CONFIDENTIAL
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buildings were being conserved wherever possible, and noticed that most new buildings in the older part of the city preserved the traditional styles.
83.
The old town of Dalian, in contrast, was a deeply depressing heavy industrial city built in the 1930s. Factories and residential buildings alike were grim, grey, and ugly, and the city had a very serious air pollution problem. The ETDZ in the countryside however was very attractive and sensibly laid out.
84.
As in all other parts of China, Hong Kong was the largest overseas investor
though such investment must have included considerable Taiwanese investment and Chinese investment in Hong Kong reverting back to China as in the case of the residential complex
we visited in Dalian. Japan was the second largest investor in Dalian. In Qingdao, on the
other hand, South Korea was the second largest investor, and Japanese investment was
surprisingly small.
85.
Qingdao and Dalian ports, which are important because they are both deep
and ice-free, were crowded and busy, a great contrast to the low level of activity we saw at
Ningbo port on a previous visit to China (CRC INF 2/91, CEC 3/91) Expansion is taking
place away from the old port area at both cities, and in both cases related to developments
of their respective ETDZ. The new ports were being planned in line with demand, not to
create it, as was the case with Ningbo. Nevertheless, in one instance the authorities seemed
to have been over-optimistic: one of the two oil wharfs at Qingdao was likely to lie idle until
production in the Shengli Oilfields in Bohai Sea is substantially raised. This could take
years, and in the meantime the expensive oil pier facilities will gently rust away.
86.
We were given some interesting information on planned infrastructural improvements in North China. The transport links between the ports of Qingdao and Dalian and their hinterlands are being improved including two new expressways, one from Qingdao to Yantai, and the other from Dalian to Shenyang. These developments reflect a growing preference for road transport in China instead of the former dependence on
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