Songjie Li and Dr. Richard Jackson, Geography
Suzhou, China is an ancient Chinese city facing rapid and wrenching changes. Located in the Delta of the Yangtze River some fifty miles northwest of Shanghai, it is famous for its classical gardens and numerous canals that connect to the famous Grand Canal and Tai Lake. Suzhou is frequently mislabeled as the “Venice of the East”, but Chinese people more likely to call it the “Paradise on Earth”. Written historical records indicate that people started to live in Suzhou area over 4000 years ago, it is one of the oldest settlements in Yangtze River basin.
Today the old city proper is still standing at its original location just like thousands of years ago. The well-preserved network of rivers and canals comprise three vertical, three horizontal and one ring transportation system, and together with the water canals compose a double chessboard layout that is “water and land in parallel, canal and street in neighbor”. The unique landscape of “small bridge, flowing water, white wall, black tile, cultural relics and classic gardens” makes the city a truly wonderful place on earth.
Today, Suzhou is not only famous for its beauty and history, but also for the rapid economic development that has transformed the city in the last decades. Suzhou has become a developed city along China’s eastern coast and one of the most influential industrial centers in China. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Suzhou in 1978 was only 3.2 billion Chinese Yuan (CHY), but in the year 2004 the number was 345 billion CHY.
The developments Suzhou has achieved so far are largely due to foreign investments and exporting products to foreign markets. The open door policy allows Suzhou government to do things that best for the economy without bonds around their arms and minds. The open door policy is one of the most important turning points in Suzhou history. There wouldn’t be such a fast growing economy if there were no “open and reform”. The over all modern development patterns for Suzhou city are divided into three different time periods. The first one was from the late 70s to the mid 80s, during this time the city was transforming from agricultural to industrial. The second time period was from the late 80s to the mid 90s. This time, Suzhou had experienced a transformation from industrial to electronic. The third period is from the late 90s up to present. The goal of this period is to go from “low to high”. In other words, to be able to produce state of the art high tech products with local developed intellectual property rights.
Two contrasting examples of economic development zones were established in Suzhou in the 1990s. One, the Suzhou New District (SND), which was developed and managed by the Suzhou City is one of only four The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) industrial zones in China, and is the only APEC industrial zone not located in a national or provincial capital, while the China-Singapore District is the only example of majority foreign control in economic zones in China. The other one is the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (CSSIP or SIP), which is a joint venture between the national government of China and Singapore.
The relationship between the SND and the SIP is very unique. On one side, they are competitors; both of those want more foreign investments and attract bigger and better companies. But on the other hand, competition is nothing but great energy source for both of them to grow, after all, the have one common goal, to achieve better accomplishments in terms of economy and standard of living. Through competition, both SND and SIP can learn from each other; know things that they are not good at. The fact that there are two state of the art new economic zones gives foreign investors more choices. This increases the over all chance for them to stay in Suzhou. The city has grown in many different perspectives in a very fast pace.
Suzhou has begun work on a light rail system, which is due for completion in 2010. Designed by a French company, the Suzhou Rail Network will be 540 km. long and extend to the municipality’s outer cities and suburbs. The starts from Xinggang Station beside the Golden Rooster Lake of Suzhou Industrial Park, via the ancient city zone of Suzhou through underground section, and arrives at Lingtian Road Station at the foot of Tianping Mountain and Lingyan Mountain. There will be nine stations along along this line. As indicated by rough estimation, RMB 5.4 billion of investment is required for the construction of the light rail system.
The biggest supporting argument is that the city also meets all the State Council criteria for building its own light rail system. These criteria include: urban population of 1.5 million or more, Gross domestic product (GDP) of 60 billion Ren Min Bi (RMB, Chinese currency), projected local fiscal income of 6 billion RMB, and hourly one-way passenger flow of at least 10,000 during peak hours. For Suzhou, the respective figures in 2003 were 2.17 million people, 280.2 billion RMB, 17.05 billion RMB, and 18,000 passengers. The construction of light rail will be of great significance in promoting the development of local economy and society, accelerating urbanization progress, protecting ancient town, and representing transit priority. Also, it will provide great convenience for Suzhou people, improve investment environment, and promote the development of local economy and tourism industry.
One of the main arguments against the construction of this light rail system is the theory that the shakes caused by the movement of the train could cause serious damage to the historical relics, such as the Leaning Pagoda in the Tiger Hill Park. On the other hand, the light rail system not only provides transportation, but also promotes economic growth and development in the surrounding neighborhoods, even the whole city.
The light rail is considered to be a mark of Suzhou as a “world-class city” in city leaders minds. Having light rail could enhance Suzhou’s image of an ancient but yet young city. It also increases its attraction of more tourists and foreign investments. Often times cities tend to exaggerate the benefits of some infrastructures, such as light rail. This study will help assess the accuracy of the projected benefits and compare them to the negative effects of the Suzhou light rail system. Knowing both the positive and negative effects of this light rail system can be very valuable for Suzhou city leaders and planners as they shape the future of the city.