, from handicraft workshops to modern production, and from a single type to a full range of categories, becoming the pillar industry of the prefecture's finances.
Section 1 Development Course
I. The Beginning of Modern Industry in the 1950s
Within the territory of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, there are abundant natural resources. However, before the founding of New China, it was actually a blank area for modern industry, with only traditional handicrafts. In the spring of 1950, while suppressing bandits, opposing local tyrants, and establishing political power, the people's governments of each county began to restore and develop handicraft production. Implementing the policy of "utilization, restriction, and transformation" toward private industry and commerce, they encouraged the development of individual handicrafts. The number of professional handicraft workers in the prefecture increased from more than 6,000 in 1949 to more than 9,000 in 1952. At the same time, some small state-owned industrial enterprises were successively established. From April 1950 to January 1952, the 10 counties in the prefecture established 11 state-owned or joint state-private small thermal power plants, with generator capacities of 10-50 kilowatts; they also established printing plants, paper mills, rice processing plants, umbrella factories, farm tool factories, weaving mills, sulfur mines, and other enterprises. This was the beginning of modern industry. By the end of 1952, the number of industrial enterprises in the 10 counties of the prefecture had grown to 26, with a total output value of 8.09 million yuan (calculated at 1970 constant prices), accounting for 2.9% of the total industrial and agricultural output value of the 10 counties.
In 1953, the state implemented the "First Five-Year Plan" and began large-scale economic construction. In 1954, the People's Government of the Xiangxi Miao Autonomous Region invested 220,000 yuan to build the local state-owned Sangzhi Libixi Iron Works, the Jishou 150-kilowatt thermal power generating unit, and the Luxi Maxikou Coal Mine. All three projects were completed and put into operation in the spring of 1955, becoming key enterprises in the prefecture at that time. Changsha Qixin and Dazhong Machinery Plants (private) moved west to Jishou and were converted in 1955 into the prefecture-owned local state-owned Jishou General Machinery Plant. In 1956, the prefecture-owned Jishou Distillery and Longjiazhai Coal Mine were established. During this period, counties also set up some farm tool factories, tobacco factories, ceramics factories, paper mills, and iron works. During the "First Five-Year Plan" period, the state invested a cumulative total of 1.92 million yuan in industry in Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture. By 1957, the prefecture's industrial enterprises had grown to 62, with a total industrial output value of 20.52 million yuan (calculated at 1970 constant prices), an increase of 1.5 times over 1952, with an average annual increase of 30%; the original value of fixed assets of state-owned industry increased from 433,000 yuan in 1952 to 1.5698 million yuan in 1957, an increase of 2.6 times. Over the five years, state-owned industrial enterprises in the prefecture handed over a total of 3.2 million yuan in fiscal profits.
In October 1958, during the upsurge of the Great Leap Forward in industry under the slogan of "taking steel as the key link," industry was vigorously developed at the four levels of prefecture, county, commune, and brigade. The categories included electric power, coal, metallurgy, machinery, light industry, textiles, building materials, forest industry, food processing, and others, and their nature included state-owned, collective, and commune-brigade enterprises. Although the prefecture's industry experienced a temporary "flourishing," because it was divorced from reality and violated science, it suffered serious losses, and most enterprises were soon shut down. Those retained, such as the Yongshun Cotton Mill and Baojing Vegetable Oil Plant, became key enterprises at that time.
II. Comprehensive Adjustment of Industry in the 1960s
Due to the impact of the "Great Leap Forward," the "anti-right deviation" campaign, and natural disasters, the national economy encountered serious difficulties in 1960. In the spring of 1961, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China put forward the eight-character policy of "adjustment, consolidation, filling out, and raising standards" and carried out a comprehensive adjustment of the national economy. After the "closure, suspension, merger, and conversion" of 1961-1962, state-owned industrial enterprises above the county level in Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture were reduced from 135 to 80, and employees were cut from 11,752 to 5,172. During 1963-1965, industry was developed around agriculture, and the national economy was arranged according to the order of "agriculture, light industry, and heavy industry." Within the prefecture, the Luxi Phosphate Fertilizer Plant (the prefecture's Xixi Phosphate Mine) and the Jishou 750-kilowatt thermal power generating unit were built on a concentrated basis, the Jishou Paper Mill was newly built, and counties also consolidated and improved farm machinery plants, ceramics factories, and weaving mills. Through three years of adjustment, industry began to recover. In 1965, the prefecture's total industrial output value was 38.53 million yuan, an increase of 38.4% over 1962; it realized a profit of 49,000 yuan, reversing four consecutive years of losses. In August 1966, the "Cultural Revolution" movement developed rapidly throughout the prefecture, and industry was seriously affected. In 1969, the prefecture's total industrial output value was only 49.26 million yuan.
III. The Rapid Rise of a Number of Basic Industries in the 1970s
In the early 1970s, the national defense "Third Front" construction began within the prefecture. In order to ensure the smooth implementation of the national "Third Front" construction and develop the economy of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, relevant ministries and commissions of the State Council and the Hunan Provincial Revolutionary Committee focused on helping Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture build a number of basic industries such as electric power, coal, chemicals, machinery, and cement, laying a certain foundation for accelerating the prefecture's industrial development. In 1979, the total installed capacity of thermal power and hydropower in the prefecture was 95,545 kilowatts, nearly 10 times that of 10 years earlier. In 1978, the prefecture's state-owned coal mines had grown to 15, with 153 commune-brigade coal kilns, producing 453,000 tons of raw coal annually, 10 times more than in 1969. The completion of these electric power and coal industries provided power guarantees for the development of industry in Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture. The prefecture successively built 7 nitrogen fertilizer plants, with an annual synthetic nitrogen capacity of 50,000 tons; the Luxi Pushi Phosphate Mine, with an annual output of 150,000 tons of phosphate ore; the prefecture's 70 Chemical Plant, with an annual output of 4,000 tons of ammonium nitrate explosives; and the prefecture's 71 Chemical Plant, with an annual output of 1,200 tons of caustic soda (later expanded to 3,000 tons). The completion of these factories and mines laid a good foundation for the later development of the chemical industry in the prefecture. The machinery industry developed rapidly. The prefecture-owned Jishou General Machinery Plant was changed to the Jishou Machine Tool Plant, mainly manufacturing and repairing machine tools to equip commune farm machinery repair stations; the machinery industry in each county developed rapidly, and many famous-brand products emerged. In 1979, the prefecture's total output value of the machinery industry was 31.88 million yuan, more than 7 times that of 1969. During this period, the number of cement plants in the prefecture grew to 12, and annual production capacity increased from 3,000 tons in 1969 to 150,000 tons in 1979. Longshan and Sangzhi cigarette factories were also newly built, with an annual output of 30,000 large cases of cigarettes. The prefecture's plastics plant, ship repair and manufacturing plant, automobile repair and manufacturing plant, and others were successively built and put into operation. The establishment of a large number of enterprises enabled relatively rapid growth of the prefecture's industrial economy. In 1979, the prefecture's total industrial output value was 204 million yuan, an increase of 3.1 times over 1969; the proportion of total industrial output value in the total industrial and agricultural output value rose from 21.1% in 1970 to 35.9%.
IV. Reform and Opening Up in the 1980s Accelerated the Prefecture's Industrial Development
Since reform and opening up, the industry of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture has entered a track of rapid and efficient development, with a large number of key enterprises newly built and expanded. In the electric power industry, 10 hydropower stations with installed capacities of 5,000-10,000 kilowatts were newly built. In 1989, the prefecture's total installed hydropower capacity reached 149,977 kilowatts, more than double that of 1979. In the tobacco industry, the Longshan and Sangzhi cigarette factories were expanded, and the Fenghuang and Yongshun cigarette factories were newly built, with production capacity increasing from 30,000 cases in 1979 to 460,000 cases in 1989. In the brewing industry, a number of distilleries were expanded and a beer production line was newly built. The prefecture's output of beverages and baijiu increased from 5,700 tons in 1980 to 16,200 tons in 1989, an increase of 1.84 times. In the textile industry, the Jishou Textile Printing and Dyeing Plant was newly built, and 10 enterprises were transformed and expanded. The prefecture's total output value of the textile industry increased from 13.73 million yuan in 1980 to 46.19 million yuan in 1989 (calculated at 1980 constant prices). In the chemical industry, through transformation and expansion, the shift from raw material type to processing type and from single type to comprehensive type was accelerated, forming a number of key enterprises and competitive products. Compared with 1980, in 1989 the prefecture's chemical industry products increased from 14 to 31, total output value increased from 23.84 million yuan to 71.53 million yuan, and realized profits and taxes increased from 20,000 yuan to 20.81 million yuan, beginning to become one of the pillar industries of the prefecture's industry. In the metallurgical industry, centering on improving economic efficiency, adopting advanced technical equipment, and vigorously pursuing technological transformation, great development was achieved over 10 years. From 1980 to 1989, the original value of fixed assets of the prefecture's metallurgical industry increased from 2.2 million yuan to 22.53 million yuan, products increased from 5 to 18, total output value increased from 1.259 million yuan to 13.35 million yuan, and profits increased from 67,800 yuan to 3.949 million yuan. In the building materials industry, cement enterprises eliminated old high-energy-consumption vertical kilns and replaced them with mechanical vertical kilns. The prefecture's cement production capacity expanded from 178,000 tons in 1980 to 500,000 tons in 1989, and cement grades increased from 325# to 625#. In the Second Light Industry, through technological transformation of 44 enterprises, the situation of simple equipment, relatively low technology, and small production scale was changed, and a production system with a relatively complete range of processing categories, relatively high product quality, and considerable scale began to take shape.
In the 1980s, the industry of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture developed a total of 97 new products of various kinds, among which 9 filled domestic gaps, 45 were provincial-level new products, and 43 were prefecture-level new products; 24 famous and excellent products at or above the ministry level were created. In 1989, the prefecture's total industrial output value was 1.29 billion yuan, an increase of 2.71 times over 1980; the proportion of total industrial output value in the total industrial and agricultural output value rose to 57.6%; the prefecture's state-owned industries within the budget realized a profit of 47.527 million yuan in 1989, with a cumulative profit of 157.605 million yuan over 10 years; the prefecture's industry handed over national taxes, which surged from 20.62 million yuan in 1980 to 171.44 million yuan in 1989, an increase of 7.31 times, with a cumulative tax payment of 859 million yuan over 10 years, 1.35 times more than the 366 million yuan of state-invested technological transformation funds during the 10 years; the original value of fixed assets of the prefecture's industrial enterprises increased from 210 million yuan in 1980 to 634 million yuan in 1989.
V. Difficult Progress Toward a Market Economy in the 1990s
In 1992, the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly stated: "The goal of our country's economic system reform is to establish a socialist market economy system." In order to adapt to this great change, since the 1990s, the industry of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture has focused on the market, deepened reform, adjusted structure, enhanced staying power, and improved science and technology, doing a great deal of arduous and in-depth work in the process of entering the socialist market economy. After entering the "Ninth Five-Year Plan," industrial enterprises, especially state-owned industrial enterprises, encountered unprecedented difficulties in reform and development, and the tasks of reform and turning losses into profits became even more arduous.
In the course of transforming their operating mechanisms, state-owned enterprises faced intensified difficulties in production and operation. Since reform and opening up, although the industry of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture developed relatively rapidly, because most state-owned industrial enterprises were "scattered, small, and poor," they could not withstand the shocks of the market economy. First, enterprises' own working capital was seriously insufficient, and the asset-liability ratio was too high. The 130 state-owned industrial enterprises above the county level in the prefecture had liabilities of 3 billion yuan, with an asset-liability ratio of 84.2%. By 1998, most state-owned industrial enterprises had no choice but to organize production by delaying taxes, electricity fees, and bank interest, or by selling at reduced prices, with cumulative arrears of 153.13 million yuan in taxes, 205.1 million yuan in electricity fees, and 129.4 million yuan in bank interest. Second, the burden of personnel was heavy, and diversion and placement were difficult. According to the prefecture's industrial production capacity, even if operating normally, only 60% of the existing employees could be put on duty. The issue of personnel diversion and placement became the largest, foremost, and most urgent problem in industrial enterprise reform and the transformation of operating mechanisms, and also the most troublesome problem for departments and enterprises at all levels. Third, excessively high electricity prices restricted the normal operation of production. High-energy-consumption industries in the prefecture accounted for 34.7% of the total industrial economy. Among them, production capacities of electrolytic manganese, silicon-manganese alloy, and yellow phosphorus accounted for 80.2%, 74.7%, and 65.6% of Hunan Province's respectively, but they could not enjoy the preferential electricity prices of the province's key high-energy-consumption enterprises. Compared with neighboring ethnic regions such as Tongren in Guizhou, Qianjiang in Chongqing, and Enshi in Hubei, the electricity price in Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture was 44% higher than the average price of those areas. Excessively high electricity prices violated the principle of fair competition and increasingly endangered the survival of high-energy-consumption enterprises. Of the prefecture's 46 high-energy-consumption enterprises, by 1998, 31 had stopped or semi-stopped production, with 7,414 laid-off workers, accounting for 67.4% and 47.6% of the prefecture's high-energy-consumption enterprises and employees respectively. Fourth, product competitiveness was weak, seriously restricting the sustained growth of industry. Of the 107 industrial products in the prefecture in 1995, 69 were unsalable. In 1998, of the 65 major products scheduled in the prefecture, only 7.7% were selling well, 36.9% were selling steadily, and as many as 55.4% were unsalable. In the process of transforming operating mechanisms, state-owned industrial enterprises faced relatively prominent problems such as "where will the money come from," "where will the people go," "how should the structure be adjusted," and "how can the mechanism be made flexible," which urgently needed to be solved.
Actively adjust the ownership structure and promote the rapid development of the private economy. The private economy in the industry of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture started relatively late. In 1980, private industry accounted for only 0.62% of the prefecture's total industrial output value, and by 1990 it had reached only 15.51%. The private economy has advantages in many respects that state-owned enterprises cannot match. Therefore, from the early 1990s, the CPC Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture Committee and the Prefecture People's Government treated the development of private industry as a strategic measure. They actively adjusted the ownership structure and formulated preferential policies to support the development of private industry, promoting its rapid development. By 1998, the prefecture had established 4 enterprise groups, 47 leasing and contracting operations, 19 shareholding cooperative transformations, 9 acquisitions and auctions, 39 split operations, 24 multi-system single plants, 2 trusteeship operations, and 16 entering bankruptcy procedures, with 81.4% of enterprises undergoing reform and restructuring. That year, the proportion of total output value of private industry rose to 45.09%. Compared with 1990, in 1998 the prefecture's total industrial output value rose from 1.307 billion yuan to 5.49 billion yuan, an increase of 3.2 times; among this, private industry surged from 229 million yuan to 1.755 billion yuan, an increase of 6.7 times. The speed of its development was obvious.
Vigorously adjust the industrial structure and accelerate the development of pillar industries. With the two hands of "transformation" and "reform," the prefecture made great efforts in structural adjustment, cultivated pillar industries, and implemented the group strategy. By 1995, five pillar industries based mainly on food, tobacco, light textiles, metallurgy, and chemicals had basically taken shape. That year, the five pillar industries completed an industrial output value of 1.647 billion yuan, accounting for 67.3% of the prefecture's total industrial output value; they realized profits and taxes of 493 million yuan, accounting for 91% of the prefecture's industrial profits and taxes.
Actively adjust the product structure and improve product competitiveness. Efforts were made to implement the famous-brand strategy, give play to brand advantages, promote optimization of the product structure, expand the production scale of advantageous enterprises, and enhance economic strength and competitiveness. After several years of effort, products such as Xiangquan Liquor, Jiugui Liquor, Dongfang Brand electrolytic manganese, Sanli Brand zinc ingots, Xiyang Brand preserved eggs, and Laodage cigarettes not only became famous and excellent products but also had scale advantages.
VI. After 2000, the Prefecture's Industry Entered a Period of Rapid Development
After entering the 21st century, departments at all levels throughout the prefecture fully implemented the Scientific Outlook on Development, further strengthened awareness of industrial development, accelerated industrial structural adjustment and industrial construction, improved coordination and service capabilities, effectively addressed weak links affecting industrial economic development, and actively scheduled major production factors such as electricity, oil, transportation, raw materials, and funds in economic operation. They overcame various difficulties and achieved relatively good results in the operation of the prefecture's industrial economy.
The awareness of developing industry was further strengthened. One crucial reason why the industrial economy of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture advanced by great strides was that the leaders of the Prefecture Party Committee and Prefecture Government were emancipated in thinking and always stood at the forefront of economic development. For Xiangxi's economy to develop, the way out lies in industry, the potential lies in industry, and the key lies in industry. It is necessary to take the promotion of industrialization as the core, use industrialized means to develop agriculture, use industrialized thinking to plan agriculture, and continuously raise the level of intensification, scale, and specialization of agriculture, so as to provide major industrial support for urbanization. To this end, the Prefecture Party Committee and Prefecture Government established the industrial development strategy of "building the prefecture through industry and strengthening the prefecture through industry," highlighting the leading position of industry in economic work.
Industrial input increased substantially, and the pace of industrial construction, project construction, and park construction accelerated markedly. Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture's industry has the resource advantages to become bigger and stronger, and even more, it has rare development opportunities. The state implemented the strategies of developing the western region, a new round of poverty alleviation and development, and promoting the rise of central China; the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee and the Hunan Provincial People's Government implemented the strategy of large-scale development of the Xiangxi region, and established 50 industrial projects for Xiangxi development as well as key industrial technological transformation projects. The CPC Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture Committee and the Prefecture People's Government firmly seized the opportunities to make the industrial economy bigger and stronger, fixed their sights on advantageous and characteristic industries, and focused on the development of the manganese-zinc industrial cluster, the food industrial cluster, and the biomedicine industrial cluster. The 50 industrial projects for Xiangxi development and key industrial technological transformation projects progressed smoothly, and a number of projects were completed and put into production one after another. From 2001 to 2005, total industrial input in the prefecture exceeded 6 billion yuan, 154 technological transformation projects were implemented, and cumulative investment in technological transformation reached 4.2 billion yuan, with an average annual growth of 17.7%; the technological innovation capacity of enterprises continued to strengthen, and in the five years a total of 6 major national and provincial industrial special projects and 4 provincial scientific and technological innovation projects were applied for; newly added production capacity included 240,000 kilowatts of installed power generation capacity and 790 million kilowatt-hours; preferential electricity price support of 470 million yuan was obtained; discount interest funds and guiding funds for industrial projects in the Xiangxi development area exceeded 100 million yuan. The economic benefits of the parks began to stand out, and good results were achieved in attracting investment for industrial projects.
Substantive progress was made in the reform of state-owned industrial enterprises. The CPC Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture Committee and the Prefecture People's Government adhered to taking all-round development as the theme, property rights system reform as the focus, and the "two replacements" as the main line, conscientiously followed the policy of "overall planning, standardized operation, adapting measures to enterprise conditions, and being active and steady," and adopted various forms such as combination, merger, leasing, sale, bankruptcy, and shareholding system to reform and restructure state-owned and collective enterprises. In the restructuring process, they strictly controlled the gates of financial auditing, asset verification, evaluation and confirmation of rights, property rights transfer, and asset management, basically achieving maximization of the realized value of assets, minimization of restructuring costs, and optimization of worker placement and debt disposal. Through restructuring, personnel were streamlined, assets were revitalized, funds were introduced, and efficiency was improved, and a number of key enterprises regained vitality. In 2005, the prefecture had 71 state-owned and state-controlled enterprises, 107 fewer than the 178 at the end of 2000.
The construction of strong industrial townships and strong industrial towns was officially launched. In order to further expand the field of private economic development, attach importance to developing township private industry, gradually build a number of townships with industrial output value exceeding 100 million yuan, and build and develop a number of key private industrial enterprises in townships with industrial sales revenue exceeding 10 million yuan, in 2005 Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture issued the "Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Strong Industrial Townships and Strong Industrial Towns" (Prefecture Government Document [2005] No. 28), focusing on identifying 22 townships with a relatively good industrial foundation and a certain radiating and driving force as key targets for support. In October, the prefecture allocated 1.2 million yuan in preliminary project expenses for the construction of the 22 strong industrial townships and towns, with support for 3 years, and counties and cities arranged matching funds.
The industrial economy maintained relatively rapid growth. In 2005, the prefecture completed a total industrial output value of 9.153 billion yuan, with an average annual growth of 11.5% during the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" period; the proportion of total industrial output value in total industrial and agricultural output value was 67.3%, 5 percentage points higher than in 2000; industrial added value reached 3.301 billion yuan, with an average annual growth of 9.8%; industrial added value accounted for 26.8% of GDP; the added value of large-scale industry reached 2.607 billion yuan, with an average annual growth of 9.4%; all industrial enterprises achieved sales revenue of 8.88 billion yuan, with a cumulative production-sales ratio of 99.79%; industrial export earnings reached 148 million yuan, four times that of 2000; fiscal revenue provided by industry was 700 million yuan, a net increase of 310 million yuan over 2000, with an average annual growth of 12.4%; minerals, deep processing of agricultural products, and medicine became the main driving forces of the prefecture's industrial economic development.
Admittedly, there were still some problems in the industrial economy of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture. First, the scale of industry gradually grew, but structural contradictions remained prominent; second, industrial production maintained steady and relatively rapid growth, but the growth rate fell markedly; third, the bottleneck constraints of resources were not fundamentally resolved, and uncertain and unstable factors still existed in the operation of the industrial economy; fourth, the economic development environment gradually improved, but needed further optimization.